Jeremiah 14:11-16:15
New King James Version
11 Then the Lord said to me, (A)“Do not pray for this people, for their good. 12 (B)When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and (C)when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But (D)I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.”
13 (E)Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you [a]assured (F)peace in this place.’ ”
14 And the Lord said to me, (G)“The prophets prophesy lies in My name. (H)I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, [b]divination, a worthless thing, and the (I)deceit of their heart. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, (J)and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land’—‘By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed! 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; (K)they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.’
17 “Therefore you shall say this word to them:
(L)‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day,
And let them not cease;
(M)For the virgin daughter of my people
Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.
18 If I go out to (N)the field,
Then behold, those slain with the sword!
And if I enter the city,
Then behold, those sick from famine!
Yes, both prophet and (O)priest go about in a land they do not know.’ ”
The People Plead for Mercy
19 (P)Have You utterly rejected Judah?
Has Your soul loathed Zion?
Why have You stricken us so that (Q)there is no healing for us?
(R)We looked for peace, but there was no good;
And for the time of healing, and there was trouble.
20 We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness
And the iniquity of our (S)fathers,
For (T)we have sinned against You.
21 Do not abhor us, for Your name’s sake;
Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory.
(U)Remember, do not break Your covenant with us.
22 (V)Are there any among (W)the idols of the nations that can cause (X)rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
(Y)Are You not He, O Lord our God?
Therefore we will wait for You,
Since You have made all these.
The Lord Will Not Relent
15 Then the Lord said to me, (Z)“Even if (AA)Moses and (AB)Samuel stood before Me, My [c]mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth. 2 And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord:
(AC)“Such as are for death, to death;
And such as are for the sword, to the sword;
And such as are for the famine, to the famine;
And such as are for the (AD)captivity, to the captivity.” ’
3 “And I will (AE)appoint over them four forms of destruction,” says the Lord: “the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, (AF)the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 I will hand them over to (AG)trouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of (AH)Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.
5 “For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem?
Or who will bemoan you?
Or who will turn aside to ask how you are doing?
6 (AI)You have forsaken Me,” says the Lord,
“You have (AJ)gone backward.
Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;
(AK)I am [d]weary of relenting!
7 And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land;
I will (AL)bereave them of children;
I will destroy My people,
Since they (AM)do not return from their ways.
8 Their widows will be increased to Me more than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them,
Against the mother of the young men,
A plunderer at noonday;
I will cause anguish and terror to fall on them (AN)suddenly.
9 “She(AO) languishes who has borne seven;
She has breathed her last;
(AP)Her sun has gone down
While it was yet day;
She has been ashamed and confounded.
And the remnant of them I will deliver to the sword
Before their enemies,” says the Lord.
Jeremiah’s Dejection
10 (AQ)Woe is me, my mother,
That you have borne me,
A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole [e]earth!
I have neither lent for interest,
Nor have men lent to me for interest.
Every one of them curses me.
11 The Lord said:
“Surely it will be well with your remnant;
Surely I will cause (AR)the enemy to intercede with you
In the time of adversity and in the time of affliction.
12 Can anyone break iron,
The northern iron and the bronze?
13 Your wealth and your treasures
I will give as (AS)plunder without price,
Because of all your sins,
Throughout your territories.
14 And I will [f]make you cross over with your enemies
(AT)Into a land which you do not know;
For a (AU)fire is kindled in My anger,
Which shall burn upon you.”
15 O Lord, (AV)You know;
Remember me and [g]visit me,
And (AW)take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.
Know that (AX)for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
16 Your words were found, and I (AY)ate them,
And (AZ)Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.
17 (BA)I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,
Nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because of Your hand,
For You have filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my (BB)pain perpetual
And my wound incurable,
Which refuses to be healed?
Will You surely be to me (BC)like an unreliable stream,
As waters that [h]fail?
The Lord Reassures Jeremiah
19 Therefore thus says the Lord:
(BD)“If you return,
Then I will bring you back;
You shall (BE)stand before Me;
If you (BF)take out the precious from the vile,
You shall be as My mouth.
Let them return to you,
But you must not return to them.
20 And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze (BG)wall;
And they will fight against you,
But (BH)they shall not prevail against you;
For I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” says the Lord.
21 “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”
Jeremiah’s Lifestyle and Message
16 The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, 2 “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.” 3 For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land: 4 “They shall die (BI)gruesome deaths; they shall not be (BJ)lamented nor shall they be (BK)buried, but they shall be (BL)like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their (BM)corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.”
5 For thus says the Lord: (BN)“Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people,” says the Lord, “lovingkindness and mercies. 6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; (BO)neither shall men lament for them, (BP)cut themselves, nor (BQ)make themselves bald for them. 7 Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to (BR)drink for their father or their mother. 8 Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.”
9 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, (BS)I will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of [i]mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
10 “And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, (BT)‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ 11 then you shall say to them, (BU)‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says the Lord; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. 12 And you have done (BV)worse than your fathers, for behold, (BW)each one [j]follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me. 13 (BX)Therefore I will cast you out of this land (BY)into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.’
God Will Restore Israel(BZ)
14 “Therefore behold, the (CA)days are coming,” says the Lord, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 15 but, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the (CB)north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For (CC)I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 14:13 true
- Jeremiah 14:14 Telling the future by signs and omens
- Jeremiah 15:1 Lit. soul was not toward
- Jeremiah 15:6 tired
- Jeremiah 15:10 Or land
- Jeremiah 15:14 So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Syr., Tg. cause you to serve (cf. 17:4)
- Jeremiah 15:15 attend to
- Jeremiah 15:18 Or cannot be trusted
- Jeremiah 16:9 rejoicing
- Jeremiah 16:12 walks after the stubbornness or imagination
1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:13
New King James Version
9 For you remember, brethren, our (A)labor and toil; for laboring night and day, (B)that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.
10 (C)You are witnesses, and God also, (D)how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; 11 as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and [a]charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, 12 (E)that you would walk worthy of God (F)who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
Their Conversion
13 For this reason we also thank God (G)without ceasing, because when you (H)received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it (I)not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively (J)works in you who believe. 14 For you, brethren, became imitators (K)of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For (L)you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, 15 (M)who killed both the Lord Jesus and (N)their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God (O)and are [b]contrary to all men, 16 (P)forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always (Q)to fill up the measure of their sins; (R)but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.
Longing to See Them
17 But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time (S)in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. 18 Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but (T)Satan hindered us. 19 For (U)what is our hope, or joy, or (V)crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the (W)presence of our Lord Jesus Christ (X)at His coming? 20 For you are our glory and joy.
Concern for Their Faith
3 Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone, 2 and sent (Y)Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith, 3 (Z)that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that (AA)we are appointed to this. 4 (AB)For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know. 5 For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, (AC)lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and (AD)our labor might be in vain.
Encouraged by Timothy
6 (AE)But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us, (AF)as we also to see you— 7 therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress (AG)we were comforted concerning you by your faith. 8 For now we live, if you (AH)stand fast in the Lord.
9 For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God, 10 night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face (AI)and perfect what is lacking in your faith?
Prayer for the Church
11 Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, (AJ)direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord make you increase and (AK)abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13 so that He may establish (AL)your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
Footnotes
- 1 Thessalonians 2:11 NU, M implored
- 1 Thessalonians 2:15 hostile
Psalm 80
New King James Version
Prayer for Israel’s Restoration
To the Chief Musician. (A)Set to [a]“The Lilies.” A [b]Testimony of Asaph. A Psalm.
80 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
(B)You who lead Joseph (C)like a flock;
You who dwell between the cherubim, (D)shine forth!
2 Before (E)Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,
Stir up Your strength,
And come and save us!
4 O Lord God of hosts,
(H)How long will You be angry
Against the prayer of Your people?
5 (I)You have fed them with the bread of tears,
And given them tears to drink in great measure.
6 You have made us a strife to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 Restore us, O God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
8 You have brought (J)a vine out of Egypt;
(K)You have cast out the [c]nations, and planted it.
9 You prepared room for it,
And caused it to take deep root,
And it filled the land.
10 The hills were covered with its shadow,
And the [d]mighty cedars with its (L)boughs.
11 She sent out her boughs to [e]the Sea,
And her branches to [f]the River.
12 Why have You (M)broken down her [g]hedges,
So that all who pass by the way pluck her fruit?
13 The boar out of the woods uproots it,
And the wild beast of the field devours it.
14 Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts;
(N)Look down from heaven and see,
And visit this vine
15 And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted,
And the branch that You made strong (O)for Yourself.
16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down;
(P)They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance.
17 (Q)Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
18 Then we will not turn back from You;
Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
19 Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;
Cause Your face to shine,
And we shall be saved!
Footnotes
- Psalm 80:1 Heb. Shoshannim
- Psalm 80:1 Heb. Eduth
- Psalm 80:8 Gentiles
- Psalm 80:10 Lit. cedars of God
- Psalm 80:11 The Mediterranean
- Psalm 80:11 The Euphrates
- Psalm 80:12 walls or fences
Proverbs 25:1-5
New King James Version
Further Wise Sayings of Solomon
25 These(A) also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied:
2 (B)It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
3 As the heavens for height and the earth for depth,
So the heart of kings is unsearchable.
4 (C)Take away the dross from silver,
And it will go to the silversmith for jewelry.
5 Take away the wicked from before the king,
And his throne will be established in (D)righteousness.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Bible Gateway Recommends
