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Jeremiah’s Complaint
12 You are always righteous,(A) Lord,
when I bring a case(B) before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:(C)
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?(D)
Why do all the faithless live at ease?
2 You have planted(E) them, and they have taken root;
they grow and bear fruit.(F)
You are always on their lips
but far from their hearts.(G)
3 Yet you know me, Lord;
you see me and test(H) my thoughts about you.
Drag them off like sheep(I) to be butchered!
Set them apart for the day of slaughter!(J)
4 How long will the land lie parched(K)
and the grass in every field be withered?(L)
Because those who live in it are wicked,
the animals and birds have perished.(M)
Moreover, the people are saying,
“He will not see what happens to us.”
God’s Answer
5 “If you have raced with men on foot
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble[a] in safe country,
how will you manage in the thickets(N) by[b] the Jordan?
6 Your relatives, members of your own family—
even they have betrayed you;
they have raised a loud cry against you.(O)
Do not trust them,
though they speak well of you.(P)
7 “I will forsake(Q) my house,
abandon(R) my inheritance;
I will give the one I love(S)
into the hands of her enemies.(T)
8 My inheritance has become to me
like a lion(U) in the forest.
She roars at me;
therefore I hate her.(V)
9 Has not my inheritance become to me
like a speckled bird of prey
that other birds of prey surround and attack?
Go and gather all the wild beasts;
bring them to devour.(W)
10 Many shepherds(X) will ruin my vineyard
and trample down my field;
they will turn my pleasant field
into a desolate wasteland.(Y)
11 It will be made a wasteland,(Z)
parched and desolate before me;(AA)
the whole land will be laid waste
because there is no one who cares.
12 Over all the barren heights in the desert
destroyers will swarm,
for the sword(AB) of the Lord(AC) will devour(AD)
from one end of the land to the other;(AE)
no one will be safe.(AF)
13 They will sow wheat but reap thorns;
they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.(AG)
They will bear the shame of their harvest
because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”(AH)
14 This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance(AI) I gave my people Israel, I will uproot(AJ) them from their lands and I will uproot(AK) the people of Judah from among them. 15 But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion(AL) and will bring(AM) each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. 16 And if they learn(AN) well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’(AO)—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal(AP)—then they will be established among my people.(AQ) 17 But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy(AR) it,” declares the Lord.
A Linen Belt
13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” 2 So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.
3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time:(AS) 4 “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath[c](AT) and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” 5 So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.(AU)
6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” 7 So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride(AV) of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen(AW) to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts(AX) and go after other gods(AY) to serve and worship them,(AZ) will be like this belt—completely useless!(BA) 11 For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown(BB) and praise and honor.(BC) But they have not listened.’(BD)
Wineskins
12 “Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And if they say to you, ‘Don’t we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ 13 then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to fill with drunkenness(BE) all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. 14 I will smash them one against the other, parents and children alike, declares the Lord. I will allow no pity(BF) or mercy or compassion(BG) to keep me from destroying(BH) them.’”
Threat of Captivity
15 Hear and pay attention,
do not be arrogant,
for the Lord has spoken.(BI)
16 Give glory(BJ) to the Lord your God
before he brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble(BK)
on the darkening hills.
You hope for light,
but he will turn it to utter darkness
and change it to deep gloom.(BL)
17 If you do not listen,(BM)
I will weep in secret
because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly,
overflowing with tears,(BN)
because the Lord’s flock(BO) will be taken captive.(BP)
18 Say to the king(BQ) and to the queen mother,(BR)
“Come down from your thrones,
for your glorious crowns(BS)
will fall from your heads.”
19 The cities in the Negev will be shut up,
and there will be no one to open them.
All Judah(BT) will be carried into exile,
carried completely away.
20 Look up and see
those who are coming from the north.(BU)
Where is the flock(BV) that was entrusted to you,
the sheep of which you boasted?
21 What will you say when the Lord sets over you
those you cultivated as your special allies?(BW)
Will not pain grip you
like that of a woman in labor?(BX)
22 And if you ask yourself,
“Why has this happened to me?”(BY)—
it is because of your many sins(BZ)
that your skirts have been torn off(CA)
and your body mistreated.(CB)
23 Can an Ethiopian[d] change his skin
or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
who are accustomed to doing evil.(CC)
24 “I will scatter you like chaff(CD)
driven by the desert wind.(CE)
25 This is your lot,
the portion(CF) I have decreed for you,”
declares the Lord,
“because you have forgotten(CG) me
and trusted in false gods.(CH)
26 I will pull up your skirts over your face
that your shame may be seen(CI)—
27 your adulteries and lustful neighings,
your shameless prostitution!(CJ)
I have seen your detestable acts
on the hills and in the fields.(CK)
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
How long will you be unclean?”(CL)
Drought, Famine, Sword
14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:(CM)
2 “Judah mourns,(CN)
her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
3 The nobles send their servants for water;
they go to the cisterns
but find no water.(CO)
They return with their jars unfilled;
dismayed and despairing,
they cover their heads.(CP)
4 The ground is cracked
because there is no rain in the land;(CQ)
the farmers are dismayed
and cover their heads.
5 Even the doe in the field
deserts her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.(CR)
6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights(CS)
and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
for lack of food.”(CT)
7 Although our sins testify(CU) against us,
do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.(CV)
For we have often rebelled;(CW)
we have sinned(CX) against you.
8 You who are the hope(CY) of Israel,
its Savior(CZ) in times of distress,(DA)
why are you like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who stays only a night?
9 Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
like a warrior powerless to save?(DB)
You are among(DC) us, Lord,
and we bear your name;(DD)
do not forsake(DE) us!
10 This is what the Lord says about this people:
1 Paul, Silas[a](A) and Timothy,(B)
To the church of the Thessalonians(C) in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace and peace to you.(D)
Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians’ Faith
2 We always thank God for all of you(E) and continually mention you in our prayers.(F) 3 We remember before our God and Father(G) your work produced by faith,(H) your labor prompted by love,(I) and your endurance inspired by hope(J) in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 For we know, brothers and sisters[b] loved by God,(K) that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel(L) came to you not simply with words but also with power,(M) with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know(N) how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us(O) and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering(P) with the joy(Q) given by the Holy Spirit.(R) 7 And so you became a model(S) to all the believers in Macedonia(T) and Achaia.(U) 8 The Lord’s message(V) rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere.(W) Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned(X) to God from idols(Y) to serve the living and true God,(Z) 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven,(AA) whom he raised from the dead(AB)—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.(AC)
Paul’s Ministry in Thessalonica
2 You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you(AD) was not without results.(AE) 2 We had previously suffered(AF) and been treated outrageously in Philippi,(AG) as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition.(AH) 3 For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives,(AI) nor are we trying to trick you.(AJ) 4 On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.(AK) We are not trying to please people(AL) but God, who tests our hearts.(AM) 5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed(AN)—God is our witness.(AO) 6 We were not looking for praise from people,(AP) not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles(AQ) of Christ we could have asserted our authority.(AR) 7 Instead, we were like young children[c] among you.
Just as a nursing mother cares for her children,(AS) 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God(AT) but our lives as well.(AU)
Psalm 79
A psalm of Asaph.
1 O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;(A)
they have defiled(B) your holy temple,
they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.(C)
2 They have left the dead bodies of your servants
as food for the birds of the sky,(D)
the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild.(E)
3 They have poured out blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury(F) the dead.(G)
4 We are objects of contempt to our neighbors,
of scorn(H) and derision to those around us.(I)
5 How long,(J) Lord? Will you be angry(K) forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like fire?(L)
6 Pour out your wrath(M) on the nations
that do not acknowledge(N) you,
on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name;(O)
7 for they have devoured(P) Jacob
and devastated his homeland.
8 Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;(Q)
may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate need.(R)
9 Help us,(S) God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name’s sake.(T)
10 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”(U)
Before our eyes, make known among the nations
that you avenge(V) the outpoured blood(W) of your servants.
11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
12 Pay back into the laps(X) of our neighbors seven times(Y)
the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.
13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,(Z)
will praise you forever;(AA)
from generation to generation
we will proclaim your praise.
30 I went past the field of a sluggard,(A)
past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
31 thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.
32 I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest(B)—
34 and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.(C)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.