Jeremiah 37
Jeremiah Warns against Trust in Pharaoh
Now aZedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had bmade king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of cConiah the son of Jehoiakim. 2 But aneither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.
3 Yet aKing Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and bZephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “cPlease pray to the Lord our God on our behalf.” 4 Now Jeremiah was still coming in and going out among the people, for they had not yet aput him in the prison. 5 Meanwhile, aPharaoh’s army had set out from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they blifted the siege from Jerusalem.
6 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 7 “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘aThus you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, bPharaoh’s army which has come out for your assistance is going to return to its own land of Egypt. 8 The Chaldeans will also areturn and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire.”’ 9 Thus says the Lord, ‘Do not adeceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go. 10 For aeven if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and bburn this city with fire.’”
Jeremiah Imprisoned
11 Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had lifted the siege from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12 that Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to atake possession of some property there among the people. 13 While he was at the aGate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he barrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are going over to the Chaldeans!” 14 But Jeremiah said, “aA lie! I am not going over to the Chaldeans”; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 Then the officials were aangry at Jeremiah and beat him, and they bput him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, which they had made into the prison. 16 For Jeremiah had come into the adungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days.
17 Now King Zedekiah sent and took him out; and in his palace the king asecretly asked him and said, “Is there a bword from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said, “There is!” Then he said, “You will be cgiven into the hand of the king of Babylon!” 18 Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “aIn what way have I sinned against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 aWhere then are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The bking of Babylon will not come against you or against this land’? 20 But now, please listen, O my lord the king; please let my apetition come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I may not die there.” 21 Then King Zedekiah gave commandment, and they committed Jeremiah to the acourt of the guardhouse and gave him a loaf of bbread daily from the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was cgone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guardhouse.
Jeremiah 21
Jeremiah’s Message for Zedekiah
The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when aKing Zedekiah sent to him bPashhur the son of Malchijah, and cZephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, 2 “Please ainquire of the Lord on our behalf, for bNebuchadnezzar king of cBabylon is warring against us; perhaps the Lord will deal with us daccording to all His wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us.”
3 Then Jeremiah said to them, “You shall say to Zedekiah as follows: 4 ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to aturn back the weapons of war which are in your hands, with which you are warring against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will bgather them into the center of this city. 5 I aMyself will war against you with an boutstretched hand and a mighty arm, even in canger and wrath and great indignation. 6 I will also strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great apestilence. 7 Then afterwards,” declares the Lord, “aI will give over Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people, even those who survive in this city from the pestilence, the sword and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their foes and into the hand of those who seek their lives; and he will strike them down with the edge of the sword. He bwill not spare them nor have pity nor compassion.”’
8 “You shall also say to this people, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I aset before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who adwells in this city will die by the bsword and by famine and by pestilence; but he who goes out and falls away to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as booty. 10 For I have aset My face against this city for harm and not for good,” declares the Lord. “It will be bgiven into the hand of the king of Babylon and he will cburn it with fire.”’
11 “Then say to the household of the aking of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, 12 O ahouse of David, thus says the Lord:
“bAdminister justice every cmorning;
And deliver the person who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor,
dThat My wrath may not go forth like fire
And eburn with none to extinguish it,
Because of the evil of their deeds.
13 “Behold, aI am against you, O bvalley dweller,
O rocky plain,” declares the Lord,
“You men who say, ‘cWho will come down against us?
Or who will enter into our habitations?’
14 “But I will punish you aaccording to the results of your deeds,” declares the Lord,
“And I will bkindle a fire in its forest
That it may devour all its environs.”’”
Jeremiah 34
A Prophecy against Zedekiah
The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, with ball the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘aGo and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him: “Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, bI am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and che will burn it with fire. 3 aYou will not escape from his hand, for you will surely be captured and delivered into his hand; and you will bsee the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you face to face, and you will go to Babylon.’”’ 4 Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the Lord concerning you, ‘You will not die by the sword. 5 You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will aburn spices for you; and bthey will lament for you, “Alas, lord!”’ For I have spoken the word,” declares the Lord.
6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke aall these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem 7 when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the remaining cities of Judah, that is, aLachish and bAzekah, for they alone remained as cfortified cities among the cities of Judah.
8 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had amade a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to bproclaim release to them: 9 that each man should set free his male servant and each man his female servant, a aHebrew man or a Hebrew woman; so that bno one should keep them, a Jew his brother, in bondage. 10 And all the aofficials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each man should set free his male servant and each man his female servant, so that no one should keep them any longer in bondage; they obeyed, and set them free. 11 But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection for male servants and for female servants.
12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 13 “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘I amade a covenant with your forefathers in the day that I bbrought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying, 14 “aAt the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who has been sold to you and has served you six years, you shall send him out free from you; but your forefathers bdid not obey Me or incline their ear to Me. 15 Although recently you had turned and adone what is right in My sight, each man proclaiming release to his neighbor, and you had bmade a covenant before Me cin the house which is called by My name. 16 Yet you aturned and bprofaned My name, and each man took back his male servant and each man his female servant whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your male servants and female servants.”’
17 “Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming release each man to his brother and each man to his neighbor. Behold, I am aproclaiming a release to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to the bsword, to the pestilence and to the famine; and I will make you a cterror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 I will give the men who have atransgressed My covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they bcut the calf in two and passed between its parts— 19 the aofficials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the court officers and the priests and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf— 20 I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who aseek their life. And their bdead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. 21 aZedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon which has bgone away from you. 22 Behold, I am going to command,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring them back to this city; and they will fight against it and atake it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a bdesolation cwithout inhabitant.’”
Psalm 79
A Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Prayer for Help.
A Psalm of Asaph.
O God, the anations have invaded bYour inheritance;
They have defiled Your choly temple;
They have dlaid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the adead bodies of Your servants for food to the birds of the heavens,
The flesh of Your godly ones to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem;
And there was ano one to bury them.
4 We have become a areproach to our neighbors,
A scoffing and derision to those around us.
5 aHow long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your bjealousy cburn like fire?
6 aPour out Your wrath upon the nations which bdo not know You,
And upon the kingdoms which cdo not call upon Your name.
7 For they have adevoured Jacob
And blaid waste his habitation.
8 aDo not remember the iniquities of our forefathers against us;
Let Your compassion come quickly to bmeet us,
For we are cbrought very low.
9 aHelp us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of bYour name;
And deliver us and cforgive our sins dfor Your name’s sake.
10 aWhy should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Let there be known among the nations in our sight,
bVengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been shed.
11 Let athe groaning of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your power preserve those who are adoomed to die.
12 And return to our neighbors asevenfold binto their bosom
The creproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.
13 So we Your people and the asheep of Your pasture
Will bgive thanks to You forever;
To all generations we will ctell of Your praise.
James 5
Misuse of Riches
aCome now, byou rich, cweep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. 2 aYour riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is ain the last days that you have stored up your treasure! 4 Behold, athe pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and bthe outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of cthe Lord of Sabaoth. 5 You have alived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in ba day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned and aput to death bthe righteous man; he does not resist you.
Exhortation
7 Therefore be patient, abrethren, buntil the coming of the Lord. cThe farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets dthe early and late rains. 8 aYou too be patient; bstrengthen your hearts, for cthe coming of the Lord is dnear. 9 aDo not complain, bbrethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, cthe Judge is standing dright at the door. 10 As an example, abrethren, of suffering and patience, take bthe prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We count those ablessed who endured. You have heard of bthe endurance of Job and have seen cthe outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that dthe Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
12 But above all, amy brethren, bdo not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.
13 Is anyone among you asuffering? bThen he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to csing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for athe elders of the church and they are to pray over him, banointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the aprayer offered in faith will brestore the one who is sick, and the Lord will craise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. 16 Therefore, aconfess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be bhealed. cThe effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. 17 Elijah was aa man with a nature like ours, and bhe prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for cthree years and six months. 18 Then he aprayed again, and bthe sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.
19 My brethren, aif any among you strays from bthe truth and one turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will asave his soul from death and will bcover a multitude of sins.
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
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