Old/New Testament
3 A saying:[a] ‘Look, if a man divorces his wife,
and she goes from him and she becomes another man’s wife,[b]
will he return to her again?’
Will not that land be greatly defiled?
And you have prostituted yourself with many lovers,
would you now return to me?” declares[c] Yahweh.
2 “Lift up your eyes at the barren heights,
and see where you have not been ravished.
Beside the roads you sat for them like an Arab in the desert,[d]
and you have defiled the land
with your fornication
and with your wickedness.
3 Therefore rain showers have been withheld,
and the spring rain has not come.
Yet you have[e] the forehead of a woman prostitute,
you refuse to be ashamed.
4 Have you not just now called to me,
‘My father, you are the close friend of my youth?
5 Will he be angry forever?[f]
Will he maintain it always’?[g]
Look, you have spoken,
but you have done all the evil that you could.”[h]
Yahweh Gives Israel a Letter of Divorce
6 Then Yahweh said to me in the days of Josiah, the king, “Have you seen what apostate[i] Israel has done? She has gone on every high hill and under every leafy tree and she has prostituted herself there. 7 And I thought, ‘After her doing all these things to me she will return,’ but she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.[j] 8 And I saw that for this very reason, that[k] on account of apostate[l] Israel committing adultery I divorced her and gave the letter of divorce to her. Yet her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid and she went and prostituted herself also. 9 And it was because of the frivolity of her fornication that she defiled the land and committed adultery with the stone and with the tree. 10 Yet even in all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only[m] in pretense,”[n] declares[o] Yahweh.
A Call for Repentance
11 Then Yahweh said to me, “Apostate[p] Israel has proved herself more upright[q] than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say,
‘Return, apostate[r] Israel,’ declares[s] Yahweh.
‘I will not cause my anger[t] to fall on you.
For I am loyal,’ declares[u] Yahweh.
‘I will not be angry forever.[v]
13 Only acknowledge your guilt,
that against Yahweh your God you have rebelled,
and have scattered your ways to the strangers under every leafy tree,
and you have not obeyed my voice,’ declares[w] Yahweh.”
14 “Return, apostate[x] children,” declares[y] Yahweh. “For I am your master,[z] and I will take you one from a city and two from a clan,[aa] and I will bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart and they will feed you knowledge and insight. 16 And it will be when you have multiplied and become fruitful in the land in those days,” declares[ab] Yahweh, “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of Yahweh.’ And it will not come to mind,[ac] nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it,[ad] nor will it be made again. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of Yahweh,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh, to Jerusalem, and they will no longer go after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah will walk along with the house of Israel and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave as an inheritance to your ancestors.[ae]
19 Then I thought, ‘How I would set you among the children,
and I would give you a land of desire,
an inheritance of the glory of the hosts of nations.’
And I thought, ‘You would call me, “My father,”
and you would not turn back from behind[af] me.’
20 However, as a wife departs treacherously from her lover,
so you have dealt treacherously with me,
O house of Israel,” declares[ag] Yahweh.
21 “A voice is heard on the barren heights,
the weeping of the pleas for mercy of the children of Israel,
because they have perverted their way,
they have forgotten Yahweh their God.
22 Return, O apostate[ah] children,
I will heal your backsliding.
‘Look, we come to you,
for you are Yahweh our God.
23 Surely, an illusion comes from the hills,
the turmoil on the mountains.
Surely, in Yahweh our God
is the salvation of Israel.
24 But the shameful thing has devoured
the labor of our ancestors[ai] from our youth,
their flocks, and their cattle,
their sons and their daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame,
and let our disgrace cover us.
For against Yahweh our God we have sinned,
we and our ancestors,[aj]
from our youth and until this day.
and we have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh our God.’
4 If you return, O Israel,” declares[ak] Yahweh,
“you return to me.
And if you remove your abominations from my presence,[al]
and you do not wander,
2 and you swear, ‘As Yahweh lives,’[am]
in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
then nations will be blessed by him,
and in him they will boast.”
3 For thus says Yahweh
to the men[an] of Judah and to Jerusalem,
“Break up for yourselves prepared virgin soil,
and you must not sow among thornbushes.
4 Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh,
and remove the foreskins of your hearts,[ao]
men[ap] of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
lest my wrath goes forth like the fire and burns,
and there is no one who extinguishes it,[aq]
because of the evil of your deeds.”
An Invasion from the North
5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say,
“Blow a horn through the land,
call with a loud voice[ar] and say,
‘Be gathered and let us go into the fortified cities.’
6 Lift up a signal toward Zion,
bring yourselves to safety; you must not remain standing,
for I am bringing evil from the north,
and a great destruction.
7 A lion has gone up from his thicket,
and a destroyer of nations has set out.
He has gone out from his place to make your land as a horror,
your cities will go to ruin without[as] inhabitant.
8 Because of this gird yourselves with sackcloth,[at] lament and wail,
for the burning anger[au] of Yahweh has not turned back from us.
9 And then on that day,” declares[av] Yahweh,
“the heart of the king and the heart of the officials will be destroyed,
and the priests will be appalled,
and the prophets will be astonished.”
10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh, surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It will be peace for you,’ while the sword reaches up to the throat.”
11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem,
“A hot wind from the barren heights[aw] in the desert,[ax]
in the direction of[ay] the daughter of my people,
not to winnow and not to cleanse,
12 a wind too strong for[az] these will come for me,
now also I speak judgments against them.”
13 Look, he comes up like the clouds,
and his chariots are like the whirlwind,
his horses are swifter than eagles,
woe to us, for we are devastated.
14 Cleanse your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem,
so that you may be saved.
How long[ba] will your thoughts of mischief
dwell in your inner part?
15 For a voice is declaring from Dan,
and is proclaiming disaster from the mountain of Ephraim.
16 “Report to the nations, ‘Here they are!’
Proclaim against Jerusalem,
‘Besiegers are coming from a distant land,[bb]
and they raise their voice against the cities of Judah.’
17 Like watchers of a field they were against her from all around,
because she has rebelled against me,” declares[bc] Yahweh.
18 “You obtained this for yourself
because of your way and your deeds.
This is your doom, for it is bitter,
yes, it has reached up to your heart.”
19 My bowels, my bowels! I writhe!
The walls of my heart!
My heart is restless within me, I cannot keep silent,
for I hear in my inner self the sound of a horn, the alarm of war.
20 Destruction on destruction is proclaimed,
for all of the land is devastated.
Suddenly my tents are devastated,
my tent curtains in a moment.
21 How long must I see the banner,
and hear the sound of a horn?
22 “For my people are foolish,
they have not known me.
They are foolish children,
and they do not have insight.
They are skillful at doing evil,
and they do not know how to do good.”
23 I looked at the earth, and behold, it was wasteland and emptiness,
and to the heavens, and they were without their light.
24 I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
and all of the hills were jolted to and fro.
25 I looked and behold, there was no person,
and all of the birds[bd] of the sky had fled.
26 I looked and behold, the fruitful land was a desert,[be]
and all of its cities were ruined before Yahweh,
before the face of his burning anger.[bf]
27 For thus says Yahweh, “All of the land will be a desolation,
yet I will not make a complete desolation.
28 Because of this the earth will mourn,
and the heavens above will become dark.
Because I have spoken, I have planned,
and I have not relented, and I will not turn back from it.”
29 From the sound of a horseman and an archer[bg] every town flees,
they enter in the thickets and among the rocks they climb.
Every town is forsaken,
and there is no person who lives in them.
30 And you, O devastated one, what do you do,
that you put on crimson,
that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
that you make your eyes look bigger with the eye make-up?
In vain you beautify yourself.
Your lovers reject you;
they seek your life.
31 For I heard a voice like an ill woman,
anxiety like a woman who bears her first child,
the voice of the daughter of Zion.
She is gasping for breath,
she is spreading out her hands:
“Woe is me, for I am becoming tired[bh] before killers.”
5 “Roam about through the streets of Jerusalem,
and look please, and take note,
and search at its public squares,
if you can find a person who does justice,
who seeks honesty,
so that I may forgive it.
2 And though they say, ‘As Yahweh lives,’[bi]
therefore[bj] they swear falsely.”
3 O Yahweh, do not your eyes look for honesty?
You have struck them, but they felt no pain,
you have destroyed them, they refused to take discipline.
They have hardened their faces more than rock,
they have refused to turn back.
4 Then I said, “They are just simple people,
they are foolish,
for they know not the way of Yahweh,
the law[bk] of their God.
5 Let me go to the great,
and let me speak with them,
for they know the way of Yahweh,
the law[bl] of their God.”
However, they together have broken the yoke,
they have torn to pieces the bonds.
6 Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them,
A wolf from the desert plains[bm] will devastate them.
A leopard is watching their cities,
everyone who goes out from there will be torn,
because their transgressions are many,
their apostasies are numerous.
7 “How[bn] can I forgive you?
Your children have forsaken me,
and they have sworn by those who are not gods.
But I fed them to the full,
and they committed adultery,
and flocked to the house of a prostitute.
8 They were well-fed lusty horses,
they neighed each to the wife of his neighbor.
9 Because of these things shall I not punish?” declares[bo] Yahweh,
“and on a nation who is like this, shall I not take revenge?
10 Go up through her vineyards and destroy,
but you must not make complete destruction.
Remove her branches,
for they are not to Yahweh.
11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
have dealt utterly treacherously with me,” declares[bp] Yahweh.
12 “They have denied Yahweh, and have said,
‘Not he, for[bq] evil will not come on us,
we will see neither sword nor famine.
13 And the prophets are like wind,
and the word is not in them.’
Thus it will be done to them.”
14 Therefore[br] thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts,
“Because you have spoken this word,
look, I am making my words in your mouth like a fire,
and this people wood, and it will devour them.
15 Look, I am about to bring on you a nation from afar,
O house of Israel,” declares[bs] Yahweh.
“It is an enduring nation, it is an ancient nation.[bt]
A nation whose language you do not know,
and you cannot understand what they speak.
16 Their quiver is like an open tomb,
all of them are warriors.
17 And they will eat your harvest and your food,
they will eat your sons and your daughters,
they will eat your flock and your herd,
they will eat your vine and your fig tree,
they will smash with the sword your fortified cities,[bu]
in which you trust.
18 “But even in those days,” declares[bv] Yahweh, “I will not make you a complete destruction. 19 And then,[bw] when you people say, ‘Why has Yahweh our God done all of these things to us?’ Then you will say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and have served gods of a foreign land in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that does not belong to you.’[bx]
20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob,
and proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21 ‘Hear this please, O foolish and senseless[by] people,
who have eyes[bz] but do not see,
who have ears[ca] but do not hear.’
22 Do you not revere me?” declares[cb] Yahweh,
“Do you not tremble before me?[cc]
For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
as an everlasting limit,[cd] and it cannot pass over it,
and they rise and fall loudly, but they cannot prevail,
and its waves roar, but they cannot pass over it.
23 But for this people is a stubborn and rebellious heart,
they have turned aside and have gone away.
24 And they do not say in their hearts,
‘Let us fear please Yahweh our God,
the one who gives the autumn rain[ce] and the spring rain[cf] in its season,
the set times of the harvest[cg] he keeps for us.’
25 Your iniquities have disturbed these,
and your sins have kept away the good from you.
26 For wicked people are found among my people,
they lie in wait like the hiding of fowlers,
they set up a trap,
they catch humans.
27 Like a cage full of birds,[ch]
so their houses are full of fraud.
Therefore[ci] they have become great,
and they have become rich.
28 They have grown fat,
they have grown sleek,
also, their evil deeds have no limit.[cj]
They do not judge with justice,
the legal cause of the orphan,
or allow it to succeed,
and the legal case of the poor,
they do not defend.
29 Because of these things shall I not punish?” declares[ck] Yahweh,
“and on a nation who is like this, shall I not take revenge?
30 A horrific event and something horrible has happened in the land.
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,[cl]
and the priests rule by their own authority,[cm]
and my people love it[cn] so much.
But what will you do when the end comes?[co]
The Coming Apostasy
4 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the last times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 by the hypocrisy of liars, who are seared in their own conscience, 3 who forbid marrying and insist on abstaining from foods that God created for sharing in with thankfulness by those who believe and who know the truth, 4 because everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected if it is[a] received with thankfulness, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.
The Good Servant of Christ
6 By[b] teaching these things to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, trained in the words of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed faithfully. 7 But reject those worthless myths told by elderly women[c], and train yourself for godliness. 8 For the training of the body is somewhat[d] profitable, but godliness is profitable for everything, because it[e] holds promise for the present life and for the life to come. 9 The statement is trustworthy and deserving of complete acceptance. 10 For to this end we labor and suffer reproach,[f] because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of believers.
11 Command these things and teach them. 12 Let no one look down on your youth, but be an example for the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, pay attention to the public reading,[g] to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift that is in you, that was granted to you through prophecy with the laying on of hands by the council of elders. 15 Practice these things. Be diligent[h] in these things, in order that your progress may be evident to everyone. 16 Fix your attention on yourself and on your teaching. Continue in them, for by[i] doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.
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