Jeremiah 1-2

New American Standard Bible

Jeremiah’s Call and Commission

1 The words of ^(A)Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, 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 ^(D)Amon, king of Judah, in the ^(E)thirteenth year of his reign. ³It came also in the days of ^(F)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of ^(G)Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

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

⁵“Before I ^(H)formed you in the womb I knew you,
And ^(I)before you were born I consecrated you;
I have ^(J)appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
⁶Then ^(K)I said, “Oh, Lord ^[a]God!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
Because ^(L)I am a youth.”
⁷But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
^(M)Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And ^(N)all that I command you, you shall speak.
⁸^(O)Do not be afraid of them,
For ^(P)I am with you to save you,” declares the Lord.

⁹Then the Lord stretched out His hand and ^(Q)touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me,

“Behold, I have ^(R)put My words in your mouth.
¹⁰See, ^(S)I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
^(T)To root out and to tear down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
^(U)To build and to plant.”

The Almond Branch and Boiling Pot

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

¹³And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “^(X)What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling ^(Y)pot, facing away from the north.” ¹⁴Then the Lord said to me, “^(Z)Out of the north the evil ^[d]will be unleashed on all the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁵For, behold, I am calling ^(AA)all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the Lord; “and they will come and ^(AB)place, each one of them, his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls around, and against all the ^(AC)cities of Judah. ¹⁶And I will ^[e]pronounce My judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, since they have ^(AD)abandoned Me and have ^[f]^(AE)offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the ^(AF)works of their own hands. ¹⁷Now, ^(AG)belt your garment around your waist and arise, and speak to them all that I command you. ^(AH)Do not be dismayed before them, or I will make you dismayed before them. ¹⁸Now behold, I have made you today like a fortified city and like a pillar of iron and walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its leaders, to its priests, and to the people of the land. ¹⁹And they will fight against you but they will not overcome you, for ^(AI)I am with you to save you,” declares the Lord.

Judah’s Apostasy

2 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Go and ^(AJ)proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“I remember regarding you the ^[g]^(AK)devotion of your youth,
Your love when you were a bride,
^(AL)Your following after Me in the wilderness,
Through a land not sown.
³Israel was ^(AM)holy to the Lord,
The ^(AN)first of His harvest.
^(AO)All who ate of it became guilty;
Evil came upon them,” declares the Lord.’”

⁴Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. ⁵This is what the Lord says:

“^(AP)What injustice did your fathers find in Me,
That they went far from Me,
And walked after ^(AQ)emptiness and became empty?
⁶They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
Who ^(AR)brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who ^(AS)led us through the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and of pits,
Through a land of drought and of ^[h]deep darkness,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no person lived?’
⁷I brought you into the ^(AT)fruitful land
To eat its fruit and its good things.
But you came and ^(AU)defiled My land,
And you made My inheritance an abomination.
⁸The ^(AV)priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the Law ^(AW)did not know Me;
The ^[i]rulers also revolted against Me,
And the ^(AX)prophets prophesied by Baal
And walked after ^(AY)things that were of no benefit.

⁹“Therefore I will still ^(AZ)contend with you,” declares the Lord,
“And I will contend with your sons’ sons.
¹⁰For ^(BA)cross to the coastlands of ^[j]Kittim and see,
And send to ^(BB)Kedar and observe closely,
And see if there has been anything like this!
¹¹Has a nation changed gods,
When ^(BC)they were not gods?
But My people have ^(BD)exchanged their glory
For that which is of no benefit.
¹²Be appalled at this, ^(BE)you heavens,
And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.
¹³“For My people have committed two evils:
They have abandoned Me,
The ^(BF)fountain of living waters,
To carve out for themselves ^(BG)cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That do not hold water.

¹⁴“Is Israel ^(BH)a slave? Or is he a servant born in the home?
Why has he become plunder?
¹⁵The young ^(BI)lions have roared at him,
They have ^[k]roared loudly.
And they have ^(BJ)made his land a waste;
His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.
¹⁶Also the ^[l]men of ^(BK)Memphis and Tahpanhes
Have ^[m]shaved ^(BL)your head.
¹⁷Have you not ^(BM)done this to yourself
By your abandoning the Lord your God
When He ^(BN)led you in the way?
¹⁸But now what are you doing ^(BO)on the road to Egypt,
Except to drink the waters of the ^[n]^(BP)Nile?
Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,
Except to drink the waters of the Euphrates River?
¹⁹^(BQ)Your own wickedness will correct you,
And your ^(BR)apostasies will punish you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil and ^(BS)bitter
For you to abandon the Lord your God,
And ^(BT)the fear of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord ^[o]God of armies.

²⁰“For long ago ^[p]^(BU)I broke your yoke
And tore off your restraints;
But you said, ‘I will not serve!’
For on every ^(BV)high hill
And under every leafy tree
You have lain down as a prostitute.
²¹Yet I ^(BW)planted you as a choice vine,
A completely faithful seed.
How then have you turned yourself before Me
Into the ^(BX)degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?
²²Although you ^(BY)wash yourself with lye
And ^[q]use much soap,
The ^(BZ)stain of your guilt is before Me,” declares the Lord ^[r]God.
²³“^(CA)How can you say, ‘I am not defiled,
I have not gone after the ^(CB)Baals’?
Look at your way in the ^(CC)valley!
Know what you have done!
You are a swift young camel ^(CD)running about senselessly on her ways,
²⁴A ^(CE)wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,
That sniffs the wind in her passion.
Who can turn her away in her mating season?
None who seek her will grow weary;
In her month they will find her.
²⁵Keep your feet from being bare,
And your throat from thirst;
But you said, ‘^(CF)It is ^[s]hopeless!
No! For I have ^(CG)loved strangers,
And I will walk after them.’

²⁶“Like the shame of a ^(CH)thief when he is discovered,
So the house of Israel is shamed;
They, their kings, their leaders,
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 ^(CI)backs to Me,
And not their faces;
But in the ^(CJ)time of their ^[t]trouble they will say,
‘Arise and save us!’
²⁸But where are your ^(CK)gods
Which you made for yourself?
Let them arise, if they can ^(CL)save you
In the time of your ^[u]trouble!
For ^(CM)as many as the number of your cities
Are your gods, Judah.

²⁹“Why do you contend with Me?
You have ^(CN)all revolted against Me,” declares the Lord.
³⁰“^(CO)In vain I have struck your sons;
They did not accept discipline.
Your ^(CP)sword has devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.
³¹You generation, look to the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a ^(CQ)land of thick darkness?
Why do My people say, ‘^(CR)We are free to roam;
We will no longer come to You’?
³²Can a virgin forget her jewelry,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have ^(CS)forgotten Me
For days without number.
³³How well you prepare your way
To seek love!
Therefore even to the wicked women
You have taught your ways.
³⁴Also on your skirts is found
The ^(CT)lifeblood of the innocent poor;
You did not find them ^(CU)breaking in.
But in spite of all these things,
³⁵You said, ‘I am innocent;
Surely His anger is turned away from me.’
Behold, I will ^(CV)enter into judgment with you
Because you ^(CW)say, ‘I have not sinned.’
³⁶Why do you ^(CX)go around so much
Changing your way?
Also, ^(CY)you will be put to shame by Egypt,
Just as you were put to shame by ^(CZ)Assyria.
³⁷From this place as well you will go out
With ^(DA)your hands on your head;
For the Lord has rejected ^(DB)those in whom you trust,
And you will not prosper with them.”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 1:6 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Jeremiah 1:11 Heb shaqed, see note v 12
Jeremiah 1:12 Heb shoqed, a wordplay on almond in v 11 (see note v 11)
Jeremiah 1:14 Lit opened
Jeremiah 1:16 Lit speak
Jeremiah 1:16 Or burned incense
Jeremiah 2:2 Or faithfulness
Jeremiah 2:6 Or the shadow of death
Jeremiah 2:8 Lit shepherds
Jeremiah 2:10 I.e., Cyprus and other islands
Jeremiah 2:15 Lit given their voice
Jeremiah 2:16 Lit sons
Jeremiah 2:16 Lit grazed
Jeremiah 2:18 Heb Shihor
Jeremiah 2:19 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Jeremiah 2:20 Or you
Jeremiah 2:22 Lit acquire much soap for yourself
Jeremiah 2:22 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Jeremiah 2:25 Or desperate
Jeremiah 2:27 Or evil
Jeremiah 2:28 Or evil

John 10

New American Standard Bible

Parable of the Good Shepherd

10 “Truly, truly I say to you, the one who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is ^(A)a thief and a robber. ²But the one who enters by the door is ^(B)a shepherd of the sheep. ³To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep listen to ^(C)his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and ^(D)leads them out. ⁴When he puts all his own sheep outside, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know ^(E)his voice. ⁵However, a stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know ^(F)the voice of strangers.” ⁶Jesus told them this ^(G)figure of speech, but they did not understand what the things which He was saying to them ^[a]meant.

⁷So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am ^(H)the door of the sheep. ⁸All those who came before Me are ^(I)thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹^(J)I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they ^(K)would have life, and ^[b]have it abundantly.

¹¹“^(L)I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd ^(M)lays down His life for the sheep. ¹²He who is a hired hand, and not a ^(N)shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters the flock. ¹³He flees because he is a hired hand and does not care about the sheep. ¹⁴^(O)I am the good shepherd, and ^(P)I know My own, and My own know Me, ¹⁵just as ^(Q)the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and ^(R)I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶And I have ^(S)other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become ^(T)one flock, with ^(U)one shepherd. ¹⁷For this reason the Father loves Me, because I ^(V)lay down My life so that I may take it back. ¹⁸^(W)No one has taken it away from Me, but I ^(X)lay it down on My own. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back. ^(Y)This commandment I received from My Father.”

¹⁹^(Z)Dissension occurred again among the Jews because of these words. ²⁰Many of them were saying, “He ^(AA)has a demon and ^(AB)is insane. Why do you listen to Him?” ²¹Others were saying, “These are not the words of one who is ^(AC)demon-possessed. ^(AD)A demon cannot open the eyes of those who are blind, can it?”

Jesus Asserts His Deity

²²At that time the ^[c]Feast of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem; ²³it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple area, in the portico of ^(AE)Solomon. ²⁴^(AF)The Jews then surrounded Him and began saying to Him, “How long ^[d]will You keep us in suspense? If You are the ^[e]Christ, tell us ^(AG)plainly.” ²⁵Jesus answered them, “^(AH)I told you, and you do not believe; ^(AI)the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. ²⁶But you do not believe, because ^(AJ)you are not of My sheep. ²⁷My sheep ^(AK)listen to My voice, and ^(AL)I know them, and they follow Me; ²⁸and I give them ^(AM)eternal life, and they will never perish; and ^(AN)no one will snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹^[f]My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰^(AO)I and the Father are ^[g]one.”

³¹The Jews ^(AP)picked up stones again to stone Him. ³²Jesus replied to them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” ³³The Jews answered Him, “We are not stoning You for a good work, but for ^(AQ)blasphemy; and because You, being a man, ^(AR)make Yourself out to be God.” ³⁴Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in ^(AS)your ^(AT)Law: ‘^(AU)I said, you are gods’? ³⁵If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be nullified), ³⁶are you saying of Him whom the Father ^(AV)sanctified and ^(AW)sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘^(AX)I am the Son of God’? ³⁷^(AY)If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; ³⁸but if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe ^(AZ)the works, so that you may ^[h]know and understand that ^(BA)the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” ³⁹Therefore ^(BB)they were seeking again to arrest Him, and ^(BC)He eluded their grasp.

⁴⁰And He went away ^(BD)again beyond the Jordan to the place where John was first baptizing, and He stayed there. ⁴¹Many came to Him and were saying, “While John performed no ^(BE)sign, yet ^(BF)everything John said about this man was true.” ⁴²And ^(BG)many believed in Him there.