Old/New Testament

Jeremiah and the Religious Leader Pashhur

20 Now Pashhur the religious leader, the son of Immer, was the head leader in the house of the Lord. When he heard Jeremiah saying these things, ² Pashhur had Jeremiah the man of God beaten. Then he put him in chains at the upper Benjamin Gate by the house of the Lord. ³ On the next day, when Pashhur set Jeremiah free from the chains, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call you Pashhur, but Fear Everywhere. ⁴ For the Lord says, ‘See, I am going to make you a fear to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of those who hate them while you look on. I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. And he will carry them away in chains to Babylon and will kill them with the sword. ⁵ I will give over all the riches of this city, all that its people have worked for, and all its things of much worth. Even all the riches of the kings of Judah I will give to those who hate them. They will take their things, and take hold of them, and carry them to Babylon. ⁶ And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will be taken away in chains. You will go to Babylon, and there you will die, and there you will be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have told lies.’”

Jeremiah’s Complaint to the Lord

⁷ O Lord, You have lied to me and I was fooled. You are stronger than I, and have had power over me. I have been laughed at all day. Everyone makes fun of me. ⁸ For whenever I speak, I cry out. I tell of fighters and destroyers. For the Word of the Lord has become a shame and a cause of laughing at me all day long. ⁹ But if I say, “I will not remember Him or speak any more in His name,” then in my heart it is like a burning fire shut up in my bones. I am tired of holding it in, and I cannot do that. ¹⁰ For I have heard many speaking in secret, saying, “Fear and trouble is on every side! Speak against him! Yes, let us speak against him!” All my trusted friends, watching for my fall, say, “It may be that he will be fooled. Then we can get power over him and punish him.” ¹¹ But the Lord is with me like a powerful one who causes fear. So those who make it hard for me will fall and not have power over me. They will be put to much shame, because their plans have not gone well. Their shame will last forever and will not be forgotten. ¹² O Lord of All, You test those who are right and good. You see the mind and the heart. Let me see You punish them, for I have given my cause to You. ¹³ Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord! For He has taken the soul of the one in need from the hand of the sinful.

¹⁴ Cursed is the day when I was born! Let the day not be honored when my mother gave birth to me! ¹⁵ Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father, saying, “A baby boy has been born to you!” and made him very happy. ¹⁶ Let that man be like the cities which the Lord destroyed without pity. Let him hear a cry in the morning and a call of danger at noon. ¹⁷ For he did not kill me before I was born, so that my mother’s body would have been my grave. ¹⁸ Why was I ever born to see trouble and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?

Jerusalem to Be Taken

21 This is the word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the religious leader, the son of Maaseiah, saying, ² “Will you speak to the Lord about us? For King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is making war against us. It may be that the Lord will do something for us like He did in times past, and make him leave us.”

³ Then Jeremiah said to them, “Say this to Zedekiah: ⁴ ‘The Lord God of Israel says, “See, I will turn against you the objects of war you are using to fight with against the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are gathered outside the wall to shut you in. And I will bring them into the center of this city. ⁵ I Myself will fight against you with My hand out and with a strong arm, in much anger. ⁶ I will kill both man and animal in this city. They will die of a bad disease. ⁷ After this,” says the Lord, “I will give over Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people who were not killed in this city by the disease, the sword, and hunger. I will give them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of those who hate them, and into the hand of those who want to kill them. And he will kill them with the sword. He will not let them live or have pity for them.”’

⁸ “Also tell the people, ‘The Lord says, “See, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. ⁹ He who lives in this city will die by the sword and by hunger and by disease. But he who goes out and gives himself up to the Babylonians whose armies shut you in will live, he will at least have his life. ¹⁰ For I have set My face against this city for trouble and not for good,” says the Lord. “It will be given to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.”’

Words against Judah

¹¹ “Then say to those of the house of the king of Judah, ‘Hear the Word of the Lord, ¹² O house of David, the Lord says, “Do what is right every morning. Take the person who has been robbed away from the one who has made it hard for him. So My anger will not go out like fire and burn with no one to put it out, because of the sinful things you have done.

¹³ “See, I am against you, O you who live in the valley, O rock of the plain,” says the Lord, “you who say, ‘Who will come down against us? Or who will come into our houses?’ ¹⁴ I will punish you for what has come of what you have done,” says the Lord. “I will start a fire among your trees, and it will destroy all that is around it.”’”

Paul’s Work Is Finished—Timothy Must Carry On

4 These words are from my heart to you. I say this before God and Jesus Christ. Some day He will judge those who are living and those who are dead. It will be when Christ comes to bring His holy nation. ² Preach the Word of God. Preach it when it is easy and people want to listen and when it is hard and people do not want to listen. Preach it all the time. Use the Word of God to show people they are wrong. Use the Word of God to help them do right. You must be willing to wait for people to understand what you teach as you teach them.

³ The time will come when people will not listen to the truth. They will look for teachers who will tell them only what they want to hear. ⁴ They will not listen to the truth. Instead, they will listen to stories made up by men. ⁵ You must watch for all these things. Do not be afraid to suffer for our Lord. Preach the Good News from place to place. Do all the work you are to do.

⁶ It will soon be time for me to leave this life. ⁷ I have fought a good fight. I have finished the work I was to do. I have kept the faith. ⁸ There is a crown which comes from being right with God. The Lord, the One Who will judge, will give it to me on that great day when He comes again. I will not be the only one to receive a crown. All those who love to think of His coming and are looking for Him will receive one also.

Paul Sends Word to Timothy About Some Friends

⁹ Come to me here as soon as you can. ¹⁰ Demas left me. He loved the things of this world and has gone to the city of Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to the city of Galatia. Titus has gone to the city of Dalmatia. ¹¹ Luke is the only one with me here. Bring Mark when you come. He is a help to me in this work. ¹² I sent Tychicus to the city of Ephesus. ¹³ When you come, bring the coat I left with Carpus in the city of Troas. Bring the books and for sure do not forget the writings written on sheepskin. ¹⁴ Alexander, the man who makes things out of copper, has worked hard against me. The Lord will give him the pay that is coming to him. ¹⁵ Watch him! He fought against every word we preached.

¹⁶ At my first trial no one helped me. Everyone left me. I hope this will not be held against them. ¹⁷ But the Lord was with me. He gave me power to preach the Good News so all the people who do not know God might hear. I was taken from the mouth of the lion. ¹⁸ The Lord will look after me and will keep me from every sinful plan they have. He will bring me safe into His holy nation of heaven. May He have all the shining-greatness forever. Let it be so.

¹⁹ Greet Priscilla and Aquila for me and to all the family of Onesiphorus. ²⁰ Erastus stayed in the city of Corinth. I left Trophimus sick in the city of Miletus. ²¹ Try to come before winter. Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the Christian brothers greet you. ²² May the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. May you have God’s loving-favor.