Jeremiah 6

Jerusalem's Last Warning
 ¹  "Run for your lives, you people of Benjamin!
  Get out of Jerusalem!
Sound the alarm in Tekoa!
  Send up a signal at Beth-hakkerem!
A powerful army is coming from the north,
  coming with disaster and destruction.
 ²  O Jerusalem, [2]  you are my beautiful and delicate daughter—
  but I will destroy you!
 ³  Enemies will surround you, like shepherds camped around the city.
  Each chooses a place for his troops to devour.
 ⁴  They shout, `Prepare for battle!
  Attack at noon!'
`No, it's too late; the day is fading,
  and the evening shadows are falling.'
 ⁵  `Well then, let's attack at night
  and destroy her palaces!'"

 ⁶  This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says:
"Cut down the trees for battering rams.
  Build siege ramps against the walls of Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished,
  for she is wicked through and through.
 ⁷  She spouts evil like a fountain.
  Her streets echo with the sounds of violence and destruction.
  I always see her sickness and sores.
 ⁸  Listen to this warning, Jerusalem,
  or I will turn from you in disgust.
Listen, or I will turn you into a heap of ruins,
  a land where no one lives."

 ⁹  This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies says:
"Even the few who remain in Israel
  will be picked over again,
as when a harvester checks each vine a second time
  to pick the grapes that were missed."

Israel's Constant Rebellion
 ¹⁰  To whom can I give warning?
  Who will listen when I speak?
Their ears are closed,
  and they cannot hear.
They scorn the word of the LORD.
  They don't want to listen at all.
 ¹¹  So now I am filled with the LORD's fury.
  Yes, I am tired of holding it in!

"I will pour out my fury on children playing in the streets
  and on gatherings of young men,
on husbands and wives
  and on those who are old and gray.
 ¹²  Their homes will be turned over to their enemies,
  as will their fields and their wives.
For I will raise my powerful fist
  against the people of this land,"
  says the LORD.
 ¹³  "From the least to the greatest,
  their lives are ruled by greed.
From prophets to priests,
  they are all frauds.
 ¹⁴  They offer superficial treatments
  for my people's mortal wound.
They give assurances of peace
  when there is no peace.
 ¹⁵  Are they ashamed of their disgusting actions?
  Not at all—they don't even know how to blush!
Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered.
  They will be brought down when I punish them,"
  says the LORD.

Israel Rejects the LORD's Way
 ¹⁶  This is what the LORD says: "Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, `No, that's not the road we want!'"  <sup>17</sup>  I posted watchmen over you who said,
  `Listen for the sound of the alarm.'
But you replied,
  `No! We won't pay attention!'

 ¹⁸  "Therefore, listen to this, all you nations.
  Take note of my people's situation.
 ¹⁹  Listen, all the earth!
  I will bring disaster on my people.
It is the fruit of their own schemes,
  because they refuse to listen to me.
  They have rejected my word.
 ²⁰  There's no use offering me sweet frankincense from Sheba.
  Keep your fragrant calamus imported from distant lands!
I will not accept your burnt offerings.
  Your sacrifices have no pleasing aroma for me."

 ²¹  Therefore, this is what the LORD says:
  "I will put obstacles in my people's path.
Fathers and sons will both fall over them.
  Neighbors and friends will die together."

An Invasion from the North
 ²²  This is what the LORD says:
"Look! A great army coming from the north!
  A great nation is rising against you from far-off lands.
 ²³  They are armed with bows and spears.
  They are cruel and show no mercy.
They sound like a roaring sea
  as they ride forward on horses.
They are coming in battle formation,
  planning to destroy you, beautiful Jerusalem. [23] "

 ²⁴  We have heard reports about the enemy,
  and we wring our hands in fright.
Pangs of anguish have gripped us,
  like those of a woman in labor.
 ²⁵  Don't go out to the fields!
  Don't travel on the roads!
The enemy's sword is everywhere
  and terrorizes us at every turn!
 ²⁶  Oh, my people, dress yourselves in burlap
  and sit among the ashes.
Mourn and weep bitterly, as for the loss of an only son.
  For suddenly the destroying armies will be upon you!

 ²⁷  "Jeremiah, I have made you a tester of metals, [27] 
  that you may determine the quality of my people.
 ²⁸  They are the worst kind of rebel,
  full of slander.
They are as hard as bronze and iron,
  and they lead others into corruption.
 ²⁹  The bellows fiercely fan the flames
  to burn out the corruption.
But it does not purify them,
  for the wickedness remains.
 ³⁰  I will label them `Rejected Silver,'
  for I, the LORD, am discarding them."

Jeremiah 7

Jeremiah Speaks at the Temple
 ¹  The LORD gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,  ²  "Go to the entrance of the LORD's Temple, and give this message to the people: `O Judah, listen to this message from the LORD! Listen to it, all of you who worship here!  <sup>3</sup>  This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says:
  "`Even now, if you quit your evil ways, I will let you stay in your own land.  ⁴  But don't be fooled by those who promise you safety simply because the LORD's Temple is here. They chant, "The LORD's Temple is here! The LORD's Temple is here!"  ⁵  But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice;  ⁶  only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols.  ⁷  Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever.
   ⁸  "`Don't be fooled into thinking that you will never suffer because the Temple is here. It's a lie!  <sup>9</sup>  Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours,  <sup>10</sup>  and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, "We are safe!"—only to go right back to all those evils again?  <sup>11</sup>  Don't you yourselves admit that this Temple, which bears my name, has become a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, the LORD, have spoken!
   <sup>12</sup>  "`Go now to the place at Shiloh where I once put the Tabernacle that bore my name. See what I did there because of all the wickedness of my people, the Israelites.  ¹³  While you were doing these wicked things, says the LORD, I spoke to you about it repeatedly, but you would not listen. I called out to you, but you refused to answer.  ¹⁴  So just as I destroyed Shiloh, I will now destroy this Temple that bears my name, this Temple that you trust in for help, this place that I gave to you and your ancestors.  ¹⁵  And I will send you out of my sight into exile, just as I did your relatives, the people of Israel. [15] '

Judah's Persistent Idolatry
 ¹⁶  "Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, and don't beg me to help them, for I will not listen to you.  ¹⁷  Don't you see what they are doing throughout the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?  ¹⁸  No wonder I am so angry! Watch how the children gather wood and the fathers build sacrificial fires. See how the women knead dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. And they pour out liquid offerings to their other idol gods!  ¹⁹  Am I the one they are hurting?" asks the LORD. "Most of all, they hurt themselves, to their own shame."
   ²⁰  So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "I will pour out my terrible fury on this place. Its people, animals, trees, and crops will be consumed by the unquenchable fire of my anger."
   ²¹  This is what the LORD of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says: "Take your burnt offerings and your other sacrifices and eat them yourselves!  ²²  When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, it was not burnt offerings and sacrifices I wanted from them.  ²³  This is what I told them: `Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!'
   <sup>24</sup>  "But my people would not listen to me. They kept doing whatever they wanted, following the stubborn desires of their evil hearts. They went backward instead of forward."  <sup>25</sup>  From the day your ancestors left Egypt until now, I have continued to send my servants, the prophets—day in and day out.  <sup>26</sup>  But my people have not listened to me or even tried to hear. They have been stubborn and sinful—even worse than their ancestors.
   <sup>27</sup>  "Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond.  <sup>28</sup>  Say to them, `This is the nation whose people will not obey the LORD their God and who refuse to be taught. Truth has vanished from among them; it is no longer heard on their lips.  ²⁹  Shave your head in mourning, and weep alone on the mountains. For the LORD has rejected and forsaken this generation that has provoked his fury.'

The Valley of Slaughter
 ³⁰  "The people of Judah have sinned before my very eyes," says the LORD. "They have set up their abominable idols right in the Temple that bears my name, defiling it.  ³¹  They have built pagan shrines at Topheth, the garbage dump in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and there they burn their sons and daughters in the fire. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing!  ³²  So beware, for the time is coming," says the LORD, "when that garbage dump will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. They will bury the bodies in Topheth until there is no more room for them.  ³³  The bodies of my people will be food for the vultures and wild animals, and no one will be left to scare them away.  ³⁴  I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter in the streets of Jerusalem. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard in the towns of Judah. The land will lie in complete desolation.

Jeremiah 8

 ¹  "In that day," says the LORD, "the enemy will break open the graves of the kings and officials of Judah, and the graves of the priests, prophets, and common people of Jerusalem.  ²  They will spread out their bones on the ground before the sun, moon, and stars—the gods my people have loved, served, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up again or buried but will be scattered on the ground like manure.  ³  And the people of this evil nation who survive will wish to die rather than live where I will send them. I, the LORD of Heaven's Armies, have spoken!

Deception by False Prophets
 ⁴  "Jeremiah, say to the people, `This is what the LORD says:

"`When people fall down, don't they get up again?
  When they discover they're on the wrong road, don't they turn back?
 ⁵  Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path?
  Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back?
They cling tightly to their lies
  and will not turn around.
 ⁶  I listen to their conversations
  and don't hear a word of truth.
Is anyone sorry for doing wrong?
  Does anyone say, "What a terrible thing I have done"?
No! All are running down the path of sin
  as swiftly as a horse galloping into battle!
 ⁷  Even the stork that flies across the sky
  knows the time of her migration,
as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane. [7] 
  They all return at the proper time each year.
But not my people!
  They do not know the LORD's laws.

 ⁸  "`How can you say, "We are wise because we have the word of the LORD,"
  when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies?
 ⁹  These wise teachers will fall
  into the trap of their own foolishness,
for they have rejected the word of the LORD.
  Are they so wise after all?
 ¹⁰  I will give their wives to others
  and their farms to strangers.
From the least to the greatest,
  their lives are ruled by greed.
Yes, even my prophets and priests are like that.
  They are all frauds.
 ¹¹  They offer superficial treatments
  for my people's mortal wound.
They give assurances of peace
  when there is no peace.
 ¹²  Are they ashamed of these disgusting actions?
  Not at all—they don't even know how to blush!
Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered.
  They will be brought down when I punish them,
  says the LORD.
 ¹³  I will surely consume them.
  There will be no more harvests of figs and grapes.
Their fruit trees will all die.
  Whatever I gave them will soon be gone.
  I, the LORD, have spoken!'

 ¹⁴  "Then the people will say,
  `Why should we wait here to die?
Come, let's go to the fortified towns and die there.
  For the LORD our God has decreed our destruction
and has given us a cup of poison to drink
  because we sinned against the LORD.
 ¹⁵  We hoped for peace, but no peace came.
  We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror.'

 ¹⁶  "The snorting of the enemies' warhorses can be heard
  all the way from the land of Dan in the north!
The neighing of their stallions makes the whole land tremble.
  They are coming to devour the land and everything in it—
  cities and people alike.
 ¹⁷  I will send these enemy troops among you
  like poisonous snakes you cannot charm.
They will bite you, and you will die.
  I, the Lord, have spoken!"

Jeremiah Weeps for Sinful Judah
 ¹⁸  My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken.  ¹⁹  Listen to the weeping of my people;
  it can be heard all across the land.
"Has the LORD abandoned Jerusalem? [19] " the people ask.
  "Is her King no longer there?"

"Oh, why have they provoked my anger with their carved idols
  and their worthless foreign gods?" says the LORD.

 ²⁰  "The harvest is finished,
  and the summer is gone," the people cry,
  "yet we are not saved!"

 ²¹  "I hurt with the hurt of my people. I mourn and am overcome with grief."  ²²  Is there no medicine in Gilead?
  Is there no physician there?
Why is there no healing
  for the wounds of my people?

<<  6:2 Hebrew Daughter of Zion.
<<  6:23 Hebrew daughter of Zion.
<<  6:27 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads a tester of my people a fortress.
<<  7:15 Hebrew of Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel.
<<  8:7 The identification of some of these birds is uncertain.
<<  8:19 Hebrew Zion?

1 Timothy 5

Advice about Widows, Elders, and Slaves
 ¹  Never speak harshly to an older man, [1]  but appeal to him respectfully as you would to your own father. Talk to younger men as you would to your own brothers.  ²  Treat older women as you would your mother, and treat younger women with all purity as you would your own sisters.
   ³  Take care of [3]  any widow who has no one else to care for her.  ⁴  But if she has children or grandchildren, their first responsibility is to show godliness at home and repay their parents by taking care of them. This is something that pleases God.
   ⁵  Now a true widow, a woman who is truly alone in this world, has placed her hope in God. She prays night and day, asking God for his help.  ⁶  But the widow who lives only for pleasure is spiritually dead even while she lives.  ⁷  Give these instructions to the church so that no one will be open to criticism.
   ⁸  But those who won't care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.    ⁹  A widow who is put on the list for support must be a woman who is at least sixty years old and was faithful to her husband.  ¹⁰  She must be well respected by everyone because of the good she has done. Has she brought up her children well? Has she been kind to strangers and served other believers humbly? [10]  Has she helped those who are in trouble? Has she always been ready to do good?
   ¹¹  The younger widows should not be on the list, because their physical desires will overpower their devotion to Christ and they will want to remarry.  ¹²  Then they would be guilty of breaking their previous pledge.  ¹³  And if they are on the list, they will learn to be lazy and will spend their time gossiping from house to house, meddling in other people's business and talking about things they shouldn't.  ¹⁴  So I advise these younger widows to marry again, have children, and take care of their own homes. Then the enemy will not be able to say anything against them.  ¹⁵  For I am afraid that some of them have already gone astray and now follow Satan.
   ¹⁶  If a woman who is a believer has relatives who are widows, she must take care of them and not put the responsibility on the church. Then the church can care for the widows who are truly alone.
   ¹⁷  Elders who do their work well should be respected and paid well, [17]  especially those who work hard at both preaching and teaching.  ¹⁸  For the Scripture says, "You must not muzzle an ox to keep it from eating as it treads out the grain." And in another place, "Those who work deserve their pay!" [18] 
   ¹⁹  Do not listen to an accusation against an elder unless it is confirmed by two or three witnesses.  ²⁰  Those who sin should be reprimanded in front of the whole church; this will serve as a strong warning to others.
   ²¹  I solemnly command you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus and the highest angels to obey these instructions without taking sides or showing favoritism to anyone.
   ²²  Never be in a hurry about appointing a church leader. [22]  Do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
   ²³  Don't drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often.
   ²⁴  Remember, the sins of some people are obvious, leading them to certain judgment. But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later.  ²⁵  In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious. And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light.

<<  5:1 Or an elder.
<<  5:3 Or Honor.
<<  5:9 Greek was the wife of one husband.
<<  5:10 Greek and washed the feet of God's holy people?
<<  5:17 Greek should be worthy of double honor.
<<  5:18 Deut 25:4; Luke 10:7.
<<  5:22 Greek about the laying on of hands.