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26 The word of the Eternal came to Jeremiah not long after Jehoiakim (son of Josiah) began his reign as king of Judah.
Eternal One: 2 Stand in the court of My temple, and speak to the crowds who have come to worship from all the towns of Judah. Give them all of My words, Jeremiah; don’t leave out a single one. 3 Maybe they will listen this time, and each one of them will stop the evil actions and return to My path. Then I, too, will stop the impending disaster I have planned for them because of all the evil things they do. 4 Tell them what the Eternal says: “If you will not listen to Me or obey My law that I have already given you, 5 and if you will not listen to what My servants the prophets have to say even after I’ve sent them to you again and again, 6 then I will deal with this temple as I did Shiloh. But this time I will also make this very city a curse for all the nations of the earth.”
7 The priests and the so-called prophets and the crowds heard the message Jeremiah delivered in the temple of the Eternal. 8 As soon as Jeremiah finished saying all the Eternal directed him to say, the priests, the prophets, and those who stopped to listen grabbed him and began to shout.
Temple Audience: You deserve to die! 9 Why have you uttered such prophecies in the name of the Eternal declaring that this temple will be destroyed like Shiloh and Jerusalem will be empty and lifeless?
Jeremiah has a lot of nerve. To speak against Jerusalem and the temple—God’s holy place on earth—is tantamount to blasphemy, and blasphemers deserve death.
At this point, a large mob of people gathered around Jeremiah in the Eternal’s temple.
10 When some officials of Judah heard what was happening, they left the palace and hurried to take their seats at the entryway of the new gate leading to the Eternal’s temple. 11 The priests and so-called prophets brought charges against Jeremiah to these officials as the crowd looked on.
Priests and Prophets: This man should be sentenced to death! You heard with your own ears how he prophesied against our city.
Jeremiah (to the officials and the crowd): 12 The Eternal sent me to prophesy against the temple and this city—every word you heard came from Him. 13 If you stop your evil actions and obey the Eternal your God, then He will stop the impending disaster He has planned for you. 14 As for me, my fate is in your hands. Do with me what you think is right and fair. 15 But know this: if you execute me, innocent blood will be on your hands and on this city and on all who live here, because the Eternal truly did send me to speak each and every word you heard.
Officials and the Crowd (to the priests and prophets): 16 This man should not be sentenced to death because he has spoken to us in the name of the Eternal our God.
17 At this point, some of the elders, who were leaders of other communities, stood and supported the verdict, speaking to the entire crowd.
Elders: 18 Remember the prophet Micah of Moresheth in the days of King Hezekiah of Judah. It was he who said to the people of Judah, “This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has to say:
Zion will be plowed under like a field,
Jerusalem will be left in ruins,
And the hill on which the temple stands
will be overgrown like a forest.”[a]
19 As difficult as those words were to hear, did King Hezekiah or anyone else in Judah demand Micah’s death? No, he humbly worshiped the Eternal and asked for mercy, and what happened then? The Eternal stopped the impending disaster he had planned for them and turned back the Assyrian army. Now it is our turn to listen to the prophet of God, but instead, we are about to bring this terrible disaster upon ourselves by ignoring Him again!
20 Uriah (son of Shemaiah) from Kiriath-jearim had prophesied in the name of the Eternal with essentially the same message as Jeremiah against this city and nation. 21 When King Jehoiakim, his soldiers, and his officials heard what Uriah had been saying, they decided to kill him. When Uriah became aware of these plans, he was afraid and escaped to Egypt. 22 Then King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan (son of Achbor) to Egypt along with others to bring Uriah back. 23 Once they found him, they brought him back from Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him executed by a sword and then buried in a commoner’s grave.
24 Ahikam (son of Shaphan) used his influence to help Jeremiah. As a result, the prophet was not handed over to the people to be put to death.
27 Early in the reign of Zedekiah (son of Josiah), king of Judah, the word from the Eternal came to Jeremiah. 2 This is what He said to me.
Eternal One: Make a yoke out of leather straps and wooden bars, and place it upon your neck as you would upon an ox. 3 Then send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through the royal envoys they sent to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah. 4 Intercept them, and give them a message for their masters: “This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, says to your masters: 5 ‘By My great power and with My outstretched arm, I made the earth, along with all the people and animals that live on it. I am the ruler of all creation, and I give it to anyone I choose. 6 Watch now, as I have given all these lands over to Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon), who does My bidding. I will make even the wild animals serve him. 7 All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until that empire’s time is up. Only then will many nations and great kings rise up and make Babylon their slave. 8 Any nation or kingdom that refuses to serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon or put its neck under his yoke will be punished with war, famine, and disease. I promise you I will destroy it, and My weapon will be the conquering hand of Nebuchadnezzar himself. 9 So do not listen to your false prophets, your fortunetellers, your dreamers, your mediums, or your sorcerers who tell you, “Do not worry, for you will never have to serve the king of Babylon.” 10 Their prophecies are lies that will only separate you from your lands, for I will take you far from your home—I will drive you out, and you will die there. 11 However, any nation that will put its neck under the yoke of Babylon’s king and serve him will remain in their land. I will allow them to live there and to farm the land.’”
So declares the Eternal.
12 I delivered a similar message to King Zedekiah of Judah.
Jeremiah: Put your neck under the yoke of Babylon’s king. Serve him and his people so you and your people can live! 13 Why do you and your people insist on dying by war, famine, and disease? Do you not realize the Eternal has threatened any nation that refuses to serve the king of Babylon? 14 So do not listen to the false prophets who tell you, “Do not worry, you will never serve the king of Babylon.” Their prophecies are lies! 15 The Eternal declares, “I did not send these prophets to you. They are telling lies in My name. Therefore, I will drive you out and you will die—you who believe these lies and the prophets who speak them to you.”
The next three chapters are a collection of stories and prophetic sayings from the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah, who suffers from the same weaknesses and mistakes as his predecessors. These are challenging times for Judah: Jerusalem has already been invaded once by Nebuchadnezzar. It was then that the previous king was deported, along with thousands of necessary leaders, to Babylon. The people long for freedom from this empire and yearn for the day when the exiles will return home. But this new king, Zedekiah, does not lead his people back to God as they live through this time of judgment. Rather, he listens to false prophets and is eventually convinced by the surrounding nations to join a coalition that will attempt to revolt against Nebuchadnezzar. This mistake will lead to the siege of Jerusalem in 587 b.c. and to the destruction of the city itself in 586 b.c. During these restless years leading up to that revolt, Jeremiah continues to take the unpopular side on this very public debate. Now that Babylon is a part of God’s plan for Judah, it is critical for the king and his people not to revolt against the empire.
16 (to the priests and people) This is what the Eternal says: “Do not listen to the prophets who are trying to reassure you by saying, ‘It won’t be long before the articles stolen from the temple will be brought back from Babylon.’ They are lying to you! 17 Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon, and you will survive. Why would you sacrifice this city because you won’t listen? Why should it become a ruin to the destructive forces of your pride? 18 If they are truly My prophets and have My word, let them pray to the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, that what treasures are left in the temple and in the palace of Judah’s king will stay in Jerusalem and not be taken to Babylon.” 19-21 For this is surely what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, declares about the bronze pillars of the temple, the bronze sea, the bronze stands, and all the other treasured items King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon did not take from Jerusalem when he took Jeconiah (son of Jehoiakim), king of Judah, into exile away from Jerusalem and into Babylon, along with the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem: 22 “They will all be carried away to Babylon and will stay there until the day I come for them. This is what I, the Eternal One, promise. But the day will come when I will bring all these treasures back and restore them to this place.”
Paul brings the situation to life for them: on one side, the rebellious one opposes God by corrupting God’s world, telling lies, and instigating fear; but on the other side, there’s Jesus, who comes from above and rains mercy over the world with His blood. He stands ready to return to face these enemies. Paul is trying to explain this epic battle with eternal consequences to his friends who have been led astray by false revelations. While this spiritual battle will occur in the future, skirmishes representing the two sides are already taking place in the church; so remain diligent and faithful in service of the Lord.
3 Brothers and sisters, having shared all this, let me ask you to pray for us. Pray that this message of the Lord will spread quickly and receive the praise and respect it deserves from others as it has with you. 2 Pray also that we would all be rescued from the snares of harmful, wicked people—after all, not all people are believing. 3 Still, the Lord is true to His promises; He will hold you up and guard you against the evil one. 4 We do not doubt the Lord’s intentions for you; we are confident that you are carrying out, and will continue to carry out, the commands we are sending your way. 5 May the Lord guide your hearts into God’s pure love and keep you headed straight into the strong and sure grip of the Anointed One.
6 For the sake of the church, brothers and sisters, we insist in the name of our Lord Jesus the Anointed that you withdraw from any brother or sister who is out of order and unwilling to work, who is straying from the line of teaching we passed on to all of you. 7 You know how essential it is to imitate us in the way we live life. We were never undisciplined 8 nor did we take charity from anyone while we were with you. Instead, you saw how we worked very hard day and night so we wouldn’t be a burden to even one person in the community. 9 We had the right to depend on your help and hospitality, as you know; but we wanted to give you a model you could follow, to lay a path of footprints for you to walk in. 10 This is exactly why, while with you, we commanded you: “Anyone not willing to work shouldn’t get to eat!” 11 You see, we are hearing that some folks in the community are out of step with our teaching; they are idle, not working, but really busy doing nothing—and yet still expect to be fed! 12 If this is you or someone else in the community, we insist and urge you in the Lord Jesus the Anointed that you go to work quietly, earn your keep, put food on your own table, and supply your own necessities. 13 And to the rest of you, brothers and sisters, never grow tired of doing good.
14 If someone disregards the instructions of this letter, make a note of who it is and don’t have anything to do with that person so that this one may be shamed. 15 Don’t consider someone like this an enemy (he is an enemy only to himself) but warn him as if you were redirecting your own brother.
Work is part of the ongoing work of creation, an aspect of God’s image in us. Those who do not work will be unfulfilled and a burden to those around them.
16 And now, dear friends, may the Lord of peace Himself grace you with peace always and in everything. May the Lord be present with all of you.
17 This final greeting is by me, Paul, written by my own hand. This is my signature, letting you know that this is a genuine letter from me, and so I write to you:
18 May the grace of our Lord Jesus the Anointed be with all of you.
Psalm 85
For the worship leader. A song of the sons of Korah.
1 O Eternal One, there was a time when You were gracious to Your land;
You returned Jacob’s descendants from their captivity.
2 You forgave the iniquity of Your people,
covered all of their sins.
[pause][a]
3 There was a time when You restrained all of Your fierce wrath,
when You cooled Your hot anger.
4 O God of our salvation, bring us back again—as You did before—
and put away Your anger toward us.
5 Will You be mad at us forever?
Will You continue to be angry with our children and theirs?
6 Will You not bring us back to life once more
so that we, Your people, will find joy and pleasure in You?
7 O Eternal One, show us Your unfailing love;
give us what we truly need: Your salvation.
8 I will hear what the True God—the Eternal—will say,
for He will speak peace over His people,
peace over those who faithfully follow Him, [but do not let them abuse His gift and return to foolish ways].[b]
9 Without a doubt, His salvation is near for those who revere Him
so that He will be with us again and all His glory will fill this land.
10 Unfailing love and truth have met on their way;
righteousness and peace have kissed one another.
11 Truth will spring from the earth like a plant,
and justice will look down from the sky.
12 Yes, the Eternal will plant goodness in the earth,
and our land will yield great abundance.
13 Justice will come before Him,
marking out a path, setting a way for His feet.
16 When you find honey, remember to eat only what you need,
because if you eat in excess, you may be sick and lose all of it.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.