Bible Readings for October 25, 2017

Today our passages are Jeremiah 48:1–49:22; 2 Timothy 4:1-22; Psalm 95:1–96:13; and Proverbs 26:9-12. The readings are from the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Steet, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

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Jeremiah 48-49:22 (Contemporary English Version)

Jeremiah 48

What the LORD Says about Moab

 ¹The LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, told me to say to the nation of Moab:   The town of Nebo is doomed;
   Kiriathaim will be captured
   and disgraced,
   and even its fortress
   will be left in ruins.
    ²No one honors you, Moab.
   In Heshbon, enemies make plans
   to end your life.
   My sword will leave only silence
   in your town named "Quiet." ^a] 3The people of Horonaim
   will cry for help,
   as their town is attacked
   and destroyed.
    ⁴Moab will be shattered!
   Your children will sob
    ⁵and cry on their way up
   to the town of Luhith;
   on the road to Horonaim
   they will tell of disasters.
    ⁶Run for your lives!
   Head into the desert
   like a wild donkey. ^b] 7You thought you could be saved
   by your power and wealth,
   but you will be captured
   along with your god Chemosh,
   his priests, and officials.
    ⁸Not one of your towns
   will escape destruction.
   I have told your enemies,
   "Wipe out the valley
   and the flatlands of Moab.
    ⁹Spread salt on the ground
   to kill the crops. ^c] Leave its towns in ruins,
   with no one living there.
    ¹⁰I want you to kill the Moabites,
   and if you let them escape,
   I will put a curse on you."
    ¹¹Moab, you are like wine
   left to settle undisturbed,
   never poured from jar to jar.
   And so, your nation continues
   to prosper and improve. ^d] 12But now, I will send enemies
   to pour out the wine
   and smash the jars!
    ¹³Then you will be ashamed,
   because your god Chemosh
   cannot save you,
   just as Bethel ^e] could not help the Israelites.
    ¹⁴You claim that your soldiers
   are strong and brave.
    ¹⁵But I am the LORD,
   the all-powerful King,
   and I promise that enemies
   will overpower your towns.
   Even your best warriors
   will die in the battle.
    ¹⁶It won't be long now--
   disaster will hit Moab!
    ¹⁷I will order the nearby nations
   to mourn for you and say,
   "Isn't it sad? Moab ruled others,
   but now its glorious power
   has been shattered."
    ¹⁸People in the town of Dibon, ^f] you will be honored no more,
   so have a seat in the dust.
   Your walls will be torn down
   when the enemies attack.
    ¹⁹You people of Aroer, ^g] go wait beside the road,
   and when refugees run by,
   ask them, "What happened?"
    ²⁰They will answer,
   "Moab has been defeated!
   Weep with us in shame.
   Tell everyone at the Arnon River
   that Moab is destroyed."
    ²¹I will punish every town
   that belongs to Moab,
   but especially Holon,
   Jahzah, Mephaath,
    ²²Dibon, Nebo,
   Beth-Diblathaim, ²³Kiriathaim,
   Beth-Gamul, Beth-Meon,
    ²⁴Kerioth, and Bozrah. ^h] 25My decision is final--
   your army will be crushed,
   and your power broken.
    ²⁶People of Moab, you claim
   to be stronger than I am.
   Now I will tell other nations
   to make you drunk
   and to laugh while you collapse
   in your own vomit.
    ²⁷You made fun of my people
   and treated them like criminals
   caught in the act.
    ²⁸Now you must leave your towns
   and live like doves
   in the shelter of cliffs
   and canyons.
    ²⁹I know about your pride,
   and how you strut and boast.
    ³⁰But I also know bragging
   will never save you.
    ³¹So I will cry and mourn
   for Moab
   and its town of Kir-Heres.
    ³²People of Sibmah,
   you were like a vineyard
   heavy with grapes,
   and with branches reaching
   north to the town of Jazer
   and west to the Dead Sea. ^i] But you have been destroyed,
   and so I will weep for you,
   as the people of Jazer weep
   for the vineyards.
    ³³Harvest celebrations are gone
   from the orchards and farms
   of Moab.
   There are no happy shouts
   from people making wine.
    ³⁴Weeping from Heshbon
   can be heard as far
   as Elealeh and Jahaz;
   cries from Zoar are heard
   in Horonaim
   and Eglath-Shelishiyah.
   And Nimrim Creek has run dry.
    ³⁵I will get rid of anyone
   who burns incense
   to the gods of Moab
   or offers sacrifices
   at their shrines.
   I, the LORD, have spoken.
    ³⁶In my heart I moan for Moab,
   like a funeral song
   played on a flute.
   I mourn for the people
   of the town of Kir-Heres,
   because their wealth is gone.
    ³⁷The people of Moab
   mourn on the rooftops
   and in the streets.
   Men cut off their beards,
   people shave their heads;
   they make cuts on their hands
   and wear sackcloth. ^j] 38And it's all because I, the LORD,
   have shattered Moab
   like a jar
   that no one wants.
    ³⁹Moab lies broken!
   Listen to its people cry
   as they turn away in shame.
   Other nations are horrified
   at what happened,
   but still they laugh.
    ⁴⁰Moab, an enemy swoops down
   like an eagle spreading its wings
   over your land.
    ⁴¹Your cities ^k] and fortresses will be captured,
   and your warriors
   gripped by fear. ^l] 42You are finished as a nation,
   because you dared oppose me,
   the LORD.
    ⁴³Terror, pits, and traps
   are waiting for you.
    ⁴⁴If you are terrified and run,
   you will fall into a pit;
   and if you crawl out of the pit,
   you'll get caught in a trap.
   The time has come
   for you to be punished.
    ⁴⁵Near the city of Heshbon,
   where Sihon once ruled,
   tired refugees stand in shadows
   cast by the flames
   of their burning city.
   Soon, the towns on other hilltops,
   where those warlike people live,
   will also go up in smoke.
    ⁴⁶People of Moab, you worshiped
   Chemosh, your god,
   but now you are done for,
   and your children are prisoners
   in a foreign country.
    ⁴⁷Yet someday, I will bring
   your people back home.
   I, the LORD, have spoken.
   

Jeremiah 49

What the LORD Says about Ammon

 ¹The LORD has this to say about the nation of Ammon:   The people of Israel
   have plenty of children
   to inherit their lands.
   So why have you worshipers
   of the god Milcom ^m] taken over towns and land
   belonging to the Gad tribe?
    ²Someday I will send an army
   to attack you in Rabbah,
   your capital city.
   It will be left in ruins,
   and the surrounding villages
   will lie in ashes.
   You took some of Israel's land,
   but on that day
   Israel will take yours!
    ³Cry, people of Heshbon; ^n] your town will become
   a pile of rubble. ^o] You will turn here and there,
   but your path will be blocked. ^p] Put on sackcloth ^q] and mourn, you citizens of Rabbah,
   because the idol you worship ^r] will be taken
   to a foreign country,
   along with its priests
   and temple officials.
    ⁴You rebellious Ammonites
   trust your wealth
   and ask,
   "Who could attack us?"
   But I warn you not to boast
   when your strength is fading. ^s] 5I, the LORD All-Powerful,
   will send neighboring nations
   to strike you with terror.
   You will be scattered,
   with no one to care
   for your refugees.
    ⁶Yet someday, I will bring
   your people back home.
   I, the LORD, have spoken.
   

What the LORD Says about Edom

 ^7-8The LORD All-Powerful says about Edom:   Wisdom and common sense
   have vanished from Teman. ^t] I will send disaster to punish
   you descendants of Esau, ^u] so anyone from Dedan ^v] had better turn around
   and run back home. ^w] 9People who harvest grapes
   leave some for the poor.
   Thieves who break in at night
   take only what they want.
    ¹⁰But I will take everything
   that belongs to you,
   people of Edom,
   and I will uncover every place
   where you try to hide.
   Then you will die,
   and so will your children,
   relatives, and neighbors.
    ¹¹But I can be trusted
   to care for your orphans
   and widows.
    ¹²Even those nations that don't deserve to be punished will have to drink from the cup of my anger. So how can you possibly hope to escape? ¹³I, the LORD, swear in my own name that your city of Bozrah ^x] and all your towns will suffer a horrible fate. They will lie in ruins forever, and people will use the name "Bozrah" as a curse word. ¹⁴I have sent a messenger
   to command the nations
   to prepare for war
   against you people of Edom.
    ¹⁵Your nation will be small,
   yet hated by other nations.
    ¹⁶Pride tricks you into thinking
   that other nations
   look at you with fear. ^y] You live along the cliffs
   and high in the mountains
   like the eagles,
   but I am the LORD,
   and I will bring you down.
    ¹⁷People passing by your country
   will be shocked and horrified
   to see a disaster
    ¹⁸as bad as the destruction
   of Sodom and Gomorrah
   and towns nearby.
   The towns of Edom will be empty.
    ¹⁹I will attack you
   like a lion from the forest,
   attacking sheep in a meadow
   along the Jordan.
   In a moment the flock runs,
   and the land is empty.
   Who will I choose to attack you?
   I will do it myself!
   No one can force me to fight
   or chase me away.
    ²⁰Listen to my plans for you,
   people of Edom. ^z] Your children will be dragged off
   and your country destroyed.
    ²¹The sounds of your destruction
   will reach the Red Sea ^aa] and cause the earth to shake.
    ²²An enemy will swoop down
   to attack you,
   like an eagle spreading its wings
   and circling over Bozrah.
   Your warriors will be gripped
   by fear. ^ab]

Footnotes:

1. Jeremiah 48:2 silence. . . Quiet: In Hebrew the name of the town was "Madmen," which sounds like the word for "silence."
2. Jeremiah 48:6 like a wild donkey: One ancient translation; Hebrew "like (the town of) Aroer" (see verse 19).
3. Jeremiah 48:9 Spread salt. . . crops: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
4. Jeremiah 48:11 continues. . . improve: Or "remains as evil as ever."
5. Jeremiah 48:13 Bethel: It may refer to the Phoenician or Canaanite god of that name; or it may refer to the town where people of the northern kingdom worshiped at a local shrine (see 1 Kings 12.26-30).
6. Jeremiah 48:18 Dibon: The capital city of Moab.
7. Jeremiah 48:19 Aroer: A Moabite town located just north of the Arnon River.
8. Jeremiah 48:24 Bozrah: Not the same Bozrah as in 49.13.
9. Jeremiah 48:32 reaching north. . . Dead Sea: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
10. Jeremiah 48:37 sackcloth: See the note at 4.8.
11. Jeremiah 48:41 Your cities: Or "Kerioth."
12. Jeremiah 48:41 gripped by fear: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
13. Jeremiah 49:1 Milcom: The national god of Ammon, probably the same as the god Molech in 32.35.
14. Jeremiah 49:3 Heshbon: See also 48.45; since Heshbon was near the border of Moab and Ammon, it was probably ruled by the country that was stronger at the time.
15. Jeremiah 49:3 your town will become a pile of rubble: Or "because the town of Ai has been destroyed"; referring to an Ammonite town named Ai, not the town of that name near Bethel in the land of Israel.
16. Jeremiah 49:3 You will turn. . . blocked: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
17. Jeremiah 49:3 sackcloth: See the note at 4.8.
18. Jeremiah 49:3 the idol you worship: Hebrew "Milcom" (see verse 1 and the note there).
19. Jeremiah 49:4 when. . . fading: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
20. Jeremiah 49:7 Teman: The name of a town in Edom, sometimes used as the name of the northern half of the nation of Edom; here it probably stands for the whole nation.
21. Jeremiah 49:7 Esau: The ancestor of the nation of Edom.
22. Jeremiah 49:7 Dedan: The name of a town in northwest Arabia, also used of the northwest region of Arabia along the Red Sea.
23. Jeremiah 49:7 anyone. . . home: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
24. Jeremiah 49:13 Bozrah: The main city and capital of Edom.
25. Jeremiah 49:16 Pride. . . fear: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
26. Jeremiah 49:20 Edom: The Hebrew text also uses the name "Teman" (see the note at verses 7-8).
27. Jeremiah 49:21 Red Sea: Hebrew yam suph, here referring to the Gulf of Aqaba, since the term is extended to include the northeastern arm of the Red Sea (see also the note at Exodus 13.18).
28. Jeremiah 49:22 will be gripped by fear: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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2 Timothy 4:1-22 (Contemporary English Version)

2 Timothy 4

 ¹When Christ Jesus comes as king, he will be the judge of everyone, whether they are living or dead. So with God and Christ as witnesses, I command you ²to preach God's message. Do it willingly, even if it isn't the popular thing to do. You must correct people and point out their sins. But also cheer them up, and when you instruct them, always be patient. ³The time is coming when people won't listen to good teaching. Instead, they will look for teachers who will please them by telling them only what they are itching to hear. ⁴They will turn from the truth and eagerly listen to senseless stories. ⁵But you must stay calm and be willing to suffer. You must work hard to tell the good news and to do your job well.    ⁶Now the time has come for me to die. My life is like a drink offering ^a] being poured out on the altar. ⁷I have fought well. I have finished the race, and I have been faithful. ⁸So a crown will be given to me for pleasing the Lord. He judges fairly, and on the day of judgment he will give a crown to me and to everyone else who wants him to appear with power.

Personal Instructions

 ⁹Come to see me as soon as you can. ¹⁰Demas loves the things of this world so much that he left me and went to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia, and Titus has gone to Dalmatia. ¹¹Only Luke has stayed with me.   Mark can be very helpful to me, so please find him and bring him with you. ¹²I sent Tychicus to Ephesus.
    ¹³When you come, bring the coat I left at Troas with Carpus. Don't forget to bring the scrolls, especially the ones made of leather. ^b] 14Alexander, the metalworker, has hurt me in many ways. But the Lord will pay him back for what he has done. ¹⁵Alexander opposes what we preach. You had better watch out for him.
    ¹⁶When I was first put on trial, no one helped me. In fact, everyone deserted me. I hope it won't be held against them. ¹⁷But the Lord stood beside me. He gave me the strength to tell his full message, so that all Gentiles would hear it. And I was kept safe from hungry lions. ¹⁸The Lord will always keep me from being harmed by evil, and he will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. Praise him forever and ever! Amen.
   

Final Greetings

 ¹⁹Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila and to the family of Onesiphorus.    ²⁰Erastus stayed at Corinth.
   Trophimus was sick when I left him at Miletus.
    ²¹Do your best to come before winter.
   Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, and Claudia send you their greetings, and so do the rest of the Lord's followers.
    ²²I pray that the Lord will bless your life and will be kind to you.
   

Footnotes:

1. 2 Timothy 4:6 drink offering: Water or wine was sometimes poured out as an offering when an animal sacrifice was made.
2. 2 Timothy 4:13 the ones made of leather: A scroll was a kind of rolled up book, and it could be made out of paper (called "papyrus") or leather (that is, animal skin) or even copper.

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Psalm 95-96:13 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 95

Worship and Obey the LORD

 ¹Sing joyful songs to the LORD!   Praise the mighty rock
   where we are safe.
    ²Come to worship him
   with thankful hearts
   and songs of praise.
    ³The LORD is the greatest God,
   king over all other gods.
    ⁴He holds the deepest part
   of the earth in his hands,
   and the mountain peaks
   belong to him.
    ⁵The ocean is the Lord's
   because he made it,
   and with his own hands
   he formed the dry land.
    ⁶Bow down and worship
   the LORD our Creator!
    ⁷The LORD is our God,
   and we are his people,
   the sheep he takes care of
   in his own pasture.
   Listen to God's voice today!
    ⁸Don't be stubborn and rebel
   as your ancestors did
   at Meribah and Massah ^a] out in the desert.
    ⁹For forty years
   they tested God
   and saw
   the things he did.
    ¹⁰Then God got tired of them
   and said,
   "You never show good sense,
   and you don't understand
   what I want you to do."
    ¹¹In his anger, God told them,
   "You people will never enter
   my place of rest."
   

Psalm 96

Sing a New Song to the LORD

 ¹Sing a new song to the LORD!   Everyone on this earth,
   sing praises to the LORD,
    ²sing and praise his name.
   Day after day announce,
   "The LORD has saved us!"
    ³Tell every nation on earth,
   "The LORD is wonderful
   and does marvelous things!
    ⁴The LORD is great and deserves
   our greatest praise!
   He is the only God
   worthy of our worship.
    ⁵Other nations worship idols,
   but the LORD created
   the heavens.
    ⁶Give honor and praise
   to the LORD,
   whose power and beauty
   fill his holy temple."
    ⁷Tell everyone of every nation,
   "Praise the glorious power
   of the LORD.
    ⁸He is wonderful! Praise him
   and bring an offering
   into his temple.
    ⁹Everyone on earth, now tremble
   and worship the LORD,
   majestic and holy."
    ¹⁰Announce to the nations,
   "The LORD is King!
   The world stands firm,
   never to be shaken,
   and he will judge its people
   with fairness."
    ¹¹Tell the heavens and the earth
   to be glad and celebrate!
   Command the ocean to roar
   with all of its creatures
    ¹²and the fields to rejoice
   with all of their crops.
   Then every tree in the forest
   will sing joyful songs
    ¹³to the LORD.
   He is coming to judge
   all people on earth
   with fairness and truth.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 95:8 Meribah and Massah: See the note at 81.7.

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Proverbs 26:9-12 (Contemporary English Version)

⁹A thornbush waved around
   in the hand of a drunkard
   is no worse than a proverb
   in the mouth of a fool.
    ¹⁰It's no smarter to shoot arrows
   at every passerby
   than it is to hire a bunch
   of worthless nobodies. ^a] 11Dogs return to eat their vomit,
   just as fools repeat
   their foolishness.
    ¹²There is more hope for a fool
   than for someone who says,
   "I'm really smart!"
   

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 26:10 nobodies: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 10.

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Verse of the Day

 

“When you meet together, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, as you praise the Lord with all your heart. Always use the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to thank God the Father for everything.” - Ephesians 5:19-20

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American historian, Henry Steele Commager wrote, “The Bill of Rights was not written to protect governments from trouble. It was written precisely to give the people the constitutional means to cause trouble for governments they no longer trusted.”

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A Joke for Today

A fourth-grade teacher was giving her pupils a lesson in logic.

"Here is the situation," she said. "A man is standing up in a boat in the middle of a river, fishing. He loses his balance, falls in, and begins splashing and yelling for help. His wife hears the commotion, knows he can't swim, and runs down to the bank. Why do you think she ran to the bank?"

A girl raised her hand and asked, "To withdraw all his money from his savings account?"