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Psalms 58
God Judges the Earth
1Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?
Do you judge the children of man uprightly? 2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands deal out violence on earth.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies. 4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear, 5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD! 7 Let them vanish like water that runs away;
when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted. 8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime,
like the stillborn child who never sees the sun. 9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
10 The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. 11 Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges on earth.”
Jeremiah 21
Jerusalem Will Fall to Babylon
1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, 2 “Inquire of the LORD for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.” 3 Then Jeremiah said to them: “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. And I will bring them together into the midst of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, in anger and in fury and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. 7 Afterward, declares the LORD, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. He shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’ 8 “And to this people you shall say: ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war. 10 For I have set my face against this city for harm and not for good, declares the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’A Message to the House of David
11 “And to the house of the king of Judah say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, 12 O house of David! Thus says the LORD:“‘Execute justice in the morning,
and deliver from the hand of the oppressor
him who has been robbed,
lest my wrath go forth like fire,
and burn with none to quench it,
because of your evil deeds.’”
13 “Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley,
O rock of the plain,
→ declares the LORD;
you who say, ‘Who shall come down against us,
or who shall enter our habitations?’ 14 I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds,
→ declares the LORD;
I will kindle a fire in her forest,
and it shall devour all that is around her.”
Job 21
Job: God will Deal with the Wicked
1 Then Job answered and said:2 “Keep listening to my words,
and let this be your comfort. 3 Bear with me, and I will speak,
and after I have spoken, mock on. 4 As for me, is my complaint against man?
Why should I not be impatient? 5 Look at me and be appalled,
and lay your hand over your mouth. 6 When I remember, I am dismayed,
and shuddering seizes my flesh. 7 Why do the wicked live,
reach old age, and grow mighty in power? 8 Their offspring are established in their presence,
and their descendants before their eyes. 9 Their houses are safe from fear,
and no rod of God is upon them. 10 Their bull breeds without fail;
their cow calves and does not miscarry. 11 They send out their little boys like a flock,
and their children dance. 12 They sing to the tambourine and the lyre
and rejoice to the sound of the pipe. 13 They spend their days in prosperity,
and in peace they go down to Sheol. 14 They say to God, ‘Depart from us!
We do not desire the knowledge of your ways. 15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?
And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’ 16 Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand?
The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
17 “How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out?
That their calamity comes upon them?
That God distributes pains in his anger? 18 That they are like straw before the wind,
and like chaff that the storm carries away? 19 You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.’
Let him pay it out to them, that they may know it. 20 Let their own eyes see their destruction,
and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty. 21 For what do they care for their houses after them,
when the number of their months is cut off? 22 Will any teach God knowledge,
seeing that he judges those who are on high? 23 One dies in his full vigor,
being wholly at ease and secure, 24 his pails full of milk
and the marrow of his bones moist. 25 Another dies in bitterness of soul,
never having tasted of prosperity. 26 They lie down alike in the dust,
and the worms cover them.
27 “Behold, I know your thoughts
and your schemes to wrong me. 28 For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince?
Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?’ 29 Have you not asked those who travel the roads,
and do you not accept their testimony 30 that the evil man is spared in the day of calamity,
that he is rescued in the day of wrath? 31 Who declares his way to his face,
and who repays him for what he has done? 32 When he is carried to the grave,
watch is kept over his tomb. 33 The clods of the valley are sweet to him;
all mankind follows after him,
and those who go before him are innumerable. 34 How then will you comfort me with empty nothings?
There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.”
Acts 12
James Killed, Peter Imprisoned
1 About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. 2 He killed James the brother of John with the sword, 3 and when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. This was during the days of Unleavened Bread. 4 And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people.The Rescue of Peter
5 So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church. 6 Now when Herod was about to bring him out, on that very night, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries before the door were guarding the prison. 7 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands. 8 And the angel said to him, “Dress yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” 9 And he went out and followed him. He did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. 10 When they had passed the first and the second guard, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel left him. 11 When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” 12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place. 18 Now when day came, there was no little disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. 19 And after Herod searched for him and did not find him, he examined the sentries and ordered that they should be put to death. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent time there.The Death of Herod
20 Now Herod was angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they came to him with one accord, and having persuaded Blastus, the king's chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their country depended on the king's country for food. 21 On an appointed day Herod put on his royal robes, took his seat upon the throne, and delivered an oration to them. 22 And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” 23 Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. 24 But the word of God increased and multiplied. 25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they had completed their service, bringing with them John, whose other name was Mark.The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.
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