16 “But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them.(A) After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt(B) them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.(C) 17 My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden(D) from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.(E) 18 I will repay(F) them double(G) for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land(H) with the lifeless forms of their vile images(I) and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.(J)(K)

19 Lord, my strength and my fortress,
    my refuge(L) in time of distress,
to you the nations will come(M)
    from the ends of the earth and say,
“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,(N)
    worthless idols(O) that did them no good.(P)
20 Do people make their own gods?
    Yes, but they are not gods!”(Q)

21 “Therefore I will teach them—
    this time I will teach them
    my power and might.
Then they will know
    that my name(R) is the Lord.

17 “Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,(S)
    inscribed with a flint point,
on the tablets of their hearts(T)
    and on the horns(U) of their altars.
Even their children remember
    their altars and Asherah poles[a](V)
beside the spreading trees
    and on the high hills.(W)
My mountain in the land
    and your[b] wealth and all your treasures
I will give away as plunder,(X)
    together with your high places,(Y)
    because of sin throughout your country.(Z)
Through your own fault you will lose
    the inheritance(AA) I gave you.
I will enslave you to your enemies(AB)
    in a land(AC) you do not know,
for you have kindled my anger,
    and it will burn(AD) forever.”

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,(AE)
    who draws strength from mere flesh
    and whose heart turns away from the Lord.(AF)
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
    they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places(AG) of the desert,
    in a salt(AH) land where no one lives.

“But blessed(AI) is the one who trusts(AJ) in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.(AK)
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought(AL)
    and never fails to bear fruit.”(AM)

The heart(AN) is deceitful above all things
    and beyond cure.
    Who can understand it?

10 “I the Lord search the heart(AO)
    and examine the mind,(AP)
to reward(AQ) each person according to their conduct,
    according to what their deeds deserve.”(AR)

11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
    are those who gain riches by unjust means.
When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,
    and in the end they will prove to be fools.(AS)

12 A glorious throne,(AT) exalted from the beginning,
    is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, you are the hope(AU) of Israel;
    all who forsake(AV) you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust(AW)
    because they have forsaken the Lord,
    the spring of living water.(AX)

14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;(AY)
    save(AZ) me and I will be saved,
    for you are the one I praise.(BA)
15 They keep saying to me,
    “Where is the word of the Lord?
    Let it now be fulfilled!”(BB)
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd;
    you know I have not desired the day of despair.
    What passes my lips(BC) is open before you.
17 Do not be a terror(BD) to me;
    you are my refuge(BE) in the day of disaster.(BF)
18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,
    but keep me from shame;
let them be terrified,
    but keep me from terror.
Bring on them the day of disaster;
    destroy them with double destruction.(BG)

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People,[c] through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem.(BH) 20 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem(BI) who come through these gates.(BJ) 21 This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath(BK) day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.(BL) 23 Yet they did not listen or pay attention;(BM) they were stiff-necked(BN) and would not listen or respond to discipline.(BO) 24 But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy(BP) by not doing any work on it, 25 then kings who sit on David’s throne(BQ) will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.(BR) 26 People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev,(BS) bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not obey(BT) me to keep the Sabbath(BU) day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire(BV) in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’”(BW)

At the Potter’s House

18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay(BX) in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,(BY) Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,(BZ) torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent(CA) and not inflict on it the disaster(CB) I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built(CC) up and planted, 10 and if it does evil(CD) in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider(CE) the good I had intended to do for it.(CF)

11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster(CG) for you and devising a plan(CH) against you. So turn(CI) from your evil ways,(CJ) each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’(CK) 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use.(CL) We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.(CM)’”

13 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“Inquire among the nations:
    Who has ever heard anything like this?(CN)
A most horrible(CO) thing has been done
    by Virgin(CP) Israel.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon
    ever vanish from its rocky slopes?
Do its cool waters from distant sources
    ever stop flowing?[d]
15 Yet my people have forgotten(CQ) me;
    they burn incense(CR) to worthless idols,(CS)
which made them stumble(CT) in their ways,
    in the ancient paths.(CU)
They made them walk in byways,
    on roads not built up.(CV)
16 Their land will be an object of horror(CW)
    and of lasting scorn;(CX)
all who pass by will be appalled(CY)
    and will shake their heads.(CZ)
17 Like a wind(DA) from the east,
    I will scatter them before their enemies;
I will show them my back and not my face(DB)
    in the day of their disaster.”

18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans(DC) against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest(DD) will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise,(DE) nor the word from the prophets.(DF) So come, let’s attack him with our tongues(DG) and pay no attention to anything he says.”

19 Listen to me, Lord;
    hear what my accusers(DH) are saying!
20 Should good be repaid with evil?(DI)
    Yet they have dug a pit(DJ) for me.
Remember that I stood(DK) before you
    and spoke in their behalf(DL)
    to turn your wrath away from them.
21 So give their children over to famine;(DM)
    hand them over to the power of the sword.(DN)
Let their wives be made childless and widows;(DO)
    let their men be put to death,
    their young men(DP) slain by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry(DQ) be heard from their houses
    when you suddenly bring invaders against them,
for they have dug a pit(DR) to capture me
    and have hidden snares(DS) for my feet.
23 But you, Lord, know
    all their plots to kill(DT) me.
Do not forgive(DU) their crimes
    or blot out their sins from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
    deal with them in the time of your anger.(DV)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 17:2 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
  2. Jeremiah 17:3 Or hills / and the mountains of the land. / Your
  3. Jeremiah 17:19 Or Army
  4. Jeremiah 18:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.

16 Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.

17 For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.

18 And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.

19 O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.

20 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?

21 Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The Lord.

17 The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;

Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.

O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders.

And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.

Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.

For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.

Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

11 As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.

12 A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.

13 O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.

14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

15 Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now.

16 As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.

17 Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.

18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.

19 Thus said the Lord unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

20 And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:

21 Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

22 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

23 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.

24 And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;

25 Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever.

26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the Lord.

27 But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

18 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.

Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.

And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;

If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.

And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;

10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

11 Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.

12 And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.

13 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing.

14 Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?

15 Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up;

16 To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.

17 I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.

18 Then said they, Come and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.

19 Give heed to me, O Lord, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me.

20 Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.

21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.

22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.

23 Yet, Lord, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.

Living to Please God

As for other matters, brothers and sisters,(A) we instructed you how to live(B) in order to please God,(C) as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

It is God’s will(D) that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;(E) that each of you should learn to control your own body[a](F) in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust(G) like the pagans,(H) who do not know God;(I) and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.[b](J) The Lord will punish(K) all those who commit such sins,(L) as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.(M) Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.(N)

Now about your love for one another(O) we do not need to write to you,(P) for you yourselves have been taught by God(Q) to love each other.(R) 10 And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia.(S) Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more,(T) 11 and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands,(U) just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders(V) and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

Believers Who Have Died

13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed(W) about those who sleep in death,(X) so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.(Y) 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again,(Z) and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.(AA) 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,(AB) will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.(AC) 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven,(AD) with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel(AE) and with the trumpet call of God,(AF) and the dead in Christ will rise first.(AG) 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left(AH) will be caught up together with them in the clouds(AI) to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord(AJ) forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another(AK) with these words.

The Day of the Lord

Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates(AL) we do not need to write to you,(AM) for you know very well that the day of the Lord(AN) will come like a thief in the night.(AO) While people are saying, “Peace and safety,”(AP) destruction will come on them suddenly,(AQ) as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.(AR)

Footnotes

  1. 1 Thessalonians 4:4 Or learn to live with your own wife; or learn to acquire a wife
  2. 1 Thessalonians 4:6 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God’s family.

Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:

That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

10 And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;

11 And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

Psalm 81[a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.[b] Of Asaph.

Sing for joy to God our strength;
    shout aloud to the God of Jacob!(A)
Begin the music, strike the timbrel,(B)
    play the melodious harp(C) and lyre.(D)

Sound the ram’s horn(E) at the New Moon,(F)
    and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival;
this is a decree for Israel,
    an ordinance of the God of Jacob.(G)
When God went out against Egypt,(H)
    he established it as a statute for Joseph.

I heard an unknown voice say:(I)

“I removed the burden(J) from their shoulders;(K)
    their hands were set free from the basket.
In your distress you called(L) and I rescued you,
    I answered(M) you out of a thundercloud;
    I tested you at the waters of Meribah.[c](N)
Hear me, my people,(O) and I will warn you—
    if you would only listen to me, Israel!
You shall have no foreign god(P) among you;
    you shall not worship any god other than me.
10 I am the Lord your God,
    who brought you up out of Egypt.(Q)
Open(R) wide your mouth and I will fill(S) it.

11 “But my people would not listen to me;
    Israel would not submit to me.(T)
12 So I gave them over(U) to their stubborn hearts
    to follow their own devices.

13 “If my people would only listen to me,(V)
    if Israel would only follow my ways,
14 how quickly I would subdue(W) their enemies
    and turn my hand against(X) their foes!
15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe(Y) before him,
    and their punishment would last forever.
16 But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;(Z)
    with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 81:1 In Hebrew texts 81:1-16 is numbered 81:2-17.
  2. Psalm 81:1 Title: Probably a musical term
  3. Psalm 81:7 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

81 Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.

Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery.

Blow up the trumpet in the new moon, in the time appointed, on our solemn feast day.

For this was a statute for Israel, and a law of the God of Jacob.

This he ordained in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out through the land of Egypt: where I heard a language that I understood not.

I removed his shoulder from the burden: his hands were delivered from the pots.

Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.

Hear, O my people, and I will testify unto thee: O Israel, if thou wilt hearken unto me;

There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.

10 I am the Lord thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.

11 But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me.

12 So I gave them up unto their own hearts' lust: and they walked in their own counsels.

13 Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!

14 I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.

15 The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever.

16 He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

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Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence,
    and do not claim a place among his great men;
it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,”(A)
    than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.

What you have seen with your eyes
    do not bring[a] hastily to court,
for what will you do in the end
    if your neighbor puts you to shame?(B)

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Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 25:8 Or nobles / on whom you had set your eyes. / Do not go

Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men:

For better it is that it be said unto thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.

Go not forth hastily to strive, lest thou know not what to do in the end thereof, when thy neighbour hath put thee to shame.

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