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Monday, September 16th, 2024
the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24

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Daily Bible Reading

October 21 - Old & New Testament
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Jump to: Jeremiah 7,8,26 • Acts 28

Jeremiah 7,8,26

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False Trust in the Temple

¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord : ² "Stand in the gate of the house of the Lord ^(a) and there call out this word: Hear the word of the Lord , all you people of Judah who enter through these gates to worship the Lord .

³ "This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Correct your ways and your deeds,^(b) and I will allow you to live in this place. ⁴ Do not trust deceitful words, chanting: This is the temple of the Lord , the temple of the Lord , the temple of the Lord . ⁵ Instead, if you really change your ways and your actions, if you act justly toward one another,^[a]^(c) ⁶ if you no longer oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow^(d) and no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods, bringing harm on yourselves, ⁷ I will allow you to live in this place, the land I gave to your ancestors^(e) long ago and forever. ⁸ But look, you keep trusting in deceitful words that cannot help.

⁹ "Do you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known?^(f) ¹⁰ Then do you come and stand before Me in this house^(g) called by My name and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue doing all these detestable acts'? ¹¹ Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers^(h) in your view? Yes, I too have seen it."⁽ⁱ⁾

This is the Lord 's declaration.

Shiloh As a Warning

¹² "But return to My place that was at Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at first.^(j) See what I did to it because of the evil of My people Israel. ¹³ Now, because you have done all these things"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"and because I have spoken to you time and time again^[b] but you wouldn't listen,^(k) and I have called to you, but you wouldn't answer,^(l) ¹⁴ what I did to Shiloh I will do to the house that is called by My name^(m)—the house in which you trust—the place that I gave you and your ancestors. ¹⁵ I will drive you from My presence, just as I drove out all of your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.⁽ⁿ⁾

Do Not Pray for Judah

¹⁶ "As for you, do not pray for these people.^(o) Do not offer a cry or a prayer on their behalf, and do not beg Me,^(p) for I will not listen to you.^(q) ¹⁷ Don't you see how they behave in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁸ The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven,^[c]^(r) and they pour out drink offerings to other gods so that they provoke Me to anger. ¹⁹ But are they really provoking Me?"^(s) This is the Lord 's declaration. "Isn't it they themselves being provoked to disgrace?"

²⁰ Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: "Look, My anger—My burning wrath—is about to be poured out on this place,^(t) on man and beast, on the tree of the field, and on the produce of the land. My wrath will burn and not be quenched."^(u)

Obedience Over Sacrifice

²¹ This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: "Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices, and eat the meat yourselves,^(v) ²² for when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak with them^(w) or command them concerning burnt offering and sacrifice. ²³ However, I did give them this command: Obey Me, and then I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must follow every way I command you so that it may go well with you.^(x) ²⁴ Yet they didn't listen or pay attention^(y) but followed their own advice and according to their own stubborn, evil heart. They went backward and not forward.^(z) ²⁵ Since the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent all My servants the prophets^(aa) to you time and time again.^[d]^(ab) ²⁶ However, they wouldn't listen to Me or pay attention but became obstinate;^[e]^(ac) they did more evil than their ancestors.^(ad)

A Lament for Disobedient Judah

²⁷ "When you speak all these things to them, they will not listen to you. When you call to them, they will not answer you. ²⁸ You must therefore declare to them: This is the nation that would not listen to the voice of the Lord their God and would not accept discipline. Truth^[f] has perished—it has disappeared from their mouths. ²⁹ Cut off the hair of your sacred vow^[g]^(ae) and throw it away. Raise up a dirge on the barren heights,^(af) for the Lord has rejected and abandoned the generation under His wrath.^(ag)

³⁰ "For the Judeans have done what is evil in My sight." This is the Lord 's declaration. "They have set up their detestable things^(ah) in the house that is called by My name and defiled it.^(ai) ³¹ They have built the high places of Topheth^[h]^(aj) in the Valley of Hinnom^[i]^(ak) in order to burn their sons and daughters in the fire,^(al) a thing I did not command; I never entertained the thought.^[j]

³² "Therefore, take note! Days are coming"^(am)—the Lord 's declaration—"when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.^(an) Topheth will become a cemetery,^[k] because there will be no other burial place. ³³ The corpses of these people will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land, with no one to scare them away.^(ao) ³⁴ I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sound of joy and gladness and the voices of the groom and the bride,^(ap) for the land will become a desolate waste.^(aq)

Death over Life

¹ "At that time"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of her officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the residents of Jerusalem will be brought out of their graves. ² They will be exposed^(a) to the sun, the moon, and the whole heavenly host,^(b) which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be collected and buried but will become like manure on the surface of the soil.^(c) ³ Death will be chosen over life^(d) by all the survivors of this evil family, those who remain wherever I have banished them." This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.

⁴ "You are to say to them: This is what the Lord says:

Do people fall and not get up again?^(e)
If they turn away, do they not return?
⁵ Why have these people turned away?
Why is Jerusalem always turning away?
They take hold of deceit;^(f)
they refuse to return.^(g)
⁶ I have paid careful attention.
They do not speak what is right.
No one regrets his evil,
asking, ‘What have I done?'
Everyone has stayed his course
like a horse rushing into battle.^(h)
⁷ Even the stork in the sky
knows her seasons.
The turtledove, swallow, and crane^[a]
are aware of their migration,
but My people do not know
the requirements of the Lord .⁽ⁱ⁾

Punishment for Judah's Leaders

⁸ "How can you claim, ‘We are wise;
the law of the Lord is with us'?
In fact, the lying pen of scribes^(j)
has produced falsehood.
⁹ The wise will be put to shame;
they will be dismayed and snared.
They have rejected the word of the Lord ,
so what wisdom do they really have?
¹⁰ Therefore, I will give^(k) their wives to other men,
their fields to new occupants,
for from the least to the greatest,
everyone is making profit dishonestly.
From prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
¹¹ They have treated superficially the brokenness
of My dear^[b] people,
claiming, ‘Peace, peace,'
when there is no peace.
¹² Were they ashamed when they acted so abhorrently?
They weren't at all ashamed.
They can no longer feel humiliation.
Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.
When I punish them, they will collapse,"^(l)
says the Lord .

¹³ I will gather them and bring them to an end.^[c]^(m)
This is the Lord 's declaration.
There will be no grapes on the vine,
no figs on the fig tree,
and even the leaf will wither.
Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.

God's People Unrepentant

¹⁴ Why are we just sitting here?
Gather together; let us enter the fortified cities
and perish there,^[d]
for the Lord our God has destroyed^[e] us.
He has given us poisoned water to drink,⁽ⁿ⁾
because we have sinned against the Lord .
¹⁵ We hoped for peace, but there was nothing good;
for a time of healing, but there was only terror.^(o)

¹⁶ From Dan the snorting of horses is heard.
At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds,^(p)
the whole land quakes.
They come to devour the land and everything in it,
the city and all its residents.
¹⁷ Indeed, I am about to send snakes among you,
poisonous vipers^(q) that cannot be charmed.^(r)
They will bite you.
This is the Lord 's declaration.

Lament over Judah

¹⁸ My joy has flown away;
grief has settled on me.
My heart is sick.^(s)
¹⁹ Listen—the cry of my dear^[f] people
from a far away land,
"Is the Lord no longer in Zion,^(t)
her King not within her?"
Why have they provoked me to anger
with their carved images,
with their worthless foreign idols?^(u)
²⁰ Harvest has passed, summer has ended,
but we have not been saved.
²¹ I am broken by the brokenness
of my dear^[g] people.^(v)
I mourn; horror has taken hold of me.
²² Is there no balm in Gilead?^(w)
Is there no physician there?
So why has the healing of my dear^[h] people
not come about?

¹ ^[a]If my head were a spring of water,
my eyes a fountain of tears,
I would weep day and night^(a)
over the slain of my dear^[b] people.
² ^[c]If only I had a traveler's lodging place
in the wilderness,
I would abandon my people
and depart from them,
for they are all adulterers,^(b)
a solemn assembly of treacherous people.^(c)

³ They bent their tongues like their bows;
lies and not faithfulness prevail in the land,
for they proceed from one evil to another,
and they do not take Me into account.^(d)
This is the Lord 's declaration.

Imminent Ruin and Exile

⁴ Everyone has to be on guard against his friend.
Don't trust any brother,
for every brother will certainly deceive,
and every friend spread slander.^(e)
⁵ Each one betrays his friend;
no one tells the truth.
They have taught their tongues to speak lies;
they wear themselves out doing wrong.
⁶ You live in a world of deception.^[d]
In their deception they refuse to know Me.^(f)
This is the Lord 's declaration.

⁷ Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says:

I am about to refine them and test them,^(g)
for what else can I do
because of My dear^[e] people?^[f]
⁸ Their tongues are deadly arrows—
they speak deception.^(h)
With his mouth
a man speaks peaceably with his friend,
but inwardly he sets up an ambush.
⁹ Should I not punish them for these things?
This is the Lord 's declaration.
Should I not avenge Myself⁽ⁱ⁾
on such a nation as this?

¹⁰ I will raise weeping and a lament
over the mountains,
a dirge over the wilderness grazing land,
for they have been so scorched
that no one passes through.
The sound of cattle is no longer heard.
From the birds of the sky to the animals,^(j)
everything has fled—they have gone away.
¹¹ I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble,^(k)
a jackals' den.^(l)
I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
an uninhabited place.

¹² Who is the man wise enough to understand this?^(m) Who has the Lord spoken to, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a wilderness, so no one can pass through?

¹³ The Lord said, "It is because they abandoned My instruction⁽ⁿ⁾ that I set in front of them and did not obey My voice or walk according to it. ¹⁴ Instead, they followed the stubbornness of their hearts^(o) and followed after the Baals as their fathers taught them."^(p) ¹⁵ Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: "I am about to feed this people wormwood^(q) and give them poisonous water to drink.^(r) ¹⁶ I will scatter them among the nations^(s) that they and their fathers have not known. I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off."

Mourning over Judah

¹⁷ This is what the Lord of Hosts says:

Consider, and summon the women who mourn;^(t)
send for the skillful women.
¹⁸ Let them come quickly to raise a lament over us
so that our eyes may overflow with tears,
our eyelids soaked with weeping.
¹⁹ For a sound of lamentation is heard from Zion:
How devastated we are.
We are greatly ashamed,^(u)
for we have abandoned the land;
our dwellings have been torn down.

²⁰ Now hear the word of the Lord , you women.
Pay attention to^[g] the word of His mouth.
Teach your daughters a lament
and one another a dirge,
²¹ for Death^(v) has climbed through our windows;
it has entered our fortresses,
cutting off children from the streets,
young men from the squares.

²² Speak as follows:

This is what the Lord says:

Human corpses will fall
like manure on the surface of the field,
like newly cut grain^(w) after the reaper
with no one to gather it.

Boast in the Lord

²³ This is what the Lord says:

The wise man must not boast in his wisdom;
the strong man must not boast in his strength;
the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth.
²⁴ But the one who boasts should boast in this,
that he understands and knows Me^(x)—
that I am Yahweh, showing faithful love,
justice, and righteousness on the earth,
for I delight in these things.
This is the Lord 's declaration.

²⁵ "The days are coming"—the Lord 's declaration—"when I will punish all the circumcised yet uncircumcised:^(y) ²⁶ Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair on their temples.^[h] All these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart."^(z)

False Gods Contrasted with the Creator

¹ Hear the word that the Lord has spoken to^[a] you, house of Israel. ² This is what the Lord says:

Do not learn the way of the nations^(a)
or be terrified by signs in the heavens,
although the nations are terrified by them,
³ for the customs of the peoples are worthless.
Someone cuts down a tree from the forest;
it is worked by the hands of a craftsman with a chisel.
⁴ He decorates it with silver and gold.^(b)
It is fastened with hammer and nails,^(c)
so it won't totter.
⁵ Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch,
their idols cannot speak.^(d)
They must be carried^(e) because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them for they can do no harm^(f)—
and they cannot do any good.^(g)

⁶ Yahweh, there is no one like You.^(h)
You are great;
Your name is great in power.⁽ⁱ⁾
⁷ Who should not fear You,
King of the nations?^(j)
It is what You deserve.
For among all the wise people of the nations
and among all their kingdoms,
there is no one like You.
⁸ They are both stupid and foolish,
instructed by worthless idols
made of wood!
⁹ Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,^(k)
and gold from Uphaz^[b]^(l)
from the hands of a goldsmith,
the work of a craftsman.
Their clothing is blue and purple,
all the work of skilled artisans.
¹⁰ But Yahweh is the true God;^(m)
He is the living God⁽ⁿ⁾ and eternal King.^(o)
The earth quakes at His wrath,^(p)
and the nations cannot endure His rage.

¹¹ You are to say this to them, "The gods that did not make the heavens^(q) and the earth will perish from the earth^(r) and from under these heavens."^[c]

¹² He made the earth by His power,
established the world^(s) by His wisdom,^(t)
and spread out the heavens by His understanding.^(u)
¹³ When He thunders,^[d]
the waters in the heavens are in turmoil,^(v)
and He causes the clouds to rise
from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from His storehouses.^(w)

¹⁴ Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith is put to shame
by his carved image,^(x)
for his cast images are a lie;^(y)
there is no breath in them.^(z)
¹⁵ They are worthless, a work to be mocked.
At the time of their punishment
they will be destroyed.^(aa)
¹⁶ Jacob's Portion^[e] is not like these
because He is the One who formed all things.^(ab)
Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;^(ac)
Yahweh of Hosts is His name.^(ad)

Exile After the Siege

¹⁷ Gather up your belongings^[f] from the ground,^(ae)
you who live under siege.

¹⁸ For this is what the Lord says:

Look, I am slinging out^(af)
the land's residents at this time
and bringing them such distress
that they will feel it.

Jeremiah Grieves

¹⁹ Woe to me because of my brokenness—
I am severely wounded!^(ag)
I exclaimed, "This is my intense suffering,
but I must bear it."
²⁰ My tent is destroyed;^(ah)
all my tent cords are snapped.
My sons have departed from me and are no more.
I have no one to pitch my tent again
or to hang up my curtains.
²¹ For the shepherds are stupid:
they don't seek the Lord .^(ai)
Therefore they have not prospered,
and their whole flock is scattered.
²² Listen! A noise—it is coming—
a great commotion^(aj) from the land to the north.
The cities of Judah will be made desolate,
a jackals' den.^(ak)

²³ I know, Lord ,
that a man's way of life is not his own;
no one who walks determines his own steps.^(al)
²⁴ Discipline me, Lord , but with justice—
not in Your anger,^(am)
or You will reduce me to nothing.
²⁵ Pour out Your wrath on the nations
that don't recognize You
and on the families
that don't call on Your name,
for they have consumed Jacob;
they have consumed him and finished him off
and made his homeland desolate.^(an)

Reminder of the Covenant

¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord : ² "Listen to the words of this covenant^(a) and tell them to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem. ³ You must tell them: This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: ‘Let a curse be on the man who does not obey the words of this covenant,^(b) ⁴ which I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt,^(c) out of the iron furnace.'^(d) I declared: ‘Obey Me, and do everything that I command you, and you will be My people, and I will be your God,'^(e) ⁵ in order to establish the oath I swore to your ancestors,^(f) to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is today."

I answered, "Amen, Lord ."^(g)

⁶ The Lord said to me, "Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Obey the words of this covenant and carry them out. ⁷ For I strongly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt until today, warning them time and time again,^[a]^(h) ‘Obey My voice.' ⁸ Yet they would not obey or pay attention; each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart.⁽ⁱ⁾ So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant, because they had not done what I commanded them to do."

⁹ The Lord said to me, "A conspiracy has been discovered among the men of Judah^(j) and the residents of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ They have returned to the sins of their ancestors^(k) who refused to obey My words and have followed other gods to worship them.^(l) The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke My covenant I made with their ancestors.

¹¹ "Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am about to bring on them disaster that they cannot escape.^(m) They will cry out to Me, but I will not hear them. ¹² Then the cities of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods they have been burning incense to, but they certainly will not save them in their time of disaster.⁽ⁿ⁾ ¹³ Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, Judah,^(o) and the altars you have set up to Shame^[b]^(p)—altars to burn incense to Baal—as numerous as the streets of Jerusalem.

¹⁴ "As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf,^(q) for I will not be listening when they call out to Me at the time of their disaster.

¹⁵ What right does My beloved have
to be in My house,^(r)
having carried out so many evil schemes?
Can holy meat^[c]^(s) prevent your disaster^[d]
so you can rejoice?
¹⁶ The Lord named you
a flourishing olive tree,^(t)
beautiful with well-formed fruit.
He has set fire to it,
and its branches are consumed^[e]^(u)
with a great roaring sound.^(v)

¹⁷ "The Lord of Hosts who planted you^(w) has decreed disaster against you, because of the harm the house of Israel and the house of Judah brought on themselves, provoking Me to anger by burning incense to Baal."

¹⁸ The Lord informed me, so I knew.
Then You helped me to see their deeds,
¹⁹ for I was like a docile^[f] lamb led to slaughter.^(x)
I didn't know that they had devised plots against me:
"Let's destroy the tree with its fruit;^[g]
let's cut him off from the land of the living^(y)
so that his name will no longer be remembered."
²⁰ But, Lord of Hosts, who judges righteously,
who tests^(z) heart^[h] and mind,^(aa)
let me see Your vengeance on them,
for I have presented my case to You.^(ab)

²¹ Therefore, here is what the Lord says concerning the people of Anathoth^(ac) who want to take your life. They warn, "You must not prophesy in the name of Yahweh, or you will certainly die at our hand." ²² Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says: "I am about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword; their sons and daughters will die by famine.^(ad) ²³ They will have no remnant, for I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth^(ae) in the year of their punishment."

Jeremiah's Complaint

¹ You will be righteous, Lord ,^(a)
even if I bring a case against You.
Yet, I wish to contend with You:^(b)
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?^(c)
Why do all the treacherous live at ease?
² You planted them,^(d) and they have taken root.
They have grown and produced fruit.
You are ever on their lips,^[a]
but far from their conscience.^[b]^(e)
³ As for You, Lord , You know me; You see me.^(f)
You test whether my heart is with You.^(g)
Drag the wicked away like sheep to slaughter^(h)
and set them apart for the day of killing.
⁴ How long will the land mourn⁽ⁱ⁾
and the grass of every field wither?
Because of the evil of its residents,
animals and birds have been swept away,
for the people have said,
"He cannot see what our end will be."^[c]^(j)

The Lord's Response

⁵ If you have raced with runners
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble^[d] in a peaceful land,
what will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?^(k)
⁶ Even your brothers—your own father's household—
even they were treacherous to you;^(l)
even they have cried out loudly after you.^(m)
Do not have confidence in them,
though they speak well of you.

⁷ I have abandoned My house;⁽ⁿ⁾
I have deserted My inheritance.
I have given the love of My life
into the hands of her enemies.
⁸ My inheritance has acted toward Me
like a lion in the forest.
She has roared against Me.
Therefore, I hate her.^(o)
⁹ Is My inheritance like a hyena^[e] to Me?
Are birds of prey circling her?
Go, gather all the wild animals;^(p)
bring them to devour her.
¹⁰ Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard;
they have trampled My plot of land.^(q)
They have turned My desirable plot
into a desolate wasteland.
¹¹ They have made it a desolation.
It mourns, desolate, before Me.
All the land is desolate,
but no one takes it to heart.^(r)
¹² Over all the barren heights in the wilderness
the destroyers have come,
for the Lord has a sword that devours
from one end of the earth to the other.
No one has peace.^(s)
¹³ They have sown wheat but harvested thorns.^(t)
They have exhausted themselves but have no profit.^(u)
Be put to shame by your harvests
because of the Lord 's burning anger.^(v)

¹⁴ This is what the Lord says: "Concerning all My evil neighbors who attack the inheritance that I bequeathed to My people, Israel, I am about to uproot them^(w) from their land, and I will uproot the house of Judah from them. ¹⁵ After I have uprooted them, I will once again have compassion^(x) on them and return each one to his inheritance and to his land. ¹⁶ If they will diligently learn the ways of My people^(y)—to swear by My name, ‘As Yahweh lives,' just as they taught My people to swear by Baal—they will be built up among My people. ¹⁷ However, if they will not obey, then I will uproot and destroy that nation."^(z)

This is the Lord 's declaration.

Linen Underwear

¹ This is what the Lord said to me: "Go and buy yourself a linen undergarment^(a) and put it on,^[a] but do not put it in water." ² So I bought underwear as the Lord instructed me and put it on.

³ Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: ⁴ "Take the underwear that you bought and are wearing,^[b] and go at once to the Euphrates^[c] and hide it in a rocky crevice."^(b) ⁵ So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.

⁶ A long time later the Lord said to me, "Go at once to the Euphrates and get the underwear that I commanded you to hide there." ⁷ So I went to the Euphrates and dug up the underwear and got it from the place where I had hidden it, but it was ruined—of no use at all.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁹ "This is what the Lord says: Just like this I will ruin the great pride of both Judah and Jerusalem.^(c) ¹⁰ These evil people, who refuse to listen to Me, who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts,^(d) and who have followed other gods to serve and worship—they will be like this underwear, of no use at all. ¹¹ Just as underwear clings to one's waist, so I fastened the whole house of Israel and of Judah to Me"^(e)—this is the Lord 's declaration—"so that they might be My people for My fame, praise, and glory,^(f) but they would not obey.

The Wine Jars

¹² "Say this to them: This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: Every jar should be filled with wine. Then they will respond to you, ‘Don't we know that every jar should be filled with wine?' ¹³ And you will say to them: This is what the Lord says: I am about to fill all who live in this land—the kings who reign for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets and all the residents of Jerusalem—with drunkenness. ¹⁴ I will smash them against each other, fathers and sons alike"—this is the Lord 's declaration. "I will allow no mercy, pity, or compassion to keep Me from destroying them."^(g)

The Lord's Warning

¹⁵ Listen and pay attention. Do not be proud,
for the Lord has spoken.
¹⁶ Give glory to the Lord your God^(h)
before He brings darkness,
before your feet stumble
on the mountains at dusk.
You wait for light,
but He brings darkest gloom^[d]
and makes thick darkness.
¹⁷ But if you will not listen,
my innermost being will weep in secret
because of your pride.
My eyes will overflow with tears,
for the Lord 's flock⁽ⁱ⁾ has been taken captive.

¹⁸ Say to the king and the queen mother:^(j)
Take a humble seat,
for your glorious crowns
have fallen from your heads.
¹⁹ The cities of the Negev are under siege;
no one can help them.
All of Judah has been taken into exile,
taken completely into exile.
²⁰ Look up and see
those coming from the north.^(k)
Where is the flock entrusted to you,
the sheep that were your pride?

The Destiny of Jerusalem

²¹ What will you say when He appoints
close friends as leaders over you,
ones you yourself trained?
Won't labor pains seize you,^(l)
as they do a woman in labor?
²² And when you ask yourself,
"Why have these things happened to me?"
It is because of your great guilt^(m)
that your skirts have been stripped off,⁽ⁿ⁾
your body exposed.^[e]
²³ Can the Cushite change his skin,
or a leopard his spots?
If so, you might be able to do what is good,^(o)
you who are instructed in evil.
²⁴ I will scatter you^[f] like drifting chaff^(p)
before the desert wind.
²⁵ This is your lot,
what I have decreed for you—
this is the Lord 's declaration—
because you have forgotten Me
and trusted in Falsehood.^[g]^(q)
²⁶ I will pull your skirts up over your face
so that your shame might be seen.^(r)
²⁷ Your adulteries and your lustful neighing,^(s)
your heinous prostitution
on the hills, in the fields—
I have seen your detestable acts.
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
You are unclean—
for how long yet?^(t)

The Drought

¹ The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:^(a)

² Judah mourns;
her gates languish.^(b)
Her people are on the ground in mourning;
Jerusalem's cry rises up.^(c)
³ Their nobles send their servants^[a] for water.
They go to the cisterns;
they find no water;
their containers return empty.
They are ashamed and humiliated;
they cover their heads.^(d)
⁴ The ground is cracked
since no rain has fallen on the land.
The farmers are ashamed;^(e)
they cover their heads.
⁵ Even the doe in the field
gives birth and abandons her fawn
since there is no grass.
⁶ Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights^(f)
panting for air like jackals.
Their eyes fail
because there are no green plants.
⁷ Though our guilt testifies against us,
Yahweh, act for Your name's sake.
Indeed, our rebellions^(g) are many;
we have sinned against You.
⁸ Hope of Israel,^(h)
its Savior in time of distress,
why are You like a foreigner in the land,
like a traveler stopping only for the night?
⁹ Why are You like a helpless man,
like a warrior unable to save?⁽ⁱ⁾
Yet You are among us, Yahweh,^(j)
and we are called by Your name.
Don't leave us!

¹⁰ This is what the Lord says concerning these people:

Truly they love to wander;^(k)
they never rest their feet.
So the Lord does not accept them.
Now He will remember their guilt
and punish their sins.^(l)

False Prophets to be Punished

¹¹ Then the Lord said to me, "Do not pray for the well-being of these people.^(m) ¹² If they fast, I will not hear their cry of despair. If they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. Rather, I will finish them off by sword, famine, and plague."⁽ⁿ⁾

¹³ And I replied, "Oh no, Lord God ! The prophets are telling them, ‘You won't see sword or suffer famine. I will certainly give you true peace in this place.'"^(o)

¹⁴ But the Lord said to me, "These prophets are prophesying a lie in My name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, the deceit^(p) of their own minds.

¹⁵ "Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, though I did not send them, and who say, ‘There will never be sword or famine in this land.' By sword and famine these prophets will meet their end. ¹⁶ The people they are prophesying to will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. There will be no one to bury them^(q)—they, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. I will pour out their own evil on them."

Jeremiah's Request

¹⁷ You are to speak this word to them:
Let my eyes overflow with tears;
day and night may they not stop,^(r)
for the virgin daughter of my people
has been destroyed by a great disaster,^(s)
an extremely severe wound.^(t)
¹⁸ If I go out to the field,
look—those slain by the sword!
If I enter the city,
look—those ill^(u) from famine!
For both prophet and priest
travel to a land they do not know.

¹⁹ Have You completely rejected Judah?
Do You detest^(v) Zion?
Why do You strike us
with no hope of healing for us?
We hoped for peace,
but there was nothing good;
for a time of healing,
but there was only terror.^(w)
²⁰ We acknowledge our wickedness, Lord ,
the guilt of our fathers;^(x)
indeed, we have sinned against You.
²¹ Because of Your name, don't despise us.
Don't disdain Your glorious throne.^(y)
Remember Your covenant^(z) with us;
do not break it.
²² Can any of the worthless idols of the nations^(aa) bring rain?
Or can the skies alone give showers?
Are You not the Lord our God?
We therefore put our hope in You,^(ab)
for You have done all these things.

The Lord's Negative Response

¹ Then the Lord said to me: "Even if^(a) Moses and^(b) Samuel should^(c) stand before Me,^(d) My compassions would not reach out to these people. Send them from My presence, and let them go. ² If they ask you, ‘Where will we go?' you must tell them: This is what the Lord says:

Those destined for death,^(e) to death;
those destined for the sword, to the sword.
Those destined for famine, to famine;
those destined for captivity, to captivity.

³ "I will ordain four kinds^[a] of judgment for them"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away,^(f) and the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land^(g) to devour and destroy. ⁴ I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh^(h) son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

⁵ Who will have pity on you, Jerusalem?⁽ⁱ⁾
Who will show sympathy toward you?^(j)
Who will turn aside
to ask about your welfare?
⁶ You have left Me.
This is the Lord 's declaration.
You have turned your back,
so I have stretched out My hand against you
and destroyed you.
I am tired of showing compassion.
⁷ I scattered them with a winnowing fork
at the gates of the land.
I made them childless; I destroyed My people.
They would not turn from their ways.^(k)
⁸ I made their widows more numerous
than the sand of the seas.^(l)
I brought a destroyer at noon
against the mother of young men.
I suddenly released on her
agitation and terrors.
⁹ The mother of seven grew faint;^(m)
she breathed her last breath.
Her sun set while it was still day;
she was ashamed and humiliated.
The rest of them I will give over to the sword
in the presence of their enemies."
This is the Lord 's declaration.

Jeremiah's Complaint

¹⁰ Woe is me, my mother,
that you gave birth to me,⁽ⁿ⁾
a man who incites dispute and conflict
in all the land.
I did not lend or borrow,
yet everyone curses me.^(o)

The Lord's Response

¹¹ The Lord said:

I will certainly set you free and care for you.^[b]
I will certainly intercede for you
in a time of trouble,
in your time of distress, with the enemy.
¹² Can anyone smash iron,
iron from the north, or bronze?
¹³ I will give up your wealth
and your treasures as plunder,
without cost,^(p) for all your sins
in all your borders.
¹⁴ Then I will make you serve your enemies^[c]
in a land you do not know,
for My anger will kindle a fire
that will burn against you.^(q)

Jeremiah's Prayer for Vengeance

¹⁵ You know,^(r) Lord ;
remember me and take note of me.
Avenge me against my persecutors.^(s)
In Your patience,^[d] don't take me away.
Know that I suffer disgrace for Your honor.^(t)
¹⁶ Your words were found, and I ate them.^(u)
Your words became a delight to me
and the joy of my heart,
for I am called by Your name,^(v)
Yahweh God of Hosts.
¹⁷ I never sat with the band of revelers,
and I did not celebrate with them.
Because Your hand was on me, I sat alone,^(w)
for You filled me with indignation.
¹⁸ Why has my pain become unending,
my wound incurable,^(x)
refusing to be healed?
You truly have become like a mirage to me—
water that is not reliable.

Jeremiah Told to Repent

¹⁹ Therefore, this is what the Lord says:

If you return, I will restore you;
you will stand in My presence.
And if you speak noble words,
rather than worthless ones,
you will be My spokesman.^(y)
It is they who must return to you;
you must not return to them.
²⁰ Then I will make you a fortified wall of bronze
to this people.
They will fight against you
but will not overcome you,
for I am with you
to save you and deliver you.^(z)
This is the Lord 's declaration.
²¹ I will deliver you from the power of evil people
and redeem you from the control of the ruthless.

No Marriage for Jeremiah

¹ The word of the Lord came to me: ² "You must not marry or have sons or daughters in this place. ³ For this is what the Lord says concerning sons and daughters born in this place as well as concerning the mothers who bear them and the fathers who father them in this land: ⁴ They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like manure on the face of the earth.^(a) They will be finished off by sword and famine. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.^(b)

⁵ "For this is what the Lord says: Don't enter a house where a mourning feast is taking place.^[a] Don't go to lament or sympathize with them, for I have removed My peace from these people"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"as well as My faithful love and compassion.^(c) ⁶ Both great and small will die in this land without burial. No lament will be made for them, nor will anyone cut himself or^(d) shave his head for them.^[b] ⁷ Food won't be provided for the mourner^(e) to comfort him because of the dead. A cup of consolation won't be given him because of the loss of his father or mother. ⁸ You must not enter the house where feasting is taking place to sit with them to eat and drink. ⁹ For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am about to eliminate from this place, before your very eyes and in your time, the sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the groom and the bride.^(f)

Abandoning the Lord and His Law

¹⁰ "When you tell these people all these things, they will say to you, ‘Why has the Lord declared all this great disaster against us?^(g) What is our guilt? What is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?' ¹¹ Then you will answer them: Because your fathers abandoned Me"^(h)—this is the Lord 's declaration—"and followed other gods, served them, and worshiped them.⁽ⁱ⁾ Indeed, they abandoned Me and did not keep My instruction. ¹² You did more evil than your fathers.^(j) Look, each one of you was following the stubbornness of his evil heart, not obeying Me. ¹³ So I will hurl you from this land into a land that you and your fathers are not familiar with.^(k) There you will worship other gods^(l) both day and night, for I will not grant you grace.^[c]

¹⁴ "However, take note! The days are coming"—the Lord 's declaration—"when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought the Israelites from the land of Egypt,'^(m) ¹⁵ but rather, ‘As the Lord lives who brought the Israelites from the land of the north⁽ⁿ⁾ and from all the other lands where He had banished them.' For I will return them to their land that I gave to their ancestors.^(o)

Punishment of Exile

¹⁶ "I am about to send for many fishermen"^(p)—this is the Lord 's declaration—"and they will fish for them. Then I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and out of the clefts of the rocks, ¹⁷ for My gaze takes in all their ways.^(q) They are not concealed from Me, and their guilt is not hidden from My sight. ¹⁸ I will first repay them double for their guilt^(r) and sin because they have polluted My land. They have filled My inheritance with the lifelessness of their detestable and abhorrent idols."

¹⁹ Lord , my strength and my stronghold,
my refuge in a time of distress,^(s)
the nations will come to You
from the ends of the earth, and they will say,
"Our fathers inherited only lies,
worthless idols^(t) of no benefit at all."
²⁰ Can one make gods for himself?
But they are not gods.^(u)
²¹ "Therefore, I am about to inform them,
and this time I will make them know
My power and My might;
then they will know that My name is Yahweh."^(v)

The Persistent Sin of Judah

¹ The sin of Judah is written
with an iron stylus.^(a)
With a diamond point
it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts^(b)
and on the horns of their^[a] altars,
² while their children remember their altars
and their Asherah poles, by the green trees
on the high hills—
³ My mountains in the countryside.
I will give up your wealth
and all your treasures as plunder
because of the sin of your high places^[b]
in all your borders.^(c)
⁴ You will, on your own, relinquish your inheritance
that I gave you.
I will make you serve your enemies
in a land you do not know,^(d)
for you have set My anger on fire;^(e)
it will burn forever.

Curse and Blessing

⁵ This is what the Lord says:

The man who trusts in mankind,^(f)
who makes human flesh his strength^(g)
and turns his heart from the Lord is cursed.
⁶ He will be like a juniper in the Arabah;^(h)
he cannot see when good comes
but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness,
in a salt land where no one lives.⁽ⁱ⁾
⁷ The man who trusts in the Lord ,
whose confidence indeed is the Lord , is blessed.^(j)
⁸ He will be like a tree planted by water:^(k)
it sends its roots out toward a stream,
it doesn't fear when heat comes,
and its foliage remains green.
It will not worry in a year of drought
or cease producing fruit.

The Deceitful Heart

⁹ The heart is more deceitful than anything else,
and incurable—who can understand it?^(l)
¹⁰ I, Yahweh, examine the mind,
I test the heart^[c]^(m)
to give to each according to his way,
according to what his actions deserve.⁽ⁿ⁾
¹¹ He who makes a fortune unjustly
is like a partridge that hatches eggs it didn't lay.
In the middle of his days
his riches will abandon him,
so in the end he will be a fool.^(o)

¹² A throne of glory^(p)
on high^(q) from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.^(r)
¹³ Lord , the hope of Israel,^(s)
all who abandon You
will be put to shame.
All who turn away from Me
will be written in the dirt,
for they have abandoned
the Lord , the fountain of living water.^(t)

Jeremiah's Plea

¹⁴ Heal me, Lord , and I will be healed;
save me, and I will be saved,
for You are my praise.^(u)
¹⁵ Hear how they keep challenging me,^(v)
"Where is the word of the Lord ?
Let it come!"
¹⁶ But I have not run away from being Your shepherd,
and I have not longed for the fatal day.
You know my words were spoken in Your presence.
¹⁷ Don't become a terror to me.
You are my refuge^(w) in the day of disaster.
¹⁸ Let my persecutors be put to shame,^(x)
but don't let me be put to shame.
Let them be terrified, but don't let me be terrified.
Bring on them the day of disaster;^(y)
shatter them with total^[d] destruction.

Observing the Sabbath

¹⁹ This is what the Lord said to me, "Go and stand at the People's Gate, through which the kings of Judah enter and leave, as well as at all the gates of Jerusalem. ²⁰ Announce to them: Hear the word of the Lord , kings of Judah, all Judah, and all the residents of Jerusalem who enter through these gates. ²¹ This is what the Lord says: Watch yourselves; do not pick up a load and bring it in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.^(z) ²² You must not carry a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day or do any work,^(aa) but you must consecrate the Sabbath day, just as I commanded your ancestors.^(ab) ²³ They wouldn't listen or pay attention but became obstinate,^(ac) not listening or accepting discipline.

²⁴ "However, if you listen to Me, says the Lord , and do not bring loads through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day and consecrate the Sabbath day and do no work on it, ²⁵ kings and princes will enter through the gates of this city. They will sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses^(ad) with their officials, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem. This city will be inhabited forever. ²⁶ Then people will come from the cities of Judah and from the area around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the Judean foothills, from the hill country and from the Negev^(ae) bringing burnt offerings and sacrifice, grain offerings and frankincense, and thank offerings to the house of the Lord . ²⁷ If you do not listen to Me to consecrate the Sabbath day by not carrying a load while entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, I will set fire to its gates,^(af) and it will consume the citadels^(ag) of Jerusalem^(ah) and not be extinguished."^(ai)

Parable of the Potter

¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord : ² "Go down at once to the potter's house;^(a) there I will reveal My words to you." ³ So I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, working away at the wheel.^[a] ⁴ But the jar that he was making from the clay became flawed in the potter's hand, so he made it into another jar, as it seemed right for him to do.^(b)

⁵ The word of the Lord came to me: ⁶ "House of Israel, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay?"—this is the Lord 's declaration. "Just like clay in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, house of Israel.^(c) ⁷ At one moment I might announce concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will uproot, tear down, and destroy it.^(d) ⁸ However, if that nation I have made an announcement about turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the disaster I had planned to do to it.^(e) ⁹ At another time I announce that I will build and plant a nation or a kingdom.^(f) ¹⁰ However, if it does what is evil in My sight by not listening to My voice, I will relent concerning the good I had said I would do to it.^(g) ¹¹ So now, say to the men of Judah and to the residents of Jerusalem: This is what the Lord says: I am about to bring harm to you and make plans against you. Turn now, each from your evil way, and correct your ways and your deeds.^(h) ¹² But they will say, ‘It's hopeless.⁽ⁱ⁾ We will continue to follow our plans, and each of us will continue to act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.'"

Deluded Israel

¹³ Therefore, this is what the Lord says:

Ask among the nations,
Who has heard things like these?
Virgin Israel has done a most terrible thing.^(j)
¹⁴ Does the snow of Lebanon ever leave the highland crags?
Or does cold water flowing from a distance ever fail?
¹⁵ Yet My people have forgotten Me.^(k)
They burn incense to false idols
that make them stumble in their ways
on the ancient roads^(l)
and walk on new paths, not the highway.
¹⁶ They have made their land a horror,^(m)
a perpetual object of scorn;^[b]⁽ⁿ⁾
everyone who passes by it will be horrified^(o)
and shake his head.^(p)
¹⁷ I will scatter them before the enemy like the east wind.^(q)
I will show them^[c] My back and not My face
on the day of their calamity.

Plot against Jeremiah

¹⁸ Then certain ones said, "Come, let's make plans against Jeremiah,^(r) for instruction will never be lost from the priest,^(s) or counsel from the wise, or an oracle from the prophet.^(t) Come, let's denounce him^[d] and pay no attention to all his words."

¹⁹ Pay attention to me, Lord .
Hear what my opponents are saying!^(u)
²⁰ Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet they have dug a pit for me.^(v)
Remember how I stood before You
to speak good on their behalf,
to turn Your anger from them.
²¹ Therefore, hand their children over to famine,^(w)
and pour the sword's power on them.
Let their wives become childless and widowed,
their husbands slain by deadly disease,^[e]
their young men struck down by the sword in battle.
²² Let a cry be heard from their houses
when You suddenly bring raiders against them,
for they have dug a pit to capture me
and have hidden snares for my feet.^(x)
²³ But You, Lord , know
all their deadly plots against me.
Do not wipe out their guilt;^(y)
do not blot out their sin before You.
Let them be forced to stumble before You;
deal with them in the time of Your anger.

The Clay Jar

¹ This is what the Lord says: "Go, buy a potter's clay^(a) jar. Take^[a] some of the elders of the people and some of the leading priests^(b) ² and go out to the Valley of Hinnom^(c) near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there the words I speak to you. ³ Say: Hear the word of the Lord , kings of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.^(d) This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on this place that everyone who hears about it will shudder^[b]^(e) ⁴ because they have abandoned Me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in it to other gods that they, their fathers, and the kings of Judah have never known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.^(f) ⁵ They have built high places to Baal on which to burn their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, something I have never commanded or mentioned; I never entertained the thought.^[c]^(g)

⁶ "Therefore, take note! The days are coming"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.^(h) ⁷ I will spoil the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hand of those who want to take their life. I will provide their corpses as food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.⁽ⁱ⁾ ⁸ I will make this city desolate, an object of scorn. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and scoff because of all its wounds.^(j) ⁹ I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and they will eat each other's flesh in the siege and distress that their enemies, those who want to take their life, inflict on them.^(k)

¹⁰ "Then you are to shatter the jar in the presence of the people traveling with you, ¹¹ and you are to proclaim to them: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: I will shatter these people and this city, like one shatters a potter's jar that can never again be mended. They will bury the dead in Topheth because there is no other place for burials.^(l) ¹² I will do so to this place"—this is the declaration of the Lord —"and to its residents, making this city like Topheth. ¹³ The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will become impure like that place Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they have burned incense to the whole heavenly host^(m) and poured out drink offerings to other gods."

¹⁴ Jeremiah came back from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, stood in the courtyard of the Lord 's temple,⁽ⁿ⁾ and proclaimed to all the people, ¹⁵ "This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to bring on this city—and on all its dependent villages—all the disaster that I spoke against it, for they have become obstinate, not obeying My words.'"^(o)

Jeremiah Beaten by Pashhur

¹ Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer^(a) and chief official in the temple of the Lord , heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. ² So Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put him in the stocks at the Upper Benjamin Gate in the Lord 's temple. ³ The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, "The Lord does not call you Pashhur, but Magor-missabib,^[a] ⁴ for this is what the Lord says, ‘I am about to make you a terror to both yourself and those you love.^(b) They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes. I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will deport them to Babylon and put them to the sword. ⁵ I will give away all the wealth of this city, all its products^(c) and valuables. Indeed, I will hand all the treasures of the kings of Judah over to their enemies. They will plunder them, seize them, and carry them off to Babylon. ⁶ As for you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, you will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon. There you will die, and there you will be buried, you and all your friends that you prophesied falsely^(d) to.'"

Jeremiah Compelled to Preach

⁷ You deceived me, Lord , and I was deceived.
You seized me and prevailed.
I am a laughingstock all the time;^(e)
everyone ridicules me.
⁸ For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I proclaim, "Violence and destruction!"^(f)
because the word of the Lord has become for me
constant disgrace and derision.
⁹ If I say, "I won't mention Him
or speak any longer in His name,"
His message becomes a fire burning in my heart,^(g)
shut up in my bones.
I become tired of holding it in,
and I cannot prevail.
¹⁰ For I have heard the gossip of many people,
"Terror is on every side!^[b]^(h)
Report him; let's report him!"
Everyone I trusted^[c] watches for my fall.⁽ⁱ⁾
"Perhaps he will be deceived
so that we might prevail against him
and take our vengeance on him."
¹¹ But the Lord is with me like a violent warrior.^(j)
Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly shamed,
an everlasting humiliation that will never be forgotten.
¹² Lord of Hosts, testing the righteous
and seeing the heart^[d] and mind,
let me see Your vengeance on them,
for I have presented my case to You.^(k)
¹³ Sing to the Lord !
Praise the Lord ,
for He rescues the life of the needy
from the hand of evil people.

Jeremiah's Lament

¹⁴ May the day I was born
be cursed.^(l)
May the day my mother bore me
never be blessed.
¹⁵ May the man be cursed
who brought the news to my father, saying,
"A male child is born to you,"
bringing him great joy.
¹⁶ Let that man be like the cities
the Lord demolished without compassion.^(m)
Let him hear an outcry in the morning⁽ⁿ⁾
and a war cry at noontime
¹⁷ because he didn't kill me in the womb^(o)
so that my mother might have been my grave,
her womb eternally pregnant.
¹⁸ Why did I come out of the womb
to see only struggle and sorrow,^(p)
to end my life in shame?

Zedekiah's Request Denied

¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur^(a) son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah^(b) son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah, asking, ² "Ask the Lord on our behalf, since Nebuchadnezzar^[a]^(c) king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will perform for us something like all His past wonderful works so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us."

³ But Jeremiah answered, "This is what you are to say to Zedekiah: ⁴ ‘This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: I will repel the weapons of war in your hands,^(d) those you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans^[b] who are besieging you outside the wall, and I will bring them into the center of this city.^(e) ⁵ I will fight against you^(f) with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm,^(g) with anger, rage, and great wrath. ⁶ I will strike the residents of this city, both man and beast. They will die in a great plague. ⁷ Afterward'"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"‘King Zedekiah of Judah, his officers, and the people—those in this city who survive the plague, the sword, and the famine—I will hand over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,^(h) to their enemies, yes, to those who want to take their lives. He will put them to the sword; he won't spare them or show pity or compassion.'⁽ⁱ⁾

A Warning for the People

⁸ "But you must say to this people, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look, I am presenting to you the way of life and the way of death.^(j) ⁹ Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live and will retain his life like the spoils of war.^(k) ¹⁰ For I have turned^[c] against this city to bring disaster^(l) and not good'"—this is the Lord 's declaration. "‘It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, who will burn it down.'^(m)

¹¹ "And to the house of the king of Judah say this: ‘Hear the word of the Lord ! ¹² House of David, this is what the Lord says:

Administer justice every morning,
and rescue the victim of robbery
from the hand of his oppressor,⁽ⁿ⁾
or My anger will flare up like fire
and burn unquenchably
because of their evil deeds.
¹³ Beware! I am against you,^(o)
you who sit above the valley,
you atop the rocky plateau—
this is the Lord 's declaration—
you who say, "Who can come down against us?^(p)
Who can enter our hiding places?"
¹⁴ I will punish you according to what you have done^(q)—
this is the Lord 's declaration.
I will kindle a fire in its forest^(r)
that will consume everything around it.'"^(s)

Judgment against Sinful Kings

¹ This is what the Lord says: "Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and announce this word there. ² You are to say: Hear the word of the Lord , king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David—you, your officers, and your people who enter these gates. ³ This is what the Lord says: Administer justice and righteousness.^(a) Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor.^(b) Don't exploit or brutalize the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Don't shed innocent blood in this place. ⁴ For if you conscientiously carry out this word, then kings sitting on David's throne will enter through the gates of this palace^(c) riding on chariots and horses—they, their officers, and their people. ⁵ But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"that this house will become a ruin."^(d)

⁶ For this is what the Lord says concerning the house of the king of Judah:

You are like Gilead to Me,
or the summit of Lebanon,
but I will certainly turn you into a wilderness,
uninhabited cities.
⁷ I will appoint destroyers against you,
each with his weapons.
They will cut down the choicest of your cedars
and throw them into the fire.

⁸ "Many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why did the Lord do such a thing to this great city?' ⁹ They will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant^(e) of Yahweh their God and worshiped and served other gods.'"^(f)

A Message Concerning Shallum

¹⁰ Do not weep for the dead;
do not mourn for him.
Weep bitterly for the one^[a] who has gone away,
for he will never return again
and see his native land.

¹¹ For this is what the Lord says concerning Shallum^(g) son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in place of his father Josiah: "He has left this place—he will never return here again, ¹² but he will die in the place where they deported him, never seeing this land again."

A Message concerning Jehoiakim

¹³ Woe for the one who builds his palace
through unrighteousness,^(h)
his upper rooms through injustice,
who makes his fellow man serve without pay
and will not give him his wages,⁽ⁱ⁾
¹⁴ who says, "I will build myself a massive palace,
with spacious upper rooms."
He will cut windows^[b] in it,
and it will be paneled with cedar
and painted with vermilion.
¹⁵ Are you a king because you excel in cedar?
Didn't your father eat and drink
and administer justice and righteousness?^(j)
Then it went well with him.
¹⁶ He took up the case of the poor and needy,
then it went well.
Is this not what it means to know Me?
This is the Lord 's declaration.
¹⁷ But you have eyes and a heart for nothing
except your own dishonest profit,
shedding innocent blood
and committing extortion and oppression.

¹⁸ Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim^(k) son of Josiah, king of Judah:

They will not mourn for him, saying,
"Woe, my brother!" or "Woe, my sister!"
They will not mourn for him, saying,
"Woe, lord! Woe, his majesty!"
¹⁹ He will be buried like a donkey,^(l)
dragged off and thrown
outside the gates of Jerusalem.
²⁰ Go up to Lebanon and cry out;
raise your voice in Bashan;
cry out from Abarim,^(m)
for all your lovers^[c] have been crushed.⁽ⁿ⁾
²¹ I spoke to you when you were secure.
You said, "I will not listen."
This has been your way since youth;^(o)
indeed, you have never listened to Me.
²² The wind will take charge of^[d] all your shepherds,
and your lovers^[e] will go into captivity.
Then you will be ashamed and humiliated^(p)
because of all your evil.
²³ You residents of Lebanon,
nestled among the cedars,
how you will groan^[f] when labor pains come on you,
agony like a woman in labor.^(q)

A Message concerning Coniah

²⁴ "As I live," says the Lord , "though you, Coniah^[g]^(r) son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, were a signet ring^(s) on My right hand, I would tear you from it. ²⁵ In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread,^(t) who want to take your life, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Chaldeans. ²⁶ I will hurl you and the mother who gave birth^(u) to you into another land,^(v) where neither of you were born, and there you will both die. ²⁷ They will never return to the land they long to return to."

²⁸ Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered pot,^(w)
a jar no one wants?
Why are he and his descendants hurled out
and cast into a land they have not known?
²⁹ Earth, earth, earth,
hear the word of the Lord !

³⁰ This is what the Lord says:

Record this man as childless,^(x)
a man who will not be successful in his lifetime.
None of his descendants will succeed
in sitting on the throne of David^(y)
or ruling again in Judah.

The Lord and His Sheep

¹ "Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!"^(a) This is the Lord 's declaration. ² "Therefore, this is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who shepherd My people: You have scattered My flock, banished them, and have not attended to them.^(b) I will attend to you because of your evil acts"—this is the Lord 's declaration. ³ "I will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands where I have banished them, and I will return them to their grazing land. They will become fruitful and numerous.^(c) ⁴ I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them.^(d) They will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any be missing." This is the Lord 's declaration.

The Righteous Branch of David

⁵ "The days are coming"^(e)—this is the Lord 's declaration—
"when I will raise up a Righteous Branch of David.^(f)
He will reign wisely as king
and administer justice and righteousness in the land.^(g)
⁶ In His days Judah will be saved,
and Israel will dwell securely.^(h)
This is what He will be named:
Yahweh Our Righteousness.⁽ⁱ⁾

⁷ "The days are coming"—the Lord 's declaration—"when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought the Israelites from the land of Egypt,'^(j) ⁸ but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other countries where I^[a] had banished them.' They will dwell once more in their own land."^(k)

False Prophets Condemned

⁹ Concerning the prophets:

My heart is broken within me,^(l)
and all my bones tremble.
I have become like a drunkard,
like a man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord ,
because of His holy words.
¹⁰ For the land is full of adulterers;^(m)
the land mourns because of the curse,
and the grazing lands in the wilderness have dried up.
Their way of life^[b] has become evil,
and their power is not rightly used
¹¹ because both prophet and priest are ungodly,⁽ⁿ⁾
even in My house I have found their evil.
This is the Lord 's declaration.
¹² Therefore, their way will be to them
like slippery paths in the gloom.^(o)
They will be driven away and fall down there,
for I will bring disaster on them,
the year of their punishment.
This is the Lord 's declaration.

¹³ Among the prophets of Samaria
I saw something disgusting:
They prophesied by^[c] Baal
and led My people Israel astray.^(p)
¹⁴ Among the prophets of Jerusalem also
I saw a horrible thing:
They commit adultery and walk in lies.
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
and none turns his back on evil.
They are all like Sodom^(q) to Me;
Jerusalem's residents are like Gomorrah.

¹⁵ Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says concerning the prophets:

I am about to feed them wormwood
and give them poisoned water to drink,^(r)
for from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness^[d] has spread throughout the land.

¹⁶ This is what the Lord of Hosts says: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are making you worthless. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the Lord 's mouth. ¹⁷ They keep on saying to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said: You will have peace.'^(s) They have said to everyone who follows the stubbornness of his heart, ‘No harm will come to you.'"

¹⁸ For who has stood in the council^(t) of the Lord
to see and hear His word?
Who has paid attention to His word and obeyed?
¹⁹ Look, a storm from the Lord !^(u)
Wrath has gone out,
a whirling storm.
It will whirl about the heads of the wicked.
²⁰ The Lord 's anger will not turn back
until He has completely fulfilled the purposes of His heart.
In time to come you will understand it clearly.^(v)

²¹ I did not send these prophets,^(w)
yet they ran with a message.
I did not speak to them,
yet they prophesied.
²² If they had really stood in My council,
they would have enabled My people to hear My words
and would have turned them back from their evil ways
and their evil deeds.

²³ "Am I a God who is only near"^(x)—this is the Lord 's declaration—"and not a God who is far away? ²⁴ Can a man hide himself in secret places where I cannot see him?"^(y)—the Lord 's declaration. "Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?"^(z)—the Lord 's declaration.

²⁵ "I have heard what the prophets who prophesy a lie in My name have said, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!' ²⁶ How long will this continue in the minds of the prophets prophesying lies, prophets of the deceit of their own minds? ²⁷ Through their dreams that they tell one another, they plan to cause My people to forget My name as their fathers forgot My name through Baal worship.^(aa) ²⁸ The prophet who has only a dream should recount the dream, but the one who has My word should speak My word truthfully, for what is straw compared to grain?"—this is the Lord 's declaration. ²⁹ "Is not My word like fire"—this is the Lord 's declaration—"and like a hammer that pulverizes rock? ³⁰ Therefore, take note! I am against the prophets"^(ab)—the Lord 's declaration—"who steal My words from each other. ³¹ I am against the prophets"—the Lord 's declaration—"who use their own tongues to make a declaration. ³² I am against those who prophesy false dreams"^(ac)—the Lord 's declaration—"telling them and leading My people astray with their falsehoods and their boasting. It was not I who sent or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all^(ad) to these people"—this is the Lord 's declaration.

The Burden of the Lord

³³ "Now when these people or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the Lord ?' you will respond to them: What is the burden? I will throw you away"—this is the Lord 's declaration. ³⁴ "As for the prophet, priest, or people who say, ‘The burden of the Lord ,' I will punish that man and his household. ³⁵ This is what each man is to say to his friend and to his brother, ‘What has the Lord answered?' or ‘What has the Lord spoken?' ³⁶ But no longer refer to^[e] the burden of the Lord , for each man's word becomes his burden and you pervert the words of the living God, the Lord of Hosts, our God. ³⁷ You must say to the prophet: What has the Lord answered you? and What has the Lord spoken? ³⁸ But if you say, ‘The burden of the Lord ,' then this is what the Lord says: Because you have said, ‘The burden of the Lord ,' and I specifically told you not to say, ‘The burden of the Lord ,' ³⁹ I will surely forget you^[f] and throw away from My presence both you and the city that I gave you and your fathers. ⁴⁰ I will bring on you everlasting shame and humiliation^(ae) that will never be forgotten."

The Good and the Bad Figs

¹ After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had deported Jeconiah^[a] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen and metalsmiths^(a) from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs^(b) placed before the temple of the Lord . ² One basket contained very good figs, like early figs,^(c) but the other basket contained very bad figs, so bad they were inedible. ³ The Lord said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I said, "Figs! The good figs are very good, but the bad figs are extremely bad, so bad they are inedible."

⁴ The word of the Lord came to me: ⁵ "This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah I sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. ⁶ I will keep My eyes on them for their good and will return them to this land. I will build them up and not demolish them; I will plant them and not uproot them.^(d) ⁷ I will give them a heart to know Me,^(e) that I am Yahweh. They will be My people, and I will be their God because they will return to Me with all their heart.^(f)

⁸ "But as for the bad figs, so bad they are inedible,^(g) this is what the Lord says: in this way I will deal with king Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem—those remaining in this land and those living in the land of Egypt.^(h) ⁹ I will make them an object of horror⁽ⁱ⁾ and disaster to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace, an object of scorn, ridicule,^(j) and cursing, wherever I have banished them. ¹⁰ I will send the sword, famine, and plague^(k) against them until they have perished from the land I gave to them and their ancestors."

The Seventy-Year Exile

¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim^(a) son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon). ² The prophet Jeremiah spoke concerning all the people of Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem as follows: ³ "From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon,^(b) king of Judah, until this very day—23 years—the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken to you time and time again,^[a]^(c) but you have not obeyed. ⁴ The Lord sent all His servants the prophets to you time and time again,^[b] but you have not obeyed or even paid attention.^[c]^(d) ⁵ He announced, ‘Turn, each of you, from your^[d] evil way of life and from your evil deeds.^(e) Live in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors long ago and forever. ⁶ Do not follow other gods to serve them and to worship them,^(f) and do not provoke Me to anger by the work of your hands.^(g) Then I will do you no harm.

⁷ "‘But you would not obey Me'—this is the Lord 's declaration—‘in order that you might provoke Me to anger by the work of your hands and bring disaster on yourselves.'

⁸ "Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, ⁹ I am going to send for all the families of the north'^(h)—this is the Lord 's declaration—‘and send for My servant⁽ⁱ⁾ Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will bring them against this land, against its residents, and against all these surrounding nations, and I will completely destroy them and make them a desolation,^(j) a derision, and ruins forever. ¹⁰ I will eliminate the sound of joy and gladness from them—the voice of the groom and the bride,^(k) the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. ¹¹ This whole land will become a desolate ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for 70 years.^(l) ¹² When the 70 years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation'—this is the Lord 's declaration—‘the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, and I will make it a ruin forever.^(m) ¹³ I will bring on that land all My words I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book that Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. ¹⁴ For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds⁽ⁿ⁾ and the work of their hands.'"

The Cup of God's Wrath

¹⁵ This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, said to me: "Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and make all the nations I am sending you to, drink from it.^(o) ¹⁶ They will drink, stagger,^[e] and go out of their minds because of the sword I am sending among them."

¹⁷ So I took the cup from the Lord 's hand and made all the nations drink from it, everyone the Lord sent me to. ¹⁸ These included:

Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah, its kings and its officials, to make them a desolate ruin, an object of scorn and cursing—as it is today;
¹⁹ Pharaoh king of Egypt, his officers, his leaders, all his people,
²⁰ and all the mixed peoples;
all the kings of the land of Uz;
all the kings of the land of the Philistines—Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;
²¹ Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites;
²² all the kings of Tyre,
all the kings of Sidon,
and the kings of the coastlands across the sea;
²³ Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all those who shave their temples;^[f]^(p)
²⁴ all the kings of Arabia,
and all the kings of the mixed peoples who have settled in the desert;
²⁵ all the kings of Zimri,
all the kings of Elam,
and all the kings of Media;
²⁶ all the kings of the north, both near and far from one another;
that is, all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth.
Finally, the king of Sheshach^[g] will drink after them.

²⁷ "Then you are to say to them: This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Drink,^(q) get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, as a result of the sword I am sending among you. ²⁸ If^[h] they refuse to take the cup from you and drink, you are to say to them: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: You must drink! ²⁹ For I am already bringing disaster on the city that bears My name,^(r) so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth"—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.^(s)

Judgment on the Whole World

³⁰ "As for you, you are to prophesy all these things to them, and say to them:

The Lord roars from heaven;
He raises His voice from His holy dwelling.^(t)
He roars loudly over His grazing land;
He calls out with a shout, like those who tread grapes,
against all the inhabitants of the earth.
³¹ The tumult reaches to the ends of the earth
because the Lord brings a case against^(u) the nations.
He enters into judgment with all flesh.
As for the wicked, He hands them over to the sword—
this is the Lord 's declaration.

³² "This is what the Lord of Hosts says:

Pay attention! Disaster spreads
from nation to nation.
A great storm is stirred up
from the ends of the earth."^(v)

³³ Those slain by the Lord ^(w) on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned,^(x) gathered, or buried. They will be like manure on the surface of the ground.

³⁴ Wail, you shepherds, and cry out.
Roll in the dust,^[i]^(y) you leaders of the flock.
Because the days of your slaughter have come,
you will fall and become shattered like a precious vase.
³⁵ Flight will be impossible for the shepherds,
and escape, for the leaders of the flock.
³⁶ Hear the sound of the shepherds' cry,
the wail of the leaders of the flock,
for the Lord is destroying their pasture.
³⁷ Peaceful grazing land will become lifeless
because of the Lord 's burning anger.^(z)
³⁸ He has left His den like a lion,
for their land has become a desolation
because of the sword^[j] of the oppressor,^(aa)
because of His burning anger.

Jeremiah's Speech in the Temple

¹ At the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim^(a) son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the Lord : ² "This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard of the Lord 's temple and speak all the words I have commanded you to speak to all Judah's cities that are coming to worship there. Do not hold back a word.^(b) ³ Perhaps they will listen and return—each from his evil way of life—so that I might relent^(c) concerning the disaster that I plan to do to them because of the evil of their deeds. ⁴ You are to say to them: This is what the Lord says: If you do not listen to Me by living according to My instruction that I set before you^(d) ⁵ and by listening to the words of My servants the prophets^(e) I have been sending you time and time again,^[a] though you did not listen, ⁶ I will make this temple like Shiloh.^(f) I will make this city an object of cursing for all the nations of the earth."

Jeremiah Seized

⁷ The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the temple of the Lord . ⁸ He finished the address the Lord had commanded him to deliver to all the people. Then the priests, the prophets, and all the people took hold of him, yelling, "You must surely die! ⁹ How dare you prophesy in the name of Yahweh, ‘This temple will become like Shiloh and this city will become an uninhabited ruin'!" Then all the people assembled against Jeremiah at the Lord 's temple.

¹⁰ When the officials of Judah heard these things, they went from the king's palace to the Lord 's temple and sat at the entrance of the New Gate.^[b]^(g) ¹¹ Then the priests and prophets said to the officials and all the people, "This man deserves the death sentence because he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears."^(h)

Jeremiah's Defense

¹² Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and the people, "The Lord sent me to prophesy all the words that you have heard against this temple and city. ¹³ So now, correct your ways and deeds⁽ⁱ⁾ and obey the voice of the Lord your God so that He might relent concerning the disaster that He warned about. ¹⁴ As for me, here I am in your hands; do to me what you think is good and right. ¹⁵ But know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood^(j) on yourselves, on this city, and on its residents, for it is certain the Lord has sent me to speak all these things directly to you."

Jeremiah Released

¹⁶ Then the officials and all the people told the priests and prophets, "This man doesn't deserve the death sentence, for he has spoken to us in the name of Yahweh our God!"

¹⁷ Some of the elders of the land stood up^(k) and said to all the assembled people, ¹⁸ "Micah the Moreshite^(l) prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah^(m) and said to all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord of Hosts says:

Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become ruins,
and the temple mount a forested hill.'⁽ⁿ⁾

¹⁹ Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all the people of Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and plead for the Lord 's favor,^[c]^(o) and did not the Lord relent concerning the disaster He had pronounced against them?^(p) We are about to bring great harm on ourselves!"

The Prophet Uriah

²⁰ Another man was also prophesying in the name of Yahweh—Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim.^(q) He prophesied against this city and against this land in words like all those of Jeremiah. ²¹ King Jehoiakim, all his warriors, and all the officials heard his words, and the king tried to put him to death. When Uriah heard, he fled in fear and went to Egypt. ²² But King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: Elnathan son of Achbor^(r) and certain other men with him went to Egypt. ²³ They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who executed him with the sword and threw his corpse into the burial place of the common people.^[d]

²⁴ But Ahikam^(s) son of Shaphan supported Jeremiah, so he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.

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Acts 28

Resource Toolbox

Study Passage Monthly Review

Chapter 28 Malta's Hospitality

¹ Once ashore, we^(a) then learned that the island was called Malta.^(b) ² The local people^(c) showed us extraordinary kindness, for they lit a fire and took us all in, since it was raining and cold. ³ As Paul gathered a bundle of brushwood and put it on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself to his hand. ⁴ When the local people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, "This man is probably a murderer, and though he has escaped the sea, Justice^[a] does not allow him to live!"^(d) ⁵ However, he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.^(e) ⁶ They expected that he would swell up or suddenly drop dead. But after they waited a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.^(f)

Ministry in Malta

⁷ Now in the area around that place was an estate belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us hospitably for three days. ⁸ Publius's father was in bed suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went to him, and praying and laying his hands on him, he healed him.^(g) ⁹ After this, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. ¹⁰ So they heaped many honors on us, and when we sailed, they gave us what we needed.

Rome at Last

¹¹ After three months we set sail in an Alexandrian ship that had wintered at the island, with the Twin Brothers^[b] as its figurehead. ¹² Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed three days. ¹³ From there, after making a circuit along the coast,^[c] we reached Rhegium. After one day a south wind sprang up, and the second day we came to Puteoli. ¹⁴ There we found believers^[d]^(h) and were invited to stay with them for seven days.

And so we came to Rome. ¹⁵ Now the believers^[e] from there had heard the news about us and had come to meet us as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage. ¹⁶ When we entered Rome,^[f] Paul was permitted to stay by himself with the soldier who guarded him.⁽ⁱ⁾

Paul's First Interview with Roman Jews

¹⁷ After three days he called together the leaders of the Jews. When they had gathered he said to them: "Brothers, although I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.^(j) ¹⁸ After they examined me, they wanted to release me, since I had not committed a capital offense.^(k) ¹⁹ Because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar;^(l) it was not as though I had any accusation against my nation. ²⁰ For this reason I've asked to see you and speak to you. In fact, it is for the hope of Israel that I'm wearing this chain."^(m)

²¹ Then they said to him, "We haven't received any letters about you from Judea. None of the brothers has come and reported or spoken anything evil about you. ²² But we would like to hear from you what you think. For concerning this sect, we are aware that it is spoken against everywhere."⁽ⁿ⁾

The Response to Paul's Message

²³ After arranging a day with him, many came to him at his lodging. From dawn to dusk he expounded and witnessed about the kingdom of God. He tried to persuade them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets.^(o) ²⁴ Some were persuaded by what he said, but others did not believe.^(p)

²⁵ Disagreeing among themselves, they began to leave after Paul made one statement: "The Holy Spirit correctly spoke through the prophet Isaiah to your^[g] ancestors ²⁶ when He said,

Go to these people and say:
You will listen and listen,
yet never understand;
and you will look and look,
yet never perceive.
²⁷ For the hearts of these people
have grown callous,
their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
otherwise they might see with their eyes
and hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and be converted,
and I would heal them. ^(q)^[h]

²⁸ Therefore, let it be known to you that this saving work of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen!"^(r) [²⁹ After he said these things, the Jews departed, while engaging in a prolonged debate among themselves.]^[i]

Paul's Ministry Unhindered

³⁰ Then he stayed two whole years in his own rented house. And he welcomed all who visited him, ³¹ proclaiming the kingdom of God^(s) and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with full boldness^(t) and without hindrance.

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Bible Reading Plan

Daily Bible Reading

October 21 - Old & New Testamentcsb

Jeremiah 7,8,26

False Trust in the Temple

Shiloh As a Warning

Do Not Pray for Judah

Obedience Over Sacrifice

A Lament for Disobedient Judah

Death over Life

Punishment for Judah's Leaders

God's People Unrepentant

Lament over Judah

Imminent Ruin and Exile

Mourning over Judah

Boast in the Lord

False Gods Contrasted with the Creator

Exile After the Siege

Jeremiah Grieves

Reminder of the Covenant

Jeremiah's Complaint

The Lord's Response

Linen Underwear

The Wine Jars

The Lord's Warning

The Destiny of Jerusalem

The Drought

False Prophets to be Punished

Jeremiah's Request

The Lord's Negative Response

Jeremiah's Complaint

The Lord's Response

Jeremiah's Prayer for Vengeance

Jeremiah Told to Repent

No Marriage for Jeremiah

Abandoning the Lord and His Law

Punishment of Exile

The Persistent Sin of Judah

Curse and Blessing

The Deceitful Heart

Jeremiah's Plea

Observing the Sabbath

Parable of the Potter

Deluded Israel

Plot against Jeremiah

The Clay Jar

Jeremiah Beaten by Pashhur

Jeremiah Compelled to Preach

Jeremiah's Lament

Zedekiah's Request Denied

A Warning for the People

Judgment against Sinful Kings

A Message Concerning Shallum

A Message concerning Jehoiakim

A Message concerning Coniah

The Lord and His Sheep

The Righteous Branch of David

False Prophets Condemned

The Burden of the Lord

The Good and the Bad Figs

The Seventy-Year Exile

The Cup of God's Wrath

Judgment on the Whole World

Jeremiah's Speech in the Temple

Jeremiah Seized

Jeremiah's Defense

Jeremiah Released

The Prophet Uriah

Acts 28

Chapter 28

Malta's Hospitality

Ministry in Malta

Rome at Last

Paul's First Interview with Roman Jews

The Response to Paul's Message

Paul's Ministry Unhindered

October 21 - Old & New Testament
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