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Judgment for Believing the Misleading Lies of the False Prophets
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for good to come to these people![a] 12 Even if they fast, I will not hear their cries for help. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them.[b] Instead, I will kill them through wars, famines, and plagues.”[c]
13 Then I said, “Oh, Sovereign Lord,[d] look![e] The prophets are telling them that you said,[f] ‘You will not experience war or suffer famine.[g] I will give you lasting peace and prosperity in this land.’”[h]
14 Then the Lord said to me, “Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority![i] I did not send them. I did not commission them.[j] I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions,[k] and the delusions of their own mind. 15 I did not send those prophets, though they claim to be prophesying in my name. They may be saying, ‘No war or famine will happen in this land.’ But I, the Lord, say this about[l] them: ‘War and starvation will kill those prophets.’[m] 16 The people to whom they are prophesying will die through war and famine. Their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem and there will be no one to bury them. This will happen to the men and their wives, their sons, and their daughters.[n] For I will pour out on them the destruction they deserve.”[o]
Lament over Present Destruction and Threat of More to Come
17 “Tell these people this, Jeremiah:[p]
‘My eyes overflow with tears
day and night without ceasing.[q]
For my people, my dear children,[r] have suffered a crushing blow.
They have suffered a serious wound.[s]
18 If I go out into the countryside,
I see those who have been killed in battle.
If I go into the city,
I see those who are sick because of starvation.[t]
For both prophet and priest—
they go peddling in the land
but they are not humbled.’”[u]
19 Then I said,
“Lord,[v] have you completely rejected the nation of Judah?
Do you despise[w] the city of Zion?
Why have you struck us with such force
that we are beyond recovery?[x]
We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it.
We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror.[y]
20 Lord, we confess that we have been wicked.
We confess that our ancestors have done wrong.[z]
We have indeed[aa] sinned against you.
21 For the honor of your name,[ab] do not treat Jerusalem with contempt.
Do not treat with disdain the place where your glorious throne sits.[ac]
Be mindful of your covenant with us. Do not break it.[ad]
22 Do any of the worthless idols[ae] of the nations cause rain to fall?
Do the skies themselves send showers?
Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this?[af]
So we put our hopes in you[ag]
because you alone do all this.”
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for[ah] these people, I would not feel pity for them![ai] Get them away from me! Tell them to go away![aj] 2 If they ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ tell them the Lord says this:
“Those who are destined to die of disease will go to death by disease.
Those who are destined to die in war will go to death in war.
Those who are destined to die of starvation will go to death by starvation.
Those who are destined to go into exile will go into exile.[ak]
3 “I will punish them in four different ways: I will have war kill them; I will have dogs drag off their dead bodies; I will have birds and wild beasts devour and destroy their corpses.[al] 4 I will make all the people in all the kingdoms of the world horrified at what has happened to them because of what Hezekiah’s son Manasseh, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.”[am]
5 The Lord cried out,[an]
“Who in the world[ao] will have pity on you, Jerusalem?
Who will grieve over you?
Who will stop long enough[ap]
to inquire about how you are doing?[aq]
6 I, the Lord, say:[ar] ‘You people have deserted me;
you keep turning your back on me.’[as]
So I have unleashed my power against you[at] and have begun to destroy you.[au]
I have grown tired of feeling sorry for you!”[av]
7 The Lord continued,[aw]
“In every town in the land I will purge them
like straw blown away by the wind.[ax]
I will destroy my people.
I will kill off their children.
I will do so because they did not change their behavior.[ay]
8 Their widows will become in my sight more numerous[az]
than the grains of sand on the seashores.
At noontime I will bring a destroyer
against the mothers of their young men.[ba]
I will cause anguish[bb] and terror
to fall suddenly upon them.[bc]
9 The mother who had seven children[bd] will grow faint.
All the breath will go out of her.[be]
Her pride and joy will be taken from her in the prime of their life.
It will seem as if the sun had set while it was still day.[bf]
She will suffer shame and humiliation.[bg]
I will cause any of them who are still left alive
to be killed in war by the onslaughts of their enemies,”[bh]
says the Lord.
Jeremiah Complains about His Lot and The Lord Responds
10 I said,[bi]
“Oh, mother, how I regret[bj] that you ever gave birth to me!
I am always starting arguments and quarrels with the people of this land.[bk]
I have not lent money to anyone and I have not borrowed from anyone.
Yet all these people are treating me with contempt.”[bl]
11 The Lord said,
“Jerusalem,[bm] I will surely send you away for your own good.
I will surely[bn] bring the enemy upon you in a time of trouble and distress.
12 Can you people who are like iron and bronze
break that iron fist from the north?[bo]
13 I will give away your wealth and your treasures as plunder.
I will give it away free of charge for the sins you have committed throughout your land.
14 I will make you serve your enemies[bp] in a land that you know nothing about.
For my anger is like a fire that will burn against you.”
15 I said,[bq]
“Lord, you know how I suffer.[br]
Take thought of me and care for me.
Pay back for me those who have been persecuting me.
Do not be so patient with them that you allow them to kill me.
Be mindful of how I have put up with their insults for your sake.
16 As your words came to me I drank them in,[bs]
and they filled my heart with joy and happiness
because I belong to you,[bt] O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.[bu]
17 I did not spend my time in the company of other people,
laughing and having a good time.
I stayed to myself because I felt obligated to you[bv]
and because I was filled with anger at what they had done.
18 Why must I continually suffer such painful anguish?
Why must I endure the sting of their insults like an incurable wound?
Will you let me down when I need you,
like a brook one goes to for water, but that cannot be relied on?”[bw]
19 Because of this, the Lord said,[bx]
“You must repent of such words and thoughts!
If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me.[by]
If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless,
I will again allow you to be my spokesman.[bz]
They must become as you have been.
You must not become like them.[ca]
20 I will make you as strong as a wall to these people,
a fortified wall of bronze.
They will attack you,
but they will not be able to overcome you.
For I will be with you to rescue you and deliver you,”[cb]
says the Lord.
21 “I will deliver you from the power of the wicked.
I will free you from the clutches of violent people.”
Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry, to Mourn, or to Feast
16 The Lord’s message came to me, 2 “Do not get married and do not have children here in this land. 3 For I, the Lord, tell you what will happen to[cc] the children who are born here in this land and to the men and women who are their mothers and fathers.[cd] 4 They will die of deadly diseases. No one will mourn for them. They will not be buried. Their dead bodies will lie like manure spread on the ground. They will be killed in war or die of starvation. Their corpses will be food for the birds and wild animals.
5 “Moreover I, the Lord, tell you:[ce] ‘Do not go into a house where they are having a funeral meal. Do not go there to mourn and express your sorrow for them. For I have stopped showing them my good favor,[cf] my love, and my compassion. I, the Lord, so affirm it![cg] 6 Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them.[ch] 7 No one will take any food to those who mourn for the dead to comfort them. No one will give them any wine to drink to console them for the loss of their father or mother.
8 “‘Do not go to a house where people are feasting and sit down to eat and drink with them either. 9 For I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, tell you what will happen.[ci] I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in this land. You and the rest of the people will live to see this happen.’[cj]
The Lord Promises Exile But Also Restoration
10 “When you tell these people about all this,[ck] they will undoubtedly ask you, ‘Why has the Lord threatened us with such great disaster? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done to offend the Lord our God?’ 11 Then tell them that the Lord says,[cl] ‘It is because your ancestors[cm] rejected me and paid allegiance to[cn] other gods. They have served them and worshiped them. But they have rejected me and not obeyed my law.[co] 12 And you have acted even more wickedly than your ancestors! Each one of you has followed the stubborn inclinations of your own wicked heart and not obeyed me.[cp] 13 So I will throw you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your ancestors have ever known. There you must worship other gods day and night, for I will show you no mercy.’”
14 Yet[cq] I, the Lord, say:[cr] “A new time will certainly come.[cs] People now affirm their oaths with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.’ 15 But in that time they will affirm them with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them.’ At that time I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors.”[ct]
9 For you recall, brothers and sisters,[a] our toil and drudgery: By working night and day so as not to impose a burden on any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, as to how holy and righteous and blameless our conduct was toward you who believe. 11 As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his own children, 12 exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you live in a way worthy of God who calls you to his own kingdom and his glory. 13 And so[b] we too constantly thank God that when you received God’s message that you heard from us,[c] you accepted it not as a human message,[d] but as it truly is, God’s message, which is at work among you who believe. 14 For you became imitators, brothers and sisters,[e] of God’s churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they in fact did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets[f] and persecuted us severely.[g] They are displeasing to God and are opposed to all people, 16 because they hinder us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. Thus they constantly fill up their measure of sins,[h] but wrath[i] has come upon them completely.[j]
Forced Absence from Thessalonica
17 But when we were separated from you, brothers and sisters,[k] for a short time (in presence, not in affection)[l] we became all the more fervent in our great desire[m] to see you in person.[n] 18 For we wanted to come to you (I, Paul, in fact tried again and again)[o] but Satan thwarted us. 19 For who is our hope or joy or crown to boast of[p] before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not of course you? 20 For you are our glory and joy!
3 So when we could bear it no longer, we decided to stay on in Athens alone. 2 We[q] sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker for God[r] in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen you and encourage you about your faith, 3 so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. 4 For in fact when we were with you, we were telling you in advance that we would suffer affliction, and so it has happened, as you well know.[s] 5 So[t] when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter somehow tempted you and our toil had proven useless.
6 But now Timothy has come[u] to us from you and given us the good news of your faith and love and that you always think of us with affection[v] and long to see us just as we also long to see you![w] 7 So[x] in all our distress and affliction, we were reassured about you, brothers and sisters,[y] through your faith. 8 For now we are alive again,[z] if you stand firm in the Lord. 9 For how can we thank God enough for you,[aa] for all the joy we feel[ab] because of you before our God? 10 We pray earnestly night and day to see you in person[ac] and make up what may be lacking in your faith.
11 Now may God our Father himself and our Lord Jesus direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another and for all, just as we do for you, 13 so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.[ad]
Psalm 80[a]
For the music director, according to the shushan-eduth style;[b] a psalm of Asaph.
80 O Shepherd of Israel, pay attention,
you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep.
You who sit enthroned above the cherubim,[c] reveal your splendor.[d]
2 In the sight of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh reveal[e] your power.
Come and deliver us.[f]
3 O God, restore us.
Smile on us.[g] Then we will be delivered.[h]
4 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[i]
how long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you?[j]
5 You have given them tears as food;[k]
you have made them drink tears by the measure.[l]
6 You have made our neighbors dislike us,[m]
and our enemies insult us.
7 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[n] restore us.
Smile on us.[o] Then we will be delivered.[p]
8 You uprooted a vine[q] from Egypt;
you drove out nations and transplanted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;[r]
it took root,[s]
and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the highest cedars[t] by its branches.
11 Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,[u]
and its shoots the Euphrates River.[v]
12 Why did you break down its walls,[w]
so that all who pass by pluck its fruit?[x]
13 The wild boars of the forest ruin it;[y]
the insects[z] of the field feed on it.
14 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[aa] come back.
Look down from heaven and take notice.
Take care of this vine,
15 the root[ab] your right hand planted,
the shoot you made to grow.[ac]
16 It is burned[ad] and cut down.
May those who did this die because you are displeased with them.[ae]
17 May you give support to the one you have chosen,[af]
to the one whom you raised up for yourself.[ag]
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Revive us and we will pray to you.[ah]
19 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[ai] restore us.
Smile on us.[aj] Then we will be delivered.[ak]
Proverbs of Solomon Collected by Hezekiah
25 These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of King Hezekiah of Judah copied:[a]
and it is the glory of a king to search out a matter.
3 As the heaven is high[d] and the earth is deep
so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.[e]
4 Remove the dross from the silver,
and material[f] for the silversmith will emerge;
5 remove the wicked from before the king,[g]
and his throne[h] will be established in righteousness.[i]
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