Old/New Testament
The Lord’s Sorrow for His People
9 [a]“Oh, that my head were a spring of water,[b]
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
for then I would cry day and night for those
of my people[c] who have been killed.
2 Oh, that I had a lodging place for travelers in the desert,
so that I could leave my people
and go away from them.
For all of them are adulterers,
a band of traitors.
3 They use their tongues like a bow.
Lies rather than truth fly throughout[d] the land.
They progress from one evil to another,
and they don’t know me,”
declares the Lord.
4 “Beware of your neighbors, and don’t trust
any of your relatives.
For all of your relatives act deceitfully,
and every friend goes around as a slanderer.
5 People deceive their friends,
and they don’t tell the truth.
They have taught their tongues to tell lies.
They exhaust themselves practicing evil.[e]
6 You yourself live in the midst of deception,
and because they are deceived they do not know me,”
declares the Lord.
7 Therefore, this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says:
“Look, I’m about to refine and test them.
Because they’re my people, what else can I do?[f]
8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow
that speaks deceit.
With his mouth a person says, ‘Peace,’ to his friend,
but inwardly he sets a trap for him.
9 Should I not punish them for these things?”[g]
asks the Lord,
“and should I not avenge myself on a nation like this?”
10 I’ll weep and mourn for the mountains,
and lament for the desert pastures,
because they are desolate and no one passes through them.
They don’t hear the lowing of the cattle.
Both the birds of the sky and the animals have fled.
They’re gone!
11 “I’ll make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
a refuge for jackals.
I’ll make the towns of Judah desolate,
without inhabitants.”
The Reason for Judgment
12 Who is the wise person who understands this, and to whom has the Lord[h] spoken so that he may declare it? Why is the land destroyed, ruined like the desert, without anyone passing through it? 13 The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my Law that I gave them. They didn’t obey me and didn’t live according to it. 14 Instead, they followed their rebellious hearts and the Baals,[i] as their ancestors taught them.”
15 Therefore, this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Look, I’ll make these people eat wormwood[j] and drink poisoned water. 16 I’ll scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I’ll pursue them with the sword until I’ve finished them off.”
A Call to Lament
17 This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says:
“Think about what I’m saying![k]
Indeed, call out the professional mourners![l]
Send for the best of them to come.
18 Let them hurry and lament for us.
Let tears run down from our eyes,
and let our eyelids flow with water.
19 For a sound of mourning is heard from Zion:
‘How we’re ruined!
Our shame is very great,
because we have left the land,
because our houses are torn down.’”
20 “Now, you women, hear the message from the Lord;
listen to what he has to say!
Teach your daughters how to mourn,
let every woman teach[m] her friend how to lament.
21 For death comes up through our windows;
it has come into our palaces
to eliminate children from the streets
and young men from the town squares.
22 Speak! ‘This is what the Lord says:
“The corpses of people will fall like dung
on the surface of the field,
and like a row of cut grain behind
the harvester when there is no one to gather it.”’”
True Wisdom and the Coming Judgment
23 This is what the Lord says: “The wise man is not to boast in his wisdom; the strong man is not to boast in his strength; and the rich man is not to boast in his riches. 24 Rather, let the one who boasts, boast in this: that he understands and knows me, for I am the Lord who acts with gracious love, justice, and righteousness in the land. I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.
25 “Look, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I’ll punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh:[n] 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, all those who live in the desert and shave the corners of their beard;[o] indeed all the other[p] nations that are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel that is uncircumcised of heart.”
The True God and Worthless Idols
10 Hear the message that the Lord has spoken to you, house of Israel. 2 This is what the Lord says:
“Don’t learn the way of the nations,
and don’t be terrified by signs in the heavens,
though the nations are terrified of them.
3 For the practices[q] of the people are worthless.
Indeed, a tree is cut down from the forest;
it’s the work of the hands of a craftsman[r] with an ax.
4 They decorate it with silver and gold.
They secure it with nails and hammers
so it won’t totter.
5 Their idols[s] are like scarecrows in a cucumber field.
They can’t speak!
They must always be carried
because they can’t walk!
Don’t be afraid of them
because they can do no harm,
nor can they do any good.”
6 There is no one like you, Lord.
You are great, and your name is great and powerful.
7 Who wouldn’t fear you, king of the nations?
This is what you deserve!
Indeed, among all the wise men of the nations,
and throughout all their kingdoms,
there is no one like you!
8 Everyone is stupid[t] and senseless.
They follow worthless instruction
from a piece of wood![u]
9 Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,
and gold from Uphaz.
The idols are[v] the work of a craftsman[w]
and of the hands of a goldsmith.
Their clothing is violet and purple.
The idols[x] are all the work of skilled craftsmen.
10 The Lord is the true God;
he’s the living God and the everlasting king.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
11 [y]Tell this to them: “The gods who[z] didn’t make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from these heavens.”
A Hymn of Praise to God
12 The Lord is[aa] the one who made
the world by his power,
who established the earth by his wisdom
and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
13 When his voice sounds there is thunder
from the waters of heaven,
and he makes clouds rise up from
the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings wind out of his storehouses.
14 Everyone is stupid[ab] and without knowledge.
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false.[ac]
There is no life[ad] in them.
15 They’re worthless, a work of mockery,
and when the time of punishment comes,[ae]
they’ll perish.
16 The Portion of Jacob[af] is not like these.
He made everything,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance.
The Lord of the Heavenly Armies is his name.
The Coming Captivity of Judah
17 You who live under siege,
Gather up your bundle[ag] from the ground.[ah]
18 For this is what the Lord says:
“I’m going to throw out the inhabitants
of the land at this time,
and I’ll bring distress on them
so they’ll experience[ai] it.”
19 Woe is me because of my injury.
My wound is severe.
I said, “Truly this is my sickness,
and I must bear it.
20 My tent is destroyed,
and all my tent cords are broken.
My sons have gone away from me,
they no longer live.
There is no one to pitch my tent again
and set up my curtains.
21 Because the shepherds are stupid[aj]
and don’t seek[ak] the Lord,
therefore, they don’t prosper,
and their flock is scattered.
22 The sound of a report, it’s coming now!
There is a great commotion from a land in the north
to make the towns of Judah desolate,
a refuge for jackals.”
Jeremiah’s Prayer
23 Lord, I know that a person’s life is not his to control,[al]
nor does a person establish his way in life.[am]
24 Lord, correct me, but with justice,
not with anger.
Otherwise, you’ll bring me to nothing.
25 Pour out your anger on the nations
that don’t acknowledge you,
and on the families that don’t call on your name.
For they have devoured Jacob;
they have devoured and consumed him;
they have devastated his habitation.
The Broken Covenant
11 This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Listen to the words of this covenant, and convey them to the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem. 3 You are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says: “Cursed is the person who does not listen to the words of this covenant 4 which I commanded to your ancestors on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace. I said, ‘Obey me and do everything[an] that I commanded you. Then you will be my people and I’ll be your God.’ 5 As a result, I’ll fulfill the oath that I made with your ancestors to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, just as is the case today.”’”
Then I answered, “So be it,[ao] Lord.”
6 The Lord told me, “Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. You are to say, ‘Listen to the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I’ve diligently warned your ancestors from the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt until now, regularly warning them,[ap] saying, “Obey me!” 8 But they would not listen or turn their ear, and each of them stubbornly followed his own evil desires.[aq] So I brought on them all the consequences[ar] of this covenant that I commanded them to fulfill, but they did not.’”
9 The Lord told me, “Conspiracy has been found among the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors of old[as] who refused to listen to my words. They followed other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke my covenant which I made with their ancestors.”
11 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: “I’m about to bring disaster on them from which they won’t be able to escape. They’ll cry out to me, but I won’t listen to them. 12 The towns of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they’ll be no help at all to them[at] in the time of their disaster. 13 Judah, you have as many gods as you have towns, and you have set up as many altars to the shameful idols as there are streets in Jerusalem. You burn incense to Baal on these altars.
14 “Jeremiah,[au] don’t pray for this people and don’t cry or pray for them. I won’t listen when they cry out to me because of their disaster.
15 “What right does my beloved have in my house,
when she has carried out many evil schemes?
Can sacrificial[av] flesh turn disaster away from you,
so you can rejoice?”
16 The Lord once called you a green olive tree,
with beautiful shape and fruit.
With a great roaring sound, he has set fire to it
and its branches will be destroyed.
17 The Lord of the Heavenly Armies who planted you has called for disaster on you because of the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, has provoked me by burning incense to Baal.”
Jeremiah’s Life is Threatened
18 The Lord made it known to me,
and so I understood.
Then you showed me their malicious deeds.
19 I was like a gentle lamb
led to the slaughter.
I didn’t know that they had devised schemes
against me. They told themselves,[aw]
“Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit.
Let’s eliminate him from the land of the living,
so his name won’t be remembered again.”
20 Lord of the Heavenly Armies, the righteous judge,
the one who tests feelings and the heart,
let me see your vengeance on them,
for I’ve committed my case to you.
21 Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the men of Anathoth who seek to kill you, all the while threatening you, “Don’t prophesy in the name of the Lord so you won’t die by our hand!” 22 Therefore, this is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says: “I’m about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword. Their sons and daughters will die by famine. 23 Not one of them will be left,[ax] for I’ll bring disaster on the men of Anathoth when I punish them.”
Duties of Servants and Masters
6 All who are under the yoke of slavery should regard their own masters as deserving of the highest respect,[a] so that the name of God and our teaching may not be discredited.[b] 2 Moreover, those who have believing masters should be respectful to them, because they are fellow believers.[c] In fact, they must serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers and dear to them. These are the things you must teach and exhort.
Rules for Godly Living
3 If anyone teaches false doctrine and refuses to agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah,[d] and godly teaching, 4 he is a conceited person and does not understand anything. He has an unhealthy craving for arguments and debates. This produces jealousy, rivalry, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and incessant conflict between people who are depraved in mind and deprived of truth. They think that godliness is a way to make a profit.[e] 6 Of course, godliness with contentment does bring a great profit.
7 Nothing to this world we bring;
from it take we nothing.
8 With food to eat and clothes to wear;
content we are in everything.
9 But people who want to get rich keep toppling into temptation and are trapped by many stupid and harmful desires that plunge them into destruction and ruin. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, in their eagerness to get rich, have wandered away from the faith and caused[f] themselves a lot of pain.
Advice for Timothy
11 But you, man of God, must flee from all these things.
Instead, you must pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness,[g]
love, endurance, and gentleness.
12 Fight the good fight for the faith.
Keep holding on to eternal life, to which you were called
and about which you gave a good testimony
in front of many witnesses.
13 Since you are[h] in the presence of God, who gives life to everything, and in the presence of the Messiah[i] Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, I solemnly charge you 14 to keep these commands stainlessly and blamelessly until the appearance of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.[j] 15 At the right time, he will make him known.
God[k] is the blessed and only Ruler,
the King of kings
and Lord of lords.
16 He alone has endless life
and lives in inaccessible light.
No one has ever seen him,
nor can anyone see him.
Honor and eternal power belong to him!
Amen.
Advice for the Wealthy
17 Tell those who are rich in this age not to be arrogant and not to place their confidence in anything as uncertain as riches. Instead, let them place their confidence[l] in God, who lavishly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good actions, to be generous, and to share. 19 By doing this they store up a treasure for themselves that is a good foundation for the future, so that they can keep their hold on the life that is real.
Final Greeting
20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid the pointless discussions and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge. 21 Although some claim to have it, they have abandoned the faith. May grace be with all of you!
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