Jeremiah 16-17

New American Standard Bible

Distresses Foretold

16 The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, ²“You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.” ³For this is what the Lord says concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and concerning their ^(A)mothers who give birth to them, and their ^(B)fathers who father them in this land: ⁴“They will ^(C)die of deadly diseases, they ^(D)will not be mourned or buried; they will be like ^(E)dung on the surface of the ground. And they will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the ^(F)birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth.”

⁵For this is what the Lord says: “Do not enter a house of ^(G)mourning, or go to mourn or to console them; for I have ^(H)withdrawn My peace from this people,” declares the Lord, “and My ^(I)favor and compassion. ⁶Both ^(J)great people and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, people will not mourn for them, nor will anyone ^(K)make cuts on himself or have his head ^(L)shaved for them. ⁷People will not ^(M)break bread in mourning for them, to comfort anyone for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone’s father or mother. ⁸Moreover, you shall ^(N)not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.” ⁹For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to ^(O)eliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your time, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.

¹⁰“Now it will happen that, when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, ‘^(P)For what reason has the Lord declared all this great disaster against us? And what is our wrongdoing, or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ ¹¹Then you are to say to them, ‘It is ^(Q)because your forefathers have abandoned Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and have followed ^(R)other gods, and served and worshiped them; but they have abandoned Me and have not kept My Law. ¹²You too have done evil, even ^(S)more than your forefathers; for behold, each one of you is following the ^(T)stubbornness of his own ^(U)evil heart, without listening to Me. ¹³So I will ^(V)hurl you off this land to the ^(W)land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will ^(X)serve other gods day and night, because I will show you no compassion.’

God Will Restore Them

¹⁴“^(Y)Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives, who ^(Z)brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ ¹⁵but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the ^(AA)land of the north and from all the lands where He had banished them.’ For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.

¹⁶“Behold, I am going to send for many ^(AB)fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will fish for them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they will ^(AC)hunt them ^(AD)from every mountain and every hill and from the clefts of the rocks. ¹⁷^(AE)For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, ^(AF)nor is their wrongdoing concealed from My eyes. ¹⁸I will first repay them ^(AG)double for their wrongdoing and their sin, because they have ^(AH)defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their ^(AI)detestable idols and their abominations.”

¹⁹Lord, my ^(AJ)strength and my stronghold,
And my ^(AK)refuge in the day of distress,
To You the ^(AL)nations will come
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Our fathers have inherited nothing but ^(AM)falsehood,
Futility, and ^[a]^(AN)things of no benefit.”
²⁰Can a person make gods for himself?
But they are ^(AO)not gods!

²¹“Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—
This time I will ^(AP)make them know
My ^[b]power and My might;
And they will ^(AQ)know that My name is the Lord.”

The Deceitful Heart

17 The ^(AR)sin of Judah is written with an ^(AS)iron stylus;
With a diamond point it is ^(AT)engraved on the tablet of their hearts
And on the horns of ^[c]their altars,
²As they remember their ^(AU)children,
So they remember their altars and their ^[d]^(AV)Asherim
By ^(AW)green trees on the high hills.
³^(AX)Mountain of Mine in the countryside,
I will ^(AY)turn over your wealth and all your treasures as plunder,
Your high places for sin throughout your borders.
⁴And you will, even of yourself, ^(AZ)let go of your inheritance
That I gave you;
And I will make you serve your ^(BA)enemies
In the ^(BB)land which you do not know;
For you have ^(BC)kindled a fire in My anger
Which will burn forever.

⁵This is what the Lord says:
“^(BD)Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes ^(BE)flesh his ^[e]strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
⁶For he will be like a ^(BF)bush in the desert,
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A ^(BG)land of salt that is not inhabited.
⁷^(BH)Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose ^(BI)trust is the Lord.
⁸For he will be like a ^(BJ)tree planted by the water
That extends its roots by a stream,
And does not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of ^(BK)drought,
Nor cease to yield fruit.

⁹“The ^(BL)heart is more ^(BM)deceitful than all else
And is desperately ^(BN)sick;
Who can understand it?
¹⁰I, the Lord, ^(BO)search the heart,
I test the ^[f]mind,
^(BP)To give to each person according to his ways,
According to the ^[g]results of his deeds.
¹¹As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,
So is a person who ^(BQ)makes a fortune, but unjustly;
In the middle of his days it will abandon him,
And in ^[h]the end he will be a ^(BR)fool.”

¹²^(BS)A glorious throne on high from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
¹³Lord, the ^(BT)hope of Israel,
All who ^(BU)abandon You will be put to shame.
Those who turn ^[i]away on earth will be ^(BV)written down,
Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, that is the Lord.
¹⁴^(BW)Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;
^(BX)Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my ^(BY)praise.
¹⁵Look, they keep ^(BZ)saying to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come now!”
¹⁶But as for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd following after You,
Nor have I longed for the disastrous day;
^(CA)You Yourself know that the utterance of my lips
Was in Your presence.
¹⁷Do not be a ^(CB)terror to me;
You are my ^(CC)refuge in a day of disaster.
¹⁸Let those who persecute me be ^(CD)put to shame, but as for me, ^(CE)let me not be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed.
^(CF)Bring on them a day of disaster,
And crush them with double destruction!

The Sabbath Must Be Kept

¹⁹This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the ^[j]public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as at all the gates of Jerusalem; ²⁰and say to them, ‘^(CG)Listen to the word of the Lord, you ^(CH)kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates. ²¹This is what the Lord says: “^(CI)Take care for yourselves, and ^(CJ)do not carry any ^[k]load on the Sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. ²²You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day ^(CK)nor do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, just as I ^(CL)commanded your ^[l]forefathers. ²³Yet they ^(CM)did not listen or incline their ears, but ^(CN)stiffened their necks so as not to listen or accept discipline.

²⁴“But it will come about, if you ^(CO)give your attention to Me,” declares the Lord, “to ^(CP)bring no load in through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, ^(CQ)but to keep the Sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, ²⁵^(CR)then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and officials ^(CS)sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this ^(CT)city will be inhabited forever. ²⁶They will come in from the ^(CU)cities of Judah and from the areas surrounding Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the ^(CV)lowland, from the hill country, and from the ^(CW)Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and frankincense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the Lord. ²⁷But ^(CX)if you do not listen to Me, to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then ^(CY)I will set fire to its gates, and it will ^(CZ)devour the palaces of Jerusalem and ^(DA)not go out.”’”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 16:19 Lit there is nothing profitable in them
Jeremiah 16:21 Lit hand
Jeremiah 17:1 As in ancient versions; MT your
Jeremiah 17:2 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
Jeremiah 17:5 Lit arm
Jeremiah 17:10 Lit kidneys
Jeremiah 17:10 Lit fruit
Jeremiah 17:11 Lit his
Jeremiah 17:13 Lit away from Me
Jeremiah 17:19 Lit gate of the sons of the people
Jeremiah 17:21 Or burden
Jeremiah 17:22 Lit fathers

Psalm 96

New American Standard Bible

A Call to Worship the Lord the Righteous Judge.

96 ^(A)Sing to the Lord a ^(B)new song;
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
²Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
^(C)Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
³Tell of ^(D)His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
⁴For ^(E)great is the Lord, and ^(F)greatly to be praised;
He is to be ^(G)feared ^(H)above all gods.
⁵For ^(I)all the gods of the peoples are ^[a]idols,
But ^(J)the Lord made the heavens.
⁶^(K)Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.

⁷^[b]Ascribe to the Lord, you ^(L)families of the peoples,
^[c]^(M)Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
⁸^[d]Ascribe to the Lord the ^(N)glory of His name;
Bring an ^[e]^(O)offering and come into His courtyards.
⁹^(P)Worship the Lord in ^[f]holy attire;
^(Q)Tremble before Him, all the earth.
¹⁰Say among the nations, “^(R)The Lord reigns;
Indeed, the ^(S)world is firmly established, it will not be moved;
He will ^(T)judge the peoples fairly.”

¹¹May the ^(U)heavens be joyful, and may the ^(V)earth rejoice;
May ^(W)the sea ^[g]roar, and ^[h]all it contains;
¹²May the ^(X)field be jubilant, and all that is in it.
Then all the ^(Y)trees of the forest will sing for joy
¹³Before the Lord, ^(Z)for He is coming,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
^(AA)He will judge the world in righteousness,
And the peoples in His faithfulness.

Footnotes

Psalm 96:5 Or non-existent things
Psalm 96:7 Lit Give
Psalm 96:7 Lit Give
Psalm 96:8 Lit Give
Psalm 96:8 Or meal offering
Psalm 96:9 Or the splendor of holiness
Psalm 96:11 Or thunder
Psalm 96:11 Lit its fullness

John 16

New American Standard Bible

Jesus’ Warning

16 “^(A)These things I have spoken to you so that you will not ^[a]be ^(B)led into sin. ²They will ^[b]^(C)ban you from the synagogue, yet ^(D)an hour is coming for everyone ^(E)who kills you to think that he is offering a ^[c]service to God. ³These things they will do ^(F)because they have not known the Father nor Me. ⁴But these things I have spoken to you, ^(G)so that when their hour comes, you ^[d]may remember that I told you of them. However, I did not say these things to you ^(H)at the beginning, because I was with you.

The Holy Spirit Promised

⁵“But now ^(I)I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘^(J)Where are You going?’ ⁶But because I have said these things to you, ^(K)grief has filled your heart. ⁷But I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I am leaving; for if I do not leave, the ^[e]^(L)Helper will not come to you; but if I go, ^(M)I will send Him to you. ⁸And He, when He comes, will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment: ⁹regarding sin, ^(N)because they do not believe in Me; ¹⁰and regarding ^(O)righteousness, because ^(P)I am going to the Father and you no longer are going to see Me; ¹¹^(Q)and regarding judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

¹²“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them at the present time. ¹³But when He, ^(R)the Spirit of truth, comes, He will ^(S)guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. ¹⁴He will ^(T)glorify Me, for He will take from Mine and will disclose it to you. ¹⁵^(U)All things that the Father has are Mine; this is why I said that He takes from Mine and will disclose it to you.

Jesus’ Death and Resurrection Foretold

¹⁶“^(V)A little while, and ^(W)you no longer are going to see Me; and again a little while, and ^(X)you will see Me.” ¹⁷So some of His disciples said to one another, “What is this that He is telling us, ‘^(Y)A little while, and you are not going to see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because ^(Z)I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸So they were saying, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.” ¹⁹^(AA)Jesus knew that they wanted to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you are not going to see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’? ²⁰Truly, truly I say to you that ^(AB)you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but ^(AC)your grief will be turned into joy! ²¹^(AD)Whenever a woman is in labor she has ^[f]pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a ^[g]child has been born into the world. ²²Therefore ^(AE)you too have grief now; but ^(AF)I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one is going to take your joy away from you.

Prayer Promises

²³And ^(AG)on that day ^(AH)you will not question Me about anything. Truly, truly I say to you, ^(AI)if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you. ²⁴^(AJ)Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your ^(AK)joy may be made full.

²⁵“These things I have spoken to you in ^(AL)figures of speech; ^(AM)an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father. ²⁶^(AN)On that day ^(AO)you will ask in My name, and I am not saying to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; ²⁷for ^(AP)the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and ^(AQ)have believed that ^(AR)I came forth from the Father. ²⁸^(AS)I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and ^(AT)going to the Father.”

²⁹His disciples *said, “See, now You are speaking plainly and are not ^[h]using any ^(AU)figure of speech. ³⁰Now we know that You know all things, and that You have no need for anyone to question You; this is why we ^(AV)believe that You ^(AW)came forth from God.” ³¹Jesus replied to them, “Do you now believe? ³²Behold, ^(AX)an hour is coming, and has already come, for ^(AY)you to be scattered, each to ^(AZ)his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet ^(BA)I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. ³³These things I have spoken to you so that ^(BB)in Me you may have peace. ^(BC)In the world you have tribulation, but ^(BD)take courage; ^(BE)I have overcome the world.”