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24 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people, particularly to all the women,[a] “Listen to the Lord’s message, all you people of Judah who are in Egypt. 25 This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, has said, ‘You women[b] have confirmed by your actions what you vowed with your lips! You said, “We will certainly carry out our vows to sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven.” Well, then fulfill your vows! Carry them out!’[c] 26 But[d] listen to the Lord’s message, all you people of Judah who are living in the land of Egypt: The Lord says, ‘I hereby swear by my own great name that none of the people of Judah who are living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name in their oaths! Never again will any of them use it in an oath saying, “As surely as the Sovereign Lord lives.”[e] 27 I will indeed[f] see to it that disaster, not prosperity, happens to them.[g] All the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will die in war or from starvation until not one of them is left. 28 Some who survive the battle will return to the land of Judah from the land of Egypt. But they will be very few indeed![h] Then the Judean remnant who have come to live in the land of Egypt will know whose word proves true,[i] mine or theirs.’ 29 Moreover the Lord says,[j] ‘I will make something happen to prove that I will punish you in this place. I will do it so that you will know that my threats to bring disaster on you will prove true.[k] 30 I, the Lord, promise that[l] I will hand Pharaoh Hophra[m] king of Egypt over to his enemies who are seeking to kill him. I will do that just as surely as I handed King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, his enemy who was seeking to kill him.’”
Baruch is Rebuked but also Comforted
45 The prophet Jeremiah spoke to Baruch son of Neriah while he was writing down in a scroll the words that Jeremiah spoke to him.[n] (This happened in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah.)[o] 2 Jeremiah said, “The Lord God of Israel has a message for you, Baruch. 3 ‘You have said, “I feel so hopeless![p] For the Lord has added sorrow to my suffering.[q] I am worn out from groaning. I can’t find any rest.”’”
4 The Lord told Jeremiah,[r] “Tell Baruch,[s] ‘The Lord says, “I am about to tear down what I have built and to uproot what I have planted. I will do this throughout the whole earth.[t] 5 Are you looking for great things for yourself? Do not look for such things. For I, the Lord, affirm[u] that I am about to bring disaster on all humanity.[v] But I will allow you to escape with your life[w] wherever you go.”’”
Prophecies Against Foreign Nations[x]
46 This was[y] the Lord’s message to the prophet Jeremiah about the nations.
The Prophecy about Egypt’s Defeat at Carchemish
2 He spoke about Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Necho king of Egypt, which was encamped along the Euphrates River at Carchemish. Now this was the army that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over[z] Judah:[aa]
3 “Fall into ranks with your shields ready![ab]
Prepare to march[ac] into battle!
4 Harness the horses to the chariots;
mount your horses!
Take your positions with helmets on;
ready[ad] your spears!
Put on the armor![ae]
5 “What do I see?[af]
The soldiers[ag] are frightened.
They are retreating.
They are being scattered.[ah]
They have fled for refuge
without looking back.[ai]
Terror is all around them,”[aj] says the Lord.
6 But even the swiftest cannot get away.
Even the strongest cannot escape.[ak]
There in the north by the Euphrates River
they have stumbled and fallen in defeat.[al]
7 Who is this that rises like the Nile,
like its streams[am] turbulent at flood stage?[an]
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like its streams turbulent at flood stage.
Egypt said, ‘I will arise and cover the earth.
I will destroy cities and the people who inhabit them.’[ao]
9 Go ahead and[ap] charge into battle, you horsemen!
Drive furiously, you charioteers!
Let the soldiers march out into battle,
those from Ethiopia and Libya who carry shields,
and those from Lydia[aq] who are armed with the bow.[ar]
10 But that day belongs to the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies.[as]
It is a day of reckoning, when he will pay back his adversaries.[at]
His sword will devour them until its appetite is satisfied.
It will drink its fill from their blood![au]
Indeed it will be a sacrifice for the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies
in the land of the north by the Euphrates River.
11 Go up to Gilead and get medicinal ointment,[av]
you dear poor people of Egypt.[aw]
But it will prove useless no matter how much medicine you use;[ax]
there will be no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your shameful defeat.[ay]
Your cries of distress fill[az] the earth.
One soldier has stumbled over another
and both of them have fallen down defeated.”[ba]
The Lord Predicts that Nebuchadnezzar Will Attack and Plunder Egypt
13 The Lord spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about Nebuchadnezzar coming to attack the land of Egypt:[bb]
14 “Make an announcement throughout Egypt.
Proclaim it in Migdol, Memphis, and Tahpanhes.[bc]
‘Take your positions and prepare to do battle.
For the enemy army is destroying all the nations around you.’[bd]
15 Why will your soldiers[be] be defeated?[bf]
They will not stand because I, the Lord, will thrust[bg] them down.
16 I will make many stumble.[bh]
They will fall over one another in their hurry to flee.[bi]
They will say, ‘Get up!
Let’s go back to our own people.
Let’s go back to our homelands
because the enemy is coming to destroy us.’[bj]
17 There at home they will say, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is just a big noise![bk]
He has let the most opportune moment pass by.’[bl]
18 I the King, whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[bm] swear this:
‘I swear as surely as I live that[bn] a conqueror is coming.
He will be as imposing as Mount Tabor is among the mountains,
as Mount Carmel is against the backdrop of the sea.[bo]
19 Pack your bags for exile,
you inhabitants of poor dear Egypt.[bp]
For Memphis will be laid waste.
It will lie in ruins[bq] and be uninhabited.
20 Egypt is like a beautiful young cow.
But northern armies will attack her like swarms of stinging flies.[br]
21 Even her mercenaries[bs]
will prove to be like pampered,[bt] well-fed calves.
For they too will turn and run away.
They will not stand their ground
when[bu] the time for them to be destroyed comes,
the time for them to be punished.
22 Egypt will run away, hissing like a snake,[bv]
as the enemy comes marching up in force.
They will come against her with axes
as if they were woodsmen chopping down trees.
23 The population of Egypt is like a vast, impenetrable forest.
But I, the Lord, affirm[bw] that the enemy will cut them down.
For those who chop them down will be more numerous than locusts.
They will be too numerous to count.[bx]
24 Poor dear Egypt[by] will be put to shame.
She will be handed over to the people from the north.’”
25 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,[bz] says, “I will punish Amon, the god of Thebes.[ca] I will punish Egypt, its gods, and its kings. I will punish Pharaoh and all who trust in him.[cb] 26 I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar and his troops, who want to kill them. But later on, people will live in Egypt again as they did in former times. I, the Lord, affirm it!”[cc]
A Promise of Hope for Israel
27 [cd] “You descendants of Jacob, my servants,[ce] do not be afraid;
do not be terrified, people of Israel.
For I will rescue you and your descendants
from the faraway lands where you are captives.[cf]
The descendants of Jacob will return to their land and enjoy peace.
They will be secure and no one will terrify them.
28 I, the Lord, tell[cg] you not to be afraid,
you descendants of Jacob, my servant,
for I am with you.
Though I completely destroy all the nations where I scatter you,
I will not completely destroy you.
I will indeed discipline you but only in due measure.
I will not allow you to go entirely unpunished.”[ch]
Judgment on the Philistine Cities
47 This was[ci] the Lord’s message to the prophet Jeremiah about the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza:[cj]
2 “Look! Enemies are gathering in the north like water rising in a river.[ck]
They will be like an overflowing stream.
They will overwhelm the whole country and everything in it like a flood.
They will overwhelm the cities and their inhabitants.
People will cry out in alarm.
Everyone living in the country will cry out in pain.
3 Fathers will hear the hoofbeats of the enemies’ horses,
the clatter of their chariots and the rumbling of their wheels.
They will not turn back to save their children
because they will be paralyzed with fear.[cl]
4 For the time has come
to destroy all the Philistines.
The time has come to destroy all the help
that remains for Tyre and Sidon.
For I, the Lord, will[cm] destroy the Philistines,
that remnant that came from the island of Crete.[cn]
5 The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning.
The people of Ashkelon will be struck dumb.
How long will you gash yourselves to show your sorrow,[co]
you who remain of Philistia’s power?[cp]
6 How long will you cry out,[cq] ‘Oh, sword of the Lord,
how long will it be before you stop killing?[cr]
Go back into your sheath;
stay there and rest!’[cs]
7 But how can it rest[ct]
when I, the Lord, have[cu] given it orders?
I have ordered it to attack
the people of Ashkelon and the seacoast.”[cv]
22 But keep away from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace, in company with others[a] who call on the Lord from a pure heart.[b] 23 But reject foolish and ignorant[c] controversies, because you know they breed infighting.[d] 24 And the Lord’s slave[e] must not engage in heated disputes[f] but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient, 25 correcting[g] opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance and then knowledge of the truth[h] 26 and they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap where they are held captive[i] to do his will.[j]
Ministry in the Last Days
3 But understand this, that in the last days difficult[k] times will come. 2 For people[l] will be lovers of themselves,[m] lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God. 5 They will maintain the outward appearance[n] of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these.[o] 6 For some of these insinuate themselves[p] into households and captivate weak women[q] who are overwhelmed with sins and led along by various passions. 7 Such women are always seeking instruction,[r] yet never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 And just as Jannes and Jambres[s] opposed Moses, so these people—who have warped minds and are disqualified in the faith[t]—also oppose the truth. 9 But they will not go much further,[u] for their foolishness will be obvious to everyone, just like it was with Jannes and Jambres.[v]
Continue in What You Have Learned
10 You, however,[w] have followed my teaching, my[x] way of life, my purpose, my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance, 11 as well as the persecutions and sufferings[y] that happened to me in Antioch, in Iconium, and in Lystra.[z] I endured these persecutions and the Lord delivered me from them all. 12 Now in fact all who want to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil people and charlatans will go from bad to worse,[aa] deceiving others and being deceived themselves.[ab] 14 You, however, must continue[ac] in the things you have learned and are confident about. You know[ad] who taught you[ae] 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 Every scripture[af] is inspired by God[ag] and useful for teaching, for reproof,[ah] for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the person dedicated to God[ai] may be capable[aj] and equipped for every good work.
Psalm 94[a]
94 O Lord, the God who avenges!
O God who avenges, reveal your splendor.[b]
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth.
Pay back the proud.
3 O Lord, how long will the wicked,
how long will the wicked celebrate?[c]
4 They spew out threats[d] and speak defiantly;
all the evildoers boast.[e]
5 O Lord, they crush your people;
they oppress the nation that belongs to you.[f]
6 They kill the widow and the resident foreigner,
and they murder the fatherless.[g]
7 Then they say, “The Lord does not see this;
the God of Jacob does not take notice of it.”[h]
8 Take notice of this,[i] you ignorant people.[j]
You fools, when will you ever understand?
9 Does the one who makes the human ear not hear?
Does the one who forms the human eye not see?[k]
10 Does the one who disciplines the nations not punish?
He is the one who imparts knowledge to human beings!
11 The Lord knows that peoples’ thoughts
are morally bankrupt.[l]
12 How blessed is the one[m] whom you instruct, O Lord,
the one whom you teach from your law,
13 in order to protect him from times of trouble,[n]
until the wicked are destroyed.[o]
14 Certainly[p] the Lord does not forsake his people;
he does not abandon the nation that belongs to him.[q]
15 For justice will prevail,[r]
and all the morally upright[s] will be vindicated.[t]
16 Who will rise up to defend me[u] against the wicked?
Who will stand up for me against the evildoers?[v]
17 If the Lord had not helped me,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.[w]
18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your loyal love, O Lord, supports me.
19 When worries threaten to overwhelm me,[x]
your soothing touch makes me happy.[y]
20 Cruel rulers[z] are not your allies,
those who make oppressive laws.[aa]
21 They conspire against[ab] the blameless,[ac]
and condemn to death the innocent.[ad]
22 But the Lord will protect me,[ae]
and my God will shelter me.[af]
23 He will pay them back for their sin.[ag]
He will destroy them because of[ah] their evil;
the Lord our God will destroy them.
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