Jeremiah 43-44, Jeremiah 46, 2 Peter 1 - NASB - New American Standard Bible

Jeremiah 43-44

In Egypt Jeremiah Warns of Judgment

But as soon as Jeremiah, whom the Lord their God had sent, had ^afinished telling all the people all the words of the Lord their God⁠—that is, all these words⁠— 2 Azariah the ^ason of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, “You are ^btelling a lie! The Lord our God has not sent you to say, ‘You are not to enter Egypt to reside there’; 3 but ^aBaruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us to give us over into the hand of the Chaldeans, so they will put us to death or exile us to Babylon.” 4 So ^aJohanan the son of Kareah and all the ¹commanders of the forces, and all the people, ^bdid not obey the voice of the Lord to ^cstay in the land of Judah. 5 But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the ¹commanders of the forces took the ^aentire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been driven away, in order to reside in the land of Judah⁠— 6 the men, the women, the ¹children, the ^aking’s daughters and ^bevery person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam ²and grandson of Shaphan, together with ^cJeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah⁠— 7 and they entered the land of Egypt (for they did not obey the voice of the Lord) and went in as far as ^aTahpanhes.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in ^aTahpanhes, saying, 9 “Take some large stones in your ¹hands and hide them in the mortar in the ²brick terrace which is at the entrance of Pharaoh’s ³palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of ⁴some of the Jews; 10 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am going to send and get ^aNebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ^bMy servant, and I am going to set his throne right over these stones that I have hidden; and he will spread his ^ccanopy over them. 11 He will also come and ^astrike the land of Egypt; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and ^bthose for the sword to the sword. 12 And ¹I shall set fire to the temples of the ^agods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them captive. So he will ^bwrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself with his garment, and he will depart from there safely. 13 He will also shatter the ¹obelisks of ²Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt; and the temples of the gods of Egypt he will burn with fire.”’”

Conquest of Egypt Predicted

The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt, those who were living in ^aMigdol, ^bTahpanhes, ^cMemphis, and the land of ^dPathros, saying, 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘You yourselves have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are in ^aruins and no one lives in them, 3 ^abecause of their wickedness which they committed so as to ^bprovoke Me to anger by continuing to ^cburn ¹sacrifices and to ^dserve other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your fathers. 4 Yet I ^asent you all My servants the prophets, ¹again and again, saying, “Oh, do not do this ^babominable thing which I hate.” 5 But ^athey did not listen or incline their ears to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn ¹sacrifices to other gods. 6 Therefore My ^awrath and My anger were poured out and burned in the ^bcities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so they have become a ruin and a ^cdesolation as it is this day. 7 Now then thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, “Why are you ^adoing great harm to yourselves, so as to ^bcut off from you man and woman, child and infant, from among Judah, leaving yourselves without remnant, 8 ^aprovoking Me to anger with the works of your hands, ^bburning ¹sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you are entering to reside, so that you might be cut off and become a ^ccurse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have you forgotten the ^awickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 But they ^ahave not become ¹contrite even to this day, nor have they feared nor ^bwalked in My law or My statutes, which I have set before you and before your fathers.”’
11 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am going to ^aset My face against you for ¹woe, even to cut off all Judah. 12 And I will ^atake away the remnant of Judah who have set their ¹mind on entering the land of Egypt to reside there, and they will all ²^bmeet their end in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword and meet their end by famine. Both small and great will die by the sword and famine; and they will become a ^ccurse, an object of horror, an imprecation and a reproach. 13 And I will ^apunish those who live in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine and with pestilence. 14 So there will be ^ano refugees or survivors for the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to reside there and then to return to the land of Judah, to which they are ¹^blonging to return and live; for none will ^creturn except a few refugees.’”
15 Then ^aall the men who were aware that their wives were burning ¹sacrifices to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, ²including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying, 16 “As for the ¹^amessage that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, ^bwe are not going to listen to you! 17 But rather we will certainly ^acarry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, ¹by burning ²sacrifices to the ^bqueen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as ^cwe ourselves, our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had ^dplenty of ³food and were well off and saw no ⁴misfortune. 18 But since we stopped burning ¹sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have ^alacked everything and have ²met our end by the sword and by famine.” 19 “And,” said the women, “when we were ^aburning ¹sacrifices to the queen of heaven and ²were pouring out drink offerings to her, was it ^bwithout our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes ³in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”

Calamity for the Jews

20 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and women⁠—even to all the people who were giving him such an answer⁠—saying, 21 “As for the ¹^asmoking sacrifices that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the ^bstreets of Jerusalem, you and your forefathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the Lord ^cremember them and did not all this come into His ²mind? 22 So the Lord was ^ano longer able to endure it, ^bbecause of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations which you have committed; thus your land has become a ^cruin, an object of horror and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this day. 23 Because you have burned ¹sacrifices and have sinned against the Lord and ^anot obeyed the voice of the Lord or ^bwalked in His law, His statutes or His testimonies, therefore this ^ccalamity has befallen you, as it has this day.”
24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “^aHear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are ^bin the land of Egypt, 25 thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, as follows: ‘As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, “We will ^acertainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn ¹sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” ²^bGo ahead and confirm your vows, and certainly perform your vows!’ 26 ¹Nevertheless hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt, ‘Behold, I have ^asworn by My great name,’ says the Lord, ‘^bnever shall My name be invoked again by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “^cAs the Lord ²God lives.” 27 Behold, I am watching over them ^afor harm and not for good, and ^ball the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will ¹meet their end by the sword and by famine until they ²are completely gone. 28 ^aThose who escape the sword will return out of the land of Egypt to the land of Judah ¹^bfew in number. Then all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know ^cwhose word will stand, Mine or theirs. 29 This will be the ^asign to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that ^bMy words will surely stand against you for harm.’ 30 Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am going to give over ^aPharaoh Hophra king of Egypt to the hand of his enemies, to the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave over ^bZedekiah king of Judah to the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life.’”

Jeremiah 46

Defeat of Pharaoh Foretold

That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet ^aconcerning the nations.
2 To ^aEgypt, concerning the army of ^bPharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at ^cCarchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the ^dfourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3

“^aLine up the shield and ¹buckler,

And draw near for the battle!

“Harness the horses,

And ¹mount the steeds,

And take your stand with helmets on!

^aPolish the spears,

Put on the ^bscale‑armor!

“Why have I seen it?

They are terrified,

They are ^adrawing back,

And their ^bmighty men are defeated

And have taken refuge in flight,

Without facing back;

¹^cTerror is on every side!”

Declares the Lord.

Let not the ^aswift man flee,

Nor the mighty man escape;

In the north beside the river Euphrates

They have ^bstumbled and fallen.

Who is this that ^arises like the Nile,

Like the rivers whose waters surge about?

Egypt rises like the Nile,

Even like the rivers whose waters surge about;

And He has said, “I will ^arise and cover that land;

I will surely ^bdestroy the city and its inhabitants.”

Go up, you horses, and ¹^adrive madly, you chariots,

That the mighty men may ²march forward:

Ethiopia and ³^bPut, that handle the shield,

And the ⁴^cLydians, that handle and bend the bow.

For ^athat day belongs to the Lord ¹God of hosts,

A day of ^bvengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes;

And the ^csword will devour and be satiated

And ²drink its fill of their blood;

For there will be a ^dslaughter for the Lord ¹God of hosts,

In the land of the north by the river Euphrates.

Go ^aup to Gilead and obtain balm,

^bO virgin daughter of Egypt!

In vain have you multiplied ¹remedies;

There is ^cno healing for you.

The nations have heard of your ^ashame,

And the earth is full of your ^bcry of distress;

For one ^cwarrior has stumbled over ¹another,

And both of them have fallen down together.

13 This is the ¹message which the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the ^acoming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to ^bsmite the land of Egypt:
14

“Declare in Egypt and proclaim in ^aMigdol,

Proclaim also in Memphis and ^bTahpanhes;

Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,

For the ^csword has devoured those around you.’

“Why have your ^amighty ones become prostrate?

They do not stand because the Lord has ^bthrust them down.

“They have repeatedly ^astumbled;

Indeed, they have fallen one against another.

Then they said, ‘Get up! And ^blet us go back

To our own people and our native land

Away from the ¹^csword of the oppressor.’

“¹They cried there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is but ^aa big noise;

He has let the appointed time pass by!’

“As I live,” declares the ^aKing

Whose name is the Lord of hosts,

“Surely one shall come who looms up like ^bTabor among the mountains,

Or like ^cCarmel by the sea.

“Make your baggage ready for ^aexile,

O ^bdaughter dwelling in Egypt,

For ^cMemphis will become a desolation;

It will even be burned down and ¹bereft of inhabitants.

“Egypt is a pretty ^aheifer,

But a ¹horsefly is coming ^bfrom the north⁠—it is coming!

“Also her ^amercenaries in her midst

Are like ¹fattened ^bcalves,

For even they too have turned back and have fled away together;

They did not stand their ground.

For the day of their calamity has come upon them,

The time of their ^cpunishment.

“Its sound moves along like a serpent;

For they move on ¹like an army

And come to her as woodcutters with axes.

“They have cut down her ^aforest,” declares the Lord;

“Surely it will no more be found,

Even though ¹they are now more numerous than ^blocusts

And are without number.

“The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,

Given over to the ¹power of the ^apeople of the north.”

25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says, “Behold, I am going to punish Amon of ^aThebes, and ^bPharaoh, and Egypt along with her ^cgods and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who ^dtrust in him. 26 I shall give them over to the ¹power of those who are ^aseeking their lives, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his ²officers. ^bAfterwards, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old,” declares the Lord.
27

“But as for you, O Jacob My servant, ^ado not fear,

Nor be dismayed, O Israel!

For, see, I am going to ^bsave you from afar,

And your descendants from the land of their captivity;

And Jacob will return and be ^cundisturbed

And secure, with no one making him tremble.

“O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares the Lord,

“For ^aI am with you.

For I will make a full end of all the nations

Where I have driven you,

Yet I will ^bnot make a full end of you;

But I will ^ccorrect you properly

And by no means leave you unpunished.”

2 Peter 1

Growth in Christian Virtue

¹Simon Peter, a ^abond-servant and ^bapostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received ^ca faith of the same ²kind as ours, ³by ^dthe righteousness of ^eour God and Savior, Jesus Christ: 2 ^aGrace and peace be multiplied to you in ^bthe knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His ^adivine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true ^bknowledge of Him who ^ccalled us ¹by His own glory and ²excellence. 4 ¹For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent ^apromises, so that by them you may become ^bpartakers of the divine nature, having ^cescaped the ^dcorruption that is in ^ethe world by lust. 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith ^asupply ^bmoral ¹excellence, and in your moral excellence, ^cknowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, ^aself-control, and in your self-control, ^bperseverance, and in your perseverance, ^cgodliness, 7 and in your godliness, ^abrotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor ^aunfruitful in the true ^bknowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these qualities is ^ablind or short-sighted, having forgotten his ^bpurification from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His ^acalling and ^bchoosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never ^cstumble; 11 for in this way the entrance into ^athe eternal kingdom of our ^bLord and Savior Jesus Christ will be ^cabundantly ^dsupplied to you.
12 Therefore, ^aI will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in ^bthe truth which is present with you. 13 I consider it ^aright, as long as I am in ^bthis earthly dwelling, to ^cstir you up by way of reminder, 14 knowing that ^athe laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, ^bas also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15 And I will also be diligent that at any time after my ^adeparture you will be able to call these things to mind.

Eyewitnesses

16 For we did not follow cleverly devised ^atales when we made known to you the ^bpower and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were ^ceyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an ¹^autterance as this was ²made to Him by the ^bMajestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased”⁠— 18 and we ourselves heard this ¹utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the ^aholy mountain.
19 ¹So we have ^athe prophetic word made more ^bsure, to which you do well to pay attention as to ^ca lamp shining in a dark place, until the ^dday dawns and the ^emorning star arises ^fin your hearts. 20 But ^aknow this first of all, that ^bno prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, 21 for ^ano prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men ^bmoved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

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