The Daily Audio Bible
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10 Hear the word of the Lord, O Israel:
2-3 Don’t act like the people who make horoscopes and try to read their fate and future in the stars! Don’t be frightened by predictions such as theirs, for it is all a pack of lies. Their ways are futile and foolish. They cut down a tree and carve an idol; 4 they decorate it with gold and silver and fasten it securely in place with hammer and nails so that it won’t fall over. 5 And there stands their god like a helpless scarecrow in a garden! It cannot speak, and it must be carried, for it cannot walk. Don’t be afraid of such a god, for it can neither harm nor help nor do you any good.
6 O Lord, there is no other god like you. For you are great, and your name is full of power. 7 Who would not fear you, O King of nations? (And that title belongs to you alone!) Among all the wise men of the earth and in all the kingdoms of the world there isn’t anyone like you.
8 The wisest of men who worship idols are altogether stupid and foolish. 9 They bring beaten sheets of silver from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz and give them to skillful goldsmiths who make their idols; then they clothe these gods in royal purple robes that expert tailors make.
10 But the Lord is the only true God, the living God, the everlasting King. The whole earth shall tremble at his anger; the world shall hide before his displeasure.
11 Say this to those who worship other gods: Your so-called gods, who have not made the heavens and earth, shall vanish from the earth. 12 But our God formed the earth by his power and wisdom, and by his intelligence he hung the stars in space and stretched out the heavens. 13 It is his voice that echoes in the thunder of the storm clouds. He causes mist to rise upon the earth; he sends the lightning and brings the rain, and from his treasuries he brings the wind.
14 But foolish men without knowledge of God bow before their idols. It is a shameful business that these men are in, for what they make are frauds, gods without life or power in them. 15 All are worthless, silly; they will be crushed when their makers perish. 16 But the God of Jacob is not like these foolish idols. He is the Creator of all, and Israel is his chosen nation. The Lord Almighty is his name.
17 Pack your bags, he says. Get ready now to leave; the siege will soon begin. 18 For suddenly I’ll fling you from this land and pour great troubles down; at last you shall feel my wrath.
19 Desperate is my wound. My grief is great. My sickness is incurable, but I must bear it. 20 My home is gone; my children have been taken away, and I will never see them again. There is no one left to help me rebuild my home. 21 The shepherds of my people have lost their senses; they no longer follow God nor ask his will. Therefore they perish, and their flocks are scattered. 22 Listen! Hear the terrible sound of great armies coming from the north. The cities of Judah shall become dens of jackals.
23 O Lord, I know it is not within the power of man to map his life and plan his course— 24 so you correct me, Lord; but please be gentle. Don’t do it in your anger, for I would die. 25 Pour out your fury on the nations who don’t obey the Lord, for they have destroyed Israel and made a wasteland of this entire country.
11 1-3 Then the Lord spoke to Jeremiah once again and said:
Remind the men of Judah and all the people of Jerusalem that I made a contract with their fathers—and cursed is the man who does not heed it! 4 For I told them at the time I brought them out of slavery in Egypt that if they would obey me and do whatever I commanded them, then they and all their children would be mine and I would be their God. 5 And now, Israel, obey me, says the Lord, so that I can do for you the wonderful things I swore I would if you obeyed. I want to give you a land that “flows with milk and honey,” as it is today.
Then I replied, “So be it, Lord!”
6 Then the Lord said: Broadcast this message in Jerusalem’s streets—go from city to city throughout the land and say, Remember this agreement that your fathers made with God, and do all the things they promised him they would. 7 For I solemnly said to your fathers when I brought them out of Egypt—and have kept on saying it over and over again until this day: Obey my every command! 8 But your fathers didn’t do it. They wouldn’t even listen. Each followed his own stubborn will and his proud heart. Because they refused to obey, I did to them all the evils stated in the contract.
9 Again the Lord spoke to me and said: I have discovered a conspiracy against me among the men of Judah and Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their fathers, refusing to listen to me and worshiping idols. The agreement I made with their fathers is broken and canceled. 11 Therefore, the Lord says, I am going to bring calamity down upon them, and they shall not escape. Though they cry for mercy, I will not listen to their pleas. 12 Then they will pray to their idols and burn incense before them, but that cannot save them from their time of anguish and despair. 13 O my people, you have as many gods as there are cities, and your altars of shame (your altars to burn incense to Baal) are along every street in Jerusalem.
14 Therefore, Jeremiah, pray no longer for this people, neither weep nor plead for them; for I will not listen to them when they are finally desperate enough to beg me for help. 15 What right do my beloved people have to come anymore to my Temple? For you have been unfaithful and worshiped other gods. Can promises and sacrifices now avert your doom and give you life and joy again?
16 The Lord used to call you his green olive tree, beautiful to see and full of good fruit; but now he has sent the fury of your enemies to burn you up and leave you broken and charred. 17 It is because of the wickedness of Israel and Judah in offering incense to Baal that the Lord Almighty who planted the tree has ordered it destroyed.
18 Then the Lord told me all about their plans and showed me their evil plots. 19 I had been as unsuspecting as a lamb or ox on the way to slaughter. I didn’t know that they were planning to kill me! “Let’s destroy this man and all his messages,” they said. “Let’s kill him so that his name will be forever forgotten.”
20 O Lord Almighty, you are just. See the hearts and motives of these men. Repay them for all that they have planned! I look to you for justice.
21-22 And the Lord replied, The men of the city of Anathoth shall be punished for planning to kill you. They will tell you not to prophesy in God’s name on pain of death. And so their young men shall die in battle; their boys and girls shall starve. 23 Not one of these plotters of Anathoth shall survive, for I will bring a great disaster upon them. Their time has come.
18 You wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, for that is what the Lord has planned for you. 19 And you husbands must be loving and kind to your wives and not bitter against them nor harsh.
20 You children must always obey your fathers and mothers, for that pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, don’t scold your children so much that they become discouraged and quit trying.
22 You slaves must always obey your earthly masters, not only trying to please them when they are watching you but all the time; obey them willingly because of your love for the Lord and because you want to please him. 23 Work hard and cheerfully at all you do, just as though you were working for the Lord and not merely for your masters, 24 remembering that it is the Lord Christ who is going to pay you, giving you your full portion of all he owns. He is the one you are really working for. 25 And if you don’t do your best for him, he will pay you in a way that you won’t like—for he has no special favorites who can get away with shirking.
4 You slave owners must be just and fair to all your slaves. Always remember that you, too, have a Master in heaven who is closely watching you.
2 Don’t be weary in prayer; keep at it; watch for God’s answers, and remember to be thankful when they come. 3 Don’t forget to pray for us too, that God will give us many chances to preach the Good News of Christ for which I am here in jail. 4 Pray that I will be bold enough to tell it freely and fully and make it plain, as, of course, I should.
5 Make the most of your chances to tell others the Good News. Be wise in all your contacts with them. 6 Let your conversation be gracious as well as sensible, for then you will have the right answer for everyone.
7 Tychicus, our much-loved brother, will tell you how I am getting along. He is a hard worker and serves the Lord with me. 8 I have sent him on this special trip just to see how you are and to comfort and encourage you. 9 I am also sending Onesimus, a faithful and much-loved brother, one of your own people. He and Tychicus will give you all the latest news.
10 Aristarchus, who is with me here as a prisoner, sends you his love, and so does Mark, a relative of Barnabas. And as I said before, give Mark a hearty welcome[a] if he comes your way. 11 Jesus Justus also sends his love. These are the only Jewish Christians working with me here, and what a comfort they have been!
12 Epaphras, from your city, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you his love. He is always earnestly praying for you, asking God to make you strong and perfect and to help you know his will in everything you do. 13 I can assure you that he has worked hard for you with his prayers, and also for the Christians in Laodicea and Hierapolis.
14 Dear Doctor Luke sends his love, and so does Demas.
15 Please give my greeting to the Christian friends at Laodicea, and to Nymphas, and to those who meet in his home. 16 By the way, after you have read this letter, will you pass it on to the church at Laodicea? And read the letter I wrote to them. 17 And say to Archippus, “Be sure that you do all the Lord has told you to.”
18 Here is my own greeting in my own handwriting: Remember me here in jail. May God’s blessings surround you.
Sincerely, Paul
56 Yet though he did all this for them, they still rebelled against the God above all gods and refused to follow his commands. 57 They turned back from entering the Promised Land and disobeyed as their fathers had. Like a crooked arrow, they missed the target of God’s will. 58 They made him angry by erecting idols and altars to other gods.
59 When God saw their deeds, his wrath was strong and he despised his people. 60 Then he abandoned his Tabernacle at Shiloh, where he had lived among mankind, 61 and allowed his Ark to be captured; he surrendered his glory into enemy hands. 62 He caused his people to be butchered because his anger was intense. 63 Their young men were killed by fire, and their girls died before they were old enough to sing their wedding songs. 64 The priests were slaughtered, and their widows died before they could even begin their lament. 65 Then the Lord rose up as though awakening from sleep, and like a mighty man aroused by wine, 66 he routed his enemies; he drove them back and sent them to eternal shame. 67 But he rejected Joseph’s family, the tribe of Ephraim, 68 and chose the tribe of Judah—and Mount Zion, which he loved. 69 There he built his towering temple, solid and enduring as the heavens and the earth. 70 He chose his servant David, taking him from feeding sheep 71-72 and from following the ewes with lambs; God presented David to his people as their shepherd, and he cared for them with a true heart and skillful hands.
28-29 Don’t testify spitefully against an innocent neighbor. Why lie about him? Don’t say, “Now I can pay him back for all his meanness to me!”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.