Jeremiah 5:20-6:30

New International Version

²⁰“Announce this to the descendants of Jacob
    and proclaim^(A) it in Judah:
²¹Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,^(B)
    who have eyes^(C) but do not see,
    who have ears but do not hear:^(D)
²²Should you not fear^(E) me?” declares the Lord.
    “Should you not tremble^(F) in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,^(G)
    an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
    they may roar,^(H) but they cannot cross it.
²³But these people have stubborn and rebellious^(I) hearts;
    they have turned aside^(J) and gone away.
²⁴They do not say to themselves,
    ‘Let us fear^(K) the Lord our God,
who gives autumn and spring rains^(L) in season,
    who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’^(M)
²⁵Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
    your sins have deprived you of good.^(N)

²⁶“Among my people are the wicked^(O)
    who lie in wait^(P) like men who snare birds
    and like those who set traps^(Q) to catch people.
²⁷Like cages full of birds,
    their houses are full of deceit;^(R)
they have become rich^(S) and powerful
²⁸    and have grown fat^(T) and sleek.
Their evil deeds have no limit;
    they do not seek justice.
They do not promote the case of the fatherless;^(U)
    they do not defend the just cause of the poor.^(V)
²⁹Should I not punish them for this?”
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge^(W) myself
    on such a nation as this?

³⁰“A horrible^(X) and shocking thing
    has happened in the land:
³¹The prophets prophesy lies,^(Y)
    the priests^(Z) rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
    But what will you do in the end?^(AA)

Jerusalem Under Siege

6 “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!
    Flee from Jerusalem!
Sound the trumpet^(AB) in Tekoa!^(AC)
    Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!^(AD)
For disaster looms out of the north,^(AE)
    even terrible destruction.
²I will destroy Daughter Zion,^(AF)
    so beautiful and delicate.^(AG)
³Shepherds^(AH) with their flocks will come against her;
    they will pitch their tents around^(AI) her,
    each tending his own portion.”

⁴“Prepare for battle against her!
    Arise, let us attack at noon!^(AJ)
But, alas, the daylight is fading,
    and the shadows of evening grow long.
⁵So arise, let us attack at night
    and destroy her fortresses!”

⁶This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Cut down the trees^(AK)
    and build siege ramps^(AL) against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished;
    it is filled with oppression.^(AM)
⁷As a well pours out its water,
    so she pours out her wickedness.
Violence^(AN) and destruction^(AO) resound in her;
    her sickness and wounds are ever before me.
⁸Take warning, Jerusalem,
    or I will turn away^(AP) from you
and make your land desolate
    so no one can live in it.”

⁹This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Let them glean the remnant^(AQ) of Israel
as thoroughly as a vine;
pass your hand over the branches again,
like one gathering grapes.”

¹⁰To whom can I speak and give warning?
    Who will listen^(AR) to me?
Their ears are closed^[a]^(AS)
    so they cannot hear.^(AT)
The word^(AU) of the Lord is offensive to them;
    they find no pleasure in it.
¹¹But I am full of the wrath^(AV) of the Lord,
    and I cannot hold it in.^(AW)

“Pour it out on the children in the street
    and on the young men^(AX) gathered together;
both husband and wife will be caught in it,
    and the old, those weighed down with years.^(AY)
¹²Their houses will be turned over to others,^(AZ)
    together with their fields and their wives,^(BA)
when I stretch out my hand^(BB)
    against those who live in the land,”
declares the Lord.
¹³“From the least to the greatest,
    all^(BC) are greedy for gain;^(BD)
prophets and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.^(BE)
¹⁴They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
    when there is no peace.^(BF)
¹⁵Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
    No, they have no shame at all;
    they do not even know how to blush.^(BG)
So they will fall among the fallen;
    they will be brought down when I punish^(BH) them,”
says the Lord.

¹⁶This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;
    ask for the ancient paths,^(BI)
ask where the good way^(BJ) is, and walk in it,
    and you will find rest^(BK) for your souls.
    But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
¹⁷I appointed watchmen^(BL) over you and said,
    ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’^(BM)
    But you said, ‘We will not listen.’^(BN)
¹⁸Therefore hear, you nations;
    you who are witnesses,
    observe what will happen to them.
¹⁹Hear, you earth:^(BO)
    I am bringing disaster^(BP) on this people,
    the fruit of their schemes,^(BQ)
because they have not listened to my words^(BR)
    and have rejected my law.^(BS)
²⁰What do I care about incense from Sheba^(BT)
    or sweet calamus^(BU) from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;^(BV)
    your sacrifices^(BW) do not please me.”^(BX)

²¹Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“I will put obstacles before this people.
Parents and children alike will stumble^(BY) over them;
neighbors and friends will perish.”

²²This is what the Lord says:

“Look, an army is coming
    from the land of the north;^(BZ)
a great nation is being stirred up
    from the ends of the earth.^(CA)
²³They are armed with bow and spear;
    they are cruel and show no mercy.^(CB)
They sound like the roaring sea^(CC)
    as they ride on their horses;^(CD)
they come like men in battle formation
    to attack you, Daughter Zion.^(CE)”

²⁴We have heard reports about them,
    and our hands hang limp.^(CF)
Anguish^(CG) has gripped us,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.^(CH)
²⁵Do not go out to the fields
    or walk on the roads,
for the enemy has a sword,
    and there is terror on every side.^(CI)
²⁶Put on sackcloth,^(CJ) my people,
    and roll in ashes;^(CK)
mourn with bitter wailing^(CL)
    as for an only son,^(CM)
for suddenly the destroyer^(CN)
    will come upon us.

²⁷“I have made you a tester^(CO) of metals
    and my people the ore,
that you may observe
    and test their ways.
²⁸They are all hardened rebels,^(CP)
    going about to slander.^(CQ)
They are bronze and iron;^(CR)
    they all act corruptly.
²⁹The bellows blow fiercely
    to burn away the lead with fire,
but the refining^(CS) goes on in vain;
    the wicked are not purged out.
³⁰They are called rejected silver,^(CT)
    because the Lord has rejected them.”^(CU)

Footnotes

Jeremiah 6:10 Hebrew uncircumcised

2 Kings 22:3-20

New International Version

³In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan^(A) son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord. He said: ⁴“Go up to Hilkiah^(B) the high priest and have him get ready the money that has been brought into the temple of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected^(C) from the people. ⁵Have them entrust it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the temple. And have these men pay the workers who repair^(D) the temple of the Lord— ⁶the carpenters, the builders and the masons. Also have them purchase timber and dressed stone to repair the temple.^(E) ⁷But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are honest in their dealings.”^(F)

⁸Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law^(G) in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it. ⁹Then Shaphan the secretary went to the king and reported to him: “Your officials have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the workers and supervisors at the temple.” ¹⁰Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.^(H)

¹¹When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law,^(I) he tore his robes. ¹²He gave these orders to Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam^(J) son of Shaphan, Akbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant:^(K) ¹³“Go and inquire^(L) of the Lord for me and for the people and for all Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger^(M) that burns against us because those who have gone before us have not obeyed the words of this book; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written there concerning us.”

¹⁴Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Akbor, Shaphan and Asaiah went to speak to the prophet^(N) Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

¹⁵She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ¹⁶‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster^(O) on this place and its people, according to everything written in the book^(P) the king of Judah has read. ¹⁷Because they have forsaken^(Q) me and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all the idols their hands have made,^[a] my anger will burn against this place and will not be quenched.’ ¹⁸Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire^(R) of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: ¹⁹Because your heart was responsive and you humbled^(S) yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people—that they would become a curse^[b]^(T) and be laid waste^(U)—and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I also have heard you, declares the Lord. ²⁰Therefore I will gather you to your ancestors, and you will be buried in peace.^(V) Your eyes^(W) will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place.’”

So they took her answer back to the king.

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Footnotes

2 Kings 22:17 Or by everything they have done
2 Kings 22:19 That is, their names would be used in cursing (see Jer. 29:22); or, others would see that they are cursed.

2 Chronicles 34:8-28

New International Version

⁸In the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, to purify the land and the temple, he sent Shaphan son of Azaliah and Maaseiah the ruler of the city, with Joah son of Joahaz, the recorder, to repair the temple of the Lord his God.

⁹They went to Hilkiah^(A) the high priest and gave him the money that had been brought into the temple of God, which the Levites who were the gatekeepers had collected from the people of Manasseh, Ephraim and the entire remnant of Israel and from all the people of Judah and Benjamin and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰Then they entrusted it to the men appointed to supervise the work on the Lord’s temple. These men paid the workers who repaired and restored the temple. ¹¹They also gave money^(B) to the carpenters and builders to purchase dressed stone, and timber for joists and beams for the buildings that the kings of Judah had allowed to fall into ruin.^(C)

¹²The workers labored faithfully.^(D) Over them to direct them were Jahath and Obadiah, Levites descended from Merari, and Zechariah and Meshullam, descended from Kohath. The Levites—all who were skilled in playing musical instruments—^(E) ¹³had charge of the laborers^(F) and supervised all the workers from job to job. Some of the Levites were secretaries, scribes and gatekeepers.

The Book of the Law Found^(G)^(H)

¹⁴While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses. ¹⁵Hilkiah said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law^(I) in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan.

¹⁶Then Shaphan took the book to the king and reported to him: “Your officials are doing everything that has been committed to them. ¹⁷They have paid out the money that was in the temple of the Lord and have entrusted it to the supervisors and workers.” ¹⁸Then Shaphan the secretary informed the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read from it in the presence of the king.

¹⁹When the king heard the words of the Law,^(J) he tore^(K) his robes. ²⁰He gave these orders to Hilkiah, Ahikam son of Shaphan^(L), Abdon son of Micah,^[a] Shaphan the secretary and Asaiah the king’s attendant: ²¹“Go and inquire of the Lord for me and for the remnant in Israel and Judah about what is written in this book that has been found. Great is the Lord’s anger that is poured out^(M) on us because those who have gone before us have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.”

²²Hilkiah and those the king had sent with him^[b] went to speak to the prophet^(N) Huldah, who was the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath,^[c] the son of Hasrah,^[d] keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the New Quarter.

²³She said to them, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the man who sent you to me, ²⁴‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to bring disaster^(O) on this place and its people^(P)—all the curses^(Q) written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah. ²⁵Because they have forsaken me^(R) and burned incense to other gods and aroused my anger by all that their hands have made,^[e] my anger will be poured out on this place and will not be quenched.’ ²⁶Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: ²⁷Because your heart was responsive^(S) and you humbled^(T) yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord. ²⁸Now I will gather you to your ancestors,^(U) and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on those who live here.’”^(V)

So they took her answer back to the king.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

2 Chronicles 34:20 Also called Akbor son of Micaiah
2 Chronicles 34:22 One Hebrew manuscript, Vulgate and Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts do not have had sent with him.
2 Chronicles 34:22 Also called Tikvah
2 Chronicles 34:22 Also called Harhas
2 Chronicles 34:25 Or by everything they have done