2 Timothy 2

English Standard Version

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

2 You then, ^(A)my child, ^(B)be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, ²and ^(C)what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses ^(D)entrust to faithful men,^[a] ^(E)who will be able to teach others also. ³^(F)Share in suffering as ^(G)a good soldier of Christ Jesus. ⁴No soldier ^(H)gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. ⁵^(I)An athlete is not ^(J)crowned unless he competes according to the rules. ⁶It is ^(K)the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. ⁷Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, ^(L)risen from the dead, the ^(M)offspring of David, ^(N)as preached in my gospel, ⁹^(O)for which I am suffering, ^(P)bound with chains as a criminal. But ^(Q)the word of God is not bound! ¹⁰Therefore ^(R)I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain ^(S)the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with ^(T)eternal glory. ¹¹The saying is ^(U)trustworthy, for:

^(V)If we have died with him, we will also ^(W)live with him;
¹²^(X)if we endure, we will also reign with him;
^(Y)if we deny him, he also will deny us;
¹³^(Z)if we are faithless, ^(AA)he remains faithful—

for ^(AB)he cannot deny himself.

A Worker Approved by God

¹⁴Remind them of these things, and ^(AC)charge them before God^[b] ^(AD)not to quarrel about words, ^(AE)which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. ¹⁵Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,^[c] a worker ^(AF)who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. ¹⁶But ^(AG)avoid ^(AH)irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, ¹⁷and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are ^(AI)Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸who have swerved from the truth, ^(AJ)saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. ¹⁹But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: ^(AK)“The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone ^(AL)who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

²⁰Now in ^(AM)a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, ^(AN)some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. ²¹Therefore, ^(AO)if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,^[d] he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ^(AP)ready for every good work.

²²So ^(AQ)flee ^(AR)youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with ^(AS)those who call on the Lord ^(AT)from a pure heart. ²³Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant ^(AU)controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. ²⁴And ^(AV)the Lord's servant^[e] must not be quarrelsome but ^(AW)kind to everyone, ^(AX)able to teach, patiently enduring evil, ²⁵correcting his opponents ^(AY)with gentleness. God ^(AZ)may perhaps grant them repentance ^(BA)leading to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶and they may come to their senses and escape from ^(BB)the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Footnotes

2 Timothy 2:2 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women, depending on the context
2 Timothy 2:14 Some manuscripts the Lord
2 Timothy 2:15 That is, one approved after being tested
2 Timothy 2:21 Greek from these things
2 Timothy 2:24 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface

Proverbs 27

English Standard Version

27 Do not boast about tomorrow,
    ^(A)for you do not know what a day may bring.
²Let ^(B)another praise you, and not your own mouth;
    a stranger, and not your own lips.
³A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
    but ^(C)a fool's provocation is heavier than both.
⁴Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,
    but who can stand before ^(D)jealousy?
⁵^(E)Better is open rebuke
    than hidden love.
⁶Faithful are ^(F)the wounds of a friend;
    profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
⁷One who is full loathes ^(G)honey,
    but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.
⁸Like ^(H)a bird that strays from its nest
    is a man who strays from his home.
⁹^(I)Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
    and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.^[a]
¹⁰Do not forsake your friend and ^(J)your father's friend,
    and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity.
^(K)Better is a neighbor who is near
    than a brother who is far away.
¹¹^(L)Be wise, ^(M)my son, and ^(N)make my heart glad,
    that I may ^(O)answer him who reproaches me.
¹²^(P)The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
    but ^(Q)the simple go on and suffer for it.
¹³^(R)Take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger,
    and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress.^[b]
¹⁴Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,
    rising early in the morning,
    will be counted as cursing.
¹⁵^(S)A continual dripping on a rainy day
    and a quarrelsome wife are alike;
¹⁶to restrain her is to restrain the wind
    or to grasp^[c] oil in one's right hand.
¹⁷Iron sharpens iron,
    and one man sharpens another.^[d]
¹⁸^(T)Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
    and he who ^(U)guards his master will be honored.
¹⁹As in water face reflects face,
    so the heart of man reflects the man.
²⁰^(V)Sheol and Abaddon are ^(W)never satisfied,
    and ^(X)never satisfied are the eyes of man.
²¹^(Y)The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,
    and a man is tested by his praise.
²²^(Z)Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle
    along with crushed grain,
    yet his folly will not depart from him.

²³^(AA)Know well the condition of your flocks,
    and ^(AB)give attention to your herds,
²⁴for ^(AC)riches do not last forever;
    and does a crown endure to all generations?
²⁵^(AD)When the grass is gone and the new growth appears
    and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,
²⁶^(AE)the lambs will provide your clothing,
    and the goats the price of a field.
²⁷^(AF)There will be enough goats' milk for your food,
    for the food of your household
    and maintenance for your girls.

Footnotes

Proverbs 27:9 Or and so does the sweetness of a friend that comes from his earnest counsel
Proverbs 27:13 Hebrew a foreign woman; a slight emendation yields (compare Vulgate; see also 20:16) foreigners
Proverbs 27:16 Hebrew to meet with
Proverbs 27:17 Hebrew sharpens the face of another

Jeremiah 1-2

English Standard Version

1 The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one ^(A)of the priests who were in ^(B)Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, ²to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of ^(C)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in ^(D)the thirteenth year of his reign. ³It came also in the days of ^(E)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and ^(F)until the end of the eleventh year of ^(G)Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, ^(H)until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

The Call of Jeremiah

⁴Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵^(I)“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born ^(J)I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet ^(K)to the nations.”

⁶Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, ^(L)I do not know how to speak, ^(M)for I am only a youth.” ⁷But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and ^(N)whatever I command you, you shall speak.
⁸^(O)Do not be afraid of them,
^(P)for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”

⁹^(Q)Then the Lord put out his hand and ^(R)touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,

“Behold, I have put ^(S)my words in your mouth.
¹⁰See, I have set you this day ^(T)over nations and over kingdoms,
^(U)to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”

¹¹And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^(V)“Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond^[a] branch.” ¹²Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

¹³The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see ^(W)a boiling pot, facing away ^(X)from the north.” ¹⁴Then the Lord said to me, ^(Y)“Out of the north disaster^[b] shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁵For behold, ^(Z)I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, ^(AA)and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. ¹⁶And ^(AB)I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil ^(AC)in forsaking me. ^(AD)They have made offerings to other gods and ^(AE)worshiped the works of their own hands. ¹⁷But you, ^(AF)dress yourself for work;^[c] arise, and ^(AG)say to them everything that I command you. ^(AH)Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. ¹⁸And I, behold, I make you this day ^(AI)a fortified city, ^(AJ)an iron pillar, and ^(AK)bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. ¹⁹^(AL)They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for ^(AM)I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

Israel Forsakes the Lord

2 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,

“I remember the devotion of ^(AN)your youth,
    your love ^(AO)as a bride,
^(AP)how you followed me in the wilderness,
    ^(AQ)in a land not sown.
³^(AR)Israel was holy to the Lord,
    ^(AS)the firstfruits of his harvest.
^(AT)All who ate of it incurred guilt;
    disaster came upon them,
declares the Lord.”

⁴Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. ⁵Thus says the Lord:

^(AU)“What wrong did your fathers find in me
    that they went far from me,
^(AV)and went after ^(AW)worthlessness, and became worthless?
⁶They did not say, ^(AX)‘Where is the Lord
    who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us ^(AY)in the wilderness,
    in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
    in a land that none passes through,
    where no man dwells?’
⁷^(AZ)And I brought you into a plentiful land
    to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, ^(BA)you defiled my land
    and made my heritage an abomination.
⁸The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
    ^(BB)Those who handle the law did not know me;
^(BC)the shepherds^[d] transgressed against me;
    ^(BD)the prophets prophesied by Baal
    and went after ^(BE)things that do not profit.

⁹“Therefore ^(BF)I still contend with you,
declares the Lord,
    and ^(BG)with your children's children I will contend.
¹⁰For cross to the coasts of ^(BH)Cyprus and see,
    or send to ^(BI)Kedar and examine with care;
    see if there has been such a thing.
¹¹^(BJ)Has a nation changed its gods,
    ^(BK)even though they are no gods?
But my people ^(BL)have changed their glory
    for ^(BM)that which does not profit.
¹²Be appalled, ^(BN)O heavens, at this;
    be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the Lord,
¹³for my people have committed two evils:
^(BO)they have forsaken ^(BP)me,
    the fountain of ^(BQ)living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
    broken cisterns that can hold no water.

¹⁴^(BR)“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
    Why then has he become a prey?
¹⁵^(BS)The lions have roared against him;
    they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
    his cities are in ruins, ^(BT)without inhabitant.
¹⁶Moreover, the men of ^(BU)Memphis and ^(BV)Tahpanhes
    ^(BW)have shaved^[e] the crown of your head.
¹⁷^(BX)Have you not brought this upon yourself
    by forsaking the Lord your God,
    when ^(BY)he led you in the way?
¹⁸^(BZ)And now what do you gain by going to Egypt
    to drink the waters of ^(CA)the Nile?
^(CB)Or what do you gain by going to Assyria
    to drink the waters of ^(CC)the Euphrates?^[f]
¹⁹^(CD)Your evil will chastise you,
    and ^(CE)your apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and ^(CF)bitter
    for ^(CG)you to forsake the Lord your God;
    the fear of me is not in you,
declares the Lord God of hosts.

²⁰“For long ago I ^(CH)broke your yoke
    and burst your bonds;
    but you said, ^(CI)‘I will not serve.’
Yes, ^(CJ)on every high hill
    and under every green tree
    you bowed down ^(CK)like a whore.
²¹^(CL)Yet I planted you a choice vine,
    wholly of pure seed.
^(CM)How then have you turned degenerate
    and become a wild vine?
²²Though you wash yourself with lye
    and use much soap,
    ^(CN)the stain of your guilt is still before me,
declares the Lord God.
²³^(CO)How can you say, ‘I am not unclean,
    I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way ^(CP)in the valley;
    know what you have done—
a restless young camel running here and there,
²⁴    ^(CQ)a wild donkey used to the wilderness,
in her heat sniffing the wind!
    Who can restrain her lust?
None who seek her need weary themselves;
    in her month they will find her.
²⁵Keep ^(CR)your feet from going unshod
    and ^(CS)your throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless,
    ^(CT)for I have loved foreigners,
    and after them I will go.’

²⁶“As a thief is shamed when caught,
    so the house of Israel shall be shamed:
^(CU)they, their kings, their officials,
    their priests, and their prophets,
²⁷who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
    and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their back to me,
    and not their face.
But ^(CV)in the time of their trouble they say,
    ‘Arise and save us!’
²⁸But ^(CW)where are your gods
    that you made for yourself?
Let them arise, ^(CX)if they can save you,
    in your time of trouble;
for ^(CY)as many as your cities
    are your gods, O Judah.

²⁹“Why do you contend with me?
    You have all transgressed against me,
declares the Lord.
³⁰In vain have I ^(CZ)struck your children;
    they took no correction;
^(DA)your own sword devoured your prophets
    like a ravening lion.
³¹And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
    or a land of thick darkness?
Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,
    we will come no more to you’?
³²^(DB)Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
    or a bride her attire?
Yet ^(DC)my people have forgotten me
    days without number.

³³“How well you direct your course
    to seek love!
So that even to wicked women
    you have taught your ways.
³⁴Also on your skirts is found
    ^(DD)the lifeblood of the guiltless poor;
you did not find them ^(DE)breaking in.
    Yet in spite of all these things
³⁵you say, ‘I am innocent;
    surely his anger has turned from me.’
^(DF)Behold, I will bring you to judgment
    for ^(DG)saying, ‘I have not sinned.’
³⁶^(DH)How much you go about,
    changing your way!
You shall be ^(DI)put to shame by Egypt
    as you were put to shame by Assyria.
³⁷From it too you will come away
    with ^(DJ)your hands on your head,
for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,
    and you will not prosper by them.

Footnotes

Jeremiah 1:11 Almond sounds like the Hebrew for watching (compare verse 12)
Jeremiah 1:14 The Hebrew word can mean evil, harm, or disaster, depending on the context; so throughout Jeremiah
Jeremiah 1:17 Hebrew gird up your loins
Jeremiah 2:8 Or rulers
Jeremiah 2:16 Hebrew grazed
Jeremiah 2:18 Hebrew the River