John 5:31–47; 1 Peter 2:9–17; Song of Solomon 2; Jeremiah 47–48

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John 5:31–47

31 hIf I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true. 32 There is ianother who bears witness about me, and jI know that the testimony that he bears about me is true. 33 kYou sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth. 34 Not that lthe testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. 35 He was a burning and mshining lamp, and nyou were willing to rejoice for a while in his light. 36 But lthe testimony that I have is greater than that of John. For othe works that the Father has given me pto accomplish, the very works that I am doing, qbear witness about me that rthe Father has sent me. 37 And the Father who sent me shas himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, this form you have never seen, 38 and uyou do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent. 39 vYou search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and wit is they that bear witness about me, 40 yet xyou refuse to come to me that you may have life. 41 yI do not receive glory from people. 42 But zI know that you do not have athe love of God within you. 43 I have come bin my Father’s name, and cyou do not receive me. dIf another comes in his own name, you will receive him. 44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and edo not seek the glory that comes from fthe only God? 45 Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, gon whom you have set your hope. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for hhe wrote of me. 47 But iif you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?


1 Peter 2:9–17

But you are za chosen race, aa royal bpriesthood, ca holy nation, da people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you eout of darkness into fhis marvelous light. 10 gOnce you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

11 Beloved, I urge you has sojourners and exiles ito abstain from the passions of the flesh, jwhich wage war against your soul. 12 kKeep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, lthey may see your good deeds and glorify God on mthe day of visitation.

Submission to Authority

13 nBe subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution,1 whether it be to the emperor2 as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him oto punish those who do evil and pto praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, qthat by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 rLive as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but sliving as servants3 of God. 17 tHonor everyone. uLove the brotherhood. vFear God. Honor the emperor.


Song of Solomon 2

I am a rose1 of Sharon,

ka lily of the valleys.

He

As a lily among brambles,

so is lmy love among the young women.

She

As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,

so is my mbeloved among the young men.

With great delight I sat nin his shadow,

and his ofruit was sweet to my taste.

He pbrought me to the banqueting house,2

and his qbanner over me was love.

Sustain me with rraisins;

refresh me with apples,

sfor I am sick with love.

His tleft hand is under my head,

and his right hand uembraces me!

I vadjure you,3 O wdaughters of Jerusalem,

by xthe gazelles or the does of the field,

that you not stir up or awaken love

until it pleases.

The Bride Adores Her Beloved

The voice of my beloved!

Behold, he comes,

leaping yover the mountains,

bounding over the hills.

My beloved is like za gazelle

or a young stag.

Behold, there he stands

behind our wall,

gazing through the windows,

looking through the lattice.

10  My beloved speaks and says to me:

aArise, my love, my beautiful one,

and come away,

11  for behold, the winter is past;

bthe rain is over and gone.

12  cThe flowers appear on the earth,

the time of singing4 has come,

and the voice of dthe turtledove

is heard in our land.

13  eThe fig tree ripens its figs,

and fthe vines are in blossom;

they give forth fragrance.

gArise, my love, my beautiful one,

and come away.

14  O my hdove, in the iclefts of the rock,

in the crannies of the cliff,

let me see your face,

let me jhear your voice,

for your voice is sweet,

and your face is klovely.

15  Catch lthe foxes5 for us,

the little foxes

that spoil the vineyards,

ffor our vineyards are in blossom.

16  mMy beloved is mine, and I am his;

he ngrazes6 among the lilies.

17  Until othe day breathes

and pthe shadows flee,

turn, my beloved, be like qa gazelle

or a young stag on cleft mountains.7


Jeremiah 47–48

Judgment on the Philistines

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet fconcerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down gGaza.

Thus says the Lord:

hBehold, waters are rising iout of the north,

hand shall become an overflowing torrent;

they shall overflow jthe land and all that fills it,

the city and those who dwell in it.

Men shall cry out,

and every inhabitant of the land shall wail.

At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions,

lat the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of their wheels,

the fathers mlook not back to their children,

so feeble are their hands,

because of the day that is coming to destroy

all fthe Philistines,

to cut off from nTyre and Sidon

every helper that remains.

For the Lord is destroying the Philistines,

othe remnant of the coastland of pCaphtor.

qBaldness has come upon Gaza;

rAshkelon has perished.

O remnant of their valley,

show long will you gash yourselves?

tAh, sword of the Lord!

How long till you are quiet?

Put yourself into your scabbard;

rest and be still!

How can it1 be quiet

uwhen the Lord has given it a charge?

Against vAshkelon and against the seashore

whe has appointed it.

Judgment on Moab

xConcerning Moab.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:

Woe to yNebo, for it is laid waste!

zKiriathaim is put to shame, it is taken;

the fortress is put to shame aand broken down;

the renown of Moab is no more.

In bHeshbon they planned disaster against her:

Come, let us cut her off cfrom being a nation!

You also, O dMadmen, shall be brought to silence;

the sword shall pursue you.

A voice! A cry from eHoronaim,

Desolation and great destruction!

Moab is destroyed;

her little ones have made a cry.

eFor at the ascent of Luhith

they go up weeping;2

for eat the descent of Horonaim

they have heard the distressed cry3 of destruction.

Flee! Save yourselves!

You will be like fa juniper in the desert!

For, gbecause you trusted in your works and your treasures,

you also shall be taken;

and hChemosh ishall go into exile

with jhis priests and his officials.

kThe destroyer shall come upon every city,

and no city shall escape;

the valley shall perish,

and lthe plain shall be destroyed,

as the Lord has spoken.

Give wings to Moab,

for she would fly away;

her cities shall become a desolation,

with no inhabitant in them.

10 mCursed is he who does nthe work of the Lord with slackness, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from bloodshed.

11  Moab has been at ease from his youth

and has osettled on his dregs;

he has not been emptied from vessel to vessel,

nor has he gone into exile;

so his taste remains in him,

and his scent is not changed.

12 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I shall send to him pourers who will pour him, and empty his vessels and break his4 jars in pieces. 13 Then pMoab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as qthe house of Israel was ashamed of rBethel, their confidence.

14  How do you say, We are heroes

and mighty men of war?

15  The destroyer of sMoab and his cities has come up,

and the choicest of his young men have tgone down to slaughter,

declares uthe King, uwhose name is the Lord of hosts.

16  The calamity of Moab is near at hand,

and his affliction hastens swiftly.

17  vGrieve for him, all you who are around him,

and all who know his name;

say, wHow the mighty scepter is broken,

the glorious staff.

18  xCome down from your glory,

and sit on the parched ground,

O inhabitant of yDibon!

For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you;

he has destroyed your strongholds.

19  zStand by the way zand watch,

O inhabitant of aAroer!

Ask him who flees and her who escapes;

say, What has happened?

20  Moab is put to shame, for it is broken;

vwail and cry!

Tell it beside bthe Arnon,

that sMoab is laid waste.

21 Judgment has come upon cthe tableland, upon Holon, and dJahzah, and Mephaath, 22 and yDibon, and eNebo, and Beth-diblathaim, 23 and fKiriathaim, and Beth-gamul, and gBeth-meon, 24 and hKerioth, and iBozrah, and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 jThe horn of Moab is cut off, and khis arm is broken, declares the Lord.

26 lMake him drunk, mbecause he magnified himself against the Lord, so that Moab shall lwallow in his vomit, nand he too shall be held in derision. 27 oWas not Israel a derision to you? pWas he found among thieves, that whenever you spoke of him qyou wagged your head?

28  rLeave the cities, and dwell in the rock,

O inhabitants of Moab!

Be slike the dove that nests

in the sides of the mouth of a gorge.

29  tWe have heard of the pride of Moab

he is very proud

of his loftiness, his pride, and his arrogance,

and the haughtiness of his heart.

30  I know his insolence, declares the Lord;

uhis boasts are false,

his deeds are false.

31  vTherefore I wail for Moab;

I cry out for all Moab;

for the men of wKir-hareseth I mourn.

32  More than for xJazer I weep for you,

yO vine of zSibmah!

aYour branches passed over the sea,

reached to the Sea of xJazer;

on your summer fruits and your grapes

the destroyer has fallen.

33  bGladness and joy have been taken away

from the fruitful land of Moab;

I have made the wine cease from the winepresses;

no one treads them with shouts of joy;

the shouting is not the shout of joy.

34 cFrom the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, as far as Jahaz they utter their voice, from Zoar to dHoronaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. For the waters of Nimrim also have become desolate. 35 And I will bring to an end in Moab, declares the Lord, him who offers sacrifice in ethe high place and makes offerings to his god. 36 Therefore my heart moans for Moab like a flute, and my heart moans like a flute for the men of fKir-hareseth. gTherefore the riches they gained have perished.

37 hFor every head is shaved and every beard cut off. iOn all the hands are gashes, and jaround the waist is sackcloth. 38 On all the housetops of Moab and in the squares there is nothing but lamentation, for I have broken Moab like ka vessel for which no one cares, declares the Lord. 39 How it is broken! How they wail! lHow Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab mhas become a derision and a horror to all that are around him.

40  For thus says the Lord:

Behold, none shall fly swiftly like an eagle

oand spread his wings against Moab;

41  pthe cities shall be taken

and the strongholds seized.

qThe heart of the warriors of Moab shall be in that day

like the heart of ra woman in her birth pains;

42  Moab shall be sdestroyed and be no longer a people,

because the magnified himself against the Lord.

43  uTerror, pit, and snare

are before you, O inhabitant of Moab!

declares the Lord.

44  He who flees from the terror

shall fall into the pit,

and he who climbs out of the pit

shall be caught in the snare.

vFor I will bring these things upon Moab,

the year of their punishment,

declares the Lord.

45  In the shadow of Heshbon

fugitives stop without strength,

for fire came out from Heshbon,

flame from the house of Sihon;

it has destroyed wthe forehead of Moab,

the crown of wthe sons of tumult.

46  xWoe to you, O Moab!

The people of yChemosh are undone,

for your sons have been taken captive,

and your daughters into captivity.

47  zYet I will restore the fortunes of Moab

in the latter days, declares the Lord.

Thus far is the judgment on Moab.