Jeremiah 14

New International Version

Drought, Famine, Sword

14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:^(A)

²“Judah mourns,^(B)
    her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
    and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
³The nobles send their servants for water;
    they go to the cisterns
    but find no water.^(C)
They return with their jars unfilled;
    dismayed and despairing,
    they cover their heads.^(D)
⁴The ground is cracked
    because there is no rain in the land;^(E)
the farmers are dismayed
    and cover their heads.
⁵Even the doe in the field
    deserts her newborn fawn
    because there is no grass.^(F)
⁶Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights^(G)
    and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
    for lack of food.”^(H)

⁷Although our sins testify^(I) against us,
    do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.^(J)
For we have often rebelled;^(K)
    we have sinned^(L) against you.
⁸You who are the hope^(M) of Israel,
    its Savior^(N) in times of distress,^(O)
why are you like a stranger in the land,
    like a traveler who stays only a night?
⁹Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
    like a warrior powerless to save?^(P)
You are among^(Q) us, Lord,
    and we bear your name;^(R)
    do not forsake^(S) us!

¹⁰This is what the Lord says about this people:

“They greatly love to wander;
    they do not restrain their feet.^(T)
So the Lord does not accept^(U) them;
    he will now remember^(V) their wickedness
    and punish them for their sins.”^(W)

¹¹Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray^(X) for the well-being of this people. ¹²Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry;^(Y) though they offer burnt offerings^(Z) and grain offerings,^(AA) I will not accept^(AB) them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword,^(AC) famine^(AD) and plague.”^(AE)

¹³But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets^(AF) keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine.^(AG) Indeed, I will give you lasting peace^(AH) in this place.’”

¹⁴Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies^(AI) in my name. I have not sent^(AJ) them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions,^(AK) divinations,^(AL) idolatries^[a] and the delusions of their own minds. ¹⁵Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish^(AM) by sword and famine.^(AN) ¹⁶And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury^(AO) them, their wives, their sons and their daughters.^(AP) I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.^(AQ)

¹⁷“Speak this word to them:

“‘Let my eyes overflow with tears^(AR)
    night and day without ceasing;
for the Virgin^(AS) Daughter, my people,
    has suffered a grievous wound,
    a crushing blow.^(AT)
¹⁸If I go into the country,
    I see those slain by the sword;
if I go into the city,
    I see the ravages of famine.^(AU)
Both prophet and priest
    have gone to a land they know not.^(AV)’”

¹⁹Have you rejected Judah completely?^(AW)
    Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
    so that we cannot be healed?^(AX)
We hoped for peace
    but no good has come,
for a time of healing
    but there is only terror.^(AY)
²⁰We acknowledge^(AZ) our wickedness, Lord,
    and the guilt of our ancestors;^(BA)
    we have indeed sinned^(BB) against you.
²¹For the sake of your name^(BC) do not despise us;
    do not dishonor your glorious throne.^(BD)
Remember your covenant^(BE) with us
    and do not break it.
²²Do any of the worthless idols^(BF) of the nations bring rain?^(BG)
    Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
    Therefore our hope is in you,
    for you are the one who does all this.^(BH)

Footnotes

Jeremiah 14:14 Or visions, worthless divinations

1 Corinthians 9:1-18

New International Version

Paul’s Rights as an Apostle

9 Am I not free?^(A) Am I not an apostle?^(B) Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?^(C) Are you not the result of my work in the Lord?^(D) ²Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal^(E) of my apostleship in the Lord.

³This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. ⁴Don’t we have the right to food and drink?^(F) ⁵Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife^(G) along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers^(H) and Cephas^[a]?^(I) ⁶Or is it only I and Barnabas^(J) who lack the right to not work for a living?

⁷Who serves as a soldier^(K) at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard^(L) and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? ⁸Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? ⁹For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.”^[b]^(M) Is it about oxen that God is concerned?^(N) ¹⁰Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us,^(O) because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.^(P) ¹¹If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?^(Q) ¹²If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?

But we did not use this right.^(R) On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder^(S) the gospel of Christ.

¹³Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar?^(T) ¹⁴In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.^(U)

¹⁵But I have not used any of these rights.^(V) And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast.^(W) ¹⁶For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach.^(X) Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! ¹⁷If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward;^(Y) if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me.^(Z) ¹⁸What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge,^(AA) and so not make full use of my rights^(AB) as a preacher of the gospel.