The Book of JONAH - Chapter One

1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai:  2 ‘Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.’

3 But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.

4 Then the Lord sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, ‘How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.’

7 Then the sailors said to each other, ‘Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.’ They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, ‘Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?’

9 He answered, ‘I am a Hebrew and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.’

10 This terrified them and they asked, ‘What have you done?’ (They knew he was running away from the Lord, because he had already told them so.)

11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, ‘What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?’

12 ‘Pick me up and throw me into the sea,’ he replied, ‘and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.’

13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the Lord, ‘Please, Lord, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, Lord, have done as you pleased.’ 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.

17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

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READINGS

The Book of JONAH

Chapter One  - Sir David Suchet

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OVERVIEWS

The Book of JONAH

 Overview - BibleProject

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                                LINKS AND STUDIES                                                          

The Book of JONAH - David Pawson

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3D Digital Art Ancient Nineveh - Ashurbanipal, Assyria

https://youtu.be/XzFySIllqk8

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JONAH AND THE FISH

  

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The Book of LAMENTATIONS - Chapter Five

1 

Remember, Lord, what has happened to us;
    look, and see our disgrace.

2 

Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers,
    our homes to foreigners.

3 

We have become fatherless,
    our mothers are widows.

4 

We must buy the water we drink;
    our wood can be had only at a price.

5 

Those who pursue us are at our heels;
    we are weary and find no rest.

6 

We submitted to Egypt and Assyria
    to get enough bread.

7 

Our ancestors sinned and are no more,
    and we bear their punishment.

8 

Slaves rule over us,
    and there is no one to free us from their hands.

9 

We get our bread at the risk of our lives
    because of the sword in the desert.

10 

Our skin is hot as an oven,
    feverish from hunger.

11 

Women have been violated in Zion,
    and virgins in the towns of Judah.

12 

Princes have been hung up by their hands;
    elders are shown no respect.

13 

Young men toil at the millstones;
    boys stagger under loads of wood.

14 

The elders are gone from the city gate;
    the young men have stopped their music.

15 

Joy is gone from our hearts;
    our dancing has turned to mourning.

16 

The crown has fallen from our head.
    Woe to us, for we have sinned!

17 

Because of this our hearts are faint;
    because of these things our eyes grow dim

18 

for Mount Zion, which lies desolate,
    with jackals prowling over it.

19 

You, Lord, reign for ever;
    your throne endures from generation to generation.

20 

Why do you always forget us?
    Why do you forsake us so long?

21 

Restore us to yourself, Lord, that we may return;
    renew our days as of old

22 

unless you have utterly rejected us
    and are angry with us beyond measure.

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READINGS

The Book of Lamentations

Chapter Five  - Sir David Suchet

                          Lamentations Chapter 1 to 5 Read By David Suchet

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OVERVIEWS

The Book of LAMENTATIONS

 Overview - BibleProject

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                                LINKS AND STUDIES                                                          

Lamentations - David Pawson

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The Book of LAMENTATIONS - Chapter Four

1 

How the gold has lost its lustre,
    the fine gold become dull!
The sacred gems are scattered
    at every street corner.

2 

How the precious children of Zion,
    once worth their weight in gold,
are now considered as pots of clay,
    the work of a potter’s hands!

3 

Even jackals offer their breasts
    to nurse their young,
but my people have become heartless
    like ostriches in the desert.

4 

Because of thirst the infant’s tongue
    sticks to the roof of its mouth;
the children beg for bread,
    but no one gives it to them.

5 

Those who once ate delicacies
    are destitute in the streets.
Those brought up in royal purple
    now lie on ash heaps.

6 

The punishment of my people
    is greater than that of Sodom,
which was overthrown in a moment
    without a hand turned to help her.

7 

Their princes were brighter than snow
    and whiter than milk,
their bodies more ruddy than rubies,
    their appearance like lapis lazuli.

8 

But now they are blacker than soot;
    they are not recognised in the streets.
Their skin has shrivelled on their bones;
    it has become as dry as a stick.

9 

Those killed by the sword are better off
    than those who die of famine;
racked with hunger, they waste away
    for lack of food from the field.

10 

With their own hands compassionate women
    have cooked their own children,
who became their food
    when my people were destroyed.

11 

The Lord has given full vent to his wrath;
    he has poured out his fierce anger.
He kindled a fire in Zion
    that consumed her foundations.

12 

The kings of the earth did not believe,
    nor did any of the peoples of the world,
that enemies and foes could enter
    the gates of Jerusalem.

13 

But it happened because of the sins of her prophets
    and the iniquities of her priests,
who shed within her
    the blood of the righteous.

14 

Now they grope through the streets
    as if they were blind.
They are so defiled with blood
    that no one dares to touch their garments.

15 

‘Go away! You are unclean!’ people cry to them.
    ‘Away! Away! Don’t touch us!’
When they flee and wander about,
    people among the nations say,
    ‘They can stay here no longer.’

16 

The Lord himself has scattered them;
    he no longer watches over them.
The priests are shown no honour,
    the elders no favour.

17 

Moreover, our eyes failed,
    looking in vain for help;
from our towers we watched
    for a nation that could not save us.

18 

People stalked us at every step,
    so we could not walk in our streets.
Our end was near, our days were numbered,
    for our end had come.

19 

Our pursuers were swifter
    than eagles in the sky;
they chased us over the mountains
    and lay in wait for us in the desert.

20 

The Lord’s anointed, our very life breath,
    was caught in their traps.
We thought that under his shadow
    we would live among the nations.

21 

Rejoice and be glad, Daughter Edom,
    you who live in the land of Uz.
But to you also the cup will be passed;
    you will be drunk and stripped naked.

22 

Your punishment will end, Daughter Zion;
    he will not prolong your exile.
But he will punish your sin, Daughter Edom,
    and expose your wickedness.

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READINGS

The Book of Lamentations

Chapter Four  - Sir David Suchet

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OVERVIEWS

The Book of LAMENTATIONS

 Overview - BibleProject

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                                LINKS AND STUDIES                                                          

Lamentations - David Pawson

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