Old/New Testament
Jeremiah’s Plea
12 (A)Righteous are You, O Yahweh, when I would plead my case with You;
Indeed I would (B)speak matters of justice with You:
Why has the (C)way of the wicked succeeded?
Why are all those who (D)deal in treachery complacent?
2 You have (E)planted them; they have also taken root;
They grow; they have even produced fruit.
You are (F)near [a]to their lips
But far from their [b]inmost being.
3 But You, O Yahweh, You (G)know me;
You see me;
And You (H)test my heart’s attitude toward You.
Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter
And [c]set them apart for a (I)day of carnage!
4 How long is the (J)land to mourn
And the (K)plants of every field to dry up?
Because of the (L)evil of those who inhabit it,
(M)Animals and birds have been swept away,
Because men have said, “He will not see our latter (N)ending.”
Yahweh Answers Jeremiah
5 “If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out,
Then how can you compete with horses?
If you fall down in a land of peace,
How will you do in the [d](O)thicket of the Jordan?
6 For even your (P)brothers and the household of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously with you,
Even they have called aloud after you.
Do not believe them, although they may say (Q)nice things to you.”
7 “I have (R)forsaken My house;
I have abandoned My inheritance;
I have given the (S)beloved of My soul
Into the hand of her enemies.
8 My inheritance has become to Me
Like a lion in the forest;
She has (T)given forth its voice against Me;
Therefore I have come to (U)hate her.
9 Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me?
Are the (V)birds of prey against her on every side?
Go, gather all the (W)beasts of the field,
Bring them to devour!
10 Many (X)shepherds have ruined My (Y)vineyard;
They have (Z)trampled down My portion;
They have made My (AA)desired portion
A desolate wilderness.
11 [e]It has been made a desolation;
Desolate, it (AB)mourns [f]before Me;
The (AC)whole land has been made desolate
Because no man (AD)sets it upon his heart.
12 On all the [g](AE)bare heights in the wilderness
Destroyers have come,
For a (AF)sword of Yahweh is devouring
From one end of the land even to the [h]other;
There is (AG)no peace for any flesh.
13 They have (AH)sown wheat and have reaped thorns;
They have (AI)strained themselves [i]to no profit.
But be ashamed of your (AJ)produce
Because of the (AK)burning anger of Yahweh.”
14 Thus says Yahweh concerning all My (AL)evil neighbors who (AM)beat at the inheritance with which I have caused My people Israel to inherit, “Behold, I am about to uproot them from their land and will (AN)uproot the house of Judah from among them. 15 And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will (AO)return and have compassion on them; and I will (AP)cause them to return, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. 16 Then if they will really (AQ)learn the ways of My people, to (AR)swear by My name, ‘As Yahweh lives,’ even as they taught My people to (AS)swear by Baal, they will be (AT)built up in the midst of My people. 17 But if they will not listen, then I will (AU)uproot that nation, uproot and make it perish,” declares Yahweh.
The Ruined Belt
13 Thus Yahweh said to me, “Go and (AV)buy yourself a linen belt and put it around your loins, but do not put it in water.” 2 So I bought the belt in accordance with the (AW)word of Yahweh and put it around my loins. 3 Then the word of Yahweh came to me a second time, saying, 4 “Take the belt that you have bought, which is around your loins, and arise, go to [j]the (AX)Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, (AY)as Yahweh had commanded me. 6 Now it happened that after many days Yahweh said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from there the belt which I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the belt from the place where I had hidden it; and behold, the belt was ruined; it was totally worthless.
8 Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 9 “Thus says Yahweh, ‘Just so will I ruin the (AZ)pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who (BA)refuse to listen to My words, who (BB)walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have walked after other gods to serve them and to worship them, let them be just like this belt which is totally worthless. 11 For as the belt clings to the loins of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah (BC)cling to Me,’ declares Yahweh, ‘that they might be for Me a people, for a (BD)name, for (BE)praise, and for beauty; but they (BF)did not listen.’
The Magnitude of Israel’s Iniquity
12 “Therefore you are to say this word to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Every jug is to be filled with wine.”’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not very well know that every jug is to be filled with wine?’ 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Behold, I am about to fill all the inhabitants of this land—the kings that sit for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with (BG)drunkenness! 14 I will (BH)shatter them against each other, both the (BI)fathers and the sons together,” declares Yahweh. “I will (BJ)not spare nor show pity nor have compassion so as not to ruin them.”’”
15 Listen and give ear, do not be (BK)haughty,
For Yahweh has spoken.
16 (BL)Give glory to Yahweh your God,
Before He brings (BM)darkness
And before your (BN)feet [k]stumble
On the dusky mountains;
And while you are hoping for light,
He makes it into the (BO)shadow of death
And turns it into dense gloom.
17 But (BP)if you will not listen to it,
My soul will (BQ)cry in secret for such pride;
And my eyes will bitterly weep
And flow down with tears
Because the (BR)flock of Yahweh has been taken captive.
18 Say to the (BS)king and the queen mother,
“(BT)Take a lowly seat,
For your beautiful (BU)crown
Has come down from your head.”
19 The (BV)cities of the Negev have been closed up,
And there is no one to open them;
All (BW)Judah has been taken away into exile,
Wholly taken away into exile.
20 “Lift up your eyes and see
Those coming (BX)from the north.
Where is the (BY)flock that was given you,
Your beautiful sheep?
21 What will you say when He appoints over you—
And you yourself had taught them—
Former [l](BZ)companions to be head over you?
Will not (CA)pangs seize you
Like a woman in childbirth?
22 If you (CB)say in your heart,
‘(CC)Why have these things happened to me?’
Because of the (CD)magnitude of your iniquity
(CE)Your skirts have been uncovered
And your heels have suffered violence.
23 (CF)Can the Ethiopian change his skin
Or the leopard his spots?
Then you also can (CG)do good
Who are accustomed to doing evil.
24 Therefore I will (CH)scatter them like chaff passing away
Into the wilderness (CI)wind.
25 This is your (CJ)lot, the portion measured to you
From Me,” declares Yahweh,
“Because you have (CK)forgotten Me
And trusted in lies.
26 So I Myself have also (CL)stripped your skirts off over your face,
That your disgrace may be seen.
27 As for your (CM)adulteries and your lustful neighings,
The (CN)lewdness of your prostitution
On the (CO)hills in the field,
I have seen your detestable things.
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
(CP)How long will you not cleanse yourself?”
Yahweh Will Not Listen to Their Cry
14 That which came as the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah in regard to the (CQ)drought:
2 “Judah mourns,
And (CR)her gates languish;
They sit on the ground (CS)in mourning,
And the (CT)outcry of Jerusalem has gone up.
3 Their mighty ones have (CU)sent their [m]underlings for water;
They have come to the (CV)trenches and found no water.
They have returned with their vessels empty;
They have been (CW)put to shame and dishonored,
And they (CX)cover their heads.
4 Because the (CY)ground is [n]dismayed,
For there has been (CZ)no rain on the land,
The (DA)farmers have been put to shame;
They have covered their heads.
5 For even the doe in the field has given birth only to forsake her young
Because there is (DB)no grass.
6 The (DC)wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;
They pant for air like jackals;
Their eyes fail
For there is (DD)no vegetation.
7 Although our (DE)iniquities answer against us,
O Yahweh, act (DF)for Your name’s sake!
Truly our (DG)acts of faithlessness have been many;
We have (DH)sinned against You.
8 O (DI)Hope of Israel,
Its (DJ)Savior in (DK)time of distress,
Why are You like a sojourner in the land
Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent to lodge for the night?
9 Why are You like a man confused,
Like a mighty man who (DL)cannot save?
Yet (DM)You are in our midst, O Yahweh,
And we are (DN)called by Your name;
Do not leave us!”
10 Thus says Yahweh to this people, “Even so they have (DO)loved to wander; they have not (DP)kept their feet in check. Therefore Yahweh does (DQ)not accept them; now He will (DR)remember their iniquity and punish their sins.” 11 So Yahweh said to me, “(DS)Do not pray for the good of this people. 12 When they fast, I am (DT)not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer (DU)burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them. Rather I am going to (DV)make an end of them by the (DW)sword, famine, and pestilence.”
Lying Prophets
13 But, “Ah, Lord Yahweh!” I said, “Behold, the prophets are saying to them, ‘You (DX)will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you true (DY)peace in this place.’” 14 Then Yahweh said to me, “The (DZ)prophets are prophesying lies in My name. (EA)I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a (EB)vision of lies, divination, futility, and the deception of their own hearts. 15 Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them—yet they keep saying, ‘There will be no sword or famine in this land’—(EC)by that sword and famine those prophets shall [o]meet their end! 16 The people also to whom they are prophesying will be (ED)thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and there will be no one to (EE)bury them—neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters—for I will (EF)pour out their own evil on them.
17 And you will say this word to them,
‘(EG)Let my eyes flow down with tears night and day,
And let them not cease,
For the virgin (EH)daughter of my people has been shattered with a mighty shattering,
With a sorely (EI)sick wound.
18 If I (EJ)go out to the field,
Behold, those [p]slain with the sword!
Or if I enter the city,
Behold, diseases of famine!
For (EK)both prophet and priest
Have gone around as merchants in the land that they do not know.’”
19 Have You completely (EL)rejected Judah?
Or [q]have You loathed Zion?
Why have You stricken us so that (EM)there is no healing for us?
We (EN)hoped for peace, but there was no good;
And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!
20 We (EO)know our wickedness, O Yahweh,
The iniquity of our fathers, for (EP)we have sinned against You.
21 Do not [r]despise us, (EQ)for Your own name’s sake;
Do not disgrace the (ER)throne of Your glory;
Remember and do not break Your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the [s](ES)idols of the nations who (ET)give rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Is it not You, O Yahweh our God?
Therefore we [t](EU)hope in You,
For You are the one who has done all these things.
Guard the Treasure Entrusted to You
1 Paul, (A)an apostle of (B)Christ Jesus [a](C)by the will of God, according to the promise of (D)life in Christ Jesus,
2 To (E)Timothy, my beloved (F)child: (G)Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
3 (H)I am grateful to God, whom I (I)serve with a (J)clear conscience [b]the way my forefathers did, (K)as I unceasingly remember you in my [c]prayers night and day, 4 (L)longing to see you, (M)having remembered your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, 5 [d]being reminded of the (N)unhypocritical faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and (O)your mother Eunice, and I am convinced that it is in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh (P)the gift of God which is in you through (Q)the laying on of my hands. 7 For God has not given us a (R)spirit of [e]timidity, but of power and love and [f]self-discipline.
8 Therefore (S)do not be ashamed of either the (T)witness about our Lord or me (U)His prisoner, but join with me in (V)suffering for the (W)gospel according to the power of God, 9 who has (X)saved us and (Y)called us with a holy (Z)calling, (AA)not according to our works, but according to His own (AB)purpose and grace which was given to us in (AC)Christ Jesus from (AD)all eternity, 10 but (AE)now has been manifested by the (AF)appearing of our Savior (AG)Christ Jesus, who (AH)abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 (AI)for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher. 12 For this reason I also suffer these things, but (AJ)I am not ashamed; for I know (AK)whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to (AL)guard what I have entrusted to Him [g]until (AM)that day. 13 [h](AN)Hold to the (AO)standard of (AP)sound words (AQ)which you have heard from me, in the (AR)faith and love which are in (AS)Christ Jesus. 14 Guard, through the Holy Spirit who (AT)dwells in us, the [i](AU)treasure which has been entrusted to you.
15 You are aware of this: that all who are in (AV)Asia (AW)turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 The Lord give mercy to (AX)the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and (AY)was not ashamed of my [j](AZ)chains, 17 but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me and found me— 18 the Lord [k]grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on (BA)that day—and you know very well what services he rendered at (BB)Ephesus.
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