Jeremiah 15-16

New International Version

15 Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses^(A) and Samuel^(B) were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people.^(C) Send them away from my presence!^(D) Let them go! ²And if they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘Those destined for death, to death;
those for the sword, to the sword;^(E)
those for starvation, to starvation;^(F)
those for captivity, to captivity.’^(G)

³“I will send four kinds of destroyers^(H) against them,” declares the Lord, “the sword^(I) to kill and the dogs^(J) to drag away and the birds^(K) and the wild animals to devour and destroy.^(L) ⁴I will make them abhorrent^(M) to all the kingdoms of the earth^(N) because of what Manasseh^(O) son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.

⁵“Who will have pity^(P) on you, Jerusalem?
    Who will mourn for you?
    Who will stop to ask how you are?
⁶You have rejected^(Q) me,” declares the Lord.
    “You keep on backsliding.
So I will reach out^(R) and destroy you;
    I am tired of holding back.^(S)
⁷I will winnow^(T) them with a winnowing fork
    at the city gates of the land.
I will bring bereavement^(U) and destruction on my people,^(V)
    for they have not changed their ways.^(W)
⁸I will make their widows^(X) more numerous
    than the sand of the sea.
At midday I will bring a destroyer^(Y)
    against the mothers of their young men;
suddenly I will bring down on them
    anguish and terror.^(Z)
⁹The mother of seven will grow faint^(AA)
    and breathe her last.^(AB)
Her sun will set while it is still day;
    she will be disgraced^(AC) and humiliated.
I will put the survivors to the sword^(AD)
    before their enemies,”^(AE)
declares the Lord.

¹⁰Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth,^(AF)
a man with whom the whole land strives and contends!^(AG)
I have neither lent^(AH) nor borrowed,
yet everyone curses^(AI) me.

¹¹The Lord said,

“Surely I will deliver you^(AJ) for a good purpose;
surely I will make your enemies plead^(AK) with you
in times of disaster and times of distress.

¹²“Can a man break iron—
iron from the north^(AL)—or bronze?

¹³“Your wealth^(AM) and your treasures
    I will give as plunder,^(AN) without charge,^(AO)
because of all your sins
    throughout your country.^(AP)
¹⁴I will enslave you to your enemies
    in^[a] a land you do not know,^(AQ)
for my anger will kindle a fire^(AR)
    that will burn against you.”

¹⁵Lord, you understand;
    remember me and care for me.
    Avenge me on my persecutors.^(AS)
You are long-suffering^(AT)—do not take me away;
    think of how I suffer reproach for your sake.^(AU)
¹⁶When your words came, I ate^(AV) them;
    they were my joy and my heart’s delight,^(AW)
for I bear your name,^(AX)
    Lord God Almighty.
¹⁷I never sat^(AY) in the company of revelers,
    never made merry with them;
I sat alone because your hand^(AZ) was on me
    and you had filled me with indignation.
¹⁸Why is my pain unending
    and my wound grievous and incurable?^(BA)
You are to me like a deceptive brook,
    like a spring that fails.^(BB)

¹⁹Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“If you repent, I will restore you
    that you may serve^(BC) me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
    you will be my spokesman.^(BD)
Let this people turn to you,
    but you must not turn to them.
²⁰I will make you a wall^(BE) to this people,
    a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you
    but will not overcome^(BF) you,
for I am with you
    to rescue and save you,”^(BG)
declares the Lord.
²¹“I will save^(BH) you from the hands of the wicked^(BI)
    and deliver^(BJ) you from the grasp of the cruel.”^(BK)

Day of Disaster

16 Then the word of the Lord came to me: ²“You must not marry^(BL) and have sons or daughters in this place.” ³For this is what the Lord says about the sons and daughters born in this land and about the women who are their mothers and the men who are their fathers:^(BM) ⁴“They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried^(BN) but will be like dung lying on the ground.^(BO) They will perish by sword and famine,^(BP) and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.”^(BQ)

⁵For this is what the Lord says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal; do not go to mourn or show sympathy, because I have withdrawn my blessing, my love and my pity^(BR) from this people,” declares the Lord. ⁶“Both high and low will die in this land.^(BS) They will not be buried or mourned,^(BT) and no one will cut^(BU) themselves or shave^(BV) their head for the dead. ⁷No one will offer food^(BW) to comfort those who mourn^(BX) for the dead—not even for a father or a mother—nor will anyone give them a drink to console^(BY) them.

⁸“And do not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink.^(BZ) ⁹For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Before your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds^(CA) of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride^(CB) and bridegroom in this place.^(CC)

¹⁰“When you tell these people all this and they ask you, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the Lord our God?’^(CD) ¹¹then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors forsook me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped^(CE) them. They forsook me and did not keep my law.^(CF) ¹²But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors.^(CG) See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts^(CH) instead of obeying me. ¹³So I will throw you out of this land^(CI) into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known,^(CJ) and there you will serve other gods^(CK) day and night, for I will show you no favor.’^(CL)

¹⁴“However, the days are coming,”^(CM) declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’^(CN) ¹⁵but it will be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north^(CO) and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’^(CP) For I will restore^(CQ) them to the land I gave their ancestors.^(CR)

¹⁶“But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them.^(CS) After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt^(CT) them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.^(CU) ¹⁷My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden^(CV) from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.^(CW) ¹⁸I will repay^(CX) them double^(CY) for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land^(CZ) with the lifeless forms of their vile images^(DA) and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.^(DB)”^(DC)

¹⁹Lord, my strength and my fortress,
    my refuge^(DD) in time of distress,
to you the nations will come^(DE)
    from the ends of the earth and say,
“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,^(DF)
    worthless idols^(DG) that did them no good.^(DH)
²⁰Do people make their own gods?
    Yes, but they are not gods!”^(DI)

²¹“Therefore I will teach them—
    this time I will teach them
    my power and might.
Then they will know
    that my name^(DJ) is the Lord.

Footnotes

Jeremiah 15:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac (see also 17:4); most Hebrew manuscripts I will cause your enemies to bring you / into

Ephesians 1

New International Version

1 Paul, an apostle^(A) of Christ Jesus by the will of God,^(B)

To God’s holy people^(C) in Ephesus,^[a]^(D) the faithful^(E) in Christ Jesus:

²Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.^(F)

Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ

³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,^(G) who has blessed us in the heavenly realms^(H) with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴For he chose us^(I) in him before the creation of the world^(J) to be holy and blameless^(K) in his sight. In love^(L) ⁵he^[b] predestined^(M) us for adoption to sonship^[c]^(N) through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure^(O) and will— ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace,^(P) which he has freely given us in the One he loves.^(Q) ⁷In him we have redemption^(R) through his blood,^(S) the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches^(T) of God’s grace ⁸that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹he^[d] made known to us the mystery^(U) of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed^(V) in Christ, ¹⁰to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment^(W)—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.^(X)

¹¹In him we were also chosen,^[e] having been predestined^(Y) according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose^(Z) of his will, ¹²in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.^(AA) ¹³And you also were included in Christ^(AB) when you heard the message of truth,^(AC) the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal,^(AD) the promised Holy Spirit,^(AE) ¹⁴who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance^(AF) until the redemption^(AG) of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.^(AH)

Thanksgiving and Prayer

¹⁵For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus^(AI) and your love for all God’s people,^(AJ) ¹⁶I have not stopped giving thanks for you,^(AK) remembering you in my prayers.^(AL) ¹⁷I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,^(AM) may give you the Spirit^[f] of wisdom^(AN) and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened^(AO) in order that you may know the hope to which he has called^(AP) you, the riches^(AQ) of his glorious inheritance^(AR) in his holy people,^(AS) ¹⁹and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power^(AT) is the same as the mighty strength^(AU) ²⁰he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead^(AV) and seated him at his right hand^(AW) in the heavenly realms,^(AX) ²¹far above all rule and authority, power and dominion,^(AY) and every name^(AZ) that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.^(BA) ²²And God placed all things under his feet^(BB) and appointed him to be head^(BC) over everything for the church, ²³which is his body,^(BD) the fullness of him^(BE) who fills everything in every way.^(BF)

Footnotes

Ephesians 1:1 Some early manuscripts do not have in Ephesus.
Ephesians 1:5 Or sight in love. ⁵He
Ephesians 1:5 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture.
Ephesians 1:9 Or us with all wisdom and understanding. ⁹And he
Ephesians 1:11 Or were made heirs
Ephesians 1:17 Or a spirit

Psalm 112:7-10

New International Version

⁷They will have no fear of bad news;
    their hearts are steadfast,^(A) trusting in the Lord.^(B)
⁸Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;^(C)
    in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.^(D)
⁹They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,^(E)
    their righteousness endures^(F) forever;
    their horn^[a] will be lifted^(G) high in honor.

¹⁰The wicked will see^(H) and be vexed,
they will gnash their teeth^(I) and waste away;^(J)
the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.^(K)

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Footnotes

Psalm 112:9 Horn here symbolizes dignity.

Proverbs 24:19-20

New International Version

Saying 29

¹⁹Do not fret^(A) because of evildoers
or be envious of the wicked,
²⁰for the evildoer has no future hope,
and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.^(B)