Old/New Testament
Jeremiah’s Complaint about Justice
12 You are righteous, Lord,
even when I bring a complaint to you.
But I want to discuss justice with you.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper,
while all who are treacherous are at ease?
2 You plant them and they take root,
they grow and bear fruit.
“You are near to us,” they say with their mouths,
but the truth is that you’re far from their hearts.
3 You know me, Lord.
You see me and test my thoughts[a] toward you.
Pull the wicked[b] out like sheep for slaughter;
set them apart for the day of butchering.[c]
4 How long will the land mourn
and the vegetation of every field dry up?
Because of the wickedness of those who live in it,
animals and birds are swept away.
For they say, “He does not see our future.”
God’s Reply to Jeremiah
5 Indeed, if you run with others on foot,
and they tire you out,
how can you compete with horses?
You are secure[d] in a land at peace,
but how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?
6 Indeed, even your brothers and your father’s family
conspire against you.
Even they cry out after you loudly.
Don’t believe them, even though they speak friendly words to you.
7 I’ll forsake my house,
I’ll abandon my inheritance.
I’ll give the beloved of my heart
into the hand of her enemies.
8 My inheritance has become like a lion in the forest to me.
She roars at me; therefore, I hate her.
9 Is my inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to me?
Are the other[e] birds of prey all around her coming against her?
Go, gather all the wild animals and
bring them to devour it.
10 Many shepherds will destroy my vineyard.
They’ll trample down my portion.
They’ll turn my pleasant portion
into a desolate desert.
11 They’ll make it into a desolate place,
and, desolate, it will cry out in mourning to me.
The whole land will be desolate
because no one takes it to heart.
12 On all the barren heights in the desert
destroyers will come.
Indeed, a sword of the Lord will devour from
one end of the land to the other.
There will be no peace[f] for any person.[g]
13 They have sown wheat,
but they have harvested thorns.
They have tired themselves out,
but they don’t show a profit.
Now be disappointed about your harvest
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
God’s Word about Judah’s Neighbors
14 This is what the Lord says about all the wicked neighbors who strike out against the land[h] I’ve given to my people Israel as their inheritance:[i] “I’m about to uproot them from their land, and I’ll uproot the house of Judah from among them. 15 After I’ve uprooted them, I’ll again have compassion on them. I’ll return each one of them to his inheritance, and each one to his own land. 16 If they have learned the ways of my people well, to swear by my name: ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ just as they once taught my people to swear by Baal, then they’ll be built up among my people. 17 But if they don’t listen, then I’ll completely uproot that nation and destroy it,” declares the Lord.
Jeremiah’s Linen Belt
13 This is what the Lord told me: “Go and buy a linen belt for yourself, and put it around your waist.[j] But don’t let it get wet.” 2 So I bought the belt according to the Lord’s instruction, and put it around my waist.
3 Then this message from the Lord came to me a second time: 4 Take the belt that you bought and that is around your waist. Get up and go to the Euphrates,[k] and hide it there in a crevice in the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it at the Euphrates,[l] just as the Lord had commanded me.
6 After a long time,[m] the Lord told me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates,[n] and get the belt that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 I went to the Euphrates and dug it up. I got the belt from the place where I had hidden it. The belt was ruined! It was not good for anything.
8 Then this message from the Lord came to me: 9 “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I’ll ruin the pride of Judah and the pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people that refuses to listen to my words, that stubbornly pursues their own desires,[o] and that follows other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt that is not good for anything. 11 For just as the belt clings tightly to a person’s waist, so I’ve made all the people[p] of Israel and all the people[q] of Judah cling tightly to me,’ declares the Lord. ‘I did this[r] so that they would be my people, name, praise, and glory. But they wouldn’t listen.’
The Wineskins
12 “This is what you’re to tell them: ‘This is what the Lord God of Israel says: “Every wineskin is to be filled with wine.”’ When they say to you, ‘Don’t we know very well that every wineskin is to be filled with wine?’, 13 then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I’m about to make all the inhabitants of this land drunk—the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the residents of Jerusalem. 14 I’ll smash them against each other, even fathers against their sons,”[s] declares the Lord. “I’ll have no pity, mercy, or compassion when I destroy them.”’”
15 Listen and pay attention![t]
Don’t be proud, for the Lord has spoken.
16 Give glory to the Lord your God
before he brings darkness,
before your feet stumble on the
mountains at twilight.
You hope for light,
but he turns it into deep darkness.
He changes it into heavy gloom.
17 If you don’t listen, I’ll cry secretly
because of your pride.
My eyes will cry bitterly, flowing tears,
because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.
18 Say to the king and the queen mother,[u]
“Come take a lowly seat,
because your beautiful crowns have fallen off your heads.”
19 The towns in the Negev[v] will be closed up,
and there will be no one to open them.
All Judah will be taken into exile
and be completely exiled.
20 “Look up and see those who are coming from the north.
Where is the flock that was given to you—
your beautiful sheep?
21 What will you say when the Lord[w]
appoints over you as your head
those whom you taught to be your allies?[x]
Pain will seize you like that seizing a woman
about to give birth, will it not?
22 When you say to yourselves,
‘Why have all these things happened to me?’
It’s because of the extent of your iniquity
that your skirt has been lifted up,
and your heels have suffered violence.[y]
23 Can an Ethiopian change his skin,
or a leopard his spots?
Then you who are trained to do evil
will also be able to do good.
24 I’ll scatter them like chaff
blown away by a desert wind.
25 “This is your fate,
the portion I’ve measured out for you,”
declares the Lord,
“because you have forgotten me
and have trusted in false gods.[z]
26 I’ll also pull your skirt up over your face,
so your shame will be seen,
27 I’ve seen your detestable behavior:
your adulteries, your passionate neighing,
your lewd immorality on the hills in the field.
How terrible it will be for you, Jerusalem!
You are unclean. How much longer will this go on?”
A Terrible Drought in the Land
14 This is[aa] this message from the Lord that came[ab] to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
2 “Judah mourns, and her gates languish.
The people[ac] mourn for the land,
and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
3 Their nobles send their young people for water.
They go to the cisterns, but they find no water.
They return with their vessels empty.
They’re disappointed[ad] and dismayed,
and they cover their heads in shame.[ae]
4 The ground is cracked,
because there has been no rain in the land.
The farmers are disappointed,[af]
and they cover their heads in shame.[ag]
5 Even the doe in the field gives birth
and then abandons her young[ah]
because there is no grass.
6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren hills.
They pant for air like jackals.
Their eyesight fails
because there is no vegetation.”
The People Cry for Help
7 Lord, even though our iniquities testify against us,
do something for the sake of your name.
Indeed, our apostasies are many,
and we have sinned against you.
8 Hope of Israel,
its deliverer in time of trouble,
why are you like a stranger[ai] in the land,
like a traveler who sets up his tent for a night?
9 Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
like a strong man who can’t deliver?
You are among us, Lord,
and your name is the one by which we’re called.
Don’t abandon us!
God Responds to the Prophet
10 This is what the Lord says to these people:
“Yes, they do love to wander,
and they haven’t restrained their feet.
So the Lord won’t accept them now.
He will remember their iniquity
and punish their sin.”
11 Then the Lord told me, “Don’t pray for the welfare of these people. 12 Although they fast, I won’t listen to their cry, and although they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I won’t accept them. Instead, I’ll put an end to them with the sword, with famine, and with a plague.”
13 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, look! The prophets are saying to them, ‘You won’t see the sword and you won’t experience famine. Rather, I’ll give you lasting peace in this place.’”
14 Then the Lord told me, “The prophets are prophesying lies[aj] in my name. I didn’t send them, I didn’t command them, and I didn’t speak to them. They’re proclaiming[ak] to you false visions, worthless predictions,[al] and the delusions of their own minds. 15 Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the false prophets who prophesy in my name, ‘There will be no sword and famine in this land’ (though I haven’t sent them): ‘By the sword and by famine these prophets will be finished off! 16 The people to whom they have prophesied will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. There will be no one to bury them, their wives, their sons, or their daughters. I’ll pour out on them the[am] judgment they deserve.’”[an]
17 “And deliver[ao] this message to them:
‘Let tears run down my face,[ap]
night and day, and don’t let them stop,
because my virgin daughter—my people—
will be broken with a powerful blow,
with a severe wound.
18 If I go out into the field,
I see those slain by the sword!
If I go into the city,
I see the ravages of the famine!
Indeed, both prophet and priest
ply their trade in the land,
but they don’t know anything.’”[aq]
The People Plead to the Lord
19 Have you completely rejected Judah?
Do you despise Zion?
Why have you struck us,
so that there is no healing for us?
We hoped for peace, but no good came,
for a time of healing, but there was only terror.
20 We acknowledge, Lord, our wickedness,
the guilt of our ancestors.
Indeed, we have sinned against you.
21 For the sake of your name[ar] don’t despise us.
Don’t dishonor your glorious throne.
Remember, don’t break your covenant with us!
22 Can any of the worthless gods of the nations make it rain?
Can the heavens themselves bring forth showers?
Aren’t you the one who does this,[as]
Lord our God?
So we hope in you,
for you are the one who does all these things.
Greetings
1 From:[a] Paul, an apostle of the Messiah[b] Jesus by God’s will in keeping with the promise of life that is in the Messiah[c] Jesus.
2 To: Timothy, my dear child.
May grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Messiah[d] Jesus our Lord be yours!
Paul’s Advice for Timothy
3 I constantly thank my God—whom I serve[e] with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did—when I remember you in my prayers night and day, 4 recalling your tears and longing to see you so that I can be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first existed in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am convinced that this faith[f] also exists in you. 6 For this reason, I am reminding you to fan into flames the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but one of power, love, and self-discipline.[g] 8 Therefore, never be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me, his prisoner. Instead, by God’s power, join me in suffering for the sake of the gospel.
9 He saved us
and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our own accomplishments,
but according to his own purpose and the grace
that was given to us in the Messiah[h] Jesus
before time began.[i]
10 Now, however, that grace[j] has been revealed
through the coming of our Savior the Messiah[k] Jesus,
who has destroyed death
and through the gospel has brought life
and release from death into full view.
11 For the sake of this gospel[l] I was appointed to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the gentiles.[m] 12 That is why I suffer as I do. However, I am not ashamed, for I know the one in whom I have put my trust, and I’m convinced that he is able to protect what he has entrusted to me[n] until the day that he comes.[o] 13 Hold on to the pattern of healthy teachings that you have heard from me, along with the faith and love that are in the Messiah[p] Jesus. 14 With the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us, protect the good treasure that has been entrusted to you.
News about Paul’s Helpers
15 You know that everyone in Asia has abandoned me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorus, for he often took care of[q] me and was not ashamed that I was a prisoner. 17 Instead, when he arrived in Rome he searched diligently for me and found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he finds mercy on the day he comes again.[r] You know very well how much he assisted me in Ephesus.
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