Jeremiah 37

New American Standard Bible

Jeremiah Warns against Trust in Pharaoh

37 Now ^(A)Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had ^(B)made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of ^(C)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. ²But ^(D)neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

³Yet ^(E)King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and ^(F)the priest Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “^(G)Please pray to the Lord our God in our behalf.” ⁴Now Jeremiah was still coming and going among the people, for they had not yet ^(H)put him in prison. ⁵Meanwhile, ^(I)Pharaoh’s army had set out from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they ^(J)withdrew from Jerusalem.

⁶Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ⁷“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘^(K)This is what you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, ^(L)Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, is going to return to its own land of Egypt. ⁸Then the Chaldeans will ^(M)return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire.”’ ⁹This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not ^(N)deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will certainly go away from us,” for they will not go. ¹⁰For ^(O)even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and ^(P)burn this city with fire.’”

Jeremiah Imprisoned

¹¹Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, ¹²that Jeremiah left Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to ^(Q)take ^[a]possession of some property there among the people. ¹³While he was at the ^(R)Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he ^(S)arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans!” ¹⁴But Jeremiah said, “^(T)A lie! I am not deserting to the Chaldeans”; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. ¹⁵Then the officials were ^(U)angry at Jeremiah and they beat him, and ^(V)put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for they had made it into the prison. ¹⁶For Jeremiah had come into the ^[b]^(W)dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.

¹⁷Now King Zedekiah sent men and took him out; and in his palace the king ^(X)secretly asked him and said, “Is there a ^(Y)word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You will be ^(Z)handed over to the king of Babylon!” ¹⁸Moreover, Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “^(AA)In what way have I sinned against you, or your servants, or this people, that you have put me in prison? ¹⁹And ^(AB)where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The ^(AC)king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’? ²⁰But now, please listen, my lord the king; please let my ^(AD)plea ^[c]come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, so that I will not die there.” ²¹Then King Zedekiah gave a command, and they placed Jeremiah in custody in the ^(AE)courtyard of the guardhouse, and gave him a loaf of ^(AF)bread daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was ^(AG)gone. So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

Footnotes

Jeremiah 37:12 Or part in a dividing
Jeremiah 37:16 Lit house of the cistern-pit
Jeremiah 37:20 Lit fall

Jeremiah 21

New American Standard Bible

Jeremiah’s Message for Zedekiah

21 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when ^(A)King Zedekiah sent to him ^(B)Pashhur the son of Malchijah and ^(C)Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, ²“Please ^(D)inquire of the Lord in our behalf, because ^(E)Nebuchadnezzar king of ^(F)Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the Lord will deal with us ^(G)in accordance with all His ^[a]wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us.”

³But Jeremiah said to them, “You shall say to Zedekiah as follows: ⁴‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to ^(H)turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you are making war against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will ^(I)gather them into the middle of this city. ⁵And I ^(J)Myself will make war against you with an ^(K)outstretched hand and a mighty arm, and in ^(L)anger, wrath, and great indignation. ⁶I will also strike the inhabitants of this city, both the people and the animals; they will die of a great ^(M)plague. ⁷Then afterward,” declares the Lord, “^(N)I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, that is, those who survive in this city from the plague, the sword, and the famine, over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to their enemies, and to those who seek their lives; and he will strike and kill them with the edge of the sword. He ^(O)will not spare them nor have pity nor compassion.”’

⁸“You shall also say to this people, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am ^(P)setting before you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹Anyone who ^(Q)stays in this city will die by the ^(R)sword, by famine, or by plague; but anyone who leaves and goes over to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as plunder. ¹⁰For I have ^(S)set My face against this city for harm and not for good,” declares the Lord. “It will be ^(T)handed over to the king of Babylon and he will ^(U)burn it with fire.”’

¹¹“Then say to the household of the ^(V)king of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, ¹²^(W)house of David, this is what the Lord says:

“^(X)Administer justice ^[b]every ^(Y)morning;
And save the person who has been robbed from the ^[c]power of his oppressor,
^(Z)So that My wrath will not spread like fire
And ^(AA)burn, with no one to extinguish it,
Because of the evil of their deeds.

¹³“Behold, ^(AB)I am against you, you inhabitant of the ^(AC)valley,
You ^[d]rocky plain,” declares the Lord,
“You who say, ‘^(AD)Who will come down against us?
Or who will enter our dwellings?’
¹⁴But I will punish you ^(AE)according to the ^[e]results of your deeds,” declares the Lord,
“And I will ^(AF)kindle a fire in its forest
So that it may devour all its surroundings.”’”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 21:2 Or miracles
Jeremiah 21:12 Or in the
Jeremiah 21:12 Lit hand
Jeremiah 21:13 Lit rock of the level place
Jeremiah 21:14 Lit fruit

Jeremiah 34

New American Standard Bible

A Prophecy against Zedekiah

34 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when ^(A)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, with ^(B)all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his ^[a]control and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and all its cities, saying, ²“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘^(C)Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, ^(D)I am handing this city over to the king of Babylon, and ^(E)he will burn it with fire. ³And as for you, ^(F)you will not escape from his hand, for you will assuredly be caught and handed over to him; and you will ^(G)see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you ^[b]face to face, and you will go to Babylon.’”’ ⁴Yet hear the word of the Lord, Zedekiah king of Judah! This is what the Lord says concerning you: ‘You will not die by the sword. ⁵You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will ^(H)burn spices for you; and ^(I)they will mourn for you, crying, “Oh, my lord!”’ For I have spoken the word,” declares the Lord.

⁶Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke ^(J)all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem ⁷when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and all the remaining cities of Judah, that is, ^(K)Lachish and ^(L)Azekah, for they alone remained as ^(M)fortified cities among the cities of Judah.

⁸The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had ^(N)made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem, to ^(O)proclaim ^[c]release to them: ⁹that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, a ^(P)Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, so that ^(Q)no one would keep them, his Jewish brother or sister, in bondage. ¹⁰And all the ^(R)officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each person was to set his male servant free and each his female servant, so that no one would keep them in bondage any longer; they obeyed, and set them free. ¹¹But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection as male servants and as female servants.

¹²Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ¹³“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: ‘I ^(S)made a covenant with your forefathers on the day that I ^(T)brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying, ¹⁴“^(U)At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who ^[d]has been sold to you and has served you for six years, and you shall send him out free from you.” But your forefathers ^(V)did not obey Me nor incline their ear to Me. ¹⁵Although recently you had turned and ^(W)done what is right in My sight, each one proclaiming ^[e]release to his neighbor, and you had ^(X)made a covenant before Me ^(Y)in the house which is called by My name. ¹⁶Yet you ^(Z)turned and ^(AA)profaned My name, and each person ^[f]took back his male servant and each his female servant whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your male and female servants.’

¹⁷“Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming ^[g]release, each one to his brother and each to his neighbor. Behold, I am ^(AB)proclaiming a ^[h]release to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to the ^(AC)sword, to the plague, and to the famine; and I will make you a ^(AD)terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. ¹⁸I will give the people who have ^(AE)violated My covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they ^(AF)cut the calf in two and passed between its parts— ¹⁹the ^(AG)officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the high officials and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— ²⁰I will hand them over to their enemies and to those who ^(AH)seek their lives. And their ^(AI)dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth. ²¹^(AJ)Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will also hand over to their enemies and to those who seek their lives, and to the army of the king of Babylon which has ^(AK)withdrawn from you. ²²Behold, I am going to give a command,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it and ^(AL)take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a ^(AM)desolation ^(AN)without inhabitant.’”

Footnotes

Jeremiah 34:1 Lit dominion
Jeremiah 34:3 Lit his mouth with your mouth
Jeremiah 34:8 Or liberty
Jeremiah 34:14 Or has sold himself
Jeremiah 34:15 Or liberty
Jeremiah 34:16 Lit made his male servant return and
Jeremiah 34:17 Or liberty
Jeremiah 34:17 Or liberty

Psalm 79

New American Standard Bible

Grieving over the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Prayer for Help.

A Psalm of Asaph.

79 God, the ^(A)nations have ^[a]invaded ^(B)Your inheritance;
They have defiled Your ^(C)holy temple;
They have ^(D)laid Jerusalem in ruins.
²They have given the ^(E)dead bodies of Your servants to the birds of the sky as food,
The flesh of Your godly ones to the animals of the earth.
³They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem;
And there was ^(F)no one to bury them.
⁴We have become a ^(G)disgrace before our neighbors,
An object of derision and ridicule to those around us.
⁵^(H)How long, Lord? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your ^(I)jealousy ^(J)burn like fire?
⁶^(K)Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which ^(L)do not know You,
And upon the kingdoms which ^(M)do not call upon Your name.
⁷For they have ^(N)devoured Jacob
And ^(O)laid waste his ^[b]settlement.

⁸^(P)Do not ^[c]hold us responsible for ^[d]the guilty deeds of our forefathers;
Let Your compassion come quickly to ^(Q)meet us,
For we have ^(R)become very low.
⁹^(S)Help us, God of our salvation, for the glory of ^(T)Your name;
And save us and ^[e]^(U)forgive our sins ^(V)for the sake of Your name.
¹⁰^(W)Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Let ^(X)vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been shed
Be known among the nations in our sight.
¹¹Let ^(Y)the groaning of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your ^[f]power, let ^[g]those who are ^(Z)doomed to die remain.
¹²And return to our neighbors ^(AA)seven times as much ^(AB)into their lap
Their ^(AC)taunts with which they have taunted You, Lord.
¹³So we Your people and the ^(AD)sheep of Your ^[h]pasture
Will ^(AE)give thanks to You forever;
To all generations we will ^(AF)tell of Your praise.

Footnotes

Psalm 79:1 Lit come into
Psalm 79:7 Lit pasture
Psalm 79:8 Lit remember against us
Psalm 79:8 Or our former sins
Psalm 79:9 Lit cover over, atone for
Psalm 79:11 Lit arm
Psalm 79:11 Lit the sons of death
Psalm 79:13 Or pasturing

James 5

New American Standard Bible

Misuse of Riches

5 ^(A)Come now, ^(B)you rich people, ^(C)weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. ²^(D)Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. ³Your gold and your silver have corroded, and their corrosion will ^[a]serve as a testimony against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is ^(E)in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! ⁴Behold, ^(F)the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and ^(G)the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of ^(H)the Lord ^[b]of armies. ⁵You have ^[c]^(I)lived for pleasure on the earth and lived luxuriously; you have ^[d]fattened your hearts in ^(J)a day of slaughter. ⁶You have condemned and ^[e]^(K)put to death ^(L)the righteous person; he offers you no resistance.

Exhortation

⁷Therefore be patient, ^(M)brothers and sisters, ^(N)until the coming of the Lord. ^(O)The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until ^[f]it gets ^(P)the early and late rains. ⁸^(Q)You too be patient; ^(R)strengthen your hearts, for ^(S)the coming of the Lord is ^(T)near. ⁹^(U)Do not ^[g]complain, ^(V)brothers and sisters, against one another, so that you may not be judged; behold, ^(W)the Judge is standing ^[h]^(X)right at the ^[i]door. ¹⁰As an example, ^(Y)brothers and sisters, of suffering and patience, take ^(Z)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹We count those ^(AA)blessed who endured. You have heard of ^(AB)the ^[j]endurance of Job and have seen ^(AC)the ^[k]outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that ^(AD)the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

¹²But above all, ^(AE)my brothers and sisters, ^(AF)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but ^[l]your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you do not fall under judgment.

¹³Is anyone among you ^(AG)suffering? ^(AH)Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to ^(AI)sing praises. ¹⁴Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for ^(AJ)the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, ^[m]^(AK)anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; ¹⁵and the ^(AL)prayer of faith will ^[n]^(AM)restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will ^(AN)raise him up, and if he has committed sins, ^[o]they will be forgiven him. ¹⁶Therefore, ^(AO)confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be ^(AP)healed. ^(AQ)A ^[p]prayer of a righteous person, when it is ^[q]brought about, can accomplish much. ¹⁷Elijah was ^(AR)a man with a nature like ours, and ^(AS)he prayed ^[r]earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for ^(AT)three years and six months. ¹⁸Then he ^(AU)prayed again, and ^(AV)the sky ^[s]poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.

¹⁹My brothers and sisters, ^(AW)if anyone among you strays from ^(AX)the truth and someone turns him back, ²⁰let him know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will ^(AY)save his soul from death and ^(AZ)cover a multitude of sins.