Jeremiah 9-10

New International Version

9 ^[a]¹Oh, that my head were a spring of water
    and my eyes a fountain of tears!^(A)
I would weep^(B) day and night
    for the slain of my people.^(C)
²Oh, that I had in the desert^(D)
    a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
    and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,^(E)
    a crowd of unfaithful^(F) people.

³“They make ready their tongue
    like a bow, to shoot lies;^(G)
it is not by truth
    that they triumph^[b] in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
    they do not acknowledge^(H) me,”
declares the Lord.
⁴“Beware of your friends;^(I)
    do not trust anyone in your clan.^(J)
For every one of them is a deceiver,^[c]^(K)
    and every friend a slanderer.^(L)
⁵Friend deceives friend,^(M)
    and no one speaks the truth.^(N)
They have taught their tongues to lie;^(O)
    they weary themselves with sinning.
⁶You^[d] live in the midst of deception;^(P)
    in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.

⁷Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will refine^(Q) and test^(R) them,
    for what else can I do
    because of the sin of my people?
⁸Their tongue^(S) is a deadly arrow;
    it speaks deceitfully.
With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,^(T)
    but in their hearts they set traps^(U) for them.^(V)
⁹Should I not punish them for this?”
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge^(W) myself
    on such a nation as this?”

¹⁰I will weep and wail for the mountains
    and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands.^(X)
They are desolate and untraveled,
    and the lowing of cattle is not heard.
The birds^(Y) have all fled
    and the animals are gone.

¹¹“I will make Jerusalem a heap^(Z) of ruins,
a haunt of jackals;^(AA)
and I will lay waste the towns of Judah^(AB)
so no one can live there.”^(AC)

¹²Who is wise^(AD) enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?

¹³The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law.^(AE) ¹⁴Instead, they have followed^(AF) the stubbornness of their hearts;^(AG) they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” ¹⁵Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food^(AH) and drink poisoned water.^(AI) ¹⁶I will scatter them among nations^(AJ) that neither they nor their ancestors have known,^(AK) and I will pursue them with the sword^(AL) until I have made an end of them.”^(AM)

¹⁷This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Consider now! Call for the wailing women^(AN) to come;
    send for the most skillful of them.
¹⁸Let them come quickly
    and wail over us
till our eyes overflow with tears
    and water streams from our eyelids.^(AO)
¹⁹The sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
    ‘How ruined^(AP) we are!
    How great is our shame!
We must leave our land
    because our houses are in ruins.’”

²⁰Now, you women, hear the word of the Lord;
    open your ears to the words of his mouth.^(AQ)
Teach your daughters how to wail;
    teach one another a lament.^(AR)
²¹Death has climbed in through our windows^(AS)
    and has entered our fortresses;
it has removed the children from the streets
    and the young men^(AT) from the public squares.

²²Say, “This is what the Lord declares:

“‘Dead bodies will lie
like dung^(AU) on the open field,
like cut grain behind the reaper,
with no one to gather them.’”

²³This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom^(AV)
    or the strong boast of their strength^(AW)
    or the rich boast of their riches,^(AX)
²⁴but let the one who boasts boast^(AY) about this:
    that they have the understanding to know^(AZ) me,
that I am the Lord,^(BA) who exercises kindness,^(BB)
    justice and righteousness^(BC) on earth,
    for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.

²⁵“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh^(BD)— ²⁶Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places.^[e]^(BE) For all these nations are really uncircumcised,^(BF) and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.^(BG)”

God and Idols^(BH)

10 Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. ²This is what the Lord says:

“Do not learn the ways of the nations^(BI)
    or be terrified by signs^(BJ) in the heavens,
    though the nations are terrified by them.
³For the practices of the peoples are worthless;
    they cut a tree out of the forest,
    and a craftsman^(BK) shapes it with his chisel.^(BL)
⁴They adorn it with silver^(BM) and gold;
    they fasten it with hammer and nails
    so it will not totter.^(BN)
⁵Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,
    their idols cannot speak;^(BO)
they must be carried
    because they cannot walk.^(BP)
Do not fear them;
    they can do no harm^(BQ)
    nor can they do any good.”^(BR)

⁶No one is like you,^(BS) Lord;
    you are great,^(BT)
    and your name is mighty in power.
⁷Who should not fear^(BU) you,
    King of the nations?^(BV)
    This is your due.
Among all the wise leaders of the nations
    and in all their kingdoms,
    there is no one like you.

⁸They are all senseless^(BW) and foolish;^(BX)
    they are taught by worthless wooden idols.^(BY)
⁹Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish^(BZ)
    and gold from Uphaz.
What the craftsman and goldsmith have made^(CA)
    is then dressed in blue and purple—
    all made by skilled workers.
¹⁰But the Lord is the true God;
    he is the living God,^(CB) the eternal King.^(CC)
When he is angry,^(CD) the earth trembles;^(CE)
    the nations cannot endure his wrath.^(CF)

¹¹“Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish^(CG) from the earth and from under the heavens.’”^[f]

¹²But God made^(CH) the earth^(CI) by his power;
    he founded the world by his wisdom^(CJ)
    and stretched out the heavens^(CK) by his understanding.
¹³When he thunders,^(CL) the waters in the heavens roar;
    he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning^(CM) with the rain^(CN)
    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.^(CO)

¹⁴Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
    every goldsmith is shamed^(CP) by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;^(CQ)
    they have no breath in them.
¹⁵They are worthless,^(CR) the objects of mockery;
    when their judgment comes, they will perish.
¹⁶He who is the Portion^(CS) of Jacob is not like these,
    for he is the Maker of all things,^(CT)
including Israel, the people of his inheritance^(CU)—
    the Lord Almighty is his name.^(CV)

Coming Destruction

¹⁷Gather up your belongings^(CW) to leave the land,
    you who live under siege.
¹⁸For this is what the Lord says:
    “At this time I will hurl^(CX) out
    those who live in this land;
I will bring distress^(CY) on them
    so that they may be captured.”

¹⁹Woe to me because of my injury!
    My wound^(CZ) is incurable!
Yet I said to myself,
    “This is my sickness, and I must endure^(DA) it.”
²⁰My tent^(DB) is destroyed;
    all its ropes are snapped.
My children are gone from me and are no more;^(DC)
    no one is left now to pitch my tent
    or to set up my shelter.
²¹The shepherds^(DD) are senseless^(DE)
    and do not inquire of the Lord;^(DF)
so they do not prosper^(DG)
    and all their flock is scattered.^(DH)
²²Listen! The report is coming—
    a great commotion from the land of the north!^(DI)
It will make the towns of Judah desolate,^(DJ)
    a haunt of jackals.^(DK)

Jeremiah’s Prayer

²³Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own;
    it is not for them to direct their steps.^(DL)
²⁴Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measure—
    not in your anger,^(DM)
    or you will reduce me to nothing.^(DN)
²⁵Pour out your wrath on the nations^(DO)
    that do not acknowledge you,
    on the peoples who do not call on your name.^(DP)
For they have devoured^(DQ) Jacob;
    they have devoured him completely
    and destroyed his homeland.^(DR)

Footnotes

Jeremiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-26 is numbered 9:1-25.
Jeremiah 9:3 Or lies; / they are not valiant for truth
Jeremiah 9:4 Or a deceiving Jacob
Jeremiah 9:6 That is, Jeremiah (the Hebrew is singular)
Jeremiah 9:26 Or wilderness and who clip the hair by their foreheads
Jeremiah 10:11 The text of this verse is in Aramaic.

Galatians 4

New International Version

4 What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. ²The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. ³So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery^(A) under the elemental spiritual forces^[a] of the world.^(B) ⁴But when the set time had fully come,^(C) God sent his Son,^(D) born of a woman,^(E) born under the law,^(F) ⁵to redeem^(G) those under the law, that we might receive adoption^(H) to sonship.^[b]^(I) ⁶Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son^(J) into our hearts,^(K) the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,^[c] Father.”^(L) ⁷So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.^(M)

Paul’s Concern for the Galatians

⁸Formerly, when you did not know God,^(N) you were slaves^(O) to those who by nature are not gods.^(P) ⁹But now that you know God—or rather are known by God^(Q)—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces^[d]? Do you wish to be enslaved^(R) by them all over again?^(S) ¹⁰You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!^(T) ¹¹I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.^(U)

¹²I plead with you, brothers and sisters,^(V) become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong. ¹³As you know, it was because of an illness^(W) that I first preached the gospel to you, ¹⁴and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself.^(X) ¹⁵Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?^(Y)

¹⁷Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them.^(Z) ¹⁸It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you.^(AA) ¹⁹My dear children,^(AB) for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,^(AC) ²⁰how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!

Hagar and Sarah

²¹Tell me, you who want to be under the law,^(AD) are you not aware of what the law says? ²²For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman^(AE) and the other by the free woman.^(AF) ²³His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh,^(AG) but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.^(AH)

²⁴These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. ²⁵Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. ²⁶But the Jerusalem that is above^(AI) is free, and she is our mother. ²⁷For it is written:

“Be glad, barren woman,
    you who never bore a child;
shout for joy and cry aloud,
    you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
    than of her who has a husband.”^[e]^(AJ)

²⁸Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise.^(AK) ²⁹At that time the son born according to the flesh^(AL) persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit.^(AM) It is the same now. ³⁰But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”^[f]^(AN) ³¹Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman,^(AO) but of the free woman.^(AP)

Footnotes

Galatians 4:3 Or under the basic principles
Galatians 4:5 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.
Galatians 4:6 Aramaic for Father
Galatians 4:9 Or principles
Galatians 4:27 Isaiah 54:1
Galatians 4:30 Gen. 21:10

Psalm 110

New International Version

Psalm 110

Of David. A psalm.

¹The Lord says^(A) to my lord:^[a]

“Sit at my right hand^(B)
until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”^(C)

²The Lord will extend your mighty scepter^(D) from Zion,^(E) saying,
    “Rule^(F) in the midst of your enemies!”
³Your troops will be willing
    on your day of battle.
Arrayed in holy splendor,^(G)
    your young men will come to you
    like dew from the morning’s womb.^[b]^(H)

⁴The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind:^(I)
“You are a priest forever,^(J)
in the order of Melchizedek.^(K)”

⁵The Lord is at your right hand^[c];^(L)
    he will crush kings^(M) on the day of his wrath.^(N)
⁶He will judge the nations,^(O) heaping up the dead^(P)
    and crushing the rulers^(Q) of the whole earth.
⁷He will drink from a brook along the way,^[d]
    and so he will lift his head high.^(R)

Footnotes

Psalm 110:1 Or Lord
Psalm 110:3 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
Psalm 110:5 Or My lord is at your right hand, Lord
Psalm 110:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.

Proverbs 24:10-12

New International Version

Saying 25

¹⁰If you falter in a time of trouble,
    how small is your strength!^(A)
¹¹Rescue those being led away to death;
    hold back those staggering toward slaughter.^(B)
¹²If you say, “But we knew nothing about this,”
    does not he who weighs^(C) the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
    Will he not repay^(D) everyone according to what they have done?^(E)

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