Old/New Testament
43 When Jeremiah finished giving the people this answer from the Eternal their God—and he did tell them everything that is recorded here, just as he promised— 2 Azariah (son of Hoshaiah) and Johanan (son of Kareah) and all the other overconfident men in that group spoke.
Leaders (to Jeremiah): These words are lies! The Eternal our God didn’t tell you to say, “Do not go to Egypt and settle there.” These are not His words at all. 3 They are the words of Baruch (son of Neriah), your secretary. He is trying to turn you against us so we will be handed over to the Chaldeans, when they come back. If we listen to his counsel, we will be killed or taken into exile in Babylon.
4 So Johanan (son of Kareah), all the other army leaders, and all the people refused to obey the Eternal’s command to remain in Judah. 5 So Johanan (son of Kareah) and the other army officers gathered up all the Judeans who had survived and returned to Judah from the countries they fled to. 6 This vast company of refugees included the men, women, children, and daughters of the royal family and everyone else who Nebuzaradan, captain of the imperial guard, had left in the care of Gedaliah (son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan). Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch (son of Neriah) were also forced to join the company leaving Judah for Egypt. 7 And so it was that this vast company of Judeans entered the land of Egypt in disobedience to the voice of the Eternal. They traveled as far as the northern city of Tahpanhes.
Egypt is not where Jeremiah or Baruch want to be, especially since God clearly tells these Judeans—survivors of the Babylonian attack on their land—not to go there. After all these years, Jeremiah again delivers a difficult message to an unreceptive people, this time in Egypt. And once again, he is instructed to act this message so that all can see and clearly understand. Many years have passed since Jeremiah told God he was too young to be His prophet; but here he is, an old man, still performing strange and difficult feats to make His point.
8 While they were in Tahpanhes, the message of the Eternal came to Jeremiah.
Eternal One: 9 While everyone from Judah is watching, pick up some large rocks and then bury them in the clay of the brick pavement at the entrance of Pharaoh’s palace in Tahpanhes. 10 Once you’ve done this, give the people this message from the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel: “I am sending My servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to Egypt. I will set his throne over the exact spot where I’ve hidden these stones, and he will spread his royal canopy over this exact spot. 11 He is coming to attack Egypt, and he will bring death to those destined to die, captivity to those destined to be captive, and war to those destined to die in battle. 12 I will start a fire, and then he will burn the temples of Egypt’s so-called gods. He will take these idols back to Babylon. He will pick through the land of Egypt as easily as a shepherd picks clean his robe. And once he’s finished, he will return home unharmed. 13 He will tear down the obelisks of Egypt in the temple of the sun. Yes, he will burn down the temples of Egypt’s gods.
44 This is the message that came to Jeremiah concerning the Judeans living in the northern Egyptian cities of Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and the southern region of Pathros.
Some time has now passed since the Judeans who were not deported to Babylon fled to Egypt in a kind of self-imposed exile. Their reason for leaving Judah and settling in Egypt is fear—fear of reprisal from Nebuchadnezzar for the assassination of Gedaliah. Against the protests of Jeremiah, the people settle down in Egypt. Ironically, as they escape the wrath of the dreaded Babylonian king, they foolishly ignore the wrath of God that follows their complete disregard of His prophet. Jeremiah now delivers what will be his last recorded message to these faithless Judeans who have settled in Egypt.
Jeremiah: 2-3 This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, has to say: “You saw what happened to Jerusalem and the towns of Judah when the people disobeyed Me. I brought disaster upon them because of their wickedness, and now the cities are in ruins and no one dares to live there. The people infuriated Me when they burned incense and worshiped other so-called gods that neither they nor you nor any of your ancestors ever knew. 4 Time after time I would send My servants, the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, stop doing these disgusting things. You know I hate them!’ 5 Still they refused to listen and ignored what I had to say; they refused to abandon their wicked ways and kept burning incense to other gods. 6 Therefore, My hot anger was poured out; it raged and burned its way through the towns and villages of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. That is why they are a desolate wasteland today.”
7 And now the Eternal God, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, asks: “Why are you doing this to yourselves again? Why are you bringing further disaster upon yourselves and all your people? For there will be no man or woman, no infant or child who will survive this onslaught and return to Judah from this place. 8 Why do you stir up My anger with your handmade idols and the incense you burn to the gods here in the land of Egypt where you are determined to live? You will destroy yourselves and become objects of scorn and cursing to the nations of the earth. 9 Have you forgotten the evil committed by your ancestors, the kings of Judah and their wives? What about the evil that you and your wives committed throughout the land of Judah and on every street in Jerusalem? 10 To this day, I’ve seen no evidence of sorrow or regret for what has been done by My people. They have shown no reverence for Me, nor have they obeyed My law and the decrees I set before them and their ancestors.”
11 Therefore, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, now declares: “Look! I have decided to destroy you and bring disaster on all of Judah. 12 I will wipe out the remnant of Judah who were so determined to make a new start and settle in Egypt despite My command, and I will finish it there. They will all die in Egypt, from the least to the greatest, either from war or famine. I will make them a horror, a disgrace, an object of scorn and cursing. 13 I will punish those living in Egypt with war, famine, and disease, just as I punished unfaithful Jerusalem. 14 None of those who made it out of Judah alive and fled to Egypt will survive. None of them will escape what is coming. None of them—except for a few fugitives—will ever return to the land of Judah for which they long.
15 All the men who were aware that their wives had been burning incense to other gods gathered in a large crowd, along with the women. They had come from the northern cities of Egypt and the region of Pathros to the south to speak with Jeremiah.
People: 16 We will not listen to you or the message you claim comes from the Eternal! 17 We are going to stand by our own word: we will burn incense and pour out our drink offerings to the queen of heaven[a] just as we have always done—just as our ancestors, our kings, and our officials did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Back then we had plenty to eat, and no harm came to us. 18 But ever since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out our drink offerings to her, we’ve not had enough of anything. Besides that, we are being finished off by war and famine.
Women (to Jeremiah): 19 Do you think our husbands didn’t know and approve of the fact that we were burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her? How could we have baked bread marked with her image and poured out offerings to her and our husbands know nothing of this?
20 Then Jeremiah addressed all these men and women who responded so rebelliously.
Jeremiah: 21 Do you think while you and your ancestors, your kings and officials, and all the rest of the people were burning incense in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that the Eternal knew nothing of this? Did you think He would forget or that it would somehow slip His mind? 22 Today, your land is an object of cursing, a horror, a lifeless ruin because the Eternal could no longer stand your wickedness and the detestable things you did. 23 Take a good look at the disaster that has come upon you. It happened because you burned incense to other gods and sinned against the Eternal. It happened because you refused to obey His voice or follow His law and His decrees, because you ignored His warnings.
24 (to the entire assembly) Hear the word of the Eternal! You people of Judah who live in Egypt, 25 the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, has a message for you: “You and your wives have shown where your true devotion lies with both your words and your actions! You say, ‘We will keep our vows to the queen of heaven; we will continue to burn incense and pour out drink offerings to her.’ Well I say, ‘Go ahead. Keep your vows! Do exactly what you promised!’” 26 But hear what the Eternal now says to the Judeans now living in Egypt: “I swear by My great name that no man or woman of Judah now living in Egypt will ever again invoke My name or begin an oath with the words ‘As the Eternal Lord lives!’ 27 because I will watch over their lives to bring harm, not good. All the Judeans living in Egypt will suffer from war and famine until all have died. 28 There will be only a few who survive and return to Judah from Egypt. All the remnant of Judah who were so determined to live in Egypt will finally know whose word can be trusted—theirs or Mine. 29 Here is a sign for you so that you will know I am going to punish you in Egypt. This way you can be sure that My threats against you are not idle—they will come true. 30 And this will be your sign: watch as I hand over Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, to his enemies who want to kill him, just as I handed over Zedekiah, king of Judah, to his enemy, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
To the very end, Jeremiah speaks out against the injustices and infidelities of his countrymen who keep turning to other gods. His words are strong, and Jeremiah lives to see many of his painful prophecies come true. What remains in the following chapters are words surely spoken before the prophet was an old man in Egypt: first is a brief message for his scribe Baruch in the heartbreaking aftermath of the burning of the scroll (36:1–8) and the terrible judgment then declared on Judah; second is a series of declarations or oracles against the various nations surrounding Judah in these historic times.
45 This is the message the prophet Jeremiah gave to his secretary, Baruch (son of Neriah) when he had written on a scroll all the words Jeremiah dictated to him. It took place when Jehoiakim (son of Josiah) had been king of Judah for four years.
Jeremiah (to Baruch): 2 The Eternal, the God of Israel, has given me a message for you, Baruch. 3 He heard you when you cried out, “Oh my, what pain I am in! As if I weren’t hurting enough, the Eternal has piled on even more sorrow. I am so tired from groaning; I can find no rest.” 4 And so the Eternal has given me this message for you: “Hear Me, Baruch, for I tell you I am about to upend what I have built and uproot what I have planted in this land, in the whole land. 5 Should you worry about achieving personal greatness? No, do not chase after such a dream! But take comfort that when I bring this disaster on all people, I will reward you by sparing your life. I promise to protect you wherever you go.
5 Remember what I said earlier about the role of the high priest, even the ones chosen by human beings? The job of every high priest is reconciliation: approaching God on behalf of others and offering Him gifts and sacrifices to repair the damage caused by our sins against God and each other. 2 The high priest should have compassion for those who are ignorant of the faith and those who fall out of the faith because he also has wrestled with human weakness, 3 and so the priest must offer sacrifices both for his sins and for those of the people. 4 The office of high priest and the honor that goes along with it isn’t one that someone just takes. One must be set aside, called by God, just as God called Aaron, the brother of Moses.
5 In the same way, the Anointed One, our Liberating King, didn’t call Himself but was appointed to His priestly office by God, who said to Him,
You are My Son.
Today I have become Your Father,[a]
6 and who also says elsewhere,
You are a priest forever—
in the honored order of Melchizedek.[b]
Jesus is the Great High Priest because He serves as the ultimate mediator between God and humanity. In this role He serves as both the priest and the sacrifice that atones for sins once and for all. But we are still called to be priests for each other. These are not mutually exclusive ideas.
Whenever you share a cup of cold water in Jesus’ name or pray for someone, you’re a priest. You’re communicating the grace of God. There are times that we need a priest, too, right? If we are to be like Him, we must allow someone else to be a priest for us. There are problems so great and pains so deep and sins so intractable that we need a person of flesh and blood to join us in carrying our concerns to God.
7 When Jesus was on the earth, a man of flesh and blood, He offered up prayers and pleas, groans and tears to the One who could save Him from death. He was heard because He approached God with reverence. 8 Although He was a Son, Jesus learned obedience through the things He suffered. 9 And once He was perfected through that suffering He became the way of eternal salvation for all those who hear and follow Him, 10 for God appointed Him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.
11 I have a lot more to say about this, but it may be hard for you to follow since you’ve become dull in your understanding. 12 By this time, you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet I feel like you want me to reteach you the most basic things that God wants you to know. It’s almost like you’re a baby again, coddled at your mother’s breast, nursing, not ready for solid food. 13 No one who lives on milk alone can know the ins and outs of what it means to be righteous and pursue justice; that’s because he is only a baby. 14 But solid food is for those who have come of age, for those who have learned through practice to distinguish good from evil.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.