Old/New Testament
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for[a] these people, I would not feel pity for them![b] Get them away from me! Tell them to go away![c] 2 If they ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ tell them the Lord says this:
“Those who are destined to die of disease will go to death by disease.
Those who are destined to die in war will go to death in war.
Those who are destined to die of starvation will go to death by starvation.
Those who are destined to go into exile will go into exile.[d]
3 “I will punish them in four different ways: I will have war kill them; I will have dogs drag off their dead bodies; I will have birds and wild beasts devour and destroy their corpses.[e] 4 I will make all the people in all the kingdoms of the world horrified at what has happened to them because of what Hezekiah’s son Manasseh, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.”[f]
5 The Lord cried out,[g]
“Who in the world[h] will have pity on you, Jerusalem?
Who will grieve over you?
Who will stop long enough[i]
to inquire about how you are doing?[j]
6 I, the Lord, say:[k] ‘You people have deserted me;
you keep turning your back on me.’[l]
So I have unleashed my power against you[m] and have begun to destroy you.[n]
I have grown tired of feeling sorry for you!”[o]
7 The Lord continued,[p]
“In every town in the land I will purge them
like straw blown away by the wind.[q]
I will destroy my people.
I will kill off their children.
I will do so because they did not change their behavior.[r]
8 Their widows will become in my sight more numerous[s]
than the grains of sand on the seashores.
At noontime I will bring a destroyer
against the mothers of their young men.[t]
I will cause anguish[u] and terror
to fall suddenly upon them.[v]
9 The mother who had seven children[w] will grow faint.
All the breath will go out of her.[x]
Her pride and joy will be taken from her in the prime of their life.
It will seem as if the sun had set while it was still day.[y]
She will suffer shame and humiliation.[z]
I will cause any of them who are still left alive
to be killed in war by the onslaughts of their enemies,”[aa]
says the Lord.
Jeremiah Complains about His Lot and The Lord Responds
10 I said,[ab]
“Oh, mother, how I regret[ac] that you ever gave birth to me!
I am always starting arguments and quarrels with the people of this land.[ad]
I have not lent money to anyone and I have not borrowed from anyone.
Yet all these people are treating me with contempt.”[ae]
11 The Lord said,
“Jerusalem,[af] I will surely send you away for your own good.
I will surely[ag] bring the enemy upon you in a time of trouble and distress.
12 Can you people who are like iron and bronze
break that iron fist from the north?[ah]
13 I will give away your wealth and your treasures as plunder.
I will give it away free of charge for the sins you have committed throughout your land.
14 I will make you serve your enemies[ai] in a land that you know nothing about.
For my anger is like a fire that will burn against you.”
15 I said,[aj]
“Lord, you know how I suffer.[ak]
Take thought of me and care for me.
Pay back for me those who have been persecuting me.
Do not be so patient with them that you allow them to kill me.
Be mindful of how I have put up with their insults for your sake.
16 As your words came to me I drank them in,[al]
and they filled my heart with joy and happiness
because I belong to you,[am] O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.[an]
17 I did not spend my time in the company of other people,
laughing and having a good time.
I stayed to myself because I felt obligated to you[ao]
and because I was filled with anger at what they had done.
18 Why must I continually suffer such painful anguish?
Why must I endure the sting of their insults like an incurable wound?
Will you let me down when I need you,
like a brook one goes to for water, but that cannot be relied on?”[ap]
19 Because of this, the Lord said,[aq]
“You must repent of such words and thoughts!
If you do, I will restore you to the privilege of serving me.[ar]
If you say what is worthwhile instead of what is worthless,
I will again allow you to be my spokesman.[as]
They must become as you have been.
You must not become like them.[at]
20 I will make you as strong as a wall to these people,
a fortified wall of bronze.
They will attack you,
but they will not be able to overcome you.
For I will be with you to rescue you and deliver you,”[au]
says the Lord.
21 “I will deliver you from the power of the wicked.
I will free you from the clutches of violent people.”
Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry, to Mourn, or to Feast
16 The Lord’s message came to me, 2 “Do not get married and do not have children here in this land. 3 For I, the Lord, tell you what will happen to[av] the children who are born here in this land and to the men and women who are their mothers and fathers.[aw] 4 They will die of deadly diseases. No one will mourn for them. They will not be buried. Their dead bodies will lie like manure spread on the ground. They will be killed in war or die of starvation. Their corpses will be food for the birds and wild animals.
5 “Moreover I, the Lord, tell you:[ax] ‘Do not go into a house where they are having a funeral meal. Do not go there to mourn and express your sorrow for them. For I have stopped showing them my good favor,[ay] my love, and my compassion. I, the Lord, so affirm it![az] 6 Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them.[ba] 7 No one will take any food to those who mourn for the dead to comfort them. No one will give them any wine to drink to console them for the loss of their father or mother.
8 “‘Do not go to a house where people are feasting and sit down to eat and drink with them either. 9 For I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, tell you what will happen.[bb] I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in this land. You and the rest of the people will live to see this happen.’[bc]
The Lord Promises Exile But Also Restoration
10 “When you tell these people about all this,[bd] they will undoubtedly ask you, ‘Why has the Lord threatened us with such great disaster? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done to offend the Lord our God?’ 11 Then tell them that the Lord says,[be] ‘It is because your ancestors[bf] rejected me and paid allegiance to[bg] other gods. They have served them and worshiped them. But they have rejected me and not obeyed my law.[bh] 12 And you have acted even more wickedly than your ancestors! Each one of you has followed the stubborn inclinations of your own wicked heart and not obeyed me.[bi] 13 So I will throw you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your ancestors have ever known. There you must worship other gods day and night, for I will show you no mercy.’”
14 Yet[bj] I, the Lord, say:[bk] “A new time will certainly come.[bl] People now affirm their oaths with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.’ 15 But in that time they will affirm them with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them.’ At that time I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors.”[bm]
16 But for now I, the Lord, say:[bn] “I will send many enemies who will catch these people like fishermen. After that I will send others who will hunt them out like hunters from all the mountains, all the hills, and the crevices in the rocks.[bo] 17 For I see everything they do. Their wicked ways are not hidden from me. Their sin is not hidden away where I cannot see it.[bp] 18 Before I restore them[bq] I will punish them in full[br] for their sins and the wrongs they have done. For they have polluted my land with the lifeless statues of their disgusting idols. They have filled the land I have claimed as my own[bs] with their detestable idols.”[bt]
19 Then I said,[bu]
“Lord, you give me strength and protect me.
You are the one I can run to for safety when I am in trouble.[bv]
Nations from all over the earth
will come to you and say,
‘Our ancestors had nothing but false gods—
worthless idols that could not help them at all.’[bw]
20 Can people make their own gods?
No, what they make are not gods at all.”[bx]
21 The Lord said,[by]
“So I will now let this wicked people know—
I will let them know my mighty power in judgment.
Then they will know that my name is the Lord.[bz]
17 [ca] “The sin of Judah is engraved with an iron chisel
on their stone-hard[cb] hearts.
It is inscribed with a diamond[cc] point
on the horns of their altars.[cd]
2 Their children are always thinking about[ce] their[cf] altars
and their sacred poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah,[cg]
set up beside the green trees on the high hills
3 and on the mountains and in the fields.[ch]
I will give your wealth and all your treasures away as plunder.
I will give it away as the price[ci] for the sins you have committed throughout your land.
4 You will lose your hold on the land[cj]
that I gave to you as a permanent possession.
I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you know nothing about.
For you have made my anger burn like a fire that will never be put out.”[ck]
Individuals Are Challenged to Put Their Trust in the Lord[cl]
5 The Lord says,
“I will put a curse on people
who trust in mere human beings,
who depend on mere flesh and blood for their strength,[cm]
and whose hearts[cn] have turned away from the Lord.
6 They will be like a shrub[co] in the arid rift valley.[cp]
They will not experience good things even when they happen.
It will be as though they were growing in the stony wastes in the wilderness,[cq]
in a salt land where no one can live.
7 My blessing is on those people who trust in me,
who put their confidence in me.[cr]
8 They will be like a tree planted near a stream
whose roots spread out toward the water.
It has nothing to fear when the heat comes.
Its leaves are always green.
It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought.
It does not stop bearing fruit.
9 The human mind is more deceitful than anything else.
It is incurably bad.[cs] Who can understand it?
10 I, the Lord, probe into people’s minds.
I examine people’s hearts.[ct]
I deal with each person according to how he has behaved.
I give them what they deserve based on what they have done.
11 The person who gathers wealth by unjust means
is like the partridge that broods over eggs but does not hatch them.[cu]
Before his life is half over he will lose his ill-gotten gains.[cv]
At the end of his life it will be clear he was a fool.”[cw]
Jeremiah Appeals to the Lord for Vindication
12 Then I said,[cx]
“Lord, from the very beginning
you have been seated on your glorious throne on high.
You are the place where we can find refuge.
13 You are the one in whom Israel may find hope.[cy]
All who leave you will suffer shame.
Those who turn away from you[cz] will be consigned to the netherworld.[da]
For they have rejected you, the Lord, the fountain of life.[db]
14 Lord, grant me relief from my suffering
so that I may have some relief;
rescue me from those who persecute me
so that I may be rescued,[dc] for you give me reason to praise![dd]
15 Listen[de] to what they are saying to me,
‘Where are the things the Lord threatens us with?
May it please happen!’
[df]
16 But I have not pestered you to bring disaster.[dg]
I have not desired the time of irreparable devastation.[dh]
You know that.
You are fully aware of every word that I have spoken.[di]
17 Do not cause me dismay![dj]
You are my source of safety in times of trouble.
18 May those who persecute me be disgraced.
Do not let me be disgraced.
May they be dismayed.
Do not let me be dismayed.
Bring days of disaster on them.
Bring on them the destruction they deserve.”[dk]
Observance of the Sabbath Day Is a Key to the Future[dl]
19 The Lord told me, “Go and stand in the People’s Gate[dm] through which the kings of Judah enter and leave the city. Then go and stand in all the other gates of the city of Jerusalem. 20 And then announce to them, ‘Listen to the Lord’s message, you kings of Judah, and everyone from Judah, and all you citizens of Jerusalem, those who pass through these gates. 21 The Lord says, Be very careful if you value your lives![dn] Do not carry any loads[do] in through[dp] the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. 22 Do not carry any loads out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath day.[dq] But observe the Sabbath day as a day set apart to the Lord,[dr] as I commanded your ancestors.[ds] 23 Your ancestors,[dt] however, did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They stubbornly refused[du] to pay attention or to respond to any discipline.’ 24 The Lord says,[dv] ‘You must make sure to obey me. You must not bring any loads through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day. You must set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not do any work on that day. 25 If you do this,[dw] then the kings and princes who follow in David’s succession[dx] and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to enter through these gates, as well as their officials and the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem.[dy] This city will always be filled with people.[dz] 26 Then people will come here from the towns in Judah, from the villages surrounding Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin, from the foothills,[ea] from the southern hill country, and from the southern part of Judah. They will come bringing offerings to the temple of the Lord: burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and incense along with their thank offerings.[eb] 27 But you must obey me and set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not carry any loads in through[ec] the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. If you disobey, I will set the gates of Jerusalem on fire. It will burn down all the fortified dwellings in Jerusalem and no one will be able to put it out.’”
Serving Faithfully Despite Hardship
2 So you, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And what you heard me say[a] in the presence of many witnesses[b] entrust to faithful people[c] who will be competent[d] to teach others as well. 3 Take your share of suffering[e] as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one in military service gets entangled in matters of everyday life; otherwise he will not please[f] the one who recruited him. 5 Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he will not be crowned as the winner[g] unless he competes according to the rules.[h] 6 The farmer who works hard ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think about what I am saying and[i] the Lord will give you understanding of all this.[j]
8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David;[k] such is my gospel,[l] 9 for which I suffer hardship to the point of imprisonment[m] as a criminal, but God’s message[n] is not imprisoned![o] 10 So I endure all things for the sake of those chosen by God,[p] that they too may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus and its eternal glory.[q] 11 This saying[r] is trustworthy:[s]
If we died with him, we will also live with him.
12 If we endure, we will also reign with him.[t]
If we deny[u] him,[v] he will also deny us.
13 If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, since he cannot deny himself.[w]
Dealing with False Teachers
14 Remind people[x] of these things and solemnly charge them[y] before the Lord[z] not to wrangle over words. This is of no benefit; it just brings ruin on those who listen.[aa] 15 Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately.[ab] 16 But avoid profane chatter,[ac] because those occupied with it will stray further and further into ungodliness,[ad] 17 and their message will spread its infection[ae] like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are in this group.[af] 18 They have strayed from the truth[ag] by saying that the resurrection has already occurred, and they are undermining some people’s faith. 19 However, God’s solid foundation remains standing, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,”[ah] and “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord[ai] must turn away from evil.”
20 Now in a wealthy home[aj] there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also ones made of wood and of clay, and some are for honorable use, but others for ignoble use.[ak] 21 So if someone cleanses himself of such behavior,[al] he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart, useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. 22 But keep away from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace, in company with others[am] who call on the Lord from a pure heart.[an] 23 But reject foolish and ignorant[ao] controversies, because you know they breed infighting.[ap] 24 And the Lord’s slave[aq] must not engage in heated disputes[ar] but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient, 25 correcting[as] opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance and then knowledge of the truth[at] 26 and they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap where they are held captive[au] to do his will.[av]
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