The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday October 16, 2017 (NIV)

Jeremiah 28-29

Hananiah’s False Prophecy

28 In that same year, early in the rule of King Zedekiah of Judah, in the fifth month of his fourth year as king, the prophet Hananiah, son of Azzur, from Gibeon, spoke to me in the Lord’s temple. He said to me in front of the priests and all the people, “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will break the yoke[a] of the king of Babylon. Within two years I will bring back all the utensils of the Lord’s temple that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took from this place and carried off to Babylon. I will also bring back to this place Jehoiakin, son of King Jehoiakim of Judah, and all the captives of Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord. So I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”

The prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah in front of the priests and all the people standing in the Lord’s temple. He said, “Amen! May the Lord do this! May the Lord make your prophecy come true and bring back the utensils of the Lord’s temple and all the captives from Babylon to this place. But now listen to this message that I am speaking to you and to all the people: Long ago, the prophets who preceded you and me prophesied wars, disasters, and plagues against many countries and great kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesied peace was recognized as a prophet that the Lord sent only if the message of the prophet came true.”

10 Then the prophet Hananiah took the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it. 11 Hananiah said in front of all the people, “This is what the Lord says: In the same way, I will break the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon off the neck of all the nations within two years.” Then the prophet Jeremiah went on his way.

12 After the prophet Hananiah broke the yoke off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. He said, 13 “Tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken the wooden yoke, but I[b] will replace it with an iron yoke. 14 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will put an iron yoke on the necks of all these nations so that they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. They will serve him! I will even make wild animals serve him.’”

15 Then Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Now listen, Hananiah, the Lord hasn’t sent you. You have made these people believe a lie. 16 This is what the Lord says: I’m going to remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this year because you have encouraged rebellion against the Lord.”

17 So the prophet Hananiah died in the seventh month of that year.

Jeremiah Writes to the Captives in Babylon

29 The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter from Jerusalem to the rest of the leaders among the captives. He also sent it to the priests, the prophets, and all the people that Nebuchadnezzar took away as captives from Jerusalem to Babylon. (This was after King Jehoiakin[c] and his mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and metal workers left Jerusalem.) He sent the letter with Shaphan’s son Elasah and Hilkiah’s son Gemariah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah had sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. The letter said:

This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all those who were taken captive from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses, and live in them. Plant gardens, and eat what they produce. Get married, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons, and let your daughters get married so that they can have sons and daughters. Grow in number there; don’t decrease. Work for the good of the city where I’ve taken you as captives, and pray to the Lord for that city. When it prospers, you will also prosper.

This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Don’t let the prophets or the mediums who are among you trick you. Don’t even listen to your own dreams. These people are prophesying lies to you in my name. I didn’t send them, declares the Lord.

10 This is what the Lord says: When Babylon’s 70 years are over, I will come to you. I will keep my promise to you and bring you back to this place. 11 I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. 12 Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 When you look for me, you will find me. When you wholeheartedly seek me, 14 I will let you find me, declares the Lord. I will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I’ve scattered you, declares the Lord. I will bring you back from the place where you are being held captive.

15 You’ve said that the Lord has given you prophets in Babylon. 16 But this is what the Lord says about the king who sits on David’s throne and about all the people who live in this city, the people who are your relatives and who weren’t taken away as captives: 17 The Lord of Armies says: I’m going to send them wars, famines, and plagues. These people are like rotten figs to me, figs that are so bad that they can’t be eaten. 18 I will chase them with wars, famines, and plagues. I will make them a horrifying sight to all the kingdoms on the earth. They will become something cursed, ridiculed, and hissed at, and they will be a disgrace among all the nations where I scatter them. 19 They didn’t listen to me, declares the Lord. I sent them my servants the prophets again and again, but they refused to listen, declares the Lord.

20 So listen to the Lord’s word, all you captives who were sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

21 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says about Kolaiah’s son Ahab and about Maaseiah’s son Zedekiah, who prophesy lies to you in my name: I’m going to hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will kill them as you watch. 22 Because of them, all the captives from Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: May the Lord curse you as he cursed Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon burned to death. 23 They have done shameful things in Israel. They committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and spoke lies in my name. I didn’t command them to do this. I know what they have done. I’m a witness, declares the Lord.

24 The Lord says, “Say to Shemaiah from Nehelam, 25 ‘This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: You sent letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. These letters said: 26 The Lord made you priest instead of Jehoiada so that there would be officials for the Lord’s temple. You should put any lunatic who acts like a prophet in prison and in shackles. 27 Now, why haven’t you arrested Jeremiah from Anathoth? After all, he acts like a prophet among you. 28 That’s why Jeremiah sent this message to us in Babylon: You will be captives a long time. Build houses, and live in them. Plant gardens, and eat what they produce.’”

29 The priest Zephaniah read this letter to the prophet Jeremiah.

30 Then the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. He said, 31 “Send this message to all the captives: ‘This is what the Lord says about Shemaiah from Nehelam: Shemaiah prophesied to you, but I didn’t send him. He has made you believe a lie. 32 The Lord says: I will punish Shemaiah from Nehelam. I will also punish his descendants. No one from his family will be left alive. He will not see the blessings that I’m going to send my people, declares the Lord, because he has encouraged rebellion against the Lord.’”

Footnotes:

  1. Jeremiah 28:2 A yoke is a wooden bar placed over the necks of work animals so that they can pull plows or carts.
  2. Jeremiah 28:13 Greek; Masoretic Text “you.”
  3. Jeremiah 29:2 Masoretic Text “Jeconiah,” an alternate form of Jehoiakin.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

1 Timothy 1

Greeting

From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our confidence.

To Timothy, a genuine child in faith.

Good will,[a] mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord are yours!

A Warning about False Teachers

When I was going to the province of Macedonia, I encouraged you to stay in the city of Ephesus. That way you could order certain people to stop teaching false doctrine and occupying themselves with myths and endless genealogies. These myths and genealogies raise a lot of questions rather than promoting God’s plan, which centers in faith.

My goal in giving you this order is for love to flow from a pure heart, from a clear conscience, and from a sincere faith. Some people have left these qualities behind and have turned to useless discussions. They want to be experts in Moses’ Teachings. However, they don’t understand what they’re talking about or the things about which they speak so confidently.

We know that the laws in Moses’ Teachings are good if they are used as they were intended to be used. For example, a person must realize that those laws are not intended for people who have God’s approval. Laws are intended for lawbreakers and rebels, for ungodly people and sinners, for those who think nothing is holy or sacred, for those who kill their fathers, their mothers, or other people. 10 Laws are intended for people involved in sexual sins, for homosexuals, for kidnappers, for liars, for those who lie when they take an oath, and for whatever else is against accurate teachings. 11 Moses’ Teachings were intended to be used in agreement with the Good News that contains the glory of the blessed God. I was entrusted with that Good News.

God’s Mercy to Paul

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord that he has trusted me and has appointed me to do his work with the strength he has given me. 13 In the past I cursed him, persecuted him, and acted arrogantly toward him. However, I was treated with mercy because I acted ignorantly in my unbelief. 14 Our Lord was very kind[b] to me. Through his kindness he brought me to faith and gave me the love that Christ Jesus shows people.

15 This is a statement that can be trusted and deserves complete acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I am the foremost sinner. 16 However, I was treated with mercy so that Christ Jesus could use me, the foremost sinner, to demonstrate his patience. This patience serves as an example for those who would believe in him and live forever. 17 Worship and glory belong forever to the eternal king, the immortal, invisible, and only God. Amen.

Guidelines for the Church

18 Timothy, my child, I’m giving you this order about the prophecies that are still coming to you: Use these prophecies in faith and with a clear conscience to fight this noble war. 19 Some have refused to let their faith guide their conscience and their faith has been destroyed like a wrecked ship. [c] 20 Among these people are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan in order to teach them not to dishonor God.

Footnotes:

  1. 1 Timothy 1:2 Or “Grace.”
  2. 1 Timothy 1:14 Or “gracious.”
  3. 1 Timothy 1:20 Verses 18 and 19 have been rearranged to express the complex Greek sentence structure more clearly in English.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Psalm 86

Turn your ear toward me, O Lord.
Answer me, because I am oppressed and needy.
Protect me, because I am faithful to you.
Save your servant who trusts you. You are my God.
Have pity on me, O Lord,
because I call out to you all day long.
Give me joy, O Lord,
because I lift my soul to you.
You, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
full of mercy toward everyone who calls out to you.
Open your ears to my prayer, O Lord.
Pay attention when I plead for mercy.
When I am in trouble, I call out to you
because you answer me.

No god is like you, O Lord.
No one can do what you do.
All the nations that you have made
will bow in your presence, O Lord.
They will honor you.
10 Indeed, you are great, a worker of miracles.
You alone are God.
11 Teach me your way, O Lord,
so that I may live in your truth.
Focus my heart on fearing you.
12 I will give thanks to you with all my heart, O Lord my God.
I will honor you forever
13 because your mercy toward me is great.
You have rescued me from the depths of hell.

14 O God, arrogant people attack me,
and a mob of ruthless people seeks my life.
They think nothing of you.
15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God.
You are patient, always faithful and ready to forgive.
16 Turn toward me, and have pity on me.
Give me your strength because I am your servant.
Save me because I am the son of your female servant.
17 Grant me some proof of your goodness
so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame.
You, O Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Psalm 87

By Korah’s descendants; a psalm; a song.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Proverbs 25:17

17 Do not set foot in your neighbor’s house too often.
Otherwise, he will see too much of you and hate you.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday October 15, 2017 (NIV)

Jeremiah 26-27

Jeremiah Is Arrested

26 The Lord spoke his word when Judah’s King Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, began to rule. He said, “This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple, and speak to all the people who come from the cities of Judah to worship in the Lord’s temple. Tell them everything that I command you to tell them. Don’t leave out a single word. Maybe they’ll listen, and they’ll turn from their evil ways. Then I’ll change my plan about the disaster I intend to bring on them because of the evil they have done.”

The Lord added, “Also say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: Suppose you don’t listen to me and don’t follow my teachings that I set in front of you. Suppose you don’t listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent to you again and again, even though you didn’t listen. Then I will do to this temple what I did to Shiloh. I will turn this city into something that will be cursed by all the nations on earth.’”

The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these things in the Lord’s temple. But as soon as Jeremiah finished saying everything that the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets, and all the people grabbed him and said, “You must die! Why do you prophesy in the Lord’s name that this temple will be like Shiloh and this city will become a pile of rubble with no one living here?” Then all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the Lord’s temple.

10 When the officials of Judah heard about these things, they went from the king’s palace to the Lord’s temple. They sat at the entrance of New Gate to the Lord’s temple. 11 Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man is condemned to die because he prophesied against this city as you yourselves have heard.”

12 Then Jeremiah said to all the officials and all the people, “The Lord sent me to prophesy everything that you have heard me say against this temple and against this city. 13 Now, change your ways and what you are doing, and listen to the Lord your God. Then the Lord will change his plan about the disaster that he intends to bring on you.

14 “My life is in your hands. Do with me whatever you think is good and right. 15 But know for certain that if you put me to death, you, this city, and the people living in it will be guilty of killing an innocent person. The Lord has certainly sent me to speak all these things to you.”

16 Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and prophets, “This man should not be condemned to die. He has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

17 Then some of the leaders in the land got up and said to the entire crowd, 18 “Micah from Moresheth prophesied at the time of Judah’s King Hezekiah and said to all the people of Judah, ‘This is what the Lord of Armies says:

Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a pile of rubble,
and the temple mountain will become a worship site
covered with trees.’

19 Did Judah’s King Hezekiah and all the people of Judah put Micah to death? No! Hezekiah feared the Lord and sought the Lord’s favor. So the Lord changed his plan about the disaster he intended to bring on them. But we are about to bring a bigger disaster on ourselves.”

20 There was another man prophesying in the name of the Lord. His name was Uriah, son of Shemaiah, from Kiriath Jearim. He prophesied against this city and this land as Jeremiah did. 21 When King Jehoiakim and all his personal troops and officials heard what Uriah said, the king wanted to put him to death. But Uriah heard about it and fled in fear to Egypt. 22 King Jehoiakim sent soldiers to Egypt: Elnathan (son of Achbor) and other soldiers along with him. 23 They brought Uriah from Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim. The king executed Uriah and threw his body into the burial ground for the common people. 24 Ahikam, son of Shaphan, supported Jeremiah. So Jeremiah was not handed over to the people to be put to death.

The Yoke of Babylon Will Be on Judah

27 When Zedekiah, son of King Josiah of Judah, began to rule, the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah.

This is what the Lord said to me: Make leather straps and a wooden yoke,[a] and strap the yoke on your neck. Then send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon, with messengers who have come to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem. Give them an order for their masters: “This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Say this to your masters, ‘I used my great strength and my powerful arm to make the earth along with the people and the animals on it. I give it to anyone I please. Now I have handed all these countries over to my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made wild animals serve him. All nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until Babylon is defeated. Then many nations and great kings will make him their slave.

“‘Suppose nations or kingdoms won’t serve or surrender to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I will punish those nations by wars, famines, and plagues, until I have put an end to them by Nebuchadnezzar’s power, declares the Lord. Don’t listen to prophets, mediums, interpreters of dreams, fortunetellers, or sorcerers who tell you that you’ll never serve the king of Babylon. 10 They are prophesying lies to you. They will cause you to be taken far from your lands. I’ll scatter you, and you will die. 11 But suppose a nation surrenders to the king of Babylon and serves him. I will let it stay in its own land. People will farm the land and live on it,’” declares the Lord.

12 I spoke the same message to King Zedekiah of Judah, “Surrender to the king of Babylon, serve him and his people, and you will stay alive. 13 Why should you and your people die in wars, famines, and plagues? The Lord has threatened the nations that don’t serve the king of Babylon. 14 Don’t listen to the prophets who tell you that you’ll never serve the king of Babylon. They are prophesying lies to you. 15 I didn’t send them, declares the Lord. They prophesy lies in my name. So I will scatter you, and you and the prophets will die.”

16 I also spoke this message to the priests and all the people. “This is what the Lord said to me: Don’t listen to the prophets who tell you that the utensils of the Lord’s temple will be brought back from Babylon soon. They are prophesying lies to you. 17 Don’t listen to them. Instead, serve the king of Babylon, and live. Why should this city be turned into rubble? 18 If they are prophets and the Lord is speaking to them, they should beg the Lord of Armies not to allow the utensils that are left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace of Judah, and in Jerusalem to be taken away to Babylon.

19–20 “Babylon’s King Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiakin,[b] son of King Jehoiakim of Judah, into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon along with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. But he didn’t take the pillars, the bronze pool, the stands, and the rest of the utensils that are left in this city. 21 This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says about the utensils that are left in the Lord’s temple, in the royal palace of Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22 They will be taken to Babylon and stay there until I come for them, declares the Lord. I will take them from there and bring them back to this place.”

Footnotes:

  1. Jeremiah 27:2 A yoke is a wooden bar placed over the necks of work animals so that they can pull plows or carts.
  2. Jeremiah 27:19 Masoretic Text “Jeconiah,” an alternate form of Jehoiakin.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

2 Thessalonians 3

Paul’s Final Instructions for the Thessalonians

Finally, brothers and sisters, pray that we spread the Lord’s word rapidly and that it will be honored the way it was among you. Also pray that we may be rescued from worthless and evil people, since not everyone shares our faith. But the Lord is faithful and will strengthen you and protect you against the evil one.

The Lord gives us confidence that you are doing and will continue to do what we ordered you to do. May the Lord direct your lives as you show God’s love and Christ’s endurance.

Brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ we order you not to associate with any believer who doesn’t live a disciplined life and doesn’t follow the tradition you received from us. You know what you must do to imitate us. We lived a disciplined life among you. We didn’t eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, we worked hard and struggled night and day in order not to be a burden to any of you. It’s not as though we didn’t have a right to receive support. Rather, we wanted to set an example for you to follow. 10 While we were with you, we gave you the order: “Whoever doesn’t want to work shouldn’t be allowed to eat.”

11 We hear that some of you are not living disciplined lives. You’re not working, so you go around interfering in other people’s lives. 12 We order and encourage such people by the Lord Jesus Christ to pay attention to their own work so they can support themselves. 13 Brothers and sisters, we can’t allow ourselves to get tired of doing what is right.

14 It may be that some people will not listen to what we say in this letter. Take note of them and don’t associate with them so that they will feel ashamed. 15 Yet, don’t treat them like enemies, but instruct them like brothers and sisters.

Farewell

16 May the Lord of peace give you his peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

17 I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand. In every letter that I send, this is proof that I wrote it.

18 The good will[a] of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Thessalonians 3:18 Or “grace.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Psalm 85

Psalm 85

For the choir director; a psalm by Korah’s descendants.

You favored your land, O Lord.
You restored the fortunes of Jacob.
You removed your people’s guilt.
You pardoned all their sins. Selah
You laid aside all your fury.
You turned away from your burning anger.

Restore us, O God, our savior.
Put an end to your anger against us.
Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you ever let go of your anger in the generations to come?
Won’t you restore our lives again
so that your people may find joy in you?
Show us your mercy, O Lord,
by giving us your salvation.

I want to hear what God the Lord says,
because he promises peace to his people, to his godly ones.
But they must not go back to their stupidity.
Indeed, his salvation is near those who fear him,
and his glory will remain in our land.

10 Mercy and truth have met.
Righteousness and peace have kissed.
11 Truth sprouts from the ground,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12 The Lord will certainly give us what is good,
and our land will produce crops.
13 Righteousness will go ahead of him
and make a path for his steps.

Psalm 86

A prayer by David.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Proverbs 25:16

16 When you find honey, eat only as much as you need.
Otherwise, you will have too much and vomit.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday October 14, 2017 (NIV)

Jeremiah 23:21-25:38

21 I did not send these prophets,(A)
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”(B)—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?”(C)—the Lord’s declaration. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?”(D)—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.(E) 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”(F)—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”(G)—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(H) 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[a] 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[b] 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(I) that will never be forgotten.”

The Good and the Bad Figs

24 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had deported Jeconiah[c] son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen and metalsmiths(J) from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs(K) placed before the temple of the Lord. One basket contained very good figs, like early figs,(L) but the other basket contained very bad figs, so bad they were inedible. 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.”

The word of the Lord came to me: “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. 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.(M) I will give them a heart to know Me,(N) 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.(O)

“But as for the bad figs, so bad they are inedible,(P) 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.(Q) I will make them an object of horror(R) and disaster to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace, an object of scorn, ridicule,(S) and cursing, wherever I have banished them. 10 I will send the sword, famine, and plague(T) against them until they have perished from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.”

The Seventy-Year Exile

25 This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim(U) son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon). The prophet Jeremiah spoke concerning all the people of Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem as follows: “From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon,(V) 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,[d](W) but you have not obeyed. The Lord sent all His servants the prophets to you time and time again,[e] but you have not obeyed or even paid attention.[f](X) He announced, ‘Turn, each of you, from your[g] evil way of life and from your evil deeds.(Y) Live in the land the Lord gave to you and your ancestors long ago and forever. Do not follow other gods to serve them and to worship them,(Z) and do not provoke Me to anger by the work of your hands.(AA) Then I will do you no harm.

“‘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.’

“Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, I am going to send for all the families of the north’(AB)—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘and send for My servant(AC) 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,(AD) 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,(AE) 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.(AF) 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.(AG) 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(AH) 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.(AI) 16 They will drink, stagger,[h] 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;[i](AJ)
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[j] 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,(AK) get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, as a result of the sword I am sending among you. 28 If[k] 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,(AL) 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.(AM)

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.(AN)
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(AO) 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.”(AP)

33 Those slain by the Lord(AQ) on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned,(AR) 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,[l](AS) 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.(AT)
38 He has left His den like a lion,
for their land has become a desolation
because of the sword[m] of the oppressor,(AU)
because of His burning anger.

Footnotes:

  1. Jeremiah 23:36 Or longer remember
  2. Jeremiah 23:39 Some Hb mss; other Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Vg read surely lift you up
  3. Jeremiah 24:1 = Jehoiachin
  4. Jeremiah 25:3 Lit you; rising early and speaking
  5. Jeremiah 25:4 Lit prophets, rising early and sending
  6. Jeremiah 25:4 Lit even inclined your ears
  7. Jeremiah 25:5 Lit his
  8. Jeremiah 25:16 Or vomit
  9. Jeremiah 25:23 Or who live in distant places
  10. Jeremiah 25:26 Probably a name for Babylon
  11. Jeremiah 25:28 Or When
  12. Jeremiah 25:34 This custom demonstrated mourning.
  13. Jeremiah 25:38 Some Hb mss, LXX, Tg; other Hb mss read burning

2 Thessalonians 2

The Man of Lawlessness

Now concerning the coming(A) of our Lord(B) Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him: We ask you, brothers, not to be easily upset in mind or troubled, either by a spirit(C) or by a message or by a letter as if from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord[a](D) has come.(E) Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy[b] comes first and the man of lawlessness[c] is revealed, the son of destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god(F) or object of worship,(G) so that he sits[d] in God’s sanctuary,[e] publicizing that he himself is God.

Don’t you remember that when I was still with you I told you about this? And you know what currently restrains him, so that he will be revealed in his time.(H) For the mystery of lawlessness(I) is already at work, but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way, and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of His mouth(J) and will bring him to nothing with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders,(K) 10 and with every unrighteous deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth in order to be saved.(L) 11 For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe what is false, 12 so that all will be condemned(M)—those who did not believe(N) the truth but enjoyed unrighteousness.

Stand Firm

13 But we must always thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning[f] God has chosen(O) you for salvation through sanctification(P) by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory(Q) of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brothers, stand firm(R) and hold to the traditions you were taught,(S) either by our message or by our letter.

16 May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved(T) us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word.

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Thessalonians 2:2 Other mss read Christ
  2. 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Or rebellion
  3. 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Other mss read man of sin
  4. 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Other mss add as God
  5. 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Or temple
  6. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 Other mss read because as a firstfruit

Psalm 84

Psalm 84

Longing for God’s House

For the choir director: on the Gittith.(A) A psalm of the sons of Korah.

How lovely is Your dwelling place,
Lord of Hosts.(B)
I long and yearn
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh cry out for[a] the living God.(C)

Even a sparrow finds a home,
and a swallow, a nest for herself
where she places her young—
near Your altars, Lord of Hosts,
my King and my God.(D)
How happy are those who reside in Your house,
who praise You continually.(E)Selah

Happy are the people whose strength is in You,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.(F)
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,[b]
they make it a source of springwater;
even the autumn rain will cover it with blessings.[c](G)
They go from strength to strength;
each appears before God in Zion.(H)

Lord God of Hosts, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Jacob.(I)Selah
Consider our shield,[d] God;(J)
look on the face of Your anointed one.(K)

10 Better a day in Your courts
than a thousand anywhere else.
I would rather be at the door of the house of my God
than to live in the tents of wicked people.(L)
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield.(M)
The Lord gives grace and glory;
He does not withhold the good
from those who live with integrity.(N)
12 Happy is the person who trusts in You,
Lord of Hosts!(O)

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 84:2 Or flesh shout for joy to
  2. Psalm 84:6 Or Valley of Tears
  3. Psalm 84:6 Or pools
  4. Psalm 84:9 = the king

Proverbs 25:15

15 A ruler can be persuaded through patience,
and a gentle tongue can break a bone.(A)

Cross references:

  1. 25:15 : Pr 15:1; 16:14, 32; Ec 10:4

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday October 13, 2017 (NIV)

Jeremiah 22:1-23:20

Judgment against Sinful Kings

22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and announce this word there. 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. 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. 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. 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)

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.
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.

“Many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why did the Lord do such a thing to this great city?’ 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

23 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!”(Z) This is the Lord’s declaration. “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.(AA) I will attend to you because of your evil acts”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “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.(AB) I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them.(AC) They will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any be missing.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

The Righteous Branch of David

“The days are coming”(AD)—this is the Lord’s declaration—
“when I will raise up a Righteous Branch of David.(AE)
He will reign wisely as king
and administer justice and righteousness in the land.(AF)
In His days Judah will be saved,
and Israel will dwell securely.(AG)
This is what He will be named:
Yahweh Our Righteousness.(AH)

“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,’(AI) 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[h] had banished them.’ They will dwell once more in their own land.”(AJ)

False Prophets Condemned

Concerning the prophets:

My heart is broken within me,(AK)
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;(AL)
the land mourns because of the curse,
and the grazing lands in the wilderness have dried up.
Their way of life[i] has become evil,
and their power is not rightly used
11 because both prophet and priest are ungodly,(AM)
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.(AN)
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[j] Baal
and led My people Israel astray.(AO)
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(AP) 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,(AQ)
for from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness[k] 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.’(AR) 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(AS) 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!(AT)
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.(AU)

Footnotes:

  1. Jeremiah 22:10 = Shallum (Jehoahaz) in v. 11
  2. Jeremiah 22:14 Lit My windows
  3. Jeremiah 22:20 Or friends, or allies
  4. Jeremiah 22:22 Lit will shepherd
  5. Jeremiah 22:22 Or friends, or allies
  6. Jeremiah 22:23 LXX, Syr, Vg; MT reads will be pitied
  7. Jeremiah 22:24 = Jehoiachin
  8. Jeremiah 23:8 LXX reads He
  9. Jeremiah 23:10 Lit Their manner of running
  10. Jeremiah 23:13 = in the name of
  11. Jeremiah 23:15 Or pollution

2 Thessalonians 1

Greeting

Paul, Silvanus,[a](A) and Timothy:(B)

To the church of the Thessalonians(C) in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

God’s Judgment and Glory

We must always thank God for you, brothers. This is right, since your faith is flourishing and the love(D) each one of you has for one another(E) is increasing.(F) Therefore, we ourselves boast(G) about you among God’s churches—about your endurance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions you endure. It is a clear evidence of God’s righteous(H) judgment(I) that you will be counted worthy of God’s kingdom, for which you also are suffering,(J) since it is righteous for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you and to reward with rest you who are afflicted, along with us. This will take place at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His powerful angels, taking vengeance with flaming fire(K) on those who don’t know God(L) and on those who don’t obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.(M) These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction(N) from the Lord’s presence(O) and from His glorious strength(P) 10 in that day when He comes(Q) to be glorified(R) by His saints(S) and to be admired by all those who have believed, because our testimony among you was believed. 11 And in view of this, we always pray for you that our God will consider you worthy of His calling,(T) and will, by His power, fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith,(U) 12 so that the name(V) of our Lord Jesus will be glorified(W) by you, and you by Him,(X) according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Psalm 83

Psalm 83

Prayer against Enemies

A song. A psalm of Asaph.(A)

God, do not keep silent.
Do not be deaf, God; do not be idle.(B)
See how Your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate You have acted arrogantly.[a](C)
They devise clever schemes against Your people;
they conspire against Your treasured ones.(D)
They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation
so that Israel’s name will no longer be remembered.”(E)
For they have conspired with one mind;
they form an alliance[b] against You(F)
the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,(G)
Moab and the Hagrites,(H)
Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,(I)
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.(J)
Even Assyria has joined them;
they lend support[c] to the sons of Lot.[d](K)Selah

Deal with them as You did with Midian,(L)
as You did with Sisera
and Jabin at the Kishon River.(M)
10 They were destroyed at En-dor;
they became manure for the ground.(N)
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,(O)
and all their tribal leaders like Zebah and Zalmunna,(P)
12 who said, “Let us seize God’s pastures for ourselves.”(Q)

13 Make them like tumbleweed, my God,
like straw before the wind.(R)
14 As fire burns a forest,
as a flame blazes through mountains,(S)
15 so pursue them with Your tempest
and terrify them with Your storm.(T)
16 Cover their faces with shame
so that they will seek Your name Yahweh.(U)
17 Let them be put to shame and terrified forever;
let them perish in disgrace.(V)
18 May they know that You alone—
whose name is Yahweh—
are the Most High over all the earth.(W)

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 83:2 Lit have lifted their head
  2. Psalm 83:5 Lit they cut a covenant
  3. Psalm 83:8 Lit they are an arm
  4. Psalm 83:8 = Moab and Edom

Proverbs 25:11-14

11 A word spoken at the right time
is like gold apples on a silver tray.[a](A)
12 A wise correction to a receptive ear(B)
is like a gold ring or an ornament of gold.

13 To those who send him, a trustworthy messenger
is like the coolness of snow on a harvest day;
he refreshes the life of his masters.(C)

14 The man who boasts about a gift that does not exist
is like clouds and wind without rain.(D)

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 25:11 Or like apples of gold in settings of silver

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday October 12, 2017 (NIV)

Jeremiah 19-21

The Clay Jar

19 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) and go out to the Valley of Hinnom(C) near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there the words I speak to you. 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) 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) 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)

“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) 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) 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) 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

20 Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer(P) and chief official in the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. So Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put him in the stocks at the Upper Benjamin Gate in the Lord’s temple. The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call you Pashhur, but Magor-missabib,[d] for this is what the Lord says, ‘I am about to make you a terror to both yourself and those you love.(Q) 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. I will give away all the wealth of this city, all its products(R) 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. 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(S) to.’”

Jeremiah Compelled to Preach

You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived.
You seized me and prevailed.
I am a laughingstock all the time;(T)
everyone ridicules me.
For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I proclaim, “Violence and destruction!”(U)
because the word of the Lord has become for me
constant disgrace and derision.
If I say, “I won’t mention Him
or speak any longer in His name,”
His message becomes a fire burning in my heart,(V)
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![e](W)
Report him; let’s report him!”
Everyone I trusted[f] watches for my fall.(X)
“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.(Y)
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[g] and mind,
let me see Your vengeance on them,
for I have presented my case to You.(Z)
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.(AA)
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.(AB)
Let him hear an outcry in the morning(AC)
and a war cry at noontime
17 because he didn’t kill me in the womb(AD)
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,(AE)
to end my life in shame?

Zedekiah’s Request Denied

21 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur(AF) son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah(AG) son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah, asking, “Ask the Lord on our behalf, since Nebuchadnezzar[h](AH) 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.”

But Jeremiah answered, “This is what you are to say to Zedekiah: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will repel the weapons of war in your hands,(AI) those you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans[i] who are besieging you outside the wall, and I will bring them into the center of this city.(AJ) I will fight against you(AK) with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm,(AL) with anger, rage, and great wrath. I will strike the residents of this city, both man and beast. They will die in a great plague. 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,(AM) 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.’(AN)

A Warning for the People

“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.(AO) 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.(AP) 10 For I have turned[j] against this city to bring disaster(AQ) and not good’”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “‘It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, who will burn it down.’(AR)

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,(AS)
or My anger will flare up like fire
and burn unquenchably
because of their evil deeds.
13 Beware! I am against you,(AT)
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?(AU)
Who can enter our hiding places?”
14 I will punish you according to what you have done(AV)
this is the Lord’s declaration.
I will kindle a fire in its forest(AW)
that will consume everything around it.’”(AX)

Footnotes:

  1. Jeremiah 19:1 Syr, Tg; MT omits Take
  2. Jeremiah 19:3 Lit shudder their ears; 1Sm 3:11; 2Kg 21:12
  3. Jeremiah 19:5 Lit mentioned, and it did not arise on My heart
  4. Jeremiah 20:3 = Terror Is on Every Side; Jr 6:25; 20:10; 46:5
  5. Jeremiah 20:10 Hb Magor-missabib; Jr 20:3
  6. Jeremiah 20:10 Lit Every man of my peace
  7. Jeremiah 20:12 Lit kidneys
  8. Jeremiah 21:2 Lit Nebuchadrezzar
  9. Jeremiah 21:4 = Babylonians
  10. Jeremiah 21:10 Lit set My face

1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Exhortations and Blessings

12 Now we ask you, brothers, to give recognition(A) to those who labor among you and lead you in the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to regard them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace(B) among yourselves. 14 And we exhort you, brothers:(C) warn those who are irresponsible,[a] comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient(D) with everyone. 15 See to it that no one repays evil for evil(E) to anyone,(F) but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.(G)

16 Rejoice(H) always!
17 Pray constantly.
18 Give thanks in everything,
for this is God’s will(I) for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Don’t stifle the Spirit.
20 Don’t despise prophecies,
21 but test all things.(J)
Hold on to what is good.
22 Stay away(K) from every kind of evil.

23 Now may the God of peace(L) Himself sanctify you completely. And may your spirit,(M) soul, and body be kept sound and blameless for the coming(N) of our Lord(O) Jesus Christ.(P) 24 He who calls(Q) you(R) is faithful, who also will do it. 25 Brothers, pray for us also. 26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you by the Lord that this letter be read to all the brothers.(S) 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Footnotes:

  1. 1 Thessalonians 5:14 Or who are disorderly, or who are undisciplined

Psalm 82

Psalm 82

A Plea for Righteous Judgment

A psalm of Asaph.(A)

God has taken His place in the divine assembly;
He judges among the gods:[a](B)
“How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked?(C)Selah
Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless;
uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.(D)
Rescue the poor and needy;
save them from the power of the wicked.”(E)

They do not know or understand;
they wander in darkness.(F)
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.(G)

I said, “You are gods;(H)
you are all sons of the Most High.(I)
However, you will die like men
and fall like any other ruler.”(J)

Rise up, God, judge the earth,
for all the nations belong to You.(K)

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 82:1 Or the heavenly beings, or the earthly rulers; lit elohim

Proverbs 25:9-10

Make your case with your opponent[a]
without revealing another’s secret;(A)
10 otherwise, the one who hears will disgrace you,
and you’ll never live it down.[b]

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 25:9 Or neighbor
  2. Proverbs 25:10 Lit and your evil report will not turn back

Cross references:

  1. 25:9 : Pr 17:9; Mt 18:15

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday October 7, 2017 (NIV)

Jeremiah 8:8-9:26

How can any of you say, “We are wise, because we have the Eternal’s law”?
How little you care about the truth!
A pen in the hand of your teachers drips nothing but lies.
The day is coming when these so-called wise teachers will be put to shame;
their lives will be shattered when they are captured and taken away.
Why will this happen? Because they have rejected and perverted My word.
Are these the works of wise men?
10 This is why I will give their wives away to intruders
and their property to invaders.
Greed has corrupted this culture, from the least to the greatest:
everyone is tainted with this lust for what they don’t deserve.
The prophets and priests are no better.
Their lives reek with deceit.
11 To heal the brokenness of My people, they offer superficial words.
They say, “Peace, peace” as if all is well, but there is no peace.
12 Do they feel any shame for their disgraceful deeds?
Absolutely not. My very own have forgotten how to blush.
And so it is that they will fall among the fallen and be defeated:
when the time comes, they will stumble beneath the weight of My punishment;

13 The harvest will soon be gone, a thing of the past.
There will be no grapes on the vine, no figs in the tree;
Even the leaves will wither and fall.
For what I have given so generously, I will now take away.

Some people in the land believe they know God’s ways, but they don’t. In fact, the ways they twist God’s words and perform empty rituals only make things worse. Over and over again, prophets such as Jeremiah have attempted to describe the devastation that will result from the actions of those who refuse to listen to and really know God. As the invading army comes across the borders, some realize that what God has said—what the prophet has spoken in His name—is all coming true. God may long to bring His people close, to forgive and restore them, but it will not happen. They have refused both His forgiveness and His final warning, and so the enemy from the north is on the move.

14 People: Why are we still sitting here, exposed and waiting for death to come?
Let’s get together and run to the walled cities and die there.
We are without hope because the Eternal our God has pronounced our judgment.
He has given us a cup[a] of bitter poison to drink because we have sinned against Him.
15 We were counting on peace, but none came.
We waited for a time of healing, but now all we have is terror.
16 We can hear the snorts of their warhorses as they charge into Dan;
at the thunder of their hoofs and noise of their neighs the whole land trembles.
They have come to devour us—our land and everything in it,
the city and all her citizens.

17 Eternal One: Look, I have released an army of serpents against you;
they slither like vipers across the land.
There is no hope of charming them.
There is no escape from their deadly bite.

Jeremiah: 18 There is no cure for my grief.
My heart breaks for what I see and hear.[b]
19 Listen, my Lord, don’t You hear the daughter of our people weeping, crying out to You from exile?
“Is the Eternal no longer in Zion? Does her King no longer reside there?”

Eternal One: But Jeremiah, why have they provoked Me with their dark and evil practices?
Why do they worship these handcrafted idols, these worthless gods?

Jeremiah understands that the time for Judah to repent and change her ways is past. She has had her last chance, but that doesn’t stop him from pleading with God.

20 Jeremiah: The harvest is over, summer has ended,
and we are not saved.
21 And because the daughter of my people is being ripped apart, I am ripped apart.
From within, a dark and cold hurt arises.
From without, I am strangled by the horror of it all.
22 Is there no healing medicine in Gilead, no balm that could help my people?
Is there no physician who can help?
Why is there no healing for the wounds inflicted on my people?

Jeremiah: O that my head were a spring of water
and my eyes a fountain of tears;
Then I could weep day and night for my poor people
who have been slaughtered.
O that I had a place in the desert I could run to,
a haven for travelers.
Then I could leave my people,
for they are all an adulterous and treacherous lot.

Eternal One: With tongues bent like bows they shoot their lies at one another.
Truth does not win out in this land; deceit always seems to triumph.
One evil leads to another because they don’t know who I am.
Let everyone be careful of his neighbor,
and think twice before he trusts his brothers;
For every brother is ready to cheat and deceive;
every neighbor is prepared to lie when it suits him.
In this land of liars, friends have no misgivings about deceiving one another;
no one even thinks to tell the truth.
They’ve trained their tongues to utter lies;
they wear themselves out with all their sinning.
Jeremiah, you live in a place where deception is assumed;
as their lies pile up, they refuse to acknowledge Me.

Here is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has to say:

Eternal One: Watch, I will refine this nation and put them to the test.
What else can I do with My people?
Their tongues are like deadly arrows;
they speak such lies;
Each one leads his neighbor with kind words
into a trap that was already set.
Should I not punish them for what they do?
Should I not repay a nation that acts this way?

10 Jeremiah: I will weep bitterly for the mountains of my homeland
and grieve for the death of her wild meadows.
For they have become a silent wasteland
where no one dares to travel.
Pastures once filled with the lowing of cattle, now are empty and lifeless.
All the animals have fled; even the birds have left the sky.

11 Eternal One: I will leave Jerusalem in ruins;
her rubble will be the haunt of jackals.
I will wreak the same havoc on the cities of Judah;
no person will be found there.

Jeremiah: 12 Who is wise enough to take all this in? Who has heard the Eternal speak and can explain His ways to others? Can anyone say why this land has been ruined and left a wasteland, a desert where no one dares to travel?

Eternal One: 13 I will answer you Myself. Because they have ignored the law I gave them generations ago. They haven’t listened to My voice, and they refuse to walk in My ways. 14 Instead, they have stubbornly followed after their own hearts. They have chosen to worship images of Baal just as their ancestors taught them. 15 This is why I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, must now take action. Look, I will now give them bitter food to eat and poisoned water to drink. 16 I Myself will scatter them among the nations—nations neither they nor their ancestors ever knew existed—and I will hunt them down with the sword and destroy them completely.

These images are too real, too vivid. Jeremiah tells of the people’s judgment. He can’t help but grieve for them and the land that was once a place of promise.

17 The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has this to say:

Eternal One: Think this over, and summon the mourners.
Send for the women who will chant the dirge, that they may come.
18 Let them be quick about it: weep and wail,
that our eyes may fill with tears that streak down our faces.
19 Listen to the voice of sorrow weeping from Zion herself:
“We are ruined. All that remains for us is great shame.
Now we must leave this land that was ours;
they have torn down our houses.”

20 Jeremiah: So listen now, women of Judah, to the word of the Eternal.
Mark His words well.
It is time to teach your daughters how to mourn,
time to teach your neighbors the song of lament.
21 For death has found us all.
It has crept in through our windows and slipped past our defenses.
It has cut down our children in the streets,
and our young men in the public squares. Death has found us all.
22 Tell everyone what the Eternal has said:
“The dead bodies of men will fall like dung on the open field.
Corpses will lie on the ground like grain cut in the harvest;
but on this day, there will be no one to gather and bury the dead.”

Eternal One: 23 Let not the wise boast in their wisdom, nor the mighty in their strength, nor the rich in their wealth. 24 Whoever boasts must boast in this: that he understands and knows Me.[c] Indeed, I am the Eternal One who acts faithfully and exercises justice and righteousness on earth. These are the things that delight Me.

25 Look, the day is coming when I will set things right with all people. I will punish all those who are circumcised in their bodies but not in their hearts— 26 the people of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, and Moab, and all who live in the desert and clip the corners of their hair. All these nations are really uncircumcised, and all of Israel is uncircumcised where it counts, in the heart.

Footnotes:

  1. 8:14 Literally, waters of the head; possibly, salty tears
  2. 8:18 Meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  3. 9:24 1 Corinthians 1:31; 2 Corinthians 10:17
The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Colossians 3:1-17

Paul knows the people in Colossae are facing many religious and philosophical options, none of which are neutral. Notice Paul doesn’t say, “Just add Jesus to what you already believe,” or, “Factor Jesus into your philosophy,” or, “Include Jesus in this or that ritual.” The claim that “Jesus is Lord” does not allow that. If Jesus is Creator, Sustainer, and Redeemer of all creation, then all other teachings must give way. All people must bow before Him and only Him.

So it comes down to this: since you have been raised with the Anointed One, the Liberating King, set your mind on heaven above. The Anointed is there, seated at God’s right hand. Stay focused on what’s above, not on earthly things, because your old life is dead and gone. Your new life is now hidden, enmeshed with the Anointed who is in God. On that day when the Anointed One—who is our[a] very life—is revealed, you will be revealed with Him in glory! So kill your earthly impulses: loose sex, impure actions, unbridled sensuality, wicked thoughts, and greed (which is essentially idolatry). It’s because of these that God’s wrath is coming [upon the sons and daughters of disobedience],[b] so avoid them at all costs. These are the same things you once pursued, and together you spawned a life of evil. But now make sure you shed such things: anger, rage, spite, slander, and abusive language. And don’t go on lying to each other since you have sloughed away your old skin along with its evil practices 10 for a fresh new you, which is continually renewed in knowledge according to the image of the One who created you. 11 In this re-creation there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and conqueror,[c] or slave and free because the Anointed is the whole and dwells in us all.

Paul tells them the key to remain unified is to show compassion and forgiveness toward one another.

12 Since you are all set apart by God, made holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a holy way of life: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Put up with one another. Forgive. Pardon any offenses against one another, as the Lord has pardoned you, because you should act in kind. 14 But above all these, put on love! Love is the perfect tie to bind these together. 15 Let your hearts fall under the rule of the Anointed’s peace (the peace you were called to as one body), and be thankful.

16 Let the word of the Anointed One richly inhabit your lives. With all wisdom teach, counsel, and instruct one another. Sing the psalms, compose hymns and songs inspired by the Spirit, and keep on singing—sing to God from hearts full and spilling over with thankfulness. 17 Surely, no matter what you are doing (speaking, writing, or working), do it all in the name of Jesus our Master, sending thanks through Him to God our Father.

Footnotes:

  1. 3:4 Some manuscripts read “your.”
  2. 3:6 Some early manuscripts omit this portion.
  3. 3:11 Literally, Scythian
The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Psalm 78:32-55

32 Even after all this, they continued to sin
and still did not trust in Him
or in the incredible things He did.
33 So He abruptly ended their time; they vanished like a breath;
He ended their years suddenly, with terror.
34 After He took some of their lives,
those left turned back and sought God wholeheartedly.
35 After all they had endured, they remembered that God, the Most High,
was their Rock, their Redeemer,
36 But even then they tried to deceive Him with their words
and fool Him with a web of lies.
37 They were not consistently faithful to Him,
and they were untrue to their covenant with Him.
38 Yet by His great compassion,
He forgave them
and decided not to put an end to them.
Most of the time, He held back His anger
and did not unleash His wrath against them.
39 He was mindful that they were human, frail and fleeting,
like a wind that touches one’s skin for a moment, then vanishes.
40 Oh, how often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness
and frustrated Him during their time in the desert!
41 Over and over again, they tested God’s patience
and caused great pain for Israel’s Holy One.
42 They failed to be mindful of His great strength.
They forgot all about the day He saved them from the enemy,
43 When He displayed all sorts of signs and wonders in Egypt,
and all the amazing things He did in the region of Zoan[a]
44 When He transformed their rivers into blood
so that they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent armies of flies to bite and torment them
and hordes of frogs to ruin and devastate them;
46 He handed over all of their crops to grasshoppers
and the fruit of all their labor to locusts;
47 He sent violent hailstorms, which smashed all their vines,
and ruined their sycamore-fig trees with biting frost.
48 He handed over all of their cattle to the hailstorms as well
and struck all their herds with lightning.
49 He poured His burning wrath upon them—
anger, resentment, and trouble—
sending a company of heavenly warriors to destroy them.
50 He carved out a road for His wrath;
He did not spare any from the sting of death
but handed them over to the fangs of the plague.
51 He killed all the firstborn of Egypt,
the first products of their manhood in the tents of Ham, the Egyptians’ ancestor.
52 But then He guided His people like sheep to safety
and led them like a flock into the desert to freedom;
53 He took them on a safe route so that they would not be afraid,
and He allowed the hungry sea to swallow all of their enemies.
54 He led them to His sacred land—
to this holy hill, which He had won by the power of His right hand.
55 He forced out the other nations which were living there before them,
and He redistributed the lands as an inheritance to His people;
He settled the tribes and families of Israel peaceably in their tents.

Footnotes:

  1. 78:43 Hebrew, Avaris
The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Proverbs 24:27

27 Complete your work outside,
and get your fields ready for next season;
after that’s done, build your house.

The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday October 6, 2017 (NIV)

Jeremiah 6:16-8:7

16 Eternal One (to the people): Stand at the crossing, and consider the ancient path,
for it is good and it leads to Me.
Walk on this path, and you will find rest for your souls.
But they have said, “We will not walk upon this road.”

17 Even then I sent watchmen to warn you of what is to come.
“Listen for the blaring of the trumpet,” I warned.
But the people did not listen.
They said, “We will not pay attention.”

18 Now listen to Me, nations of the earth.
Learn, O congregation, what is about to happen to My people.
19 Listen, O Earth, for I am bringing this disaster upon Judah.
This is the fruit of their own scheming.
For My people would not listen to My instructions;
They have rejected My guidance—My law—to go their own way.

Many people in Judah keep going through the motions of worship; they offer sacrifices and incense to the one True God. They speak superficial words when they think it counts, and they give Him extravagant gifts. But the prophet knows the mind of God, and God is not impressed with any of it. Empty worship is meaningless. In fact, empty worship may do more harm than good. These gifts and actions, it seems, have no meaning unless the hearts of the people are attuned to God, unless they are willing to hear and do what God asks. Obedience, you see, is better than sacrifice.

20 Eternal One: What use do I have of your expensive incense from Sheba
or the fragrant reeds you offer Me from a faraway land?
I will not accept your burnt offerings;
the aroma of these empty sacrifices does not please Me.

21 And so I, the Eternal One, will place stumbling blocks on your path of rebellion.
You will stumble indeed, fathers and sons alike.
Neighbors and friends will be wiped out.

22 Look in the distance, and you will see an army
marching toward you out of the north.
A nation whose size and might you can’t imagine
is now awakening and coming from the remote parts of the earth.
23 They are armed with bows and spears.
Their hearts are cruel and will show you no mercy.
The sound of their massive army,
riding in on their horses, is like the sound of an angry sea;
They are ready for battle, marching in formation,
coming to destroy you, O Jerusalem, daughter of Zion.

As clear as God’s pronouncements have been, there must be a moment of decision. The warnings are all invitations for the people of Jerusalem to return to the God who loves them. But their fate is up to them; it is their choice. At this place of decision, long overdue, Jeremiah voices the fear in the hearts of those who hear of the impending attack. Speaking for the nation, he once again responds to God’s awesome decree.

24 We heard the news, and our strength vanished—anguish and fear grip us.
We twist in pain like a woman giving birth.
25 Do not go into the field alone.
Do not walk the streets, for our enemy is armed and approaching fast.
Terror is everywhere we turn.
26 You who are my people, weep with me for it is time.
Put on sackcloth and roll in ashes.
Cry as you would for the loss of an only child.
The time for bitter tears has come.
The destroyer is descending upon us quickly,
and the days of sadness will soon begin.

27 Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Put My people to the test.
Examine their ways as a refiner tests the ore’s purity.
28 They are all stubborn rebels,
lying to each other and to Me.
They are nothing more than bronze and iron—
lesser metals, corrupt and common.
29 The refining fire has blazed fiercely, My prophet;
the lead is burned away in the fire.
But it’s no use. Though the refining fire burns hot,
their wickedness cannot be removed.
30 Now I, the Eternal, reject them as impure
“rejected silver” is what they will be called.

The word of the Eternal came to Jeremiah.

Eternal One: Go now and take a stand for Me at the entrance to My temple. Proclaim there My message. Tell all the people of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Eternal to stop and listen to the word of the Eternal. Tell them this is what I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, have to say:

“Change your ways and stop what you are doing, and I will let you live in this land. Do not rely on the misguided words, ‘The temple of the Eternal, the temple of the Eternal, the temple of the Eternal,’ as if the temple’s presence alone will protect you. But if you genuinely change your ways and stop what you are doing; if you deal with each other fairly; if you don’t oppress foreigners, orphans, and widows; if you don’t shed the blood of the innocent in this land; and if you don’t practice the self-destructive worship of other gods; then I will let you live forever in this land I promised your ancestors long ago.

One of the most important and difficult messages Jeremiah ever delivers is given at the entrance to the temple. In the seventh century, the problem isn’t that people are refusing to worship, for the crowds continue to form at the temple in Jerusalem, but that they are embracing a superficial form of worship. They are acting as if their motives do not matter; their immoral behavior seems to be of little or no concern. As long as they have the temple—with its rituals and rich history—they believe they are immune to anything. As long as they have the building in their midst, they seem to think they have God—as if He could be contained in this beautiful and storied structure.

Imagine the scene as this bold prophet speaks to the crowds streaming into the temple area. Imagine how startling these words sound to people who think religious activity and merely showing up at the temple will protect them. Listen now as Jeremiah preaches strong words about the dangers of worship gone bad.

But instead, you are clinging to lies and illusions that are worthless. Do you think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and chase after other gods and still expect Me to protect you? 10 Do you think all it takes is for you to run back to Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We’re safe now’? Does this somehow make it all right to do these vile things in front of Me? 11 Do you think this house, which is called by My name, is a den of thieves?[a] I see what you’re doing.

12 “Go and take notice of what happened in Shiloh, the place where I first met your ancestors in the tabernacle that bore My name. See what I did in response to the wickedness of My people, Israel. 13 Now, because of all the evil you have done, and because when I spoke to you time and again you never listened, and because when I called your name you never answered, 14 watch what I will do to this house which bears My name, this sacred place I gave to you and your fathers. I will do to this temple, where you have put your trust, what I did to Shiloh all those years ago. 15 I will throw you from My presence, just as I did to all your kinsmen in the Northern Kingdom, the descendants of Ephraim.”

(to Jeremiah) 16 Don’t pray or plead for these people. No matter how badly you want to come to Me on their behalf, don’t bother. For I won’t hear such cries from you. 17 Can’t you see what’s happening in the villages throughout Judah and even in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather the firewood, the fathers tend the fire, and the mothers bake the bread for the so-called queen of heaven! The people pour out drink offerings in honor of other gods as if to spite Me. 19 What they are doing doesn’t hurt me; it only hurts them, to their own disgrace. 20 Now hear what I, the Eternal Lord, declare: “The heat of My anger will pour out on this land, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the fruit of the soil. My wrath will burn through this place and not be quenched.

Generally, prophets are called to speak to people on behalf of God (prophecy) and to speak to God on behalf of the people (intercession). But in this stinging message, God tells Jeremiah not to waste his breath by praying for the people because He will not hear the prophet’s pleas. God is determined to right His people’s wrongs with punishing fury. God’s honor is at stake, and so is His people’s future. The powerful and beautiful rituals God gave the Hebrews in order to shape them as individuals and as a community have become nothing more than empty rites that God cannot tolerate.

21 This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, has to say:

Eternal One: Treat your burnt offerings the way you treat other sacrifices. Go ahead and eat the meat yourselves. I won’t have any part of it. 22 When I freed your ancestors from slavery in Egypt, burnt offerings and sacrifices were not something I required of them. 23 I wanted them to trust Me and obey My voice. In those early days, I told them, “I will be your God, and you will be My people. Follow Me every step of the way into a life that is good.” 24 But they didn’t trust Me. They didn’t obey My voice. They refused to listen to Me. Instead they followed the plans of their own stubborn hearts. Each step was a step backward, not forward. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, I have shown them the way to a better life. Day after day, I sent all of My servants, the prophets, to speak the truth. 26 But did any of them listen or pay attention? Did they change their ways? No, they only hardened their resolve to go their own way. Each generation has done more evil than the generation before.

(to Jeremiah) 27 This is how I want you to speak to the people—say it all, don’t hold anything back—but they won’t hear you. Your voice will call throughout the land, but no one will answer you. 28 And so you will say to them, “This is the nation that dared not obey the voice of the Eternal, their one True God. This is the people who would not be taught.” Truth has died and disappeared from their very lips.

29 Shave your head and throw your hair away, for it is time to mourn.
Climb the hills and grieve for the darkness has gone too far.
The Eternal has rejected His faithless people;
He has forsaken this generation that has stirred up His wrath.

30 For the people of Judah have done what is plainly evil right in front of Me. They have brought their revolting idols into My temple! They have desecrated this place that stands in honor of My name. 31 They have built shrines to other gods at Topheth, the garbage dump in the valley of Ben-hinnom, where they sacrifice their own sons and daughters and burn them in the fire to dark and pagan gods. I never taught them to do such unspeakable evil; it never even crossed My mind. 32 But I tell you this: the days are coming when that place will no longer be known as Topheth, or the garbage dump in the valley of Ben-hinnom. But it will be called the valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the bodies of those who sacrifice children there until there is no more room. 33 The remains of these wicked people will feed the vultures of the sky and wild animals of the earth because no one will be there to scare them away. 34 I will silence the sounds of laughter and joy from the villages of Judah to the streets of Jerusalem. Even the joy of a wedding will not be heard in this land of ruin.

Eternal One: When that sad day comes, the graves of My people will be desecrated. The remains of Judah’s kings and her leaders, of priests and prophets, of the citizens of My city Jerusalem will be pulled from their graves. Their bones will be spread out over the ground, exposing them to the sun, moon, and the stars of heaven, the heavenly hosts, which our enemies loved, served, chased after, sought out, and worshiped. These bones will not be gathered or buried again, but they will be scattered like dung on the ground. As for the survivors of this wicked nation, they will prefer death to life in all the places where I have driven them.

The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has spoken!

Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Tell My people that these are My words:
“When people stumble and fall, don’t they get up again?
When people are lost, don’t they try to find their way back?

So why have these people turned away from Me
and refused to come back?
They hang onto lies that lead them further away
instead of embracing the truth and coming home to Me.
I listen intently for someone, anyone, to speak the truth.
But it never happens. No one corrects his lies.
No one regrets his evil, saying, ‘What have I done?’
Instead, everyone keeps running farther down that path, away from Me,
Like a horse charging into a battle.
Even the stork in the sky knows her time to migrate.
The dove, the swallow, and the crane
All take flight when the time is right.
But not so with My people.
They do not know or care about the Eternal’s commands.”

The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Colossians 2:8-23

Make sure no predator makes you his prey through some misleading philosophy and empty deception based on traditions fabricated by mere mortals. These are sourced in the elementary principles originating in this world and not in the Anointed One (so don’t let their talks capture you). You see, all that is God, all His fullness, resides in His body. 10 You, too, are being completed in Him, the One who has dominion over all rule, all authority. 11 In Him you were also circumcised, set apart by a spiritual act performed without hands. The Anointed One’s circumcision cut you off from the sinfulness of your flesh. 12 You were buried with Him beneath the waters of the ceremonial washing called baptism[a] and then were raised up with Him by faith in the resurrection power of God, who brought Him back from the dead. 13 And when your flesh was still uncircumcised—dead in transgression and swathed in its sinful nature—it was God who brought us[b] to life with Him, forgave all our sins, and 14 eliminated the massive debt we incurred by the law that stood against us. He took it all away; He nailed it to the cross. But that’s not all. 15 He disarmed those who once ruled over us—those who had overpowered us. Like captives of war, He put them on display to the world to show His victory over them by means of the cross.

16 So don’t let anyone stand in judgment over you and dictate what you should eat or drink, what festivals you should celebrate, or how you should observe a new moon or Sabbath days— 17 all these are only a shadow of what shall come. The reality, the core, the import, is found in the Anointed One. 18 Don’t be cheated out of the prize by others who are peddling the worship of heavenly beings and false humility. People like this run about telling whoever will listen what they claim to have seen; but in reality they testify only to an inflated mind, saturated in conceit—not in the Spirit. 19 They are detached from the very head that nourishes and connects the whole body with all of its nerves and ligaments, a body that grows by the kind of growth that can only come from God.

20 Listen, if you have died with the Anointed One to the elemental spirits of the cosmos, then why are you submitting yourselves to its rules as if you still belonged to this world? 21 You hear, “Don’t handle this! Don’t taste that! Don’t even touch it!” 22 but everything they are obsessed about will eventually decay with use. These rules are just human commands and teachings. 23 Here’s what they are promoting: fabricated religion, self-humiliation, and bodily abuse. No matter which way they try to tether their bodies, they cannot harness their desires.

Footnotes:

  1. 2:12 Literally, immersion, a rite of initiation and purification
  2. 2:13 Some manuscripts read “you.”
The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Psalm 78:1-31

Psalm 78

A contemplative song[a] of Asaph.

O my people, listen to me!
Hear my instruction; soak up every word of what I am about to tell you.
I will open my mouth in parables;
I will speak of ancient mysteries—
Things that we have heard about, things that we have known,
things which our ancestors declared to us again and again.
We will not keep these things secret from their children;
rather, we will tell the coming generation
All about the praise that is due to the Eternal One.
We will tell them all about His strength, power, and wonders.

He gave His holy law to Jacob,
His teaching to the people of Israel,
Which He instructed our fathers
to pass down to their children
So that the coming generation would know them by heart,
even the children who are not yet born,
So that they might one day stand up and teach them to their children,
tell them to put their confidence and hope in God,
And never forget the wondrous things He has done.
They should obey His commandments always
And avoid following in the footsteps of their parents,
a hard-headed and rebellious generation—
A generation of uncultivated hearts,
whose spirits were unfaithful to God.

The sons of Ephraim were master archers, armed with all the necessary equipment,
yet when the battle hour arrived, they ran away.
10 They were not loyal to their covenant with God;
they turned away and refused to walk in it;
11 They did not remember all the wondrous things He had done,
even the great miracles He had revealed to them.
12 He did miraculous things in the presence of their ancestors
as they made their way out of Egypt, through the fields of Zoan.
13 He split the sea and made them pass through it;
He made the waters to rise, forming a wall of water.
14 Every day He led them with a cloud;
every night, with a fiery light.
15 He cracked open rocks in the wilderness
and provided them with all the water they needed, as plentiful as the depths of the ocean.
16 He caused streams to burst forth from the rock,
waters to rush in like a river.

17 Even after witnessing all of these miracles, they still chose to sin against God,
to act against the will of the Most High in the desert!
18 They tested God in their stubborn hearts
by demanding whatever food they happened to be craving.
19 Then they challenged God:
“Can God fill a table with food in the middle of the desert?
20 He split open the rock, and water gushed out;
streams and rivers were overflowing!
But can He also provide us with bread?
Can He supply meat to His sons and daughters?”

21 When the Eternal heard these words, He was furious;
His fiery anger erupted against Jacob;
His wrath grew against Israel.
22 This all happened because they did not trust God;
they did not have faith in His power to save them.
23 Nevertheless, He gave instructions to the clouds in the sky
and swung open heaven’s doors;
24 He showered them with manna to soothe their hungry bellies
and provided them with the bread of heaven.
25 (In that day mortals ate the bread of heavenly messengers.)
God provided them with plenty of food.
26 He stirred up the east wind and blew it through the sky.
With His might, He whipped the south wind into a storm;
27 Like dust from the sky, He caused meat to fall on them.
Birds, like sand on the seashore, fell to the earth.
28 They landed all about the camp,
all around their tents.
29 God’s people feasted on the food-blessings, and their stomachs were filled;
He gave them exactly what they desired.
30 But before their bellies were soothed,
while their mouths were still full of food,
31 God’s wrath came at them like a tidal wave
and swallowed some of the bravest, strongest among them
and quieted the youth of Israel.

Footnotes:

  1. 78:title Hebrew, maskil
The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Proverbs 24:26

26 A straight answer is as precious
as a kiss on the lips.

The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday October 5, 2017 (NIV)

Jeremiah 4:19-6:15

19 I’ve got this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’m in agony.
Every beat of my heart pounds with an awful dread.
I can’t stay silent, for I know what is coming
oh my soul, there it is: the blast of the trumpet;
The battle cries of the invading hoards.
20 Crushing defeat after crushing defeat. That’s the news.
The land is in ruins, all of it.
In an instant, my world changed;
in a moment, my tents destroyed, my curtains torn, my refuge gone.
21 How long must I see the flags of the enemy?
How long must I be forced to hear the trumpets sound?

Eternal One (to Jeremiah): 22 My people are foolish.
They do not know Me at all.
They are reckless, senseless children.
They are clever and cunning when it comes to evil,
But inept and incapable of doing good.

23 I looked at the earth and saw that it was again formless and empty;
I looked at the heavens and saw no light.
24 I looked at the mountains and saw them quaking;
all the hills, they shuddered.
25 I looked around and saw no hint of life.
The people were gone. The birds had fled the sky.
26 I looked at what was once a garden and saw a desert—
the rubble of its cities torn down right in front of the Eternal and His fierce anger.

27 Eternal One: The whole land will lie in ruin,
but I will not completely destroy it.
28 Because of this devastation,
the earth will mourn and the skies will darken—for I have spoken.
Once I have decided, I will not change My mind.
I will not turn back from this.

29 As the horseman thunders closer and the archer draws near,
the people panic and the cities empty.
They scatter to the bushes; they scramble to the hills.
The villages are abandoned, for no one dares remain.
30 So what are you doing, my ravaged one?
Why are you dressing up in scarlet, putting on your gold jewelry,
And painting your eyes to make them larger, more beautiful?
You’re wasting your time.
Your lovers want nothing to do with you.
In fact, they despise you, and are looking to kill you.

31 I hear a cry like a woman in labor, the distress of a first-time mother.
It is the anguish of my people; it is the voice of the daughter of Zion,
Gasping for breath, reaching for help, as she cries out,
“I am faint, and my life is in the hands of murderers!”

Eternal One: Roam the streets of Jerusalem, and tell Me what you see, Jeremiah.
See if you can find anything good happening anywhere.
Look in the marketplaces and open spaces of the city.
If you can find just one honest person who lives according to My ways,
I’ll spare the city of this horror.
I hear them making oaths in My name. “As the Eternal lives,” they say.
But they know the oaths are not true.

As when Abraham pleaded with God over Sodom’s fate (Genesis 18:23–32), God is willing to spare Jerusalem if the prophet can find a single person, honest and true, living there.

Jeremiah: O Eternal One, aren’t You looking for truth and integrity?
You struck them, but they did not flinch.
You destroyed them, but they did not yield to Your correction.
They wouldn’t change their ways.
They have set their stony faces against You
defiant and determined, refusing to repent.

And I thought to myself, “How could they know any better?
They are poor and senseless people, unfamiliar with the ways of the Eternal,
Unaware of what their God requires.
So I will go to their leaders and share what I see.
They will do the right thing because they know the Eternal’s ways.
Surely, they will do what their God requires.”
But to a person, I was wrong; leaders were no different;
They, too, had broken the yoke, burst the bonds,
and pulled away from God’s guidance and correction.
Therefore, from the forest, a lion will strike.
From the desert, a wolf will pounce and destroy.
And from the shadows, a leopard now stalks their villages,
waiting to tear apart any who dare wander outside.
Such is the fate of all who fall away,
for their rebellion is great; their sins are many.

Eternal One (to His people): How can I forgive what you’ve done?
You have passed on your legacy of rebellion to your children who also rejected Me.
They have made unholy oaths in the names of so-called gods.
Why? I have fed them till they were full, and still they wanted more.
So they betrayed Me with their adultery,
trooping off to worship idols, filling up the houses of prostitutes.
They have everything they need, and still they want more.
Like lusty stallions, they call for each other’s mate.
Should I not punish them for these atrocities?
Against this nation, should I not avenge Myself?

10 (to His people’s enemies) Walk through the rows in her vineyards, and destroy them.
But do not destroy them completely.
Lop off the branches,
for they do not belong to Me, the Eternal.
11 Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have betrayed Me.

12 They spew lies about the Eternal that mock My sovereign power.
They have said, “Nothing will happen! God will not hurt us!
All this talk of war and famine is just talk.
13 As for the prophets, they are full of hot air;
the word of God is not in them;
Let their words of doom fall on them.”

14 The Eternal One, Commander of heavenly armies, has this to say:

Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Because this is the way they[a] speak,
I am going to turn My words in your mouth into a fire,
A fire that will consume these people; they are nothing but kindling for My fury.

15 (to His people) O house of Israel, I am stirring up a distant nation to march against you.
They are an enduring people from ancient times.
The language they speak is unknown to you;
you will not understand them.
16 Their quiver is like a gaping grave, full of death.
They are all mighty warriors.
17 They will devour your harvest and your food.
They will devour your sons and daughters.
They will devour your livestock, flocks, and herds.
They will devour your vineyards and orchards.
They will wield their swords
and cut down the fortified cities you think are so safe.

(to Jeremiah) 18 But even then, I will not destroy your people completely. 19 So when they ask you, “Why has the Eternal done this to us? Why would our one True God treat us this way?” remind them and speak to them My words: “Because you have rejected Me and bowed down to foreign gods in a land that was yours, now you will bow down to a foreign people in a land that is not yours.”

20 Declare My truth to the house of Jacob.
Proclaim it throughout the land of Judah:
21 Hear Me you foolish, heartless people.
Even with eyes and ears you are still blind and deaf to what is happening.
22 Do you not realize who I am? Do you not fear Me?
Do you not shake in the presence of the Eternal, the Creator of all things?
It is I who has drawn for all time the boundaries of the sea.
The waves may crash and roar against the sand,
But the waters do not cross the lines I have drawn.
23 But with stubborn and defiant hearts, this people
ignored Me and left Me for another.
24 It never occurs to them to say,
“Let us stand in awe of the Eternal our God,
For He sends the rain—both the autumn and the spring rain—
and He brings the harvest at just the right time year after year.”
25 It is your sins that hold back the rain.
It is your rebellion that keeps good things from happening to you.
26 Lurking among My own people are the wicked
who watch and wait, preying on the less fortunate.
Like hunters who set traps for birds,
they ensnare people for their own benefit.
27 Like a cage full of noisy birds, their homes are filled with screeching lies.
This is how they have become so rich and important—because others fell for their lies.
28 This is how they have grown so fat and polished.
Their evil deeds know no boundaries.
They do not take the side of the orphaned to help them prosper.
They do not seek justice for the poor;
29 Should I not punish them for these atrocities?
Against a nation like this, should I not avenge Myself?

30 (to His people) Something horrible and appalling has happened
in this land of promise.
31 The prophets who claim to speak for Me
are nothing more than false prophets, spewing lies and empty predictions.
The priests who were to do My bidding have chosen to go their own way,
and all the while, My people think nothing of it.
They actually prefer it this way,
but when the end comes, when My justices arrives, what will you do then?

God, through His prophet, speaks about the ills of a greedy people who have forgotten how much the poor and orphaned matter to Him. The stench of injustice has become unbearable. For God, it is time to act.

As the swirling clouds gather to form a storm only Jeremiah sees on the horizon, the destruction of Jerusalem seems at hand. This ancient city, this storied place, is on the brink of a disaster beyond imagination. God is raising up an army from an ancient nation, known for its power and cruelty. For the prophet of God, the minutes are blurring into seconds. There seems to be little time to run and hide as the city will soon fall into the hands of those who mean her harm.

Eternal One (to His people): Run away, people of Benjamin,
and take refuge anywhere but Jerusalem.
You’re not safe inside those walls.
From the village of Tekoa, blow the trumpet, sound the alarm.
Light the warning fires above Beth-haccerem across the land.
For evil peers down; a dark army of destruction is gathering in the north.
I will destroy Jerusalem,
beautiful and delicate daughter of Zion.
As shepherds come and surround her with flocks of hungry sheep,
so their enemies will gather their troops around you, set up camp,
And feed off your land as they see fit.
“Get ready for the battle,” they cry.
“Come on, let’s attack. It’s already noon!
But look, the day is half over—
the shadows are growing longer.
So arise, let us launch our attack at night.
The palaces will fall in the darkness!”

This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, decrees.

Eternal One: Cut down her trees—make battering rams and siege ramps—
for Jerusalem will soon be under attack.
Swarm over those walls, you invading hoards,
and punish My Jerusalem, the city of oppression.
Like fresh water from a well,
fresh wickedness flows from deep inside of her.
Sounds of cruelty and destruction rumble through this city;
her wounds are always before Me.
Take Me seriously, O Jerusalem; this warning is for you!
Listen to My words and turn away from evil
Or I will turn away from you in disgust.
I will turn you into a land so barren that no one would dare to live there.

This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, decrees:

Eternal One: The enemy will pass over the remnant of Israel again and glean what is left,
like the worker who checks the vine again for any missed grapes.

10 To whom should I speak and give this warning?
Who will listen to what I say?
Their ears are closed; they cannot hear. They’re deaf to anything about God.
The Eternal’s word is offensive to them. They take no delight in it.
11 But I am welling up with His anger.
I’m too tired to try to hold it in any longer.

Eternal One: Pour it out on children playing in the streets,
on young men meeting together.
Husbands and wives, old and even the very old—
let each of them know they will be taken.
12 Their homes will be seized and lived in by others;
so, too, will their fields and wives be taken from them and given to others when I reach out against the people of this land.

13 Greed has corrupted this culture, from the least to the greatest:
all are tainted with this lust for what they don’t deserve.
The prophets and priests are no better.
Their lives reek with deceit.
14 To heal the brokenness of My people,
they offer superficial words.
They say, “Peace, peace,” as if all is well.
But there is no peace.
15 Do they feel any shame for their disgraceful deeds?
Absolutely not. My very own have forgotten how to blush.
And so it is that they will fall among the fallen and be defeated;
when the time comes, they will stumble beneath the weight of My punishment;
They will know soon enough what they have done.

This is what the Eternal decrees:

Footnotes:

  1. 5:14 Hebrew manuscripts read, “you.”
The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Colossians 1:18-2:7

18 He is the head of this body, the church. He is the beginning, the first of those to be reborn from the dead, so that in every aspect, at every view, in everything—He is first. 19 God was pleased that all His fullness should forever dwell in the Son 20 who, as predetermined by God, bled peace into the world by His death on the cross as God’s means of reconciling to Himself the whole creation—all things in heaven and all things on earth.

As Paul gives thanks to God—a normal thing to do in a letter—he remembers a hymn he heard in the churches. The Colossian hymn (verses 15–20), as we call it, is all about Jesus. It celebrates His reign, first as the Creator and Sustainer of the cosmos and second as the head of the church and the One who reconciles every broken thing to God by what He accomplished on the cross. In this hymn, the story of redemption is a witness to God’s love. Paul wants the Colossians to understand who they are; but to do that, they must first know to whom they belong.

21 You were once at odds with God, wicked in your ways and evil in your minds; 22 but now He has reconciled you in His body—in His flesh through His death—so that He can present you to God holy, blameless, and totally free of imperfection 23 as long as you stay planted in the faith. So don’t venture away from what you have heard and taken to heart: the living hope of the good news that has been announced to all creation under heaven and has captured me, Paul, as its servant.

24 Now I rejoice in what I’ve suffered on your behalf, but even more suffering is ahead for me as I take on and complete what remains of the Anointed’s suffering for the sake of His body, the church. 25 I am a servant appointed by God to preach the Word of God until it is known to you and all over—what I am talking about is nothing less than 26 the mystery of the ages! What was hidden for ages, generations and generations, is now being revealed to His holy ones. 27 He decided to make known to them His blessing to the nations; the glorious riches of this mystery is the indwelling of the Anointed in you! The very hope of glory.

28 We are preaching Him—spreading the Word to all with equal amounts of wise warning and instruction—so that, at the final judgment, we will be able to present everyone to the Creator fully mature because of what Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King, has done. 29 This is why I continue to toil and struggle—because His amazing power and energy surge within me.

At the heart of the good news is a mystery hidden in ancient Scriptures but now exposed to the world through the lives of the church’s holy ones. Paul never refers to just one “holy one”; he always uses the plural. He knows that holiness is too difficult for us to accomplish on our own. Each of us has to be called and equipped by God, but we also have to be accompanied by others who’ve answered the call. Those who say “yes” to Jesus become the church, the company of those rescued from darkness and ultimately from death. Paul is fond of calling the church the body of the risen Jesus. Our own hopes and dreams for the future are concentrated in Him. Not only do we dwell in Him, but He also dwells in us.

This battle I am facing is huge. And I want you to know I do it for you, for all those at Laodicea, and for everyone else (even those who have never seen my face). I’m working hard to comfort and encourage them so that they will be knit together—that many hearts would become one through His love. I do it so they will be rich in understanding and have full knowledge of God’s mystery, which is the Anointed One Himself— in Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are concealed. I only tell you this to warn you about those who would try and deceive you with their arguments. They seem plausible enough; but in the end, they are false. Even though I cannot be there in the body, my spirit is with you; and I’m happy to know of your good order and your solid commitment to the Anointed One, our Liberating King.

Paul calls the believers in Colossae to remain steadfast in their faith.

Now that you have welcomed the Anointed One, Jesus the Lord, into your lives, continue to journey with Him and allow Him to shape your lives. Let your roots grow down deeply in Him, and let Him build you up on a firm foundation. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught, and always spill over with thankfulness.

The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Psalm 77

Psalm 77

For the worship leader, Jeduthun. A song of Asaph.

I cry up to heaven,
“My God, True God,” and He hears.
In my darkest days, I seek the Lord.
Through the night, my hands are raised up, stretched out, waiting;
And though they do not grow tired,
my soul is uneasy.
I remember the True God and become distraught.
I think about Him, and my spirit becomes weak.

[pause][a]

You hold my eyes wide open.
I am troubled beyond words.
My mind drifts to thoughts of yesterdays
and yesteryears.
I call to mind my music; it keeps me company at night.
Together with my heart I contemplate;
my spirit searches, wondering, questioning:
“What will the Lord do? Reject us for good?
Will He never show us His favor again?
Has His loyal love finally worn down?
Have His promises reached an end?
Has the True God forgotten how to be gracious?
In His anger, has He withdrawn His compassion?”

[pause]

10 “I can’t help but be distraught,” I said,
“for the power of the Most High that was once for us is now against us.”

11 I will remember the actions the Eternal has taken,
reminisce on Your ancient wonders.
12 I will reflect on all of Your work;
indeed, I will study all You have performed.
13 O God, Your way is so different, so distinct, so divine.
No other god compares with our God.
14 You, God, and Your works evoke wonder.
You have proved Your strength to the nations.
15 You used Your great power to release Your people:
with a strong arm, You freed Jacob’s children, and Joseph’s.

[pause]

16 The waters saw You, O True God.
The seas saw You and swelled in sorrow.
Even the deep trembled.
17 Water poured from the clouds,
and the sky boomed out in response
as Your arrows of lightning flashed this way and that.
18 The sound of Your thunder whirled within the wind
as Your lightning lit up the world.
Yes, the whole earth trembled and shook.
19 Your way ran through the sea,
Your path cut through great waters,
and still no one can spot Your footprints.
20 You led Your people as a flock
tended by the hands of Moses and Aaron.

Footnotes:

  1. 77:3 Literally, selah, likely a musical direction from a Hebrew root meaning “to lift up”
The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Proverbs 24:23-25

23 The wise also say,
It is not good for a judge to be partial.
24 When a judge says to the guilty, “You are innocent,”
he will be cursed by all people; he will be hated by nations.
25 But those who reprimand evildoers will be celebrated,
and good fortune will come their way.

The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday October 4, 2017 (NIV)

Jeremiah 2:31-4:18

31 People of this generation, consider again the word of the Eternal.

Eternal One: Have I been a barren wasteland to Israel with nothing to offer?
Am I no more than a land cloaked in darkness to them?
Why do My own people say to Me,
“We would rather wander where we want than come to You”?
32 Does a young woman ever forget her jewelry?
Does a bride forget to bring along her wedding dress?
And yet My people forgot Me long, long ago.
33 How good you’ve become at your reckless loving!
You could teach even a loose woman a thing or two.
34 The stain of the blood of the poor and the innocent is on your clothes
Even though you didn’t find them breaking into your houses.
In spite of it all,
35 Still you dare to say, “I am innocent;
surely God could not be angry with me anymore.”
Yet watch as I condemn you
because you perjure yourself saying, “I have not sinned.”
36 How do you keep changing directions,
making a covenant with Me, then a treaty with them?
You will soon be disappointed by the alliance with Egypt
just as you were by the one with Assyria.
37 You will leave this land as captives, with your hands on your head.
Why? Because I, the Eternal One, have rejected those you relied on.
You will never prosper from their help.

Eternal One: If a husband divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he ever go back to her again? Such behavior would violate what is right, and the land itself would be tainted with sin. Now you, Judah, have acted like a whore and taken on many lovers. Why are you trying to return to Me now?

Look up to the hilltops. Take a good look.
Is there anywhere you have not committed perverse acts in the company of other gods?
You sat on the side of the road, offering yourself to lovers;
like a desert nomad you waited, patiently.
Even the land itself is tainted by your prostitution and wickedness.

From the beginning, the covenant between God and His people is clear. They are to worship and trust Him alone. They are to remain true to His teachings. So when God sees His people worshiping idols made of stone and wood, when He sees them participating in demeaning sexual practices with prostitutes as part of local fertility rites, it is too much. The people of Judah have been unfaithful in nearly every way imaginable. They have witnessed what happened to the adulterous Northern Kingdom of Israel. But somehow, these stubborn people think they are special, even immune to such disaster. They think if they say the right prayers in the right ways to the right God from time to time, then all the blatant violations of God’s covenant will be ignored. The prophet Jeremiah sees it all differently.

God will send out a message to the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom, which He still calls Israel. For decades, those people have been scattered throughout the Assyrian Empire to the north, while their land has been under enemy occupation. But despite the tribes’ faithlessness, these many years later, the God of mercy offers to restore them. In the midst of divine judgment, God utters words of hope; but this hope, this restoration, is only found in true repentance.

That is why I have held back the rain,
why the spring rains have not come.
But you still look and act the part of a prostitute—
unfazed, unashamed.
But wait, did you just now call out to Me, saying,
“My Father, You have been my friend, my confidant since I was young”?
You ask, “Surely He won’t be angry forever, will He?
Surely He won’t hold this against us to the end, right?”
This is how you talk—as if all I want are your words;
meanwhile you continue in your selfish and evil ways.

Then the Eternal who rules over all of history reminded me of a lesson my people, Judah, should have learned from Israel a century ago. He spoke these words to Judah early in my career, during the days of Josiah the king.

Eternal One: Have you not learned anything from Israel’s unfaithful ways? How she turned away from Me, went up every high hill and under every green tree to worship another. She acted like a prostitute and broke our covenant there. I thought, “After she’s done all this, she’ll return home to Me,” but it never happened. She didn’t come back. And her deceitful sister, Judah, saw all of this and learned nothing. She saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away with a decree of divorce for these acts of adultery. But it didn’t matter to her deceitful sister, Judah. She wasn’t afraid or moved by any of this. She went her own way and played the prostitute as well. In fact, because her own infidelity bothered her so little, she defiled the land by committing adultery, worshiping stones and trees instead of Me. 10 And while this was a lesson to be learned by deceitful Judah, it was an opportunity lost—for she never learned it; she never completely returned to Me. She only pretended to be Mine, as if empty words would satisfy Me.

11 (to Jeremiah) Despite her faithlessness, Israel has proven to be more righteous than her deceitful sister, Judah. 12 Now go and cry out these words of hope to those people in the north:

“Return to Me, faithless Israel.
I will look on you with mercy, not anger.
I will not hold this grudge against you forever.
13 Just admit what you did—your sin against Me.
How you rebelled against the Eternal your God.
How you gave yourself away to these foreign gods in the open, under the trees!
How you disobeyed My voice.
14 Come back home, My restless, faithless ones,
for I am your master, your husband (not that other god),
And I will take you in—one from this city, two from that clan;
I will bring you home to Zion.

15 “Then I will give you shepherds who trust and know Me, wise teachers who will impart knowledge and understanding to you. 16 In those days, after your people have grown and increased in the land, they will no longer talk about the covenant chest of the Eternal. They won’t think about it, remember it, or even miss it. There will be no need for it to be made again. 17 In this coming age, Jerusalem will be known as the throne of the Eternal. All the nations of the world will be drawn there to her, to honor the name of the Eternal. The days of people insisting on their own stubborn ways dictated by their own evil hearts will be gone. 18 In that day, the split between My people will be mended. Judah and Israel will walk together again. From a land to the north, they will come to this land I gave only to your ancestors.

19 “I thought to Myself how much I wanted to welcome you home as children
and bless you with a good land and a future to be envied by all the world.
I hoped for the day when you would call Me ‘My Father,’
and no longer pull away from Me and My ways.
20 But just as an unfaithful wife betrays her husband,
so have you betrayed Me, O house of Israel.”

Jeremiah tells the people what could happen, if only they will repent. The prophet hopes for dialogue between Israel and the God who has never stopped loving her.

21 A sound now echoes from the deserted hills
where Israel betrayed her God.
It is the sound of bitter tears mixed with the prayers
of the lost and rebellious people of Israel
who have forgotten the Eternal, their True God.

22 Eternal One: Come back to Me, My faithless ones,
and I will heal your faithlessness.

Israel: Look! We come to You now,
because You are the Eternal our God.
23 The idols we worshiped on the hills,
the rituals we performed on the mountains were based on a lie.
You, the Eternal, our one True God,
are the only hope of Israel’s rescue.

24 Everything our parents worked for—their livestock and even their families—has been devoured by the worship of the shameful god. 25 Let us fall on our faces in shame, covered in our humiliation. Ours is a legacy of rebellion, for we and those before us have sinned against the Eternal our God. From the time we were young to this very day, we have refused to obey His voice.

Eternal One: O Israel if you turn, turn home to Me.
Just turn away from the vile worship of those things,
those idols that repulse Me.
Put them out of My sight for good.
Come home to Me and never stray.
If you make a promise in My name, saying, “As the Eternal lives,”
and do so in truth, justice, and righteousness,
Then the nations will discover true blessing in Me
and give Me the praise I deserve.

This is what the Eternal now says to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem.

Eternal One: Break up the hard, untilled soil!
It is a waste to plant seeds among thorns.
Circumcise yourselves to Me;
cut away the foreskin of your hearts,
men of Judah and people of Jerusalem.
Remove all that stands between us,
and devote yourselves fully to Me,
Or the heat of My anger will burn as an unquenchable fire
against your wicked ways.

The warnings now climax with a vision of invasion and destruction that is almost more than the young prophet can bear. Still God instructs Jeremiah to speak these words of terror, and this prophet who loves the people he has been called to chastise struggles with his mission. In the midst of this painful vision, Jeremiah begins to wonder aloud to the very God for whom he speaks. As he proclaims, he prays. As he waits for answers, the words of devastation continue.

Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Cry out to those in Jerusalem. Proclaim to all of Judah.
Let the trumpets blare throughout the land!
Say to the people, “Gather everyone from the outlying villages,
and run toward the fortified cities.”
Raise a banner toward Zion, Jerusalem;
point everyone toward her refuge.
Don’t wait, for I am releasing an evil from the north that will devastate the land.
For a lion has stepped out of the thicket;
A destroyer of nations is on the move.
He has left his den to devour your land;
your cities will be left in ruin, empty and lifeless.”

The time of mourning is here.
Put on your sackcloth, and get ready to cry and scream.
Since we have not turned from our sin,
the blazing anger of the Eternal has not turned away from us.

Eternal One: On that fearsome day, even the hearts of kings and leaders will fail. Priests will recoil in horror. Prophets will be shocked into silence.

Jeremiah: 10 But Eternal Lord, You have misled this people and all of Jerusalem when you said, “You will live in peace.” Even now the cold blade of the sword is pressed against our throats.

11 The day is coming soon when Jerusalem and the people beyond will be told, “A blistering wind will blow in from the desert mountains toward My daughter, My people: a wind too strong to winnow the grain and clean the crops, 12 a wind too powerful to withstand for it comes from Me. It is My judgment that will bear down on you.”

13 Look, you can see Him coming in the distance, like a cloud on the horizon.
Like a whirlwind, His chariots of destruction will descend on you.
Swifter than eagles are His horses. At the sight of this, you will cry out, “Alas, we are doomed!”

14 Hear me, O Jerusalem, for even now there is time.
Wash these wicked ways from your hearts
So that you can be saved.
How long will you cling to those wicked thoughts?
15 From the tribe of Dan in the north comes the first cry;
news of disaster arrives from the hill country of Ephraim.

16 Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Tell the nations to beware.
Announce to Jerusalem:
“Invaders are coming from a distant land.
Their war cries will soon be heard in Judah’s villages.”
17 They will spread out and surround Jerusalem on every side like guards in a field,
all because she has acted against Me.

18 (to the people) You chose this path that led to disaster.
Your plans and actions brought it on.
It is your wickedness that tastes so bitter,
your evil that pierces your heart.

The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Colossians 1:1-17

Paul, an emissary[a] of Jesus the Anointed serving at God’s pleasure, along with our brother Timothy to you, dear holy and faithful brothers and sisters in the family of the Anointed who live in Colossae. May grace and peace from God our Father [and the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One][b] envelop you.

As always, we’ve been praying for you, thanking God, the Father of our Lord Jesus the Anointed, ever since we heard of your faith in Jesus the Anointed and your love for His holy ones— a faith and love that emerge from the hope you have heard about in the word of truth—the gospel—the very hope that awaits you in heaven. 6-7 The same gospel that was brought to you is growing and bearing fruit all over the world, just as it has been growing among you since the day you heard and took in the truth of God’s grace from our beloved fellow servant Epaphras. (He is a faithful minister of the Anointed on our[c] behalf.) He was the one who told us how you demonstrate your love in the power of the Spirit. Since the day we got this good news about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We ask:

This is a prayer for knowledge and insight that only can come from God.

Father, may they clearly know Your will and achieve the height and depth of spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 May their lives be a credit to You, Lord; and what’s more, may they continue to delight You by doing every good work and growing in the true knowledge that comes from being close to You. 11 Strengthen them with Your infinite power, according to Your glorious might, so that they will have everything they need to hold on and endure hardship patiently and joyfully. 12 Thank You, Father, as You have made us[d] eligible to receive our portion of the inheritance given to all those set apart by the light. 13 You have rescued us from dark powers and brought us safely into the kingdom of Your Son, whom You love 14 and in whom we are redeemed and forgiven of our sins [through His blood].[e]

15 He is the exact image of the invisible God, the firstborn of creation, the eternal. 16 It was by Him that everything was created: the heavens, the earth, all things within and upon them, all things seen and unseen, thrones and dominions, spiritual powers and authorities. Every detail was crafted through His design, by His own hands, and for His purposes. 17 He has always been! It is His hand that holds everything together.

Footnotes:

  1. 1:1 Literally, apostle
  2. 1:2 Some manuscripts omit this portion.
  3. 1:6-7 Some manuscripts read “your.”
  4. 1:12 Other manuscripts read “you.”
  5. 1:14 Early manuscripts omit this portion.
The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Psalm 76

Psalm 76

For the worship leader. A song of Asaph accompanied by strings.

This song of Asaph praises Jerusalem as God’s earthly home and celebrates His victory there over enemies, where in the end “He squashes the arrogant spirit of the rulers.”

The One known in Judah is the True God;
in Israel, His name is great.
He has made Salem[a] His home;
indeed, He rests in Zion.
There He destroyed the instruments of war:
flaming arrows, shields, and swords.

[pause][b]

You rise and shine like the dawn.
You are more majestic than the mountains where game runs wild.
The strong-hearted enemies were plundered;
they were buried in slumber.
Even the noble warriors
could not raise a hand to stop You.
O True God of Jacob, with just Your rebuke
both horse and rider fell into a deep sleep.

You are feared; yes, You.
And who can stand before You when Your anger flares?
You decreed judgment from the heavens.
The earth heard it and was petrified with fear, completely still,
When the True God arose for judgment
to deliver all the meek of the earth.

[pause]

10 For the wrath of man will end in praise of You,
and whatever wrath is left You will wrap around Yourself like a belt.
11 Make vows to the Eternal your God,
and do all you promised;
Let all the nations around you bring gifts
to the God who arouses fear and awe.
12 He squashes the arrogant spirit of the rulers
and inspires fear in the hearts of the kings of the earth.

Footnotes:

  1. 76:2 Jerusalem
  2. 76:3 Literally, selah, likely a musical direction from a Hebrew root meaning “to lift up”
The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Proverbs 24:21-22

21 My son, fear both the Eternal and His anointed ruler.
It is not wise to associate with those rebelling against them
22 Because disaster can arise from either of them without warning,
and who knows what destruction comes down from both of them?

The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday October 3, 2017 (NIV)

Jeremiah 1:1-2:30

1-2 This is an account of the words and deeds of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who lived in the village of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. The word of the Eternal came to him in a series of messages that started coming to the prophet in the 13th year of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah. These disturbing and awesome messages continued throughout the reign of Jehoiakim, Josiah’s son, king of Judah, until Jerusalem was captured in the 5th month of the 11th year of Zedekiah, another of Josiah’s sons, who was also king of Judah.

And now the fateful day when the Eternal One first spoke to me:

Eternal One: Before I even formed you in your mother’s womb,
I knew all about you.
Before you drew your first breath, I had already chosen you
to be My prophet to speak My word to the nations.

Jeremiah: Ah, Eternal Lord!
I’m too young and inexperienced to speak for You.

Eternal One: Don’t use your youth as an excuse;
you can and will go wherever I send you.
You can and will say whatever I tell you to say.
You have no reason to fear the people you speak to,
for I am with you and will defend you.

Then the Eternal reached out and touched my mouth, and He gave me His divine message.

Eternal One: Look, I have placed My words in you.
You will know what to say now, for you will be My voice.
10 This very day I appointed you to speak with My authority over nations and kingdoms.
Your wordMy wordwill have the power to uproot and stamp out;
it will destroy and upend.
And then your word—My word—will rebuild and plant anew.

Nations and empires will now hear Jeremiah’s voice as God’s in these days of painful change. To confirm that Jeremiah has indeed been called to speak for God, two simple visions are given to him, each with an explanation. Both speak of coming judgment and remind the young prophet of his difficult assignment.

11 The word of the Eternal came to me.

Eternal One: What do you see, Jeremiah?

Jeremiah: I see the branch of an almond tree.

Eternal One: 12 That’s right. From this know that I am watching over My word until it is accomplished.

Words are the tools of a prophet. The word of God comes asking the prophet what he sees. He responds that he sees something rather ordinary: an almond tree. God uses this ordinary sight to give him an extraordinary message. There is a play on words here between the Hebrew words for “almond” and “watching,” which sound alike in that language. Jeremiah sees an almond, which is shaped like a person’s eye, and God says He is watching. This playful and clever use of words gets Jeremiah’s attention; it stirs his prophetic imagination so that he will similarly use poetry, wordplay, and object lessons to get the attention of his listeners. Just as the almond tree is usually the first sign of spring, soon the first signs of God’s approaching judgment will appear.

13 Then the word of the Eternal came to me a second time.

Eternal One: What do you see this time?

Jeremiah: I see a boiling pot, tilting away from the north, ready to spill out toward the south.

Eternal One: 14 That is because an evil out of the north will indeed begin spilling onto the people of this land. 15 Watch now, as I summon the clans and kingdoms of the north to march against Judah, rule with power at the very gates of Jerusalem, press in on every side, and vanquish all the cities of Judah. 16 I will declare My sentence for their wicked crimes. My own people have abandoned Me, burning incense to other gods and bowing down to handmade idols.

17 Now stand with courage, and tell the people exactly what I command. Don’t break down in front of them, or I will break you Myself. 18 Remember, Jeremiah, this very day I have made you as a fortress, a column as strong as iron, a wall of bronze able to withstand the attacks of the entire nation of Judah—from her kings and leaders to the priests and people. 19 Eventually, they will all give you trouble, but you will be safe. They will fight you, but they will not win. Remember, I am with you. I promise I will always deliver you.

The word of the Eternal came to me again.

With Jeremiah as God’s mouthpiece, the mighty oracles begin about a loving husband (God) divorcing his unfaithful wife (Judah).

Eternal One: Go now, and say this loud enough for all Jerusalem to hear. Tell them that the Eternal speaks these words:

“I still remember the way you clung to Me in your youth, in the early days of our union.
Like a young bride, you loved the vows you made.
As I led you from slavery in Egypt to your freedom in Canaan, you drew close to Me.
Even in the barren wilderness along the way, I filled your every need.
In those days, you, Israel, were set apart for Me, the Eternal.
You were like the first portions of the harvest—devoted and true.
All who defied this arrangement and ate My portion for themselves were guilty,
and evil rained down upon them.”

Listen to the very word of the Eternal, house of Jacob and all the clans of Israel!

Eternal One: What happened between us?
What could I have done to your ancestors that was so wrong, so unfair?
Why would they pull away from Me
to pursue the empty worship of idols that has left them just as empty?
They didn’t think to say, “Where is the Eternal who rescued us from slavery in Egypt?
Where is the One who led us through the wilderness—a land of deserts and ravines?”
No one seems to remember how they crossed a scorched and lifeless land,
a darkness none had ever crossed before, a place where none survive.
I am the One who delivered you into this land of abundance
to enjoy its fruits and many good things.
But you have now taken the very land I gave you and defiled it.
You have done a most disgusting thing with this gift I reserved only for you.
Even then, the priests didn’t think to say, “Where is the Eternal One?”
Those who understand and teach the law act as if they’ve never known Me.
The rulers also have moved against Me.
Even the so-called prophets spoke in the name of Baal
and pursued worthless idols in their vain attempt for greater prosperity.

This is the case that I bring against you and your descendants:
10 You can search from the coastlands of Kittim in the west
to the deserts of Kedar in the east, and you won’t find anything as sickening as this.
11 Has a nation ever exchanged its gods for some others,
even if they weren’t really gods in the first place?
But My beloved people have done just that: they have exchanged their glory
to pursue worthless idols in their vain attempt for greater prosperity.

Israel’s plan to submit herself to the authority of a stronger pagan nation in return for protection makes no sense to an objective observer, much less to God Himself. During the long history of this nation, her troubles have often resulted from a stubborn refusal to trust God. They have a habit of looking elsewhere—to anywhere or anyone but God—for relief, of turning to nations that are never constant friends. For example, when the Assyrian Empire was conquering the region 100 years earlier, the Northern Kingdom of Israel attempted to ward off the threat by making treaties with other nations. Despite their feeble plans, Israel fell in 722 b.c. to Assyrian might and cruelty. Now God points out to Judah’s leaders in the Southern Kingdom how useless it is to align with either Egypt or Assyria when the punishing Babylonian army is on the horizon. It doesn’t matter how powerful her allies may seem; once the covenant with God is broken, Israel must pay for her infidelity.

12 Be horrified, O you heavens, at this appalling betrayal.
Cringe in horror and be repulsed.
13 My people are guilty of two evils:
They have abandoned Me, the spring of living waters;
And instead, they have settled for dead and stagnant water
from cracked, leaky cisterns of their own making.

14 Is Israel some common slave, born into bondage?
Why has he been carted off as if he were the spoil of battle?
15 The nations have circled him like hungry young lions,
roaring and growling their war cries.
They have left Israel a wasteland—
the cities destroyed and the people scattered.
16 Even your Egyptian allies, from Memphis and Tahpanhes,
have stripped you of land and your crowning glory.
17 Is there anyone to blame but yourself?
Weren’t you the ones who abandoned the Eternal,
Your True God, even as He led you on this journey?

18 Eternal One: What do you hope to accomplish by going to Egypt
and drinking from the waters of the Nile?
What do you think you will gain by traveling to Assyria
and drinking from the waters of the Euphrates?
19 It is your wickedness that will punish you
and your desertion of My ways that will convict you.
See the evil and taste the bitterness of forsaking the one True God, the Eternal.
At the core of this evil is the sad truth that you have forgotten the wonder and terror of who I am.

So says the Eternal Lord, Commander of heavenly armies.

20 Eternal One (to His people): A long time ago, I broke the yoke that weighed you down
and tore off the chains that enslaved you;
Still you boldly said, “I will not serve You!”
Instead, you bowed down like a whore to pagan gods on the high hills, under every green tree.
21 I am the One who planted you like a select vine, chosen from vintage stock.
How could you turn into such a useless, wild weed of a vine?
22 You can scrub yourself with all the soap you want,
but you’ll never be able to wash away the stain of what you’ve done before Me.

So says the Eternal Lord.

23 Eternal One (to His people): How can you say, “I have not been defiled”?
How can you reply, “I have not run after the idols of Baal?”
You know exactly what you’ve done down in the valley—
you’re like a young camel running here and there without any direction.
24 You’ve acted like a wild donkey at home in that desert,
sniffing at the wind for any scent of the next encounter, unbridled in her lust.
It’s not even fair to say you were seduced by these gods.
You sought them out!
25 I warn you again: stop running after these rituals
till your feet are bare and your throat is dried out.
You said, “I can’t help myself, for I love these strange gods I am chasing after.”

26 Like a thief caught in the act, the people of Israel will be put to shame:
kings, leaders, priests, and prophets will be shamed.
27 They say to a piece of wood, “You are my father”;
they confess to a stone, “You gave me birth.”
They have shunned Me, who gave them life—turning their backs
instead of facing Me—
But that will change when troubles come.
That’s when they will cry out to Me, “Stand up for us, and save us!”
28 O Judah, where will your pagan gods be then?
You know, the ones you made yourself?
Let them stand up on their own.
See if they’re able to save you from your troubles.
You have as many gods as villages, Judah. Now let them take care of you.

29 Why are you leveling charges against Me?
You are the unfaithful one here.
You have all pulled away from Me.
30 I tried to discipline your sons, but it didn’t work; they wouldn’t listen.
You destroyed the prophets I sent to speak truth to you.
You devoured them as a lion does his prey.

The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Philippians 4

For this reason, brothers and sisters, my joy and crown whom I dearly love, I cannot wait to see you again. Continue to stand firm in the Lord, and follow my instructions in this letter, beloved. Euodia and Syntyche, I urge you to put aside your differences, agree, and work together in the Lord. Yes, Syzygus, loyal friend, I enlist you to please help these women. They, along with brother Clement and many others, have worked by my side to spread the good news of the gospel. They have their names recorded in the book of life.

Most of all, friends, always rejoice in the Lord! I never tire of saying it: Rejoice! Keep your gentle nature so that all people will know what it looks like to walk in His footsteps. The Lord is ever present with us. Don’t be anxious about things; instead, pray. Pray about everything. He longs to hear your requests, so talk to God about your needs and be thankful for what has come. And know that the peace of God (a peace that is beyond any and all of our human understanding) will stand watch over your hearts and minds in Jesus, the Anointed One.

Finally, brothers and sisters, fill your minds with beauty and truth. Meditate on whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is good, whatever is virtuous and praiseworthy. Keep to the script: whatever you learned and received and heard and saw in me—do it—and the God of peace will walk with you.

10 I could hardly contain my joy in the Lord when I realized you have started to show your care for me once again. Since you have not had the opportunity to show how much you cared until now, I want you to know how it touched me. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need. I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances. 12 I know how to survive in tight situations, and I know how to enjoy having plenty. In fact, I have learned how to face any circumstances: fed or hungry, with or without. 13 I can be content in any and every situation through the Anointed One who is my power and strength. 14 Nevertheless, it was admirable of you to participate in my affliction.

True contentment is the result of a heart committed to the risen Lord. Think of all the sins, pain, and brokenness that come from coveting. Adultery, murder, stealing, and lying can all be traced directly to a prior condition when hearts and minds are frustrated and discontent.

Notice what Paul says doesn’t come naturally; it is learned. The normal, natural state of humanity is discontent and quiet desperation. It takes a powerful, spiritual presence to transform anxiety into joyous satisfaction. Ironically, it may be the shackles more than his freedom that schools Paul in the art of contentment. Despite the chains, Paul discovers this beautiful state of inner peace through the power of Jesus residing in him.

15 You remember, Philippians, at the beginning of my gospel journey after I left Macedonia, no church offered me the financial assistance I needed to do the Lord’s work, except you alone. 16 Even when I took the message to Thessalonica, you sent provisions to me. Twice even! 17 Not that I am looking for a gift—I am just looking toward your reward that comes from your gift. 18 With what Epaphroditus delivered to me from your generous pockets, I have even been blessed in excess. I am fully satisfied. I know God is pleased with your dedication and accepts this gift as a fragrant offering, a holy sacrifice, on His behalf. 19 Know this: my God will also fill every need you have according to His glorious riches in Jesus the Anointed, our Liberating King. 20 So may our God and Father be glorified forever and ever. Amen.

21 Greet every saint there in Jesus the Anointed One, for my brothers and sisters and I send our greetings to you. 22 All of the saints, especially those serving in Caesar’s household, also send salutations to you. 23 May you all continue the journey with your spirits strengthened by the grace of the Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. [Amen.][a]

Footnotes:

  1. 4:23 Some manuscripts omit this word.
The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Psalm 75

Psalm 75

For the worship leader. A song of Asaph to the tune “Do Not Destroy.”[a]

We thank You, O True God.
Our souls are overflowing with thanks! Your name is near;
Your people remember and tell of Your marvelous works and wonders.

You say, “At the time that I choose,
I will judge and do so fairly.
When the earth and everyone living upon it spin into chaos,
I am the One who stabilizes and supports it.”[b]

[pause][c]

“I discipline the arrogant by telling them, ‘No more bragging.’
I discipline the wicked by saying, ‘Do not raise your horn to demonstrate your power.[d]
Do not thrust your horn into the air, issuing a challenge,
and never speak with insolence when you address Me.’”

There is no one on earth who can raise up another to grant honor,
not from the east or the west, not from the desert.
There is no one. God is the only One.
God is the only Judge.
He is the only One who can ruin or redeem a man.
For the Eternal holds a full cup of wine in His hand—
a chalice well stirred and foaming full of wrath.
He pours the cup out,
and all wicked people of the earth drink it up—every drop of it!
But I will tell of His great deeds forever.
I will sing praises to Jacob’s True God.

10 I will cut off the horns of strength raised by the wicked,
but I will lift up the horns of strength of the righteous.

Footnotes:

  1. 75:title Hebrew, al-tashheth, meaning is uncertain.
  2. 75:3 Literally, “steady its pillars”
  3. 75:3 Literally, selah, likely a musical direction from a Hebrew root meaning “to lift up”
  4. 75:4 The horn was a symbol of power, and a raised horn indicated a challenge.
The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.

Proverbs 24:17-20

17 Do not celebrate when your enemies fall,
and do not rejoice when they trip up;
18 Or else the Eternal will know and be upset with you,
and He will release them from His anger.

19 Do not worry when evildoers go unpunished
or be jealous when the wicked seem to prosper.
20 Evil people will have no future;
the life of the wicked will be snuffed out like a candle.

The Voice (VOICE)

The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.