Jeremiah 11-13

New American Standard Bible

The Broken Covenant

11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ²“^(A)Hear the words of this ^(B)covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; ³and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: “^(C)Cursed is the one who does not obey the words of this covenant ⁴which I commanded your forefathers on the ^(D)day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the ^(E)iron furnace, saying, ‘^(F)Listen to My voice, and ^[a]do according to all that I command you; so you shall be ^(G)My people, and I will be your God,’ ⁵in order to confirm the ^(H)oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.”’” Then I replied, “^(I)Amen, Lord.”

⁶And the Lord said to me, “^(J)Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, ‘^(K)Hear the words of this covenant and ^(L)do them. ⁷For I solemnly ^(M)warned your fathers on the ^(N)day I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, ^(O)warning them persistently, saying, “^(P)Listen to My voice.” ⁸Yet they ^(Q)did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in the stubbornness of their evil heart, each one of them; therefore I brought on them all the ^(R)words of this covenant which I commanded them to do, but they did not.’”

⁹Then the Lord said to me, “A ^(S)conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰They have ^(T)turned back to the wrongdoings of their ^[b]ancestors who ^(U)refused to hear My words, and they ^(V)have followed other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have ^(W)broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.” ¹¹Therefore this is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am ^(X)bringing disaster on them which they will ^(Y)not be able to escape; though they will ^(Z)cry out to Me, I will not listen to them. ¹²Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will ^(AA)go and cry out to the gods to whom they ^[c]burn incense, but they certainly will not save them in the time of their disaster. ¹³For your gods are ^[d]^(AB)as many as your cities, Judah; and ^[e]as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the ^(AC)shameful thing, altars for ^[f]^(AD)burning incense to Baal.

¹⁴“So as for you, ^(AE)do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will ^(AF)not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster.

¹⁵What right has My ^(AG)beloved in My house
When ^(AH)she has carried out many evil schemes?
Can the sacrificial flesh take away from you your disaster,
^[g]So that you can rejoice?”
¹⁶The Lord named you
“A ^(AI)green olive tree, beautiful in fruit and form”;
With the ^(AJ)noise of a great ^[h]tumult
He has ^(AK)set fire to it,
And its branches are worthless.

¹⁷The Lord of armies, who ^(AL)planted you, has ^(AM)pronounced evil against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, which they have ^[i]done to provoke Me by ^[j]^(AN)offering sacrifices to Baal.

Plots against Jeremiah

¹⁸Moreover, the Lord ^(AO)made it known to me and I knew it;
Then You showed me their deeds.
¹⁹But I was like a gentle ^(AP)lamb led to the slaughter;
And I did not know that they had ^(AQ)devised plots against me, saying,
“Let’s destroy the tree with its ^[k]fruit,
And ^(AR)let’s cut him off from the ^(AS)land of the living,
So that his ^(AT)name will no longer be remembered.”
²⁰But, Lord of armies, who ^(AU)judges righteously,
Who ^(AV)puts the ^[l]feelings and the heart to the test,
Let me see Your vengeance on them,
For to You I have ^[m]committed my cause.

²¹Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the people of ^(AW)Anathoth, who are ^(AX)seeking your life, saying: “^(AY)Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, so that you do not ^(AZ)die by our hand”; ²²therefore, this is what the Lord of armies says: “Behold, I am going to ^(BA)punish them! The ^(BB)young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine; ²³and a remnant ^(BC)will not be left to them, because I will ^(BD)bring disaster on the people of Anathoth—^(BE)the year of their punishment.”

Jeremiah’s Prayer

12 ^(BF)Righteous are You, Lord, when I plead my case with You;
Nevertheless I would ^(BG)discuss matters of justice with You:
Why has the ^(BH)way of the wicked prospered?
Why are all those who ^(BI)deal in treachery at ease?
²You have ^(BJ)planted them, they have also taken root;
They grow, they have also produced fruit.
You are ^(BK)near ^[n]to their lips
But far from their ^[o]mind.
³But You ^(BL)know me, Lord;
You see me
And ^(BM)examine my heart’s attitude toward You.
Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter,
And ^[p]set them apart for a ^(BN)day of slaughter!
⁴How long is the ^(BO)land to mourn,
And the ^(BP)vegetation of the ^[q]countryside to dry up?
Due to the ^(BQ)wickedness of those who live in it,
^(BR)Animals and birds have been snatched away,
Because people have said, “He will not see our final ^(BS)end.”

⁵“If you have run with infantrymen and they have tired you out,
How can you compete with horses?
If you fall down in a land of peace,
How will you do in the ^(BT)thicket by the Jordan?
⁶For even your ^(BU)brothers and the household of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously with you,
Even they have called aloud after you.
Do not believe them, though they say ^(BV)nice things to you.”

God’s Answer

⁷“I have ^(BW)forsaken My house,
I have abandoned My inheritance;
I have handed the ^(BX)beloved of My soul
Over to her enemies.
⁸My inheritance has become to Me
Like a lion in the forest;
She has ^[r]^(BY)roared against Me;
Therefore I have come to ^(BZ)hate her.
⁹Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me?
Are the ^(CA)birds of prey against her on every side?
Go, gather all the ^(CB)animals of the field,
Bring them to devour!
¹⁰Many ^(CC)shepherds have ruined My ^(CD)vineyard,
They have ^(CE)trampled down My field;
They have made My ^(CF)pleasant field
A desolate wilderness.
¹¹^[s]It has been made a desolation;
Desolate, it ^(CG)mourns ^[t]before Me;
The ^(CH)whole land has been made desolate,
Because no one ^(CI)takes it to heart.
¹²On all the ^[u]^(CJ)bare heights in the wilderness
Destroyers have come,
For the ^(CK)sword of the Lord is devouring
From one end of the land even to the ^[v]other;
There is ^(CL)no peace for ^[w]anyone.
¹³They have ^(CM)sown wheat but have harvested thorns,
They have ^(CN)strained themselves ^[x]to no profit.
So be ashamed of your ^(CO)produce
Because of the ^(CP)fierce anger of the Lord.”

¹⁴This is what the Lord says concerning all My ^(CQ)wicked neighbors who ^(CR)do harm to the inheritance with which I have endowed My people Israel: “Behold, I am going to drive them out of their land, and I will ^(CS)drive the house of Judah out from among them. ¹⁵And it will come about that after I have driven them out, I will ^(CT)again have compassion on them; and I will ^(CU)bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. ¹⁶Then, if they will really ^(CV)learn the ways of My people, to ^(CW)swear by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ just as they taught My people to ^(CX)swear by Baal, they will be ^(CY)built up in the midst of My people. ¹⁷But if they do not listen, then I will ^(CZ)drive out that nation, drive it out and destroy it,” declares the Lord.

The Ruined Undergarment

13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and ^(DA)buy yourself a linen undergarment and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.” ²So I bought the undergarment in accordance with the ^(DB)word of the Lord, and put it around my waist. ³Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, ⁴“Take the undergarment that you bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the ^(DC)Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice of the rock.” ⁵So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, ^(DD)as the Lord had commanded me. ⁶After many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from there the undergarment which I commanded you to hide there.” ⁷Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the undergarment from the place where I had hidden it; and behold, the undergarment was ruined, it was completely useless.

⁸Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ⁹“This is what the Lord says: ‘To the same extent I will destroy the ^(DE)pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. ¹⁰This wicked people, who ^(DF)refuse to listen to My words, who ^(DG)walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have followed other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this undergarment which is completely useless. ¹¹For as the undergarment clings to the waist of a man, so I made the entire household of Israel and the entire household of Judah ^(DH)cling to Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘so that they might be My people, for ^[y]^(DI)renown, for ^(DJ)praise, and for glory; but they ^(DK)did not listen.’

Captivity Threatened

¹²“Therefore you are to speak this word to them. ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: “Every jug is to be filled with wine.”’ And when they say to you, ‘Do we not very well know that every jug is to be filled with wine?’ ¹³then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to fill all the inhabitants of this land—the kings who sit for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with ^(DL)drunkenness! ¹⁴Then I will ^(DM)smash them against each other, both the ^(DN)fathers and the sons together,” declares the Lord. “I will ^(DO)not have compassion nor be troubled nor take pity so as to keep from destroying them.”’”

¹⁵Listen and pay attention, do not be ^(DP)haughty;
For the Lord has spoken.
¹⁶^(DQ)Give glory to the Lord your God
Before He brings ^(DR)darkness
And before your ^(DS)feet stumble
On the mountains in the dark,
And while you are hoping for light
He makes it into ^(DT)gloom,
And turns it into thick darkness.
¹⁷But ^(DU)if you do not listen to it,
My soul will ^(DV)weep in secret for such pride;
And my eyes will shed
And stream down tears,
Because the ^(DW)flock of the Lord has been taken captive.
¹⁸Say to the ^(DX)king and the queen mother,
“^(DY)Take a lowly seat,
For your beautiful ^(DZ)crown
Has come down from your head.”
¹⁹The ^(EA)cities of the Negev have been locked up,
And there is no one to open them;
All ^(EB)Judah has been taken into exile,
Wholly taken into exile.

²⁰“Raise your eyes and see
Those coming ^(EC)from the north.
Where is the ^(ED)flock that was given you,
Your beautiful sheep?
²¹What will you say when He appoints over you—
And you yourself had taught them—
Former ^(EE)companions to be head over you?
Will ^(EF)sharp pains not take hold of you
Like a woman in childbirth?
²²If you ^(EG)say in your heart,
‘^(EH)Why have these things happened to me?’
Because of the ^(EI)magnitude of your wrongdoing
^(EJ)Your skirts have been removed
And your ^[z]heels have suffered violence.
²³^(EK)Can the Ethiopian change his skin,
Or the leopard his spots?
Then you as well can ^(EL)do good
Who are accustomed to doing evil.
²⁴Therefore I will ^(EM)scatter them like drifting straw
To the desert ^(EN)wind.
²⁵This is your ^(EO)lot, the portion measured to you
From Me,” declares the Lord,
“Because you have ^(EP)forgotten Me
And trusted in falsehood.
²⁶So I Myself have ^(EQ)stripped your skirts off over your face,
So that your shame will be seen.
²⁷As for your ^(ER)adulteries and your lustful neighings,
The ^(ES)outrageous sin of your prostitution
On the ^(ET)hills in the field,
I have seen your abominations.
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
^(EU)How long will you remain unclean?”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 11:4 Lit do them
Jeremiah 11:10 Lit former fathers
Jeremiah 11:12 Or offer sacrifices
Jeremiah 11:13 Lit the number of
Jeremiah 11:13 Lit the number of
Jeremiah 11:13 Or offering sacrifices to
Jeremiah 11:15 Lit Then
Jeremiah 11:16 I.e., confused noise
Jeremiah 11:17 Or done for themselves
Jeremiah 11:17 Or burning incense
Jeremiah 11:19 Lit bread
Jeremiah 11:20 Lit kidneys
Jeremiah 11:20 Lit rolled
Jeremiah 12:2 Lit in their mouth
Jeremiah 12:2 Lit kidneys
Jeremiah 12:3 Lit sanctify them
Jeremiah 12:4 Lit whole field
Jeremiah 12:8 Lit raised her voice
Jeremiah 12:11 Lit One has made it
Jeremiah 12:11 Or upon
Jeremiah 12:12 Or caravan trails
Jeremiah 12:12 Lit other end of the land
Jeremiah 12:12 Lit all flesh
Jeremiah 12:13 Lit they do not profit
Jeremiah 13:11 Lit a name
Jeremiah 13:22 I.e., a euphemism for private parts

2 Corinthians 12

New American Standard Bible

Paul’s Vision

12 ^(A)Boasting is necessary, though it is not beneficial; but I will go on to visions and ^(B)revelations ^[a]of the Lord. ²I know a man ^(C)in Christ, who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, ^(D)God knows—such a man was ^(E)caught up to the ^(F)third heaven. ³And I know how such a man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, ^(G)God knows— ⁴was ^(H)caught up into ^(I)Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak. ⁵^(J)In behalf of such a man I will boast; but in my own behalf I will not boast, except regarding my ^(K)weaknesses. ⁶For if I do wish to boast I will not be ^(L)foolish, ^(M)for I will be speaking the truth; but I refrain from this, so that no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me.

A Thorn in the Flesh

⁷Because of the extraordinary greatness of the ^(N)revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given to me a ^(O)thorn in the flesh, a ^(P)messenger of Satan to ^[b]torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! ⁸Concerning this I pleaded with the Lord ^(Q)three times that it might leave me. ⁹And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for ^(R)power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather ^(S)boast ^[c]about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. ¹⁰Therefore ^(T)I delight in weaknesses, in ^[d]insults, in ^(U)distresses, in ^(V)persecutions, in ^(W)difficulties, ^(X)in behalf of Christ; for ^(Y)when I am weak, then I am strong.

¹¹I have become ^(Z)foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, since I was ^(AA)in no respect inferior to the ^[e]most eminent apostles, even though ^(AB)I am a nobody. ¹²The ^(AC)distinguishing marks ^[f]of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by ^[g]signs, wonders, and ^[h]miracles. ¹³For in what respect were you treated as inferior to the rest of the churches, except that ^(AD)I myself did not become a burden to you? Forgive me ^(AE)this wrong!

¹⁴Here ^(AF)for this third time I am ready to come to you, and I ^(AG)will not be a burden to you; for I ^(AH)do not seek what is yours, but ^(AI)you; for ^(AJ)children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but ^(AK)parents for their children. ¹⁵I will ^(AL)most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If ^(AM)I love you more, am I to be loved less? ¹⁶But be that as it may, I ^(AN)did not burden you myself; nevertheless, devious person that I am, I ^(AO)took you in by deceit. ¹⁷^(AP)Certainly I have not taken advantage of you through any of those whom I have sent to you, have I? ¹⁸I ^(AQ)urged ^(AR)Titus to go, and I sent ^(AS)the brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not ^[i]conduct ourselves ^[j]in the same ^(AT)spirit and walk ^(AU)in the same steps?

¹⁹All this time ^[k]you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you. Actually, ^(AV)it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ; and ^(AW)all for building you up, ^(AX)beloved. ²⁰For I am afraid that perhaps ^(AY)when I come I may find you to be not what I wish, and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be ^(AZ)strife, jealousy, ^(BA)angry tempers, ^(BB)selfishness, ^(BC)slanders, ^(BD)gossip, ^(BE)arrogance, ^(BF)disturbances; ²¹I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have ^(BG)sinned in the past and not repented of the ^(BH)impurity, sexual immorality, and indecent behavior which they have practiced.