Jeremiah 1

English Standard Version

1 The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one ^(A)of the priests who were in ^(B)Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, ²to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of ^(C)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in ^(D)the thirteenth year of his reign. ³It came also in the days of ^(E)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and ^(F)until the end of the eleventh year of ^(G)Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, ^(H)until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

The Call of Jeremiah

⁴Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵^(I)“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born ^(J)I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet ^(K)to the nations.”

⁶Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, ^(L)I do not know how to speak, ^(M)for I am only a youth.” ⁷But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and ^(N)whatever I command you, you shall speak.
⁸^(O)Do not be afraid of them,
^(P)for I am with you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”

⁹^(Q)Then the Lord put out his hand and ^(R)touched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,

“Behold, I have put ^(S)my words in your mouth.
¹⁰See, I have set you this day ^(T)over nations and over kingdoms,
^(U)to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”

¹¹And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^(V)“Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond^[a] branch.” ¹²Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

¹³The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see ^(W)a boiling pot, facing away ^(X)from the north.” ¹⁴Then the Lord said to me, ^(Y)“Out of the north disaster^[b] shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁵For behold, ^(Z)I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, ^(AA)and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. ¹⁶And ^(AB)I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil ^(AC)in forsaking me. ^(AD)They have made offerings to other gods and ^(AE)worshiped the works of their own hands. ¹⁷But you, ^(AF)dress yourself for work;^[c] arise, and ^(AG)say to them everything that I command you. ^(AH)Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. ¹⁸And I, behold, I make you this day ^(AI)a fortified city, ^(AJ)an iron pillar, and ^(AK)bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. ¹⁹^(AL)They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for ^(AM)I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 1:11 Almond sounds like the Hebrew for watching (compare verse 12)
Jeremiah 1:14 The Hebrew word can mean evil, harm, or disaster, depending on the context; so throughout Jeremiah
Jeremiah 1:17 Hebrew gird up your loins

2 Timothy 3:10-4:8

English Standard Version

All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God

¹⁰^(A)You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, ¹¹my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me ^(B)at Antioch, ^(C)at Iconium, and ^(D)at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet ^(E)from them all ^(F)the Lord rescued me. ¹²Indeed, all who desire to ^(G)live a godly life in Christ Jesus ^(H)will be persecuted, ¹³while ^(I)evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and ^(J)being deceived. ¹⁴But as for you, ^(K)continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom^[a] you learned it ¹⁵and how ^(L)from childhood you have been acquainted with ^(M)the sacred writings, ^(N)which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶^(O)All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷that ^(P)the man of God^[b] may be complete, ^(Q)equipped ^(R)for every good work.

Preach the Word

4 ^(S)I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, ^(T)who is to judge the living and the dead, and by ^(U)his appearing and his kingdom: ²preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; ^(V)reprove, rebuke, and ^(W)exhort, with complete patience and teaching. ³^(X)For the time is coming when people will not endure ^(Y)sound^[c] teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, ⁴and ^(Z)will turn away from listening to the truth and ^(AA)wander off into myths. ⁵As for you, ^(AB)always be sober-minded, ^(AC)endure suffering, do the work of ^(AD)an evangelist, ^(AE)fulfill your ministry.

⁶For ^(AF)I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my ^(AG)departure has come. ⁷^(AH)I have fought the good fight, ^(AI)I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸Henceforth there is ^(AJ)laid up for me ^(AK)the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, ^(AL)the righteous judge, will award to me on ^(AM)that day, and not only to me but also to all ^(AN)who have loved his appearing.

Footnotes

2 Timothy 3:14 The Greek for whom is plural
2 Timothy 3:17 That is, a messenger of God (the phrase echoes a common Old Testament expression)
2 Timothy 4:3 Or healthy

Psalm 95

English Standard Version

Let Us Sing Songs of Praise

95 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;
    let us ^(A)make a joyful noise to ^(B)the rock of our salvation!
²Let us ^(C)come into his presence with thanksgiving;
    let us ^(D)make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
³For the Lord is ^(E)a great God,
    and a great King ^(F)above all gods.
⁴In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.
⁵The sea is his, for ^(G)he made it,
    and his hands formed ^(H)the dry land.

⁶Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us ^(I)kneel before the Lord, our ^(J)Maker!
⁷For he is our ^(K)God,
    and we are the people of his ^(L)pasture,
    and the sheep of his hand.
^(M)Today, if you ^(N)hear his voice,
⁸    ^(O)do not harden your hearts, as at ^(P)Meribah,
    as on the day at ^(Q)Massah in the wilderness,
⁹when your fathers put me to the ^(R)test
    and put me to the proof, though they had seen my ^(S)work.
¹⁰^(T)For forty years I loathed that generation
    and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
    and they have not known ^(U)my ways.”
¹¹Therefore I ^(V)swore in my wrath,
    “They shall not enter ^(W)my rest.”

Proverbs 25:18-19

English Standard Version

¹⁸A man who ^(A)bears false witness against his neighbor
is like a war club, or ^(B)a sword, or a sharp arrow.
¹⁹Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble
is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.