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“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.
    Before you were born I set you apart
    and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

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“Before I formed you in the womb(A) I knew[a](B) you,
    before you were born(C) I set you apart;(D)
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 1:5 Or chose

19 “I thought to myself,
    ‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’
I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land—
    the finest possession in the world.
I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’
    and I wanted you never to turn from me.
20 But you have been unfaithful to me, you people of Israel!
    You have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband.
    I, the Lord, have spoken.”

21 Voices are heard high on the windswept mountains,
    the weeping and pleading of Israel’s people.
For they have chosen crooked paths
    and have forgotten the Lord their God.

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19 “I myself said,

“‘How gladly would I treat you like my children
    and give you a pleasant land,(A)
    the most beautiful inheritance(B) of any nation.’
I thought you would call me ‘Father’(C)
    and not turn away from following me.
20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,
    so you, Israel, have been unfaithful(D) to me,”
declares the Lord.

21 A cry is heard on the barren heights,(E)
    the weeping(F) and pleading of the people of Israel,
because they have perverted their ways
    and have forgotten(G) the Lord their God.

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For your Creator will be your husband;
    the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name!
He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
    the God of all the earth.
For the Lord has called you back from your grief—
    as though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband,”
    says your God.
“For a brief moment I abandoned you,
    but with great compassion I will take you back.

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For your Maker(A) is your husband(B)
    the Lord Almighty is his name—
the Holy One(C) of Israel is your Redeemer;(D)
    he is called the God of all the earth.(E)
The Lord will call you back(F)
    as if you were a wife deserted(G) and distressed in spirit—
a wife who married young,(H)
    only to be rejected,” says your God.
“For a brief moment(I) I abandoned(J) you,
    but with deep compassion(K) I will bring you back.(L)

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For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride[a] to one husband—Christ.

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Footnotes

  1. 11:2 Greek a virgin.

I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband,(A) to Christ, so that I might present you(B) as a pure virgin to him.

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Wives

In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any words. They will be won over by observing your pure and reverent lives.

Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They put their trust in God and accepted the authority of their husbands. For instance, Sarah obeyed her husband, Abraham, and called him her master. You are her daughters when you do what is right without fear of what your husbands might do.

Husbands

In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.

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Wives, in the same way submit yourselves(A) to your own husbands(B) so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over(C) without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.(D) Rather, it should be that of your inner self,(E) the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.(F) For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God(G) used to adorn themselves.(H) They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord.(I) You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

Husbands,(J) in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

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Spirit-Guided Relationships: Wives and Husbands

21 And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

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Instructions for Christian Households(A)

21 Submit to one another(B) out of reverence for Christ.

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