Old/New Testament
3 Eternal One: If a husband divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he ever go back to her again? Such behavior would violate what is right, and the land itself would be tainted with sin. Now you, Judah, have acted like a whore and taken on many lovers. Why are you trying to return to Me now?
2 Look up to the hilltops. Take a good look.
Is there anywhere you have not committed perverse acts in the company of other gods?
You sat on the side of the road, offering yourself to lovers;
like a desert nomad you waited, patiently.
Even the land itself is tainted by your prostitution and wickedness.
From the beginning, the covenant between God and His people is clear. They are to worship and trust Him alone. They are to remain true to His teachings. So when God sees His people worshiping idols made of stone and wood, when He sees them participating in demeaning sexual practices with prostitutes as part of local fertility rites, it is too much. The people of Judah have been unfaithful in nearly every way imaginable. They have witnessed what happened to the adulterous Northern Kingdom of Israel. But somehow, these stubborn people think they are special, even immune to such disaster. They think if they say the right prayers in the right ways to the right God from time to time, then all the blatant violations of God’s covenant will be ignored. The prophet Jeremiah sees it all differently.
God will send out a message to the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom, which He still calls Israel. For decades, those people have been scattered throughout the Assyrian Empire to the north, while their land has been under enemy occupation. But despite the tribes’ faithlessness, these many years later, the God of mercy offers to restore them. In the midst of divine judgment, God utters words of hope; but this hope, this restoration, is only found in true repentance.
3 That is why I have held back the rain,
why the spring rains have not come.
But you still look and act the part of a prostitute—
unfazed, unashamed.
4 But wait, did you just now call out to Me, saying,
“My Father, You have been my friend, my confidant since I was young”?
5 You ask, “Surely He won’t be angry forever, will He?
Surely He won’t hold this against us to the end, right?”
This is how you talk—as if all I want are your words;
meanwhile you continue in your selfish and evil ways.
6 Then the Eternal who rules over all of history reminded me of a lesson my people, Judah, should have learned from Israel a century ago. He spoke these words to Judah early in my career, during the days of Josiah the king.
Eternal One: Have you not learned anything from Israel’s unfaithful ways? How she turned away from Me, went up every high hill and under every green tree to worship another. She acted like a prostitute and broke our covenant there. 7 I thought, “After she’s done all this, she’ll return home to Me,” but it never happened. She didn’t come back. And her deceitful sister, Judah, saw all of this and learned nothing. 8 She saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away with a decree of divorce for these acts of adultery. But it didn’t matter to her deceitful sister, Judah. She wasn’t afraid or moved by any of this. She went her own way and played the prostitute as well. 9 In fact, because her own infidelity bothered her so little, she defiled the land by committing adultery, worshiping stones and trees instead of Me. 10 And while this was a lesson to be learned by deceitful Judah, it was an opportunity lost—for she never learned it; she never completely returned to Me. She only pretended to be Mine, as if empty words would satisfy Me.
11 (to Jeremiah) Despite her faithlessness, Israel has proven to be more righteous than her deceitful sister, Judah. 12 Now go and cry out these words of hope to those people in the north:
“Return to Me, faithless Israel.
I will look on you with mercy, not anger.
I will not hold this grudge against you forever.
13 Just admit what you did—your sin against Me.
How you rebelled against the Eternal your God.
How you gave yourself away to these foreign gods in the open, under the trees!
How you disobeyed My voice.
14 Come back home, My restless, faithless ones,
for I am your master, your husband (not that other god),
And I will take you in—one from this city, two from that clan;
I will bring you home to Zion.
15 “Then I will give you shepherds who trust and know Me, wise teachers who will impart knowledge and understanding to you. 16 In those days, after your people have grown and increased in the land, they will no longer talk about the covenant chest of the Eternal. They won’t think about it, remember it, or even miss it. There will be no need for it to be made again. 17 In this coming age, Jerusalem will be known as the throne of the Eternal. All the nations of the world will be drawn there to her, to honor the name of the Eternal. The days of people insisting on their own stubborn ways dictated by their own evil hearts will be gone. 18 In that day, the split between My people will be mended. Judah and Israel will walk together again. From a land to the north, they will come to this land I gave only to your ancestors.
19 “I thought to Myself how much I wanted to welcome you home as children
and bless you with a good land and a future to be envied by all the world.
I hoped for the day when you would call Me ‘My Father,’
and no longer pull away from Me and My ways.
20 But just as an unfaithful wife betrays her husband,
so have you betrayed Me, O house of Israel.”
Jeremiah tells the people what could happen, if only they will repent. The prophet hopes for dialogue between Israel and the God who has never stopped loving her.
21 A sound now echoes from the deserted hills
where Israel betrayed her God.
It is the sound of bitter tears mixed with the prayers
of the lost and rebellious people of Israel
who have forgotten the Eternal, their True God.
22 Eternal One: Come back to Me, My faithless ones,
and I will heal your faithlessness.
Israel: Look! We come to You now,
because You are the Eternal our God.
23 The idols we worshiped on the hills,
the rituals we performed on the mountains were based on a lie.
You, the Eternal, our one True God,
are the only hope of Israel’s rescue.
24 Everything our parents worked for—their livestock and even their families—has been devoured by the worship of the shameful god. 25 Let us fall on our faces in shame, covered in our humiliation. Ours is a legacy of rebellion, for we and those before us have sinned against the Eternal our God. From the time we were young to this very day, we have refused to obey His voice.
4 Eternal One: O Israel if you turn, turn home to Me.
Just turn away from the vile worship of those things,
those idols that repulse Me.
Put them out of My sight for good.
Come home to Me and never stray.
2 If you make a promise in My name, saying, “As the Eternal lives,”
and do so in truth, justice, and righteousness,
Then the nations will discover true blessing in Me
and give Me the praise I deserve.
3 This is what the Eternal now says to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem.
Eternal One: Break up the hard, untilled soil!
It is a waste to plant seeds among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to Me;
cut away the foreskin of your hearts,
men of Judah and people of Jerusalem.
Remove all that stands between us,
and devote yourselves fully to Me,
Or the heat of My anger will burn as an unquenchable fire
against your wicked ways.
The warnings now climax with a vision of invasion and destruction that is almost more than the young prophet can bear. Still God instructs Jeremiah to speak these words of terror, and this prophet who loves the people he has been called to chastise struggles with his mission. In the midst of this painful vision, Jeremiah begins to wonder aloud to the very God for whom he speaks. As he proclaims, he prays. As he waits for answers, the words of devastation continue.
5 Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Cry out to those in Jerusalem. Proclaim to all of Judah.
Let the trumpets blare throughout the land!
Say to the people, “Gather everyone from the outlying villages,
and run toward the fortified cities.”
6 Raise a banner toward Zion, Jerusalem;
point everyone toward her refuge.
Don’t wait, for I am releasing an evil from the north that will devastate the land.
7 For a lion has stepped out of the thicket;
A destroyer of nations is on the move.
He has left his den to devour your land;
your cities will be left in ruin, empty and lifeless.”
8 The time of mourning is here.
Put on your sackcloth, and get ready to cry and scream.
Since we have not turned from our sin,
the blazing anger of the Eternal has not turned away from us.
Eternal One: 9 On that fearsome day, even the hearts of kings and leaders will fail. Priests will recoil in horror. Prophets will be shocked into silence.
Jeremiah: 10 But Eternal Lord, You have misled this people and all of Jerusalem when you said, “You will live in peace.” Even now the cold blade of the sword is pressed against our throats.
11 The day is coming soon when Jerusalem and the people beyond will be told, “A blistering wind will blow in from the desert mountains toward My daughter, My people: a wind too strong to winnow the grain and clean the crops, 12 a wind too powerful to withstand for it comes from Me. It is My judgment that will bear down on you.”
13 Look, you can see Him coming in the distance, like a cloud on the horizon.
Like a whirlwind, His chariots of destruction will descend on you.
Swifter than eagles are His horses. At the sight of this, you will cry out, “Alas, we are doomed!”
14 Hear me, O Jerusalem, for even now there is time.
Wash these wicked ways from your hearts
So that you can be saved.
How long will you cling to those wicked thoughts?
15 From the tribe of Dan in the north comes the first cry;
news of disaster arrives from the hill country of Ephraim.
16 Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Tell the nations to beware.
Announce to Jerusalem:
“Invaders are coming from a distant land.
Their war cries will soon be heard in Judah’s villages.”
17 They will spread out and surround Jerusalem on every side like guards in a field,
all because she has acted against Me.
18 (to the people) You chose this path that led to disaster.
Your plans and actions brought it on.
It is your wickedness that tastes so bitter,
your evil that pierces your heart.
19 I’ve got this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’m in agony.
Every beat of my heart pounds with an awful dread.
I can’t stay silent, for I know what is coming—
oh my soul, there it is: the blast of the trumpet;
The battle cries of the invading hoards.
20 Crushing defeat after crushing defeat. That’s the news.
The land is in ruins, all of it.
In an instant, my world changed;
in a moment, my tents destroyed, my curtains torn, my refuge gone.
21 How long must I see the flags of the enemy?
How long must I be forced to hear the trumpets sound?
Eternal One (to Jeremiah): 22 My people are foolish.
They do not know Me at all.
They are reckless, senseless children.
They are clever and cunning when it comes to evil,
But inept and incapable of doing good.
23 I looked at the earth and saw that it was again formless and empty;
I looked at the heavens and saw no light.
24 I looked at the mountains and saw them quaking;
all the hills, they shuddered.
25 I looked around and saw no hint of life.
The people were gone. The birds had fled the sky.
26 I looked at what was once a garden and saw a desert—
the rubble of its cities torn down right in front of the Eternal and His fierce anger.
27 Eternal One: The whole land will lie in ruin,
but I will not completely destroy it.
28 Because of this devastation,
the earth will mourn and the skies will darken—for I have spoken.
Once I have decided, I will not change My mind.
I will not turn back from this.
29 As the horseman thunders closer and the archer draws near,
the people panic and the cities empty.
They scatter to the bushes; they scramble to the hills.
The villages are abandoned, for no one dares remain.
30 So what are you doing, my ravaged one?
Why are you dressing up in scarlet, putting on your gold jewelry,
And painting your eyes to make them larger, more beautiful?
You’re wasting your time.
Your lovers want nothing to do with you.
In fact, they despise you, and are looking to kill you.
31 I hear a cry like a woman in labor, the distress of a first-time mother.
It is the anguish of my people; it is the voice of the daughter of Zion,
Gasping for breath, reaching for help, as she cries out,
“I am faint, and my life is in the hands of murderers!”
5 Eternal One: Roam the streets of Jerusalem, and tell Me what you see, Jeremiah.
See if you can find anything good happening anywhere.
Look in the marketplaces and open spaces of the city.
If you can find just one honest person who lives according to My ways,
I’ll spare the city of this horror.
2 I hear them making oaths in My name. “As the Eternal lives,” they say.
But they know the oaths are not true.
As when Abraham pleaded with God over Sodom’s fate (Genesis 18:23–32), God is willing to spare Jerusalem if the prophet can find a single person, honest and true, living there.
3 Jeremiah: O Eternal One, aren’t You looking for truth and integrity?
You struck them, but they did not flinch.
You destroyed them, but they did not yield to Your correction.
They wouldn’t change their ways.
They have set their stony faces against You—
defiant and determined, refusing to repent.
4 And I thought to myself, “How could they know any better?
They are poor and senseless people, unfamiliar with the ways of the Eternal,
Unaware of what their God requires.
5 So I will go to their leaders and share what I see.
They will do the right thing because they know the Eternal’s ways.
Surely, they will do what their God requires.”
But to a person, I was wrong; leaders were no different;
They, too, had broken the yoke, burst the bonds,
and pulled away from God’s guidance and correction.
6 Therefore, from the forest, a lion will strike.
From the desert, a wolf will pounce and destroy.
And from the shadows, a leopard now stalks their villages,
waiting to tear apart any who dare wander outside.
Such is the fate of all who fall away,
for their rebellion is great; their sins are many.
7 Eternal One (to His people): How can I forgive what you’ve done?
You have passed on your legacy of rebellion to your children who also rejected Me.
They have made unholy oaths in the names of so-called gods.
Why? I have fed them till they were full, and still they wanted more.
So they betrayed Me with their adultery,
trooping off to worship idols, filling up the houses of prostitutes.
8 They have everything they need, and still they want more.
Like lusty stallions, they call for each other’s mate.
9 Should I not punish them for these atrocities?
Against this nation, should I not avenge Myself?
10 (to His people’s enemies) Walk through the rows in her vineyards, and destroy them.
But do not destroy them completely.
Lop off the branches,
for they do not belong to Me, the Eternal.
11 Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have betrayed Me.
12 They spew lies about the Eternal that mock My sovereign power.
They have said, “Nothing will happen! God will not hurt us!
All this talk of war and famine is just talk.
13 As for the prophets, they are full of hot air;
the word of God is not in them;
Let their words of doom fall on them.”
14 The Eternal One, Commander of heavenly armies, has this to say:
Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Because this is the way they[a] speak,
I am going to turn My words in your mouth into a fire,
A fire that will consume these people; they are nothing but kindling for My fury.
15 (to His people) O house of Israel, I am stirring up a distant nation to march against you.
They are an enduring people from ancient times.
The language they speak is unknown to you;
you will not understand them.
16 Their quiver is like a gaping grave, full of death.
They are all mighty warriors.
17 They will devour your harvest and your food.
They will devour your sons and daughters.
They will devour your livestock, flocks, and herds.
They will devour your vineyards and orchards.
They will wield their swords
and cut down the fortified cities you think are so safe.
(to Jeremiah) 18 But even then, I will not destroy your people completely. 19 So when they ask you, “Why has the Eternal done this to us? Why would our one True God treat us this way?” remind them and speak to them My words: “Because you have rejected Me and bowed down to foreign gods in a land that was yours, now you will bow down to a foreign people in a land that is not yours.”
20 Declare My truth to the house of Jacob.
Proclaim it throughout the land of Judah:
21 Hear Me you foolish, heartless people.
Even with eyes and ears you are still blind and deaf to what is happening.
22 Do you not realize who I am? Do you not fear Me?
Do you not shake in the presence of the Eternal, the Creator of all things?
It is I who has drawn for all time the boundaries of the sea.
The waves may crash and roar against the sand,
But the waters do not cross the lines I have drawn.
23 But with stubborn and defiant hearts, this people
ignored Me and left Me for another.
24 It never occurs to them to say,
“Let us stand in awe of the Eternal our God,
For He sends the rain—both the autumn and the spring rain—
and He brings the harvest at just the right time year after year.”
25 It is your sins that hold back the rain.
It is your rebellion that keeps good things from happening to you.
26 Lurking among My own people are the wicked
who watch and wait, preying on the less fortunate.
Like hunters who set traps for birds,
they ensnare people for their own benefit.
27 Like a cage full of noisy birds, their homes are filled with screeching lies.
This is how they have become so rich and important—because others fell for their lies.
28 This is how they have grown so fat and polished.
Their evil deeds know no boundaries.
They do not take the side of the orphaned to help them prosper.
They do not seek justice for the poor;
29 Should I not punish them for these atrocities?
Against a nation like this, should I not avenge Myself?
30 (to His people) Something horrible and appalling has happened
in this land of promise.
31 The prophets who claim to speak for Me
are nothing more than false prophets, spewing lies and empty predictions.
The priests who were to do My bidding have chosen to go their own way,
and all the while, My people think nothing of it.
They actually prefer it this way,
but when the end comes, when My justices arrives, what will you do then?
4 But even so, the Spirit very clearly tells us that in the last times some will abandon the true faith because of their devotion to spirits sent to deceive and sabotage, and mistakenly they will end up following the doctrine of demons. 2 They will be carried away through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences have been branded with a red-hot iron, 3 saying, “Don’t marry. Don’t eat such-and-such foods.” But God created all these to be received with gratitude by people who hold fast to the faith and really comprehend the truth. 4 For everything God made is good. That means nothing should be rejected as long as it’s received with a grateful heart, 5 for by God’s word and prayer, it is made holy.
Paul turns from moral character to solid doctrine. People were believing strange doctrines and passing rumors. Timothy is expected to confront legalism and immorality with truth and right thinking.
6 Place these truths before the brothers and sisters. If you do, you will be a good servant of Jesus the Anointed, raised and fed on words of true belief, trained in the good instruction you have so clearly followed. 7 Reject worldly fables. Refuse old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself toward godliness. 8 Although training your body has certain payoffs, godliness benefits all things—holding promise for life here and now and promise for the life that is coming. 9 This statement is worthy of trust and our full acceptance. 10 This is what we work so hard for! This is why we are constantly struggling: because we have an assured hope fixed upon a living God who is the Savior of all humankind—especially all of us who believe.
11 So go out and insist on these things. Teach them. 12 Don’t let anyone belittle you because you are young. Instead, show the faithful, young and old, an example of how to live: set the standard for how to talk, act, love, and be faithful and pure. 13 Until I get there, make sure to devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching. 14 Don’t neglect the gift that was given to you through the prophecy spoken when the company of the elders laid their hands on you. 15 Cultivate all these practices; live by them so that all will see how you are advancing and growing. 16 Take care of yourself, concentrate on your teaching, and stick with these things. If you do, then you will be effective in bringing salvation to yourself and all who hear you.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.