The Bible, quoted
in its own voices.

Take the plunder of silver. Take the plunder of gold, for there is no end of treasure, an abundance of every precious thing. She is empty, void, and waste. The heart melts, the knees knock together, their bodies and faces have grown pale. Where is the den of the lions, and the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and the lioness walked with the lion’s cubs, and no one made them afraid? The lion tore in pieces enough for his cubs, and strangled prey for his lionesses, and filled his caves with the kill and his dens with prey. “Behold, I am against you,” says the LORD of Armies, “and I will burn her chariots in the smoke, and the sword will devour your young lions; and I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voice of your messengers will no longer be heard.”

Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving. Sing praises on the harp to our God, who covers the sky with clouds, who prepares rain for the earth, who makes grass grow on the mountains. He provides food for the livestock, and for the young ravens when they call. He doesn’t delight in the strength of the horse. He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his loving kindness. Praise the LORD, Jerusalem! Praise your God, Zion! For he has strengthened the bars of your gates. He has blessed your children within you.

Therefore I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and who will also share in the glory that will be revealed: shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily; not for dishonest gain, but willingly; not as lording it over those entrusted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock. When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away.

For a nation has come up on my land, strong, and without number. His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a lioness. He has laid my vine waste, and stripped my fig tree. He has stripped its bark, and thrown it away. Its branches are made white. Mourn like a virgin dressed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth! The meal offering and the drink offering are cut off from the LORD’s house. The priests, the LORD’s ministers, mourn. The field is laid waste. The land mourns, for the grain is destroyed, The new wine has dried up, and the oil languishes.

“Those who are healthy have no need for a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

I will pour on David’s house and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication. They will look to me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for his only son, and will grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for his firstborn. In that day there will be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddo. The land will mourn, every family apart; the family of David’s house apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of the Shimeites apart, and their wives apart; all the families who remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

Whoever loves correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. A good man shall obtain favor from the LORD, but he will condemn a man of wicked plans. A man shall not be established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous shall not be moved. A worthy woman is the crown of her husband, but a disgraceful wife is as rottenness in his bones. The thoughts of the righteous are just, but the advice of the wicked is deceitful. The words of the wicked are about lying in wait for blood, but the speech of the upright rescues them.

The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish. The counsel of the wisest counselors of Pharaoh has become stupid. How do you say to Pharaoh, “I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings”? Where then are your wise men? Let them tell you now; and let them know what the LORD of Armies has purposed concerning Egypt. The princes of Zoan have become fools. The princes of Memphis are deceived. They have caused Egypt to go astray, those who are the cornerstone of her tribes. The LORD has mixed a spirit of perverseness in the middle of her; and they have caused Egypt to go astray in all of its works, like a drunken man staggers in his vomit.

“The Lord GOD says: ‘A disaster! A unique disaster! Behold, it comes. An end has come. The end has come! It awakes against you. Behold, it comes. Your doom has come to you, inhabitant of the land! The time has come! The day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting, on the mountains. Now I will shortly pour out my wrath on you, and accomplish my anger against you, and will judge you according to your ways. I will bring on you all your abominations. My eye won’t spare, neither will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways. Your abominations will be among you. Then you will know that I, the LORD, strike.

But you have rejected and spurned. You have been angry with your anointed. You have renounced the covenant of your servant. You have defiled his crown in the dust. You have broken down all his hedges. You have brought his strongholds to ruin. All who pass by the way rob him. He has become a reproach to his neighbors. You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries. You have made all of his enemies rejoice. Yes, you turn back the edge of his sword, and haven’t supported him in battle. You have ended his splendor, and thrown his throne down to the ground. You have shortened the days of his youth. You have covered him with shame. Selah.