Judah Threatened with Invasion

“If you will (A)return, Israel,” declares the Lord,
Then you should return to Me.
And (B)if you will put away your detestable things from My presence,
And will not waver,
And if you will (C)swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’
(D)In truth, in justice, and in righteousness;
Then the (E)nations will bless themselves in Him,
And (F)in Him they will boast.”

For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem:

[a](G)Break up your uncultivated ground,
And (H)do not sow among thorns.
(I)Circumcise yourselves to the Lord
And remove the foreskins of your hearts,
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Or else My (J)wrath will spread like fire
And burn with (K)no one to quench it,
Because of the evil of your deeds.”

Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,
(L)Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry aloud and say,
(M)Assemble, and let’s go
Into the fortified cities.’
Raise a (N)flag toward Zion!
Take refuge, do not stand still,
For I am bringing (O)evil from the north,
And great destruction.
A (P)lion has gone up from his thicket,
And a (Q)destroyer of nations has set out;
He has gone out from his place
To (R)make your land a waste.
Your cities will be ruins,
Without an inhabitant.
For this, (S)put on sackcloth,
Mourn and wail;
For the (T)fierce anger of the Lord
Has not turned away from us.”

“And it shall come about on that day,” declares the Lord, “that the (U)heart of the king and the hearts of the leaders will fail; and the priests will tremble, and the (V)prophets will be astonished.”

10 Then I said, “Oh, Lord [b]God! Surely You have utterly (W)deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘(X)You will have peace’; yet a sword touches the [c]throat.”

11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A (Y)scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness, in the direction of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse, 12 a wind too [d]strong for [e]this—will come [f]at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.”

13 “Behold, he (Z)goes up like clouds,
And his (AA)chariots like the whirlwind;
His horses are (AB)swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for (AC)we are ruined!”

14 Wash your heart from evil, Jerusalem,
So that you may be saved.
How long will your (AD)wicked thoughts
Lodge within you?
15 For a voice declares from (AE)Dan,
And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.
16 “Report it to the nations, now!
Proclaim to Jerusalem,
[g]Enemies are coming from a (AF)remote country,
And (AG)they raise their voices against the cities of Judah.
17 Like watchmen of a field they are (AH)against her all around,
Because she has (AI)rebelled against Me,’ declares the Lord.
18 Your (AJ)ways and your deeds
Have [h]brought these things upon you.
This is your evil. How (AK)bitter!
How it has touched your heart!”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 4:3 Lit Plow for yourselves plowed ground
  2. Jeremiah 4:10 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  3. Jeremiah 4:10 Or life
  4. Jeremiah 4:12 Lit full from
  5. Jeremiah 4:12 Lit these
  6. Jeremiah 4:12 Lit for Me
  7. Jeremiah 4:16 As indicated in LXX; MT watchmen
  8. Jeremiah 4:18 Lit done

Paul’s Apostolic Ministry

Therefore, since we have this (A)ministry, as we (B)received mercy, we (C)do not lose heart, but we have renounced the (D)things hidden because of shame, not walking in trickery nor (E)distorting the word of God, but by the open proclamation of the truth (F)commending ourselves to every person’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our (G)gospel is (H)veiled, it is veiled [a]to (I)those who are perishing, in whose case (J)the god of (K)this [b]world has (L)blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that [c]they will not see the (M)light of the gospel of the (N)glory of Christ, who is the (O)image of God. For we (P)do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants [d]on account of Jesus. For God, who said, “(Q)Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has (R)shone in our hearts to give the (S)Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in [e](T)earthen containers, so that the extraordinary greatness of (U)the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are (V)afflicted in every way, but not (W)crushed; (X)perplexed, but not despairing; (Y)persecuted, but not (Z)abandoned; (AA)struck down, but not destroyed; 10 (AB)always carrying around in the body the dying of Jesus, so that (AC)the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who live are constantly being handed over to death because of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh. 12 So death works in us, but life in you.

13 But having the same (AD)spirit of faith, according to what is written: “(AE)I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak, 14 knowing that He who (AF)raised the Lord Jesus (AG)will also raise us with Jesus, and will (AH)present us with you. 15 For all things are (AI)for your sakes, so that grace, having [f](AJ)spread to more and more people, will cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

16 Therefore we (AK)do not lose heart, but though our outer person is decaying, yet our (AL)inner person is (AM)being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary, (AN)light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we (AO)look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 4:3 Lit among
  2. 2 Corinthians 4:4 Lit age
  3. 2 Corinthians 4:4 Or the light...image of God, will not shine upon them
  4. 2 Corinthians 4:5 Two early mss through Jesus
  5. 2 Corinthians 4:7 Or earthenware containers
  6. 2 Corinthians 4:15 Lit multiplied through the many

Jerusalem’s Godlessness

(A)Roam about through the streets of Jerusalem,
And look and take notice.
And seek in her public squares,
If you can (B)find a person,
(C)If there is one who does justice, who seeks honesty,
Then I will forgive [a]her.
And (D)although they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’
Certainly they swear falsely.”
Lord, do (E)Your eyes not look for honesty?
You have (F)struck them,
But they did not [b]weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they (G)refused to accept discipline.
They have (H)made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to repent.

Then I said, “They are only the poor,
They are foolish;
For they (I)do not know the way of the Lord
Or the judgment of their God.
I will go to the great
And speak to them,
For (J)they know the way of the Lord
And the judgment of their God.”
But together they too have (K)broken the yoke
And burst the restraints.
Therefore (L)a lion from the forest will kill them,
A (M)wolf of the deserts will destroy them,
A (N)leopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces,
Because their (O)wrongdoings are many,
Their apostasies are numerous.

“Why should I forgive you?
Your sons have forsaken Me
And (P)sworn by those who are (Q)not gods.
When I had fed them to the full,
They (R)committed adultery
And stayed at the prostitute’s house.
They were well-fed lusty horses,
Each one neighing at his (S)neighbor’s wife.
Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares the Lord,
“And (T)shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?

10 “Go up through her vine rows and destroy,
But do not execute a complete destruction;
Strip away her branches,
For they are not the Lords.
11 For the (U)house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares the Lord.
12 They have (V)lied about the Lord
And said, “[c](W)Not He;
Misfortune will (X)not come upon us,
(Y)Nor will we see sword or famine.
13 The (Z)prophets are as wind,
And the word is not in them.
So it will be done to them!”

Judgment Proclaimed

14 Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of armies says:
“Because you have spoken this word,
Behold, I am (AA)making My words fire in your mouth,
And this people wood, and it will consume them.
15 Behold, I am (AB)bringing a nation against you from far away, you house of Israel,” declares the Lord.
“It is an enduring nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose (AC)language you do not know,
Nor can you understand what they say.
16 Their (AD)quiver is like an (AE)open grave,
All of them are warriors.
17 They will (AF)devour your harvest and your food;
They will devour your sons and your daughters;
They will devour your flocks and your herds;
They will devour your (AG)vines and your fig trees;
They will demolish your (AH)fortified cities, in which you trust, with the sword.

18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not make a complete destruction of you. 19 And it shall come about (AI)when [d]they say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Just as you have abandoned Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will (AJ)serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 5:1 I.e., Jerusalem
  2. Jeremiah 5:3 Or become sick
  3. Jeremiah 5:12 Lit He is not
  4. Jeremiah 5:19 Or you

The Temporal and Eternal

For we know that if our [a](A)earthly (B)tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house (C)not made by hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed, in this tent we (D)groan, longing to be (E)clothed with our [b]dwelling from heaven, since in fact after putting it on, we will not be found naked. For indeed, we who are in this tent (F)groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be (G)clothed, so that what is (H)mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who (I)gave us the Spirit as a [c]pledge.

Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that (J)while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord— for (K)we walk by faith, not by [d]sight— but we are of good courage and (L)prefer rather to be absent from the body and (M)to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be (N)pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before (O)the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for [e]his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad.

11 Therefore, knowing the (P)fear of the Lord, we persuade people, but we are well known to God; and I hope that we are also (Q)well known in your consciences. 12 We are not commending ourselves to you (R)again, but are giving you an (S)opportunity to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart. 13 For if we have (T)lost our minds, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ (U)controls us, having concluded this, that (V)one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that those who live would no longer (W)live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose on their behalf.

16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one [f](X)by the flesh; even though we have known Christ by the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is (Y)in Christ, this person is (Z)a new [g]creation; (AA)the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now (AB)all these things are from God, (AC)who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the (AD)ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that (AE)God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, (AF)not counting their wrongdoings against them, and [h]He has [i]committed to us the word of reconciliation.

20 Therefore, we are (AG)ambassadors for Christ, (AH)as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be (AI)reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who (AJ)knew no sin to be [j](AK)sin in our behalf, so that we might become the (AL)righteousness of God in Him.

Footnotes

  1. 2 Corinthians 5:1 Lit earthly house of the tent
  2. 2 Corinthians 5:2 I.e., the resurrected body
  3. 2 Corinthians 5:5 Or first installment
  4. 2 Corinthians 5:7 Or appearance
  5. 2 Corinthians 5:10 Lit the things
  6. 2 Corinthians 5:16 I.e., by what one is in the flesh
  7. 2 Corinthians 5:17 Or creature
  8. 2 Corinthians 5:19 Lit having
  9. 2 Corinthians 5:19 Lit placed in us
  10. 2 Corinthians 5:21 Or a sin offering

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