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Jeremiah’s Complaint
12 You will be in the right, O Yahweh, when I complain to you.
Even so, let me speak my claims with you.
Why does the way of the wicked succeed?
All those who deal treacherously with treachery are at ease.
2 Not only do you plant them, they take root.
They grow, but also they produce fruit.
You are near in their mouths,
but far from their inmost beings.[a]
3 But you, O Yahweh, you know me,
you see me, and you test that my heart is with you.
Tear them apart like sheep for the slaughtering,
and set them apart for the day of slaughter.
4 How long[b] will the land mourn, and the vegetation of every field dry up,
because of the wickedness of those who live in it?
The animals and the birds[c] are swept away,
because they have said, “He does not see our future.”
The Lord’s Reply
5 “If you run with foot soldiers and they have made you weary,
then how will you compete with horses?
If you have fallen in a peaceful land,[d]
then how will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?
6 For even your relatives, and the house of your father,
even they have dealt treacherously with you,
even they call loudly[e] after you.
You must not trust in them, though they speak kindly to you.
7 I have forsaken my house, I have abandoned my inheritance.
I have given the beloved one of my heart[f] into the hand of her enemies.
8 My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest.
She has lifted up against me her voice; therefore[g] I hate her.
9 The lair of the hyena is my inheritance to me,
the birds of prey[h] are all around her.
Go, gather all of the animals[i] of the field,
bring them to come and devour.[j]
10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard,
they have trampled down my plot of land.
They have made my pleasant field[k]
like the desert[l] of desolation.
11 They have made it a desolation.
Desolate, it mourns to me.
All the land is made desolate,
but there is no person taking it to heart.
12 Upon all the barren heights in the desert[m] destroyers have come,
for the sword of Yahweh devours,
from one end of the land to the other end of the land,
there is no peace for all flesh.
13 They have sown wheat and they have reaped thorns.
They are exhausted, they do not profit.
And they will be ashamed of your produce,
because of the burning anger[n] of Yahweh.”
14 Thus says Yahweh concerning all of the evil neighbors who touch the inheritance that I gave as an inheritance to my people Israel: “Look, I am about to drive them out from their land, and the house of Judah I will drive out from among them. 15 And then[o] after my driving them out, I will once again have compassion on them, and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance, and each one to his land. 16 And then,[p] if they diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘as Yahweh lives,’[q] even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will live in the midst of my people. 17 But if they do not listen, then I will completely uproot and destroy that nation.”[r] declares[s] Yahweh.
The Linen Loincloth
13 Thus Yahweh said to me: “Go and buy for yourself a loincloth of linen and put it on your loins, but you must not place[t] it in water.” 2 So I bought the loincloth according to the word of Yahweh and I put it[u] on my loins.
3 Now the word of Yahweh came to me a second time, saying,[v] 4 “Take the loincloth that you bought, that is on your loins, and stand up, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in the cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates just as Yahweh had commanded me.
6 And then,[w] after a long time,[x] then Yahweh said to me, “Stand up, go to the Euphrates and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates and I dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it, and look, the loincloth was ruined; it was not good for anything.
8 And then[y] the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,[z] 9 “Thus says Yahweh: ‘So I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to listen to my words, who go[aa] in the stubbornness of their hearts,[ab] and have gone after other gods, to serve them, and to bow in worship to them, let them be like this loincloth which is not good for anything. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the loins of a person, so I caused to cling to me all the house of Israel and all the house of Judah,’ declares[ac] Yahweh, ‘to be for me a people, and a name, and a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.’
12 “Therefore, you shall say to them this word, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: “Every jar must be filled with wine.”’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not certainly know that every jar should be filled with wine?’ 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh: “Look, I am about to fill all the inhabitants of this land, and the kings who sit on David’s throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem with drunkenness. 14 And I will smash them, each one against his brother, and the fathers and the sons together,” declares[ad] Yahweh. “I will not have compassion, and I will not take pity, and I will not show compassion from destroying them.”’”
15 Listen, and pay attention,
you must not be haughty, for Yahweh has spoken.
16 Give glory to Yahweh your God before[ae] he brings darkness,
and before[af] your feet stumble on the mountains at twilight.
And you will hope for light, but he makes it as gloom,
he makes it[ag] as thick darkness.
17 But if you will not listen to it,
my inner self[ah] will weep in secret places,
because of the presence of[ai] your pride.
And my eyes[aj] will weep bitterly,
and they will melt in tears,
because the flock of Yahweh has been taken captive.
A Message for the King and the Queen Mother
18 “Say to the king and to the queen mother, ‘Take a lower seat,[ak]
for your beautiful crown[al] has come down from your head.’[am]
19 The towns of the Negev are shut up,
and there is no one who opens them.[an]
All of Judah is deported;
it is deported in completeness.
20 Lift up your eyes
and see those coming from the north.
Where is the flock that was given to you,
your magnificent flock?[ao]
21 What will you say when he sets over you—
and you have taught them—allies as head over you?
Will not labor pains take hold of you,
like a woman giving birth?
22 And if you say in your heart,
‘Why have these things happened to me?’
Because of the greatness of your iniquity your skirts are uncovered;
your heels have endured violence.
23 Can a Cushite change his skin,
or a leopard his spots?
Then you also will be able to do good,
who are accustomed to doing evil.
24 And I will scatter them
like stubble scattered by the wind of the desert.[ap]
25 This is your lot,
the portion of your measure from me,” declares[aq] Yahweh,
“because you have forgotten me,
and you have trusted in the lie.
26 So in turn I will bare your skirts over your face,
and your shame will become visible.
27 Your adulteries, and your neighings,
the shameful behavior of your fornications
on the hills in the countryside,
I have seen your abominations.
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
How long will you continue to be unclean?[ar]”
The Severe Drought
14 That which came as the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah concerning the matter[as] of the severe drought.
2 “Judah mourns, and her gates languish,
they are in mourning on the ground,
and the cry of lament of Jerusalem goes up.
3 And their nobles send their servants for water.
They come to the pits, they find no water.
They return with their vessels empty.[at]
They are ashamed, and they are confounded,
and they cover their heads.[au]
4 Because of the ground, which is cracked
because there was no rain on the ground.
The farmers are ashamed,
they cover their heads.[av]
5 For even the doe in the field gives birth and forsakes her young,[aw]
because there is no green growth.
6 And wild asses stand on the barren heights,
they gasp for breath like the jackals.
Their eyes fail
because there is no vegetation.”
7 Although our iniquities testify against us, O Yahweh,
act for the sake of your name.
Yes, our apostasies are many;
we have sinned against you.
8 You are the hope of Israel,
its savior in time of distress.
Why should you be like an alien in the land,
or like a traveler who spreads out his tent [ax] to spend the night?
9 Why should you be like a confused man,
like a warrior who is not able to help?
Yet you are in our midst, O Yahweh,
and your name is called upon us.
You must not leave us!
10 Thus says Yahweh concerning this people:
“They have loved so much to wander,
they have not spared their feet.
Therefore Yahweh is not favorable to them,
now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.”
Greeting
1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to you and peace.
Thanksgiving for the Thessalonian Believers
2 We give thanks to God always concerning all of you, making mention constantly in our prayers, 3 because we[a] remember your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father, 4 knowing, brothers dearly loved by God, that he has chosen you[b], 5 because our gospel did not come to you with word only, but also with power and with the Holy Spirit and with much certainty, just as you know what sort of people we became among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all those who believe in Macedonia and in Achaia, 8 for from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in Macedonia and Achaia,[c] but in every place your faith toward God has gone out, so that we have no need to say anything. 9 For they themselves report about us, what sort of welcome we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to await his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, the one who delivers us from the coming wrath.
Paul’s Approach to Ministry in Thessalonica
2 For you yourselves know, brothers, our reception with you, that it was not in vain, 2 but after we had already suffered and been mistreated in Philippi, just as you know, we had the courage in our God to speak to you the gospel of God amid much opposition. 3 For our exhortation is not from error or from impurity or with deceit, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, thus we speak, not as pleasing people but God, who examines our hearts. 5 For never[d] did we come with a word of flattery, just as you know, nor with a pretext of greediness (God is witness), 6 nor seeking glory from people, neither from you nor from others. 7 Although we could have insisted on our own importance[e][f] as apostles of Christ, yet we became infants in your midst, like a nursing mother cherishes her own children. 8 Longing for you in this way, we determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own souls, because you had become dear to us.
A Lament for Jerusalem after Its Destruction
A psalm of Asaph.[a]
79 O God, the nations have entered your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple;
they have reduced Jerusalem to ruins.
2 They have given the bodies of your servants
as food for the birds of the heavens,
the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was none to bury them.
4 We have become a taunt to our neighbors,
a derision and a scorn to those around us.
5 How long, O Yahweh? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations
that do not know you,
and on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name,
7 because they[b] have devoured Jacob
and have laid waste his habitation.
8 Do not remember against us former iniquities;
let your mercies meet us quickly
because we are brought very low.
9 Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of your name;
and deliver us and forgive[c] our sins
for the sake of your name.
10 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Let it[d] be known among the nations before our eyes,
by the avenging of the blood of your servants
that was poured out.
11 Let the groaning of the prisoner come before you.
According to the greatness of your power,[e]
spare[f] the children appointed to death.
12 And return to our neighbors sevenfold upon them[g]
their taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord.
13 Then we, your people and the flock of your pasture,
we will give thanks to you forever.
Generation after generation[h]
we will tell of your praise.
30 I passed by the field of a lazy person,
and over the vineyard of a person lacking sense;[a]
31 and behold, it was overgrown—all of it was covered with thorns, its surface with nettles,
and its stone wall[b] was broken down.
32 Then I myself saw and my heart[c] considered;
I looked, and I took hold of instruction:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands for rest,
34 and your poverty will come running,
and your lack like an armed warrior.
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