Category: DAB Readings

Promises of Peace and Prosperity

33 While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the Lord gave him this second message: ² “This is what the Lord says—the Lord who made the earth, who formed and established it, whose name is the Lord: ³ Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come. ⁴ For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: You have torn down the houses of this city and even the king’s palace to get materials to strengthen the walls against the siege ramps and swords of the enemy. ⁵ You expect to fight the Babylonians,^[a] but the men of this city are already as good as dead, for I have determined to destroy them in my terrible anger. I have abandoned them because of all their wickedness.

⁶ “Nevertheless, the time will come when I will heal Jerusalem’s wounds and give it prosperity and true peace. ⁷ I will restore the fortunes of Judah and Israel and rebuild their towns. ⁸ I will cleanse them of their sins against me and forgive all their sins of rebellion. ⁹ Then this city will bring me joy, glory, and honor before all the nations of the earth! The people of the world will see all the good I do for my people, and they will tremble with awe at the peace and prosperity I provide for them.

¹⁰ “This is what the Lord says: You have said, ‘This is a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.’ Yet in the empty streets of Jerusalem and Judah’s other towns, there will be heard once more ¹¹ the sounds of joy and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will be heard again, along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanksgiving offerings to the Lord. They will sing,

For I will restore the prosperity of this land to what it was in the past, says the Lord.

¹² “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: This land—though it is now desolate and has no people and animals—will once more have pastures where shepherds can lead their flocks. ¹³ Once again shepherds will count their flocks in the towns of the hill country, the foothills of Judah,^[b] the Negev, the land of Benjamin, the vicinity of Jerusalem, and all the towns of Judah. I, the Lord, have spoken!

¹⁴ “The day will come, says the Lord, when I will do for Israel and Judah all the good things I have promised them.

¹⁷ For this is what the Lord says: David will have a descendant sitting on the throne of Israel forever. ¹⁸ And there will always be Levitical priests to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings and sacrifices to me.”

¹⁹ Then this message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²⁰ “This is what the Lord says: If you can break my covenant with the day and the night so that one does not follow the other, ²¹ only then will my covenant with my servant David be broken. Only then will he no longer have a descendant to reign on his throne. The same is true for my covenant with the Levitical priests who minister before me. ²² And as the stars of the sky cannot be counted and the sand on the seashore cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of my servant David and the Levites who minister before me.”

²³ The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, ²⁴ “Have you noticed what people are saying?—‘The Lord chose Judah and Israel and then abandoned them!’ They are sneering and saying that Israel is not worthy to be counted as a nation. ²⁵ But this is what the Lord says: I would no more reject my people than I would change my laws that govern night and day, earth and sky. ²⁶ I will never abandon the descendants of Jacob or David, my servant, or change the plan that David’s descendants will rule the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Instead, I will restore them to their land and have mercy on them.”

A Warning for Zedekiah

34 King Nebuchadnezzar^[e] of Babylon came with all the armies from the kingdoms he ruled, and he fought against Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. At that time this message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Go to King Zedekiah of Judah, and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. ³ You will not escape his grasp but will be captured and taken to meet the king of Babylon face to face. Then you will be exiled to Babylon.

⁴ “‘But listen to this promise from the Lord, O Zedekiah, king of Judah. This is what the Lord says: You will not be killed in war ⁵ but will die peacefully. People will burn incense in your memory, just as they did for your ancestors, the kings who preceded you. They will mourn for you, crying, “Alas, our master is dead!” This I have decreed, says the Lord.’”

⁶ So Jeremiah the prophet delivered the message to King Zedekiah of Judah. ⁷ At this time the Babylonian army was besieging Jerusalem, Lachish, and Azekah—the only fortified cities of Judah not yet captured.

Freedom for Hebrew Slaves

⁸ This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah made a covenant with the people, proclaiming freedom for the slaves. ⁹ He had ordered all the people to free their Hebrew slaves—both men and women. No one was to keep a fellow Judean in bondage. ¹⁰ The officials and all the people had obeyed the king’s command, ¹¹ but later they changed their minds. They took back the men and women they had freed, forcing them to be slaves again.

¹² So the Lord gave them this message through Jeremiah: ¹³ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors long ago when I rescued them from their slavery in Egypt. ¹⁴ I told them that every Hebrew slave must be freed after serving six years. But your ancestors paid no attention to me. ¹⁵ Recently you repented and did what was right, following my command. You freed your slaves and made a solemn covenant with me in the Temple that bears my name. ¹⁶ But now you have shrugged off your oath and defiled my name by taking back the men and women you had freed, forcing them to be slaves once again.

¹⁷ “Therefore, this is what the Lord says: Since you have not obeyed me by setting your countrymen free, I will set you free to be destroyed by war, disease, and famine. You will be an object of horror to all the nations of the earth. ¹⁸ Because you have broken the terms of our covenant, I will cut you apart just as you cut apart the calf when you walked between its halves to solemnize your vows. ¹⁹ Yes, I will cut you apart, whether you are officials of Judah or Jerusalem, court officials, priests, or common people—for you have broken your oath. ²⁰ I will give you to your enemies, and they will kill you. Your bodies will be food for the vultures and wild animals.

²¹ “I will hand over King Zedekiah of Judah and his officials to the army of the king of Babylon. And although they have left Jerusalem for a while, ²² I will call the Babylonian armies back again. They will fight against this city and will capture it and burn it down. I will see to it that all the towns of Judah are destroyed, with no one living there.”

Warnings against False Teachers

4 Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. ² These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.^[a]

³ They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth. ⁴ Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. ⁵ For we know it is made acceptable^[b] by the word of God and prayer.

A Good Servant of Christ Jesus

⁶ If you explain these things to the brothers and sisters,^[c] Timothy, you will be a worthy servant of Christ Jesus, one who is nourished by the message of faith and the good teaching you have followed. ⁷ Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. ⁸ “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” ⁹ This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. ¹⁰ This is why we work hard and continue to struggle,^[d] for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.

¹¹ Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them. ¹² Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. ¹³ Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.

¹⁴ Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. ¹⁵ Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. ¹⁶ Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.

Psalm 89

A psalm^[a] of Ethan the Ezrahite.

²⁷ “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will greatly increase the human population and the number of animals here in Israel and Judah. ²⁸ In the past I deliberately uprooted and tore down this nation. I overthrew it, destroyed it, and brought disaster upon it. But in the future I will just as deliberately plant it and build it up. I, the Lord, have spoken!

²⁹ “The people will no longer quote this proverb:

³⁰ All people will die for their own sins—those who eat the sour grapes will be the ones whose mouths will pucker.

³¹ “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. ³² This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.

³³ “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ³⁴ And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

³⁸ “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when all Jerusalem will be rebuilt for me, from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. ³⁹ A measuring line will be stretched out over the hill of Gareb and across to Goah. ⁴⁰ And the entire area—including the graveyard and ash dump in the valley, and all the fields out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the Horse Gate—will be holy to the Lord. The city will never again be captured or destroyed.”

Jeremiah’s Land Purchase

32 The following message came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of the reign of Zedekiah,^[a] king of Judah. This was also the eighteenth year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar.^{[b] 2} Jerusalem was then under siege from the Babylonian army, and Jeremiah was imprisoned in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace. ³ King Zedekiah had put him there, asking why he kept giving this prophecy: “This is what the Lord says: ‘I am about to hand this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will take it. ⁴ King Zedekiah will be captured by the Babylonians^[c] and taken to meet the king of Babylon face to face. ⁵ He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and I will deal with him there,’ says the Lord. ‘If you fight against the Babylonians, you will never succeed.’”

⁶ At that time the Lord sent me a message. He said, ⁷ “Your cousin Hanamel son of Shallum will come and say to you, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else.’”

⁸ Then, just as the Lord had said he would, my cousin Hanamel came and visited me in the prison. He said, “Please buy my field at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. By law you have the right to buy it before it is offered to anyone else, so buy it for yourself.” Then I knew that the message I had heard was from the Lord.

⁹ So I bought the field at Anathoth, paying Hanamel seventeen pieces^[d] of silver for it. ¹⁰ I signed and sealed the deed of purchase before witnesses, weighed out the silver, and paid him. ¹¹ Then I took the sealed deed and an unsealed copy of the deed, which contained the terms and conditions of the purchase, ¹² and I handed them to Baruch son of Neriah and grandson of Mahseiah. I did all this in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who had signed the deed, and all the men of Judah who were there in the courtyard of the guardhouse.

¹³ Then I said to Baruch as they all listened, ¹⁴ “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Take both this sealed deed and the unsealed copy, and put them into a pottery jar to preserve them for a long time.’ ¹⁵ For this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Someday people will again own property here in this land and will buy and sell houses and vineyards and fields.’”

Jeremiah’s Prayer

¹⁶ Then after I had given the papers to Baruch, I prayed to the Lord:

A Prediction of Jerusalem’s Fall

²⁶ Then this message came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ²⁷ “I am the Lord, the God of all the peoples of the world. Is anything too hard for me? ²⁸ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I will hand this city over to the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he will capture it. ²⁹ The Babylonians outside the walls will come in and set fire to the city. They will burn down all these houses where the people provoked my anger by burning incense to Baal on the rooftops and by pouring out liquid offerings to other gods. ³⁰ Israel and Judah have done nothing but wrong since their earliest days. They have infuriated me with all their evil deeds,” says the Lord. ³¹ “From the time this city was built until now, it has done nothing but anger me, so I am determined to get rid of it.

³² “The sins of Israel and Judah—the sins of the people of Jerusalem, the kings, the officials, the priests, and the prophets—have stirred up my anger. ³³ My people have turned their backs on me and have refused to return. Even though I diligently taught them, they would not receive instruction or obey. ³⁴ They have set up their abominable idols right in my own Temple, defiling it. ³⁵ They have built pagan shrines to Baal in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and there they sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing. What an incredible evil, causing Judah to sin so greatly!

A Promise of Restoration

³⁶ “Now I want to say something more about this city. You have been saying, ‘It will fall to the king of Babylon through war, famine, and disease.’ But this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ³⁷ I will certainly bring my people back again from all the countries where I will scatter them in my fury. I will bring them back to this very city and let them live in peace and safety. ³⁸ They will be my people, and I will be their God. ³⁹ And I will give them one heart and one purpose: to worship me forever, for their own good and for the good of all their descendants. ⁴⁰ And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. ⁴¹ I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.

⁴² “This is what the Lord says: Just as I have brought all these calamities on them, so I will do all the good I have promised them. ⁴³ Fields will again be bought and sold in this land about which you now say, ‘It has been ravaged by the Babylonians, a desolate land where people and animals have all disappeared.’ ⁴⁴ Yes, fields will once again be bought and sold—deeds signed and sealed and witnessed—in the land of Benjamin and here in Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the hill country, in the foothills of Judah^[e] and in the Negev, too. For someday I will restore prosperity to them. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Leaders in the Church

3 This is a trustworthy saying: “If someone aspires to be a church leader,^[a] he desires an honorable position.” ² So a church leader must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife.^[b] He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach. ³ He must not be a heavy drinker^[c] or be violent. He must be gentle, not quarrelsome, and not love money. ⁴ He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. ⁵ For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?

⁶ A church leader must not be a new believer, because he might become proud, and the devil would cause him to fall.^{[d] 7} Also, people outside the church must speak well of him so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the devil’s trap.

⁸ In the same way, deacons must be well respected and have integrity. They must not be heavy drinkers or dishonest with money. ⁹ They must be committed to the mystery of the faith now revealed and must live with a clear conscience. ¹⁰ Before they are appointed as deacons, let them be closely examined. If they pass the test, then let them serve as deacons.

¹¹ In the same way, their wives^[e] must be respected and must not slander others. They must exercise self-control and be faithful in everything they do.

¹² A deacon must be faithful to his wife, and he must manage his children and household well. ¹³ Those who do well as deacons will be rewarded with respect from others and will have increased confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.

The Truths of Our Faith

¹⁴ I am writing these things to you now, even though I hope to be with you soon, ¹⁵ so that if I am delayed, you will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of God. This is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth.

¹⁶ Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith^[f]:

Psalm 88

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah. A song to be sung to the tune “The Suffering of Affliction.” A psalm^[a] of Heman the Ezrahite.

Promises of Deliverance

30 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, ² “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Write down for the record everything I have said to you, Jeremiah. ³ For the time is coming when I will restore the fortunes of my people of Israel and Judah. I will bring them home to this land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it again. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

⁴ This is the message the Lord gave concerning Israel and Judah. ⁵ This is what the Lord says:

Hope for Restoration

31 “In that day,” says the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people. ² This is what the Lord says:

Rachel’s Sadness Turns to Joy

¹⁵ This is what the Lord says:

²³ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “When I bring them back from captivity, the people of Judah and its towns will again say, ‘The Lord bless you, O righteous home, O holy mountain!’ ²⁴ Townspeople and farmers and shepherds alike will live together in peace and happiness. ²⁵ For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing.”

²⁶ At this, I woke up and looked around. My sleep had been very sweet.

Instructions about Worship

2 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. ² Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. ³ This is good and pleases God our Savior, ⁴ who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. ⁵ For,

This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time. ⁷ And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth.

⁸ In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.

⁹ And I want women to be modest in their appearance.^[a] They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. ¹⁰ For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do.

¹¹ Women should learn quietly and submissively. ¹² I do not let women teach men or have authority over them.^[b] Let them listen quietly. ¹³ For God made Adam first, and afterward he made Eve. ¹⁴ And it was not Adam who was deceived by Satan. The woman was deceived, and sin was the result. ¹⁵ But women will be saved through childbearing,^[c] assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty.

Psalm 87

A song. A psalm of the descendants of Korah.

Jeremiah Condemns Hananiah

28 One day in late summer^[a] of that same year—the fourth year of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah—Hananiah son of Azzur, a prophet from Gibeon, addressed me publicly in the Temple while all the priests and people listened. He said, ² “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘I will remove the yoke of the king of Babylon from your necks. ³ Within two years I will bring back all the Temple treasures that King Nebuchadnezzar carried off to Babylon. ⁴ And I will bring back Jehoiachin^[b] son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the other captives that were taken to Babylon. I will surely break the yoke that the king of Babylon has put on your necks. I, the Lord, have spoken!’”

⁵ Jeremiah responded to Hananiah as they stood in front of all the priests and people at the Temple. ⁶ He said, “Amen! May your prophecies come true! I hope the Lord does everything you say. I hope he does bring back from Babylon the treasures of this Temple and all the captives. ⁷ But listen now to the solemn words I speak to you in the presence of all these people. ⁸ The ancient prophets who preceded you and me spoke against many nations, always warning of war, disaster, and disease. ⁹ So a prophet who predicts peace must show he is right. Only when his predictions come true can we know that he is really from the Lord.”

¹⁰ Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke off Jeremiah’s neck and broke it in pieces. ¹¹ And Hananiah said again to the crowd that had gathered, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Just as this yoke has been broken, within two years I will break the yoke of oppression from all the nations now subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’” With that, Jeremiah left the Temple area.

¹² Soon after this confrontation with Hananiah, the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: ¹³ “Go and tell Hananiah, ‘This is what the Lord says: You have broken a wooden yoke, but you have replaced it with a yoke of iron. ¹⁴ The Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I have put a yoke of iron on the necks of all these nations, forcing them into slavery under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control.’”

¹⁵ Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, but the people believe your lies. ¹⁶ Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘You must die. Your life will end this very year because you have rebelled against the Lord.’”

¹⁷ Two months later^[c] the prophet Hananiah died.

A Letter to the Exiles

29 Jeremiah wrote a letter from Jerusalem to the elders, priests, prophets, and all the people who had been exiled to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. ² This was after King Jehoiachin,^[d] the queen mother, the court officials, the other officials of Judah, and all the craftsmen and artisans had been deported from Jerusalem. ³ He sent the letter with Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah when they went to Babylon as King Zedekiah’s ambassadors to Nebuchadnezzar. This is what Jeremiah’s letter said:

A Message for Shemaiah

²⁴ The Lord sent this message to Shemaiah the Nehelamite in Babylon: ²⁵ “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: You wrote a letter on your own authority to Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, and you sent copies to the other priests and people in Jerusalem. You wrote to Zephaniah,

²⁹ But when Zephaniah the priest received Shemaiah’s letter, he took it to Jeremiah and read it to him. ³⁰ Then the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: ³¹ “Send an open letter to all the exiles in Babylon. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Since he has prophesied to you when I did not send him and has tricked you into believing his lies, ³² I will punish him and his family. None of his descendants will see the good things I will do for my people, for he has incited you to rebel against me. I, the Lord, have spoken!’”

Greetings from Paul

1 This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, appointed by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus, who gives us hope.

² I am writing to Timothy, my true son in the faith.

May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.

Warnings against False Teachings

³ When I left for Macedonia, I urged you to stay there in Ephesus and stop those whose teaching is contrary to the truth. ⁴ Don’t let them waste their time in endless discussion of myths and spiritual pedigrees. These things only lead to meaningless speculations,^[a] which don’t help people live a life of faith in God.^[b]

⁵ The purpose of my instruction is that all believers would be filled with love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and genuine faith. ⁶ But some people have missed this whole point. They have turned away from these things and spend their time in meaningless discussions. ⁷ They want to be known as teachers of the law of Moses, but they don’t know what they are talking about, even though they speak so confidently.

⁸ We know that the law is good when used correctly. ⁹ For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. ¹⁰ The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders,^[c] liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching ¹¹ that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God.

Paul’s Gratitude for God’s Mercy

¹² I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, ¹³ even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. ¹⁴ Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.

¹⁵ This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. ¹⁶ But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. ¹⁷ All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.

Timothy’s Responsibility

¹⁸ Timothy, my son, here are my instructions for you, based on the prophetic words spoken about you earlier. May they help you fight well in the Lord’s battles. ¹⁹ Cling to your faith in Christ, and keep your conscience clear. For some people have deliberately violated their consciences; as a result, their faith has been shipwrecked. ²⁰ Hymenaeus and Alexander are two examples. I threw them out and handed them over to Satan so they might learn not to blaspheme God.

Psalm 86

A prayer of David.

Jeremiah’s Escape from Death

26 This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah,^[a] king of Judah. ² “This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard in front of the Temple of the Lord, and make an announcement to the people who have come there to worship from all over Judah. Give them my entire message; include every word. ³ Perhaps they will listen and turn from their evil ways. Then I will change my mind about the disaster I am ready to pour out on them because of their sins.

⁴ “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: If you will not listen to me and obey my word I have given you, ⁵ and if you will not listen to my servants, the prophets—for I sent them again and again to warn you, but you would not listen to them— ⁶ then I will destroy this Temple as I destroyed Shiloh, the place where the Tabernacle was located. And I will make Jerusalem an object of cursing in every nation on earth.’”

⁷ The priests, the prophets, and all the people listened to Jeremiah as he spoke in front of the Lord’s Temple. ⁸ But when Jeremiah had finished his message, saying everything the Lord had told him to say, the priests and prophets and all the people at the Temple mobbed him. “Kill him!” they shouted. ⁹ “What right do you have to prophesy in the Lord’s name that this Temple will be destroyed like Shiloh? What do you mean, saying that Jerusalem will be destroyed and left with no inhabitants?” And all the people threatened him as he stood in front of the Temple.

¹⁰ When the officials of Judah heard what was happening, they rushed over from the palace and sat down at the New Gate of the Temple to hold court. ¹¹ The priests and prophets presented their accusations to the officials and the people. “This man should die!” they said. “You have heard with your own ears what a traitor he is, for he has prophesied against this city.”

¹² Then Jeremiah spoke to the officials and the people in his own defense. “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this Temple and this city,” he said. “The Lord gave me every word that I have spoken. ¹³ But if you stop your sinning and begin to obey the Lord your God, he will change his mind about this disaster that he has announced against you. ¹⁴ As for me, I am in your hands—do with me as you think best. ¹⁵ But if you kill me, rest assured that you will be killing an innocent man! The responsibility for such a deed will lie on you, on this city, and on every person living in it. For it is absolutely true that the Lord sent me to speak every word you have heard.”

¹⁶ Then the officials and the people said to the priests and prophets, “This man does not deserve the death sentence, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

¹⁷ Then some of the wise old men stood and spoke to all the people assembled there. ¹⁸ They said, “Remember when Micah of Moresheth prophesied during the reign of King Hezekiah of Judah. He told the people of Judah,

¹⁹ But did King Hezekiah and the people kill him for saying this? No, they turned from their sins and worshiped the Lord. They begged him for mercy. Then the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had pronounced against them. So we are about to do ourselves great harm.”

²⁰ At this time Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim was also prophesying for the Lord. And he predicted the same terrible disaster against the city and nation as Jeremiah did. ²¹ When King Jehoiakim and the army officers and officials heard what he was saying, the king sent someone to kill him. But Uriah heard about the plan and escaped in fear to Egypt. ²² Then King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Acbor to Egypt along with several other men to capture Uriah. ²³ They took him prisoner and brought him back to King Jehoiakim. The king then killed Uriah with a sword and had him buried in an unmarked grave.

²⁴ Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan stood up for Jeremiah and persuaded the court not to turn him over to the mob to be killed.

Jeremiah Wears an Ox Yoke

27 This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord early in the reign of Zedekiah^[c] son of Josiah, king of Judah.

² This is what the Lord said to me: “Make a yoke, and fasten it on your neck with leather straps. ³ Then send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through their ambassadors who have come to see King Zedekiah in Jerusalem. ⁴ Give them this message for their masters: ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ⁵ With my great strength and powerful arm I made the earth and all its people and every animal. I can give these things of mine to anyone I choose. ⁶ Now I will give your countries to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who is my servant. I have put everything, even the wild animals, under his control. ⁷ All the nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until his time is up. Then many nations and great kings will conquer and rule over Babylon. ⁸ So you must submit to Babylon’s king and serve him; put your neck under Babylon’s yoke! I will punish any nation that refuses to be his slave, says the Lord. I will send war, famine, and disease upon that nation until Babylon has conquered it.

⁹ “‘Do not listen to your false prophets, fortune-tellers, interpreters of dreams, mediums, and sorcerers who say, “The king of Babylon will not conquer you.” ¹⁰ They are all liars, and their lies will lead to your being driven out of your land. I will drive you out and send you far away to die. ¹¹ But the people of any nation that submits to the king of Babylon will be allowed to stay in their own country to farm the land as usual. I, the Lord, have spoken!’”

¹² Then I repeated this same message to King Zedekiah of Judah. “If you want to live, submit to the yoke of the king of Babylon and his people. ¹³ Why do you insist on dying—you and your people? Why should you choose war, famine, and disease, which the Lord will bring against every nation that refuses to submit to Babylon’s king? ¹⁴ Do not listen to the false prophets who keep telling you, ‘The king of Babylon will not conquer you.’ They are liars. ¹⁵ This is what the Lord says: ‘I have not sent these prophets! They are telling you lies in my name, so I will drive you from this land. You will all die—you and all these prophets, too.’”

¹⁶ Then I spoke to the priests and the people and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not listen to your prophets who claim that soon the gold articles taken from my Temple will be returned from Babylon. It is all a lie! ¹⁷ Do not listen to them. Surrender to the king of Babylon, and you will live. Why should this whole city be destroyed? ¹⁸ If they really are prophets and speak the Lord’s messages, let them pray to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. Let them pray that the articles remaining in the Lord’s Temple and in the king’s palace and in the palaces of Jerusalem will not be carried away to Babylon!’

¹⁹ “For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken about the pillars in front of the Temple, the great bronze basin called the Sea, the water carts, and all the other ceremonial articles. ²⁰ King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon left them here when he exiled Jehoiachin^[d] son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to Babylon, along with all the other nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. ²¹ Yes, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says about the precious things still in the Temple, in the palace of Judah’s king, and in Jerusalem: ²² ‘They will all be carried away to Babylon and will stay there until I send for them,’ says the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them back to Jerusalem again.’”

Paul’s Request for Prayer

3 Finally, dear brothers and sisters,^[a] we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. ² Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. ³ But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.^{[b] 4} And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you. ⁵ May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.

An Exhortation to Proper Living

⁶ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers^[c] who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received^[d] from us. ⁷ For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. ⁸ We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow. ¹⁰ Even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “Those unwilling to work will not get to eat.”

¹¹ Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. ¹² We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. ¹³ As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.

¹⁴ Take note of those who refuse to obey what we say in this letter. Stay away from them so they will be ashamed. ¹⁵ Don’t think of them as enemies, but warn them as you would a brother or sister.^[e]

Paul’s Final Greetings

¹⁶ Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.

¹⁷ HERE IS MY GREETING IN MY OWN HANDWRITING—PAUL. I DO THIS IN ALL MY LETTERS TO PROVE THEY ARE FROM ME.

¹⁸ May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Psalm 85

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah.

²⁵ “I have heard these prophets say, ‘Listen to the dream I had from God last night.’ And then they proceed to tell lies in my name. ²⁶ How long will this go on? If they are prophets, they are prophets of deceit, inventing everything they say. ²⁷ By telling these false dreams, they are trying to get my people to forget me, just as their ancestors did by worshiping the idols of Baal.

³⁰ “Therefore,” says the Lord, “I am against these prophets who steal messages from each other and claim they are from me. ³¹ I am against these smooth-tongued prophets who say, ‘This prophecy is from the Lord!’ ³² I am against these false prophets. Their imaginary dreams are flagrant lies that lead my people into sin. I did not send or appoint them, and they have no message at all for my people. I, the Lord, have spoken!

False Prophecies and False Prophets

³³ “Suppose one of the people or one of the prophets or priests asks you, ‘What prophecy has the Lord burdened you with now?’ You must reply, ‘You are the burden!^[a] The Lord says he will abandon you!’

³⁴ “If any prophet, priest, or anyone else says, ‘I have a prophecy from the Lord,’ I will punish that person along with his entire family. ³⁵ You should keep asking each other, ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What is the Lord saying?’ ³⁶ But stop using this phrase, ‘prophecy from the Lord.’ For people are using it to give authority to their own ideas, turning upside down the words of our God, the living God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

³⁷ “This is what you should say to the prophets: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What is the Lord saying?’ ³⁸ But suppose they respond, ‘This is a prophecy from the Lord!’ Then you should say, ‘This is what the Lord says: Because you have used this phrase, “prophecy from the Lord,” even though I warned you not to use it, ³⁹ I will forget you completely.^[b] I will expel you from my presence, along with this city that I gave to you and your ancestors. ⁴⁰ And I will make you an object of ridicule, and your name will be infamous throughout the ages.’”

Good and Bad Figs

24 After King Nebuchadnezzar^[c] of Babylon exiled Jehoiachin^[d] son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to Babylon along with the officials of Judah and all the craftsmen and artisans, the Lord gave me this vision. I saw two baskets of figs placed in front of the Lord’s Temple in Jerusalem. ² One basket was filled with fresh, ripe figs, while the other was filled with bad figs that were too rotten to eat.

³ Then the Lord said to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

I replied, “Figs, some very good and some very bad, too rotten to eat.”

⁴ Then the Lord gave me this message: ⁵ “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: The good figs represent the exiles I sent from Judah to the land of the Babylonians.^{[e] 6} I will watch over and care for them, and I will bring them back here again. I will build them up and not tear them down. I will plant them and not uproot them. ⁷ I will give them hearts that recognize me as the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me wholeheartedly.

⁸ “But the bad figs,” the Lord said, “represent King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, all the people left in Jerusalem, and those who live in Egypt. I will treat them like bad figs, too rotten to eat. ⁹ I will make them an object of horror and a symbol of evil to every nation on earth. They will be disgraced and mocked, taunted and cursed, wherever I scatter them. ¹⁰ And I will send war, famine, and disease until they have vanished from the land of Israel, which I gave to them and their ancestors.”

Seventy Years of Captivity

25 This message for all the people of Judah came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign over Judah.^[f] This was the year when King Nebuchadnezzar^[g] of Babylon began his reign.

² Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people in Judah and Jerusalem, ³ “For the past twenty-three years—from the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon,^[h] king of Judah, until now—the Lord has been giving me his messages. I have faithfully passed them on to you, but you have not listened.

⁴ “Again and again the Lord has sent you his servants, the prophets, but you have not listened or even paid attention. ⁵ Each time the message was this: ‘Turn from the evil road you are traveling and from the evil things you are doing. Only then will I let you live in this land that the Lord gave to you and your ancestors forever. ⁶ Do not provoke my anger by worshiping idols you made with your own hands. Then I will not harm you.’

⁷ “But you would not listen to me,” says the Lord. “You made me furious by worshiping idols you made with your own hands, bringing on yourselves all the disasters you now suffer. ⁸ And now the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Because you have not listened to me, ⁹ I will gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this land and its people and against the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy^[i] you and make you an object of horror and contempt and a ruin forever. ¹⁰ I will take away your happy singing and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard. Your millstones will fall silent, and the lights in your homes will go out. ¹¹ This entire land will become a desolate wasteland. Israel and her neighboring lands will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.

¹² “Then, after the seventy years of captivity are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his people for their sins,” says the Lord. “I will make the country of the Babylonians^[j] a wasteland forever. ¹³ I will bring upon them all the terrors I have promised in this book—all the penalties announced by Jeremiah against the nations. ¹⁴ Many nations and great kings will enslave the Babylonians, just as they enslaved my people. I will punish them in proportion to the suffering they cause my people.”

The Cup of the Lord’s Anger

¹⁵ This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup filled to the brim with my anger, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink from it. ¹⁶ When they drink from it, they will stagger, crazed by the warfare I will send against them.”

¹⁷ So I took the cup of anger from the Lord and made all the nations drink from it—every nation to which the Lord sent me. ¹⁸ I went to Jerusalem and the other towns of Judah, and their kings and officials drank from the cup. From that day until this, they have been a desolate ruin, an object of horror, contempt, and cursing. ¹⁹ I gave the cup to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, his attendants, his officials, and all his people, ²⁰ along with all the foreigners living in that land. I also gave it to all the kings of the land of Uz and the kings of the Philistine cities of Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what remains of Ashdod. ²¹ Then I gave the cup to the nations of Edom, Moab, and Ammon, ²² and the kings of Tyre and Sidon, and the kings of the regions across the sea. ²³ I gave it to Dedan, Tema, and Buz, and to the people who live in distant places.^{[k] 24} I gave it to the kings of Arabia, the kings of the nomadic tribes of the desert, ²⁵ and to the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media. ²⁶ And I gave it to the kings of the northern countries, far and near, one after the other—all the kingdoms of the world. And finally, the king of Babylon^[l] himself drank from the cup of the Lord’s anger.

²⁷ Then the Lord said to me, “Now tell them, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Drink from this cup of my anger. Get drunk and vomit; fall to rise no more, for I am sending terrible wars against you.’ ²⁸ And if they refuse to accept the cup, tell them, ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: You have no choice but to drink from it. ²⁹ I have begun to punish Jerusalem, the city that bears my name. Now should I let you go unpunished? No, you will not escape disaster. I will call for war against all the nations of the earth. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!’

³⁰ “Now prophesy all these things, and say to them,

³³ In that day those the Lord has slaughtered will fill the earth from one end to the other. No one will mourn for them or gather up their bodies to bury them. They will be scattered on the ground like manure.

Events prior to the Lord’s Second Coming

2 Now, dear brothers and sisters,^[a] let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. ² Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. ³ Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness^[b] is revealed—the one who brings destruction.^{[c] 4} He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.

⁵ Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? ⁶ And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. ⁷ For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. ⁸ Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.

⁹ This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. ¹⁰ He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. ¹¹ So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. ¹² Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.

Believers Should Stand Firm

¹³ As for us, we can’t help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first^[d] to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth. ¹⁴ He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁵ With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.

¹⁶ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, ¹⁷ comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.

Psalm 84

For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument.^[a]

A Message for Judah’s Kings

22 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go over and speak directly to the king of Judah. Say to him, ² ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you king of Judah, sitting on David’s throne. Let your attendants and your people listen, too. ³ This is what the Lord says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows. Stop murdering the innocent! ⁴ If you obey me, there will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. The king will ride through the palace gates in chariots and on horses, with his parade of attendants and subjects. ⁵ But if you refuse to pay attention to this warning, I swear by my own name, says the Lord, that this palace will become a pile of rubble.’”

A Message about the Palace

⁶ Now this is what the Lord says concerning Judah’s royal palace:

⁸ “People from many nations will pass by the ruins of this city and say to one another, ‘Why did the Lord destroy such a great city?’ ⁹ And the answer will be, ‘Because they violated their covenant with the Lord their God by worshiping other gods.’”

A Message about Jehoahaz

¹¹ For this is what the Lord says about Jehoahaz,^[a] who succeeded his father, King Josiah, and was taken away as a captive: “He will never return. ¹² He will die in a distant land and will never again see his own country.”

A Message about Jehoiakim

¹⁸ Therefore, this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim, son of King Josiah:

A Message for Jehoiachin

²⁴ “As surely as I live,” says the Lord, “I will abandon you, Jehoiachin^[e] son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. Even if you were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off. ²⁵ I will hand you over to those who seek to kill you, those you so desperately fear—to King Nebuchadnezzar^[f] of Babylon and the mighty Babylonian^[g] army. ²⁶ I will expel you and your mother from this land, and you will die in a foreign country, not in your native land. ²⁷ You will never again return to the land you yearn for.

The Righteous Descendant

23 “What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the Lord.

² Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to these shepherds: “Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them. ³ But I will gather together the remnant of my flock from the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their own sheepfold, and they will be fruitful and increase in number. ⁴ Then I will appoint responsible shepherds who will care for them, and they will never be afraid again. Not a single one will be lost or missing. I, the Lord, have spoken!

⁷ “In that day,” says the Lord, “when people are taking an oath, they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who rescued the people of Israel from the land of Egypt.’ ⁸ Instead, they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the countries to which he had exiled them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”

Judgment on False Prophets

¹⁵ Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says concerning the prophets:

¹⁶ This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to his people:

Greetings from Paul

1 This letter is from Paul, Silas,^[a] and Timothy.

We are writing to the church in Thessalonica, to you who belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

² May God our Father^[b] and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Encouragement during Persecution

³ Dear brothers and sisters,^[c] we can’t help but thank God for you, because your faith is flourishing and your love for one another is growing. ⁴ We proudly tell God’s other churches about your endurance and faithfulness in all the persecutions and hardships you are suffering. ⁵ And God will use this persecution to show his justice and to make you worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering. ⁶ In his justice he will pay back those who persecute you.

⁷ And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, ⁸ in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. ¹⁰ When he comes on that day, he will receive glory from his holy people—praise from all who believe. And this includes you, for you believed what we told you about him.

¹¹ So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. ¹² Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.^[d]

Psalm 83

A song. A psalm of Asaph.

19 This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter.^(A) Take along some of the elders^(B) of the people and of the priests ² and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom,^(C) near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, ³ and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings^(D) of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster^(E) on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.^{(F) 4} For they have forsaken^(G) me and made this a place of foreign gods^(H); they have burned incense^(I) in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.^{(J) 5} They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children^(K) in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.^{(L) 6} So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this place Topheth^(M) or the Valley of Ben Hinnom,^(N) but the Valley of Slaughter.^(O)

⁷ “‘In this place I will ruin^[a] the plans^(P) of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies,^(Q) at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses^(R) as food^(S) to the birds and the wild animals. ⁸ I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn;^(T) all who pass by will be appalled^(U) and will scoff because of all its wounds.^{(V) 9} I will make them eat^(W) the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies^(X) will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them.’

¹⁰ “Then break the jar^(Y) while those who go with you are watching, ¹¹ and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash^(Z) this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury^(AA) the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. ¹² This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth. ¹³ The houses^(AB) in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled^(AC) like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs^(AD) to all the starry hosts^(AE) and poured out drink offerings^(AF) to other gods.’”

¹⁴ Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court^(AG) of the Lord’s temple and said to all the people, ¹⁵ “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster^(AH) I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked^(AI) and would not listen^(AJ) to my words.’”

Jeremiah and Pashhur

20 When the priest Pashhur son of Immer,^(AK) the official^(AL) in charge of the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, ² he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten^(AM) and put in the stocks^(AN) at the Upper Gate of Benjamin^(AO) at the Lord’s temple. ³ The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord’s name^(AP) for you is not Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side.^{(AQ) 4} For this is what the Lord says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes^(AR) you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will give^(AS) all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will carry^(AT) them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. ⁵ I will deliver all the wealth^(AU) of this city into the hands of their enemies—all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away^(AV) as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. ⁶ And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied^(AW) lies.’”

Jeremiah’s Complaint

God Rejects Zedekiah’s Request

21 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah^(CD) sent to him Pashhur^(CE) son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah^(CF) son of Maaseiah. They said: ² “Inquire^(CG) now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar^[d](CH) king of Babylon^(CI) is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders^(CJ) for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”

³ But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, ⁴ ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn^(CK) against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians^[e] who are outside the wall besieging^(CL) you. And I will gather them inside this city. ⁵ I myself will fight^(CM) against you with an outstretched hand^(CN) and a mighty arm^(CO) in furious anger and in great wrath. ⁶ I will strike^(CP) down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague.^{(CQ) 7} After that, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah^(CR) king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague,^(CS) sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon^(CT) and to their enemies^(CU) who want to kill them.^(CV) He will put them to the sword;^(CW) he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’^(CX)

⁸ “Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life^(CY) and the way of death. ⁹ Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague.^(CZ) But whoever goes out and surrenders^(DA) to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives.^{(DB) 10} I have determined to do this city harm^(DC) and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands^(DD) of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’^(DE)

¹¹ “Moreover, say to the royal house^(DF) of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. ¹² This is what the Lord says to you, house of David:

⁴ But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness^(A) so that this day should surprise you like a thief.^{(B) 5} You are all children of the light^(C) and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. ⁶ So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep,^(D) but let us be awake^(E) and sober.^{(F) 7} For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.^{(G) 8} But since we belong to the day,^(H) let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate,^(I) and the hope of salvation^(J) as a helmet.^{(K) 9} For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath^(L) but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.^{(M) 10} He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.^{(N) 11} Therefore encourage one another^(O) and build each other up,^(P) just as in fact you are doing.

Final Instructions

¹² Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard^(Q) among you, who care for you in the Lord^(R) and who admonish you. ¹³ Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.^{(S) 14} And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle^(T) and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak,^(U) be patient with everyone. ¹⁵ Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong,^(V) but always strive to do what is good for each other^(W) and for everyone else.

¹⁶ Rejoice always,^{(X) 17} pray continually,^{(Y) 18} give thanks in all circumstances;^(Z) for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit.^{(AA) 20} Do not treat prophecies^(AB) with contempt ²¹ but test them all;^(AC) hold on to what is good,^{(AD) 22} reject every kind of evil.

²³ May God himself, the God of peace,^(AE) sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul^(AF) and body be kept blameless^(AG) at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.^{(AH) 24} The one who calls^(AI) you is faithful,^(AJ) and he will do it.^(AK)

²⁵ Brothers and sisters, pray for us.^{(AL) 26} Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss.^{(AM) 27} I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.^(AN)

²⁸ The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.^(AO)

Psalm 82

A psalm of Asaph.

¹⁶ “But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them.^(A) After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt^(B) them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.^{(C) 17} My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden^(D) from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.^{(E) 18} I will repay^(F) them double^(G) for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land^(H) with the lifeless forms of their vile images^(I) and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.^(J)”^(K)

⁵ This is what the Lord says:

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

¹⁹ This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People,^[c] through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem.^{(BH) 20} Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem^(BI) who come through these gates.^{(BJ) 21} This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath^(BK) day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. ²² Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.^{(BL) 23} Yet they did not listen or pay attention;^(BM) they were stiff-necked^(BN) and would not listen or respond to discipline.^{(BO) 24} But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy^(BP) by not doing any work on it, ²⁵ then kings who sit on David’s throne^(BQ) will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.^{(BR) 26} People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev,^(BS) bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. ²⁷ But if you do not obey^(BT) me to keep the Sabbath^(BU) day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire^(BV) in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’”^(BW)

At the Potter’s House

18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” ³ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. ⁴ But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me. ⁶ He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay^(BX) in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,^(BY) Israel. ⁷ If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,^(BZ) torn down and destroyed, ⁸ and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent^(CA) and not inflict on it the disaster^(CB) I had planned. ⁹ And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built^(CC) up and planted, ¹⁰ and if it does evil^(CD) in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider^(CE) the good I had intended to do for it.^(CF)

¹¹ “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster^(CG) for you and devising a plan^(CH) against you. So turn^(CI) from your evil ways,^(CJ) each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’^{(CK) 12} But they will reply, ‘It’s no use.^(CL) We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.^(CM)’”

¹³ Therefore this is what the Lord says:

¹⁸ They said, “Come, let’s make plans^(DC) against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest^(DD) will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise,^(DE) nor the word from the prophets.^(DF) So come, let’s attack him with our tongues^(DG) and pay no attention to anything he says.”

Living to Please God

4 As for other matters, brothers and sisters,^(A) we instructed you how to live^(B) in order to please God,^(C) as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. ² For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

³ It is God’s will^(D) that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;^{(E) 4} that each of you should learn to control your own body^[a](F) in a way that is holy and honorable, ⁵ not in passionate lust^(G) like the pagans,^(H) who do not know God;^{(I) 6} and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.^[b](J) The Lord will punish^(K) all those who commit such sins,^(L) as we told you and warned you before. ⁷ For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.^{(M) 8} Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.^(N)

⁹ Now about your love for one another^(O) we do not need to write to you,^(P) for you yourselves have been taught by God^(Q) to love each other.^{(R) 10} And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia.^(S) Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more,^{(T) 11} and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands,^(U) just as we told you, ¹² so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders^(V) and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

Believers Who Have Died

¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed^(W) about those who sleep in death,^(X) so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.^{(Y) 14} For we believe that Jesus died and rose again,^(Z) and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.^{(AA) 15} According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,^(AB) will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.^{(AC) 16} For the Lord himself will come down from heaven,^(AD) with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel^(AE) and with the trumpet call of God,^(AF) and the dead in Christ will rise first.^{(AG) 17} After that, we who are still alive and are left^(AH) will be caught up together with them in the clouds^(AI) to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord^(AJ) forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another^(AK) with these words.

The Day of the Lord

5 Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates^(AL) we do not need to write to you,^{(AM) 2} for you know very well that the day of the Lord^(AN) will come like a thief in the night.^{(AO) 3} While people are saying, “Peace and safety,”^(AP) destruction will come on them suddenly,^(AQ) as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.^(AR)

Psalm 81^[a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.^[b] Of Asaph.