Old/New Testament
A Message for Zedekiah
34 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, when Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and all his army, with all the kingdoms of the earth under the dominion of his hand, and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities, saying,[a] 2 “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: ‘Go and say to Zedekiah the king of Judah, now you must say to him, “Thus says Yahweh: ‘Look, I am going to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire. 3 And you will not escape from his hand, but surely you will be captured, and into his hand you will be given, and you will see the king of Babylon eye to eye,[b] and you will speak face to face with him,[c] and to Babylon you will go.’ 4 However, hear the word of Yahweh, O Zedekiah, the king of Judah. Thus says Yahweh concerning you: ‘You will not die by the sword. 5 In peace you will die, and as there was burning for your ancestors,[d] the former kings who were before you,[e] so they will burn for you, and they will lament for you, “Alas, lord!” For the word I have spoken,’ declares[f] Yahweh.”’” 6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Zedekiah the king of Judah all these words in Jerusalem 7 when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left over—Lachish and Azekah, for these remained among the cities of Judah, the cities of fortification.
Zedekiah’s Covenant Concerning Slaves
8 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh after king Zedekiah made[g] a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to proclaim release to them, 9 to let go each one his male slave and each one his female slave, the Hebrew and the free Hebrew, so that no one among the Judeans[h] should enslave his fellow countryman. 10 And all the officials and all the people obeyed, who had entered into the covenant to let go each one his male slave and each one his female slave, not enslaving them again, and they obeyed and they let them[i] go. 11 But afterward[j] they turned back and they brought back the male slaves and the female slaves whom they had let go free, and they subdued them as male slaves and female slaves.
12 And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,[k] 13 “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: ‘I made[l] a covenant with your ancestors[m] on the day of my bringing them out from the land of Egypt, from the house of slaves, saying,[n] 14 “At the end of seven years you must let go each one his fellow countryman, the Hebrew who has been sold to you and who has served you six years, and you must let him go free from you.” But your ancestors[o] did not listen to me, and they did not incline their ears.[p] 15 And you turned back recently[q] and you did right in my eyes, to proclaim release each one to his neighbor, and you made[r] a covenant before me[s] in the house that is called by[t] my name. 16 But you turned back and you profaned my name when you brought back each one his male slave and each one his female slave, whom you had let go free according to their desire, and you subdued them to be to you as male slaves and as female slaves.’
17 “Therefore[u] thus says Yahweh, ‘You have not listened to me to proclaim release each one to his fellow countryman and each one to his neighbor. Look, I am going to proclaim to you a release,’ declares[v] Yahweh, ‘to the sword, to the plague, and to the famine, and I will make you a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 And I will make the men who transgressed my covenant, who have not kept the words of the covenant that they made[w] before me,[x] like the calf which they cut in two and they passed between its parts— 19 the officials of Judah, and the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— 20 and I will give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of the seekers of their lives, and their dead bodies[y] will become as food for the birds[z] of the heavens[aa] and for the animals[ab] of the earth. 21 And Zedekiah the king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of the seekers of their lives, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, who retreated from you. 22 Look, I am going to command,’ declares[ac] Yahweh, ‘and I will bring them back to this city, and they will fight against it, and they will capture it, and they will burn it with fire, and the towns of Judah I will make a desolation without[ad] an inhabitant.’”
The Faithfulness of the Rechabites
35 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, saying,[ae] 2 “Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak with them, and bring them to the house of Yahweh into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.” 3 So I took Jaazaniah, the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers, and all his sons, and the whole of the house of the Rechabites, 4 and I brought them to the house of Yahweh, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was beside the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah, the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold.
5 Then I set[af] before[ag] the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine and cups, and I said to them, “Drink wine.” 6 But they answered, “We will not drink wine, for Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our ancestor,[ah] commanded us, saying,[ai] ‘You shall not drink wine, you or your children, forever.[aj] 7 And you shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed, and you shall not plant a vineyard, and it shall not be for you, but in tents you shall live all your days, so that you may live many days on the surface of the land where you are dwelling as aliens.’ 8 And we obeyed the voice of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our ancestor,[ak] in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9 and not to build houses for our living, and there is not vineyard, or field, or seed for us. 10 But we have lived in tents, and we have obeyed, and we have done all that Jehonadab, our ancestor,[al] commanded us. 11 But then[am] at the coming up against the land of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, then we said, ‘Come and let us go to Jerusalem before[an] the army of the Chaldeans, and before[ao] the army of the Arameans.’[ap] That is why we are living in Jerusalem.”
12 And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying,[aq] 13 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Go and say to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Can you not learn a lesson to listen to my words?” declares[ar] Yahweh. 14 “The words of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, that he commanded his descendants[as] to not drink, have been carried out, and they have not drunk until this day, for they have obeyed the command of their ancestor.[at] But I have spoken to you over and over again,[au] and you have not listened to me. 15 And I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, I have sent them over and over again,[av] saying,[aw] ‘Turn back please each one from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and you must not go after other gods to serve them, so that you may live[ax] on the land that I gave to you and to your ancestors.’[ay] But you did not incline your ear and you did not listen to me. 16 For the descendants[az] of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have carried out the command of their ancestor[ba] that he commanded them, but this people did not listen to me.”
17 Therefore[bb] thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, “Look, I am going to bring to Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem every disaster that I have spoken against them, because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, and I have called to them and they have not answered.”’” 18 But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have listened to the command of Jonadab your ancestor,[bc] and you have kept all his commands, and you have done all that he commanded you,’ 19 therefore[bd] thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘A man will not be cut off for Jonadab, the son of Rechab, to stand before me[be] always.’”[bf]
Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll of Jeremiah’s Prophecies
36 And then[bg] in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,[bh] 2 “Take for yourself a scroll[bi] and you must write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day that I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, and until this day. 3 Perhaps when the house of Judah hears all the disasters[bj] that I am planning to do to them, then they may turn back each one from his evil way, and I will forgive their guilt and their sin.”
4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of Yahweh that he had spoken to him on a scroll.[bk] 5 And Jeremiah instructed Baruch, saying,[bl] “I am held back, I am not able to enter the temple of Yahweh. 6 So you must go and you shall read aloud from the scroll that you have written from my mouth the words of Yahweh in the hearing of the people in the temple of Yahweh on a day of fast, and also you shall read aloud in the hearing of all those of Judah who came from their towns. 7 Perhaps their plea will fall before[bm] Yahweh and each one will turn away from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that Yahweh pronounced against this people.” 8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did all that Jeremiah the prophet instructed him, to read aloud from the scroll the words of Yahweh in the temple of Yahweh.
9 And then[bn] in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the towns of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before[bo] Yahweh. 10 Then Baruch read aloud from the scroll the words of Jeremiah in the temple of Yahweh, in the chamber of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, the secretary, in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate of the temple of Yahweh in the hearing of all the people.
11 When Micaiah, the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of Yahweh from the scroll, 12 he went down to the house of the king, to the chamber of the secretary, and look, all the officials were sitting there: Elishama the secretary, and Delaiah, the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan, the son of Achbor, and Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah, the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13 And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard at the reading aloud of Baruch from the scroll in the hearing of the people.
14 Then all the officials sent Jehudi, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying,[bp] “The scroll that you read aloud from in the hearing of the people, take it in your hand and come.” And Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and he came to them. 15 And they said to him, “Sit please and read it aloud in our hearing.” So Baruch read aloud in their hearing. 16 And then,[bq] the moment of their hearing all the words, they turned to one another in alarm[br] and they said to Baruch, “We must certainly report all these words to the king!” 17 Then they asked Baruch, saying,[bs] “Tell us please, how did you write all these words, from his mouth?” 18 And Baruch said to them, “From his mouth. He dictated to me all these words and I was writing on the scroll with the ink.” 19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go, hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and let not a man know where you are.”
20 And they went to the king, to the courtyard, and they put[bt] the scroll for safe-keeping in the chamber of Elishama the secretary, and they reported all the words in the hearing of the king. 21 Then the king sent Jehudi to take the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary, and Jehudi read it aloud in the hearing of the king, and in the hearing of all the officials who stood next to the king. 22 Now the king was sitting in the quarters of the winter in the ninth month, and a fire-pot was burning before[bu] him. 23 And then,[bv] as Jehudi read three or four columns, he would cut it up in pieces with the knife of the scribe, and he would throw it[bw] into the fire that was in the fire-pot until the whole of the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire-pot. 24 And the king and any of his servants who heard all these words were not startled, and they did not tear their garments. 25 And even when Elnathan, and Delaiah, and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 And the king commanded Jerahmeel, the son of the king, and Seraiah, the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah, the son of Abdeel, to arrest Baruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet, but Yahweh hid them.
27 And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah after the king burned the scroll and the words that Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,[bx] 28 “Take again[by] for yourself another scroll and write on it all the former words that were in the first scroll which Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, has burned. 29 And concerning Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, you shall say, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “You have burned this scroll, saying,[bz] ‘Why have you written in it, saying,[ca] “The king of Babylon will certainly come and he will destroy this land, and he will cause to disappear from it humankind and animals”?’”[cb] 30 Therefore[cc] thus says Yahweh concerning Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, “There will not be for him one who sits on the throne of David. And his dead body will be thrown out to the heat in the day and to the frost in the night. 31 And I will punish him, and his offspring, and his servants for their guilt, and I will bring on them, and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on the people of Judah all the disaster with which I have threatened them, but they would not listen.”’” 32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the son of Neriah, the secretary, and he wrote on it from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, had burned in the fire, and furthermore was added to them many words like these.
Warning Not to Neglect Salvation
2 Because of this, it is all the more necessary that we pay attention to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels was binding and every transgression and act of disobedience received a just penalty, 3 how will we escape if we[a] neglect so great a salvation which had its beginning when it[b] was spoken through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard, 4 while[c] God was testifying at the same time by signs and wonders and various miracles and distributions of the Holy Spirit according to his will.
The Son’s Humiliation and Suffering
5 For he did not subject to angels the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But someone testified somewhere, saying,
“What is man, that you remember him,
or the son of man, that you care for him?
7 You made him for a short time lower than the angels;
you crowned him with glory and honor;[d]
8 you subjected all things under his feet.[e]
For in subjecting all things,[f] he left nothing that was not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him, 9 but we see Jesus, for a short time made lower than the angels, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that apart from God[g] he might taste death on behalf of everyone. 10 For it was fitting for him for whom are all things and through whom are all things in bringing many sons to glory to perfect the originator of their salvation through sufferings. 11 For both the one who sanctifies and the ones who are sanctified are all from one, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying,
“I will proclaim your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the assembly I will sing in praise of you.”[h]
13 And again,
“I will trust in him.”[i]
And again,
“Behold, I and the children God has given me.”[j]
14 Therefore, since the children share in blood and flesh, he also in like manner shared in these same things, in order that through death he could destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and could set free these who through fear of death were subject to slavery throughout all their lives. 16 For surely he is not concerned with angels, but he is concerned with the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore he was obligated to be made like his brothers in all respects, in order that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in the things relating to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 For in that which he himself suffered when he[k] was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
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