Together they will be like warriors who trample the enemy in the mud on the streets. They will fight because the Lord is with them. They will put to shame those who ride on horses.
I send them against a godless nation. In my fury I order them against the people to take their belongings, loot them, and trample on them like mud in the streets.
How horrible it will be for those who go to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who depend on many chariots, who depend on very strong war horses. They don’t look to the Holy One of Israel. They don’t seek the Lord.
“I have raised up someone from the north, and he has come. He will call on my name from the east. He will attack rulers as if they were mud, as if he were treading on clay like a potter.
Be broken, you people. Be terrified. Listen, all you distant parts of the earth. Prepare for battle, but be terrified. Prepare for battle, but be terrified.
You will come from your place in the far north and many armies will be with you. All of you will ride on horses. You will be a large crowd and a mighty army.
The few people left from Jacob will be among the nations, among many people. They will be like a lion among animals in the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep. When a lion hunts, it tramples ⌞its victims⌟ and tears ⌞them⌟ to pieces, and there is no one to rescue them.
Then my enemies will see this, and they will be covered with shame, because they asked me, “Where is the Lord your God?” Now I look at them. They are trampled like mud in the streets.
I will overthrow the thrones of kingdoms and destroy the power of nations. I will overthrow chariots and their riders, and the horses will fall along with their riders. They will kill one another with swords.
The Lord declares, “On that day I will strike every horse with panic and every rider with madness. I will watch over the people of Judah, but I will strike all the horses of the nations blind.
On that day the Lord will defend those who live in Jerusalem so that even those who stumble will be like David, and David’s family will be like God, like the Messenger of the Lord ahead of them.
I will bend Judah as my bow and draw my bow with Ephraim ⌞as its arrow⌟. I will stir up your people, Zion, against your people, Greece, and I will use you like a warrior’s sword.
“What happened?” he asked. They said to him, “We were discussing what happened to Jesus from Nazareth. He was a powerful prophet in what he did and said in the sight of God and all the people.
A Jew named Apollos, who had been born in Alexandria, arrived in the city of Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker and knew how to use the Scriptures in a powerful way.
The weapons we use in our fight are not made by humans. Rather, they are powerful weapons from God. With them we destroy people’s defenses, that is, their arguments
When you go to war against your enemies, you may see horses, chariots, and armies larger than yours. Don’t be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, will be with you.
However, the Lord stood by me and gave me strength so that I could finish spreading the Good News for all the nations to hear. I was snatched out of a lion’s mouth.
One of the officials said, “I know one of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem who can play well. He’s a courageous man and a warrior. He has a way with words, he is handsome, and the Lord is with him.”