I will bend Judah as I bend my bow. I will make Ephraim’s people my arrows. Zion, I will stir up your sons. Greece, they will attack your sons. My people, I will use you as my sword.”

我拿犹大作上弦的弓；我拿以法莲为张弓的箭。锡安哪，我要激发你的众子，攻击希腊的众子，使你如勇士的刀。

我为自己把犹大弯紧，我使以法莲如满弓。锡安哪，我要唤起你的儿女，希腊啊，我要攻击你的儿女，使你如勇士的刀。

我为自己把犹大弯紧，我使以法莲如满弓。锡安哪，我要唤起你的儿女，希腊啊，我要攻击你的儿女，使你如勇士的刀。

我必把犹大当弓拉开，把以法莲当箭搭上，使锡安的众子如勇士之剑，去攻打希腊的众子。

我把犹大作我手上拉开的弓，把以法莲作我弓上的箭。锡安哪！我必激动你的众子，去攻击希腊的众子；我必使你像勇士的刀剑。

我拿猶大作上弦的弓；我拿以法蓮為張弓的箭。錫安哪，我要激發你的眾子，攻擊希臘的眾子，使你如勇士的刀。

我為自己把猶大彎緊，我使以法蓮如滿弓。錫安哪，我要喚起你的兒女，希臘啊，我要攻擊你的兒女，使你如勇士的刀。

我為自己把猶大彎緊，我使以法蓮如滿弓。錫安哪，我要喚起你的兒女，希臘啊，我要攻擊你的兒女，使你如勇士的刀。

我必把猶大當弓拉開，把以法蓮當箭搭上，使錫安的眾子如勇士之劍，去攻打希臘的眾子。

我把猶大作我手上拉開的弓，把以法蓮作我弓上的箭。錫安哪！我必激動你的眾子，去攻擊希臘的眾子；我必使你像勇士的刀劍。

我拿猶大做我上弦的弓，拿以法蓮做張了弓的箭。錫安哪，我必激動你的眾子去攻擊希臘的眾子，使你如勇士的刀劍。

我必拉開猶大為弓，把以法蓮搭在弓上。錫安哪，我要激起你的眾子，攻擊希臘的眾子！我必使你如同勇士的刀劍。

我以猶大為已彎之弓、以以法蓮為在弦之矢、錫安歟、我將激爾子、以攻雅完之子、使爾若勇士之劍、

我必以猶大家以法蓮族、為我弓矢、以射敵人、郇邑之民、攻擊雅番子、若武士之劍、足以殲人。

我以猶大為已張之弓、以以法蓮為所發於弓之矢、以以法蓮為所發於弓之矢或作我視以法蓮如矢囊充滿以矢者郇歟、我激爾之民、民原文作子攻雅完之民、民原文作子且使爾若武士之劍、

I will bend Judah as I bend my bow and fill it with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, and make you like a warrior’s sword.

For I have bent Judah as my bow; I have made Ephraim its arrow. I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and wield you like a warrior’s sword.

Judah is my bow, and Israel is my arrow. Jerusalem is my sword, and like a warrior, I will brandish it against the Greeks.

For I will bend Judah as my bow; I will fill that bow with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece. I will make you like a warrior’s sword.

For I will bend Judah as My bow, I will fill the bow with Ephraim. And I will stir up your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece; And I will make you like a warrior’s sword.

For I have bent Judah, My bow, Fitted the bow with Ephraim, And raised up your sons, O Zion, Against your sons, O Greece, And made you like the sword of a mighty man.”

For I have bent Judah for me, I have filled the bow with Ephraim; and I will stir up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and will make thee as the sword of a mighty man.

For I will bend Judah as My bow; I will fill that bow with Ephraim. I will rouse your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece. I will make you like a warrior’s sword.

When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.

I will bend Judah as my bow; I will load the bow with Ephraim, my arrow! I will stir up your sons, Zion, against yours, Greece, and I will make you, Zion, like a warrior’s sword.

For indeed I bend Judah as a bow for me. I have filled the bow with Ephraim; and I will stir up your sons, Zion, against your sons, Greece, and will make you like the sword of a mighty man.

He made my words like a sharp sword. He hid me in the palm of his hand. He made me into a sharpened arrow. He took good care of me and kept me safe.

The Lord who rules over all says,“ I am very angry with the shepherds. I will punish the leaders. The Lord will take care of his flock. They are the people of Judah. He will make them like a proud horse in battle.The most important building stone will come from the tribe of Judah. The tent stake will also come from it. And the bow that is used in battle will come from it. In fact, every ruler will come from it.Together they will be like warriors in battle. They will stomp their enemies into the mud of the streets. The Lord will be with them. So they will fight against the horsemen and put them to shame.“ I will make the family of Judah strong. I will save the tribes of Joseph. I will bring them back because I have tender love for them. It will be as if I had not sent them away. I am the Lord their God. I will help them.The people of Ephraim will become like warriors. Their hearts will be glad as if they were drinking wine. Their children will see it and be filled with joy. I will make their hearts glad.

Mighty one, put your sword at your side. Put on glory and majesty as if they were your clothes.

They will make war against the Lamb. But the Lamb will have victory over them. That’s because he is the most powerful Lord of all and the greatest King of all. His appointed, chosen and faithful followers will be with him.”

I asked,“ What are they coming to do?” He answered,“ The horns are the powerful nations that scattered the people of Judah. That made Judah helpless. But these four skilled workers have come to terrify the horns. The workers will destroy the power of those nations. Those nations had used their power to scatter Judah’s people.”

You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks. You wanted to send them far away from their own country.“ But now I will stir them up into action. I will bring them back from the places you sold them to. And I will do to you what you did to them.I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah. And they will sell them to the Sabeans. The Sabeans are a nation that is far away.” The Lord has spoken.

Leaders from Mount Zion will go and rule over the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will belong to the Lord.

Put on the helmet of salvation. And take the sword of the Holy Spirit. The sword is God’s word.

to serve Christ Jesus among the Gentiles. I have the duty of a priest to preach God’s good news. Then the Gentiles will become an offering that pleases God. The Holy Spirit will make the offering holy.Because I belong to Christ Jesus, I can take pride in my work for God.I will speak about what Christ has done through me. I won’t try to speak about anything else. He has been leading the Gentiles to obey God. He has been doing this by what I have said and done.He has given me power to do signs and wonders. I can do these things by the power of the Spirit of God. From Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum I have finished preaching. In those places, I preached the good news about Christ.I have always wanted to preach the good news where Christ was not known. I don’t want to build on what someone else has started.

Give praise to the Lord, my Rock. He trains my hands for war. He trains my fingers for battle.

I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.

The priceless children of Zion were worth their weight in gold. But now they are thought of as clay pots made by the hands of a potter.

“ Jerusalem will be like a cup in my hand. It will make all the surrounding nations drunk from the wine of my anger. Judah will be attacked by its enemies. So will Jerusalem.At that time all the nations on earth will gather together against Jerusalem. Then it will become like a rock that can’t be moved. All the nations that try to move it will only hurt themselves.On that day I will fill every horse with panic. I will make every rider crazy,” announces the Lord.“ I will watch over the people of Judah. But I will make all the horses of the nations blind.Then the family groups of Judah will say in their hearts,‘ The people of Jerusalem are strong. That’s because the Lord who rules over all is their God.’“ At that time Judah’s family groups will be like a fire pot in a pile of wood. They will be like a burning torch among bundles of grain. They will destroy all the surrounding nations on every side. But Jerusalem will remain unharmed in its place.“ I will save the houses in Judah first. The honor of David’s family line is great. So is the honor of those who live in Jerusalem. But their honor will not be greater than the honor of the rest of Judah.At that time I will be like a shield to those who live in Jerusalem. Then even the weakest among them will be great warriors like David. And David’s family line will be like the angel of the Lord who leads them.

God wisely planned that the world would not know him through its own wisdom. It pleased God to use the foolish things we preach to save those who believe.Jews require signs. Greeks look for wisdom.But we preach about Christ and his death on the cross. That is very hard for Jews to accept. And everyone else thinks it’s foolish.But there are those God has chosen, both Jews and Greeks. To them Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom.The foolish things of God are wiser than human wisdom. The weakness of God is stronger than human strength.Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when God chose you. Not many of you were considered wise by human standards. Not many of you were powerful. Not many of you belonged to important families.But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.God chose the things of this world that are common and looked down on. God chose things considered unimportant to do away with things considered important.

That promised son will stand firm and be a shepherd for his flock. The Lord will give him the strength to do it. The Lord his God will give him the authority to rule. His people will live safely. His greatness will reach from one end of the earth to the other.And he will be our peace when the Assyrians attack our land. They will march through our forts. But we will raise up against them many shepherds. We’ll send out against them as many commanders as we need to.They will use their swords to rule over Assyria. They’ll rule the land of Nimrod with swords that are ready to strike. The Assyrians will march across our borders and attack our land. But the promised ruler will save us from them.Jacob’s people who are still left alive will be scattered among many nations. They will be like dew the Lord has sent. Dew doesn’t depend on any human being. They will be like rain that falls on the grass. Rain doesn’t wait for someone to give it orders.So Jacob’s people will be scattered among many nations. They will be like a lion among the animals in the forest. They’ll be like a young lion among flocks of sheep. Lions attack and tear apart their prey as they move along. No one can keep them from killing what they want.Lord, your power will win the battle over your enemies. All of them will be destroyed.

May they praise God with their mouths. May they hold in their hands a sword that has two edges.

The word of God is alive and active. It is sharper than any sword that has two edges. It cuts deep enough to separate soul from spirit. It can separate bones from joints. It judges the thoughts and purposes of the heart.

I do live in the world. But I don’t fight my battles the way the people of the world do.The weapons I fight with are not the weapons the world uses. In fact, it is just the opposite. My weapons have the power of God to destroy the camps of the enemy.I destroy every claim and every reason that keeps people from knowing God. I keep every thought under control in order to make it obey Christ.

God gives me strength for the battle. He keeps my way secure.He makes my feet like the feet of a deer. He causes me to stand on the highest places.He trains my hands to fight every battle. My arms can bend a bow of bronze.Lord, you are like a shield that keeps me safe. Your strong right hand keeps me going. Your help has made me great.

“ Babylon, you are my war club. You are my weapon for battle. I use you to destroy nations. I use you to wipe out kingdoms.

He held seven stars in his right hand. Coming out of his mouth was a sharp sword with two edges. His face was like the sun shining in all its brightness.

Coming out of the rider’s mouth is a sharp sword. He will strike down the nations with the sword. Scripture says,“ He will rule them with an iron scepter.”( Psalm 2:9) He stomps on the grapes of God’s winepress. The winepress stands for the terrible anger of the God who rules over all.

“ Here is what I command you to write to the church in Pergamum. Here are the words of Jesus, who has the sharp sword with two edges. He says,

People from many nations will go there. They will say,“ Come, let us go up to the Lord’ s mountain. Let’s go to the temple of Jacob’s God. He will teach us how we should live. Then we will live the way he wants us to.” The law of the Lord will be taught at Zion. His message will go out from Jerusalem.He will judge between people from many nations. He’ll settle problems among strong nations everywhere. They will hammer their swords into plows. They’ll hammer their spears into pruning tools. Nations will not go to war against one another. They won’t even train to fight anymore.

He says,“ I will make you into a threshing sled. It will be new and sharp. It will have many teeth. You will grind the mountains down and crush them. You will turn the hills into nothing but straw.You will toss them in the air. A strong wind will catch them and blow them away. You will be glad because I will make that happen. You will praise me. I am the Holy One of Israel.

He said to them,“ Go into all the world. Preach the good news to everyone.Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who does not believe will be punished.Here are the miraculous signs that those who believe will do. In my name they will drive out demons. They will speak in languages they had not known before.They will pick up snakes with their hands. And when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all. They will place their hands on sick people. And the people will get well.”When the Lord Jesus finished speaking to them, he was taken up into heaven. He sat down at the right hand of God.Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere. The Lord worked with them. And he backed up his word by the signs that went with it.

He will pretend to praise those who have broken the covenant. He will lead them to do what is evil. But the people who know their God will firmly oppose him.“ Those who are wise will teach many others. But for a while, some of the wise will be killed by swords. Others will be burned to death. Still others will be made prisoners. Or they will be robbed of everything they have.When that happens, they will receive a little help. Many who are not honest will join them.

I raised up prophets from among your children. I also set apart for myself some of your young people to be Nazirites. Isn’t that true, people of Israel?” announces the Lord.

The goat stands for the king of Greece. The large horn between its eyes is the first king.Four horns took the horn’s place when it was broken off. They stand for four kingdoms that will come from his nation. But those kingdoms will not be as powerful as his.“ Toward the end of their rule, those who refuse to obey God will become completely evil. Then another king will appear. He will have a scary- looking face. He will be a master at making clever plans.He will become very strong. But he will not get that way by his own power. People will be amazed at the way he destroys everything. He will be successful no matter what he does. He will destroy mighty people. Those mighty people are God’s holy people.He will tell lies in order to succeed. He will think he is more important than anyone else. When people feel safe, he will destroy many of them. He will stand up against the greatest Prince of all. Then he will be destroyed. But he will not be killed by human beings.

The rest were killed by the sword that came out of the rider’s mouth. All the birds stuffed themselves with the dead bodies.

Listen, people, whether you are ordinary or important. Listen, people, whether you are rich or poor.My mouth will speak wise words. What I think about in my heart will give you understanding.I will pay attention to a proverb. I will explain my riddle as I play the harp.Why should I be afraid when trouble comes? Why should I fear when sinners are all around me? They are the kind of people who want to take advantage of me.They trust in their wealth. They brag about how rich they are.No one can pay for the life of anyone else. No one can give God what that would cost.The price for a life is very high. No payment is ever enough.No one can pay enough to live forever and not rot in the grave.