A Walk Through The Word

October 9, 2024

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday October 9, 2024 (NIV)

Jeremiah 12:1-14:10

Jeremiah’s Complaint

12 You are always righteous,^(A) Lord,
when I bring a case^(B) before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:^(C)
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?^(D)
Why do all the faithless live at ease?
²You have planted^(E) them, and they have taken root;
they grow and bear fruit.^(F)
You are always on their lips
but far from their hearts.^(G)
³Yet you know me, Lord;
you see me and test^(H) my thoughts about you.
Drag them off like sheep^(I) to be butchered!
Set them apart for the day of slaughter!^(J)
⁴How long will the land lie parched^(K)
and the grass in every field be withered?^(L)
Because those who live in it are wicked,
the animals and birds have perished.^(M)
Moreover, the people are saying,
“He will not see what happens to us.”

God’s Answer

⁵“If you have raced with men on foot
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble^[a] in safe country,
how will you manage in the thickets^(N) by^[b] the Jordan?
⁶Your relatives, members of your own family—
even they have betrayed you;
they have raised a loud cry against you.^(O)
Do not trust them,
though they speak well of you.^(P)

⁷“I will forsake^(Q) my house,
abandon^(R) my inheritance;
I will give the one I love^(S)
into the hands of her enemies.^(T)
⁸My inheritance has become to me
like a lion^(U) in the forest.
She roars at me;
therefore I hate her.^(V)
⁹Has not my inheritance become to me
like a speckled bird of prey
that other birds of prey surround and attack?
Go and gather all the wild beasts;
bring them to devour.^(W)
¹⁰Many shepherds^(X) will ruin my vineyard
and trample down my field;
they will turn my pleasant field
into a desolate wasteland.^(Y)
¹¹It will be made a wasteland,^(Z)
parched and desolate before me;^(AA)
the whole land will be laid waste
because there is no one who cares.
¹²Over all the barren heights in the desert
destroyers will swarm,
for the sword^(AB) of the Lord^(AC) will devour^(AD)
from one end of the land to the other;^(AE)
no one will be safe.^(AF)
¹³They will sow wheat but reap thorns;
they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.^(AG)
They will bear the shame of their harvest
because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”^(AH)

¹⁴This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance^(AI) I gave my people Israel, I will uproot^(AJ) them from their lands and I will uproot^(AK) the people of Judah from among them. ¹⁵But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion^(AL) and will bring^(AM) each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. ¹⁶And if they learn^(AN) well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’^(AO)—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal^(AP)—then they will be established among my people.^(AQ) ¹⁷But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy^(AR) it,” declares the Lord.

A Linen Belt

13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” ²So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.

³Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time:^(AS) ⁴“Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath^[c]^(AT) and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” ⁵So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.^(AU)

⁶Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” ⁷So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.

⁸Then the word of the Lord came to me: ⁹“This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride^(AV) of Jerusalem. ¹⁰These wicked people, who refuse to listen^(AW) to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts^(AX) and go after other gods^(AY) to serve and worship them,^(AZ) will be like this belt—completely useless!^(BA) ¹¹For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown^(BB) and praise and honor.^(BC) But they have not listened.’^(BD)

Wineskins

¹²“Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And if they say to you, ‘Don’t we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ ¹³then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to fill with drunkenness^(BE) all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. ¹⁴I will smash them one against the other, parents and children alike, declares the Lord. I will allow no pity^(BF) or mercy or compassion^(BG) to keep me from destroying^(BH) them.’”

Threat of Captivity

¹⁵Hear and pay attention,
do not be arrogant,
for the Lord has spoken.^(BI)
¹⁶Give glory^(BJ) to the Lord your God
before he brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble^(BK)
on the darkening hills.
You hope for light,
but he will turn it to utter darkness
and change it to deep gloom.^(BL)
¹⁷If you do not listen,^(BM)
I will weep in secret
because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly,
overflowing with tears,^(BN)
because the Lord’s flock^(BO) will be taken captive.^(BP)

¹⁸Say to the king^(BQ) and to the queen mother,^(BR)
“Come down from your thrones,
for your glorious crowns^(BS)
will fall from your heads.”
¹⁹The cities in the Negev will be shut up,
and there will be no one to open them.
All Judah^(BT) will be carried into exile,
carried completely away.

²⁰Look up and see
those who are coming from the north.^(BU)
Where is the flock^(BV) that was entrusted to you,
the sheep of which you boasted?
²¹What will you say when the Lord sets over you
those you cultivated as your special allies?^(BW)
Will not pain grip you
like that of a woman in labor?^(BX)
²²And if you ask yourself,
“Why has this happened to me?”^(BY)—
it is because of your many sins^(BZ)
that your skirts have been torn off^(CA)
and your body mistreated.^(CB)
²³Can an Ethiopian^[d] change his skin
or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
who are accustomed to doing evil.^(CC)

²⁴“I will scatter you like chaff^(CD)
driven by the desert wind.^(CE)
²⁵This is your lot,
the portion^(CF) I have decreed for you,”
declares the Lord,
“because you have forgotten^(CG) me
and trusted in false gods.^(CH)
²⁶I will pull up your skirts over your face
that your shame may be seen^(CI)—
²⁷your adulteries and lustful neighings,
your shameless prostitution!^(CJ)
I have seen your detestable acts
on the hills and in the fields.^(CK)
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
How long will you be unclean?”^(CL)

Drought, Famine, Sword

14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:^(CM)

²“Judah mourns,^(CN)
her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
³The nobles send their servants for water;
they go to the cisterns
but find no water.^(CO)
They return with their jars unfilled;
dismayed and despairing,
they cover their heads.^(CP)
⁴The ground is cracked
because there is no rain in the land;^(CQ)
the farmers are dismayed
and cover their heads.
⁵Even the doe in the field
deserts her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.^(CR)
⁶Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights^(CS)
and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
for lack of food.”^(CT)

⁷Although our sins testify^(CU) against us,
do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.^(CV)
For we have often rebelled;^(CW)
we have sinned^(CX) against you.
⁸You who are the hope^(CY) of Israel,
its Savior^(CZ) in times of distress,^(DA)
why are you like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who stays only a night?
⁹Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
like a warrior powerless to save?^(DB)
You are among^(DC) us, Lord,
and we bear your name;^(DD)
do not forsake^(DE) us!

¹⁰This is what the Lord says about this people:

“They greatly love to wander;
they do not restrain their feet.^(DF)
So the Lord does not accept^(DG) them;
he will now remember^(DH) their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.”^(DI)

Footnotes:

Jeremiah 12:5 Or you feel secure only
Jeremiah 12:5 Or the flooding of
Jeremiah 13:4 Or possibly to the Euphrates; similarly in verses 5-7
Jeremiah 13:23 Hebrew Cushite (probably a person from the upper Nile region)

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:8

1 Paul, Silas^[a]^(A) and Timothy,^(B)

To the church of the Thessalonians^(C) in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

Grace and peace to you.^(D)

Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians’ Faith

²We always thank God for all of you^(E) and continually mention you in our prayers.^(F) ³We remember before our God and Father^(G) your work produced by faith,^(H) your labor prompted by love,^(I) and your endurance inspired by hope^(J) in our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴For we know, brothers and sisters^[b] loved by God,^(K) that he has chosen you, ⁵because our gospel^(L) came to you not simply with words but also with power,^(M) with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know^(N) how we lived among you for your sake. ⁶You became imitators of us^(O) and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering^(P) with the joy^(Q) given by the Holy Spirit.^(R) ⁷And so you became a model^(S) to all the believers in Macedonia^(T) and Achaia.^(U) ⁸The Lord’s message^(V) rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere.^(W) Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, ⁹for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned^(X) to God from idols^(Y) to serve the living and true God,^(Z) ¹⁰and to wait for his Son from heaven,^(AA) whom he raised from the dead^(AB)—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.^(AC)

Paul’s Ministry in Thessalonica

2 You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you^(AD) was not without results.^(AE) ²We had previously suffered^(AF) and been treated outrageously in Philippi,^(AG) as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition.^(AH) ³For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives,^(AI) nor are we trying to trick you.^(AJ) ⁴On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel.^(AK) We are not trying to please people^(AL) but God, who tests our hearts.^(AM) ⁵You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed^(AN)—God is our witness.^(AO) ⁶We were not looking for praise from people,^(AP) not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles^(AQ) of Christ we could have asserted our authority.^(AR) ⁷Instead, we were like young children^[c] among you.

Just as a nursing mother cares for her children,^(AS) ⁸so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God^(AT) but our lives as well.^(AU)

Footnotes:

1 Thessalonians 1:1 Greek Silvanus, a variant of Silas
1 Thessalonians 1:4 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 2:1, 9, 14, 17; 3:7; 4:1, 10, 13; 5:1, 4, 12, 14, 25, 27.
1 Thessalonians 2:7 Some manuscripts were gentle

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 79

A psalm of Asaph.

¹O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;^(A)
they have defiled^(B) your holy temple,
they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.^(C)
²They have left the dead bodies of your servants
as food for the birds of the sky,^(D)
the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild.^(E)
³They have poured out blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury^(F) the dead.^(G)
⁴We are objects of contempt to our neighbors,
of scorn^(H) and derision to those around us.^(I)

⁵How long,^(J) Lord? Will you be angry^(K) forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like fire?^(L)
⁶Pour out your wrath^(M) on the nations
that do not acknowledge^(N) you,
on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name;^(O)
⁷for they have devoured^(P) Jacob
and devastated his homeland.

⁸Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;^(Q)
may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate need.^(R)
⁹Help us,^(S) God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name’s sake.^(T)
¹⁰Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”^(U)

Before our eyes, make known among the nations
that you avenge^(V) the outpoured blood^(W) of your servants.
¹¹May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
¹²Pay back into the laps^(X) of our neighbors seven times^(Y)
the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.
¹³Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,^(Z)
will praise you forever;^(AA)
from generation to generation
we will proclaim your praise.

Cross references:

Psalm 79:1 : S Ex 34:9
Psalm 79:1 : S Lev 20:3
Psalm 79:1 : S 2Ki 25:9; S Ne 4:2; S Isa 6:11
Psalm 79:2 : Rev 19:17-18
Psalm 79:2 : S Dt 28:26; Jer 7:33
Psalm 79:3 : Jer 25:33; Rev 11:9
Psalm 79:3 : Jer 16:4
Psalm 79:4 : S Ps 39:8; S Eze 5:14
Psalm 79:4 : Ps 44:13; 80:6
Psalm 79:5 : S Ps 74:10
Psalm 79:5 : Ps 74:1; 85:5
Psalm 79:5 : S Dt 29:20; Ps 89:46; Zep 3:8
Psalm 79:6 : S Ps 2:5; 69:24; 110:5; Rev 16:1
Psalm 79:6 : Ps 147:20; Jer 10:25
Psalm 79:6 : S Ps 14:4
Psalm 79:7 : Isa 9:12; Jer 10:25
Psalm 79:8 : S Ge 9:25; Jer 44:21
Psalm 79:8 : Ps 116:6; 142:6
Psalm 79:9 : S 2Ch 14:11
Psalm 79:9 : Ps 25:11; 31:3; Jer 14:7
Psalm 79:10 : S Ps 42:3
Psalm 79:10 : Ps 94:1; S Rev 6:10
Psalm 79:10 : ver 3
Psalm 79:12 : Isa 65:6; Jer 32:18
Psalm 79:12 : S Ge 4:15
Psalm 79:13 : S Ps 74:1
Psalm 79:13 : Ps 44:8

New International Version (NIV)

Proverbs 24:30-34

³⁰I went past the field of a sluggard,^(A)
past the vineyard of someone who has no sense;
³¹thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.
³²I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:
³³A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest^(B)—
³⁴and poverty will come on you like a thief
and scarcity like an armed man.^(C)

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

October 8, 2024

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday October 8, 2024 (NIV)

Jeremiah 10-11

God and Idols^(A)

10 Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. ²This is what the Lord says:

“Do not learn the ways of the nations^(B)
or be terrified by signs^(C) in the heavens,
though the nations are terrified by them.
³For the practices of the peoples are worthless;
they cut a tree out of the forest,
and a craftsman^(D) shapes it with his chisel.^(E)
⁴They adorn it with silver^(F) and gold;
they fasten it with hammer and nails
so it will not totter.^(G)
⁵Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,
their idols cannot speak;^(H)
they must be carried
because they cannot walk.^(I)
Do not fear them;
they can do no harm^(J)
nor can they do any good.”^(K)

⁶No one is like you,^(L) Lord;
you are great,^(M)
and your name is mighty in power.
⁷Who should not fear^(N) you,
King of the nations?^(O)
This is your due.
Among all the wise leaders of the nations
and in all their kingdoms,
there is no one like you.

⁸They are all senseless^(P) and foolish;^(Q)
they are taught by worthless wooden idols.^(R)
⁹Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish^(S)
and gold from Uphaz.
What the craftsman and goldsmith have made^(T)
is then dressed in blue and purple—
all made by skilled workers.
¹⁰But the Lord is the true God;
he is the living God,^(U) the eternal King.^(V)
When he is angry,^(W) the earth trembles;^(X)
the nations cannot endure his wrath.^(Y)

¹¹“Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish^(Z) from the earth and from under the heavens.’”^[a]

¹²But God made^(AA) the earth^(AB) by his power;
he founded the world by his wisdom^(AC)
and stretched out the heavens^(AD) by his understanding.
¹³When he thunders,^(AE) the waters in the heavens roar;
he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning^(AF) with the rain^(AG)
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.^(AH)

¹⁴Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is shamed^(AI) by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;^(AJ)
they have no breath in them.
¹⁵They are worthless,^(AK) the objects of mockery;
when their judgment comes, they will perish.
¹⁶He who is the Portion^(AL) of Jacob is not like these,
for he is the Maker of all things,^(AM)
including Israel, the people of his inheritance^(AN)—
the Lord Almighty is his name.^(AO)

Coming Destruction

¹⁷Gather up your belongings^(AP) to leave the land,
you who live under siege.
¹⁸For this is what the Lord says:
“At this time I will hurl^(AQ) out
those who live in this land;
I will bring distress^(AR) on them
so that they may be captured.”

¹⁹Woe to me because of my injury!
My wound^(AS) is incurable!
Yet I said to myself,
“This is my sickness, and I must endure^(AT) it.”
²⁰My tent^(AU) is destroyed;
all its ropes are snapped.
My children are gone from me and are no more;^(AV)
no one is left now to pitch my tent
or to set up my shelter.
²¹The shepherds^(AW) are senseless^(AX)
and do not inquire of the Lord;^(AY)
so they do not prosper^(AZ)
and all their flock is scattered.^(BA)
²²Listen! The report is coming—
a great commotion from the land of the north!^(BB)
It will make the towns of Judah desolate,^(BC)
a haunt of jackals.^(BD)

Jeremiah’s Prayer

²³Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own;
it is not for them to direct their steps.^(BE)
²⁴Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measure—
not in your anger,^(BF)
or you will reduce me to nothing.^(BG)
²⁵Pour out your wrath on the nations^(BH)
that do not acknowledge you,
on the peoples who do not call on your name.^(BI)
For they have devoured^(BJ) Jacob;
they have devoured him completely
and destroyed his homeland.^(BK)

The Covenant Is Broken

11 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“Listen to the terms of this covenant^(BL) and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. ³Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed^(BM) is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant— ⁴the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt,^(BN) out of the iron-smelting furnace.^(BO)’ I said, ‘Obey^(BP) me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people,^(BQ) and I will be your God. ⁵Then I will fulfill the oath I swore^(BR) to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’^(BS)—the land you possess today.”

I answered, “Amen,^(BT) Lord.”

⁶The Lord said to me, “Proclaim^(BU) all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow^(BV) them. ⁷From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again,^(BW) saying, “Obey me.” ⁸But they did not listen or pay attention;^(BX) instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.^(BY) So I brought on them all the curses^(BZ) of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.^(CA)’”

⁹Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracy^(CB) among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. ¹⁰They have returned to the sins of their ancestors,^(CC) who refused to listen to my words.^(CD) They have followed other gods^(CE) to serve them.^(CF) Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant^(CG) I made with their ancestors. ¹¹Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster^(CH) they cannot escape.^(CI) Although they cry^(CJ) out to me, I will not listen^(CK) to them. ¹²The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense,^(CL) but they will not help them at all when disaster^(CM) strikes. ¹³You, Judah, have as many gods^(CN) as you have towns;^(CO) and the altars you have set up to burn incense^(CP) to that shameful^(CQ) god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’

¹⁴“Do not pray^(CR) for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen^(CS) when they call to me in the time of their distress.

¹⁵“What is my beloved doing in my temple
as she, with many others, works out her evil schemes?
Can consecrated meat^(CT) avert your punishment?^(CU)
When you engage in your wickedness,
then you rejoice.^[b]”

¹⁶The Lord called you a thriving olive tree^(CV)
with fruit beautiful in form.
But with the roar of a mighty storm
he will set it on fire,^(CW)
and its branches will be broken.^(CX)

¹⁷The Lord Almighty, who planted^(CY) you, has decreed disaster^(CZ) for you, because the people of both Israel and Judah have done evil and aroused^(DA) my anger by burning incense to Baal.^(DB)

Plot Against Jeremiah

¹⁸Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. ¹⁹I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter;^(DC) I did not realize that they had plotted^(DD) against me, saying,

“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;
let us cut him off from the land of the living,^(DE)
that his name be remembered^(DF) no more.”
²⁰But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously^(DG)
and test the heart^(DH) and mind,^(DI)
let me see your vengeance^(DJ) on them,
for to you I have committed my cause.

²¹Therefore this is what the Lord says about the people of Anathoth^(DK) who are threatening to kill you,^(DL) saying, “Do not prophesy^(DM) in the name of the Lord or you will die^(DN) by our hands”— ²²therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish them. Their young men^(DO) will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. ²³Not even a remnant^(DP) will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.^(DQ)”

Footnotes:

Jeremiah 10:11 The text of this verse is in Aramaic.
Jeremiah 11:15 Or Could consecrated meat avert your punishment? / Then you would rejoice

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

Colossians 3:18-4

Instructions for Christian Households^(A)

¹⁸Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands,^(B) as is fitting in the Lord.

¹⁹Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

²⁰Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

²¹Fathers,^[a] do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

²²Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. ²³Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴since you know that you will receive an inheritance^(C) from the Lord as a reward.^(D) It is the Lord Christ you are serving. ²⁵Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.^(E)

4 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair,^(F) because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.

Further Instructions

²Devote yourselves to prayer,^(G) being watchful and thankful. ³And pray for us, too, that God may open a door^(H) for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery^(I) of Christ, for which I am in chains.^(J) ⁴Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. ⁵Be wise^(K) in the way you act toward outsiders;^(L) make the most of every opportunity.^(M) ⁶Let your conversation be always full of grace,^(N) seasoned with salt,^(O) so that you may know how to answer everyone.^(P)

Final Greetings

⁷Tychicus^(Q) will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant^[b]^(R) in the Lord. ⁸I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our^[c] circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts.^(S) ⁹He is coming with Onesimus,^(T) our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you.^(U) They will tell you everything that is happening here.

¹⁰My fellow prisoner Aristarchus^(V) sends you his greetings, as does Mark,^(W) the cousin of Barnabas.^(X) (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) ¹¹Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews^[d] among my co-workers^(Y) for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. ¹²Epaphras,^(Z) who is one of you^(AA) and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you,^(AB) that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature^(AC) and fully assured. ¹³I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea^(AD) and Hierapolis. ¹⁴Our dear friend Luke,^(AE) the doctor, and Demas^(AF) send greetings. ¹⁵Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea,^(AG) and to Nympha and the church in her house.^(AH)

¹⁶After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read^(AI) in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.

¹⁷Tell Archippus:^(AJ) “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”^(AK)

¹⁸I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.^(AL) Remember^(AM) my chains.^(AN) Grace be with you.^(AO)

Footnotes:

Colossians 3:21 Or Parents
Colossians 4:7 Or slave; also in verse 12
Colossians 4:8 Some manuscripts that he may know about your
Colossians 4:11 Greek only ones of the circumcision group

Cross references:

Colossians 3:18 : 3:18-4:1pp — Eph 5:22-6:9
Colossians 3:18 : S Eph 5:22
Colossians 3:24 : S Ac 20:32
Colossians 3:24 : S Mt 16:27
Colossians 3:25 : S Ac 10:34
Colossians 4:1 : Lev 25:43, 53
Colossians 4:2 : S Lk 18:1
Colossians 4:3 : S Ac 14:27
Colossians 4:3 : S Ro 16:25
Colossians 4:3 : S Ac 21:33
Colossians 4:5 : Eph 5:15
Colossians 4:5 : S Mk 4:11
Colossians 4:5 : Eph 5:16
Colossians 4:6 : Eph 4:29
Colossians 4:6 : Mk 9:50
Colossians 4:6 : 1Pe 3:15
Colossians 4:7 : S Ac 20:4
Colossians 4:7 : Eph 6:21, 22; Col 1:7
Colossians 4:8 : Eph 6:21, 22; Col 2:2
Colossians 4:9 : Phm 10
Colossians 4:9 : ver 12
Colossians 4:10 : S Ac 19:29
Colossians 4:10 : S Ac 12:12
Colossians 4:10 : S Ac 4:36
Colossians 4:11 : S Php 2:25
Colossians 4:12 : Col 1:7; Phm 23
Colossians 4:12 : ver 9
Colossians 4:12 : S Ro 15:30
Colossians 4:12 : S 1Co 2:6
Colossians 4:13 : S Col 2:1
Colossians 4:14 : 2Ti 4:11; Phm 24
Colossians 4:14 : 2Ti 4:10; Phm 24
Colossians 4:15 : S Col 2:1
Colossians 4:15 : S Ro 16:5
Colossians 4:16 : 2Th 3:14; S 1Ti 4:13
Colossians 4:17 : Phm 2
Colossians 4:17 : 2Ti 4:5
Colossians 4:18 : S 1Co 16:21
Colossians 4:18 : Heb 13:3
Colossians 4:18 : S Ac 21:33
Colossians 4:18 : 1Ti 6:21; 2Ti 4:22; Tit 3:15; Heb 13:25

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 78:56-72

⁵⁶But they put God to the test
and rebelled against the Most High;
they did not keep his statutes.
⁵⁷Like their ancestors^(A) they were disloyal and faithless,
as unreliable as a faulty bow.^(B)
⁵⁸They angered him^(C) with their high places;^(D)
they aroused his jealousy with their idols.^(E)
⁵⁹When God heard^(F) them, he was furious;^(G)
he rejected Israel^(H) completely.
⁶⁰He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,^(I)
the tent he had set up among humans.^(J)
⁶¹He sent the ark of his might^(K) into captivity,^(L)
his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
⁶²He gave his people over to the sword;^(M)
he was furious with his inheritance.^(N)
⁶³Fire consumed^(O) their young men,
and their young women had no wedding songs;^(P)
⁶⁴their priests were put to the sword,^(Q)
and their widows could not weep.

⁶⁵Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,^(R)
as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
⁶⁶He beat back his enemies;
he put them to everlasting shame.^(S)
⁶⁷Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;^(T)
⁶⁸but he chose the tribe of Judah,^(U)
Mount Zion,^(V) which he loved.
⁶⁹He built his sanctuary^(W) like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.
⁷⁰He chose David^(X) his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;
⁷¹from tending the sheep^(Y) he brought him
to be the shepherd^(Z) of his people Jacob,
of Israel his inheritance.
⁷²And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;^(AA)
with skillful hands he led them.

New International Version (NIV)

Proverbs 24:28-29

²⁸Do not testify against your neighbor without cause^(A)—
would you use your lips to mislead?
²⁹Do not say, “I’ll do to them as they have done to me;
I’ll pay them back for what they did.”^(B)

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

October 7, 2024

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday October 7, 2024 (NIV)

Jeremiah 8:8-9:26

⁸“‘How can you say, “We are wise,
for we have the law^(A) of the Lord,”
when actually the lying pen of the scribes
has handled it falsely?
⁹The wise^(B) will be put to shame;
they will be dismayed^(C) and trapped.^(D)
Since they have rejected the word^(E) of the Lord,
what kind of wisdom^(F) do they have?
¹⁰Therefore I will give their wives to other men
and their fields to new owners.^(G)
From the least to the greatest,
all are greedy for gain;^(H)
prophets^(I) and priests alike,
all practice deceit.^(J)
¹¹They dress the wound of my people
as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
when there is no peace.^(K)
¹²Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
No, they have no shame^(L) at all;
they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
they will be brought down when they are punished,^(M)
says the Lord.^(N)

¹³“‘I will take away their harvest,
declares the Lord.
There will be no grapes on the vine.^(O)
There will be no figs^(P) on the tree,
and their leaves will wither.^(Q)
What I have given them
will be taken^(R) from them.^[a]’”

¹⁴Why are we sitting here?
Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities^(S)
and perish there!
For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish
and given us poisoned water^(T) to drink,
because we have sinned^(U) against him.
¹⁵We hoped for peace^(V)
but no good has come,
for a time of healing
but there is only terror.^(W)
¹⁶The snorting of the enemy’s horses^(X)
is heard from Dan;^(Y)
at the neighing of their stallions
the whole land trembles.^(Z)
They have come to devour^(AA)
the land and everything in it,
the city and all who live there.

¹⁷“See, I will send venomous snakes^(AB) among you,
vipers that cannot be charmed,^(AC)
and they will bite you,”
declares the Lord.

¹⁸You who are my Comforter^[b] in sorrow,
my heart is faint^(AD) within me.
¹⁹Listen to the cry of my people
from a land far away:^(AE)
“Is the Lord not in Zion?
Is her King^(AF) no longer there?”

“Why have they aroused^(AG) my anger with their images,
with their worthless^(AH) foreign idols?”^(AI)

²⁰“The harvest is past,
the summer has ended,
and we are not saved.”

²¹Since my people are crushed,^(AJ) I am crushed;
I mourn,^(AK) and horror grips me.
²²Is there no balm in Gilead?^(AL)
Is there no physician^(AM) there?
Why then is there no healing^(AN)
for the wound of my people?

9 ^[c]¹Oh, that my head were a spring of water
and my eyes a fountain of tears!^(AO)
I would weep^(AP) day and night
for the slain of my people.^(AQ)
²Oh, that I had in the desert^(AR)
a lodging place for travelers,
so that I might leave my people
and go away from them;
for they are all adulterers,^(AS)
a crowd of unfaithful^(AT) people.

³“They make ready their tongue
like a bow, to shoot lies;^(AU)
it is not by truth
that they triumph^[d] in the land.
They go from one sin to another;
they do not acknowledge^(AV) me,”
declares the Lord.
⁴“Beware of your friends;^(AW)
do not trust anyone in your clan.^(AX)
For every one of them is a deceiver,^[e]^(AY)
and every friend a slanderer.^(AZ)
⁵Friend deceives friend,^(BA)
and no one speaks the truth.^(BB)
They have taught their tongues to lie;^(BC)
they weary themselves with sinning.
⁶You^[f] live in the midst of deception;^(BD)
in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”
declares the Lord.

⁷Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will refine^(BE) and test^(BF) them,
for what else can I do
because of the sin of my people?
⁸Their tongue^(BG) is a deadly arrow;
it speaks deceitfully.
With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,^(BH)
but in their hearts they set traps^(BI) for them.^(BJ)
⁹Should I not punish them for this?”
declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge^(BK) myself
on such a nation as this?”

¹⁰I will weep and wail for the mountains
and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands.^(BL)
They are desolate and untraveled,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard.
The birds^(BM) have all fled
and the animals are gone.

¹¹“I will make Jerusalem a heap^(BN) of ruins,
a haunt of jackals;^(BO)
and I will lay waste the towns of Judah^(BP)
so no one can live there.”^(BQ)

¹²Who is wise^(BR) enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?

¹³The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law.^(BS) ¹⁴Instead, they have followed^(BT) the stubbornness of their hearts;^(BU) they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” ¹⁵Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food^(BV) and drink poisoned water.^(BW) ¹⁶I will scatter them among nations^(BX) that neither they nor their ancestors have known,^(BY) and I will pursue them with the sword^(BZ) until I have made an end of them.”^(CA)

¹⁷This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Consider now! Call for the wailing women^(CB) to come;
send for the most skillful of them.
¹⁸Let them come quickly
and wail over us
till our eyes overflow with tears
and water streams from our eyelids.^(CC)
¹⁹The sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
‘How ruined^(CD) we are!
How great is our shame!
We must leave our land
because our houses are in ruins.’”

²⁰Now, you women, hear the word of the Lord;
open your ears to the words of his mouth.^(CE)
Teach your daughters how to wail;
teach one another a lament.^(CF)
²¹Death has climbed in through our windows^(CG)
and has entered our fortresses;
it has removed the children from the streets
and the young men^(CH) from the public squares.

²²Say, “This is what the Lord declares:

“‘Dead bodies will lie
like dung^(CI) on the open field,
like cut grain behind the reaper,
with no one to gather them.’”

²³This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom^(CJ)
or the strong boast of their strength^(CK)
or the rich boast of their riches,^(CL)
²⁴but let the one who boasts boast^(CM) about this:
that they have the understanding to know^(CN) me,
that I am the Lord,^(CO) who exercises kindness,^(CP)
justice and righteousness^(CQ) on earth,
for in these I delight,”
declares the Lord.

²⁵“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh^(CR)— ²⁶Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places.^[g]^(CS) For all these nations are really uncircumcised,^(CT) and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.^(CU)”

Footnotes:

Jeremiah 8:13 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
Jeremiah 8:18 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Jeremiah 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1 is numbered 8:23, and 9:2-26 is numbered 9:1-25.
Jeremiah 9:3 Or lies; / they are not valiant for truth
Jeremiah 9:4 Or a deceiving Jacob
Jeremiah 9:6 That is, Jeremiah (the Hebrew is singular)
Jeremiah 9:26 Or wilderness and who clip the hair by their foreheads

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

Colossians 3:1-17

Living as Those Made Alive in Christ

3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ,^(A) set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.^(B) ²Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.^(C) ³For you died,^(D) and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ, who is your^[a] life,^(E) appears,^(F) then you also will appear with him in glory.^(G)

⁵Put to death,^(H) therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:^(I) sexual immorality,^(J) impurity, lust, evil desires and greed,^(K) which is idolatry.^(L) ⁶Because of these, the wrath of God^(M) is coming.^[b] ⁷You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.^(N) ⁸But now you must also rid yourselves^(O) of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander,^(P) and filthy language from your lips.^(Q) ⁹Do not lie to each other,^(R) since you have taken off your old self^(S) with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self,^(T) which is being renewed^(U) in knowledge in the image of its Creator.^(V) ¹¹Here there is no Gentile or Jew,^(W) circumcised or uncircumcised,^(X) barbarian, Scythian, slave or free,^(Y) but Christ is all,^(Z) and is in all.

¹²Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves^(AA) with compassion, kindness, humility,^(AB) gentleness and patience.^(AC) ¹³Bear with each other^(AD) and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.^(AE) ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love,^(AF) which binds them all together in perfect unity.^(AG)

¹⁵Let the peace of Christ^(AH) rule in your hearts, since as members of one body^(AI) you were called to peace.^(AJ) And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the message of Christ^(AK) dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom^(AL) through psalms,^(AM) hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.^(AN) ¹⁷And whatever you do,^(AO) whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks^(AP) to God the Father through him.

Footnotes:

Colossians 3:4 Some manuscripts our
Colossians 3:6 Some early manuscripts coming on those who are disobedient

Cross references:

Colossians 3:1 : S Ro 6:5
Colossians 3:1 : S Mk 16:19
Colossians 3:2 : Php 3:19, 20
Colossians 3:3 : S Ro 6:2; 2Co 5:14
Colossians 3:4 : Gal 2:20
Colossians 3:4 : 1Co 1:7
Colossians 3:4 : 1Pe 1:13; 1Jn 3:2
Colossians 3:5 : S Ro 6:2; S Eph 4:22
Colossians 3:5 : S Gal 5:24
Colossians 3:5 : S 1Co 6:18
Colossians 3:5 : Eph 5:3
Colossians 3:5 : Gal 5:19-21; Eph 5:5
Colossians 3:6 : S Ro 1:18
Colossians 3:7 : S Eph 2:2
Colossians 3:8 : S Eph 4:22
Colossians 3:8 : Eph 4:31
Colossians 3:8 : Eph 4:29
Colossians 3:9 : S Eph 4:22, 25
Colossians 3:9 : S Ro 6:6
Colossians 3:10 : S Ro 6:4; S 13:14
Colossians 3:10 : Ro 12:2; S 2Co 4:16; Eph 4:23
Colossians 3:10 : Eph 2:10
Colossians 3:11 : Ro 10:12; 1Co 12:13
Colossians 3:11 : S 1Co 7:19
Colossians 3:11 : Gal 3:28
Colossians 3:11 : Eph 1:23
Colossians 3:12 : ver 10
Colossians 3:12 : Php 2:3
Colossians 3:12 : 2Co 6:6; Gal 5:22, 23; Eph 4:2
Colossians 3:13 : Eph 4:2
Colossians 3:13 : Eph 4:32
Colossians 3:14 : 1Co 13:1-13
Colossians 3:14 : S Ro 15:5
Colossians 3:15 : S Jn 14:27
Colossians 3:15 : S Ro 12:5
Colossians 3:15 : S Ro 14:19
Colossians 3:16 : Ro 10:17
Colossians 3:16 : Col 1:28
Colossians 3:16 : Ps 47:7
Colossians 3:16 : S Eph 5:19
Colossians 3:17 : 1Co 10:31
Colossians 3:17 : S Eph 5:20

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 78:32-55

³²In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;^(A)
in spite of his wonders,^(B) they did not believe.^(C)
³³So he ended their days in futility^(D)
and their years in terror.
³⁴Whenever God slew them, they would seek^(E) him;
they eagerly turned to him again.
³⁵They remembered that God was their Rock,^(F)
that God Most High was their Redeemer.^(G)
³⁶But then they would flatter him with their mouths,^(H)
lying to him with their tongues;
³⁷their hearts were not loyal^(I) to him,
they were not faithful to his covenant.
³⁸Yet he was merciful;^(J)
he forgave^(K) their iniquities^(L)
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger^(M)
and did not stir up his full wrath.
³⁹He remembered that they were but flesh,^(N)
a passing breeze^(O) that does not return.

⁴⁰How often they rebelled^(P) against him in the wilderness^(Q)
and grieved him^(R) in the wasteland!
⁴¹Again and again they put God to the test;^(S)
they vexed the Holy One of Israel.^(T)
⁴²They did not remember^(U) his power—
the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,^(V)
⁴³the day he displayed his signs^(W) in Egypt,
his wonders^(X) in the region of Zoan.
⁴⁴He turned their river into blood;^(Y)
they could not drink from their streams.
⁴⁵He sent swarms of flies^(Z) that devoured them,
and frogs^(AA) that devastated them.
⁴⁶He gave their crops to the grasshopper,^(AB)
their produce to the locust.^(AC)
⁴⁷He destroyed their vines with hail^(AD)
and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
⁴⁸He gave over their cattle to the hail,
their livestock^(AE) to bolts of lightning.
⁴⁹He unleashed against them his hot anger,^(AF)
his wrath, indignation and hostility—
a band of destroying angels.^(AG)
⁵⁰He prepared a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death
but gave them over to the plague.
⁵¹He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,^(AH)
the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.^(AI)
⁵²But he brought his people out like a flock;^(AJ)
he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
⁵³He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
but the sea engulfed^(AK) their enemies.^(AL)
⁵⁴And so he brought them to the border of his holy land,
to the hill country his right hand^(AM) had taken.
⁵⁵He drove out nations^(AN) before them
and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;^(AO)
he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.

Cross references:

Psalm 78:32 : S ver 17
Psalm 78:32 : ver 11
Psalm 78:32 : ver 22
Psalm 78:33 : Nu 14:29, 35
Psalm 78:34 : S Dt 4:29; Hos 5:15
Psalm 78:35 : S Ge 49:24
Psalm 78:35 : S Dt 9:26
Psalm 78:36 : Eze 33:31
Psalm 78:37 : ver 8; Ac 8:21
Psalm 78:38 : S Ex 34:6
Psalm 78:38 : Isa 1:25; 27:9; 48:10; Da 11:35
Psalm 78:38 : Ps 25:11; 85:2
Psalm 78:38 : S Job 9:13; S Isa 30:18
Psalm 78:39 : S Ge 6:3; S Isa 29:5
Psalm 78:39 : S Job 7:7; Jas 4:14
Psalm 78:40 : S Ex 23:21
Psalm 78:40 : Ps 95:8; 106:14
Psalm 78:40 : Eph 4:30
Psalm 78:41 : S Ex 17:2
Psalm 78:41 : S 2Ki 19:22; Ps 71:22; 89:18
Psalm 78:42 : S Jdg 3:7; S Ne 9:17
Psalm 78:42 : S Ps 27:11
Psalm 78:43 : Ex 10:1
Psalm 78:43 : S Ex 3:20
Psalm 78:44 : Ex 7:20-21; Ps 105:29
Psalm 78:45 : Ex 8:24; Ps 105:31
Psalm 78:45 : S Ex 8:2, 6
Psalm 78:46 : Na 3:15
Psalm 78:46 : S Ex 10:13
Psalm 78:47 : Ex 9:23; Ps 105:32; 147:17
Psalm 78:48 : Ex 9:25
Psalm 78:49 : Ex 15:7
Psalm 78:49 : S Ge 19:13; 1Co 10:10
Psalm 78:51 : S Ex 12:12; Ps 135:8
Psalm 78:51 : Ps 105:23; 106:22
Psalm 78:52 : S Job 21:11; S Ps 28:9; 77:20
Psalm 78:53 : S Ex 14:28
Psalm 78:53 : Ex 15:7; Ps 106:10
Psalm 78:54 : Ps 44:3
Psalm 78:55 : Ps 44:2
Psalm 78:55 : S Dt 1:38; S Jos 13:7; Ac 13:19

New International Version (NIV)

Proverbs 24:27

²⁷Put your outdoor work in order
and get your fields ready;
after that, build your house.

New International Version (NIV)

October 6, 2024

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday October 6, 2024 (NIV)

Jeremiah 6:16-8:7

¹⁶This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,^(A)
ask where the good way^(B) is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest^(C) for your souls.
But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
¹⁷I appointed watchmen^(D) over you and said,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’^(E)
But you said, ‘We will not listen.’^(F)
¹⁸Therefore hear, you nations;
you who are witnesses,
observe what will happen to them.
¹⁹Hear, you earth:^(G)
I am bringing disaster^(H) on this people,
the fruit of their schemes,^(I)
because they have not listened to my words^(J)
and have rejected my law.^(K)
²⁰What do I care about incense from Sheba^(L)
or sweet calamus^(M) from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;^(N)
your sacrifices^(O) do not please me.”^(P)

²¹Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“I will put obstacles before this people.
Parents and children alike will stumble^(Q) over them;
neighbors and friends will perish.”

²²This is what the Lord says:

“Look, an army is coming
from the land of the north;^(R)
a great nation is being stirred up
from the ends of the earth.^(S)
²³They are armed with bow and spear;
they are cruel and show no mercy.^(T)
They sound like the roaring sea^(U)
as they ride on their horses;^(V)
they come like men in battle formation
to attack you, Daughter Zion.^(W)”

²⁴We have heard reports about them,
and our hands hang limp.^(X)
Anguish^(Y) has gripped us,
pain like that of a woman in labor.^(Z)
²⁵Do not go out to the fields
or walk on the roads,
for the enemy has a sword,
and there is terror on every side.^(AA)
²⁶Put on sackcloth,^(AB) my people,
and roll in ashes;^(AC)
mourn with bitter wailing^(AD)
as for an only son,^(AE)
for suddenly the destroyer^(AF)
will come upon us.

²⁷“I have made you a tester^(AG) of metals
and my people the ore,
that you may observe
and test their ways.
²⁸They are all hardened rebels,^(AH)
going about to slander.^(AI)
They are bronze and iron;^(AJ)
they all act corruptly.
²⁹The bellows blow fiercely
to burn away the lead with fire,
but the refining^(AK) goes on in vain;
the wicked are not purged out.
³⁰They are called rejected silver,^(AL)
because the Lord has rejected them.”^(AM)

False Religion Worthless

7 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²“Stand^(AN) at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:

“‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. ³This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways^(AO) and your actions, and I will let you live^(AP) in this place. ⁴Do not trust^(AQ) in deceptive^(AR) words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” ⁵If you really change^(AS) your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly,^(AT) ⁶if you do not oppress^(AU) the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood^(AV) in this place, and if you do not follow other gods^(AW) to your own harm, ⁷then I will let you live in this place, in the land^(AX) I gave your ancestors^(AY) for ever and ever. ⁸But look, you are trusting^(AZ) in deceptive^(BA) words that are worthless.

⁹“‘Will you steal^(BB) and murder,^(BC) commit adultery^(BD) and perjury,^[a]^(BE) burn incense to Baal^(BF) and follow other gods^(BG) you have not known, ¹⁰and then come and stand^(BH) before me in this house,^(BI) which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things?^(BJ) ¹¹Has this house,^(BK) which bears my Name, become a den of robbers^(BL) to you? But I have been watching!^(BM) declares the Lord.

¹²“‘Go now to the place in Shiloh^(BN) where I first made a dwelling^(BO) for my Name,^(BP) and see what I did^(BQ) to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. ¹³While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke^(BR) to you again and again,^(BS) but you did not listen;^(BT) I called^(BU) you, but you did not answer.^(BV) ¹⁴Therefore, what I did to Shiloh^(BW) I will now do to the house that bears my Name,^(BX) the temple^(BY) you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. ¹⁵I will thrust you from my presence,^(BZ) just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’^(CA)

¹⁶“So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea^(CB) or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen^(CC) to you. ¹⁷Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ¹⁸The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven.^(CD) They pour out drink offerings^(CE) to other gods to arouse^(CF) my anger. ¹⁹But am I the one they are provoking?^(CG) declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?^(CH)

²⁰“‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign^(CI) Lord says: My anger^(CJ) and my wrath will be poured^(CK) out on this place—on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land—and it will burn and not be quenched.^(CL)

²¹“‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices^(CM) and eat^(CN) the meat yourselves! ²²For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands^(CO) about burnt offerings and sacrifices,^(CP) ²³but I gave them this command:^(CQ) Obey^(CR) me, and I will be your God and you will be my people.^(CS) Walk in obedience to all^(CT) I command you, that it may go well^(CU) with you. ²⁴But they did not listen^(CV) or pay attention;^(CW) instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts.^(CX) They went backward^(CY) and not forward. ²⁵From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again^(CZ) I sent you my servants^(DA) the prophets.^(DB) ²⁶But they did not listen to me or pay attention.^(DC) They were stiff-necked^(DD) and did more evil than their ancestors.’^(DE)

²⁷“When you tell^(DF) them all this, they will not listen^(DG) to you; when you call to them, they will not answer.^(DH) ²⁸Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction.^(DI) Truth^(DJ) has perished; it has vanished from their lips.

²⁹“‘Cut off^(DK) your hair and throw it away; take up a lament^(DL) on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned^(DM) this generation that is under his wrath.

The Valley of Slaughter

³⁰“‘The people of Judah have done evil^(DN) in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols^(DO) in the house that bears my Name and have defiled^(DP) it. ³¹They have built the high places of Topheth^(DQ) in the Valley of Ben Hinnom^(DR) to burn their sons and daughters^(DS) in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.^(DT) ³²So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter,^(DU) for they will bury^(DV) the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. ³³Then the carcasses^(DW) of this people will become food^(DX) for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.^(DY) ³⁴I will bring an end to the sounds^(DZ) of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom^(EA) in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem,^(EB) for the land will become desolate.^(EC)

8 “‘At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones^(ED) of the people of Jerusalem will be removed^(EE) from their graves. ²They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served^(EF) and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped.^(EG) They will not be gathered up or buried,^(EH) but will be like dung lying on the ground.^(EI) ³Wherever I banish them,^(EJ) all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life,^(EK) declares the Lord Almighty.’

Sin and Punishment

⁴“Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘When people fall down, do they not get up?^(EL)
When someone turns away,^(EM) do they not return?
⁵Why then have these people turned away?
Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;^(EN)
they refuse to return.^(EO)
⁶I have listened^(EP) attentively,
but they do not say what is right.
None of them repent^(EQ) of their wickedness,
saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues their own course^(ER)
like a horse charging into battle.
⁷Even the stork in the sky
knows her appointed seasons,
and the dove, the swift and the thrush
observe the time of their migration.
But my people do not know^(ES)
the requirements of the Lord.

Footnotes:

Jeremiah 7:9 Or and swear by false gods

Cross references:

New International Version (NIV)

Colossians 2:8-23

⁸See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy,^(A) which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces^[a] of this world^(B) rather than on Christ.

⁹For in Christ all the fullness^(C) of the Deity lives in bodily form, ¹⁰and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head^(D) over every power and authority.^(E) ¹¹In him you were also circumcised^(F) with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh^[b]^(G) was put off when you were circumcised by^[c] Christ, ¹²having been buried with him in baptism,^(H) in which you were also raised with him^(I) through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.^(J)

¹³When you were dead in your sins^(K) and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you^[d] alive^(L) with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,^(M) ¹⁴having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness,^(N) which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.^(O) ¹⁵And having disarmed the powers and authorities,^(P) he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them^(Q) by the cross.^[e]

Freedom From Human Rules

¹⁶Therefore do not let anyone judge you^(R) by what you eat or drink,^(S) or with regard to a religious festival,^(T) a New Moon celebration^(U) or a Sabbath day.^(V) ¹⁷These are a shadow of the things that were to come;^(W) the reality, however, is found in Christ. ¹⁸Do not let anyone who delights in false humility^(X) and the worship of angels disqualify you.^(Y) Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. ¹⁹They have lost connection with the head,^(Z) from whom the whole body,^(AA) supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.^(AB)

²⁰Since you died with Christ^(AC) to the elemental spiritual forces of this world,^(AD) why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules:^(AE) ²¹“Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? ²²These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish^(AF) with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.^(AG) ²³Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility^(AH) and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Footnotes:

Colossians 2:8 Or the basic principles; also in verse 20
Colossians 2:11 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verse 13.
Colossians 2:11 Or put off in the circumcision of
Colossians 2:13 Some manuscripts us
Colossians 2:15 Or them in him

Cross references:

Colossians 2:8 : 1Ti 6:20
Colossians 2:8 : ver 20; Gal 4:3
Colossians 2:9 : S Jn 1:16
Colossians 2:10 : S Eph 1:22
Colossians 2:10 : S Mt 28:18
Colossians 2:11 : Ro 2:29; Php 3:3
Colossians 2:11 : S Gal 5:24
Colossians 2:12 : S Mt 28:19
Colossians 2:12 : S Ro 6:5
Colossians 2:12 : S Ac 2:24
Colossians 2:13 : Eph 2:1, 5
Colossians 2:13 : Eph 2:5
Colossians 2:13 : Eph 4:32
Colossians 2:14 : Eph 2:15
Colossians 2:14 : 1Pe 2:24
Colossians 2:15 : ver 10; Eph 6:12
Colossians 2:15 : Mt 12:29; Lk 10:18; Jn 12:31
Colossians 2:16 : Ro 14:3, 4
Colossians 2:16 : Mk 7:19; Ro 14:17
Colossians 2:16 : Lev 23:2; Ro 14:5
Colossians 2:16 : 1Ch 23:31
Colossians 2:16 : Mk 2:27, 28; Gal 4:10
Colossians 2:17 : Heb 8:5; 10:1
Colossians 2:18 : ver 23
Colossians 2:18 : 1Co 9:24; Php 3:14
Colossians 2:19 : S Eph 1:22
Colossians 2:19 : S 1Co 12:27
Colossians 2:19 : Eph 4:16
Colossians 2:20 : S Ro 6:6
Colossians 2:20 : ver 8; Gal 4:3, 9
Colossians 2:20 : ver 14, 16
Colossians 2:22 : 1Co 6:13
Colossians 2:22 : Isa 29:13; Mt 15:9; Tit 1:14
Colossians 2:23 : ver 18

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 78:1-31

Psalm 78

A maskil^[a] of Asaph.

¹My people, hear my teaching;^(A)
listen to the words of my mouth.
²I will open my mouth with a parable;^(B)
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
³things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.^(C)
⁴We will not hide them from their descendants;^(D)
we will tell the next generation^(E)
the praiseworthy deeds^(F) of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders^(G) he has done.
⁵He decreed statutes^(H) for Jacob^(I)
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach their children,
⁶so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,^(J)
and they in turn would tell their children.
⁷Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget^(K) his deeds
but would keep his commands.^(L)
⁸They would not be like their ancestors^(M)—
a stubborn^(N) and rebellious^(O) generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.

⁹The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,^(P)
turned back on the day of battle;^(Q)
¹⁰they did not keep God’s covenant^(R)
and refused to live by his law.^(S)
¹¹They forgot what he had done,^(T)
the wonders he had shown them.
¹²He did miracles^(U) in the sight of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt,^(V) in the region of Zoan.^(W)
¹³He divided the sea^(X) and led them through;
he made the water stand up like a wall.^(Y)
¹⁴He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.^(Z)
¹⁵He split the rocks^(AA) in the wilderness
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
¹⁶he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers.

¹⁷But they continued to sin^(AB) against him,
rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
¹⁸They willfully put God to the test^(AC)
by demanding the food they craved.^(AD)
¹⁹They spoke against God;^(AE)
they said, “Can God really
spread a table in the wilderness?
²⁰True, he struck the rock,
and water gushed out,^(AF)
streams flowed abundantly,
but can he also give us bread?
Can he supply meat^(AG) for his people?”
²¹When the Lord heard them, he was furious;
his fire broke out^(AH) against Jacob,
and his wrath rose against Israel,
²²for they did not believe in God
or trust^(AI) in his deliverance.
²³Yet he gave a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens;^(AJ)
²⁴he rained down manna^(AK) for the people to eat,
he gave them the grain of heaven.
²⁵Human beings ate the bread of angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.
²⁶He let loose the east wind^(AL) from the heavens
and by his power made the south wind blow.
²⁷He rained meat down on them like dust,
birds^(AM) like sand on the seashore.
²⁸He made them come down inside their camp,
all around their tents.
²⁹They ate till they were gorged—^(AN)
he had given them what they craved.
³⁰But before they turned from what they craved,
even while the food was still in their mouths,^(AO)
³¹God’s anger rose against them;
he put to death the sturdiest^(AP) among them,
cutting down the young men of Israel.

Footnotes:

Psalm 78:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term

Cross references:

Psalm 78:1 : Isa 51:4; 55:3
Psalm 78:2 : S Ps 49:4; S Mt 13:35*
Psalm 78:3 : S Jdg 6:13
Psalm 78:4 : S Dt 11:19
Psalm 78:4 : S Dt 32:7; S Ps 71:18
Psalm 78:4 : Ps 26:7; 71:17
Psalm 78:4 : S Job 5:9
Psalm 78:5 : Ps 19:7; 81:5
Psalm 78:5 : Ps 147:19
Psalm 78:6 : S Ps 22:31
Psalm 78:7 : S Dt 6:12
Psalm 78:7 : S Dt 5:29
Psalm 78:8 : S 2Ch 30:7
Psalm 78:8 : S Ex 32:9
Psalm 78:8 : S Ex 23:21; S Dt 21:18; Isa 30:9; 65:2
Psalm 78:9 : ver 57; 1Ch 12:2; Hos 7:16
Psalm 78:9 : S Jdg 20:39
Psalm 78:10 : S Jos 7:11; S 2Ki 17:15
Psalm 78:10 : S Ex 16:28; S Jer 11:8
Psalm 78:11 : Ps 106:13
Psalm 78:12 : S Ne 9:17; Ps 106:22
Psalm 78:12 : Ex 11:9
Psalm 78:12 : S Nu 13:22
Psalm 78:13 : S Ex 14:21; Ps 66:6; 136:13
Psalm 78:13 : S Ex 14:22; S 15:8
Psalm 78:14 : Ex 13:21; Ps 105:39
Psalm 78:15 : S Nu 20:11; 1Co 10:4
Psalm 78:17 : ver 32, 40; Dt 9:22; Isa 30:1; 63:10; Heb 3:16
Psalm 78:18 : S Ex 17:2; 1Co 10:9
Psalm 78:18 : S Ex 15:24; Nu 11:4
Psalm 78:19 : Nu 21:5
Psalm 78:20 : S Nu 20:11; S Isa 35:6
Psalm 78:20 : Nu 11:18
Psalm 78:21 : S Nu 11:1
Psalm 78:22 : S Dt 1:32; Heb 3:19
Psalm 78:23 : Ge 7:11; S 2Ki 7:2
Psalm 78:24 : Ex 16:4; Jn 6:31*
Psalm 78:26 : S Nu 11:31
Psalm 78:27 : S Ex 16:13; Nu 11:31
Psalm 78:29 : S Nu 11:20
Psalm 78:30 : S Nu 11:33
Psalm 78:31 : Isa 10:16

New International Version (NIV)

Proverbs 24:26

²⁶An honest answer
is like a kiss on the lips.

New International Version (NIV)

October 5, 2024

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday October 5, 2024 (NIV)

Jeremiah 4:19-6:15

¹⁹I said,^[a]

“Oh, the feeling in the pit of my stomach!^[b]
I writhe in anguish.
Oh, the pain in my heart!^[c]
My heart pounds within me.
I cannot keep silent.
For I hear the sound of the trumpet;^[d]
the sound of the battle cry pierces my soul!^[e]
²⁰I see^[f] one destruction after another taking place,
so that the whole land lies in ruins.
I see our^[g] tents suddenly destroyed,
their^[h] curtains torn down in a mere instant.^[i]
²¹How long must I see the enemy’s battle flags
and hear the military signals of their bugles?”^[j]

²²The Lord answered,^[k]

“This will happen^[l] because my people are foolish.
They do not know me.
They are like children who have no sense.^[m]
They have no understanding.
They are skilled at doing evil.
They do not know how to do good.”
²³I looked at the land and saw^[n] that it was an empty wasteland.^[o]

I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.
²⁴I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking.
All the hills were swaying back and forth!
²⁵I looked and saw that there were no more people^[p]
and that all the birds in the sky had flown away.
²⁶I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert
and that all the cities had been laid in ruins.
The Lord had brought this all about
because of his blazing anger.^[q]
²⁷All this will happen because the Lord said,^[r]
“The whole land will be desolate;
however, I will not completely destroy it.
²⁸Because of this the land will mourn
and the sky above will grow black.^[s]
For I have made my purpose known,^[t]
and I will not relent or turn back from carrying it out.”^[u]
²⁹At the sound of the approaching horsemen and archers
the people of every town will flee.
Some of them will hide in the thickets.
Others will climb up among the rocks.
All the cities will be deserted.
No one will remain in them.
³⁰And you, Zion, city doomed to destruction,^[v]
you accomplish nothing^[w] by wearing a beautiful dress,^[x]
decking yourself out in jewels of gold,
and putting on eye shadow!^[y]
You are making yourself beautiful for nothing.
Your lovers spurn you.
They want to kill you.^[z]
³¹In fact,^[aa] I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor,
a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby.
It is the cry of Daughter Zion^[ab] gasping for breath,
reaching out for help,^[ac] saying, “I am done in!^[ad]
My life is ebbing away before these murderers!”

Judah is Justly Deserving of Coming Judgment

5 The Lord said,^[ae]

“Go up and down^[af] through the streets of Jerusalem.
Look around and see for yourselves.
Search through its public squares.
See if any of you can find a single person
who deals honestly and tries to be truthful.^[ag]
If you can,^[ah] then I will not punish this city.^[ai]
²These people make promises in the name of the Lord.^[aj]
But the fact is,^[ak] what they swear to is really a lie.”^[al]
³Lord, I know you look for faithfulness.^[am]
But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse.^[an]
Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected.
They have become as hardheaded as a rock.^[ao]
They refuse to change their ways.^[ap]
⁴I thought, “Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way.^[aq]
They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands.^[ar]
They do not know what their God requires of them.^[as]
⁵I will go to the leaders^[at]
and speak with them.
Surely they know what the Lord demands.^[au]
Surely they know what their God requires of them.”^[av]
Yet all of them, too, have rejected his authority
and refuse to submit to him.^[aw]
⁶So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them.
Like a wolf from the rift valley they will destroy them.
Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their cities
and totally destroy anyone who ventures out.^[ax]
For they have rebelled so much
and done so many unfaithful things.^[ay]

⁷The Lord asked,^[az]

“How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem?^[ba]
Your people^[bb] have rejected me
and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all.^[bc]
Even though I supplied all their needs,^[bd] they were like an unfaithful wife to me.^[be]
They went flocking^[bf] to the houses of prostitutes.^[bg]
⁸They are like lusty, well-fed^[bh] stallions.
Each of them lusts after^[bi] his neighbor’s wife.
⁹I will surely punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.
“I will surely bring retribution on such a nation as this!”^[bj]
¹⁰The Lord commanded the enemy,^[bk]
“March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah and ruin them.^[bl]
But do not destroy them completely.
Strip off their branches
for these people do not belong to the Lord.^[bm]
¹¹For the nations of Israel and Judah^[bn]
have been very unfaithful to me,”
says the Lord.
¹²“These people have denied what the Lord says.^[bo]
They have said, ‘That is not so!^[bp]
No harm will come to us.
We will not experience war and famine.^[bq]
¹³The prophets will prove to be full of wind.^[br]
The Lord has not spoken through them.^[bs]
So, let what they say happen to them.’”

¹⁴Because of that,^[bt] the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies^[bu] said to me:^[bv]

“Because these people have spoken^[bw] like this,^[bx]
I will make the words that I put in your mouth like fire.
And I will make this people like wood,
which the fiery judgments you speak will burn up.”^[by]
¹⁵The Lord says,^[bz] “Listen,^[ca] nation of Israel!^[cb]
I am about to bring a nation from far away to attack you.
It will be a nation that was founded long ago
and has lasted for a long time.
It will be a nation whose language you will not know.
Its people will speak words that you will not be able to understand.
¹⁶All its soldiers are strong and mighty.^[cc]
Their arrows will send you to your grave.^[cd]
¹⁷They will eat up your crops and your food.
They will kill off^[ce] your sons and your daughters.
They will eat up your sheep and your cattle.
They will destroy your vines and your fig trees.^[cf]
Their weapons will batter down^[cg]
the fortified cities you trust in.

¹⁸“Yet even then^[ch] I will not completely destroy you,” says the Lord. ¹⁹“So then, Jeremiah,^[ci] when your people^[cj] ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ tell them, ‘It is because you rejected me and served foreign gods in your own land. So^[ck] you must serve foreigners^[cl] in a land that does not belong to you.’

²⁰“Proclaim^[cm] this message among the descendants of Jacob.^[cn]
Make it known throughout Judah.
²¹Tell them: ‘Hear this,
you foolish people who have no understanding,
who have eyes but do not discern,
who have ears but do not perceive:^[co]
²²‘You should fear me!’ says the Lord.
‘You should tremble in awe before me!^[cp]
I made the sand to be a boundary for the sea,
a permanent barrier that it can never cross.
Its waves may roll, but they can never prevail.
They may roar, but they can never cross beyond that boundary.’^[cq]
²³But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.
They have turned aside and gone their own way.^[cr]
²⁴They do not say to themselves,^[cs]
‘Let us revere the Lord our God.
It is he who gives us the autumn rains and the spring rains at the proper time.
It is he who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.”^[ct]
²⁵Your misdeeds have stopped these things from coming.^[cu]
Your sins have deprived you of my bounty.’^[cv]
²⁶Indeed, there are wicked scoundrels among my people.
They lie in wait like bird catchers hiding in ambush.^[cw]
They set deadly traps^[cx] to catch people.
²⁷Like a cage filled with the birds that have been caught,^[cy]
their houses are filled with the gains of their fraud and deceit.^[cz]
That is how they have gotten so rich and powerful.^[da]
²⁸That is how^[db] they have grown fat and sleek.^[dc]
There is no limit to the evil things they do.^[dd]
They do not plead the cause of the fatherless in such a way as to win it.
They do not defend the rights of the poor.
²⁹I will certainly punish them for doing such things!” says the Lord.
“I will certainly bring retribution on such a nation as this!^[de]
³⁰Something horrible and shocking
is going on in the land of Judah:
³¹The prophets prophesy lies.
The priests exercise power by their own authority.^[df]
And my people love to have it this way.
But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes!^[dg]

The Destruction of Jerusalem Depicted

6 “Run for safety, people of Benjamin!
Get out of Jerusalem!^[dh]
Sound the trumpet^[di] in Tekoa!
Light the signal fires at Beth Hakkerem!
For disaster lurks^[dj] out of the north;
it will bring great destruction.^[dk]
²I will destroy^[dl] Daughter Zion,^[dm]
who is as delicate and defenseless as a young maiden.^[dn]
³Kings will attack her with their armies.^[do]
They will encamp in siege all around her.^[dp]
Each of them will devastate the portion assigned to him.^[dq]
⁴They will say,^[dr] ‘Prepare to do battle^[ds] against it!
Come on! Let’s attack it at noon!’
But later they will say,^[dt] ‘Woe to us!^[du]
For the day is almost over,
and the shadows of evening are getting long.
⁵So come on, let’s go ahead and attack it by night
and destroy all its fortified buildings.’
⁶All this is because^[dv] the Lord of Heaven’s Armies^[dw] has said:
‘Cut down the trees around Jerusalem
and build up a siege ramp against its walls.^[dx]
This is the city that is to be punished.^[dy]
Nothing but oppression happens in it.^[dz]
⁷As a well continually pours out fresh water
so it continually pours out wicked deeds.^[ea]
Sounds of violence and destruction echo throughout it.^[eb]
All I see are sick and wounded people.’^[ec]
⁸So^[ed] take warning, Jerusalem,
or I will abandon you in disgust^[ee]
and make you desolate,
a place where no one can live.”

⁹This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies^[ef] said to me:^[eg]

“Those who remain in Israel will be
like the grapes thoroughly gleaned^[eh] from a vine.
So go over them again, as though you were a grape harvester
passing your hand over the branches one last time.”^[ei]

¹⁰I answered,^[ej]

“Who would listen
if I spoke to them and warned them?^[ek]
Their ears are so closed^[el]
that they cannot hear!
Indeed,^[em] the Lord’s message is offensive to them.
They do not like it at all.^[en]
¹¹I am as full of anger as you are, Lord,^[eo]
I am tired of trying to hold it in.”

The Lord answered,^[ep]

“Vent it, then,^[eq] on the children who play in the street
and on the young men who are gathered together.
Husbands and wives are to be included,^[er]
as well as the old and those who are advanced in years.
¹²Their houses will be turned over to others
as will their fields and their wives.
For I will unleash my power^[es]
against those who live in this land,”
says the Lord.
¹³“That is because, from the least important to the most important of them,
all of them are greedy for dishonest gain.
Prophets and priests alike,
all of them practice deceit.
¹⁴They offer only superficial help
for the harm my people have suffered.^[et]
They say, ‘Everything will be all right!’
But everything is not all right!^[eu]
¹⁵Are they ashamed because they have done such shameful things?
No, they are not at all ashamed.
They do not even know how to blush!
So they will die, just like others have died.^[ev]
They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,”
says the Lord.

Footnotes:

Jeremiah 4:19 tn The words “I said” are not in the text. They are used to mark the shift from the Lord’s promise of judgment to Jeremiah’s lament concerning it.
Jeremiah 4:19 tn Heb “My bowels! My bowels!”
Jeremiah 4:19 tn Heb “the walls of my heart!”
Jeremiah 4:19 tn Heb “ram’s horn.” But the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.
Jeremiah 4:19 tc The translation reflects a different division of the last two lines than that suggested by the Masoretes. The written text (the Kethib) reads “for the sound of the ram’s horn I have heard [or “you have heard,” if the form is understood as the old second feminine singular perfect] my soul” followed by “the battle cry” in the last line. The translation is based on taking “my soul” with the last line and understanding an elliptical expression “[to] my soul the battle cry.” Such an elliptical expression is in keeping with the elliptical nature of the exclamations at the beginning of the verse (cf. the literal translations of the first two lines of the verse in the notes on the words “stomach” and “heart”).
Jeremiah 4:20 tn The words “I see” are not in the text here or at the beginning of the third line. They are supplied in the translation to show that this is Jeremiah’s vision of what will happen as a result of the invasion announced in 4:5-9, 11-17a.
Jeremiah 4:20 tn Heb “my.” This is probably not a reference to Jeremiah’s own tents since he foresees the destruction of the whole land. Jeremiah so identifies with the plight of his people that he sees the destruction of their tents as though they were his very own. It would probably lead to confusion to translate literally, and it is not uncommon in Hebrew laments for the community or its representative to speak of the community as an “I.” See, for example, the interchange between first singular and first plural pronouns in Ps 44:4-8.
Jeremiah 4:20 tn Heb “my.”
Jeremiah 4:20 tn It is not altogether clear what Jeremiah intends by the use of this metaphor. In all likelihood he means that the defenses of Israel’s cities and towns have offered no more resistance than nomads’ tents. However, in light of the fact that the word “tent” came to be used generically for a person’s home (cf. 1 Kgs 8:66; 12:16), it is possible here that Jeremiah is referring to the destruction of their homes and the resultant feeling of homelessness and loss of even elementary protection. Given the lack of certainty, the present translation is rather literal here.
Jeremiah 4:21 tn Heb “the sound of ram’s horns.” But the modern equivalent is “bugles” and is more readily understandable.
Jeremiah 4:22 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show clearly the shift in speaker. Jeremiah has been speaking; now the Lord answers, giving the reason for the devastation Jeremiah foresees.
Jeremiah 4:22 tn Heb “For….” This gives the explanation for the destruction envisaged in 4:20 to which Jeremiah responds in 4:19, 21.
Jeremiah 4:22 tn Heb “They are senseless children.”
Jeremiah 4:23 tn Heb “I looked at the land and behold…” This indicates the visionary character of Jeremiah’s description of the future condition of the land of Israel.
Jeremiah 4:23 tn Heb “formless and empty.” This is a case of hendiadys (two nouns joined by “and” both describe the same thing): one noun retains its full nominal force; the other functions as an adjective. The words תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ (tohu vavohu) allude to Gen 1:2, hyperbolically picturing a reversal of creation and return to the original precreation chaos.
Jeremiah 4:25 tn Heb “there was no man/human being.”
Jeremiah 4:26 tn Heb “because of the Lord, because of his blazing anger.”
Jeremiah 4:27 tn Heb “For this is what the Lord said.”
Jeremiah 4:28 sn The earth and the heavens are personified here and depicted in the act of mourning and wearing black clothes because of the destruction of the land of Israel.
Jeremiah 4:28 tn Heb “has spoken and purposed.” This is an example of hendiadys where two verbs are joined by “and” but one is meant to serve as a modifier of the other.
Jeremiah 4:28 tn Heb “will not turn back from it.”
Jeremiah 4:30 tn Heb “And you that are doomed to destruction.” The referent is supplied from the following context and the fact that Zion/Jerusalem represents the leadership that was continually making overtures to foreign nations for help.
Jeremiah 4:30 tn Heb “What are you accomplishing…?” The rhetorical question assumes a negative answer, made clear by the translation in the indicative.
Jeremiah 4:30 tn Heb “clothing yourself in scarlet.”
Jeremiah 4:30 tn Heb “enlarging your eyes with antimony.” Antimony was a black powder used by women as eyeliner to make their eyes look larger.
Jeremiah 4:30 tn Heb “they seek your life.”
Jeremiah 4:31 tn The particle כִּי (ki) is more likely asseverative here than causal.
Jeremiah 4:31 sn Jerusalem is personified as a helpless young woman giving birth.
Jeremiah 4:31 tn Heb “spreading out her hands.” The idea of asking or pleading for help is implicit in the figure.
Jeremiah 4:31 tn Heb “Woe, now to me!” See the translator’s note on 4:13 for the usage of “Woe to…”
Jeremiah 5:1 tn These words are not in the text, but since the words at the end are obviously those of the Lord, they are supplied in the translation here to mark the shift in speaker from 4:29-31, where Jeremiah is the obvious speaker.
Jeremiah 5:1 tn It is not clear who is being addressed here. The verbs are plural so they are not addressed to Jeremiah per se. Since the passage is talking about the people of Jerusalem, it is unlikely they are addressed here except perhaps rhetorically. Some have suggested that the heavenly court is being addressed as in Job 1:6-8; 2:1-3. It is clear from Jer 23:18, 22; Amos 3:7 that the prophets had access to this heavenly council through visions (cf. 1 Kgs 22:19-23), so Jeremiah could have been privy to this speech through that means. Though these angels are the most likely addressees, it is too presumptuous to supply such an explicit addressee without clearer indication in the text.
Jeremiah 5:1 tn Heb “who does justice and seeks faithfulness.”
Jeremiah 5:1 tn Heb “squares. If you can find…if there is one person…then I will…”
Jeremiah 5:1 tn Heb “forgive [or pardon] it.”
Jeremiah 5:2 tn Heb “Though they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives.’” The idea of “swear on oath” comes from the second line.
Jeremiah 5:2 tc The translation follows many Hebrew mss and the Syriac version in reading “surely” (אָכֵן, ʾakhen) instead of “therefore” (לָכֵן, lakhen) in the MT. tn Heb “Surely.”
Jeremiah 5:2 tn Heb “they swear falsely.”
Jeremiah 5:3 tn Heb “O Lord, are your eyes not to faithfulness?” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
Jeremiah 5:3 tn Commentaries and lexicons debate the meaning of the verb here. The MT is pointed as though from a verb meaning “to writhe in anguish or contrition” (חוּל [khul]; see, e.g., BDB 297 s.v. חוּל 2.c), but some commentaries and lexicons repoint the text as though from a verb meaning “to be sick,” thus “to feel pain” (חָלָה [khalah]; see, e.g., HALOT 304 s.v. חָלָה 3). The former appears more appropriate to the context.
Jeremiah 5:3 tn Heb “They made their faces as hard as a rock.”
Jeremiah 5:3 tn Or “to repent”; Heb “to turn back.”
Jeremiah 5:4 tn Heb “Surely they are poor.” The translation is intended to make clear the explicit contrasts and qualifications drawn in this verse and the next.
Jeremiah 5:4 tn Heb “the way of the Lord.”
Jeremiah 5:4 tn Heb “the judgment [or ordinance] of their God.”
Jeremiah 5:5 tn Or “people in power”; Heb “the great ones.”
Jeremiah 5:5 tn Heb “the way of the Lord.”
Jeremiah 5:5 tn Heb “the judgment [or ordinance] of their God.”
Jeremiah 5:5 tn Heb “have broken the yoke and torn off the yoke ropes.” Cf. Jer 2:20 and the note there.
Jeremiah 5:6 tn Heb “So a lion from the thicket will kill them. A wolf from the desert will destroy them. A leopard will watch outside their cities. Anyone who goes out from them will be torn in pieces.” However, it is unlikely that, in the context of judgment that Jeremiah has previously been describing, literal lions are meant. The animals are metaphorical for their enemies. Cf. Jer 4:7.
Jeremiah 5:6 tn Heb “their rebellions are so many, and their unfaithful acts so numerous.”
Jeremiah 5:7 tn These words are not in the text, but are supplied in the translation to make clear who is speaking.
Jeremiah 5:7 tn Heb “How can I forgive [or pardon] you?” The pronoun “you” is second feminine singular, referring to the city. See v. 1.
Jeremiah 5:7 tn Heb “your children.”
Jeremiah 5:7 tn Heb “and they have sworn [oaths] by not-gods.”
Jeremiah 5:7 tn Heb “I satisfied them to the full.”
Jeremiah 5:7 tn Heb “they committed adultery.” It is difficult to decide whether literal adultery with other women or spiritual adultery with other gods is meant. The word for adultery is used for both in the book of Jeremiah. For examples of its use for spiritual adultery see 3:8, 9; 9:2. For examples of its use for literal adultery see 7:9; 23:14. The context here could argue for either. The swearing by other gods and the implicit contradiction in their actions in contrast to the expected gratitude for supplying their needs argues for spiritual adultery. However, the reference to prostitution in the next line and the reference to chasing after their neighbor’s wives argues for literal adultery. The translation opts for spiritual adultery because of the contrast implicit in the concessive clause.
Jeremiah 5:7 tn There is a great deal of debate about the meaning of this word. Most of the modern English versions follow the lead of lexicographers who relate this word to a noun meaning “troop” and understand it to mean “they trooped together” (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.2 and compare the usage in Mic 5:1 [4:14 HT]). A few of the modern English versions and commentaries follow the reading of the Greek and read a word meaning “they lodged” (reading יִתְגּוֹרְרוּ [yitgor^eru] from I גּוּר [gur; cf. HALOT 177 s.v. Hithpo. and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 17:20] instead of יִתְגֹּדָדוּ [yitgodadu]). W. L. Holladay (Jeremiah [Hermeneia], 1:180) sees a reference here to the cultic practice of cutting oneself in supplication to pagan gods (cf. BDB 151 s.v. גָּדַד Hithpo.1 and compare the usage in 1 Kgs 18:28). The houses of prostitutes would then be a reference to ritual prostitutes at the pagan shrines. The translation follows BDB and the majority of modern English versions.
Jeremiah 5:7 tn Heb “to a house of a prostitute.”sn This could be a reference to cultic temple prostitution connected with the pagan shrines. For allusion to this in the OT, see, e.g., Deut 23:17 and 2 Kgs 23:7.
Jeremiah 5:8 tn The meanings of these two adjectives are uncertain. The translation of the first adjective is based on assuming that the word is a defectively written participle related to the noun “testicle” (a Hiphil participle מַאֲשִׁכִים [maʾashikhim] from a verb related to אֶשֶׁךְ [ʾeshekh, “testicle”]; cf. Lev 21:20) and hence “having testicles” (cf. HALOT 1379 s.v. שָׁכָה) instead of the Masoretic form מַשְׁכִּים (mashkim) from a root שָׁכָה (shakhah), which is otherwise unattested in either verbal or nominal forms. The second adjective is best derived from a verb root meaning “to feed” (a Hophal participle מוּזָנִים [muzanim, the Kethib] from a root זוּן [zun; cf. BDB 266 s.v. זוּן] for which there is the cognate noun מָזוֹן [mazon; cf. 2 Chr 11:23]). This is more likely than the derivation from a root יָזַן ([yazan]reading מְיֻזָּנִים [m^eyuzzanim], a Pual participle with the Qere) which is otherwise unattested in verbal or nominal forms and whose meaning is dependent only on a supposed Arabic cognate (cf. HALOT 387 s.v. יָזַן).
Jeremiah 5:8 tn Heb “neighs after.”
Jeremiah 5:9 tn Heb “Should I not punish them…? Should I not bring retribution…?” The rhetorical questions have the force of strong declarations.
Jeremiah 5:10 tn These words to not appear in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for the sake of clarity to identify the implied addressee.
Jeremiah 5:10 tn Heb “through her vine rows and destroy.” No object is given but “vines” must be implicit. The word for “vineyards” (or “vine rows”) is a hapax legomenon and its derivation is debated. BDB 1004 s.v. שּׁוּרָה repoints שָׁרוֹתֶיהָ (sharoteha) to שֻׁרוֹתֶיהָ (shuroteha) and relates it to a Mishnaic Hebrew and Palestinian Aramaic word meaning “row.” HALOT 1348 s.v. שּׁוּרָה also repoints to שֻׁרוֹתֶיהָ and relates it to a noun meaning “wall,” preferring to see the reference here to the walled terraces on which the vineyards were planted. The difference in meaning is minimal.
Jeremiah 5:10 tn Heb “for they do not belong to the Lord.” In the light of the context and Jeremiah’s identification of Israel as a vine (cf., e.g., 2:21) and a vineyard (cf., e.g., 12:10), it is likely that this verse has a totally metaphorical significance. The enemy is to go through the vineyard that is Israel and Judah and destroy all those who have been unfaithful to the Lord. It is not impossible, however, that the verse has a double meaning, a literal one and a figurative one: the enemy is not only to destroy Israel and Judah’s vines but to destroy Israel and Judah, lopping off the wicked Israelites who, because of their covenant unfaithfulness, the Lord has disowned. If the verse is totally metaphorical one might translate, “Pass through my vineyard, Israel and Judah, wreaking destruction. But do not destroy all of the people. Cut down like branches those unfaithful people because they no longer belong to the Lord.”
Jeremiah 5:11 tn Heb “the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”
Jeremiah 5:12 tn Heb “have denied the Lord.” The words “What…says” are implicit in what follows.
Jeremiah 5:12 tn Or “he will do nothing”; Heb “Not he [or it]!”
Jeremiah 5:12 tn Heb “we will not see the sword and famine.”
Jeremiah 5:13 tn Heb “will be wind.”sn There is a wordplay on the Hebrew word translated “wind” (רוּחַ, ruakh) which also means “spirit.” The prophets spoke by inspiration of the Spirit of the Lord (cf., e.g., 2 Chr 20:14); hence the prophet was sometimes called “the man of the spirit” (cf. Hos 9:7). The people were claiming that the prophets were speaking lies and hence were full of wind, not the Spirit.
Jeremiah 5:13 tc Heb “the word is not in them.” The MT has a highly unusual form here, the Piel perfect with the definite article (הַדִּבֵּר, haddibber). It is undoubtedly best to read with the LXX (Greek version) and one Hebrew ms the article on the noun (הַדָּבָר, haddavar).
Jeremiah 5:14 tn Heb “Therefore.”
Jeremiah 5:14 tn Heb “The Lord God of Armies.” See the translator’s note at 2:19.sn Here the emphasis appears to be on the fact that the Lord is in charge of the enemy armies whom he will use to punish Israel for their denial of his prior warnings through the prophets.
Jeremiah 5:14 tn The words, “to me” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation for clarification.
Jeremiah 5:14 tn Heb “you have spoken.” The text here דַּבֶּרְכֶם (dabber^ekhem, “you have spoken”) is either a case of a scribal error for דַּבֶּרָם (dabberam, “their speaking”; preceding יַעַן [ya‘an] would function as a preposition meaning “because of”) or an example of the rapid shift in addressee which is common in Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 5:14 tn Heb “this word.”
Jeremiah 5:14 tn Heb “like wood and it [i.e., the fire I put in your mouth] will consume them.”
Jeremiah 5:15 tn Heb “oracle of the Lord.”
Jeremiah 5:15 tn Heb “Behold!”
Jeremiah 5:15 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
Jeremiah 5:16 tn Heb “All of them are mighty warriors.”
Jeremiah 5:16 tn Heb “his quiver [is] an open grave.” The order of the lines has been reversed to make the transition from “nation” to “their arrows” easier.
Jeremiah 5:17 tn Heb “eat up.”
Jeremiah 5:17 tn Or “eat up your grapes and figs”; Heb “eat up your vines and your fig trees.”sn It was typical for an army in time of war in the ancient Near East not only to eat up the crops but to destroy the means of further production.
Jeremiah 5:17 tn Heb “They will beat down with the sword.” The term “sword” is a figure of speech (synecdoche) for military weapons in general. Siege ramps, not swords, beat down city walls; swords kill people, not city walls.
Jeremiah 5:18 tn Heb “in those days.”
Jeremiah 5:19 tn The word, “Jeremiah,” is not in the text but the second person address in the second half of the verse is obviously to him. The word is supplied in the translation here for clarity.
Jeremiah 5:19 tn The MT reads the second masculine plural; this is probably a case of attraction to the second masculine plural pronoun in the preceding line. An alternative would be to understand a shift from speaking first to the people in the first half of the verse and then speaking to Jeremiah in the second half, where the verb is second masculine singular (e.g., “When you [people] say, “Why…?” then you, Jeremiah, tell them…”).
Jeremiah 5:19 tn Heb “As you left me and…, so you will….” The translation was chosen so as to break up a rather long and complex sentence.
Jeremiah 5:19 sn This is probably a case of deliberate ambiguity (double entendre). The adjective “foreigners” is used for both foreign people (so Jer 30:8; 51:51) and foreign gods (so Jer 2:25; 3:13). See also Jer 16:13 for the idea of having to serve other gods in the lands of exile.
Jeremiah 5:20 sn The verbs are second plural here. Jeremiah, speaking for the Lord, addresses his people, calling on them to make the message further known.
Jeremiah 5:20 tn Heb “in the house of Jacob.”
Jeremiah 5:21 tn Heb “they have eyes but they do not see; they have ears but they do not hear.”
Jeremiah 5:22 tn Heb “Should you not fear me? Should you not tremble in awe before me?” The rhetorical questions expect the answer explicit in the translation.
Jeremiah 5:22 tn Heb “it.” The referent is made explicit to avoid any possible confusion.
Jeremiah 5:23 tn The words, “their own way” are not in the text but are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarity.
Jeremiah 5:24 tn Heb “say in their hearts.”
Jeremiah 5:24 tn Heb “who keeps for us the weeks appointed for harvest.
Jeremiah 5:25 tn Heb “have turned these things away.”
Jeremiah 5:25 tn Heb “have withheld the good from you.”
Jeremiah 5:26 tn The meaning of the last three words is uncertain. The pointing and meaning of the Hebrew word rendered “hiding in ambush” is debated. BDB relates the form (כְּשַׁךְ, k^eshakh) to a root שָׁכַךְ (shakhakh), which elsewhere means “decrease, abate” (cf. BDB 1013 s.v. שָׁכַךְ). BDB notes that this is usually understood here as “like the crouching of fowlers,” but they say this meaning is dubious. HALOT 1345 s.v. I שׁוֹר questions the validity of the text and offers three proposals; the second appears to create the least textual modification, i.e., reading כְּשַׂךְ (k^esakh, “as in the hiding place of (bird catchers).” For the word שַׂךְ (sakh) see HALOT 1236 s.v. שׂךְ 4 and compare Lam 2:6 for usage. The versions do not help. The Greek does not translate the first two words of the line. The proposal given in HALOT is accepted with some hesitancy.
Jeremiah 5:26 tn Heb “a destroying thing.”
Jeremiah 5:27 tn The words, “that have been caught” are not in the text but are implicit in the comparison.
Jeremiah 5:27 tn Heb “are filled with deceit.” The translation assumes a figure of speech of cause for effect (metonymy). Compare the same word in the same figure in Zeph 1:9.
Jeremiah 5:27 tn Heb “therefore they have gotten great and rich.”
Jeremiah 5:28 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation to show that this line is parallel with the preceding.
Jeremiah 5:28 tn The meaning of this word is uncertain. This verb occurs only here. The lexicons generally relate it to the word translated “plate” in Song 5:14 and understand it to mean “smooth, shiny” (so BDB 799 s.v. I עֶשֶׁת) or “fat” (so HALOT 850 s.v. II עֶשֶׁת). The word in Song 5:14 more likely means “smooth” than “plate” (so TEV). So “sleek” is most likely here.
Jeremiah 5:28 tn Heb “they cross over/transgress with respect to matters of evil.”sn There is a wordplay in the use of this verb, which has twice been applied in v. 22 to the sea not crossing the boundary set for it by God.
Jeremiah 5:29 tn Heb “Should I not punish…? Should I not bring retribution…?” The rhetorical questions function as emphatic declarations.sn These words are repeated from 5:9 to give a kind of refrain justifying again the necessity of punishment in the light of such sins.
Jeremiah 5:31 tn Heb “they shall rule at their hands.” Since the word “hand” can be used figuratively for authority or mean “side,” and the pronoun “them” can refer to the priests themselves or the prophets, the following translations have also been suggested: “the priests rule under their [the prophets’] directions,” or “the priests rule in league with them [the prophets].” From the rest of the book it would appear that the prophets did not exercise authority over the priests, nor did they exercise the same authority over the people that the priests did. Hence it probably means “by their own hand/power/authority.”
Jeremiah 5:31 tn Heb “But what will you do at its end?” The rhetorical question implies a negative answer: “Nothing!”
Jeremiah 6:1 tn Heb “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem.”sn Compare and contrast Jer 4:6. There people in the outlying areas were warned to seek safety in the fortified city of Jerusalem. Here they are told to flee it because it was about to be destroyed.
Jeremiah 6:1 tn Heb “ram’s horn.” But the modern equivalent is “trumpet” and is more readily understandable.
Jeremiah 6:1 tn Heb “leans down” or “looks down.” This verb personifies destruction leaning/looking down from its window in the sky, ready to attack.
Jeremiah 6:1 tn Heb “[It will be] a severe fracture.” The nation is pictured as a limb being fractured.sn This passage is emotionally charged. There are two examples of assonance or wordplay in the verse. “Sound” and “Tekoa” are built on the same root: תָּקַע (taqaʿ, “blow”). “Light” and “signal fire,” also come from the same root: נָשָׂא (nasaʾ, “lift up”). Also disaster is personified when it is said to “lurk” (Heb “look down on”) out of the north. This gives a sense of urgency and concern for the coming destruction.
Jeremiah 6:2 tn The verb here is another example of the Hebrew verb form that indicates the action is as good as done (a Hebrew prophetic perfect).
Jeremiah 6:2 sn Jerusalem is personified as a young maiden who is helpless in the hands of her enemies.
Jeremiah 6:2 tn Heb “The beautiful and delicate one I will destroy, the daughter of Zion.” The English versions and commentaries are divided over the rendering of this verse because (1) there are two verbs with these same consonants, one meaning “to be like” and the other meaning “to be destroyed” (intransitive) or “to destroy” (transitive), and (2) the word rendered “beautiful” (נָוָה, navah) can be understood as a noun meaning “pasture” or as a defective writing of an adjective meaning “beautiful, comely” (נָאוָה, naʾvah). Hence some render, “Fair Zion, you are like a lovely pasture,” reading the verb form as an example of the old second feminine singular perfect. Although this may fit the imagery of the next verse, that rendering ignores the absence of a preposition (לְ or אֶל, l^e or ʾel, both of which can be translated “to”) that normally goes with the verb “be like,” and it drops the conjunction in front of the adjective “delicate.” The parallel usage of the verb in Hos 4:5 argues for the meaning “destroy.”
Jeremiah 6:3 tn Heb “Shepherds and their flocks will attack it.” Rulers are often depicted as shepherds; see BDB 945 s.v. רָעָה 1.d(2) (cf. Jer 12:10). The translation of this verse attempts to clarify the point of this extended metaphor.
Jeremiah 6:3 tn Heb “They will thrust [= pitch] tents around it.” The shepherd imagery has a surprisingly ominous tone. The beautiful pasture filled with shepherds grazing their sheep is in reality a city under siege from an attacking enemy.
Jeremiah 6:3 tn Heb “They will graze each one his portion.” For the use of the verb “graze” to mean “strip” or “devastate” see BDB 945 s.v. רָעָה 2.c. For a similar use of the word normally meaning “hand” to mean portion, compare 2 Sam 19:43 (19:44 HT).sn There is another wordplay involving the root תָּקַע (taqaʿ). Here it is the verb for pitching tents, while in v. 1 it was used for sounding the trumpet. It is the root for the place name “Tekoa.”
Jeremiah 6:4 tn These words are not in the text but are implicit in the connection. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
Jeremiah 6:4 tn Heb “Sanctify war.” This is probably an idiom from early Israel’s holy wars in which religious rites were to precede the battle.
Jeremiah 6:4 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity. Some commentaries and English versions see these not as the words of the enemy but as those of the Israelites expressing their fear that the enemy will launch a night attack against them and further destroy them. The connection with the next verse, however, fits better with them if they are the words of the enemy.
Jeremiah 6:4 tn For the usage of this phrase see the translator’s note on 4:13. The usage of this particle here is a little exaggerated. They have lost the most advantageous time for attack but they are scarcely in a hopeless or doomed situation. The equivalent in English slang is “Bad news!”
Jeremiah 6:6 tn Heb “For.” The translation attempts to make the connection clearer.
Jeremiah 6:6 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies.”sn For an explanation of the significance of this title see the study note on 2:19.
Jeremiah 6:6 tn Heb “Cut down its trees and build up a siege ramp against Jerusalem.” The referent has been moved forward from the second line for clarity.
Jeremiah 6:6 tn Or “has been appointed.” The meaning of this line is uncertain. The LXX reads, “Woe, city of falsehood!” The MT presents a masculine singular verb with a feminine singular subject. The verb פָּקַד (paqad) in the Hophal verbal stem elsewhere means “to be appointed, designated.” It is used of officials who have been appointed to tasks or of leaving something deposited with someone. Hence many follow the Greek, which presupposes הוֹי עִיר הַשֶּׁקֶר (hoy ʿir hasheqer) instead of הִיא הָעִיר הָפְקַד (hiʾ haʿir hofqad). The Greek is the easier reading in light of the parallelism, and it would be hard to explain how the MT arose from it. KBL suggests reading a noun meaning “licentiousness” that occurs elsewhere only in Mishnaic Hebrew, hence “this is the city, the licentious one” (attributive apposition; cf. KBL 775 s.v. פֶּקֶר). Perhaps the Hophal perfect (הָפְקַד, hofqad) should be revocalized as a Niphal infinitive absolute (הִפָּקֹד, hippaqod), which would solve both anomalies in the MT since the Niphal is used in this nuance and the infinitive absolute can function in place of a finite verb (cf. GKC 346 §113.ee and ff). This change, however, is mere speculation and is supported by no Hebrew ms.
Jeremiah 6:6 tn Heb “All of it oppression in its midst.”
Jeremiah 6:7 tc Heb “As a well makes cool/fresh its water, she makes cool/fresh her wickedness.” The translation follows the reading proposed by the Masoretes (Qere) which reads a rare form of the word “well” (בַּיִר [bayir] for בְּאֵר [b^eʾer]) in place of the form written in the text (Kethib, בּוֹר [bor]), which means “cistern.” The latter noun is masculine and the pronoun “its” is feminine. If indeed בַּיִר (bayir) is a byform of בְּאֵר (b^eʾer), which is feminine, it would agree in gender with the pronoun. It also forms a more appropriate comparison since cisterns do not hold fresh water.
Jeremiah 6:7 tn Heb “Violence and destruction are heard in it.”
Jeremiah 6:7 tn Heb “Sickness and wound are continually before my face.”
Jeremiah 6:8 tn This word is not in the text but is supplied in the translation. Jeremiah uses a figure of speech (enallage) where the speaker turns from talking about someone to address him/her directly.
Jeremiah 6:8 tn Heb “lest my soul [= I] becomes disgusted with you.”sn The wordplay begun with “sound…in Tekoa” in v. 1 and continued with “encamp” (they will pitch [their tents]) in v. 3 is concluded here with “turn away in disgust” (תֵּקַע [teqaʿ]), which uses the same consonants although built now on the root יָקַע (yaqaʿ).
Jeremiah 6:9 tn Heb “Yahweh of Armies.”sn For an explanation of the significance of this title see the study note on 2:19.
Jeremiah 6:9 tn The words “to me” are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
Jeremiah 6:9 tn Heb “They will thoroughly glean those who are left in Israel like a vine.” That is, they will be carried off by judgment. It is not necessary to read the verb forms here the way some English versions and commentaries do: as two imperatives, or as an infinitive absolute followed by an imperative. “Glean” is an example of a third plural verb used impersonally and translated as a passive (cf. GKC 460 §144.g).
Jeremiah 6:9 tn Heb “Pass your hand back over the branches like a grape harvester.” The translation is intended to clarify the metaphor that Jeremiah should try to rescue some from the coming destruction.
Jeremiah 6:10 tn These words are not in the text but are supplied in the translation for clarity.
Jeremiah 6:10 tn Heb “To whom shall I speak and give warning that they may listen?”
Jeremiah 6:10 tn Heb “are uncircumcised.”
Jeremiah 6:10 tn Heb “Behold!”
Jeremiah 6:10 tn Heb “They do not take pleasure in it.”
Jeremiah 6:11 tn Heb “I am full of the wrath of the Lord.”
Jeremiah 6:11 tn These words are not in the text but are implicit from the words that follow. They are supplied in the translation for clarity.
Jeremiah 6:11 tn Heb “Pour it out.”
Jeremiah 6:11 tn Heb “are to be captured.”
Jeremiah 6:12 tn Heb “I will reach out my hand.” This figure involves both comparing God to a person (anthropomorphism) and substituting the hand for its actions or exertions (metonymy). A common use of “hand” is for the exertion of power or strength (cf. BDB 290 s.v. יָד 2 and 289-90 s.v. יָד 1.e(2); cf. Deut 34:12; Ps 78:42; Jer 16:21).
Jeremiah 6:14 tn Heb “They heal [= bandage] the wound of my people lightly”; TEV “They act as if my people’s wounds were only scratches.”
Jeremiah 6:14 tn Heb “They say, ‘Peace! Peace!’ and there is no peace!”
Jeremiah 6:15 tn Heb “They will fall among the fallen.”

New English Translation (NET)

Colossians 1:18-2:7

¹⁸He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn^[a] from the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.^[b]
¹⁹For God^[c] was pleased to have all his^[d] fullness dwell^[e] in the Son^[f]
²⁰and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross—through him,^[g] whether things on earth or things in heaven.

Paul’s Goal in Ministry

²¹And you were at one time strangers and enemies in your^[h] minds^[i] as expressed through^[j] your evil deeds, ²²but now he has reconciled you^[k] by his physical body through death to present you holy, without blemish, and blameless before him— ²³if indeed you remain in the faith, established and firm,^[l] without shifting^[m] from the hope of the gospel that you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven, and I, Paul, have become its servant.

²⁴Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical body—for the sake of his body, the church—what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. ²⁵I became a servant of the church according to the stewardship^[n] from God—given to me for you—in order to complete^[o] the word of God, ²⁶that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and generations, but has now been revealed to his saints. ²⁷God wanted to make known to them the glorious^[p] riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. ²⁸We proclaim him by instructing^[q] and teaching^[r] all people^[s] with all wisdom so that we may present every person mature^[t] in Christ. ²⁹Toward this goal^[u] I also labor, struggling according to his power that powerfully^[v] works in me.

2 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you,^[w] and for those in Laodicea, and for those who have not met me face to face.^[x] ²My goal is that^[y] their hearts, having been knit together^[z] in love, may be encouraged, and that^[aa] they may have all the riches that assurance brings in their understanding of the knowledge of the mystery of God, namely, Christ,^[ab] ³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴I say this so that no one will deceive you through arguments^[ac] that sound reasonable.^[ad] ⁵For though^[ae] I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit, rejoicing to see^[af] your morale^[ag] and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

Warnings Against the Adoption of False Philosophies

⁶Therefore, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord,^[ah] continue to live your lives^[ai] in him, ⁷rooted^[aj] and built up in him and firm^[ak] in your^[al] faith just as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Footnotes:

Colossians 1:18 tn See the note on the term “firstborn” in 1:15. Here the reference to Jesus as the “firstborn from the dead” seems to be arguing for a chronological priority, i.e., Jesus was the first to rise from the dead.
Colossians 1:18 tn Grk “in order that he may become in all things, himself, first.”
Colossians 1:19 tn The noun “God” does not appear in the Greek text, but the similar phrase “all the fullness of deity” in 2:9 lends credence to God as the subject of εὐδόκησεν (eudokēsen).
Colossians 1:19 tn The Greek article τό (to), insofar as it relates to God, may be translated as a possessive pronoun, i.e., “his.” BDAG 404 s.v. εὐδοκέω 1 translates the phrase as “all the fullness willed to dwell in him” thus leaving the referent as impersonal. Insofar as Paul is alluding to the so-called emanations from God this is acceptable. But the fact that “the fullness” dwells in a person (i.e., “in him”) seems to argue for the translation “his fullness” where “his” refers to God.
Colossians 1:19 tn The aorist verb κατοικῆσαι (katoikēsai) could be taken as an ingressive, in which case it refers to the incarnation and may be translated as “begin to dwell, to take up residence.” It is perhaps better, though, to take it as a constative aorist and simply a reference to the fact that the fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. This is a permanent dwelling, though, not a temporary one, as the present tense in 2:9 makes clear.
Colossians 1:19 tn Grk “him”; the referent (the Son; see v. 13) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
Colossians 1:20 tc The presence or absence of the second occurrence of the phrase δι᾿ αὐτοῦ (di’ autou, “through him”) is a difficult textual problem to solve. External evidence is fairly evenly divided. Many ancient and excellent witnesses lack the phrase (B D* F G I 0278 81 1175 1739 1881 2464 al latt sa), but equally significant witnesses have it (P⁴⁶ א A C D¹ Ψ 048^vid 33 M al sy bo). Both readings have strong Alexandrian support, which makes the problem difficult to decide on external evidence alone. The phrase, however, has stronger evidence geographically. Internal evidence points to the inclusion of the phrase as autographic. The word immediately preceding the phrase is the masculine pronoun αὐτοῦ (autou); thus the possibility of omission through homoioteleuton in various witnesses is likely. Scribes might have deleted the phrase because of perceived redundancy or awkwardness in the sense: The shorter reading is smoother and more elegant, so scribes would be prone to correct the text in that direction. As far as style is concerned, repetition of key words and phrases for emphasis is not foreign to the corpus Paulinum (see, e.g., Rom 8:23, Eph 1:13, 2 Cor 12:7). In sum, it is easier to account for the shorter reading arising from the longer reading than vice versa, so the longer reading is more likely original, though a decision is not easy. The NA²⁸ prints the prepositional phrase in brackets indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.
Colossians 1:21 tn The article τῇ (tē) has been translated as a possessive pronoun (ExSyn 215).
Colossians 1:21 tn Although διανοία (dianoia) is singular in Greek, the previous plural noun ἐχθρούς (echthrous) indicates that all those from Colossae are in view here.
Colossians 1:21 tn The dative ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις τοῖς πονηροῖς (en tois ergois tois ponērois) is taken as means, indicating the avenue through which hostility in the mind is revealed and made known.
Colossians 1:22 tc Some of the better representatives of the Alexandrian and Western groups have a passive verb here instead of the active ἀποκατήλλαξεν (apokatēllaxen, “he has reconciled”): ἀποκατηλλάγητε (apokatēllagēte) in P⁴⁶ B, ἀποκατήλλακται [sic] (apokatēllaktai) in 33, and ἀποκαταλλαγέντες (apokatallagentes) in D* F G. Yet the active verb is strongly supported by א A C D² Ψ 048 075 0278 1175 1505 1739 1881 2464 M al lat sy. Internally, the passive creates an anacoluthon in that it looks back to the accusative ὑμᾶς (humas, “you”) of v. 21 and leaves the following παραστῆσαι (parastēsai) dangling (“you were reconciled…to present you”). The passive reading is certainly the harder reading. As such, it may well explain the rise of the others. At the same time, it is possible that the passive was produced by scribes who wanted some symmetry between the ποτε (pote, “at one time”) of v. 21 and the νυνὶ δέ (nuni de, “but now”) of v. 22: Since a passive periphrastic participle is used in v. 21, there may have been a temptation to produce a corresponding passive form in v. 22, so that the ὑμᾶς of v. 21 functioned as subject by way of constructio ad sensum. Since παραστῆσαι occurs ten words later, it may not have been considered in this scribal modification. Further, the Western reading (ἀποκαταλλαγέντες) hardly seems to have arisen from ἀποκατηλλάγητε (contra TCGNT 555). As difficult as this decision is, the preferred reading is the active form because it is superior externally and seems to explain the rise of all forms of the passive readings.tn The direct object is omitted in the Greek text, but it is clear from context that “you” (ὑμᾶς, humas) is implied.
Colossians 1:23 tn BDAG 276 s.v. ἑδραῖος suggests “firm, steadfast.”
Colossians 1:23 tn BDAG 639 s.v. μετακινέω suggests “without shifting from the hope” here.
Colossians 1:25 tn BDAG 697 s.v. οἰκονομία 1.b renders the term here as “divine office.”
Colossians 1:25 tn See BDAG 828 s.v. πληρόω 3. The idea here seems to be that the apostle wants to “complete the word of God” in that he wants to preach it to every person in the known world (cf. Rom 15:19). See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 82.
Colossians 1:27 tn The genitive noun τῆς δόξης (tēs doxēs) is an attributive genitive and has therefore been translated as “glorious riches.”
Colossians 1:28 tn Or “admonishing,” or “warning.” BDAG 679 s.v. νουθετέω states, “to counsel about avoidance or cessation of an improper course of conduct, admonish, warn, instruct.” After the participle νουθετοῦντες (nouthetountes, “instructing”) the words πάντα ἄνθρωπον (panta anthrōpon, “all men”) occur in the Greek text, but since the same phrase appears again after διδάσκοντες (didaskontes) it was omitted in translation to avoid redundancy in English.
Colossians 1:28 tn The two participles “instructing” (νουθετοῦντες, nouthetountes) and “teaching” (διδάσκοντες, didaskontes) are translated as participles of means (“by”) related to the finite verb “we proclaim” (καταγγέλλομεν, katangellomen).
Colossians 1:28 tn Here ἄνθρωπον (anthrōpon) is twice translated as a generic (“people” and “person”) since both men and women are clearly intended in this context.
Colossians 1:28 tn Since Paul’s focus is on the present experience of the Colossians, “mature” is a better translation of τέλειον (teleion) than “perfect,” since the latter implies a future, eschatological focus.
Colossians 1:29 tn The Greek phrase εἴς ὅ (eis ho, “toward which”) implies “movement toward a goal” and has been rendered by the English phrase “Toward this goal.”
Colossians 1:29 tn The prepositional phrase ἐν δυνάμει (en dunamei) seems to be functioning adverbially, related to the participle, and has therefore been translated “powerfully.”
Colossians 2:1 tn Or “I want you to know how hard I am working for you…”
Colossians 2:1 tn Grk “as many as have not seen my face in the flesh.”
Colossians 2:2 tn Verse two begins a subordinate ἵνα (hina) clause which was divided up into two sentences for the sake of clarity in English. Thus the phrase “My goal is that” is an attempt to reflect in the translation the purpose expressed through the ἵνα clauses.
Colossians 2:2 tn BDAG 956 s.v. συμβιβάζω 1.b reads “unite, knit together.” Some commentators take the verb as a reference to instruction, “instructed in love.” See P. T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon (WBC), 93.
Colossians 2:2 tn The phrase “and that” translates the first εἰς (eis) clause of v. 2 and reflects the second goal of Paul’s striving and struggle for the Colossians—the first is “encouragement” and the second is “full assurance.”
Colossians 2:2 tc There are at least a dozen variants here, almost surely generated by the unusual wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ (tou theou, Christou, “of God, [namely,] Christ”; so P⁴⁶ B Hil). Scribes would be prone to conform this to more common Pauline expressions such as “of God, who is in Christ” (33), “of God, the Father of Christ” (א* A C 048^vid 1175 bo), and “of the God and Father of Christ” (א² Ψ 365 945 1505). Several witnesses, especially later Byzantines, read “of the God and Father, and of Christ” (D² K L 075 [0208 0278] M). Even though the external support for the wording τοῦ θεοῦ, Χριστοῦ is hardly overwhelming, it clearly best explains the rise of the other readings and should thus be regarded as authentic.
Colossians 2:4 tn BDAG 812 s.v. πιθανολογία states, “persuasive speech, art of persuasion (so Pla., Theaet. 162e) in an unfavorable sense in its only occurrence in our lit. ἐν πιθανολογίᾳ by specious arguments Col 2:4 (cp. PLips 40 III, 7 διὰ πιθανολογίας).”
Colossians 2:4 sn Paul’s point is that even though the arguments seem to make sense (sound reasonable), they are in the end false. Paul is not here arguing against the study of philosophy or serious thinking per se, but is arguing against the uncritical adoption of a philosophy that is at odds with a proper view of Christ and the ethics of the Christian life.
Colossians 2:5 tn The conditional particle εἰ (ei) together with καί (kai) here indicates a first class condition in Greek and carries a concessive force, especially when seen in contrast to the following phrase which begins with ἀλλά (alla).
Colossians 2:5 tn Grk “rejoicing and seeing.”
Colossians 2:5 tn The Greek word τάξις can mean “order,” “discipline,” or even “unbroken ranks” (REB).
Colossians 2:6 tn Though the verb παρελάβετε (parelabete) does not often take a double accusative, here it seems to do so. Both τὸν Χριστὸν ᾿Ιησοῦν (ton Christon Iēsoun) and τὸν κύριον (ton kurion) are equally definite insofar as they both have an article, but both the word order and the use of “Christ Jesus” as a proper name suggest that it is the object (cf. Rom 10:9, 10). Thus Paul is affirming that the tradition that was delivered to the Colossians by Epaphras was Christ-centered and focused on him as Lord.
Colossians 2:6 tn The present imperative περιπατεῖτε (peripateite) implies, in this context, a continuation of something already begun. This is evidenced by the fact that Paul has already referred to their faith as “orderly” and “firm” (2:5), despite the struggles of some of them with this deceptive heresy (cf. 2:16-23). The verb is used literally to refer to a person “walking” and is thus used metaphorically (i.e., ethically) to refer to the way a person lives his or her life.
Colossians 2:7 tn Or “having been rooted.”
Colossians 2:7 sn The three participles rooted, built up, and firm belong together and reflect three different metaphors. The first participle “rooted” (perfect tense) indicates a settled condition on the part of the Colossian believers and refers to horticulture. The second participle “built up” (present passive) comes from the world of architecture. The third participle “firm [established]” (present passive) comes from the law courts. With these three metaphors (as well as the following comment on thankfulness) Paul explains what he means when he commands them to continue to live their lives in Christ. The use of the passive probably reflects God’s activity among them. It was he who had rooted them, had been building them up, and had established them in the faith (cf. 1 Cor 3:5-15 for the use of mixed metaphors).
Colossians 2:7 tn Or “the.” The Greek text has the article τῇ (tē), not the possessive pronoun ὑμῶν (humōn), but the article often functions as a possessive pronoun and was translated as such here (ExSyn 215).

New English Translation (NET)

Psalm 77

Psalm 77^[a]

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.

77 I will cry out to God^[b] and call for help.
I will cry out to God and he will pay attention^[c] to me.
²In my time of trouble I sought^[d] the Lord.
I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night.^[e]
I^[f] refused to be comforted.
³I said, “I will remember God while I groan;
I will think about him while my strength leaves me.”^[g] (Selah)
⁴You held my eyelids open;^[h]
I was troubled and could not speak.^[i]
⁵I thought about the days of old,
about ancient times.^[j]
⁶I said, “During the night I will remember the song I once sang;
I will think very carefully.”
I tried to make sense of what was happening.^[k]
⁷I asked,^[l] “Will the Lord reject me forever?
Will he never again show me his favor?
⁸Has his loyal love disappeared forever?
Has his promise^[m] failed forever?
⁹Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has his anger stifled his compassion?” (Selah)
¹⁰Then I said, “I am sickened by the thought
that the Most High^[n] might become inactive.^[o]
¹¹I will remember the works of the Lord.
Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago.^[p]
¹²I will think about all you have done;
I will reflect upon your deeds.”
¹³^[q] O God, your deeds are extraordinary.^[r]
What god can compare to our great God?^[s]
¹⁴You are the God who does amazing things;
you have revealed your strength among the nations.
¹⁵You delivered^[t] your people by your strength^[u]—
the children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)
¹⁶The waters^[v] saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and trembled.^[w]
Yes, the depths of the sea^[x] shook with fear.^[y]
¹⁷The clouds poured down rain;^[z]
the skies thundered.^[aa]
Yes, your arrows^[ab] flashed about.
¹⁸Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind;
the lightning bolts lit up the world.
The earth trembled and shook.^[ac]
¹⁹You walked through the sea;^[ad]
you passed through the surging waters,^[ae]
but left no footprints.^[af]
²⁰You led your people like a flock of sheep,
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Footnotes:

Psalm 77:1 sn Psalm 77. The psalmist recalls how he suffered through a time of doubt, but tells how he found encouragement and hope as he recalled the way in which God delivered Israel at the Red Sea.
Psalm 77:1 tn Heb “my voice to God.” The Hebrew verb קָרָא (qaraʾ, “to call out; to cry out”) should probably be understood by ellipsis (see Ps 3:4) both here and in the following (parallel) line.
Psalm 77:1 tn The perfect with vav (ו) consecutive is best taken as future here (although some translations render this as a past tense; cf. NEB, NIV). The psalmist expresses his confidence that God will respond to his prayer. This mood of confidence seems premature (see vv. 3-4), but v. 1 probably reflects the psalmist’s attitude at the end of the prayer (see vv. 13-20). Having opened with an affirmation of confidence, he then retraces how he gained confidence during his trial (see vv. 2-12).
Psalm 77:2 tn Here the psalmist refers back to the very recent past, when he began to pray for divine help.
Psalm 77:2 tn Heb “my hand [at] night was extended and was not growing numb.” The verb נָגַר (nagar), which can mean “flow” in certain contexts, here has the nuance “be extended.” The imperfect form (תָפוּג, tafug, “to be numb”) is used here to describe continuous action in the past.
Psalm 77:2 tn Or “my soul.” The Hebrew term נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) with a pronominal suffix is often equivalent to a pronoun, especially in poetry (see BDB 660 s.v. נֶפֶשׁ 4.a).
Psalm 77:3 tn Heb “I will remember God and I will groan, I will reflect and my spirit will grow faint.” The first three verbs are cohortatives, the last a perfect with vav (ו) consecutive. The psalmist’s statement in v. 4 could be understood as concurrent with v. 1, or, more likely, as a quotation of what he had said earlier as he prayed to God (see v. 2). The words “I said” are supplied in the translation at the beginning of the verse to reflect this interpretation (see v. 10).
Psalm 77:4 tn Heb “you held fast the guards of my eyes.” The “guards of the eyes” apparently refers to his eyelids. The psalmist seems to be saying that God would not bring him relief, which would have allowed him to shut his eyes and get some sleep (see v. 2).
Psalm 77:4 tn The imperfect is used in the second clause to emphasize that this was an ongoing condition in the past.
Psalm 77:5 tn Heb “the years of antiquity.”
Psalm 77:6 tn Heb “I will remember my song in the night, with my heart I will reflect. And my spirit searched.” As in v. 4, the words of v. 6a are understood as what the psalmist said earlier. Consequently the words “I said” are supplied in the translation for clarification (see v. 10). The prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive at the beginning of the final line is taken as sequential to the perfect “I thought” in v. 6.
Psalm 77:7 tn As in vv. 4 and 6a, the words of vv. 7-9 are understood as a quotation of what the psalmist said earlier. Therefore the words “I asked” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
Psalm 77:8 tn Heb “word,” which may refer here to God’s word of promise (note the reference to “loyal love” in the preceding line).
Psalm 77:10 sn The divine title “Most High” (עֶלְיוֹן, ʿelyon) pictures God as the exalted ruler of the universe who vindicates the innocent and judges the wicked. See especially Pss 7:17; 9:2; 18:13; 21:7; 47:2.
Psalm 77:10 tc Heb “And I said, ‘This is my wounding, the changing of the right hand of the Most High.’” The form חַלּוֹתִי (khalloti) appears to be a Qal infinitive construct (with a first person singular pronominal suffix) from the verbal root חָלַל (khalal, “to pierce; to wound”). The present translation assumes an emendation to חֲלוֹתִי (khaloti), a Qal infinitive construct (with a first person singular pronominal suffix) from the verbחָלָה (khalah, “be sick, weak”). The form שְׁנוֹת (sh^enot) is understood as a Qal infinitive construct from שָׁנָה (shanah, “to change”) rather than a plural noun form, “years” (see v. 5). “Right hand” here symbolizes by metonymy God’s power and activity. The psalmist observes that his real problem is theological in nature. His experience suggests that the sovereign Lord has abandoned him and become inactive. However, this goes against the grain of his most cherished beliefs.
Psalm 77:11 tn Heb “yes, I will remember from old your wonders.”sn The psalmist refuses to allow skepticism to win out. God has revealed himself to his people in tangible, incontrovertible ways in the past and the psalmist vows to remember the historical record as a source of hope for the future.
Psalm 77:13 sn Verses 13-20 are the content of the psalmist’s reflection (see vv. 11-12). As he thought about God’s work in Israel’s past, he reached the place where he could confidently cry out for God’s help (see v. 1).
Psalm 77:13 tn Heb “O God, in holiness [is] your way.” God’s “way” here refers to his actions. “Holiness” is used here in the sense of “set apart, unique,” rather than in a moral/ethical sense. As the next line and the next verse emphasize, God’s deeds are incomparable and set him apart as the one true God.
Psalm 77:13 tn Heb “Who [is] a great god like God?” The rhetorical question assumes the answer, “No one!”
Psalm 77:15 tn Or “redeemed.”
Psalm 77:15 tn Heb “with [your] arm.”
Psalm 77:16 tn The waters of the Red Sea are here personified; they are portrayed as seeing God and fearing him.
Psalm 77:16 tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.
Psalm 77:16 tn The words “of the sea” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
Psalm 77:16 tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.
Psalm 77:17 tn Heb “water.”
Psalm 77:17 tn Heb “a sound the clouds gave.”
Psalm 77:17 tn The lightning accompanying the storm is portrayed as the Lord’s “arrows” (see v. 18).
Psalm 77:18 tn The prefixed verbal form may be taken as a preterite or as an imperfect with past progressive force.sn Verses 16-18 depict the Lord coming in the storm to battle his enemies and subdue the sea. There is no record of such a storm in the historical account of the Red Sea crossing. The language the psalmist uses here is stereotypical and originates in Canaanite myth, where the storm god Baal subdues the sea in his quest for kingship. The psalmist has employed the stereotypical imagery to portray the exodus vividly and at the same time affirm that it is not Baal who subdues the sea, but Yahweh.
Psalm 77:19 tn Heb “in the sea [was] your way.”
Psalm 77:19 tn Heb “and your paths [were] in the mighty waters.”
Psalm 77:19 tn Heb “and your footprints were not known.”

New English Translation (NET)

Proverbs 24:23-25

Further Sayings of the Wise

²³These sayings also are from the wise:

To show partiality^[a] in judgment is terrible:^[b]
²⁴The one who says to the guilty,^[c] “You are innocent,”^[d]
peoples will curse him, and nations will denounce^[e] him.
²⁵But there will be delight^[f] for those who convict^[g] the guilty,^[h]
and a pleasing blessing^[i] will come on them.

Footnotes:

Proverbs 24:23 tn Heb “to recognize faces”; KJV, ASV “to have respect of persons”; NLT “to show favoritism.”
Proverbs 24:23 tn Heb “not good.” This is a figure known as tapeinosis—a deliberate understatement to emphasize a worst-case scenario: “it is terrible!”
Proverbs 24:24 tn The word means “wicked; guilty” or “criminal”; the contrast could be “wicked—righteous” (cf. KJV, ASV, NAB, NASB) or “innocent—guilty” (cf. NIV, TEV, CEV). Since this line follows the statement about showing partiality in judgment, it involves a forensic setting. Thus the statement describes one who calls a guilty person innocent or acquitted.
Proverbs 24:24 tn Or “righteous”; the same Hebrew word may be translated either “innocent” or “righteous” depending on the context.
Proverbs 24:24 tn The verb means “to be indignant.” It can be used within the range of “have indignation,” meaning “loathe” or “abhor,” or express indignation, meaning “denounce” or “curse.” In this passage, in collocation with the previous term “curse,” the latter is intended (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT).
Proverbs 24:25 tn The verb means “to be pleasant; to be delightful.” The imperfect tense promises that there “will be delight” to those who rebuke the wicked.
Proverbs 24:25 tn The verb יָכַח (yakhakh) means “to decide; to adjudge; to prove.” This word occurs frequently in the book of Proverbs meaning “to reprove” or “to rebuke.” It deals with disputes, legal or otherwise. It can refer to a charge against someone or starting a dispute (and so rebuke); it can mean quarrel, argue; and it can mean settle a dispute. In this context the first or last use would work: (1) reproving the wicked for what they do (cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV), or (2) convicting them in a legal setting (cf. NAB, NIV, NLT). In light of the previous forensic context the second sense is preferred here.
Proverbs 24:25 tn “The guilty” is supplied in the translation for clarity based on the preceding context. See the previous note on the word “convict”: If a non-forensic context is preferred for vv. 23-25, “wicked” would be supplied here.
Proverbs 24:25 tn The expression is בִרְכַּת־טוֹב (birkat tov, “blessing of good”); the genitive “good” has to be an attributive genitive modifying “blessings.” The word is general enough to mean any number of things—rich, healthy, pleasing, etc. The parallelism here narrows the choice. Some English versions interpret the “blessing” here as prosperity (cf. NAB, TEV, CEV).

New English Translation (NET)

October 4, 2024

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday October 4, 2024 (NIV)

Jeremiah 2:31-4:18

³¹“You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord:

“Have I been a desert to Israel
or a land of great darkness?^(A)
Why do my people say, ‘We are free to roam;
we will come to you no more’?^(B)
³²Does a young woman forget her jewelry,
a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten^(C) me,
days without number.
³³How skilled you are at pursuing^(D) love!
Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.
³⁴On your clothes is found
the lifeblood^(E) of the innocent poor,
though you did not catch them breaking in.^(F)
Yet in spite of all this
³⁵you say, ‘I am innocent;^(G)
he is not angry with me.’
But I will pass judgment^(H) on you
because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’^(I)
³⁶Why do you go about so much,
changing^(J) your ways?
You will be disappointed by Egypt^(K)
as you were by Assyria.
³⁷You will also leave that place
with your hands on your head,^(L)
for the Lord has rejected those you trust;
you will not be helped^(M) by them.

3 “If a man divorces^(N) his wife
and she leaves him and marries another man,
should he return to her again?
Would not the land be completely defiled?^(O)
But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers^(P)—
would you now return to me?”^(Q)
declares the Lord.
²“Look up to the barren heights^(R) and see.
Is there any place where you have not been ravished?
By the roadside^(S) you sat waiting for lovers,
sat like a nomad in the desert.
You have defiled the land^(T)
with your prostitution^(U) and wickedness.
³Therefore the showers have been withheld,^(V)
and no spring rains^(W) have fallen.
Yet you have the brazen^(X) look of a prostitute;
you refuse to blush with shame.^(Y)
⁴Have you not just called to me:
‘My Father,^(Z) my friend from my youth,^(AA)
⁵will you always be angry?^(AB)
Will your wrath continue forever?’
This is how you talk,
but you do all the evil you can.”

Unfaithful Israel

⁶During the reign of King Josiah,^(AC) the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what faithless^(AD) Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree^(AE) and has committed adultery^(AF) there. ⁷I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister^(AG) Judah saw it.^(AH) ⁸I gave faithless Israel^(AI) her certificate of divorce^(AJ) and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear;^(AK) she also went out and committed adultery. ⁹Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land^(AL) and committed adultery^(AM) with stone^(AN) and wood.^(AO) ¹⁰In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return^(AP) to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,^(AQ)” declares the Lord.^(AR)

¹¹The Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel is more righteous^(AS) than unfaithful^(AT) Judah.^(AU) ¹²Go, proclaim this message toward the north:^(AV)

“‘Return,^(AW) faithless^(AX) Israel,’ declares the Lord,
‘I will frown on you no longer,
for I am faithful,’^(AY) declares the Lord,
‘I will not be angry^(AZ) forever.
¹³Only acknowledge^(BA) your guilt—
you have rebelled against the Lord your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods^(BB)
under every spreading tree,^(BC)
and have not obeyed^(BD) me,’”
declares the Lord.

¹⁴“Return,^(BE) faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband.^(BF) I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. ¹⁵Then I will give you shepherds^(BG) after my own heart,^(BH) who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. ¹⁶In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land,” declares the Lord, “people will no longer say, ‘The ark^(BI) of the covenant of the Lord.’ It will never enter their minds or be remembered;^(BJ) it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. ¹⁷At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne^(BK) of the Lord, and all nations^(BL) will gather in Jerusalem to honor^(BM) the name of the Lord. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.^(BN) ¹⁸In those days the people of Judah will join the people of Israel,^(BO) and together^(BP) they will come from a northern^(BQ) land to the land^(BR) I gave your ancestors as an inheritance.

¹⁹“I myself said,

“‘How gladly would I treat you like my children
and give you a pleasant land,^(BS)
the most beautiful inheritance^(BT) of any nation.’
I thought you would call me ‘Father’^(BU)
and not turn away from following me.
²⁰But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,
so you, Israel, have been unfaithful^(BV) to me,”
declares the Lord.

²¹A cry is heard on the barren heights,^(BW)
the weeping^(BX) and pleading of the people of Israel,
because they have perverted their ways
and have forgotten^(BY) the Lord their God.

²²“Return,^(BZ) faithless people;
I will cure^(CA) you of backsliding.”^(CB)

“Yes, we will come to you,
for you are the Lord our God.
²³Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills^(CC)
and mountains is a deception;
surely in the Lord our God
is the salvation^(CD) of Israel.
²⁴From our youth shameful^(CE) gods have consumed
the fruits of our ancestors’ labor—
their flocks and herds,
their sons and daughters.
²⁵Let us lie down in our shame,^(CF)
and let our disgrace cover us.
We have sinned^(CG) against the Lord our God,
both we and our ancestors;^(CH)
from our youth^(CI) till this day
we have not obeyed^(CJ) the Lord our God.”

4 “If you, Israel, will return,^(CK)
then return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“If you put your detestable idols^(CL) out of my sight
and no longer go astray,
²and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
you swear,^(CM) ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’^(CN)
then the nations will invoke blessings^(CO) by him
and in him they will boast.^(CP)”

³This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:

“Break up your unplowed ground^(CQ)
and do not sow among thorns.^(CR)
⁴Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
circumcise your hearts,^(CS)
you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
or my wrath^(CT) will flare up and burn like fire^(CU)
because of the evil^(CV) you have done—
burn with no one to quench^(CW) it.

Disaster From the North

⁵“Announce in Judah and proclaim^(CX) in Jerusalem and say:
‘Sound the trumpet^(CY) throughout the land!’
Cry aloud and say:
‘Gather together!
Let us flee to the fortified cities!’^(CZ)
⁶Raise the signal^(DA) to go to Zion!
Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster^(DB) from the north,^(DC)
even terrible destruction.”

⁷A lion^(DD) has come out of his lair;^(DE)
a destroyer^(DF) of nations has set out.
He has left his place
to lay waste^(DG) your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins^(DH)
without inhabitant.
⁸So put on sackcloth,^(DI)
lament^(DJ) and wail,
for the fierce anger^(DK) of the Lord
has not turned away from us.

⁹“In that day,” declares the Lord,
“the king and the officials will lose heart,^(DL)
the priests will be horrified,
and the prophets will be appalled.”^(DM)

¹⁰Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely you have deceived^(DN) this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’^(DO) when the sword is at our throats!”

¹¹At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind^(DP) from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; ¹²a wind^(DQ) too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments^(DR) against them.”

¹³Look! He advances like the clouds,^(DS)
his chariots^(DT) come like a whirlwind,^(DU)
his horses^(DV) are swifter than eagles.^(DW)
Woe to us! We are ruined!^(DX)
¹⁴Jerusalem, wash^(DY) the evil from your heart and be saved.^(DZ)
How long^(EA) will you harbor wicked thoughts?
¹⁵A voice is announcing from Dan,^(EB)
proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.^(EC)
¹⁶“Tell this to the nations,
proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,^(ED)
raising a war cry^(EE) against the cities of Judah.^(EF)
¹⁷They surround^(EG) her like men guarding a field,
because she has rebelled^(EH) against me,’”
declares the Lord.
¹⁸“Your own conduct and actions^(EI)
have brought this on you.^(EJ)
This is your punishment.
How bitter^(EK) it is!
How it pierces to the heart!”

Jeremiah 12:1-14:10

Jeremiah’s Complaint

God’s Answer

A Linen Belt

Wineskins

Threat of Captivity

Drought, Famine, Sword

Footnotes:

Cross references:

1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:8

Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians’ Faith

Paul’s Ministry in Thessalonica

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Psalm 79

Psalm 79

A psalm of Asaph.

Cross references:

Proverbs 24:30-34

Cross references:

Jeremiah 10-11

God and Idols(A)

Coming Destruction

Jeremiah’s Prayer

The Covenant Is Broken

Plot Against Jeremiah

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Colossians 3:18-4

Instructions for Christian Households(A)

Further Instructions

Final Greetings

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Psalm 78:56-72

Cross references:

Proverbs 24:28-29

Cross references:

Jeremiah 8:8-9:26

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Colossians 3:1-17

Living as Those Made Alive in Christ

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Psalm 78:32-55

Cross references:

Proverbs 24:27

Jeremiah 6:16-8:7

False Religion Worthless

The Valley of Slaughter

Sin and Punishment

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Colossians 2:8-23

Freedom From Human Rules

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Psalm 78:1-31

Psalm 78

A maskil[a] of Asaph.

Footnotes:

Cross references:

Proverbs 24:26

Jeremiah 4:19-6:15

Judah is Justly Deserving of Coming Judgment

The Destruction of Jerusalem Depicted

Footnotes:

Colossians 1:18-2:7

Paul’s Goal in Ministry

Warnings Against the Adoption of False Philosophies

Footnotes:

Psalm 77

Psalm 77[a]

For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.

Footnotes:

Proverbs 24:23-25

Further Sayings of the Wise

Footnotes:

Jeremiah 2:31-4:18

God and Idols^(A)

Instructions for Christian Households^(A)

A maskil^[a] of Asaph.

Psalm 77^[a]