Old/New Testament
Jeremiah Shares Israel’s Affliction
3 I am the man who has (A)seen affliction
Because of the rod of His wrath.
2 He has driven me and made me walk
In (B)darkness and not in light.
3 Surely against me He has (C)turned His hand
Repeatedly all the day.
4 He has caused my (D)flesh and my skin to waste away,
He has (E)broken my bones.
5 He has (F)besieged and encompassed me with (G)bitterness and hardship.
6 In (H)dark places He has made me dwell,
Like those who have long been dead.
7 He has (I)walled me in so that I cannot go out;
He has made my [a](J)chain heavy.
8 Even when I cry out and call for help,
He (K)shuts out my prayer.
9 He has (L)blocked my ways with hewn stone;
He has made my paths crooked.
10 He is to me like a bear lying in wait,
Like a lion in secret places.
11 He has turned aside my ways and (M)torn me to pieces;
He has made me desolate.
12 He (N)bent His bow
And (O)set me as a target for the arrow.
13 He made the [b]arrows of His (P)quiver
To enter into my [c]inward parts.
14 I have become a (Q)laughingstock to all my people,
Their mocking (R)song all the day.
15 He has (S)filled me with bitterness,
He has made me drunk with wormwood.
16 He has (T)broken my teeth with (U)gravel;
He has made me cower in the (V)dust.
17 My soul has been rejected (W)from peace;
I have forgotten [d]happiness.
18 So I say, “My strength has perished,
And so has my (X)hope from the Lord.”
Hope of Relief in God’s Mercy
19 Remember my affliction and my [e]wandering, the (Y)wormwood and bitterness.
20 Surely (Z)my soul remembers
And is (AA)bowed down within me.
21 This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have (AB)hope.
22 The Lord’s (AC)lovingkindnesses [f]indeed never cease,
(AD)For His compassions never fail.
23 They are new (AE)every morning;
Great is (AF)Your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my (AG)portion,” says my soul,
“Therefore I (AH)have hope in Him.”
25 The Lord is good to those who (AI)wait for Him,
To the [g]person who (AJ)seeks Him.
26 It is good that he (AK)waits silently
For the salvation of the Lord.
27 It is good for a man that he should bear
The yoke in his youth.
28 Let him (AL)sit alone and be silent
Since He has laid it on him.
29 Let him [h]put his mouth in the (AM)dust,
Perhaps there is (AN)hope.
30 Let him give his (AO)cheek to [i]the smiter,
Let him be filled with reproach.
31 For the Lord will (AP)not reject forever,
32 For if He causes grief,
Then He will have (AQ)compassion
According to His abundant lovingkindness.
33 For He (AR)does not afflict [j]willingly
Or grieve the sons of men.
34 To crush under His feet
All the prisoners of the [k]land,
35 To [l]deprive a man of (AS)justice
In the presence of the Most High,
36 To [m](AT)defraud a man in his lawsuit—
Of these things the Lord does not [n]approve.
37 Who is [o]there who speaks and it (AU)comes to pass,
Unless the Lord has commanded it?
38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
That [p](AV)both good and ill go forth?
39 Why should any living [q]mortal, or any man,
Offer (AW)complaint [r]in view of his sins?
40 Let us (AX)examine and probe our ways,
And let us return to the Lord.
41 We (AY)lift up our heart [s]and hands
Toward God in heaven;
42 We have (AZ)transgressed and rebelled,
You have (BA)not pardoned.
43 You have covered Yourself with (BB)anger
And (BC)pursued us;
You have slain and (BD)have not spared.
44 You have (BE)covered Yourself with a cloud
So that (BF)no prayer can pass through.
45 You have made us mere (BG)offscouring and refuse
In the midst of the peoples.
46 All our enemies have (BH)opened their mouths against us.
47 (BI)Panic and pitfall have befallen us,
Devastation and destruction;
48 My [t](BJ)eyes run down with streams of water
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49 My eyes pour down (BK)unceasingly,
Without stopping,
50 Until the Lord (BL)looks down
And sees from heaven.
51 My eyes bring pain to my soul
Because of all the daughters of my city.
52 My enemies (BM)without cause
Hunted me down (BN)like a bird;
53 They have silenced [u]me (BO)in the pit
And have [v](BP)placed a stone on me.
54 Waters flowed (BQ)over my head;
I said, “I am cut off!”
55 I (BR)called on Your name, O Lord,
Out of the lowest pit.
56 You have (BS)heard my voice,
“(BT)Do not hide Your ear from my prayer for relief,
From my cry for help.”
57 You (BU)drew near when I called on You;
You said, “(BV)Do not fear!”
58 O Lord, You (BW)have pleaded my soul’s cause;
You have (BX)redeemed my life.
59 O Lord, You have (BY)seen my oppression;
(BZ)Judge my case.
60 You have seen all their vengeance,
All their (CA)schemes against me.
61 You have heard their (CB)reproach, O Lord,
All their schemes against me.
62 The (CC)lips of my assailants and their whispering
Are against me all day long.
63 Look on their (CD)sitting and their rising;
(CE)I am their mocking song.
64 You will (CF)recompense them, O Lord,
According to the work of their hands.
65 You will give them [w](CG)hardness of heart,
Your curse will be on them.
66 You will (CH)pursue them in anger and destroy them
From under the (CI)heavens of the Lord!
Distress of the Siege Described
4 How (CJ)dark the gold has become,
How the pure gold has changed!
The sacred stones are poured out
At the [x]corner of every street.
2 The precious sons of Zion,
Weighed against fine gold,
How they are regarded as (CK)earthen jars,
The work of a potter’s hands!
3 Even (CL)jackals offer the breast,
They nurse their young;
But the daughter of my people has become (CM)cruel
Like (CN)ostriches in the wilderness.
4 The (CO)tongue of the infant cleaves
To the roof of its mouth because of (CP)thirst;
The little ones (CQ)ask for bread,
But no one breaks it for them.
5 Those who ate (CR)delicacies
Are desolate in the streets;
Those [y]reared in purple
Embrace ash pits.
6 For the [z]iniquity of the daughter of my people
Is greater than the [aa](CS)sin of Sodom,
Which was (CT)overthrown as in a moment,
And no hands were [ab]turned toward her.
7 Her [ac]consecrated ones were (CU)purer than snow,
They were whiter than milk;
They were more ruddy in [ad]body than corals,
Their polishing was like [ae](CV)lapis lazuli.
8 Their appearance is (CW)blacker than soot,
They are not recognized in the streets;
Their (CX)skin is shriveled on their bones,
It is withered, it has become like wood.
9 Better are those [af](CY)slain with the sword
Than those [ag]slain with hunger;
For they [ah](CZ)pine away, being stricken
For lack of the fruits of [ai]the field.
10 The hands of compassionate women
(DA)Boiled their own children;
They became (DB)food for them
Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 The Lord has (DC)accomplished His wrath,
He has poured out His fierce anger;
And He has (DD)kindled a fire in Zion
Which has consumed its foundations.
12 The kings of the earth did not believe,
Nor did any of (DE)the inhabitants of the world,
That the adversary and the enemy
Could (DF)enter the gates of Jerusalem.
13 Because of the sins of her (DG)prophets
And the iniquities of her priests,
Who have shed in her midst
The (DH)blood of the righteous;
14 They wandered, (DI)blind, in the streets;
They were defiled with (DJ)blood
So that no one could touch their (DK)garments.
15 “Depart! (DL)Unclean!” [aj]they cried of themselves.
“Depart, depart, do not touch!”
So they (DM)fled and wandered;
Men among the nations said,
“They shall not continue to dwell with us.”
16 The presence of the Lord has scattered them,
He will not continue to regard them;
They did not [ak](DN)honor the priests,
They did not favor the elders.
17 Yet our eyes failed,
Looking for [al]help was (DO)useless;
In our watching we have watched
For a (DP)nation that could not save.
18 They (DQ)hunted our steps
So that we could not walk in our streets;
Our (DR)end drew near,
Our days were [am]finished
For our end had come.
19 Our pursuers were (DS)swifter
Than the eagles of the sky;
They chased us on the mountains,
They waited in ambush for us in the wilderness.
20 The (DT)breath of our nostrils, the (DU)Lord’s anointed,
Was (DV)captured in their pits,
Of whom we had said, “Under his (DW)shadow
We shall live among the nations.”
21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of (DX)Edom,
Who dwells in the land of Uz;
But the (DY)cup will come around to you as well,
You will become drunk and make yourself naked.
22 The punishment of your iniquity has been (DZ)completed, O daughter of Zion;
He will exile you no longer.
But He (EA)will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom;
He will expose your sins!
A Prayer for Mercy
5 Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us;
Look, and see our (EB)reproach!
2 Our inheritance has been turned over to (EC)strangers,
Our (ED)houses to aliens.
3 We have become orphans (EE)without a father,
Our mothers are like widows.
4 [an]We have to pay for our drinking (EF)water,
Our wood comes to us at a price.
5 [ao]Our pursuers are at our necks;
We are worn out, there is (EG)no rest for us.
6 We have [ap]submitted to (EH)Egypt and Assyria [aq]to get enough bread.
7 Our (EI)fathers sinned, and are no more;
It is we who have borne their iniquities.
8 (EJ)Slaves rule over us;
There is (EK)no one to deliver us from their hand.
9 We get our bread [ar]at the (EL)risk of our lives
[as]Because of the sword in the wilderness.
10 Our skin has become as (EM)hot as an oven,
Because of [at]the burning heat of famine.
11 They ravished the (EN)women in Zion,
The virgins in the cities of Judah.
12 Princes were hung by their hands;
[au](EO)Elders were not respected.
13 Young men [av](EP)worked at the grinding mill,
And youths (EQ)stumbled under loads of wood.
14 Elders [aw]are gone from the gate,
Young men from their (ER)music.
15 The joy of our hearts has (ES)ceased;
Our dancing has been turned into mourning.
16 The (ET)crown has fallen from our head;
(EU)Woe to us, for we have sinned!
17 Because of this our (EV)heart is faint,
Because of these things our (EW)eyes are dim;
18 Because of (EX)Mount Zion which lies desolate,
(EY)Foxes prowl in it.
19 (EZ)You, O Lord, [ax]rule forever;
Your (FA)throne is from generation to generation.
20 Why do You (FB)forget us forever?
Why do You forsake us [ay]so long?
21 (FC)Restore us to You, O Lord, that we may be restored;
Renew (FD)our days as of old,
22 Unless (FE)You have utterly rejected us
And are exceedingly (FF)angry with us.
A New and Living Way
19 Therefore, brethren, since we (A)have confidence to (B)enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by (C)a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through (D)the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and since we have (E)a great priest (F)over the house of God, 22 let us (G)draw near with a [a]sincere heart in (H)full assurance of faith, having our hearts (I)sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies (J)washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the (K)confession of our (L)hope without wavering, for (M)He who promised is faithful; 24 and let us consider how (N)to stimulate one another to love and (O)good deeds, 25 not forsaking our own (P)assembling together, as is the habit of some, but (Q)encouraging one another; and all the more as you see (R)the day drawing near.
Christ or Judgment
26 For if we go on (S)sinning willfully after receiving (T)the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of (U)judgment and (V)the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. 28 (W)Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 (X)How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve (Y)who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean (Z)the blood of the covenant (AA)by which he was sanctified, and has (AB)insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, “(AC)Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “(AD)The Lord will judge His people.” 31 It is a (AE)terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the (AF)living God.
32 But remember (AG)the former days, [b]when, after being (AH)enlightened, you endured a great (AI)conflict of sufferings, 33 partly by being (AJ)made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming (AK)sharers with those who were so treated. 34 For you (AL)showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted (AM)joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves (AN)a better possession and a lasting one. 35 Therefore, do not throw away your (AO)confidence, which has a great (AP)reward. 36 For you have need of (AQ)endurance, so that when you have (AR)done the will of God, you may (AS)receive [c]what was promised.
37 (AT)For yet in a very little while,
(AU)He who is coming will come, and will not delay.
38 (AV)But My righteous one shall live by faith;
And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.
39 But [d]we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the [e]preserving of the soul.
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