Old/New Testament
Instructions for the Kings of Judah
22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and tell him this: 2 ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David—you, your officials,[a] and your people who enter these gates. 3 This is what the Lord says: “Uphold justice and righteousness. Deliver from their oppressor those who have been robbed. Don’t mistreat or do violence to the alien, the orphan, or the widow, or shed the blood of innocent people in this place. 4 Rather, carefully obey this message,[b] and then kings sitting for David on his throne and riding in chariots and on horses will enter the gates of this house. The king will enter along with his officials[c] and his people. 5 But if you don’t listen to these words, I swear,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a ruin.”’” 6 For this is what the Lord says about the house of the king of Judah,
“You are like Gilead to me,
like the summit of Lebanon.
Yet I’ll surely make you a desert,
towns where no one lives.
7 I’ll appoint people to destroy you—
men with their weapons.
They’ll cut down some of your choice cedars[d]
and incinerate them.
8 “Many nations will pass by this city and say to one another, ‘Why did the Lord do this to this great city?’ 9 Then people[e] will respond, ‘It is[f] because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have bowed down to other gods and served them.’
10 “Don’t cry for the dead
or grieve for them.
Weep bitterly for the one going away,
because he won’t return again
nor see the land of his birth.
11 “For this is what the Lord says about Josiah’s son Shallum,[g] king of Judah, who reigned in place of his father Josiah: ‘He went out from this place and won’t return to it again. 12 He will die in the place where they exiled him, and he won’t ever[h] see this land again.’”
An Oracle against Jehoiakim
13 “How terrible for him who builds his house
without righteousness,
and its upper rooms without justice,
who makes his neighbor work for nothing,
and does not pay him his wage.
14 How terrible for[i] him who says, ‘I’ll build a large
house for myself with spacious upper rooms,
who cuts out windows for it,
paneling it with cedar and painting it red.’
15 Are you a king because you try to outdo
everyone with cedar?
Your father ate and drank and upheld
justice and righteousness, did he not?
And then it went well for him.
16 He judged the case of the poor and needy.
And then it went well for him.
Isn’t this what it means to know me?
17 But your eyes and heart are on nothing but
your dishonest gain,
shedding the blood of innocent people,
and practicing oppression and extortion.”
18 Therefore, this is what the Lord says about Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
“They won’t lament for him with these words:[j]
‘How terrible, my brother,
How terrible, my sister!’
They won’t lament for him with these words:[k]
‘How terrible, lord,
How terrible, your[l] majesty!’
19 He will receive[m] a donkey’s burial,
dragged out and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.”
An Oracle against Jerusalem
20 Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
to Bashan and lift up your voice.
Cry out from Abarim, for all your lovers[n]
have been crushed.
21 I spoke to you when you were secure,[o]
but you said, “I won’t listen!”
This has been your way since your youth,
for you haven’t obeyed me.
22 The wind will shepherd[p] all your shepherds,[q]
and your lovers[r] will go into exile.
Indeed, you will then be ashamed and humiliated
because of all your wickedness.
23 You who live in Lebanon,
who build your nest in the cedars,
how you will groan when pains come upon you,
pain like that of a woman giving birth.
An Oracle against Jehoiachin
24 “As certainly as I’m alive and living,” declares the Lord, “even if Jehoiakim’s son King Jehoiachin[s] of Judah were a signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off 25 and give you to those who are trying to kill you, whom you fear—that is, to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Chaldeans. 26 I’ll hurl you and the mother who gave birth to you into another land where you were not born, and there you will die. 27 As for the land to which you[t] want to return, you[u] won’t return there!
28 “Is this man Jehoiachin[v] a despised and shattered jar,
a vessel no one wants?
Why were he and his descendants hurled away,
thrown into a land that they didn’t know?
29 Land, land, land,
listen to this message from the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says:
‘Write this man off as childless,
a man who does not prosper in his lifetime.[w]
None of his descendants will succeed
in sitting on the throne of David,
or ever ruling in Judah again.’”
A Righteous King for God’s People
23 “How terrible for the shepherds[x] who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. 2 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Israel says about the shepherds who are shepherding my people, “You have scattered my flock and driven them away. You haven’t taken care of them, and now I’m about to take care of you[y] because of your evil deeds,” declares the Lord. 3 “I’ll gather the remnant of my flock from all the countries where I’ve driven them, and bring them back to their pasture where they’ll be fruitful and increase in numbers. 4 I’ll raise up shepherds over them, and they’ll shepherd them. My flock[z] will no longer be afraid or terrified, and none will be missing,” declares the Lord.
5 “The time is coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I’ll raise up a righteous branch for David.
He will be a king who rules wisely,
and he will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
6 In his time[aa] Judah will be delivered
and Israel will dwell in safety.
This is the name by which he will be known:
‘The Lord Our Righteousness.’
7 “Therefore, the time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives who brought up the Israelis from the land of Egypt,’ 8 but they’ll say,[ab] ‘As surely as the Lord lives who brought the descendants of the Israelis from the land of the north and from all the lands where I had driven them and brought them into the land.’[ac] Then they’ll live in their own land.”
An Oracle about False Prophets
9 Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken within me,
and all my bones shake.
I’m like a drunk man,
like a person overcome with wine,
because of the Lord,
and because of his holy words.
10 Indeed, the land is full of adulterers.
Indeed, the land mourns because of the curse;
the pastures of the wilderness have dried up.
The adulterers’[ad] lifestyles are evil,
and they use[ae] their strength for what[af] is not right.
11 Indeed, both priest and prophet are ungodly.
Even in my house I find evil,” declares the Lord.
12 Therefore their way will be slippery.
They’ll be driven out into the darkness,
where they’ll fall.
For I’ll bring disaster on them,
the year of their judgment,”
declares the Lord.
13 “Among the prophets of Samaria I saw a disgusting thing,
for they prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.
14 Among the prophets of Jerusalem I saw a horrible thing,
for they commit adultery and live a lie.
They strengthen the hands of those who do evil,
so that no one repents of his evil.
All of them are like Sodom to me,
and her[ag] residents like Gomorrah.”
15 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of the Heavenly Armies says about the prophets,
“I’m about to make them eat wormwood[ah]
and drink poisoned water,
because godlessness has spread from the
prophets of Jerusalem throughout the land.”
16 This is what the Lord of the Heavenly Armies says:
“Don’t listen to the words of the prophets
who are prophesying to you;
they’re giving you false hopes.
They declare visions from their own minds—
they don’t come from the Lord![ai]
17 They keep on saying to those who despise me,
‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace.”’
To all who stubbornly follow their own desires[aj] they say,
‘Disaster won’t come upon you.’
18 But who has stood in the Lord’s council
to see and hear his message?
Who has paid attention to his message and obeyed it?[ak]
19 Look, the storm of the Lord’s wrath has gone forth,
a whirling tempest,
and it will swirl down
around the head of the wicked.
20 The Lord’s anger won’t turn back
until he has accomplished
what he intended to do.
In the future
you will clearly understand it.
21 I didn’t send these prophets,[al]
but they ran anyway.
I didn’t speak to them,
but they prophesied.
22 If they had stood in my council
and had delivered my words to my people,
then they would have turned them back
from their evil way,
from their evil deeds.”
23 “Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord,
“rather than a God who is far away?
24 If a person hides himself in secret places,
will I not see him?”
declares the Lord.
“I fill the heavens and the earth, do I not?”
declares the Lord.
25 “I’ve heard what the prophets who prophesy lies in my name have said: ‘I had a dream; I had a dream.’ 26 How long will this go on?[am] Is there anything[an] in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy from the deceit that is in their hearts? 27 With their dreams that they relate to one another,[ao] they plan to make my people forget my name just as their ancestors forgot my name by embracing[ap] Baal. 28 Let the prophet who has a dream relate the dream, but let whoever receives my message[aq] speak my message truthfully. What does straw have in common with wheat?” declares the Lord. 29 “My message is like fire or like a hammer that shatters rock, is it not?” declares the Lord.
30 “Therefore, look, I’m against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who steal my words from each other. 31 Look, I’m against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who use their tongues to issue a declaration.[ar] 32 Look, I’m against those who prophesy based on false dreams,” declares the Lord, “and relate them and lead my people astray with their lies and their recklessness. I didn’t send them; I didn’t command them, and they provide no benefit at all to these people,” declares the Lord.
The Oracle-Burden[as] of the Lord
33 “Jeremiah,[at] when these people, the prophet, or a priest ask you,[au] ‘What is the oracle[av] of the Lord?’ say to them, ‘You are the burden,[aw] and I’ll cast you out,’” declares the Lord. 34 “As for the prophet, the priest, or the people who say, ‘I have[ax] an oracle of the Lord,’ I’ll judge that person and his household. 35 This is what you should say to one another and among yourselves,[ay] ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or ‘What has the Lord said?’ 36 But you are to no longer mention[az] the oracle of the Lord, because the oracle is only for the person to whom the Lord gives his message,[ba] and you have overturned the words of the living God, the Lord of the Heavenly Armies, our God. 37 This is what you should say to the prophet, ‘What has the Lord answered?’ or ‘What has the Lord said?’ 38 Since you’re saying, ‘We have an oracle of the Lord,’[bb] therefore this is what the Lord says: He will answer your message with this message, ‘Burden[bc] of the Lord,’ and I’ll send you away with these words: ‘Don’t say, “Oracle of the Lord.”’ 39 Therefore I’ll surely forget you and cast you and the city I gave you and your ancestors out of my presence. 40 I’ll bring on you everlasting reproach and everlasting humiliation that won’t ever[bd] be forgotten.”
Greetings
1 From:[a] Paul, a servant of God, and also an apostle of Jesus the Messiah,[b] to bring the faith to those chosen by God, along with full knowledge of the truth that leads to[c] godliness, 2 which is based on the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before the world[d] began. 3 At the right time he revealed his message through the proclamation that was entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior.
4 To: Titus, a genuine child in the faith that we share.
May grace and peace[e] from God the Father and the Messiah,[f] Jesus our Savior, be yours!
Qualifications for Leaders in the Church
5 The reason I left you in Crete was to complete what still needed to be done and to appoint elders in every city, as I myself commanded you. 6 An elder must be[g] blameless. He must be the husband of one wife[h] and have children who are believers and who are not accused of having wild lifestyles or of being rebellious. 7 Because an overseer is God’s servant manager, he must be blameless. He must not be arrogant or irritable. He must not drink too much, be a violent person, or make money in shameful ways. 8 Instead, he must be hospitable to strangers, must appreciate what is good, and be sensible, honest, moral, and self-controlled. 9 He must be devoted to the trustworthy message that agrees with what we teach, so that he may be able to encourage others with healthy doctrine and refute those who oppose it.
Guard What is True
10 For there are many people who are rebellious, especially those who are converts from Judaism.[i] They speak utter nonsense and deceive people. 11 They must be silenced, because they are the kind of people who ruin whole families by teaching what they should not teach in order to make money in a shameful way. 12 One of their very own prophets said,
“Liars ever, men of Crete,
savage brutes that live to eat.”[j]
13 That statement is true. For this reason, refute them sharply so that they may become healthy in the faith 14 and not pay attention to Jewish myths or commands given by people who reject the truth. 15 Everything is clean to those who are clean, but nothing is clean to those who are corrupt and unbelieving. Indeed, their very way of thinking and their consciences have been corrupted. 16 They claim to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified to do anything good.
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