Old/New Testament
9 [a] Oh that my head were waters,[b]
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
so that I might weep day and night,
for the slain of the daughter of my people.
2 Oh that I had[c] in the desert a place of overnight lodging for travelers,
that I may leave my people and go from them,
for all of them are adulterers,
a band of traitors.
3 And they bend their tongue like their bow,
for falsehood and not truth is superior in the land,
for they go forth[d] from evil to evil,
and they do not know me,” declares[e] Yahweh.
A Nation Characterized by Deceit
4 “Let everyone be on your guard against his neighbor,
and you must not trust in any brother,
for everyone surely betrays,
and every neighbor goes about with slander.
5 And everyone deceives his neighbor,
and they do not speak the truth,
they have taught their tongues[f] to speak lies,[g]
they are tired from going astray.
6 Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit,
upon[h] deceit they refuse to know me,” declares[i] Yahweh.
7 Therefore, thus says Yahweh of hosts:
“Look, I am about to refine them,
and I will test them,
for what else can I do,
because of the presence[j] of the daughter of my people?
8 Their tongue is a murderous arrow,
it speaks deceit.
With his mouth he speaks peace with his neighbor,
but in his inner parts he sets up his ambush.
9 Because of these things shall I not punish them?” declares[k] Yahweh,
“On a nation that is like this shall I not take revenge?
10 For the mountains I lift up weeping and wailing,
and for the pastures of the desert a lament,
because they are laid waste so that no man passes through.
And the sounds[l] of cattle are not heard,
from the birds[m] of heaven to the animals[n]
they have fled, they are gone.
11 And I will make Jerusalem as heaps of ruins, a lair of jackals,
and the towns of Judah I will make a desolation, without inhabitants.[o]
12 Who is the wise man that can understand this?
And to whom has the mouth of Yahweh spoken, so that he may declare it?
Why is the land destroyed?
It is laid waste like the desert[p] so that no one passes through.”
The Nation is Judged by Yahweh
13 And Yahweh said, “Because of their forsaking my law that I set before[q] them, and they have not obeyed my voice, and have not walked in it, 14 but they went after the stubbornness of their heart, and after the Baals, which their ancestors[r] taught them.” 15 Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Look, I am feeding this people wormwood, and providing drink for them, water of poison, 16 and I will scatter them among the nations that they have not known, they and their ancestors,[s] and I will send the sword after them until I bring them to an end.”
17 Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
“Consider closely, and call for the wailing women, so that they come,
and for the skillful women, so that they come.
18 And let them hasten,
and let them lift up wailing over us,
so that our eyes may melt with tears,
and our eyelids may flow with water.
19 For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion,
‘How we are devastated!
We are very ashamed because we have left the land,
because they have overthrown our dwelling places.’
20 For hear, O women, the word of Yahweh,
and let your ear receive the word of his mouth,
and teach your daughters a lamentation,
and each woman her neighbor a lament.
21 For death has come into our windows,
it has entered into our fortresses,
to cut off the children[t] from the streets,[u]
the young men from the public squares.
22 Speak, ‘thus declares[v] Yahweh:
“The dead body of the human will fall
like dung upon the surface of the field,
and like cut grain behind the reaper,
and there is no one who gathers.”’”
The Things in Which Yahweh Delights
23 Thus says Yahweh,
“The wise man must not boast in his wisdom,
and the warrior must not boast in his might,
the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth.
24 But only[w] in this must the one who boasts boast,
that he has insight,
and that he knows me,
that I am Yahweh,
showing loyal love, justice, and righteousness on the earth,
for in these things I delight,” declares[x] Yahweh.
The Way of the Nations
25 “Look, days are coming,” declares[y] Yahweh, “and I will call into account all those who are circumcised in the foreskin: 26 Egypt, Judah, and Edom, and the Ammonites,[z] and Moab, and all those who are trimmed to the side, those who live in the desert,[aa] for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.”
10 Hear the word that Yahweh speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says Yahweh:
“You must not learn the way of the nations,
and you must not be dismayed by the signs of the heavens,
for the nations are dismayed by them.
3 For the statutes of the peoples are vanity,
for it is a tree cut down from the forest,
the work of the hands of a craftsman with the tool.
4 He decorates it with silver and gold,
they strengthen it with nails and hammers,
so that it does not stagger.
5 They are like scarecrows[ab] in a cucumber field,
they cannot speak.
Indeed, they must be carried,
for they cannot march.
You must not be afraid of them,
for they cannot do evil;
furthermore, to do good is not in them.”
6 There is none like you, O Yahweh,
you are great and your name is great in might.
7 Who would not revere you, O king of the nations?
For you it is fitting.
For among all the wise men of the nations,
and in all their kingdoms,[ac]
there is none like you.
8 At the same time[ad] they are stupid and foolish,
in the instruction of idols, it is wood.
9 Silver beaten from Tarshish is brought,
and gold from Uphaz,
the work of the craftsman and the hands of the goldsmith.
Blue and purple are their clothing,
all of them are the work of skillful people.
10 But Yahweh is the true God,
he is the living God,
and an everlasting king.[ae]
Because of his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his anger.
11 “Thus[af] you shall say to them,
‘Gods who did not make the heavens and the earth
will perish from the earth and from under these heavens.
12 He is the maker of the earth by his power,
who created the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding he stretched out heaven.
13 When he utters his voice[ag] there is a noise of water in the heavens,
and he causes the mist to rise from the ends[ah] of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he causes the wind to go out from his storehouses.
14 Everyone[ai] is stupid, without knowledge,[aj]
every goldsmith is ashamed by his divine image,
for his cast image is an illusion,
and there is no breath in them.
15 They are vanity, a work of mockery,
at the time of their punishment, they will perish.
16 The portion of Jacob is not like these,
for he is the creator of everything,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance,
Yahweh of hosts is his name.
17 Gather your bundle from the ground,
you who live under the siege.’”
18 For thus says Yahweh,
“Look, I am about to sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time,
and I will bring distress to them, so that they may feel it.”
The Nation Accepts Its Judgment
19 Woe to me, because of my wound.
My wound is incurable.
But I said, “Surely this is my sickness,
and I must bear it.”
20 My tent is devastated,
and all my tent cords are torn.
My children have gone out from me,
and they are not.
There is no one who pitches my tent again,
or one who puts up my tent curtains.
21 For the shepherds have become stupid,
they do not seek Yahweh.
Therefore[ak] they do not have insight,
and all of their flock are scattered.
22 Listen, news:[al]
Look, it is coming,
a great roar from the land of the north,
to make the cities of Judah a desolation,
a lair of jackals.
23 I know, O Yahweh, that to the human is not his own way,
nor to a person is the walking and the directing of his own step.
24 Chastise[am] me, O Yahweh, but in moderation,
not in your anger, lest you eradicate me.
25 Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not know you,
and on the peoples that do not call on your name,
for they have devoured Jacob,
they have devoured and consumed him,
and they have caused his settlement to be desolate.
The Broken Covenant
11 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,[an] 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the people[ao] of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 3 and say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: “The man is cursed who does not obey the words of this covenant, 4 which I commanded your ancestors[ap] in the day of my bringing them from the land of Egypt, from the furnace of iron, saying,[aq] ‘Listen to my voice and do according to all that I command you, so will you be my people, and I will be your God.’[ar] 5 in order to keep the oath that I swore to your ancestors,[as] to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.”’” Then I answered and said, “Let it be so,[at] O Yahweh.”
6 And Yahweh said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying,[au] ‘Hear the words of this covenant and do them, 7 for I solemnly admonished your ancestors[av] in the day of my leading them out from the land of Egypt and up to this day, admonishing persistently,[aw] saying,[ax] “Obey my voice.” 8 But they did not obey and they did not incline their ear. Instead each one walked in the stubbornness of his[ay] evil heart. Therefore, I brought on them all the words of this covenant which I commanded them[az] to do, and they did not do it.’”[ba]
9 And Yahweh said to me, “A conspiracy is found among the people[bb] of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their former ancestors,[bc] who refused to obey my words, and they have gone after other gods, to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made[bd] with their ancestors.”[be]
11 Therefore[bf] thus says Yahweh, “I am about to bring on them disaster from which they will not be able to escape. Though they cry out to me, yet I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they are making smoke offerings, but they will certainly not save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For the number of your towns are your gods, O Judah, and the number of the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the shameful things, to make smoke offerings to Baal. 14 Therefore you must not pray for this people, and you must not lift up for them a cry of entreaty, or a prayer, for I will not listen in the time of their calling to me, in the time of their trouble.
15 What rights has my beloved in my house[bg]
when she has done many wicked things?[bh]
Can the flesh of holiness pass over you?
For you engage in your wickedness,[bi] then you exult.
16 Yahweh called your name, ‘A leafy olive tree, beautiful with fine fruit.’[bj]
With the sound of a great storm he will set fire to it,
and its branches will be good for nothing.
17 And Yahweh of hosts, the one who planted you,
has spoken evil against you,
because of the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
that they have done to themselves,
to provoke me to anger by making smoke offerings to Baal.”
A Warning for the People of Anathoth
18 Moreover, Yahweh let it be made known to me, and I knew.
Then you showed me their deeds.
19 And I was like a gentle ram-lamb that is brought to slaughter,
and I did not know that they planned plans against me, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
and let us cut him off from the land of the living,
so that his name will no longer be remembered.”
20 But O Yahweh of hosts, who judges in righteousness,
who tests the inmost being,[bk] and the mind,[bl]
let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have revealed my legal case.
21 Therefore[bm] thus says Yahweh concerning the people[bn] of Anathoth who seek your life, saying,[bo] “You shall not prophesy in the name of Yahweh or[bp] you will die by our hand.” 22 Therefore[bq] thus says Yahweh of hosts: “Look, I am about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword. Their sons and their daughters will die by the famine. 23 And a remnant will not be left for them, for I will bring disaster to the people[br] of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.”
Slaves and Masters
6 All those who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, lest the name of God and the teaching be slandered. 2 And those who have believing masters must not look down on them because they are brothers, but rather they must serve, because those who benefit by their service are believers and dearly loved.
False Teachers and the Love of Money
Teach and encourage these things. 3 If anyone teaches other doctrine and does not devote himself to the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that is in accordance with godliness, 4 he is conceited, understanding nothing, but having a morbid interest concerning controversies and disputes about words, from which come envy, strife, slanders, evil suspicions, 5 constant wrangling by people of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who consider godliness to be a means of gain. 6 But godliness with contentment is a great means of gain. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so that neither can we bring anything out. 8 But if we[a] have food and clothing, with these things we will be content. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and a trap and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge those people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all evil, by which some, because they[b] desire it, have gone astray from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.
Renewed Charge to Timothy
11 But you, O man of God, flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patient endurance, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I command you, in the sight of God who gives life to all things and Christ Jesus who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you observe the commandment without fault, irreproachable until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which he will make known in his own time, the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of those who reign as kings and Lord of those who rule as lords, 16 the one who alone possesses immortality, who lives in unapproachable light, whom no human being has seen nor is able to see, to whom be honor and eternal power. Amen.
Instructions to the Rich
17 Command those who are rich in this present age not to be proud and not to put their hope in the uncertainty of riches, but in God, who provides us all things richly for enjoyment, 18 to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, sharing freely, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the future, in order that they may take hold of what is truly life.
Final Charge and Benediction
20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Turn away from pointless empty talk and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some, by[c] professing it, have deviated concerning the faith. Grace be with you all.
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software