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Jeremiah’s Prayer
12 (A)Righteous are You, O Lord, that I would plead my case with You;
Indeed I would (B)discuss matters of justice with You:
Why has the (C)way of the wicked prospered?
Why are all those who (D)deal in treachery at ease?
2 You have (E)planted them, they have also taken root;
They grow, they have even produced fruit.
You are (F)near [a]to their lips
But far from their [b]mind.
3 But You (G)know me, O Lord;
You see me;
And You (H)examine my heart’s attitude toward You.
Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter
And [c]set them apart for a (I)day of carnage!
4 How long is the (J)land to mourn
And the (K)vegetation of the countryside to wither?
For the (L)wickedness of those who dwell in it,
(M)Animals and birds have been snatched away,
Because men have said, “He will not see our latter (N)ending.”
5 “If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out,
Then how can you compete with horses?
If you fall down in a land of peace,
How will you do in the [d](O)thicket of the Jordan?
6 “For even your (P)brothers and the household of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously with you,
Even they have cried aloud after you.
Do not believe them, although they may say (Q)nice things to you.”
God’s Answer
7 “I have (R)forsaken My house,
I have abandoned My inheritance;
I have given the (S)beloved of My soul
Into the hand of her enemies.
8 “My inheritance has become to Me
Like a lion in the forest;
She has [e](T)roared against Me;
Therefore I have come to (U)hate her.
9 “Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me?
Are the (V)birds of prey against her on every side?
Go, gather all the (W)beasts of the field,
Bring them to devour!
10 “Many (X)shepherds have ruined My (Y)vineyard,
They have (Z)trampled down My field;
They have made My (AA)pleasant field
A desolate wilderness.
11 “[f]It has been made a desolation,
Desolate, it (AB)mourns [g]before Me;
The (AC)whole land has been made desolate,
Because no man (AD)lays it to heart.
12 “On all the [h](AE)bare heights in the wilderness
Destroyers have come,
For a (AF)sword of the Lord is devouring
From one end of the land even to the [i]other;
There is (AG)no peace for [j]anyone.
13 “They have (AH)sown wheat and have reaped thorns,
They have (AI)strained themselves [k]to no profit.
But be ashamed of your [l](AJ)harvest
Because of the (AK)fierce anger of the Lord.”
14 Thus says the Lord concerning all My (AL)wicked neighbors who (AM)strike at the inheritance with which I have endowed My people Israel, “Behold I am about to uproot them from their land and will (AN)uproot the house of Judah from among them. 15 And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will (AO)again have compassion on them; and I will (AP)bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. 16 Then if they will really (AQ)learn the ways of My people, to (AR)swear by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught My people to (AS)swear by Baal, they will be (AT)built up in the midst of My people. 17 But if they will not listen, then I will (AU)uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it,” declares the Lord.
The Ruined Waistband
13 Thus the Lord said to me, “Go and (AV)buy yourself a linen waistband and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.” 2 So I bought the waistband in accordance with the (AW)word of the Lord and put it around my waist. 3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, 4 “Take the waistband that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to [m]the (AX)Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, (AY)as the Lord had commanded me. 6 After many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from there the waistband which I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the waistband from the place where I had hidden it; and lo, the waistband was ruined, it was totally worthless.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “Thus says the Lord, ‘Just so will I destroy the (AZ)pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This wicked people, who (BA)refuse to listen to My words, who (BB)walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this waistband which is totally worthless. 11 For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah (BC)cling to Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘that they might be for Me a people, for [n](BD)renown, for (BE)praise and for glory; but they (BF)did not listen.’
Captivity Threatened
12 “Therefore you are to speak this word to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Every jug is to be filled with wine.”’ And when they say to you, ‘Do we not very well know that every jug is to be filled with wine?’ 13 then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold I am about to fill all the inhabitants of this land—the kings that sit for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with (BG)drunkenness! 14 I will (BH)dash them against each other, both the (BI)fathers and the sons together,” declares the Lord. “I will (BJ)not show pity nor be sorry nor have compassion so as not to destroy them.”’”
15 Listen and give heed, do not be (BK)haughty,
For the Lord has spoken.
16 (BL)Give glory to the Lord your God,
Before He brings (BM)darkness
And before your (BN)feet stumble
On the dusky mountains,
And while you are hoping for light
He makes it into (BO)deep darkness,
And turns it into gloom.
17 But (BP)if you will not listen to it,
My soul will (BQ)sob in secret for such pride;
And my eyes will bitterly weep
And flow down with tears,
Because the (BR)flock of the Lord has been taken captive.
18 Say to the (BS)king and the queen mother,
“(BT)Take a lowly seat,
For your beautiful (BU)crown
Has come down from your head.”
19 The (BV)cities of the Negev have been locked up,
And there is no one to open them;
All (BW)Judah has been carried into exile,
Wholly carried into exile.
20 “Lift up your eyes and see
Those coming (BX)from the north.
Where is the (BY)flock that was given you,
Your beautiful sheep?
21 “What will you say when He appoints over you—
And you yourself had taught them—
Former [o](BZ)companions to be head over you?
Will not (CA)pangs take hold of you
Like a woman in childbirth?
22 “If you (CB)say in your heart,
‘(CC)Why have these things happened to me?’
Because of the (CD)magnitude of your iniquity
(CE)Your skirts have been removed
And your heels have [p]been exposed.
23 “(CF)Can the Ethiopian change his skin
Or the leopard his spots?
Then you also can (CG)do good
Who are accustomed to doing evil.
24 “Therefore I will (CH)scatter them like drifting straw
To the desert (CI)wind.
25 “This is your (CJ)lot, the portion measured to you
From Me,” declares the Lord,
“Because you have (CK)forgotten Me
And trusted in falsehood.
26 “So I Myself have also (CL)stripped your skirts off over your face,
That your shame may be seen.
27 “As for your (CM)adulteries and your lustful neighings,
The (CN)lewdness of your prostitution
On the (CO)hills in the field,
I have seen your abominations.
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
(CP)How long will you remain unclean?”
Drought and a Prayer for Mercy
14 That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah in regard to the (CQ)drought:
2 “Judah mourns
And (CR)her gates languish;
They sit on the ground (CS)in mourning,
And the (CT)cry of Jerusalem has ascended.
3 “Their nobles have (CU)sent their [q]servants for water;
They have come to the (CV)cisterns and found no water.
They have returned with their vessels empty;
They have been (CW)put to shame and humiliated,
And they (CX)cover their heads.
4 “Because the (CY)ground is [r]cracked,
For there has been (CZ)no rain on the land;
The (DA)farmers have been put to shame,
They have covered their heads.
5 “For even the doe in the field has given birth only to abandon her young,
Because there is (DB)no grass.
6 “The (DC)wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;
They pant for air like jackals,
Their eyes fail
For there is (DD)no vegetation.
7 “Although our (DE)iniquities testify against us,
O Lord, act (DF)for Your name’s sake!
Truly our (DG)apostasies have been many,
We have (DH)sinned against You.
8 “O (DI)Hope of Israel,
Its (DJ)Savior in (DK)time of distress,
Why are You like a stranger in the land
Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night?
9 “Why are You like a man dismayed,
Like a mighty man who (DL)cannot save?
Yet (DM)You are in our midst, O Lord,
And we are (DN)called by Your name;
Do not forsake us!”
10 Thus says the Lord to this people, “Even so they have (DO)loved to wander; they have not (DP)kept their feet in check. Therefore the Lord does (DQ)not accept them; now He will (DR)remember their iniquity and call their sins to account.”
Thanksgiving for These Believers
1 (A)Paul and (B)Silvanus and (C)Timothy,
To the (D)church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: (E)Grace to you and peace.
2 (F)We give thanks to God always for all of you, (G)making mention of you in our prayers; 3 constantly bearing in mind your (H)work of faith and labor of (I)love and [a](J)steadfastness of hope [b]in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of (K)our God and Father, 4 knowing, (L)brethren beloved by God, (M)His choice of you; 5 for our (N)gospel did not come to you in word only, but also (O)in power and in the Holy Spirit and with (P)full conviction; just as you know (Q)what kind of men we [c]proved to be among you for your sake. 6 You also became (R)imitators of us and of the Lord, (S)having received (T)the word in much tribulation with the (U)joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in (V)Macedonia and in (W)Achaia. 8 For (X)the word of the Lord has (Y)sounded forth from you, not only in (Z)Macedonia and (AA)Achaia, but also (AB)in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. 9 For they themselves report about us what kind of a [d](AC)reception we had [e]with you, and how you (AD)turned to God (AE)from [f]idols to serve [g](AF)a living and true God, 10 and to (AG)wait for His Son from [h]heaven, whom He (AH)raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who (AI)rescues us from (AJ)the wrath to come.
Paul’s Ministry
2 For you yourselves know, brethren, that our [i](AK)coming to you (AL)was not in vain, 2 but after we had already suffered and been (AM)mistreated in (AN)Philippi, as you know, we had the boldness in our God (AO)to speak to you the (AP)gospel of God amid much [j](AQ)opposition. 3 For our (AR)exhortation does not come from (AS)error or (AT)impurity or [k]by way of (AU)deceit; 4 (AV)but just as we have been approved by God to be (AW)entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, (AX)not as pleasing men, but God who [l](AY)examines our hearts. 5 For we never came [m]with flattering speech, as you know, nor with (AZ)a pretext for greed—(BA)God is witness— 6 nor did we (BB)seek glory from men, either from you or from others, even though as (BC)apostles of Christ [n]we might have [o]asserted our authority. 7 But we [p]proved to be [q](BD)gentle [r]among you, (BE)as a nursing mother [s]tenderly cares for her own children. 8 Having so fond an affection for you, we were well-pleased to (BF)impart to you not only the (BG)gospel of God but also our own [t]lives, because you had become [u]very dear to us.
A Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Prayer for Help.
A Psalm of Asaph.
79 O God, the (A)nations have [a]invaded (B)Your inheritance;
They have defiled Your (C)holy temple;
They have (D)laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 They have given the (E)dead 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 (F)no one to bury them.
4 We have become a (G)reproach to our neighbors,
A scoffing and derision to those around us.
5 (H)How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your (I)jealousy (J)burn like fire?
6 (K)Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which (L)do not know You,
And upon the kingdoms which (M)do not call upon Your name.
7 For they have (N)devoured Jacob
And (O)laid waste his [b]habitation.
8 (P)Do not remember [c]the iniquities of our forefathers against us;
Let Your compassion come quickly to (Q)meet us,
For we are (R)brought very low.
9 (S)Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of (T)Your name;
And deliver us and [d](U)forgive our sins (V)for Your name’s sake.
10 (W)Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Let there be known among the nations in our sight,
(X)Vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been shed.
11 Let (Y)the groaning of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your [e]power preserve [f]those who are (Z)doomed to die.
12 And return to our neighbors (AA)sevenfold (AB)into their bosom
[g]The (AC)reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.
13 So we Your people and the (AD)sheep of Your [h]pasture
Will (AE)give thanks to You forever;
To all generations we will (AF)tell of Your praise.
30 I passed by the field of the sluggard
And by the vineyard of the man (A)lacking [a]sense,
31 And behold, it was completely (B)overgrown with thistles;
Its surface was covered with [b](C)nettles,
And its stone (D)wall was broken down.
32 When I saw, I [c]reflected upon it;
I looked, and received instruction.
33 “(E)A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest,”
34 Then your poverty will come as [d]a robber
And your want like [e]an armed man.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.