Israel’s Great Misery (Matthew 10:34–39; Luke 12:49–53)
2 UST { I am looking for} faithful people, but all of them have disappeared from the land, and there are no longer any honest people among us. All of the people who remain are eager to kill others; each person tries to find ways to exploit his fellow citizens. BSB BSB: 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.
3 UST They are energetic and skillful in doing evil things. Government officials and judges demand bribes. Powerful people tell others what they want for themselves, and they all plot together to get it done. BSB BSB: 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.
4 UST Even the best people among them are harmful, and even those who seem the most honest, cause people pain. The time that the prophets foretold, the time when God will punish those who do evil things, is coming soon. This is when they will panic. BSB BSB: 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.
5 UST So, do not trust anyone, not even a neighbor or a friend. Be careful what you say even to your own wife! BSB BSB: 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.
Israel’s Confession and Comfort 7 UST But as for me, I will watch to see what Yahweh will do{ to help me}. I intend to wait confidently for God, who saves me. The God whom I worship will listen when I call to him. BSB BSB: But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
8 UST You who are our enemies, do not celebrate over what has happened to us, because even though you have defeated us, we will recover. Even though it looks like everything is bad for us, Yahweh will take care of us. BSB BSB: 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.
9 UST We will patiently endure whatever Yahweh does to punish us, because we have sinned against him. Eventually he will defend us and make things right for us. He will change everything bad around us to good, and we will see that he always does what is right. BSB BSB: 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.
10 UST I want my enemies to see the same thing, and then everyone will completely despise them. They are the ones who mocked me by saying,“Yahweh your God is not helping you at all!” But at that time I will watch as people destroy the homes of my enemies, making them just like the mud in the streets. BSB BSB: 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.
11 UST { People of Zion,} the day is coming when you will rebuild your walls! On that day, your city will extend far beyond its present boundaries. BSB BSB: The day for rebuilding your walls will come—the day for extending your boundary.
12 UST On that day people will come to you{ from everywhere}. The places they will come from will be from Assyria to Egypt, and from Egypt all the way to the Euphrates River, from one sea to another and from every mountain. BSB BSB: 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.
13 UST { In contrast}{ the rest of} the earth will become an empty wasteland because of the{ evil} things its people have done. BSB BSB: Then the earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants, as the fruit of their deeds.
God’s Compassion on Israel 14 UST { Yahweh,} protect and guide your people, as a shepherd does for his sheep! They are the people whom you have chosen to belong to you. They are like sheep that live apart from others in a wooded area of Mount Carmel, but give them the rich pasturelands of the Bashan and Gilead regions that they enjoyed long ago. BSB BSB: 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.
15 UST { Yahweh says,}“Yes, just as I did long ago when I rescued your ancestors from Egypt, I will do amazing things for you.” BSB BSB: As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show My wonders.
16 UST People from many nations will see{ what Yahweh does for his people}, and what they see will humiliate them because they thought that they were powerful, but they are not. They will be so amazed that they will be unable to say or hear anything. BSB BSB: 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.
17 UST They will grovel on the ground like a snake, like an insect in the dirt.{ They will be so afraid that} they will come trembling from their fortresses. They will be very afraid as they approach Yahweh, the God whom we worship. They will be afraid because of you,{ Yahweh}. BSB BSB: They will lick the dust like a snake, like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will come trembling from their strongholds in the presence of the LORD our God; they will tremble in fear of You.
18 UST { Yahweh,} no other God is like you! You forgive the sins of the people who have remained faithful to you, those who belong to you. You do not stay angry forever because you are the one who delights in faithfully loving us. BSB BSB: 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?
19 UST You will be merciful to us once again. You will completely forgive all of our sins, as though you are throwing them into the deepest part of the ocean. BSB BSB: 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.
20 UST You will show the descendants of Jacob that you are trustworthy, and you will faithfully love the descendants of Abraham, just as you solemnly promised to our ancestors long ago. BSB BSB: You will show faithfulness to Jacob and loving devotion to Abraham, as You swore to our fathers from the days of old.