Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God’s Chosen King
2 Why are the nations so angry?
Why are the people making useless plans?
2 The kings of the earth prepare to fight.
Their leaders make plans together
against the Lord
and his appointed king.
3 “Let’s break the chains that hold us prisoners.
Let’s throw off the ropes that tie us,” the nations say.
4 But the Lord in heaven laughs.
He makes fun of them.
5 Then the Lord warns them.
He frightens them with his anger.
6 He says, “I have appointed my own king!
He will rule in Jerusalem on my holy mountain.”
7 Now I will tell you what the Lord has declared:
He said to me, “You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
8 If you ask me, I will give you the nations.
All the people on earth will be yours.
9 You will make them obey you by punishing them with an iron rod.
You will break them into pieces like pottery.”
10 So, kings, be wise.
Rulers, learn this lesson.
11 Obey the Lord with great fear.
Be happy, but tremble.
12 Show that you are loyal to his son.
Otherwise you will be destroyed.
He can quickly become angry.
But happy are those who trust him for protection.
12 But the people of Judah will answer, ‘It won’t do any good to try! We will continue to do what we want. Each of us will do what his stubborn, evil heart wants!’”
13 So this is what the Lord says:
“Ask the people in other nations this question:
‘Have you ever heard anything like this?’
The people of Israel have done a horrible thing.
14 The snow on the mountains of Lebanon
never melts from the rocks.
Its cool, flowing streams
do not dry up.
15 But my people have forgotten me.
They make offerings to worthless idols.
This makes them stumble in what they do.
They stumble about in the old ways of their ancestors.
They walk along back roads
and on poor highways.
16 So Judah’s country will become an empty desert.
People will not stop making fun of it.
They will shake their heads as they pass by.
They will be shocked at how the country was destroyed.
17 I will scatter them before their enemies
as a strong east wind blows things away.
At that awful time they will not see me coming to help them.
They will see me leaving.”
Jeremiah’s Fourth Complaint
18 Then the people said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah. Surely the teaching of the law by the priest will not be lost. And the advice from the wise men will still be with us. We will still have the words of the prophets. So let’s ruin him by telling lies about him! We won’t pay attention to anything he says.”
19 Lord, listen to me.
Listen to what my accusers are saying!
20 Good should not be paid back with evil.
But they have dug a pit in order to kill me.
Lord, remember that I stood before you
and asked you to do good things for these people.
I asked you to turn your anger away from them.
21 So now, let their children starve.
Let their enemies defeat them with swords.
Let their wives lose their children and husbands.
Let the men from Judah be put to death.
Let the young men be killed in battle.
22 Let them cry out in their houses.
Bring an enemy against them suddenly.
Let all this happen because my enemies have dug a pit to trap me.
And they have hidden traps for me to step in.
23 Lord, you know
about their plans to kill me.
Don’t forgive their crimes.
Don’t erase their sins.
Make them fall from their places.
Punish them while you are angry.
The Secret of Our Life
14 I hope I can come to you soon. But I am writing these things to you now. 15 Then, even if I cannot come soon, you will know about the things that people must do in the family of God. That family is the church of the living God, the support and foundation of the truth. 16 Without doubt, the secret of our life of worship is great:
He[a] was shown to us in a human body,
proved right by the Spirit,
and seen by angels.
He was preached to the nations,
believed in by the world,
and taken to heaven in glory.
A Warning About False Teachers
4 The Holy Spirit clearly says that in the later times some people will stop believing the true faith. They will obey spirits that lie and will follow the teachings of demons. 2 Such teachings come from hypocrites, men who cannot see what is right and what is wrong. It is as if their understanding were destroyed by a hot iron. 3 They tell people that it is wrong to marry. And they tell people that there are some foods that must not be eaten. But God made those foods, and the people who believe and who know the truth can eat those foods with thanks. 4 Everything that God made is good. Nothing that God made should be refused if it is accepted with thanks to God. 5 Everything God made is made holy by what God has said and by prayer.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.