June 16
Jeremiah 25 & Acts 22
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Jeremiah 25

Chapter 25

25:1This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon). 2The prophet Jeremiah spoke concerning all the people of Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem as follows: 3"From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, until this very day-23 years-the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you time and time again, but you have not obeyed. 4The Lord sent all His servants the prophets to you time and time again, but you have not obeyed or even paid attention. 5He announced, 'Turn, each of you, from your evil way of life and from your evil deeds. Live in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors long ago and forever. 6Do not follow other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger by the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.
7"'But you would not obey Me'-this is the Lord's declaration-'in order that you might provoke Me to anger by the work of your hands and bring disaster on yourselves.'
8"Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says: 'Because you have not obeyed My words, 9I am going to send for all the families of the north'-this is the Lord's declaration-'and send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will bring them against this land, against its residents, and against all these surrounding nations, and I will completely destroy them and make them a desolation, a derision, and ruins forever. 10I will eliminate the sound of joy and gladness from them-the voice of the groom and the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11This whole land will become a desolate ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for 70 years. 12When the 70 years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation'-this is the Lord's declaration-'the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, and I will make it a ruin forever. 13I will bring on that land all My words I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book that Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. 14For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.'"
15This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and make all the nations I am sending you to, drink from it. 16They will drink, stagger, and go out of their minds because of the sword I am sending among them."
17So I took the cup from the Lord's hand and made all the nations drink from it, everyone the Lord sent me to. 18These included:
Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah, its kings and its officials, to make them a desolate ruin, an object of scorn and cursing-as it is today;
19Pharaoh king of Egypt, his officers, his leaders, all his people,
20and all the mixed peoples;
all the kings of the land of Uz;
all the kings of the land of the Philistines-Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;
21Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites;
22all the kings of Tyre,
all the kings of Sidon,
and the kings of the coastlands across the sea;
23Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all those who shave their temples;
24all the kings of Arabia,
and all the kings of the mixed peoples who have settled in the desert;
25all the kings of Zimri,
all the kings of Elam,
and all the kings of Media;
26all the kings of the north, both near and far from one another;
that is, all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth.
Finally, the king of Sheshach will drink after them.
27"Then you are to say to them: This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, as a result of the sword I am sending among you. 28If they refuse to take the cup from you and drink, you are to say to them: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: You must drink! 29For I am already bringing disaster on the city that bears My name, so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth"-this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.
30"As for you, you are to prophesy all these things to them, and say to them:
The Lord roars from heaven;
He raises His voice from His holy dwelling.
He roars loudly over His grazing land;
He calls out with a shout, like those who tread grapes,
against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31The tumult reaches to the ends of the earth
because the Lord brings a case against the nations.
He enters into judgment with all flesh.
As for the wicked, He hands them over to the sword-

this is the Lord's declaration.
32"This is what the Lord of Hosts says:
Pay attention! Disaster spreads
from nation to nation.
A great storm is stirred up
from the ends of the earth."
33Those slain by the Lord on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like manure on the surface of the ground.
34Wail, you shepherds, and cry out.
Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.
Because the days of your slaughter have come,
you will fall and become shattered like a precious vase.
35Flight will be impossible for the shepherds,
and escape, for the leaders of the flock.
36Hear the sound of the shepherds' cry,
the wail of the leaders of the flock,
for the Lord is destroying their pasture.
37Peaceful grazing land will become lifeless
because of the Lord's burning anger.
38He has left His den like a lion,
for their land has become a desolation
because of the sword of the oppressor,
because of His burning anger.

Acts 22

Chapter 22

22:1"Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you." 2When they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even quieter. 3He continued, "I am a Jewish man, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel and educated according to the strict view of our patriarchal law. Being zealous for God, just as all of you are today, 4I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women in jail, 5as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. After I received letters from them to the brothers, I traveled to Damascus to bring those who were prisoners there to be punished in Jerusalem.
6"As I was traveling and near Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 7I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'
8"I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?'
"He said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, the One you are persecuting!' 9Now those who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of the One who was speaking to me.
10"Then I said, 'What should I do, Lord?'
"And the Lord told me, 'Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything that is assigned for you to do.'
11"Since I couldn't see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus. 12Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good reputation with all the Jews residing there, 13came and stood by me and said, 'Brother Saul, regain your sight.' And in that very hour I looked up and saw him. 14Then he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of His voice. 15For you will be a witness for Him to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16And now, why delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins by calling on His name.'
17"After I came back to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple complex, I went into a visionary state 18and saw Him telling me, 'Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me!'
19"But I said, 'Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in You imprisoned and beaten. 20And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I was standing by and approving, and I guarded the clothes of those who killed him.'
21"Then He said to me, 'Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"
22They listened to him up to this word. Then they raised their voices, shouting, "Wipe this person off the earth-it's a disgrace for him to live!"
23As they were yelling and flinging aside their robes and throwing dust into the air, 24the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be examined with the scourge, so he could discover the reason they were shouting against him like this. 25As they stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing by, "Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and is uncondemned?"
26When the centurion heard this, he went and reported to the commander, saying, "What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman citizen."
27The commander came and said to him, "Tell me-are you a Roman citizen?"
"Yes," he said.
28The commander replied, "I bought this citizenship for a large amount of money."
"But I was born a citizen," Paul said.
29Therefore, those who were about to examine him withdrew from him at once. The commander too was alarmed when he realized Paul was a Roman citizen and he had bound him.
30The next day, since he wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and instructed the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to convene. Then he brought Paul down and placed him before them.

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