Friday, October 24

17 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Consider now! Call for the wailing women to come;

    send for the most skillful of them.

18 

Let them come quickly

    and wail over us

till our eyes overflow with tears

    and water streams from our eyelids.

19 

The sound of wailing is heard from Zion:

    ‘How ruined we are!

    How great is our shame!

We must leave our land

    because our houses are in ruins.’”

20 

Now, you women, hear the word of the Lord;

    open your ears to the words of his mouth.

Teach your daughters how to wail;

    teach one another a lament.

21 

Death has climbed in through our windows

    and has entered our fortresses;

it has removed the children from the streets

    and the young men from the public squares.

22 Say, “This is what the Lord declares:

“‘Dead bodies will lie

    like dung on the open field,

like cut grain behind the reaper,

    with no one to gather them.’”

23 This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom

    or the strong boast of their strength

    or the rich boast of their riches,

24 

but let the one who boasts boast about this:

    that they have the understanding to know me,

that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,

    justice and righteousness on earth,

    for in these I delight,”

declares the Lord.

25 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places.[a] For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”