The Daily Audio Bible
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21 I did not send these prophets, yet they ran.
I did not speak to them, yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my council,
they would have made my people hear my words,
and they would have turned them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds.
23 Am I a God who is only nearby, declares the Lord,
and not a God far away?
24 Can anyone hide in secret places
so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord.
Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.
25 I have heard what the prophets who prophesy lies in my name have said. They say, “I have had a dream! I have had a dream!” 26 How long will this be in the hearts of these lying prophets? These prophets proclaim the fantasies of their own hearts. 27 They think they can make my people forget my name with the dreams each one tells his neighbor, the way their fathers forgot my name because of Baal. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream. But let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully.
What has chaff to do with grain? declares the Lord. 29 Is not my word like a fire? declares the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces? 30 Therefore listen to this, declares the Lord. I am against the prophets who steal my words from each other. 31 Indeed, I am against the prophets, declares the Lord, who use their own tongues to say, “This is what the Lord declares!” 32 Yes, I am against those who prophesy about lying dreams, declares the Lord. I am against those who tell lying dreams to lead my people astray with their extravagant lies. But I did not send them or command them. They provide no benefit for this people, declares the Lord.
33 When these people or a prophet or a priest asks you, “What is the message[a] from the Lord?” say to them, “What is the message? This is the Lord’s message: I will abandon you.”
34 As for the prophet, the priest, or anyone who says “the message from the Lord,” I will punish that man and his household. 35 Each man will ask his neighbor, “What has the Lord answered?” or “What has the Lord said?” 36 But do not refer to “the message of the Lord” anymore, because each man’s word has become his own message, because you have perverted the words of the Living God, the Lord of Armies, our God.
37 You say this to the prophet: “What has the Lord answered you?” or “What has the Lord said?” 38 But if you say that you have the message[b] of the Lord, this is what the Lord says to you: Since you say “the message of the Lord,” although I have sent a message telling you not to say “the message of the Lord,” 39 watch out, because I will completely forget you and throw you out of my presence. I will abandon you and this city, which I gave to your fathers. 40 I will bring everlasting scorn and everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.
Two Baskets of Figs
24 The Lord showed me two baskets of figs sitting in front of the Lord’s temple. This took place after Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had exiled Jeconiah[c] son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem, along with the officials of Judah, the craftsmen, and the smiths, and had brought them to Babylon.
2 One basket had very good figs, like early figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten. 3 Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
“Figs,” I said. “The good figs are very good, and the bad ones are very bad, so bad they cannot be eaten.”
4 The word of the Lord came to me.
5 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says. I will treat the exiles from Judah like these good figs, those exiles that I sent out from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. 6 I will keep my eye on them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them. 7 I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God. They will return to me with their whole heart.
8 But like the bad figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten—this is what the Lord says—this is how I will deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and with those who live in the land of Egypt. 9 I will make them an object of horror and disaster among all the nations of the earth. They will be a disgrace, a proverb, a taunt, and a curse in all the places where I banish them. 10 I will send the sword, famine, and plague against them until they have perished from the soil that I have given to them and to their fathers.
Seventy Years of Exile
25 This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah. This was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 2 Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to everyone who lived in Jerusalem.
3 For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, to this very day, the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again. But you have not listened. 4 The Lord sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, but you have not listened or paid attention.
5 The Lord said: Turn, each of you, from your evil way of life and from the evil things you do. Live on the land the Lord gave to you and to your forefathers long ago to be yours forever. 6 Do not follow after other gods or serve them or worship them, and do not provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.
7 But you would not obey me, declares the Lord. So you kept provoking me to anger with the work of your hands, and you have hurt yourselves.
8 Therefore this is what the Lord of Armies says. Because you have not obeyed my words, 9 watch out! I will send for all the clans of the north, declares the Lord, and I will send for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land, against its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and derision. The land will be ruins forever. 10 I will take the sound of joy away from them and the sound of gladness. I will take away the voice of the bride and groom, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole land will become a desolation and a ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 When the seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the Lord. I will make it desolate forever. 13 I will bring on that land all my words which I have spoken against it, everything that is written in this book, in which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14 For many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, but I will repay 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 filled with the wine of my wrath, and make all the nations, to whom I send you, drink it. 16 They will drink, stagger, and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”
17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom he had sent me drink from it— 18 to destroy them and to make them an object of horror and derision, and to make them a curse, as they are today. They are:
Jerusalem, all the cities of Judah, its kings and officials,
19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people,
20 also all the various foreigners there,
also all the kings of the land of Uz,
all the kings of the Philistines (Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and
the remnant of Ashdod),
21 Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites,
22 all the kings of Tyre, all the kings of Sidon,
and the kings of the islands across the sea,
23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who live on the edge of the desert,[d]
24 all the kings of Arabia,
all the kings of the various peoples who live in the wilderness,
25 all the kings of Zimri,
all the kings of Elam, all the kings of the Medes,
26 all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another,
and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth.
Then after them, the king of Sheshak[e] will drink.
27 You are to tell them that this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Drink and get drunk. Vomit! Fall and rise no more, because of the sword I will send among you.” 28 But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink, then tell them, “This is what the Lord of Armies says. You must drink it. 29 See, I am beginning to bring disaster to the city called by my name. Will you somehow go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I will call for a sword on all who live on the earth, declares the Lord of Armies.”
30 Prophesy all these words against them. Say to them:
The Lord will roar from on high,
and he will thunder from his holy dwelling.
He will roar mightily against his flock.
He will shout against all who live on the earth,
like those who tread grapes.
31 The roaring will reach the ends of the earth,
for the Lord will bring charges against the nations.
He will judge all flesh
and put the wicked to the sword, declares the Lord.
32 This is what the Lord of Armies says.
Look! Disaster is moving from nation to nation,
and a great storm is rising from the ends of the earth.
33 On that day those slain by the Lord will lie scattered
from one end of the earth to the other.
They will not be mourned.
They will not be gathered up.
They will not be buried.
They lie on the ground like manure.
34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry.
Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock,
for the day for you to be slaughtered has come.
You will be shattered,
and you will fall like fine pottery.[f]
35 The shepherds will have nowhere to flee.
The leaders of the flock will have no escape.
36 Hear the cry of the shepherds
and the wailing of the leaders of the flock,
for the Lord is destroying their pasture.
37 The peaceful meadows are silenced,
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 He has left his lair like a lion,
and their land will become desolate,
because of the fierceness of the oppressor,
and because of his fierce anger.
The Man of Sin
2 Now, about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together with him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken from your composure or disturbed by a spirit, a message, or a letter thought to be from us, which says that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way, because that day will not come until the falling away comes first, and the man of sin[a] is revealed—the son of destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above everyone who is called God or every object of worship, so that he sits in the temple of God, displaying himself as God.
5 Do you not remember that, while I was still with you, I kept telling you these things? 6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 In fact, the mystery of this lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who is now holding him back moves out of the way. 8 Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will consume with[b] the breath of his mouth and destroy when he appears in splendor at his coming.
9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan, with every kind of miracle, that is, with false signs and wonders, 10 and with every kind of unrighteousness that deceives those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 And because of this, God continues to send them a strong delusion, so that they believe the lie, 12 in order that all those may be condemned who refused to believe the truth but instead delighted in unrighteousness.
Chosen for Salvation
13 But we are always obligated to thank God for you, brothers, loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation by the sanctifying work of the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 For this reason he also called you through our gospel so that you would obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold on to the teachings that were passed along to you, either by word of mouth or by a letter from us. 16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.
Psalm 84
How Loved Is Your Dwelling Place
Heading
For the choir director. According to gittith.[a] By the Sons of Korah.[b]
A psalm.
How Loved Is Your Dwelling Place
1 How I love your dwelling place, O Lord of Armies.
2 My soul grows weak and even wastes away,
as I long for the courtyards of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow has found a nest for herself,
where she may place her young near your altars,
O Lord of Armies, my King and my God.
The Blessings of Being There
4 How blessed are those who live in your house. Interlude
They are always praising you.
5 How blessed is everyone whose strength is found in you.
The highways to Jerusalem[c] are in their hearts.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca,[d]
it becomes full of springs.[e]
The autumn rain also covers it with pools.[f]
7 They go from strength to strength.
Each one will appear before God in Zion.
Prayer
8 O Lord, God of Armies, hear my prayer. Interlude
Give ear, O God of Jacob.
9 Look upon our Shield, O God.
Look with favor on the face of your Anointed One.[g]
The Blessings of Being There
10 Yes, one day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather wait at the doorway of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord is a sun and shield.
God gives grace and glory.
The Lord does not withhold any good thing
from those who walk with integrity.
12 O Lord of Armies, how blessed is everyone who trusts in you.
15 By patience a ruler can be persuaded,
and a soft tongue can break a bone.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.