Old/New Testament
22 Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and say to him, 2 “Hear the word of the Eternal. Listen, O king of Judah, who sits on David’s throne. Listen, you advisors of the king. Listen, you people who walk through these city gates. 3 This is what the Eternal has to say: ‘Do what is just and right. Rescue those poor ones being robbed by the extortionists. Protect the outsiders, orphans, and widows in your land from any oppression, for they have no one. Stop the violence and the shedding of innocent blood in this place. 4 If you do what I say, there will always be a king on the throne in Jerusalem. The descendants of David will ride through these gates leading a great processional of chariots and horses, of advisors and subjects. 5 But if you refuse My words of warning, I swear by My name and all that I am that this palace of yours will be laid to waste.’”
6 This is what the Eternal says concerning the king of Judah and his household.
Eternal One: You are as precious to Me as the lush forests of Gilead;
you are like the cedars on the summit of Lebanon.
But I swear I will make you into a wilderness—stripped of trees—
with cities that lie empty and lifeless.
7 I will unleash destroyers against you—
ruthless men with fearful weapons.
They will cut down your best trees
and throw them on the fire.
8 When other nations pass by the ruins of Jerusalem, they will ask each other, “Why did the Eternal destroy this great city?” 9 The answer they will hear is the one you already know: “Because these people violated the covenant they had made with the Eternal their God by worshiping and serving other gods.”
10 Do not cry for the one who is dead; do not mourn for him.
Cry instead for the living one going into exile
For he will not come back again,
he will never see his home again.
11 This is a word of the Eternal for Shallum (son of Josiah), who succeeded his father as king of Judah and went from this place into exile:
Eternal One: He will never return, 12 and he will die in that land of captivity, never to see this place again.
13 Woe to the one[a] who builds his palace on the proceeds of unrighteousness,
who adds upper rooms on the gains of injustice,
Who forces his own people to labor for nothing,
who refuses to pay them for all their hard work.
14 He thinks to himself, “I will build a huge palace
with a large second story and many windows.
I will panel the walls with the best cedar
and paint it red to impress everyone.”
15 Do you become king because you have more cedar than another?
Your father, so different from you, had plenty to eat, plenty to drink.
Didn’t he live his life as a righteous and fair man?
And look how well he did.
16 He stood up for the poor and needy;
then things went well for him and the people.
Isn’t this what it means to know Me?
17 But you are so different: your eyes are focused and your heart is set
on one goal: deceitful personal gain.
You make the innocent pay with their blood;
you violently oppress them and take what is not yours.
18 So this is what the Eternal says
regarding Jehoiakim (son of Josiah), king of Judah:
Eternal One: Upon his death, no one in his family will weep and say,
“Oh my brother, oh my sister—our loved one is gone.”
Nor will any of his subjects weep and say,
“Our leader is gone; our great king is gone.”
19 No, he will be buried like a dead donkey—his body dragged away
and dumped outside Jerusalem’s gates in the trash heap.
20 (to Jerusalem) Go to the mountains of Lebanon and cry out.
Run to Bashan and the peaks of Abarim, and cry out loudly
Because all of your lovers have been destroyed.
21 I warned you when things were going well,
but you said to Me, “I will not listen.”
You have treated Me this way since the days of your youth;
you have never listened to My voice.
22 All your shepherds will be driven away by the wind,
and your lovers will be led into captivity.
In that moment, you will be covered with shame,
humiliated because of your evil ways.
23 You who live in Lebanon,
safe and nestled among the cedars—
How you will cry in anguish when the judgment comes,
like the anguish and pain of a woman giving birth.
24 As surely as I live, I declare the following about Coniah (son of Jehoiakim), king of Judah: Even though you were a signet ring on My right hand, I have torn you away. 25 I will drop you into the hands of those who want you dead, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon) and his Chaldean army. 26 I will cast you and your mother into another country, where you were not born. It will be there, in that foreign land, where you will die. 27 Though they will long to come back to this land you call home, they will never return.
28 Is this man, Coniah, a broken and worthless pot?
Is he like something tossed on the garbage heap that no one wants?
Why are he and his children being thrown out—
no, hurled out into a foreign land?
29 O land, land, land!
You must hear the word of the Eternal!
30 Eternal One: Write in the record that this man is childless and disgraced.
As long as he lives, none of his children will succeed him
And sit on the throne of David
and rule over Judah again.
23 Eternal One: Woe to the shepherds who slaughter and scatter the sheep of My pasture! 2 This is what I, the Eternal God of Israel, have to say about the shepherds tending My people:
You have scattered My flock, driven them far away, and failed miserably at being their caregivers. So look! I will punish you for your negligence, for the careless evil you’ve done. 3 I will personally gather the remnant of My sheep from the lands where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their home pasture where they will be fruitful and multiply. 4 I will appoint new, responsible shepherds to take care of them, and My sheep will no longer have to be afraid. These new, responsible shepherds will make sure that none of My sheep go missing.
5 Watch! The days are coming when I will raise up a righteous Branch of David—an heir of his royal line—who will rule justly, act wisely and make things right again in the land. 6 During His reign, Judah will be redeemed and Israel will be a safe place again. The name he is called will tell the story: The Eternal Is Our Righteousness!
7 So be ready and watch carefully. The days are coming when no one will say any longer, “As the Eternal lives, who brought the people of Israel out of slavery in the land of Egypt.” 8 Instead, they will say, “As the Eternal lives, who brought the people of Israel out of exile in the lands of the north and out of all other countries where He had scattered them.” Then the Israelites will live securely in their own land.
The shepherd-leaders and shepherd-teachers of God’s people have misled them, and the results have been disastrous. Now God intervenes. God Himself, personally, gathers His exiles from wherever He scattered them and places them under the guidance and tutelage of new shepherds, responsible leaders who will bring them home once again safe and secure. As if that is not enough, God will fulfill the covenant He made with King David hundreds of years earlier and establish a righteous branch of David to reign from Jerusalem. This king will be everything the earlier kings of Judah were not: just, fair, and wise. The restoration of God’s exiles and the installation of this new king—God’s anointed—will be so glorious, so momentous that it will change the course of history. It will surpass God’s rescue of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt.
Jeremiah’s prophecy of this coming king inspires many to look and long for God’s Anointed One, His Messiah, from among the sons of David. Indeed, some of the earliest followers of Jesus will find in Him the fulfillment of these hopes, dreams, and aspirations.
9 As for the false prophets:
Deep in my chest, my heart is broken.
I am shaken to the core, like a man who is drunk,
overcome by too much wine
All because of the Eternal,
all because of His holy words.
10 Eternal One: The land is full of adulterers;
surely the curse is in effect and the land mourns.
The pastures in the wilderness are all dried up,
for they have set an evil course,
and their might is not right.
11 For even the prophets and priests are ungodly;
I have witnessed them perform wicked acts in My temple.
12 Now this path they are on will become treacherous, and they will slip and slide;
they will stumble and fall into the darkness, driven into the gloom.
For in the year of their punishment,
I will bring them to ruin.
13 I saw something repulsive
among the prophets of Samaria:
They prophesied in the name of Baal
and led My people, Israel, away from Me.
14 I have seen something horrible among the prophets of Jerusalem:
worship that is adulterous and deceitful.
They inspire and encourage people to even more evil;
now no one turns back from his sin.
The citizens of Jerusalem remind Me of the wicked people
who once lived in Sodom and Gomorrah.
15 So this is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has to say about those prophets:
Eternal One: Watch, I will give them bitter food to eat and poisoned water to drink,
because the prophets of Jerusalem have released their ungodliness
And it has spread into all the land.
16 These are the words of the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies.
Eternal One: When these prophets “prophesy” to you, filling you with empty hopes, do not listen to one word! They do not speak for Me. They speak of visions they have only imagined. 17 They keep saying to those who openly reject My word, “Don’t worry, the Eternal has promised you peace.” And to those stubborn souls who go their own way, they say, “Don’t worry, nothing bad will happen to you.”
18 Which one of these false prophets has stood in the presence of the Eternal
and heard His voice or seen His plan?
Who of them has paid attention to His word and truly listened?
19 Behold, the storm of the Eternal’s wrath will now break open,
swirling down out of the sky like a whirlwind onto the heads of the wicked.
20 The Eternal’s anger will not relent until He has carried out His most fervent plans.
You will understand all of this in the days to come.
21 Eternal One: I did not send these so-called prophets,
but they have run to you with their empty words.
I did not speak to them,
but they claim to speak for Me.
22 If only they had stood in My presence and heard My voice,
then they would have spoken My words to My people!
They would have turned this nation back from its evil ways and evil deeds.
23 Am I only a God who is close by, and not a God of the farthest reaches? 24 Am I a God anyone can hide from? Do I not see what happens in secret? Am I not everywhere, filling heaven and earth? 25 I have heard these prophets who speak lies in My name. They say, “I had a dream, I had a dream,” and claim it was Me speaking to them! 26 How long will this go on? Will the hearts of these lying prophets ever change? How long will they deceive themselves and all who listen to them? 27 They think they can make My people forget My name with all this talk of dreams—just as their ancestors forgot My name as they worshiped Baal. 28 If a prophet has a dream, he should tell others of that dream. But the one who has My word should speak it with unshakable faith. For what is straw worth, when compared to grain? 29 Does not My word burn like fire? Does it not shatter rock like a strong hammer? 30 Look, this is why I oppose the prophets who steal My word from others and offer it as their own. 31 I oppose the prophets whose tongues “declare” something, as if I, the Eternal, have declared it. 32 I oppose the prophets who prophesy with lying dreams. They lead My people astray with their reckless lies. But I did not send these prophets or direct them to speak in My name, so they are of no use to My people.
This is what the Eternal declares.
Prophets stretch the meanings of words in order to instruct and challenge their audiences. Although it’s difficult to appreciate in translation, in the following passage Jeremiah uses an important Hebrew word that has a double meaning. It means “message,” as in the message from God that he is about to declare, but it also means “burden”; therefore, the “message” he receives from God—the “message” he must now declare—is a “burden” both to hear and deliver. As the message goes out of Jeremiah, others use this word to ridicule him and minimize what God is saying. In this passage, God makes it quite clear what He thinks of these mocking and sinful people.
Eternal One (to Jeremiah): 33 When someone, some prophet or some priest, asks, “What is the message the Eternal burdened you with today, Jeremiah?” Simply answer, “[You are the burden, and][b] the Eternal declares, ‘I will cast you aside.’” 34 If a prophet or priest or any of these people claim, “This is the burden of the Eternal,” let them be warned, I will punish that person and his family.
(to the people) 35 Instead of making light of My declarations, from now on you should say to your friends and family, “What is the Eternal’s answer to you?” or “What is the Eternal saying to us?” 36 Do not use the phrase “the burden of the Eternal” again. It means nothing to you. All people say they have a message from Me when they don’t. You are twisting the words of the living God, our God, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies. 37 You should say to the prophet, “What answer is the Eternal giving to you?” or “What is the Eternal saying to us?” 38 But if you keep saying, “This is the burden of the Eternal,” expect Me to declare this: “You continued to use the phrase ‘the burden of the Eternal,’ even though I warned you not to use it. 39 That is why I will forget you and cast you out of My presence, both you and the city I gave you and your ancestors. 40 I will bring endless disgrace upon you—an enduring shame that no one will forget.”
1 Paul, servant of God and emissary[a] of Jesus, the Anointed One, on behalf of the faith that is accepted by God’s chosen people and the knowledge of the undeniable truth that leads to godliness.
Paul is ready to defend the truth. He knows it is pure and honorable. He knows that it comes from and leads back to God. In contrast, Paul perceives the constant threat of false teaching that produces chaos, overturns entire families, and is filled with myths and instructions taught by those outside the faith. This counter-truth is filled with lusts and passions that tear down others, and it results in petty debates over family trees with fights and disagreements over the law. The line is clearly drawn between them. Paul leaves no room to sit on the fence; there is no partial truth—the future of the church is at stake.
2 We rest in this hope we’ve been given—the hope that we will live forever with our God—the hope that He proclaimed ages and ages ago (even before time began). And our God is no liar; He is not even capable of uttering lies. 3 So we can be sure that it is in His exact right time that He released His word into the world—through the preaching that God our Savior has commanded into my care.
His word brings into the world the absolute clarity of God’s perspective and life-saving knowledge.
4 To you, Titus, my dear son birthed through our shared faith: may grace and peace rest upon you from God the Father and Jesus the Anointed, our Savior.
5 I left you on Crete so you could sort out the chaos and the unfinished business and appoint elders over communities in each and every city according to my earlier orders. 6 Here’s what you should look for in an elder: he should be above suspicion; if he is married, he should be the husband of one wife, raise children who believe, and be a person who can’t be accused of rough and raucous living. 7 It is necessary that any overseer you appoint be blameless, as he is entrusted with God’s mission. Look for someone who isn’t pompous or quick to anger, who is not a drunkard, violent, or chasing after seedy gain or worldly fame. 8 Find a person who lovingly opens his home to others; who honors goodness; who is thoughtful, fair, devout, self-controlled; and 9 who clings to the faithful word that was taught because he must be able, not only to encourage people with sound teaching, but also to challenge those who are against it.
10 You see antagonists everywhere; they are rebellious, loose-lipped, and deceitful (especially those who are from the circumcised lot). 11 Their talk must be quashed—their mouths sealed up because impure teaching is flying out of their lips and overturning entire families for the sake of their own squalid gain. 12 I’ll tell you, even their own prophet was heard saying, “Chronic liars, foul beasts, and lazy gluttons—that’s who you’ll meet in Crete.” 13 And he’s right! This is why we have to scold them, sometimes severely, so they will be sound in the faith 14 and be able to ignore Jewish myths as well as any commandments given by those who turn away from the truth.
15 Listen: to those who are pure, all things are pure. But to those who are tainted, stained, and unbelieving, nothing is pure because their minds and their consciences are polluted. 16 They claim, “I know God,” but their actions are a slap to His face. They are wretched, disobedient, and useless to any worthwhile cause.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.