Jeremiah 4:1-18

English Standard Version

4 “If you return, O Israel,
declares the Lord,
    ^(A)to me you should return.
If you remove your detestable things from my presence,
    ^(B)and do not waver,
²^(C)and if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’
    in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
then ^(D)nations shall bless themselves in him,
    ^(E)and in him shall they glory.”

³For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

^(F)“Break up your fallow ground,
    and ^(G)sow not among thorns.
⁴^(H)Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;
    remove the foreskin of your hearts,
    O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;
^(I)lest my wrath go forth like fire,
    and burn with none to quench it,
    ^(J)because of the evil of your deeds.”

Disaster from the North

⁵Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,

^(K)“Blow the trumpet through the land;
    cry aloud and say,
^(L)‘Assemble, and let us go
    into the fortified cities!’
⁶^(M)Raise a standard toward Zion,
    flee for safety, stay not,
for I bring disaster from ^(N)the north,
    ^(O)and great destruction.
⁷^(P)A lion has gone up from his thicket,
    a destroyer of nations has set out;
    he has gone out from his place
to make your land a waste;
    your cities will be ruins
    ^(Q)without inhabitant.
⁸For this ^(R)put on sackcloth,
    lament and wail,
for ^(S)the fierce anger of the Lord
    has not turned back from us.”

⁹“In that day, declares the Lord, ^(T)courage shall fail both king and officials. The priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded.” ¹⁰Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, ^(U)surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ whereas the sword has reached their very life.”

¹¹At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from ^(V)the bare heights in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse, ¹²a wind too full for this comes for me. Now it is I who ^(W)speak in judgment upon them.”

¹³Behold, he comes up like clouds;
    ^(X)his chariots like the whirlwind;
his horses are ^(Y)swifter than eagles—
    woe to us, ^(Z)for we are ruined!
¹⁴O Jerusalem, ^(AA)wash your heart from evil,
    that you may be saved.
How long shall your wicked thoughts
    lodge within you?
¹⁵For a voice ^(AB)declares from Dan
    and proclaims trouble from ^(AC)Mount Ephraim.
¹⁶Warn the nations that he is coming;
    announce to Jerusalem,
“Besiegers come ^(AD)from a distant land;
    they shout against the cities of Judah.
¹⁷Like keepers of a field ^(AE)are they against her all around,
    because she has rebelled against me,
declares the Lord.
¹⁸Your ways and your deeds
    have brought this upon you.
This is your doom, and ^(AF)it is bitter;
    it has reached your very heart.”

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2 Corinthians 4

English Standard Version

The Light of the Gospel

4 Therefore, having ^(A)this ministry ^(B)by the mercy of God,^[a] we do not lose heart. ²But we have renounced ^(C)disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice^[b] cunning or ^(D)to tamper with God's word, but ^(E)by the open statement of the truth ^(F)we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. ³And even ^(G)if our gospel is veiled, ^(H)it is veiled to ^(I)those who are perishing. ⁴In their case ^(J)the god of this world ^(K)has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing ^(L)the light of ^(M)the gospel of the glory of Christ, ^(N)who is the image of God. ⁵For what ^(O)we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ^(P)ourselves as your servants^[c] for Jesus' sake. ⁶For God, who said, ^(Q)“Let light shine out of darkness,” ^(R)has shone in our hearts to give ^(S)the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Treasure in Jars of Clay

⁷But we have this treasure in ^(T)jars of clay, ^(U)to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. ⁸We are ^(V)afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; ⁹persecuted, but ^(W)not forsaken; ^(X)struck down, but not destroyed; ¹⁰^(Y)always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, ^(Z)so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. ¹¹For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹²So ^(AA)death is at work in us, but life in you.

¹³Since we have ^(AB)the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ^(AC)“I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, ¹⁴knowing that ^(AD)he who raised the Lord Jesus ^(AE)will raise us also with Jesus and ^(AF)bring us with you into his presence. ¹⁵For ^(AG)it is all for your sake, so that as ^(AH)grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, ^(AI)to the glory of God.

¹⁶So we do not lose heart. ^(AJ)Though our outer self^[d] is wasting away, ^(AK)our inner self ^(AL)is being renewed day by day. ¹⁷For ^(AM)this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, ¹⁸^(AN)as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Footnotes

2 Corinthians 4:1 Greek having this ministry as we have received mercy
2 Corinthians 4:2 Greek to walk in
2 Corinthians 4:5 Or slaves (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface)
2 Corinthians 4:16 Greek man

Jeremiah 5:1-19

English Standard Version

Jerusalem Refused to Repent

5 ^(A)Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
    look and take note!
Search her squares to see
    ^(B)if you can find a man,
one who does justice
    and seeks truth,
^(C)that I may pardon her.
²^(D)Though they say, “As the Lord lives,”
    ^(E)yet they swear falsely.
³O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?
^(F)You have struck them down,
    but they felt no anguish;
you have consumed them,
    but they refused to take correction.
^(G)They have made their faces harder than rock;
    they have refused to repent.

⁴Then I said, “These are only the poor;
    they have no sense;
^(H)for they do not know the way of the Lord,
    the justice of their God.
⁵I will go to the great
    and will speak to them,
for they know the way of the Lord,
    the justice of their God.”
^(I)But they all alike had broken the yoke;
    they had burst the bonds.

⁶Therefore ^(J)a lion from the forest shall strike them down;
    a ^(K)wolf from the desert shall devastate them.
^(L)A leopard is watching their cities;
    everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,
because their transgressions are many,
    their ^(M)apostasies are great.

⁷^(N)“How can I pardon you?
    Your children have forsaken me
    ^(O)and have sworn by those who are no gods.
^(P)When I fed them to the full,
    ^(Q)they committed adultery
    ^(R)and trooped to the houses of whores.
⁸They were well-fed, lusty stallions,
    ^(S)each neighing ^(T)for his neighbor's wife.
⁹^(U)Shall I not punish them for these things?
declares the Lord;
    and shall I not avenge myself
    on a nation such as this?

¹⁰^(V)“Go up through her vine rows and destroy,
    ^(W)but make not a full end;
strip away her branches,
    for they are not the Lord's.
¹¹^(X)For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
    have been utterly treacherous to me,
declares the Lord.
¹²They have spoken falsely of the Lord
    and have said, ‘He will do nothing;
^(Y)no disaster will come upon us,
    ^(Z)nor shall we see sword or famine.
¹³The prophets will become wind;
    the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done to them!’”

The Lord Proclaims Judgment

¹⁴Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts:
“Because you have spoken this word,
behold, ^(AA)I am making my words in your mouth ^(AB)a fire,
    and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them.
¹⁵^(AC)Behold, I am bringing against you
    a nation from afar, O house of Israel,
declares the Lord.
It is an enduring nation;
    it is an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know,
    ^(AD)nor can you understand what they say.
¹⁶^(AE)Their quiver is like ^(AF)an open tomb;
    they are all mighty warriors.
¹⁷^(AG)They shall eat up your harvest and your food;
    they shall eat up your sons and your daughters;
they shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
    they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
your ^(AH)fortified cities in which you trust
    they shall beat down with the sword.”

¹⁸“But even in those days, declares the Lord, ^(AI)I will not make a full end of you. ¹⁹And when your people say, ^(AJ)‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, ^(AK)so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’”

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2 Corinthians 5

English Standard Version

Our Heavenly Dwelling

5 For we know that if ^(A)the tent that is ^(B)our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, ^(C)a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ²For in this tent ^(D)we groan, longing to ^(E)put on our heavenly dwelling, ³if indeed by putting it on^[a] we may not be found naked. ⁴For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal ^(F)may be swallowed up by life. ⁵He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, ^(G)who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

⁶So we are always of good courage. We know that ^(H)while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, ⁷for ^(I)we walk by faith, not ^(J)by sight. ⁸Yes, we are of good courage, and we ^(K)would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to ^(L)please him. ¹⁰For ^(M)we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, ^(N)so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

The Ministry of Reconciliation

¹¹Therefore, knowing ^(O)the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But ^(P)what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience. ¹²^(Q)We are not commending ourselves to you again but ^(R)giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. ¹³For if we ^(S)are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. ¹⁴For the love of Christ ^(T)controls us, because we have concluded this: that ^(U)one has died for all, therefore all have died; ¹⁵and he died for all, ^(V)that those who live might no longer live for themselves but ^(W)for him who for their sake died and was raised.

¹⁶From now on, therefore, ^(X)we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is ^(Y)in Christ, he is ^(Z)a new creation.^[b] ^(AA)The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. ¹⁸All this is from God, ^(AB)who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us ^(AC)the ministry of reconciliation; ¹⁹that is, in Christ God was reconciling^[c] the world to himself, ^(AD)not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us ^(AE)the message of reconciliation. ²⁰Therefore, ^(AF)we are ambassadors for Christ, ^(AG)God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. ²¹^(AH)For our sake he made him to be sin ^(AI)who knew no sin, so that in him we might become ^(AJ)the righteousness of God.