Seventy Years of Captivity

25 The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim^(A) son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar^(B) king of Babylon. ² So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah^(C) and to all those living in Jerusalem: ³ For twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of Josiah^(D) son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—the word of the Lord has come to me and I have spoken to you again and again,^(E) but you have not listened.^(F)

⁴ And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets^(G) to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention.^{(H) 5} They said, “Turn^(I) now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land^(J) the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. ⁶ Do not follow other gods^(K) to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”

⁷ “But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused^(L) my anger with what your hands have made,^(M) and you have brought harm^(N) to yourselves.”

⁸ Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, ⁹ I will summon^(O) all the peoples of the north^(P) and my servant^(Q) Nebuchadnezzar^(R) king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy^[a](S) them and make them an object of horror and scorn,^(T) and an everlasting ruin.^{(U) 10} I will banish from them the sounds^(V) of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom,^(W) the sound of millstones^(X) and the light of the lamp.^{(Y) 11} This whole country will become a desolate wasteland,^(Z) and these nations will serve^(AA) the king of Babylon seventy years.^(AB)

¹² “But when the seventy years^(AC) are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon^(AD) and his nation, the land of the Babylonians,^[b] for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate^(AE) forever. ¹³ I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written^(AF) in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. ¹⁴ They themselves will be enslaved^(AG) by many nations^(AH) and great kings; I will repay^(AI) them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

The Cup of God’s Wrath

¹⁵ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup^(AJ) filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send^(AK) you drink it. ¹⁶ When they drink^(AL) it, they will stagger^(AM) and go mad^(AN) because of the sword^(AO) I will send among them.”

¹⁷ So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom he sent^(AP) me drink it: ¹⁸ Jerusalem^(AQ) and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin^(AR) and an object of horror and scorn,^(AS) a curse^[c](AT)—as they are today;^{(AU) 19} Pharaoh king^(AV) of Egypt,^(AW) his attendants, his officials and all his people, ²⁰ and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz;^(AX) all the kings of the Philistines^(AY) (those of Ashkelon,^(AZ) Gaza,^(BA) Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); ²¹ Edom,^(BB) Moab^(BC) and Ammon;^{(BD) 22} all the kings of Tyre^(BE) and Sidon;^(BF) the kings of the coastlands^(BG) across the sea; ²³ Dedan,^(BH) Tema,^(BI) Buz^(BJ) and all who are in distant places^[d];^{(BK) 24} all the kings of Arabia^(BL) and all the kings of the foreign people^(BM) who live in the wilderness; ²⁵ all the kings of Zimri,^(BN) Elam^(BO) and Media;^{(BP) 26} and all the kings of the north,^(BQ) near and far, one after the other—all the kingdoms^(BR) on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshak^[e](BS) will drink it too.

²⁷ “Then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk^(BT) and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword^(BU) I will send among you.’ ²⁸ But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink^(BV), tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: You must drink it! ²⁹ See, I am beginning to bring disaster^(BW) on the city that bears my Name,^(BX) and will you indeed go unpunished?^(BY) You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword^(BZ) on all^(CA) who live on the earth,^(CB) declares the Lord Almighty.’

³⁰ “Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them:

³² This is what the Lord Almighty says:

³³ At that time those slain^(CP) by the Lord will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered^(CQ) up or buried,^(CR) but will be like dung lying on the ground.

The Rekabites

35 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign of Jehoiakim^(A) son of Josiah king of Judah: ² “Go to the Rekabite^(B) family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms^(C) of the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink.”

³ So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole family of the Rekabites. ⁴ I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God.^(D) It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum^(E) the doorkeeper.^{(F) 5} Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the Rekabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.”

⁶ But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab^[a](G) son of Rekab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine.^{(H) 7} Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents.^(I) Then you will live a long time in the land^(J) where you are nomads.’ ⁸ We have obeyed everything our forefather^(K) Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine ⁹ or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops.^{(L) 10} We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab commanded us. ¹¹ But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded^(M) this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem^(N) to escape the Babylonian^[b] and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: ¹³ “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell^(O) the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson^(P) and obey my words?’ declares the Lord. ¹⁴ ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command.^(Q) But I have spoken to you again and again,^(R) yet you have not obeyed^(S) me. ¹⁵ Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets^(T) to you. They said, “Each of you must turn^(U) from your wicked ways and reform^(V) your actions; do not follow other gods^(W) to serve them. Then you will live in the land^(X) I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened^(Y) to me. ¹⁶ The descendants of Jehonadab son of Rekab have carried out the command their forefather^(Z) gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’

¹⁷ “Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster^(AA) I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen;^(AB) I called to them, but they did not answer.’”^(AC)

¹⁸ Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather^(AD) Jehonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’ ¹⁹ Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail^(AE) to have a descendant to serve^(AF) me.’”

Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll

36 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim^(A) son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Take a scroll^(B) and write on it all the words^(C) I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah^(D) till now. ³ Perhaps^(E) when the people of Judah hear^(F) about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn^(G) from their wicked ways; then I will forgive^(H) their wickedness and their sin.”

⁴ So Jeremiah called Baruch^(I) son of Neriah,^(J) and while Jeremiah dictated^(K) all the words the Lord had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll.^{(L) 5} Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. ⁶ So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting^(M) and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated.^(N) Read them to all the people of Judah^(O) who come in from their towns. ⁷ Perhaps they will bring their petition^(P) before the Lord and will each turn^(Q) from their wicked ways, for the anger^(R) and wrath pronounced against this people by the Lord are great.”

⁸ Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do; at the Lord’s temple he read the words of the Lord from the scroll. ⁹ In the ninth month^(S) of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting^(T) before the Lord was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah. ¹⁰ From the room of Gemariah^(U) son of Shaphan^(V) the secretary,^(W) which was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate^(X) of the temple, Baruch read to all the people at the Lord’s temple the words of Jeremiah from the scroll.

¹¹ When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the Lord from the scroll, ¹² he went down to the secretary’s^(Y) room in the royal palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan^(Z) son of Akbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.^{(AA) 13} After Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll, ¹⁴ all the officials sent Jehudi^(AB) son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Bring the scroll^(AC) from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah went to them with the scroll in his hand. ¹⁵ They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.”

So Baruch read it to them. ¹⁶ When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear^(AD) and said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” ¹⁷ Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you come to write^(AE) all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it?”

¹⁸ “Yes,” Baruch replied, “he dictated^(AF) all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”

¹⁹ Then the officials^(AG) said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide.^(AH) Don’t let anyone know where you are.”

²⁰ After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. ²¹ The king sent Jehudi^(AI) to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king^(AJ) and all the officials standing beside him. ²² It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment,^(AK) with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. ²³ Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll,^(AL) the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire.^{(AM) 24} The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear,^(AN) nor did they tear their clothes.^{(AO) 25} Even though Elnathan, Delaiah^(AP) and Gemariah^(AQ) urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. ²⁶ Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest^(AR) Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden^(AS) them.

²⁷ After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation,^(AT) the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: ²⁸ “Take another scroll^(AU) and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. ²⁹ Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned that scroll and said, “Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and wipe from it^(AV) both man and beast?”^{(AW) 30} Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim^(AX) king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out^(AY) and exposed^(AZ) to the heat by day and the frost by night.^{(BA) 31} I will punish him and his children^(BB) and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster^(BC) I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.^(BD)’”

³² So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated,^(BE) Baruch wrote^(BF) on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned^(BG) in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.

A Message to Baruch

45 When Baruch^(A) son of Neriah^(B) wrote on a scroll^(C) the words Jeremiah the prophet dictated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim^(D) son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah said this to Baruch: ² “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: ³ You said, ‘Woe^(E) to me! The Lord has added sorrow^(F) to my pain;^(G) I am worn out with groaning^(H) and find no rest.’^{(I) 4} But the Lord has told me to say to you, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot^(J) what I have planted,^(K) throughout the earth.^{(L) 5} Should you then seek great^(M) things for yourself? Do not seek them.^(N) For I will bring disaster^(O) on all people,^(P) declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape^(Q) with your life.’”^(R)

Psalm 133

A song of ascents. Of David.

Taming the Tongue

3 Not many of you should become teachers,^(A) my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged^(B) more strictly.^{(C) 2} We all stumble^(D) in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say^(E) is perfect,^(F) able to keep their whole body in check.^(G)

³ When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal.^{(H) 4} Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵ Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.^(I) Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶ The tongue also is a fire,^(J) a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body,^(K) sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.^(L)

⁷ All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, ⁸ but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.^(M)

⁹ With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness.^{(N) 10} Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. ¹¹ Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? ¹² My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs?^(O) Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Two Kinds of Wisdom

¹³ Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it^(P) by their good life, by deeds^(Q) done in the humility that comes from wisdom. ¹⁴ But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition^(R) in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.^{(S) 15} Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven^(T) but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.^{(U) 16} For where you have envy and selfish ambition,^(V) there you find disorder and every evil practice.

¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from heaven^(W) is first of all pure; then peace-loving,^(X) considerate, submissive, full of mercy^(Y) and good fruit, impartial and sincere.^{(Z) 18} Peacemakers^(AA) who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.^(AB)