Jeremiah 5:20-31

New American Standard Bible

²⁰“Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
²¹‘Now hear this, you foolish and ^[a]senseless people,
Who have ^(A)eyes but do not see,
Who have ears but do not hear.
²²Do you not ^(B)fear Me?’ declares the Lord.
‘Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have ^(C)placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal limit, and it will not cross over it.
Though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, they will not cross over it.
²³But this people has a ^(D)stubborn and rebellious heart;
They have turned aside and departed.
²⁴They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the Lord our God,
Who ^(E)gives rain in its season,
Both ^(F)the autumn rain and the spring rain,
Who keeps for us
The ^(G)appointed weeks of the harvest.”
²⁵Your ^(H)wrongdoings have turned these away,
And your sins have kept good away from you.
²⁶For wicked people are found among My people,
They ^(I)watch like fowlers ^[b]lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch people.
²⁷Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of ^(J)deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.
²⁸They are ^(K)fat, they are sleek,
They also ^[c]excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the ^[d]^(L)orphan, so that they may be successful;
And they do not ^[e]defend the rights of the poor.
²⁹^(M)Shall I not punish them for these things?’ declares the Lord,
‘Or shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?’

³⁰“An appalling and ^(N)horrible thing
Has happened in the land:
³¹The ^(O)prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule ^[f]on their own authority;
And My people ^(P)love it this way!
But what will you do ^[g]when the end comes?

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Footnotes

Jeremiah 5:21 Lit without heart
Jeremiah 5:26 Perhaps, crouching down
Jeremiah 5:28 Lit pass over; or overlook deeds
Jeremiah 5:28 Or fatherless
Jeremiah 5:28 Lit judge
Jeremiah 5:31 Lit over their own hands
Jeremiah 5:31 Lit at the end of it

2 Corinthians 5:20-7:1

New American Standard Bible

²⁰Therefore, we are ^(A)ambassadors for Christ, ^(B)as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be ^(C)reconciled to God. ²¹He made Him who ^(D)knew no sin to be ^[a]^(E)sin in our behalf, so that we might become the ^(F)righteousness of God in Him.

Their Ministry Commended

6 And ^(G)working together with Him, ^(H)we also urge you not to receive ^(I)the grace of God in vain— ²for He says,

“^(J)At a favorable time I listened to you,
And on a day of salvation I helped you.”

Behold, now is “a favorable time,” behold, now is “a day of salvation”— ³^(K)giving no reason for taking offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, ⁴but in everything ^(L)commending ourselves as ^[b]^(M)servants of God, ^(N)in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in difficulties, ⁵in ^(O)beatings, in imprisonments, in ^(P)^[c]mob attacks, in labors, in sleeplessness, in ^(Q)hunger, ⁶in purity, in ^(R)knowledge, in ^(S)patience, in kindness, in the ^(T)Holy Spirit, in ^(U)genuine love, ⁷in ^(V)the word of truth, and in ^(W)the power of God; by ^(X)the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, ⁸by glory and ^(Y)dishonor, by ^(Z)evil report and good report; regarded as ^(AA)deceivers and yet ^(AB)true; ⁹as unknown and yet well known, as ^(AC)dying and yet behold, ^(AD)we are alive; as ^[d]punished and yet not put to death, ¹⁰as ^(AE)sorrowful yet always ^(AF)rejoicing, as ^(AG)poor yet making many rich, as ^(AH)having nothing and yet possessing ^(AI)all things.

¹¹^(AJ)Our mouth ^[e]has spoken freely to you, you Corinthians, our ^(AK)heart is opened wide. ¹²You are not restrained ^[f]by us, but ^(AL)you are restrained in your own ^[g]affections. ¹³Now in the same way in ^(AM)exchange—I am speaking as to ^(AN)children—open wide your hearts to us, you as well.

¹⁴^(AO)Do not be ^[h]mismatched with ^(AP)unbelievers; for what do righteousness and lawlessness ^(AQ)share together, or what does light have in common with darkness? ¹⁵Or what ^(AR)harmony does Christ have with ^[i]Belial, or ^[j]what does a ^(AS)believer share with an ^(AT)unbeliever? ¹⁶Or ^(AU)what agreement does ^[k]the temple of God have with idols? For we are ^[l]^(AV)the temple of ^(AW)the living God; just as God said,

“^(AX)I will ^(AY)dwell among them and ^(AZ)walk among them;
And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
¹⁷^(BA)Therefore, ^(BB)come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.
“And do not touch what is unclean;
And I will welcome you.
¹⁸^(BC)And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be ^(BD)sons and daughters to Me,”
Says the Lord Almighty.

Paul Reveals His Heart

7 Therefore, having these promises, ^(BE)beloved, ^(BF)let’s cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.

Footnotes

2 Corinthians 5:21 Or a sin offering
2 Corinthians 6:4 Or ministers
2 Corinthians 6:5 Lit tumults
2 Corinthians 6:9 Or disciplined
2 Corinthians 6:11 Lit is open to you
2 Corinthians 6:12 Or in us
2 Corinthians 6:12 Lit inward parts
2 Corinthians 6:14 Lit unevenly yoked
2 Corinthians 6:15 Gr Beliar; a name of the devil and the antichrist
2 Corinthians 6:15 Lit what part has a believer with an unbeliever
2 Corinthians 6:16 Or a temple
2 Corinthians 6:16 Or a temple

Jeremiah 6:1-21

New American Standard Bible

The Coming Destruction of Jerusalem

6 “Flee to safety, you sons of ^(A)Benjamin,
From the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow a trumpet in Tekoa
And raise a warning signal over ^[a]^(B)Beth-haccerem;
For evil looks down from the ^(C)north,
Along with a great destruction.
²The beautiful and ^(D)delicate one, ^(E)the daughter of Zion, I will destroy.
³^(F)Shepherds and their flocks will come to her,
They will ^(G)pitch their tents ^[b]around her,
They will pasture, each in his ^[c]place.
⁴‘^[d]^(H)Prepare for war against her;
Arise, and let’s ^[e]attack at ^(I)noon.
Woe to us, for the day declines,
For the shadows of the evening lengthen!
⁵Arise, and let’s ^[f]attack by night
And ^(J)destroy her ^[g]palaces!’”
⁶For this is what the Lord of armies says:
“^(K)Cut down her trees
And pile up an ^(L)assault ramp against Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished,
In whose midst there is only ^(M)oppression.
⁷^(N)As a well ^[h]keeps its waters fresh,
So she ^[i]keeps fresh her wickedness.
^(O)Violence and destruction are heard in her;
^(P)Sickness and wounds are constantly before Me.
⁸^(Q)Be warned, Jerusalem,
Or ^[j]^(R)I shall be alienated from you,
And make you a desolation,
An uninhabited land.”

⁹This is what the Lord of armies says:
“They will ^(S)thoroughly glean the ^(T)remnant of Israel like the vine;
Pass your hand over the branches again
Like a grape gatherer.”
¹⁰To whom shall I speak and give warning,
That they may hear?
Behold, their ^(U)ears are ^[k]closed
And they cannot listen.
Behold, ^(V)the word of the Lord has become for them a rebuke;
They take no delight in it.
¹¹But I am ^(W)full of the wrath of the Lord;
I am ^(X)weary of holding it in.
“^(Y)Pour it out on the children in the street
And on the ^[l]gathering of young men together;
For both husband and wife shall be taken,
The old ^[m]and the very old.
¹²Their ^(Z)houses shall be turned over to others,
Their fields and their wives together;
For I will ^(AA)stretch out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord.
¹³“For ^(AB)from the least of them to the greatest of them,
Everyone is ^(AC)greedy for gain,
And from the prophet to the priest
Everyone deals falsely.
¹⁴They have ^(AD)healed the brokenness of My people superficially,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.
¹⁵Were they ^(AE)ashamed because of the abomination they had done?
They were not ashamed at all,
Nor did they know even how to be ashamed.
Therefore they will fall among those who fall;
At the time that I punish them,
They will collapse,” says the Lord.

¹⁶This is what the Lord says:
“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ^(AF)ancient paths,
Where the good way is, and walk in it;
Then ^(AG)you will find a resting place for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
¹⁷And I set ^(AH)watchmen over you, saying,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
¹⁸Therefore hear, you nations,
And know, you congregation, what is among them.
¹⁹^(AI)Hear, earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,
The ^(AJ)fruit of their ^[n]plans,
Because they have not listened to My words,
And as for My Law, they have ^(AK)rejected it also.
²⁰^(AL)For what purpose does ^(AM)frankincense come to Me from Sheba,
And the ^[o]^(AN)sweet cane from a distant land?
^(AO)Your burnt offerings are not acceptable
And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”
²¹Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
“Behold, ^(AP)I am ^[p]placing stumbling blocks before this people.
And they will stumble against them,
^(AQ)Fathers and sons together;
Neighbor and ^[q]friend will perish.”

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Footnotes

Jeremiah 6:1 I.e., house of the vineyard
Jeremiah 6:3 Lit against her round about
Jeremiah 6:3 Lit hand
Jeremiah 6:4 Lit Sanctify war
Jeremiah 6:4 Lit go up
Jeremiah 6:5 Lit go up
Jeremiah 6:5 Or fortified towers
Jeremiah 6:7 Lit keeps cold
Jeremiah 6:7 Lit keeps cold
Jeremiah 6:8 Lit my soul
Jeremiah 6:10 Lit uncircumcised
Jeremiah 6:11 Lit council
Jeremiah 6:11 Lit with fullness of days
Jeremiah 6:19 Or devices
Jeremiah 6:20 Lit good
Jeremiah 6:21 Lit giving
Jeremiah 6:21 Lit his friend

2 Corinthians 7:2-16

New American Standard Bible

²^(A)Make room for us in your hearts; we have wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we have taken advantage of no one. ³I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said ^(B)before that you are ^(C)in our hearts, to die together and to live together. ⁴My ^(D)confidence ^[a]in you is great; my ^(E)boasting in your behalf is great. I am filled with ^(F)comfort; I am overflowing with ^(G)joy in all our affliction.

⁵For even when we came into ^(H)Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were ^(I)afflicted on every side: ^(J)conflicts on the outside, fears inside. ⁶But ^(K)God, who comforts the ^[b]discouraged, ^(L)comforted us by the arrival of ^(M)Titus; ⁷and not only by his arrival, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted among you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more. ⁸For though I ^(N)caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— ⁹I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything ^[c]through us. ¹⁰For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a ^(O)repentance ^[d]without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. ¹¹For behold what earnestness this very thing, this ^[e]godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what ^(P)longing, what zeal, what ^(Q)punishment of wrong! In everything you ^(R)demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter. ¹²So although ^(S)I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of ^(T)the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness in our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God. ¹³Because of this, we have been ^(U)comforted.

And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of ^(V)Titus, because his ^(W)spirit has been refreshed by you all. ¹⁴For if I have ^(X)boasted to him about you regarding anything, I was not put to shame. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before ^(Y)Titus proved to be the truth. ¹⁵His ^[f]affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the ^(Z)obedience of you all, how you received him with ^(AA)fear and trembling. ¹⁶I rejoice that in everything ^(AB)I have confidence in you.