Jeremiah 16
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 16
Jeremiah’s Life a Warning. 1 This word came to me from the Lord: 2 Do not take a wife and do not have sons and daughters in this place, 3 for thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, the mothers who give them birth, the fathers who beget them in this land: 4 Of deadly disease they shall die. Unlamented and unburied they will lie like dung on the ground. Sword and famine will make an end of them, and their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.(A)
5 Thus says the Lord: Do not go into a house of mourning; do not go there to lament or grieve for them. For I have withdrawn my peace from this people—oracle of the Lord—my love and my compassion.(B) 6 They shall die, the great and the lowly, in this land, unburied and unlamented.[a] No one will gash themselves or shave their heads for them.(C) 7 They will not break bread with the bereaved to offer consolation for the dead; they will not give them the cup of consolation to drink over the death of father or mother.(D)
8 Do not enter a house of feasting to sit eating and drinking with them. 9 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Before your eyes and in your lifetime, I will silence in this place the song of joy and the song of gladness, the song of the bridegroom and the song of the bride.(E)
10 When you proclaim all these words to this people and they ask you: “Why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us? What is our crime? What sin have we committed against the Lord, our God?”—(F) 11 (G)you shall answer them: It is because your ancestors have forsaken me—oracle of the Lord—and followed other gods that they served and worshiped; but me they have forsaken, and my law they did not keep. 12 And you have done worse than your ancestors. Here you are, every one of you, walking in the stubbornness of your evil heart instead of listening to me.(H) 13 I will throw you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your ancestors have known; there you can serve other gods day and night because I will not show you mercy.
Return from Exile. 14 Therefore, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when it will no longer be said, “As the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites out of Egypt”;(I) 15 but rather, “As the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites out of the land of the north and out of all the countries to which he had banished them.” I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors.(J)
Double Punishment. 16 Look!—oracle of the Lord—I will send many fishermen to catch them. After that, I will send many hunters to hunt them out from every mountain and hill and rocky crevice.(K) 17 For my eyes are upon all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor does their guilt escape my sight.(L) 18 I will at once repay them double for their crime and their sin because they profaned my land with the corpses of their detestable idols, and filled my heritage with their abominations.(M)
Conversion of the Nations
19 Lord, my strength, my fortress,
my refuge in the day of distress!
To you nations will come
from the ends of the earth, and say,
“Our ancestors inherited mere frauds,
empty, worthless.”(N)
20 Can human beings make for themselves gods?
But these are not gods at all!(O)
21 Therefore, I will indeed give them knowledge;
this time I will make them acknowledge
My strength and my power:
they shall know that my name is Lord.(P)
Jeremiah 17
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 17
The Sin of Judah and Its Punishment
1 The sin of Judah is written
with an iron stylus,
Engraved with a diamond point
upon the tablets of their hearts,(A)
And the horns of their altars, 2 when their children remember their altars and their asherahs, beside the green trees, on the high hills, 3 the peaks in the country.
Your wealth and all your treasures
I give as plunder,
As payment for all your sins
throughout your territory,
4 You will relinquish your hold on your heritage
which I have given you.
I will enslave you to your enemies
in a land you do not know:
For a fire has broken out from my anger,
burning forever.(B)
True Wisdom
5 Thus says the Lord:
Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
who makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.(C)
6 He is like a barren bush in the wasteland
that enjoys no change of season,
But stands in lava beds in the wilderness,
a land, salty and uninhabited.
7 Blessed are those who trust in the Lord;
the Lord will be their trust.(D)
8 They are like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It does not fear heat when it comes,
its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still produces fruit.(E)
9 More tortuous than anything is the human heart,
beyond remedy; who can understand it?
10 I, the Lord, explore the mind
and test the heart,
Giving to all according to their ways,
according to the fruit of their deeds.(F)
11 A partridge that broods but does not hatch
are those who acquire wealth unjustly:
In midlife it will desert them;
in the end they are only fools.(G)
The Source of Life
12 A throne of glory, exalted from the beginning,
such is our holy place.(H)
13 O Hope of Israel, Lord!
all who forsake you shall be put to shame;
The rebels shall be enrolled in the netherworld;
they have forsaken the Lord, source of living waters.(I)
Prayer for Vengeance
14 Heal me, Lord, that I may be healed;
save me, that I may be saved,
for you are my praise.
15 See how they say to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come to pass!”(J)
16 Yet I did not press you to send disaster;
the day without remedy I have not desired.
You know what passed my lips;
it is present before you.
17 Do not become a terror to me,
you are my refuge in the day of disaster.(K)
18 Let my persecutors be confounded—not me!
let them be terrified—not me!
Bring upon them the day of disaster,
crush them with double destruction.(L)
Observance of the Sabbath. 19 Thus said the Lord to me: Go, stand at the Gate of Benjamin,[a] where the kings of Judah enter and leave, and at the other gates of Jerusalem.(M) 20 There say to them: Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all you inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter these gates! 21 Thus says the Lord: As you love your lives, take care not to carry burdens on the sabbath, to bring them in through the gates of Jerusalem.(N) 22 Bring no burden from your homes on the sabbath. Do no work whatever, but keep holy the sabbath day, as I commanded your ancestors,(O) 23 though they did not listen or give ear, but stiffened their necks so they could not hear or take correction.(P) 24 If you truly obey me—oracle of the Lord—and carry no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath, keeping the sabbath day holy and abstaining from all work on it,(Q) 25 then, through the gates of this city, kings who sit upon the throne of David will continue to enter, riding in their chariots or upon their horses, along with their princes, and the people of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. This city will remain inhabited forever.(R) 26 To it people will come from the cities of Judah and the neighborhood of Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the Shephelah, from the hill country and the Negeb, to bring burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings, incense, and thank offerings to the house of the Lord.(S) 27 But if you do not obey me and keep holy the sabbath day, if you carry burdens and come through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath, I will set fire to its gates—a fire never to be extinguished—and it will consume the palaces of Jerusalem.(T)
Footnotes
- 17:19 The Gate of Benjamin: this gate, probably part of the Temple area, is otherwise unknown.
Psalm 96
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 96[a]
God of the Universe
I
1 Sing to the Lord a new song;(A)
sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
3 Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his marvelous deeds.(B)
II
4 [b]For great is the Lord and highly to be praised,
to be feared above all gods.(C)
5 For the gods of the nations are idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.(D)
6 Splendor and power go before him;
power and grandeur are in his holy place.
III
7 Give to the Lord, you families of nations,
give to the Lord glory and might;
8 give to the Lord the glory due his name!(E)
Bring gifts and enter his courts;
9 bow down to the Lord, splendid in holiness.
Tremble before him, all the earth;
10 (F)declare among the nations: The Lord is king.
The world will surely stand fast, never to be shaken.
He rules the peoples with fairness.
IV
11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;(G)
12 let the plains be joyful and all that is in them.
Then let all the trees of the forest rejoice
13 before the Lord who comes,
who comes to govern the earth,(H)
To govern the world with justice
and the peoples with faithfulness.
Footnotes
- Psalm 96 A hymn inviting all humanity to praise the glories of Israel’s God (Ps 96:1–3), who is the sole God (Ps 96:4–6). To the just ruler of all belongs worship (Ps 96:7–10); even inanimate creation is to offer praise (Ps 96:11–13). This Psalm has numerous verbal and thematic contacts with Is 40–55, as does Ps 98. Another version of the Psalm is 1 Chr 16:23–33.
- 96:4 For references to other gods, see comments on Ps 58 and 82.
John 16
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 16
1 “I have told you this so that you may not fall away. 2 They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour[a] is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God.(A) 3 They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me.(B) 4 I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you.(C)
Jesus’ Departure; Coming of the Advocate.[b] “I did not tell you this from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you asks me,[c] ‘Where are you going?’(D) 6 But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you.(E) But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 [d]And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: 9 sin, because they do not believe in me;(F) 10 righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; 11 condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.(G)
12 “I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. 13 [e]But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth.(H) He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. 15 Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
16 “A little while and you will no longer see me, and again a little while later and you will see me.”(I) 17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What does this mean that he is saying to us, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” 18 So they said, “What is this ‘little while’ [of which he speaks]? We do not know what he means.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Are you discussing with one another what I said, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 20 Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy.(J) 21 When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.(K) 22 So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.(L) 23 On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.(M) 24 Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.
25 [f](N)“I have told you this in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but I will tell you clearly about the Father. 26 On that day you will ask in my name, and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you.(O) 27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”(P) 29 His disciples said, “Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. 30 Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God.”[g] 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now? 32 Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered[h] to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me.(Q) 33 I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.”(R)
Footnotes
- 16:2 Hour: of persecution, not Jesus’ “hour” (see note on Jn 2:4).
- 16:4b–33 A duplicate of Jn 14:1–31 on departure and return.
- 16:5 Not one of you asks me: the difficulty of reconciling this with Simon Peter’s question in Jn 13:36 and Thomas’ words in Jn 14:5 strengthens the supposition that the last discourse has been made up of several collections of Johannine material.
- 16:8–11 These verses illustrate the forensic character of the Paraclete’s role: in the forum of the disciples’ conscience he prosecutes the world. He leads believers to see (a) that the basic sin was and is refusal to believe in Jesus; (b) that, although Jesus was found guilty and apparently died in disgrace, in reality righteousness has triumphed, for Jesus has returned to his Father; (c) finally, that it is the ruler of this world, Satan, who has been condemned through Jesus’ death (Jn 12:32).
- 16:13 Declare to you the things that are coming: not a reference to new predictions about the future, but interpretation of what has already occurred or been said.
- 16:25 See note on Jn 10:6. Here, possibly a reference to Jn 15:1–16 or Jn 16:21.
- 16:30 The reference is seemingly to the fact that Jesus could anticipate their question in Jn 16:19. The disciples naively think they have the full understanding that is the climax of “the hour” of Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension (Jn 16:25), but the only part of the hour that is at hand for them is their share in the passion (Jn 16:32).
- 16:32 You will be scattered: cf. Mk 14:27 and Mt 26:31, where both cite Zec 13:7 about the sheep being dispersed.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.