Old/New Testament
Who Grieves for Jerusalem?
15 Then said Adonai to me: “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My soul could not be toward this people. Cast them out of My presence, and let them go out!” 2 It will come to pass, when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ Then You will tell them, thus says Adonai:
“Those for death—to death!
Those for the sword—to the sword!
Those for famine—to famine!
Those for exile—to exile![a]
3 I have appointed over them four kinds”
—it is a declaration of Adonai—
“the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and to destroy.[b]
4 “So I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.
5 “Who will have pity on you, Jerusalem?
Or who will grieve for you?
Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?
6 You have cast Me off”
—it is a declaration of Adonai—
“You keep going backward!
So I stretch out My hand against you
and will destroy you.
I am weary with relenting.
7 I will scatter them with a winnowing fork
at the gates of the land.
I will bereave them of children and destroy My people,
since they do not repent of their ways.
8 Their widows will increase before Me
more than the sand of the seas,
I will bring a destroyer at noonday
against the mother of a young man.
Suddenly I will bring down on her
anguish and terrors.
9 She who bore seven languishes.
She breathes out her soul.
Her sun sets while it is yet day.
She is shamed and humiliated.
Their survivors I give to the sword
before their enemies.”
It is a declaration of Adonai.
10 Oy to me, my mother,
that you gave birth to me—
a man of strife and conflict to all the land!
I did not lend or borrow,
yet everyone curses me.
11 Adonai said:
“Surely I will release you for good.
Surely I will make the enemy appeal to you
in a time of trouble, in a time of affliction.
12 Can anyone smash iron—
iron and bronze from the north?
13 Your wealth and your treasures
I will give as plunder without cost,
for all your sins, in all your borders.
14 I will take you away with your enemies
into a land you do not know,
for a fire is kindled in My nostril,
which will burn against you.”
15 Adonai, you know.
Remember me and think of me.
Avenge me against my persecutors.
Because of Your long-suffering,
do not take me away.
Know that for Your sake I endure scorn.
16 Your words were found, so I ate them.
Your words were a delight to me
and the joy of my heart.
For I am called by Your Name,
Adonai-Elohei-Tzva’ot.
17 I never sat in the company of revelers
nor made merry.
Because of Your hand I sat alone,
for You filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unending
and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Will You be to me like a mirage
of water that is undependable?
19 Therefore thus says Adonai:
“If you return, I will restore you,
you will stand before Me.
If you extract the precious from the worthless,
you will be as My mouth.
Let them turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.
20 I will make you a fortified bronze wall to this people.
They will fight against you,
but will not prevail against you,
for I am with you to save you
and deliver you.”
It is a declaration of Adonai.
21 “So I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
and I will redeem you out of the grasp of the ruthless.”
Jeremiah’s Way of Living
16 The word of Adonai came to me, saying: 2 “You will not take a wife for yourself or have sons or daughters in this place.” 3 For thus says Adonai about the sons and daughters born in this place, and about their mothers who give birth to them and about their fathers who father them in this land: 4 They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be lamented or buried, but will be like dung on the surface of the ground. They will be consumed by the sword and famine, and their carcasses will be food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.
5 For thus says Adonai: “Do not enter a house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them. For I have taken away My shalom from this people”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“as well as My mercy and compassion. 6 Both great and small will die in this land; they will not be buried; neither will anyone lament for them, or cut themselves or shave his head for them. 7 No one will break bread for them in mourning, to give comfort for the dead. Nor will anyone offer a cup of consolation to drink for anyone’s father or for his mother.
8 “You must not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and to drink” 9 For thus says Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Israel: “I am about to eliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the sound of joy and the sound of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
10 “Now it will come to pass, when You will tell this people all these words, they will say to you: ‘Why has Adonai pronounced all this great evil against us? So what is our iniquity? So what is our sin that we have committed against Adonai our God?’ 11 Then will You say to them: ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says Adonai, ‘and have walked after other gods, served them and worshipped them, and have forsaken Me and have not kept My Torah. 12 Yes, you have done worse than your fathers. For here you are, each of you walking after the stubbornness of his evil heart, not listening to Me. 13 So I will cast you out of this land into a land that you have not known—neither you nor your fathers—and there you will serve other gods day and night. For I will give you no grace.’
Returning From All Lands
14 “Therefore, the days are quickly coming,” declares Adonai, “when it will no longer be said. ‘As Adonai lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.’ 15 Rather, ‘As Adonai lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had banished them.’ So I will bring them back into their land that I gave to their fathers.
16 “Behold, I will send for many fishers,” says Adonai, “and they will fish for them. After that, I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down from every mountain and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks. 17 For My eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity concealed from My eyes. 18 First I will repay them double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have profaned My land, and they have filled My possession with the carcasses of their vile things and their abominations.”
19 Adonai, my strength, my stronghold,
my refuge in the day of affliction,
to You will the nations come
from the ends of the earth and say:
“Our fathers have inherited nothing
but lies, futility and useless things.”
20 Will man make gods for himself?
Yet they are not gods.
21 “So I will surely make them know—
this time I make them know
My hand and My might—
they will know that My Name is Adonai.”
Hearts Engraved with Sin
17 Judah’s sin is written with an iron pen
and with a point of a diamond,
engraved on the tablet of their heart
and on the horns of your altars.
2 So their children remember their altars
and their Asherah poles by leafy trees on the high hills.
3 My mountain in the country,
your wealth and all your treasures
I will give away as plunder,
along with your high places
for sin within all your borders.
4 So you, on your own,
let go of your heritage that I gave you.
So I will make you serve your enemies
in a land that you do not know.
For you have kindled a fire in My nose
that will burn forever.”
Planted by the Water Without Fear
5 Thus says Adonai:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
and depends on flesh as his arm,
and whose heart turns from Adonai.
6 For he will be like a bush in the desert.
He cannot see goodness when it comes,
but will dwell in parched places in the wilderness—
a salt land where no one lives.
7 Blessed is the one who trusts in Adonai,
whose confidence is in Adonai.
8 For he will be like a tree planted by the waters,
spreading out its roots by a stream.
It has no fear when heat comes,
but its leaves will be green.
It does not worry in a year of drought,
nor depart from yielding fruit.
A Deceitful Heart is Incurable
9 “The heart is deceitful above all things,
and incurable—who can know it?
10 I Adonai search the heart,
I try the mind,
to give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.
11 As a partridge that broods over young that she did not lay,
so is one who gets wealth, unjustly.
In the middle of his days it will abandon him,
so at his end he will be a fool.[c]
12 Throne of glory on high from the beginning!
Place of our sanctuary,
13 Adonai, You are the hope of Israel!
All who forsake You will be ashamed.
Those who depart from You
will be written in the dirt,
for they have forsaken Adonai,
the fountain of living waters.
14 Heal me, Adonai, and I will be healed.
Save me, and I will be saved.
For You are my praise.
15 Look, they are saying to me,
“Where is the word of Adonai?
Let it come now!”[d]
16 As for me, I have not run away from being a shepherd after You,
nor have I desired the woeful day.
What came out of my lips You know—it was before You.
17 Be not a ruin to me—
You are my refuge in the evil day.
18 Let my persecutors be ashamed,
yet let me not be ashamed.
Let them be dismayed,
but let me not be dismayed.
Bring on them the evil day,
Destroy them with double destruction.
Carry No Burdens on Shabbat
19 Thus said Adonai to me: “Go, stand in the gate of the children of the people, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say to them: ‘Hear the word of Adonai, kings of Judah, and all Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter through these gates! 21 Thus says Adonai, “Guard your souls! Carry no burden on the day of Shabbat or bring it in through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Nor should you carry a burden out of your houses on Yom Shabbat or do any work, but keep Yom Shabbat holy—as I commanded your fathers.” 23 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, not hearing or accepting correction.
24 “However, if you listen attentively to Me,” says Adonai, “to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on Yom Shabbat, but sanctify Yom Shabbat and do no work on it, 25 then there will enter in through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses—with their princes, the people of Judah and those dwelling in Jerusalem—and this city will be inhabited forever. 26 They will come from the cities of Judah and from all around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowland, from the hill country and from the South, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings, frankincense, and sacrifices of thanksgiving to the House of Adonai.
27 “But if you do not listen to Me to keep Yom Shabbat holy, by not bearing a burden or entering through the gates of Jerusalem on Yom Shabbat, then I will set its gates on fire, and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem, and not be quenched.’”
Disciples from Generation to Generation
2 Therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Messiah Yeshua. 2 And what you have heard from me among many witnesses, entrust to faithful people who will be capable to teach others also. 3 Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Messiah Yeshua. 4 No one serving as a soldier entangles himself in the activities of everyday life, so that he might please the one who enlisted him. 5 Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he is not crowned victorious unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The hard-working farmer ought to receive the first share of the crops. 7 Consider what I am saying, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
8 Remember Yeshua the Messiah, raised from the dead, from the seed of David—according to my Good News. 9 For this I suffer hardship as a criminal, even to the point of chains—though the word of God is not chained. 10 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the chosen, so they might obtain the salvation that is in Messiah Yeshua with eternal glory.
11 Trustworthy is the saying:
If we died with Him,
we will also live with Him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with Him;
if we deny Him, He will also deny us;
13 if we are faithless, He remains faithful,
for He cannot deny Himself.
A Workman with the Word
14 Remind them of these things and solemnly charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which is useless—to the ruin of those who are listening. 15 Make every effort to present yourself before God as tried and true, as an unashamed worker cutting a straight path with the word of truth. [a] 16 But avoid godless chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness 17 and their words will spread like cancer. Among them are Hymeneaus and Philetus— 18 men who have missed the mark concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection has already taken place. They are overturning the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,”[b] and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord keep away from unrighteousness.” [c] 20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay—some for honor and some for common use. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these, he will be a vessel for honor—sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work.
22 Now flee from youthful desires; instead, pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and shalom, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they produce quarrels. 24 The Lord’s slave must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, tolerant. 25 Let him give guidance with humility to those who are in opposition—perhaps God may grant them a change of mind, leading to the knowledge of truth. 26 Then they may regain their senses and escape the devil’s snare, in which they had been held captive by him to do his will.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.