Old/New Testament
6 Flee for safety, O children of Benjamin,
from the midst of Jerusalem.
And in Tekoa blow a horn,
and on Beth-haccherem lift up a signal,
for evil looks down from the north,
and a great destruction.
2 The lovely and the delicate,
the daughter of Jerusalem, I will destroy.
3 Shepherds and their flocks will come against her,
they will pitch their tents against her all around,
they will pasture, each his portion.[a]
4 Sanctify[b] war against her.
Arise, and let us attack at noon.
Woe to us, for the day turns,
for the shadows of evening are lengthened.
5 Arise, and let us attack by night,
and let us destroy her citadel fortresses.”
6 For thus says Yahweh of hosts,
“Cut down trees and heap up a siege ramp against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be punished,
its oppression is in its midst.
7 As a water well keeps its water cool,
so she keeps cool her wickedness.
Violence and destruction are heard within her,
sickness and wounds[c] are continually before me.[d]
8 Be warned, O Jerusalem,
lest I turn away from you in disgust,
lest I make you a desolation,
a land that is not inhabited.”
9 Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
“They will thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine,
turn back your hand over the branches like a grape-gatherer.
10 To whom shall I speak and admonish,
that they may hear?
Look, their ears are closed,[e]
and they are not able to listen attentively.
Look, the word of Yahweh is to them an object of scorn,
they do not delight in it.
11 But I am full with the wrath of Yahweh,
I struggle to hold it[f] in.
Pour it out on the children[g] in the street,
and on the assemblies[h] of young men at the same time.
For even husband with wife will get trapped,
the old with him who is full of days.
12 And their houses will be turned over to others,
their fields and their wives together.
For I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land,” declares[i] Yahweh.
13 “For from the smallest of them to the greatest of them,
everyone[j] makes profit for unlawful gain.
And from the prophet to the priest,
everyone[k] practices deceit.
14 And they have treated the wound of my people lightly,
saying,[l] ‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace.
15 Have they acted ashamed, for they have committed a detestable thing?
Not at all, nor were they ashamed; they did not know to feel humiliated.
Therefore[m] they will fall among those who fall at the time I punish them,
they will stumble,” says Yahweh.
16 Thus says Yahweh: “Stand at the roads and look,
and ask for the ancient paths, where the way of the good is,
and walk in it, and find rest for your inner selves.[n]
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’[o]
17 And I raised up watchmen over you:
‘Listen attentively to the sound of a horn.’
But they said, ‘We will not listen attentively.’
18 Therefore[p] hear, O nations, and know, O community,
what will happen to them.[q]
19 Hear, O earth,
look, I am about to bring disaster to this people,
the fruit of their plans,
because they have not listened attentively to my words,
and my teaching, they have rejected it also.
20 What is this to me?
Frankincense comes from Sheba,
and the precious spice reed from a distant land.
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,[r]
your sacrifices are not pleasing to me.”
21 Therefore[s] thus says Yahweh:
“Look, I am about to put before this people stumbling blocks,
and they will stumble against them,
fathers and children together,
neighbor and his friend will perish.”
22 Thus says Yahweh:
“Look, a people is coming from the land of the north,
a great nation is woken up from the farthest part of the earth.
23 The bow and the short sword they grasp are cruel,
and they show no mercy.
Their sound roars like the sea, and on horses they ride,
drawn up like a man for battle against you, O daughter of Zion.”
24 We have heard news of it,
our hands grow slack,
anxiety has grasped us,
pain as a woman who gives birth.
25 You must not go out into the field,
and you must not walk on the road,
for the enemy has a sword,[t]
terror is all around.
26 O daughter of my people,
gird yourself with sackcloth,
and roll about in the ashes in mourning,
a mourning ceremony as for an only child.
Make for yourself wailing of bitterness,
for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
27 “I have made you an assayer among my people, a fortification,
so that you may know and put to the test their ways.[u]
28 All of them are stubborn rebels,
going about talking slander.
They are bronze and iron,
they are all behaving corruptly.
29 The bellows[v] are burned up,
lead is consumed by fire.
In vain[w] he keeps on refining,[x]
but the wicked are not torn apart.
30 They are called[y] rejected silver,
For Yahweh has rejected them.”
Jeremiah’s Proclamation at the Gate of the House of Yahweh
7 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,[z] 2 “Stand in the gate of the house of Yahweh and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, all of Judah, those who enter through these gates to bow in worship to Yahweh. 3 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Make your ways and your deeds good and let me dwell with you in this place. 4 Do not trust in the deceitful words,[aa] saying,[ab] ‘The temple of Yahweh, the temple of Yahweh, they are the temple of Yahweh.’ 5 For if you truly make your ways and your deeds good, if you truly do justice between a man and his neighbor, 6 you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, you do not shed innocent blood in this place, and you do not go after other gods to your harm,[ac] 7 then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors[ad] forever and ever.[ae]
8 Look, you are relying for yourselves on deceitful words[af] without benefiting. 9 Will you steal? Will you murder? And will you commit adultery? And will you swear falsely?[ag] And will you make a smoke offering to the Baal? And will you go after other gods whom you have not known? 10 And then you come and you stand before[ah] me in this house, which is called by my name,[ai] and you say, ‘we are safe to go on doing[aj] all of these detestable things.’ 11 Has this house, which is called by my name,[ak] become a cave of robbers in your eyes? Look, I, even I, have seen it,” [al] declares[am] Yahweh.
12 “For go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell in the beginning, and see what I did to it because of[an] the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 And now, because of your doing all these things,” declares[ao] Yahweh, “and I have spoken to you over and over again,[ap] and you have not listened, and I called you, and you have not answered, 14 therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name,[aq] in which you are trusting, and to the place that I gave to you and to your ancestors[ar] what[as] I did to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you out of my sight[at] just as I cast out all of your blood relatives,[au] all of the offspring of Ephraim.”’
16 “And you, you must not pray for this people, and you must not lift up for them a cry of entreaty or a prayer, and you must not plead with me, for I will not hear you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children are gathering wood, and the fathers are kindling the fire, and the women are kneading dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out libations to other gods for the sake of provoking me to anger. 19 Are they provoking me to anger? ” declares[av] Yahweh, “Is it not themselves they hurt, for the sake of the shame of their faces?” 20 Therefore[aw] thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Look, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, on the humankind, and on the animal, and on the tree of the field, and on the fruit of the ground, and it will not be extinguished.”
21 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. 22 For I did not speak with your ancestors,[ax] nor did I command them in the day of bringing them out from the land of Egypt, concerning the matter of burnt offering and sacrifice. 23 But I only commanded them this word, saying,[ay] ‘Obey my voice, and I will be to you God, and you will be to me people, and you must walk in all of the way that I command you, so that it goes well with you.’ 24 Yet they did not obey, and they did not incline their ear, but they walked in their own plans, in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and they became worse instead of better.[az] 25 From the day that your ancestors[ba] came out from the land of Egypt until this day I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, day after day, sending again and again.[bb] 26 Yet they have not listened to me and they have not inclined their ear, but they have hardened their neck, they did more evil than their ancestors.[bc] 27 So you shall speak to them all these words, but they will not listen to you, and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you.
The Valley of the Slaughter
28 “And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the voice of Yahweh their God, and they have not accepted discipline. The truth has perished, and it is cut off from their mouths.[bd] 29 Shear your hair and throw it[be] away, and lift up a lament on the barren heights, for Yahweh has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.’ 30 For the people [bf] of Judah have done evil in my eyes,” declares[bg] Yahweh, “They have set their abominations in the house that is called by my name,[bh] to defile it. 31 And they built the high place of Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I have not commanded, and it did not come into my mind.[bi] 32 Therefore look, days are about to come,” declares[bj] Yahweh, “and it will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of the Slaughter, and they will bury in Topheth until there is no more place.[bk] 33 And the dead bodies[bl] of this people will be as food for the birds[bm] of the heavens,[bn] and for the animals[bo] of the earth, without anyone to scare them[bp] away. 34 And I will cause to disappear from the towns of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the sound of jubilation, and the sound of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, for the land will become a site of ruins.
8 “At that time,” declares[bq] Yahweh, “they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its officials, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Judah from their graves. 2 And they shall spread them out before the sun, and before the moon, and before all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and which they have gone after, and which they have inquired about, and to which they have bowed in worship. They shall not be gathered, and they shall not be buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground. 3 And death will be preferred to life by all the remaining of this evil clan[br] in all the remaining places where I have driven them away,” declares[bs] Yahweh.
Yahweh Questions His People
4 “And you shall say to them, ‘Thus asks[bt] Yahweh:
“Do men fall and not stand up?
If one turns away does he not return?
5 Why has this people, Jerusalem, turned away in enduring apostasy?
They have kept hold of deceit, they have refused to return.[bu]
6 I have listened attentively,
and I have listened.
They do not speak honestly,
there is no man who regrets his wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’
All of them are turning to their ways of running,
like a horse plunging into battle.
7 Even the stork in heaven knows its appointed time,
and the turtledove, and the swallow, and the song bird,
they observe the time of their coming.
But my people do not know the ordinance[bv] of Yahweh.
8 How can you say, ‘We are wise and the law of Yahweh is with us’?
Look, surely the lying stylus of the scribes[bw] has made it a lie.
9 The wise will be put to shame,
they will be dismayed,
and they will get taken.
Look, they have rejected the word of Yahweh,
and what is wisdom to them?
10 Therefore I will give their wives to others,
their fields to conquerors,
because from the smallest to the greatest,
all of them make profit for unlawful gain,
from prophet to priest,
all of them practice deceit.
11 And they have treated the wound of the daughter of my people lightly,
saying,[bx] ‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace.
12 Were they ashamed, for they had committed a detestable thing?
What’s worse,[by] they were not ashamed at all,
and they did not know to feel humiliated.
Therefore[bz] they will fall among those who fall;
at the time of their punishment they will stumble,” says Yahweh.
13 “I will take away their harvest,”[ca] declares[cb] Yahweh.
“There are no grapes on the vine,
and there are no figs on the fig tree,
and the leaves wither,
and what I gave to them passed over them.”’”
The Nation Longs for Yahweh’s Help
14 Why are we sitting?
Gather, and let us go into the fortified cities,
and let us perish there,
for Yahweh our God has caused us to perish,
and has provided drink for us, water of poison,
because we have sinned against Yahweh.
15 We hope for peace,
but there is no good,
for a time of healing,
but there is terror.
16 “From Dan is heard the snorting of their horses,
from the sound of the neighing of their stallions all the land quakes,
for they come and devour the land,
and that which fills the city,
and those who live in it.
17 For look, I am letting loose among you snakes,
adders for which there is no incantation,
and they will bite you,” declares[cc] Yahweh.
18 “My comfort is gone from me,
sorrow is on me,
my heart is sick.
19 Look, the sound of the cry for help of the daughter of my people
from a distant land,
‘Is Yahweh not in Zion?
Is her king not in her?’
Why have they provoked me to anger with their images,
with idols of a foreign land?”
20 The harvest has passed,
the summer has come to an end,
and we have not received help.[cd]
Yahweh’s Lament
21 “Because of the wound of the daughter of my people I am broken down,
I mourn, horror has seized me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no healer there?
Why, then, has the healing of the daughter of my people not been restored?
Instructions About Widows
5 Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity. 3 Honor widows who are truly widows. 4 But if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must learn to show profound respect for their own household first, and to pay back recompense to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. 5 But the widow who is one truly, and is left alone, has put her hope in God and continues in her petitions and prayers night and day. 6 But the one who lives for sensual pleasure is dead even though she[a] lives. 7 And command these things, in order that they may be irreproachable. 8 But if someone does not provide for his own relatives, and especially the members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
9 Let a widow be put on the list if she[b] is not less than sixty years old, the wife of one husband, 10 being well-attested by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has helped those who are oppressed, if she has devoted herself to every good work. 11 But refuse younger widows, for whenever their physical desires lead them away from Christ, they want to marry, 12 thus incurring condemnation because they have broken their former pledge. 13 And at the same time also, going around from house to house, they learn to be idle, and not only idle, but also gossipy and busybodies, saying the things that are not necessary. 14 Therefore I want younger widows to marry, to bear children, to manage a household, to give the adversary no opportunity for reproach. 15 For already some have turned away and followed after Satan. 16 If any believing woman has widows, she must help them, and the church must not be burdened, in order that it may help those who are truly widows.
Honoring Worthy Elders and Dealing With Sinners
17 The elders who lead well must be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor by speaking and teaching. 18 For the scripture says, “You must not muzzle an ox while it[c] is threshing,”[d] and “The worker is worthy of his wages.”[e] 19 Do not accept an accusation against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 Reprove those who sin in the presence of all, in order that the rest also may experience fear. 21 I testify solemnly before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels that you observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing according to partiality. 22 Lay hands on no one hastily, and do not participate in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure. 23 (No longer drink only water, but use a little wine for your stomach and your frequent illnesses.) 24 The sins of some people are evident, preceding them to judgment, but for some also they follow after them. 25 Likewise also good works are evident, and those considered otherwise are not able to be hidden.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software