False Religion Worthless

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Stand(A) at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:

“‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways(B) and your actions, and I will let you live(C) in this place. Do not trust(D) in deceptive(E) words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” If you really change(F) your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly,(G) if you do not oppress(H) the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood(I) in this place, and if you do not follow other gods(J) to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land(K) I gave your ancestors(L) for ever and ever.

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But look, you are trusting(A) in deceptive(B) words that are worthless.

“‘Will you steal(C) and murder,(D) commit adultery(E) and perjury,[a](F) burn incense to Baal(G) and follow other gods(H) you have not known, 10 and then come and stand(I) before me in this house,(J) which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things?(K) 11 Has this house,(L) which bears my Name, become a den of robbers(M) to you? But I have been watching!(N) declares the Lord.

12 “‘Go now to the place in Shiloh(O) where I first made a dwelling(P) for my Name,(Q) and see what I did(R) to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke(S) to you again and again,(T) but you did not listen;(U) I called(V) you, but you did not answer.(W) 14 Therefore, what I did to Shiloh(X) I will now do to the house that bears my Name,(Y) the temple(Z) you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. 15 I will thrust you from my presence,(AA) just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’(AB)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 7:9 Or and swear by false gods

Psalm 92[a]

A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.

It is good to praise the Lord
    and make music(A) to your name,(B) O Most High,(C)
proclaiming your love in the morning(D)
    and your faithfulness at night,
to the music of the ten-stringed lyre(E)
    and the melody of the harp.(F)

For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
    I sing for joy(G) at what your hands have done.(H)
How great are your works,(I) Lord,
    how profound your thoughts!(J)
Senseless people(K) do not know,
    fools do not understand,
that though the wicked spring up like grass
    and all evildoers flourish,
    they will be destroyed forever.(L)

But you, Lord, are forever exalted.

For surely your enemies(M), Lord,
    surely your enemies will perish;
    all evildoers will be scattered.(N)
10 You have exalted my horn[b](O) like that of a wild ox;(P)
    fine oils(Q) have been poured on me.
11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
    my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.(R)

12 The righteous will flourish(S) like a palm tree,
    they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;(T)
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
    they will flourish in the courts of our God.(U)
14 They will still bear fruit(V) in old age,
    they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
    he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.(W)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 92:1 In Hebrew texts 92:1-15 is numbered 92:2-16.
  2. Psalm 92:10 Horn here symbolizes strength.

42 So will it be(A) with the resurrection of the dead.(B) The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable;(C) 43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory;(D) it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.(E)

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”[a];(F) the last Adam,(G) a life-giving spirit.(H) 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual.(I) 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth;(J) the second man is of heaven.(K) 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven.(L) 49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man,(M) so shall we[b] bear the image of the heavenly man.(N)

50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood(O) cannot inherit the kingdom of God,(P) nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.(Q) 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery:(R) We will not all sleep,(S) but we will all be changed(T) 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound,(U) the dead(V) will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 15:45 Gen. 2:7
  2. 1 Corinthians 15:49 Some early manuscripts so let us

53 For the perishable(A) must clothe itself with the imperishable,(B) and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”[a](C)

55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
    Where, O death, is your sting?”[b](D)

56 The sting of death is sin,(E) and the power of sin is the law.(F) 57 But thanks be to God!(G) He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.(H)

58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord,(I) because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.(J)

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 15:54 Isaiah 25:8
  2. 1 Corinthians 15:55 Hosea 13:14

39 He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit?(A) 40 The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.(B)

41 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

A Tree and Its Fruit(C)

43 “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit.(D) People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.(E)

The Wise and Foolish Builders(F)

46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’(G) and do not do what I say?(H) 47 As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice,(I) I will show you what they are like. 48 They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49 But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

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