Podcasts about broken covenant

We will not love the Lord like we ought to love Him or serve the Lord like we ought to serve Him until we see ourselves standing on that auction block where Gomer stood. That is not just Hosea's wife. That is you! That is me! When we have seen ourselves that way, we do not have to be begged to serve God. We have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!

A new MP3 sermon from Heritage Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: The Preaching of a Broken Covenant Subtitle: Jeremiah 2024 Speaker: Joe Morecraft III Broadcaster: Heritage Presbyterian Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 12/8/2024 Bible: Jeremiah 11:1-12:6 Length: 62 min.

Jeremiah - The Coming Destruction of Jerusalem, The Enemy from the North, The Broken Covenant, Plots Against Jeremiah, Jeremiah's Prayer, God's Answer. Acts - Paul's Journey at Sea.

Jeremiah tells Israel she has broken God's covenant. What does that mean? Let's find out together as we read Jeremiah 10-12.

A new MP3 sermon from Living Way Reformed Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Broken Covenant Subtitle: Micah Speaker: Steve Rockhill Broadcaster: Living Way Reformed Presbyterian Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/11/2024 Bible: Micah 6:9-16 Length: 45 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Living Way Reformed Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Broken Covenant Subtitle: Micah Speaker: Steve Rockhill Broadcaster: Living Way Reformed Presbyterian Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/11/2024 Bible: Micah 6:9-16 Length: 45 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Living Way Reformed Presbyterian Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Broken Covenant Subtitle: Micah Speaker: Steve Rockhill Broadcaster: Living Way Reformed Presbyterian Church Event: Sunday - AM Date: 8/11/2024 Bible: Micah 6:9-16 Length: 45 min.

When God's people violate His covenant, he chastises them, not to destroy them- but because He loves them as sons and daughters. We can have this confidence because Christ bore the reproach for our sins.

When God's people violate His covenant, he chastises them, not to destroy them- but because He loves them as sons and daughters. We can have this confidence because Christ bore the reproach for our sins.

When God's people violate His covenant, he chastises them, not to destroy them; but because He loves them as sons and daughters. We can have this confidence because Christ bore the reproach for our sins.

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Jeremiah 11The Covenant Is Broken (v 1-17)Plot Against Jeremiah (v 18-23)**********Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®, NIV ® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used with permission. All rights reserved worldwide.The “NIV”, “New International Version”, “Biblica”, “International Bible Society” and the Biblica Logo are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.  Used with permission.BIBLICA, THE INTERNATIONAL BIBLE SOCIETY, provides God's Word to people through Bible translation & Bible publishing, and Bible engagement in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. Through its worldwide reach, Biblica engages people with God's Word so that their lives are transformed through a relationship with Jesus Christ.Support the showSupport the show

Malachi 2:10-12 (morning service) Point 1: Broken Brotherly Love Point 2: Broken Marriage Point 3: Broken Relationship with God Preacher: Wood Marshall

Welcome to 'Light of Reflection,' a podcast that dives deep into the profound topics of faith, morality, and the human condition. In this series, we explore the concept of the 'broken covenant' and its impact on humanity's moral compass. Through thought-provoking discussions, we examine the reasons behind the global cries for justice and compassion, reflecting on the teachings of the Ahlul Bayt al-Islam and the messages of divine prophets. Our discussions are not just about understanding; they're about finding actionable insights to bring about positive change in the world. Join us as we journey through these critical issues, seeking enlightenment and wisdom. Subscribe to 'Light of Reflection' to stay updated and deepen your understanding of these pivotal topics.

Join us in a compelling new episode of "Light of Reflection," where we confront the stark reality of our world: 18,000 lives lost, 50,000 injured, and a pervasive silence that engulfs humanity. This episode delves into the role of Muslims in a world where a few dominate while many suffer in silence.

In our latest episode of "Light of Reflection," we confront the harsh realities of our world, where 700 lives are lost in a day, and humanity's suffering seems unending. We delve deep into the moral dilemmas of our time, reflecting on the curse of money and the silence born out of fear of losing status and wealth.

In this episode Jeremiah is called by God to speak to Judah about the broken covenant between God and Judah. This will lead to yet another attack on Jeremiah and his family.  God bless you today and I encourage you to spend time in God's Word https://www.instagram.com/biblicaltapestry/https://www.facebook.com/HyperNike12

Sermon on Hebrews 9:23-10:10. This is the forty-seventh and final sermon in our year-long series on Exodus, and the seventh and final sermon in the sixth movement of this sermon series called The Broken Covenant. In this sixth and final movement of Exodus, we lament the rebellion of Israel as they worship the golden calf and break the covenant. We will consider the repercussions of our own sinfulness and the deep and tender mercies of God, which triumph over judgment. Each week will focus on something true and unique about the Lord we serve. In this sermon, we explore how Jesus is the perfect priest and king, able to enter before God's throne of grace to bring us into communion with God.

Sermon on Exodus 40:34-38. This is the forty-sixth sermon in our year-long series on Exodus, and the sixth sermon in the sixth movement of this sermon series called The Broken Covenant. In this sixth and final movement of Exodus, we lament the rebellion of Israel as they worship the golden calf and break the covenant. We will consider the repercussions of our own sinfulness and the deep and tender mercies of God, which triumph over judgment. Each week will focus on something true and unique about the Lord we serve. In this sermon, we explore how even the most righteous leader is unable to commune with a holy God.

Sermon on Exodus 34:10, 27-35. This is the forty-fifth sermon in our year-long series on Exodus, and the fifth sermon in the sixth movement of this sermon series called The Broken Covenant. In this sixth and final movement of Exodus, we lament the rebellion of Israel as they worship the golden calf and break the covenant. We will consider the repercussions of our own sinfulness and the deep and tender mercies of God, which triumph over judgment. Each week will focus on something true and unique about the Lord we serve. In this sermon, we explore how despite our sin, God seeks a relationship with us again and again.

The curse leads to the regular decay and decline of everything. Even our lives can decline into unfaithfulness spiritually speaking. Pastor Rory explains how the people of Israel illustrate the steps to decline from Judges 1:22-2:5. However, even in our unfaithful decline, God's faithfulness is great. His compassion is new every morning, even when we walk from Him.

Sermon on Exodus 34:1-9. This is the forty-fourth sermon in our year-long series on Exodus, and the fourth sermon in the sixth movement of this sermon series called The Broken Covenant. In this sixth and final movement of Exodus, we lament the rebellion of Israel as they worship the golden calf and break the covenant. We will consider the repercussions of our own sinfulness and the deep and tender mercies of God, which triumph over judgment. Each week will focus on something true and unique about the Lord we serve. In worship, we had a question and answer time about the character of God between our Director of Christian Formation, Kate McFarland and Margaux, one of our high school seniors.

Sermon on Exodus 33:1-23. This is the forty-third sermon in our year-long series on Exodus, and the third sermon in the sixth movement of this sermon series called The Broken Covenant. In this sixth and final movement of Exodus, we lament the rebellion of Israel as they worship the golden calf and break the covenant. We will consider the repercussions of our own sinfulness and the deep and tender mercies of God, which triumph over judgment. Each week will focus on something true and unique about the Lord we serve. In this sermon, we explore how God's mercy leads to reconciliation, no matter the cost.

Old Testament: Jeremiah 10–12 Jeremiah 10–12 (Listen) Idols and the Living God 10 Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the LORD:   “Learn not the way of the nations,    nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens    because the nations are dismayed at them,3   for the customs of the peoples are vanity.1  A tree from the forest is cut down    and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.4   They decorate it with silver and gold;    they fasten it with hammer and nails    so that it cannot move.5   Their idols2 are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,    and they cannot speak;  they have to be carried,    for they cannot walk.  Do not be afraid of them,    for they cannot do evil,    neither is it in them to do good.” 6   There is none like you, O LORD;    you are great, and your name is great in might.7   Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?    For this is your due;  for among all the wise ones of the nations    and in all their kingdoms    there is none like you.8   They are both stupid and foolish;    the instruction of idols is but wood!9   Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,    and gold from Uphaz.  They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;    their clothing is violet and purple;    they are all the work of skilled men.10   But the LORD is the true God;    he is the living God and the everlasting King.  At his wrath the earth quakes,    and the nations cannot endure his indignation. 11 Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”3 12   It is he who made the earth by his power,    who established the world by his wisdom,    and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.13   When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,    and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.  He makes lightning for the rain,    and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.14   Every man is stupid and without knowledge;    every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,  for his images are false,    and there is no breath in them.15   They are worthless, a work of delusion;    at the time of their punishment they shall perish.16   Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,    for he is the one who formed all things,  and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;    the LORD of hosts is his name. 17   Gather up your bundle from the ground,    O you who dwell under siege!18   For thus says the LORD:  “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land    at this time,  and I will bring distress on them,    that they may feel it.” 19   Woe is me because of my hurt!    My wound is grievous.  But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,    and I must bear it.”20   My tent is destroyed,    and all my cords are broken;  my children have gone from me,    and they are not;  there is no one to spread my tent again    and to set up my curtains.21   For the shepherds are stupid    and do not inquire of the LORD;  therefore they have not prospered,    and all their flock is scattered. 22   A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—    a great commotion out of the north country  to make the cities of Judah a desolation,    a lair of jackals. 23   I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself,    that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.24   Correct me, O LORD, but in justice;    not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. 25   Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,    and on the peoples that call not on your name,  for they have devoured Jacob;    they have devoured him and consumed him,    and have laid waste his habitation. The Broken Covenant 11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.” 6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.” 9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal. 14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” 18   The LORD made it known to me and I knew;    then you showed me their deeds.19   But I was like a gentle lamb    led to the slaughter.  I did not know it was against me    they devised schemes, saying,  “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,    let us cut him off from the land of the living,    that his name be remembered no more.”20   But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,    who tests the heart and the mind,  let me see your vengeance upon them,    for to you have I committed my cause. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand”—22 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.” Jeremiah's Complaint 12   Righteous are you, O LORD,    when I complain to you;    yet I would plead my case before you.  Why does the way of the wicked prosper?    Why do all who are treacherous thrive?2   You plant them, and they take root;    they grow and produce fruit;  you are near in their mouth    and far from their heart.3   But you, O LORD, know me;    you see me, and test my heart toward you.  Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,    and set them apart for the day of slaughter.4   How long will the land mourn    and the grass of every field wither?  For the evil of those who dwell in it    the beasts and the birds are swept away,    because they said, “He will not see our latter end.” The Lord Answers Jeremiah 5   “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,    how will you compete with horses?  And if in a safe land you are so trusting,    what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?6   For even your brothers and the house of your father,    even they have dealt treacherously with you;    they are in full cry after you;  do not believe them,    though they speak friendly words to you.” 7   “I have forsaken my house;    I have abandoned my heritage;  I have given the beloved of my soul    into the hands of her enemies.8   My heritage has become to me    like a lion in the forest;  she has lifted up her voice against me;    therefore I hate her.9   Is my heritage to me like a hyena's lair?    Are the birds of prey against her all around?  Go, assemble all the wild beasts;    bring them to devour.10   Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;    they have trampled down my portion;  they have made my pleasant portion    a desolate wilderness.11   They have made it a desolation;    desolate, it mourns to me.  The whole land is made desolate,    but no man lays it to heart.12   Upon all the bare heights in the desert    destroyers have come,  for the sword of the LORD devours    from one end of the land to the other;    no flesh has peace.13   They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;    they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.  They shall be ashamed of their4 harvests    because of the fierce anger of the LORD.” 14 Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the LORD lives,' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD.” Footnotes [1] 10:3 Or vapor, or mist [2] 10:5 Hebrew They [3] 10:11 This verse is in Aramaic [4] 12:13 Hebrew your (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 106:24–48 Psalm 106:24–48 (Listen) 24   Then they despised the pleasant land,    having no faith in his promise.25   They murmured in their tents,    and did not obey the voice of the LORD.26   Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,27   and would make their offspring fall among the nations,    scattering them among the lands. 28   Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;29   they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,    and a plague broke out among them.30   Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,    and the plague was stayed.31   And that was counted to him as righteousness    from generation to generation forever. 32   They angered him at the waters of Meribah,    and it went ill with Moses on their account,33   for they made his spirit bitter,1    and he spoke rashly with his lips. 34   They did not destroy the peoples,    as the LORD commanded them,35   but they mixed with the nations    and learned to do as they did.36   They served their idols,    which became a snare to them.37   They sacrificed their sons    and their daughters to the demons;38   they poured out innocent blood,    the blood of their sons and daughters,  whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,    and the land was polluted with blood.39   Thus they became unclean by their acts,    and played the whore in their deeds. 40   Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,    and he abhorred his heritage;41   he gave them into the hand of the nations,    so that those who hated them ruled over them.42   Their enemies oppressed them,    and they were brought into subjection under their power.43   Many times he delivered them,    but they were rebellious in their purposes    and were brought low through their iniquity. 44   Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,    when he heard their cry.45   For their sake he remembered his covenant,    and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.46   He caused them to be pitied    by all those who held them captive. 47   Save us, O LORD our God,    and gather us from among the nations,  that we may give thanks to your holy name    and glory in your praise. 48   Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,    from everlasting to everlasting!  And let all the people say, “Amen!”    Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 106:33 Or they rebelled against God's Spirit (ESV) New Testament: Romans 7 Romans 7 (Listen) Released from the Law 7 Or do you not know, brothers1—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.2 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. 4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.<

Old Testament: Jeremiah 10–12 Jeremiah 10–12 (Listen) Idols and the Living God 10 Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the LORD:   “Learn not the way of the nations,    nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens    because the nations are dismayed at them,3   for the customs of the peoples are vanity.1  A tree from the forest is cut down    and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.4   They decorate it with silver and gold;    they fasten it with hammer and nails    so that it cannot move.5   Their idols2 are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,    and they cannot speak;  they have to be carried,    for they cannot walk.  Do not be afraid of them,    for they cannot do evil,    neither is it in them to do good.” 6   There is none like you, O LORD;    you are great, and your name is great in might.7   Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?    For this is your due;  for among all the wise ones of the nations    and in all their kingdoms    there is none like you.8   They are both stupid and foolish;    the instruction of idols is but wood!9   Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,    and gold from Uphaz.  They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;    their clothing is violet and purple;    they are all the work of skilled men.10   But the LORD is the true God;    he is the living God and the everlasting King.  At his wrath the earth quakes,    and the nations cannot endure his indignation. 11 Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”3 12   It is he who made the earth by his power,    who established the world by his wisdom,    and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.13   When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,    and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.  He makes lightning for the rain,    and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.14   Every man is stupid and without knowledge;    every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,  for his images are false,    and there is no breath in them.15   They are worthless, a work of delusion;    at the time of their punishment they shall perish.16   Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,    for he is the one who formed all things,  and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;    the LORD of hosts is his name. 17   Gather up your bundle from the ground,    O you who dwell under siege!18   For thus says the LORD:  “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land    at this time,  and I will bring distress on them,    that they may feel it.” 19   Woe is me because of my hurt!    My wound is grievous.  But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,    and I must bear it.”20   My tent is destroyed,    and all my cords are broken;  my children have gone from me,    and they are not;  there is no one to spread my tent again    and to set up my curtains.21   For the shepherds are stupid    and do not inquire of the LORD;  therefore they have not prospered,    and all their flock is scattered. 22   A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—    a great commotion out of the north country  to make the cities of Judah a desolation,    a lair of jackals. 23   I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself,    that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.24   Correct me, O LORD, but in justice;    not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. 25   Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,    and on the peoples that call not on your name,  for they have devoured Jacob;    they have devoured him and consumed him,    and have laid waste his habitation. The Broken Covenant 11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.” 6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.” 9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal. 14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” 18   The LORD made it known to me and I knew;    then you showed me their deeds.19   But I was like a gentle lamb    led to the slaughter.  I did not know it was against me    they devised schemes, saying,  “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,    let us cut him off from the land of the living,    that his name be remembered no more.”20   But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,    who tests the heart and the mind,  let me see your vengeance upon them,    for to you have I committed my cause. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand”—22 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.” Jeremiah's Complaint 12   Righteous are you, O LORD,    when I complain to you;    yet I would plead my case before you.  Why does the way of the wicked prosper?    Why do all who are treacherous thrive?2   You plant them, and they take root;    they grow and produce fruit;  you are near in their mouth    and far from their heart.3   But you, O LORD, know me;    you see me, and test my heart toward you.  Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,    and set them apart for the day of slaughter.4   How long will the land mourn    and the grass of every field wither?  For the evil of those who dwell in it    the beasts and the birds are swept away,    because they said, “He will not see our latter end.” The Lord Answers Jeremiah 5   “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,    how will you compete with horses?  And if in a safe land you are so trusting,    what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?6   For even your brothers and the house of your father,    even they have dealt treacherously with you;    they are in full cry after you;  do not believe them,    though they speak friendly words to you.” 7   “I have forsaken my house;    I have abandoned my heritage;  I have given the beloved of my soul    into the hands of her enemies.8   My heritage has become to me    like a lion in the forest;  she has lifted up her voice against me;    therefore I hate her.9   Is my heritage to me like a hyena's lair?    Are the birds of prey against her all around?  Go, assemble all the wild beasts;    bring them to devour.10   Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;    they have trampled down my portion;  they have made my pleasant portion    a desolate wilderness.11   They have made it a desolation;    desolate, it mourns to me.  The whole land is made desolate,    but no man lays it to heart.12   Upon all the bare heights in the desert    destroyers have come,  for the sword of the LORD devours    from one end of the land to the other;    no flesh has peace.13   They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;    they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.  They shall be ashamed of their4 harvests    because of the fierce anger of the LORD.” 14 Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the LORD lives,' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD.” Footnotes [1] 10:3 Or vapor, or mist [2] 10:5 Hebrew They [3] 10:11 This verse is in Aramaic [4] 12:13 Hebrew your (ESV) New Testament: 2 Peter 1:12–21 2 Peter 1:12–21 (Listen) 12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body,1 to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. Christ's Glory and the Prophetic Word 16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son,2 with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Footnotes [1] 1:13 Greek tent; also verse 14 [2] 1:17 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 106:24–48 Psalm 106:24–48 (Listen) 24   Then they despised the pleasant land,    having no faith in his promise.25   They murmured in their tents,    and did not obey the voice of the LORD.26   Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,27   and would make their offspring fall among the nations,    scattering them among the lands. 28   Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;29   they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,    and a plague broke out among them.30   Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,    and the plague was stayed.31   And that was counted to him as righteousness    from generation to generation forever. 32   They angered him at the waters of Meribah,    and it went ill with Moses on their account,33   for they made his spirit bitter,1    and he spoke rashly with his lips. 34   They did not destroy the peoples,    as the LORD commanded them,35   but they mixed with the nations    and learned to do as they did.36   They served their idols,    which became a snare to them.37   They sacrificed their sons    and their daughters to the demons;38   they poured out innocent blood,    the blood of their sons and daughters,  whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,    and the land was polluted with blood.39   Thus they became unclean by their acts,    and played the whore in their deeds. 40   Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,    and he abhorred his heritage;41   he gave them into the hand of the nations,    so that those who hated them ruled over them.42   Their enemies oppressed them,    and they were brought into subjection under their power.43   Many times he delivered them,    but they were rebellious in their purposes    and were brought low through their iniquity. 44   Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,    when he heard their cry.45   For their sake he remembered his covenant,    and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.46   He caused them to be pitied    by all those who held them captive. 47   Save us, O LORD our God,    and gather us from among the nations,  that we may give thanks to your holy name    a

Morning: Jeremiah 11–13 Jeremiah 11–13 (Listen) The Broken Covenant 11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.” 6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.” 9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal. 14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” 18   The LORD made it known to me and I knew;    then you showed me their deeds.19   But I was like a gentle lamb    led to the slaughter.  I did not know it was against me    they devised schemes, saying,  “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,    let us cut him off from the land of the living,    that his name be remembered no more.”20   But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,    who tests the heart and the mind,  let me see your vengeance upon them,    for to you have I committed my cause. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand”—22 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.” Jeremiah's Complaint 12   Righteous are you, O LORD,    when I complain to you;    yet I would plead my case before you.  Why does the way of the wicked prosper?    Why do all who are treacherous thrive?2   You plant them, and they take root;    they grow and produce fruit;  you are near in their mouth    and far from their heart.3   But you, O LORD, know me;    you see me, and test my heart toward you.  Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,    and set them apart for the day of slaughter.4   How long will the land mourn    and the grass of every field wither?  For the evil of those who dwell in it    the beasts and the birds are swept away,    because they said, “He will not see our latter end.” The Lord Answers Jeremiah 5   “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,    how will you compete with horses?  And if in a safe land you are so trusting,    what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?6   For even your brothers and the house of your father,    even they have dealt treacherously with you;    they are in full cry after you;  do not believe them,    though they speak friendly words to you.” 7   “I have forsaken my house;    I have abandoned my heritage;  I have given the beloved of my soul    into the hands of her enemies.8   My heritage has become to me    like a lion in the forest;  she has lifted up her voice against me;    therefore I hate her.9   Is my heritage to me like a hyena's lair?    Are the birds of prey against her all around?  Go, assemble all the wild beasts;    bring them to devour.10   Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;    they have trampled down my portion;  they have made my pleasant portion    a desolate wilderness.11   They have made it a desolation;    desolate, it mourns to me.  The whole land is made desolate,    but no man lays it to heart.12   Upon all the bare heights in the desert    destroyers have come,  for the sword of the LORD devours    from one end of the land to the other;    no flesh has peace.13   They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;    they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.  They shall be ashamed of their1 harvests    because of the fierce anger of the LORD.” 14 Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the LORD lives,' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD.” The Ruined Loincloth 13 Thus says the LORD to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the LORD, and put it around my waist. 3 And the word of the LORD came to me a second time, 4 “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. 6 And after many days the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was spoiled; it was good for nothing. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 9 “Thus says the LORD: Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the LORD, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen. The Jars Filled with Wine 12 “You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”' And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that every jar will be filled with wine?' 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14 And I will dash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the LORD. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.'” Exile Threatened 15   Hear and give ear; be not proud,    for the LORD has spoken.16   Give glory to the LORD your God    before he brings darkness,  before your feet stumble    on the twilight mountains,  and while you look for light    he turns it into gloom    and makes it deep darkness.17   But if you will not listen,    my soul will weep in secret for your pride;  my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,    because the LORD's flock has been taken captive. 18   Say to the king and the queen mother:    “Take a lowly seat,  for your beautiful crown    has come down from your head.”19   The cities of the Negeb are shut up,    with none to open them;  all Judah is taken into exile,    wholly taken into exile. 20   “Lift up your eyes and see    those who come from the north.  Where is the flock that was given you,    your beautiful flock?21   What will you say when they set as head over you    those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?  Will not pangs take hold of you    like those of a woman in labor?22   And if you say in your heart,    ‘Why have these things come upon me?'  it is for the greatness of your iniquity    that your skirts are lifted up    and you suffer violence.23   Can the Ethiopian change his skin    or the leopard his spots?  Then also you can do good    who are accustomed to do evil.24   I will scatter you2 like chaff    driven by the wind from the desert.25   This is your lot,    the portion I have measured out to you, declares the LORD,  because you have forgotten me    and trusted in lies.26   I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,    and your shame will be seen.27   I have seen your abominations,    your adulteries and neighings, your lewd whorings,    on the hills in the field.  Woe to you, O Jerusalem!    How long will it be before you are made clean?” Footnotes [1] 12:13 Hebrew your [2] 13:24 Hebrew them (ESV) Evening: 1 Timothy 4 1 Timothy 4 (Listen) Some Will Depart from the Faith 4 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. A Good Servant of Christ Jesus 6 If you put these things before the brothers,1 you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive,2 because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. 11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them,3 so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. Footnotes [1] 4:6 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters [2] 4:10 Some manuscripts and suffer reproach [3] 4:15 Greek be in them (ESV)

Sermon on Exodus 32:15-25. This is the forty-second sermon in our year-long series on Exodus, and the second sermon in the sixth movement of this sermon series called The Broken Covenant. In this sixth and final movement of Exodus, we lament the rebellion of Israel as they worship the golden calf and break the covenant. We will consider the repercussions of our own sinfulness and the deep and tender mercies of God, which triumph over judgment. Each week will focus on something true and unique about the Lord we serve. In this sermon, we explore how serving God means opposing sin wherever we see it.

Sermon on Exodus 31:1-11. This is the forty-first sermon in our year-long series on Exodus, and the first sermon in the sixth movement of this sermon series called The Broken Covenant. In this sixth and final movement of Exodus, we lament the rebellion of Israel as they worship the golden calf and break the covenant. We will consider the reprecussions of our own sinfulness and the deep and tender mercies of God, which triumph over judgment. Each week will focus on something true and unique about the Lord we serve. In this sermon, we explore how even in our rebellion, God is gracious.

Jeremiah 10–13 Jeremiah 10–13 (Listen) Idols and the Living God 10 Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the LORD:   “Learn not the way of the nations,    nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens    because the nations are dismayed at them,3   for the customs of the peoples are vanity.1  A tree from the forest is cut down    and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.4   They decorate it with silver and gold;    they fasten it with hammer and nails    so that it cannot move.5   Their idols2 are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,    and they cannot speak;  they have to be carried,    for they cannot walk.  Do not be afraid of them,    for they cannot do evil,    neither is it in them to do good.” 6   There is none like you, O LORD;    you are great, and your name is great in might.7   Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?    For this is your due;  for among all the wise ones of the nations    and in all their kingdoms    there is none like you.8   They are both stupid and foolish;    the instruction of idols is but wood!9   Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,    and gold from Uphaz.  They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;    their clothing is violet and purple;    they are all the work of skilled men.10   But the LORD is the true God;    he is the living God and the everlasting King.  At his wrath the earth quakes,    and the nations cannot endure his indignation. 11 Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”3 12   It is he who made the earth by his power,    who established the world by his wisdom,    and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.13   When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,    and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.  He makes lightning for the rain,    and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.14   Every man is stupid and without knowledge;    every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,  for his images are false,    and there is no breath in them.15   They are worthless, a work of delusion;    at the time of their punishment they shall perish.16   Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,    for he is the one who formed all things,  and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;    the LORD of hosts is his name. 17   Gather up your bundle from the ground,    O you who dwell under siege!18   For thus says the LORD:  “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land    at this time,  and I will bring distress on them,    that they may feel it.” 19   Woe is me because of my hurt!    My wound is grievous.  But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,    and I must bear it.”20   My tent is destroyed,    and all my cords are broken;  my children have gone from me,    and they are not;  there is no one to spread my tent again    and to set up my curtains.21   For the shepherds are stupid    and do not inquire of the LORD;  therefore they have not prospered,    and all their flock is scattered. 22   A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—    a great commotion out of the north country  to make the cities of Judah a desolation,    a lair of jackals. 23   I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself,    that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.24   Correct me, O LORD, but in justice;    not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. 25   Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,    and on the peoples that call not on your name,  for they have devoured Jacob;    they have devoured him and consumed him,    and have laid waste his habitation. The Broken Covenant 11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.” 6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.” 9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal. 14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” 18   The LORD made it known to me and I knew;    then you showed me their deeds.19   But I was like a gentle lamb    led to the slaughter.  I did not know it was against me    they devised schemes, saying,  “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,    let us cut him off from the land of the living,    that his name be remembered no more.”20   But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,    who tests the heart and the mind,  let me see your vengeance upon them,    for to you have I committed my cause. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand”—22 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.” Jeremiah's Complaint 12   Righteous are you, O LORD,    when I complain to you;    yet I would plead my case before you.  Why does the way of the wicked prosper?    Why do all who are treacherous thrive?2   You plant them, and they take root;    they grow and produce fruit;  you are near in their mouth    and far from their heart.3   But you, O LORD, know me;    you see me, and test my heart toward you.  Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,    and set them apart for the day of slaughter.4   How long will the land mourn    and the grass of every field wither?  For the evil of those who dwell in it    the beasts and the birds are swept away,    because they said, “He will not see our latter end.” The Lord Answers Jeremiah 5   “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,    how will you compete with horses?  And if in a safe land you are so trusting,    what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?6   For even your brothers and the house of your father,    even they have dealt treacherously with you;    they are in full cry after you;  do not believe them,    though they speak friendly words to you.” 7   “I have forsaken my house;    I have abandoned my heritage;  I have given the beloved of my soul    into the hands of her enemies.8   My heritage has become to me    like a lion in the forest;  she has lifted up her voice against me;    therefore I hate her.9   Is my heritage to me like a hyena's lair?    Are the birds of prey against her all around?  Go, assemble all the wild beasts;    bring them to devour.10   Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;    they have trampled down my portion;  they have made my pleasant portion    a desolate wilderness.11   They have made it a desolation;    desolate, it mourns to me.  The whole land is made desolate,    but no man lays it to heart.12   Upon all the bare heights in the desert    destroyers have come,  for the sword of the LORD devours    from one end of the land to the other;    no flesh has peace.13   They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;    they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.  They shall be ashamed of their4 harvests    because of the fierce anger of the LORD.” 14 Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the LORD lives,' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD.” The Ruined Loincloth 13 Thus says the LORD to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the LORD, and put it around my waist. 3 And the word of the LORD came to me a second time, 4 “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. 6 And after many days the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was spoiled; it was good for nothing. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 9 “Thus says the LORD: Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the LORD, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen. The Jars Filled with Wine 12 “You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”' And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that every jar will be filled with wine?' 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14 And I will dash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the LORD. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.'” Exile Threatened 15   Hear and give ear; be not proud,    for the LORD has spoken.16   Give glory to the LORD your God    before he brings darkness,  before your feet stumble    on the twilight mountains,  and while you look for light    he turns it into gloom    and makes it deep darkness.17   But if you will not listen,    my soul will weep in secret for your pride;  my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,    because the LORD's flock has been taken captive. 18   Say to the king and the queen mother:    “Take a lowly seat,  for your beautiful crown    has come down from your head.”19   The cities of the Negeb are shut up,    with none to open them;  all Judah is taken into exile,    wholly taken into exile. 20   “Lift up your eyes and see    those who come from the north.  Where is the flock that was given you,    your beautiful flock?21   What will you say when they set as head over you    those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?  Will not pangs take hold of you    like those of a woman in labor?22   And if you say in your heart,    ‘Why have these things come upon me?'  it is for the greatness of your iniquity    that your skirts are lifted up    and you suffer violence.23   Can the Ethiopian change his skin    or the leopard his spots?  Then also you can do good    who are accustomed to do evil.24   I will scatter you5 like chaff    driven by the wind from the desert.25   This is your lot,    the portion I have measured out to you, declares the LORD,  because you have forgotten me    and trusted in lies.26   I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,    and your shame will be seen.27   I have seen your abominations,    your adulteries and neighings, your lewd whorings,    on the hills in the field.  Woe to you, O Jerusalem!    How long will it be before you are made clean?” Footnotes [1] 10:3 Or vapor, or mist [2] 10:5 Hebrew They [3] 10:11 This verse is in Aramaic [4] 12:13 Hebrew your [5] 13:24 Hebrew them (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Ecclesiastes 10 Ecclesiastes 10 (Listen) 10   Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench;    so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.2   A wise man's heart inclines him to the right,    but a fool's heart to the left.3   Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense,    and he says to everyone that he is a fool.4   If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place,    for calmness1 will lay great offenses to rest. 5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler: 6 folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. 7 I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves. 8   He who digs a pit will fall into it,    and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.9   He who quarries stones is hurt by them,    and he who splits logs is endangered by them.10   If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge,    he must use more strength,    but wisdom helps one to succeed.211   If the serpent bites before it is charmed,    there is no advantage to the charmer. 12   The words of a wise man's mouth win him favor,3    but the lips of a fool consume him.13   The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,    and the end of his talk is evil madness.14   A fool multiplies words,    though no man knows what is to be,    and who can tell him what will be after him?15   The toil of a fool wearies him,    for he does not know the way to the city. 16   Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,    and your princes feast in the morning!17   Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility,    and your princes feast at the proper time,    for strength, and not for drunkenness!18   Through sloth the roof sinks in,    and through indolence the house leaks.19   Bread is made for laughter,    and wine gladdens life,    and money answers everything.20   Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king,    nor in your bedroom curse the rich,  for a bird of the air will carry your voice,    or some winged creature tell the matter. Footnotes [1] 10:4 Hebrew healing [2] 10:10 Or wisdom is an advantage for success [3] 10:12 Or are gracious (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Joshua 18–19 Joshua 18–19 (Listen) Allotment of the Remaining Land 18 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them. 2 There remained among the people of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. 3 So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you? 4 Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me. 5 They shall divide it into seven portions. Judah shall continue in his territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall continue in their territory on the north. 6 And you shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the LORD our God. 7 The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the LORD is their heritage. And Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them.” 8 So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go up and down in the land and write a description and return to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the LORD in Shiloh.” 9 So the men went and passed up and down in the land and wrote in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions. Then they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh, 10 and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD. And there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, to each his portion. The Inheritance for Benjamin 11 The lot of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to its clans came up, and the territory allotted to it fell between the people of Judah and the people of Joseph. 12 On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan. Then the boundary goes up to the shoulder north of Jericho, then up through the hill country westward, and it ends at the wilderness of Beth-aven. 13 From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the shoulder of Luz (that is, Bethel), then the boundary goes down to Ataroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower Beth-horon. 14 Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-horon, and it ends at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city belonging to the people of Judah. This forms the western side. 15 And the southern side begins at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim. And the boundary goes from there to Ephron,1 to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. 16 Then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the Valley of Rephaim. And it then goes down the Valley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites, and downward to En-rogel. 17 Then it bends in a northerly direction going on to En-shemesh, and from there goes to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim. Then it goes down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, 18 and passing on to the north of the shoulder of Beth-arabah2 it goes down to the Arabah. 19 Then the boundary passes on to the north of the shoulder of Beth-hoglah. And the boundary ends at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this is the southern border. 20 The Jordan forms its boundary on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin, according to their clans, boundary by boundary all around. 21 Now the cities of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to their clans were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, 22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, Geba—twelve cities with their villages: 25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zela, Haeleph, Jebus3 (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah4 and Kiriath-jearim5—fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin according to its clans. The Inheritance for Simeon 19 The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the people of Simeon, according to their clans, and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the people of Judah. 2 And they had for their inheritance Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, 3 Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, 4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5 Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, 6 Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—thirteen cities with their villages; 7 Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four cities with their villages, 8 together with all the villages around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the Negeb. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Simeon according to their clans. 9 The inheritance of the people of Simeon formed part of the territory of the people of Judah. Because the portion of the people of Judah was too large for them, the people of Simeon obtained an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance. The Inheritance for Zebulun 10 The third lot came up for the people of Zebulun, according to their clans. And the territory of their inheritance reached as far as Sarid. 11 Then their boundary goes up westward and on to Mareal and touches Dabbesheth, then the brook that is east of Jokneam. 12 From Sarid it goes in the other direction eastward toward the sunrise to the boundary of Chisloth-tabor. From there it goes to Daberath, then up to Japhia. 13 From there it passes along on the east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and going on to Rimmon it bends toward Neah, 14 then on the north the boundary turns about to Hannathon, and it ends at the Valley of Iphtahel; 15 and Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve cities with their villages. 16 This is the inheritance of the people of Zebulun, according to their clans—these cities with their villages. The Inheritance for Issachar 17 The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for the people of Issachar, according to their clans. 18 Their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, 19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21 Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, Beth-pazzez. 22 The boundary also touches Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and its boundary ends at the Jordan—sixteen cities with their villages. 23 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Issachar, according to their clans—the cities with their villages. The Inheritance for Asher 24 The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the people of Asher according to their clans. 25 Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, 26 Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. On the west it touches Carmel and Shihor-libnath, 27 then it turns eastward, it goes to Beth-dagon, and touches Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtahel northward to Beth-emek and Neiel. Then it continues in the north to Cabul, 28 Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, as far as Sidon the Great. 29 Then the boundary turns to Ramah, reaching to the fortified city of Tyre. Then the boundary turns to Hosah, and it ends at the sea; Mahalab,6 Achzib, 30 Ummah, Aphek and Rehob—twenty-two cities with their villages. 31 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Asher according to their clans—these cities with their villages. The Inheritance for Naphtali 32 The sixth lot came out for the people of Naphtali, for the people of Naphtali, according to their clans. 33 And their boundary ran from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, and Adami-nekeb, and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and it ended at the Jordan. 34 Then the boundary turns westward to Aznoth-tabor and goes from there to Hukkok, touching Zebulun at the south and Asher on the west and Judah on the east at the Jordan. 35 The fortified cities are Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37 Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, 38 Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh—nineteen cities with their villages. 39 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Naphtali according to their clans—the cities with their villages. The Inheritance for Dan 40 The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans. 41 And the territory of its inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, 46 and Me-jarkon and Rakkon with the territory over against Joppa. 47 When the territory of the people of Dan was lost to them, the people of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and after capturing it and striking it with the sword they took possession of it and settled in it, calling Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor. 48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans—these cities with their villages. The Inheritance for Joshua 49 When they had finished distributing the several territories of the land as inheritances, the people of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. 50 By command of the LORD they gave him the city that he asked, Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he rebuilt the city and settled in it. 51 These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel distributed by lot at Shiloh before the LORD, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land. Footnotes [1] 18:15 See 15:9; Hebrew westward [2] 18:18 Septuagint; Hebrew to the shoulder over against the Arabah [3] 18:28 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew the Jebusite [4] 18:28 Hebrew Gibeath [5] 18:28 Septuagint; Hebrew Kiriath [6] 19:29 Compare Septuagint; Hebrew Mehebel (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Jeremiah 11:1–17 Jeremiah 11:1–17 (Listen) The Broken Covenant 11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.” 6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.” 9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal. 14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Matthew 25 Matthew 25 (Listen) The Parable of the Ten Virgins 25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps1 and went to meet the bridegroom.2 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.' 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. The Parable of the Talents 14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants3 and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,4 to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.' 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.5 You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.' 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.' 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' The Final Judgment 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,6 you did it to me.' 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Footnotes [1] 25:1 Or torches [2] 25:1 Some manuscripts add and the bride [3] 25:14 Or bondservants; also verse 19 [4] 25:15 A talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years' wages for a laborer [5] 25:21 Or bondservant; also verses 23, 26, 30 [6] 25:40 Or brothers and sisters (ESV)

With family: Joshua 22; Acts 2 Joshua 22 (Listen) The Eastern Tribes Return Home 22 At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. 3 You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the LORD your God. 4 And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” 6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. 7 Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua had given a possession beside their brothers in the land west of the Jordan. And when Joshua sent them away to their homes and blessed them, 8 he said to them, “Go back to your tents with much wealth and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.” 9 So the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, parting from the people of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, their own land of which they had possessed themselves by command of the LORD through Moses. The Eastern Tribes' Altar of Witness 10 And when they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size. 11 And the people of Israel heard it said, “Behold, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built the altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the people of Israel.” 12 And when the people of Israel heard of it, the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them. 13 Then the people of Israel sent to the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, 14 and with him ten chiefs, one from each of the tribal families of Israel, every one of them the head of a family among the clans of Israel. 15 And they came to the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they said to them, 16 “Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD, ‘What is this breach of faith that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away this day from following the LORD by building yourselves an altar this day in rebellion against the LORD? 17 Have we not had enough of the sin at Peor from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and for which there came a plague upon the congregation of the LORD, 18 that you too must turn away this day from following the LORD? And if you too rebel against the LORD today then tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. 19 But now, if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over into the LORD's land where the LORD's tabernacle stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us. Only do not rebel against the LORD or make us as rebels by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the LORD our God. 20 Did not Achan the son of Zerah break faith in the matter of the devoted things, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone for his iniquity.'” 21 Then the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel, 22 “The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows; and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith against the LORD, do not spare us today 23 for building an altar to turn away from following the LORD. Or if we did so to offer burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings on it, may the LORD himself take vengeance. 24 No, but we did it from fear that in time to come your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? 25 For the LORD has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you people of Reuben and people of Gad. You have no portion in the LORD.' So your children might make our children cease to worship the LORD. 26 Therefore we said, ‘Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice, 27 but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we do perform the service of the LORD in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings, so your children will not say to our children in time to come, “You have no portion in the LORD.”' 28 And we thought, ‘If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we should say, “Behold, the copy of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you.”' 29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD and turn away this day from following the LORD by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the LORD our God that stands before his tabernacle!” 30 When Phinehas the priest and the chiefs of the congregation, the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the people of Manasseh spoke, it was good in their eyes. 31 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the people of Manasseh, “Today we know that the LORD is in our midst, because you have not committed this breach of faith against the LORD. Now you have delivered the people of Israel from the hand of the LORD.” 32 Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the chiefs, returned from the people of Reuben and the people of Gad in the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the people of Israel, and brought back word to them. 33 And the report was good in the eyes of the people of Israel. And the people of Israel blessed God and spoke no more of making war against them to destroy the land where the people of Reuben and the people of Gad were settled. 34 The people of Reuben and the people of Gad called the altar Witness, “For,” they said, “it is a witness between us that the LORD is God.” (ESV) Acts 2 (Listen) The Coming of the Holy Spirit 2 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested1 on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” Peter's Sermon at Pentecost 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.2 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17   “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,  that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,  and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,    and your young men shall see visions,    and your old men shall dream dreams;18   even on my male servants and female servants    in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.19   And I will show wonders in the heavens above    and signs on the earth below,    blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;20   the sun shall be turned to darkness    and the moon to blood,    before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.21   And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.' 22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—23 this Jesus,3 delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him,   “‘I saw the Lord always before me,    for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;26   therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;    my flesh also will dwell in hope.27   For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,    or let your Holy One see corruption.28   You have made known to me the paths of life;    you will make me full of gladness with your presence.' 29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,   “‘The Lord said to my Lord,  “Sit at my right hand,35     until I make your enemies your footstool.”' 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. The Fellowship of the Believers 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe4 came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Footnotes [1] 2:3 Or And tongues as of fire appeared to them, distributed among them, and rested [2] 2:15 That is, 9 a.m. [3] 2:23 Greek this one [4] 2:43 Or fear (ESV) In private: Jeremiah 11; Matthew 25 Jeremiah 11 (Listen) The Broken Covenant 11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.” 6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.” 9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal. 14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” 18   The LORD made it known to me and I knew;    then you showed me their deeds.19   But I was like a gentle lamb    led to the slaughter.  I did not know it was against me    they devised schemes, saying,  “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,    let us cut him off from the land of the living,    that his name be remembered no more.”20   But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,    who tests the heart and the mind,  let me see your vengeance upon them,    for to you have I committed my cause. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand”—22 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.” (ESV) Matthew 25 (Listen) The Parable of the Ten Virgins 25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps1 and went to meet the bridegroom.2 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.' 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. The Parable of the Talents 14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants3 and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,4 to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.' 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.5 You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.' 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.' 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' The Final Judgment 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,6 you did it to me.' 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Footnotes [1] 25:1 Or torches [2] 25:1 Some manuscripts add and the bride [3] 25:14 Or bondservants; also verse 19 [4] 25:15 A talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years' wages for a laborer [5] 25:21 Or bondservant; also verses 23, 26, 30 [6] 25:40 Or brothers and sisters (ESV)

Jeremiah 10–13 Jeremiah 10–13 (Listen) Idols and the Living God 10 Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the LORD:   “Learn not the way of the nations,    nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens    because the nations are dismayed at them,3   for the customs of the peoples are vanity.1  A tree from the forest is cut down    and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.4   They decorate it with silver and gold;    they fasten it with hammer and nails    so that it cannot move.5   Their idols2 are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,    and they cannot speak;  they have to be carried,    for they cannot walk.  Do not be afraid of them,    for they cannot do evil,    neither is it in them to do good.” 6   There is none like you, O LORD;    you are great, and your name is great in might.7   Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?    For this is your due;  for among all the wise ones of the nations    and in all their kingdoms    there is none like you.8   They are both stupid and foolish;    the instruction of idols is but wood!9   Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,    and gold from Uphaz.  They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;    their clothing is violet and purple;    they are all the work of skilled men.10   But the LORD is the true God;    he is the living God and the everlasting King.  At his wrath the earth quakes,    and the nations cannot endure his indignation. 11 Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”3 12   It is he who made the earth by his power,    who established the world by his wisdom,    and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.13   When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,    and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.  He makes lightning for the rain,    and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.14   Every man is stupid and without knowledge;    every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,  for his images are false,    and there is no breath in them.15   They are worthless, a work of delusion;    at the time of their punishment they shall perish.16   Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,    for he is the one who formed all things,  and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;    the LORD of hosts is his name. 17   Gather up your bundle from the ground,    O you who dwell under siege!18   For thus says the LORD:  “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land    at this time,  and I will bring distress on them,    that they may feel it.” 19   Woe is me because of my hurt!    My wound is grievous.  But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,    and I must bear it.”20   My tent is destroyed,    and all my cords are broken;  my children have gone from me,    and they are not;  there is no one to spread my tent again    and to set up my curtains.21   For the shepherds are stupid    and do not inquire of the LORD;  therefore they have not prospered,    and all their flock is scattered. 22   A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—    a great commotion out of the north country  to make the cities of Judah a desolation,    a lair of jackals. 23   I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself,    that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.24   Correct me, O LORD, but in justice;    not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. 25   Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,    and on the peoples that call not on your name,  for they have devoured Jacob;    they have devoured him and consumed him,    and have laid waste his habitation. The Broken Covenant 11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.” 6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.” 9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal. 14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” 18   The LORD made it known to me and I knew;    then you showed me their deeds.19   But I was like a gentle lamb    led to the slaughter.  I did not know it was against me    they devised schemes, saying,  “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,    let us cut him off from the land of the living,    that his name be remembered no more.”20   But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,    who tests the heart and the mind,  let me see your vengeance upon them,    for to you have I committed my cause. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand”—22 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.” Jeremiah's Complaint 12   Righteous are you, O LORD,    when I complain to you;    yet I would plead my case before you.  Why does the way of the wicked prosper?    Why do all who are treacherous thrive?2   You plant them, and they take root;    they grow and produce fruit;  you are near in their mouth    and far from their heart.3   But you, O LORD, know me;    you see me, and test my heart toward you.  Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,    and set them apart for the day of slaughter.4   How long will the land mourn    and the grass of every field wither?  For the evil of those who dwell in it    the beasts and the birds are swept away,    because they said, “He will not see our latter end.” The Lord Answers Jeremiah 5   “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,    how will you compete with horses?  And if in a safe land you are so trusting,    what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?6   For even your brothers and the house of your father,    even they have dealt treacherously with you;    they are in full cry after you;  do not believe them,    though they speak friendly words to you.” 7   “I have forsaken my house;    I have abandoned my heritage;  I have given the beloved of my soul    into the hands of her enemies.8   My heritage has become to me    like a lion in the forest;  she has lifted up her voice against me;    therefore I hate her.9   Is my heritage to me like a hyena's lair?    Are the birds of prey against her all around?  Go, assemble all the wild beasts;    bring them to devour.10   Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;    they have trampled down my portion;  they have made my pleasant portion    a desolate wilderness.11   They have made it a desolation;    desolate, it mourns to me.  The whole land is made desolate,    but no man lays it to heart.12   Upon all the bare heights in the desert    destroyers have come,  for the sword of the LORD devours    from one end of the land to the other;    no flesh has peace.13   They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;    they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.  They shall be ashamed of their4 harvests    because of the fierce anger of the LORD.” 14 Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the LORD lives,' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD.” The Ruined Loincloth 13 Thus says the LORD to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the LORD, and put it around my waist. 3 And the word of the LORD came to me a second time, 4 “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. 6 And after many days the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was spoiled; it was good for nothing. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 9 “Thus says the LORD: Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the LORD, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen. The Jars Filled with Wine 12 “You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”' And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that every jar will be filled with wine?' 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14 And I will dash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the LORD. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.'” Exile Threatened 15   Hear and give ear; be not proud,    for the LORD has spoken.16   Give glory to the LORD your God    before he brings darkness,  before your feet stumble    on the twilight mountains,  and while you look for light    he turns it into gloom    and makes it deep darkness.17   But if you will not listen,    my soul will weep in secret for your pride;  my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,    because the LORD's flock has been taken captive. 18   Say to the king and the queen mother:    “Take a lowly seat,  for your beautiful crown    has come down from your head.”19   The cities of the Negeb are shut up,    with none to open them;  all Judah is taken into exile,    wholly taken into exile. 20   “Lift up your eyes and see    those who come from the north.  Where is the flock that was given you,    your beautiful flock?21   What will you say when they set as head over you    those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?  Will not pangs take hold of you    like those of a woman in labor?22   And if you say in your heart,    ‘Why have these things come upon me?'  it is for the greatness of your iniquity    that your skirts are lifted up    and you suffer violence.23   Can the Ethiopian change his skin    or the leopard his spots?  Then also you can do good    who are accustomed to do evil.24   I will scatter you5 like chaff    driven by the wind from the desert.25   This is your lot,    the portion I have measured out to you, declares the LORD,  because you have forgotten me    and trusted in lies.26   I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,    and your shame will be seen.27   I have seen your abominations,    your adulteries and neighings, your lewd whorings,    on the hills in the field.  Woe to you, O Jerusalem!    How long will it be before you are made clean?” Footnotes [1] 10:3 Or vapor, or mist [2] 10:5 Hebrew They [3] 10:11 This verse is in Aramaic [4] 12:13 Hebrew your [5] 13:24 Hebrew them (ESV)

Pastor Michael Torres - Jeremiah 11:1-23. Wednesday, Jun 11, 2023Click To View Slideshttps://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1KSI6gU1A9SalhugZK2mBwgMvu-2MOl1_/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=109643752056010674706&rtpof=true&sd=trueWebsite: https://calvaryitl.orgOur Location : https://goo.gl/maps/2tAhVnZGbEavLP2C9Give: https://calvaryitl.org/giveYou can also donate via your phone directly by texting “itlGive" to 888-364-4483Follow on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1U1Y6LJUioUoayFRwmzgfyFollow on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/calvary-chapel-into-the-light-podcast/id1374484093 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CalvaryITLFollow on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/CalvaryITLFollow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calvarychapel_itl/ 

3 Lent First Psalm: Psalm 88; Psalm 95 Psalm 88 (Listen) I Cry Out Day and Night Before You A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil1 of Heman the Ezrahite. 88   O LORD, God of my salvation,    I cry out day and night before you.2   Let my prayer come before you;    incline your ear to my cry! 3   For my soul is full of troubles,    and my life draws near to Sheol.4   I am counted among those who go down to the pit;    I am a man who has no strength,5   like one set loose among the dead,    like the slain that lie in the grave,  like those whom you remember no more,    for they are cut off from your hand.6   You have put me in the depths of the pit,    in the regions dark and deep.7   Your wrath lies heavy upon me,    and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah 8   You have caused my companions to shun me;    you have made me a horror2 to them.  I am shut in so that I cannot escape;9     my eye grows dim through sorrow.  Every day I call upon you, O LORD;    I spread out my hands to you.10   Do you work wonders for the dead?    Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah11   Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,    or your faithfulness in Abaddon?12   Are your wonders known in the darkness,    or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 13   But I, O LORD, cry to you;    in the morning my prayer comes before you.14   O LORD, why do you cast my soul away?    Why do you hide your face from me?15   Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,    I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.316   Your wrath has swept over me;    your dreadful assaults destroy me.17   They surround me like a flood all day long;    they close in on me together.18   You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me;    my companions have become darkness.4 Footnotes [1] 88:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms [2] 88:8 Or an abomination [3] 88:15 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 88:18 Or darkness has become my only companion (ESV) Psalm 95 (Listen) Let Us Sing Songs of Praise 95   Oh come, let us sing to the LORD;    let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!2   Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;    let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!3   For the LORD is a great God,    and a great King above all gods.4   In his hand are the depths of the earth;    the heights of the mountains are his also.5   The sea is his, for he made it,    and his hands formed the dry land. 6   Oh come, let us worship and bow down;    let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker!7   For he is our God,    and we are the people of his pasture,    and the sheep of his hand.  Today, if you hear his voice,8     do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,    as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,9   when your fathers put me to the test    and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.10   For forty years I loathed that generation    and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,    and they have not known my ways.”11   Therefore I swore in my wrath,    “They shall not enter my rest.” (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalms 91–92 Psalms 91–92 (Listen) My Refuge and My Fortress 91   He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High    will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.2   I will say1 to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,    my God, in whom I trust.” 3   For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler    and from the deadly pestilence.4   He will cover you with his pinions,    and under his wings you will find refuge;    his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.5   You will not fear the terror of the night,    nor the arrow that flies by day,6   nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,    nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. 7   A thousand may fall at your side,    ten thousand at your right hand,    but it will not come near you.8   You will only look with your eyes    and see the recompense of the wicked. 9   Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place—    the Most High, who is my refuge2—10   no evil shall be allowed to befall you,    no plague come near your tent. 11   For he will command his angels concerning you    to guard you in all your ways.12   On their hands they will bear you up,    lest you strike your foot against a stone.13   You will tread on the lion and the adder;    the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. 14   “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;    I will protect him, because he knows my name.15   When he calls to me, I will answer him;    I will be with him in trouble;    I will rescue him and honor him.16   With long life I will satisfy him    and show him my salvation.” How Great Are Your Works A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath. 92   It is good to give thanks to the LORD,    to sing praises to your name, O Most High;2   to declare your steadfast love in the morning,    and your faithfulness by night,3   to the music of the lute and the harp,    to the melody of the lyre.4   For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;    at the works of your hands I sing for joy. 5   How great are your works, O LORD!    Your thoughts are very deep!6   The stupid man cannot know;    the fool cannot understand this:7   that though the wicked sprout like grass    and all evildoers flourish,  they are doomed to destruction forever;8     but you, O LORD, are on high forever.9   For behold, your enemies, O LORD,    for behold, your enemies shall perish;    all evildoers shall be scattered. 10   But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;    you have poured over me3 fresh oil.11   My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;    my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants. 12   The righteous flourish like the palm tree    and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.13   They are planted in the house of the LORD;    they flourish in the courts of our God.14   They still bear fruit in old age;    they are ever full of sap and green,15   to declare that the LORD is upright;    he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Footnotes [1] 91:2 Septuagint He will say [2] 91:9 Or For you, O Lord, are my refuge! You have made the Most High your dwelling place [3] 92:10 Compare Syriac; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain (ESV) Old Testament: Jeremiah 11:1–8; Jeremiah 11:14–20 Jeremiah 11:1–8 (Listen) The Broken Covenant 11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.” 6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.” (ESV) Jeremiah 11:14–20 (Listen) 14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” 18   The LORD made it known to me and I knew;    then you showed me their deeds.19   But I was like a gentle lamb    led to the slaughter.  I did not know it was against me    they devised schemes, saying,  “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,    let us cut him off from the land of the living,    that his name be remembered no more.”20   But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,    who tests the heart and the mind,  let me see your vengeance upon them,    for to you have I committed my cause. (ESV) New Testament: Romans 6:1–11 Romans 6:1–11 (Listen) Dead to Sin, Alive to God 6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self1 was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free2 from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Footnotes [1] 6:6 Greek man [2] 6:7 Greek has been justified (ESV) Gospel: John 8:33–47 John 8:33–47 (Listen) 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free'?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave1 to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. 37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. 38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.” You Are of Your Father the Devil 39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. 41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. 43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? 47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.” Footnotes [1] 8:34 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; also verse 35 (ESV)

As we continue through the book of Matthew, this week Pastor Michael preaches out of chapter 19:1-12 on broken covenant and how Jesus approaches divorce. When working through topics like this, it is important to remember Romans 8:1, "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." We serve a God who wants to meet us in discomfort or pain. An important message!

Old Testament: Jeremiah 10–12 Jeremiah 10–12 (Listen) Idols and the Living God 10 Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the LORD:   “Learn not the way of the nations,    nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens    because the nations are dismayed at them,3   for the customs of the peoples are vanity.1  A tree from the forest is cut down    and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.4   They decorate it with silver and gold;    they fasten it with hammer and nails    so that it cannot move.5   Their idols2 are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,    and they cannot speak;  they have to be carried,    for they cannot walk.  Do not be afraid of them,    for they cannot do evil,    neither is it in them to do good.” 6   There is none like you, O LORD;    you are great, and your name is great in might.7   Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?    For this is your due;  for among all the wise ones of the nations    and in all their kingdoms    there is none like you.8   They are both stupid and foolish;    the instruction of idols is but wood!9   Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,    and gold from Uphaz.  They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;    their clothing is violet and purple;    they are all the work of skilled men.10   But the LORD is the true God;    he is the living God and the everlasting King.  At his wrath the earth quakes,    and the nations cannot endure his indignation. 11 Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”3 12   It is he who made the earth by his power,    who established the world by his wisdom,    and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.13   When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,    and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.  He makes lightning for the rain,    and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.14   Every man is stupid and without knowledge;    every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,  for his images are false,    and there is no breath in them.15   They are worthless, a work of delusion;    at the time of their punishment they shall perish.16   Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,    for he is the one who formed all things,  and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;    the LORD of hosts is his name. 17   Gather up your bundle from the ground,    O you who dwell under siege!18   For thus says the LORD:  “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land    at this time,  and I will bring distress on them,    that they may feel it.” 19   Woe is me because of my hurt!    My wound is grievous.  But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,    and I must bear it.”20   My tent is destroyed,    and all my cords are broken;  my children have gone from me,    and they are not;  there is no one to spread my tent again    and to set up my curtains.21   For the shepherds are stupid    and do not inquire of the LORD;  therefore they have not prospered,    and all their flock is scattered. 22   A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—    a great commotion out of the north country  to make the cities of Judah a desolation,    a lair of jackals. 23   I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself,    that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.24   Correct me, O LORD, but in justice;    not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. 25   Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,    and on the peoples that call not on your name,  for they have devoured Jacob;    they have devoured him and consumed him,    and have laid waste his habitation. The Broken Covenant 11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.” 6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.” 9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal. 14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” 18   The LORD made it known to me and I knew;    then you showed me their deeds.19   But I was like a gentle lamb    led to the slaughter.  I did not know it was against me    they devised schemes, saying,  “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,    let us cut him off from the land of the living,    that his name be remembered no more.”20   But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,    who tests the heart and the mind,  let me see your vengeance upon them,    for to you have I committed my cause. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand”—22 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.” Jeremiah's Complaint 12   Righteous are you, O LORD,    when I complain to you;    yet I would plead my case before you.  Why does the way of the wicked prosper?    Why do all who are treacherous thrive?2   You plant them, and they take root;    they grow and produce fruit;  you are near in their mouth    and far from their heart.3   But you, O LORD, know me;    you see me, and test my heart toward you.  Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,    and set them apart for the day of slaughter.4   How long will the land mourn    and the grass of every field wither?  For the evil of those who dwell in it    the beasts and the birds are swept away,    because they said, “He will not see our latter end.” The Lord Answers Jeremiah 5   “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,    how will you compete with horses?  And if in a safe land you are so trusting,    what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?6   For even your brothers and the house of your father,    even they have dealt treacherously with you;    they are in full cry after you;  do not believe them,    though they speak friendly words to you.” 7   “I have forsaken my house;    I have abandoned my heritage;  I have given the beloved of my soul    into the hands of her enemies.8   My heritage has become to me    like a lion in the forest;  she has lifted up her voice against me;    therefore I hate her.9   Is my heritage to me like a hyena's lair?    Are the birds of prey against her all around?  Go, assemble all the wild beasts;    bring them to devour.10   Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;    they have trampled down my portion;  they have made my pleasant portion    a desolate wilderness.11   They have made it a desolation;    desolate, it mourns to me.  The whole land is made desolate,    but no man lays it to heart.12   Upon all the bare heights in the desert    destroyers have come,  for the sword of the LORD devours    from one end of the land to the other;    no flesh has peace.13   They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;    they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.  They shall be ashamed of their4 harvests    because of the fierce anger of the LORD.” 14 Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the LORD lives,' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD.” Footnotes [1] 10:3 Or vapor, or mist [2] 10:5 Hebrew They [3] 10:11 This verse is in Aramaic [4] 12:13 Hebrew your (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 106:24–48 Psalm 106:24–48 (Listen) 24   Then they despised the pleasant land,    having no faith in his promise.25   They murmured in their tents,    and did not obey the voice of the LORD.26   Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,27   and would make their offspring fall among the nations,    scattering them among the lands. 28   Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;29   they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,    and a plague broke out among them.30   Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,    and the plague was stayed.31   And that was counted to him as righteousness    from generation to generation forever. 32   They angered him at the waters of Meribah,    and it went ill with Moses on their account,33   for they made his spirit bitter,1    and he spoke rashly with his lips. 34   They did not destroy the peoples,    as the LORD commanded them,35   but they mixed with the nations    and learned to do as they did.36   They served their idols,    which became a snare to them.37   They sacrificed their sons    and their daughters to the demons;38   they poured out innocent blood,    the blood of their sons and daughters,  whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,    and the land was polluted with blood.39   Thus they became unclean by their acts,    and played the whore in their deeds. 40   Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,    and he abhorred his heritage;41   he gave them into the hand of the nations,    so that those who hated them ruled over them.42   Their enemies oppressed them,    and they were brought into subjection under their power.43   Many times he delivered them,    but they were rebellious in their purposes    and were brought low through their iniquity. 44   Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,    when he heard their cry.45   For their sake he remembered his covenant,    and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.46   He caused them to be pitied    by all those who held them captive. 47   Save us, O LORD our God,    and gather us from among the nations,  that we may give thanks to your holy name    and glory in your praise. 48   Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,    from everlasting to everlasting!  And let all the people say, “Amen!”    Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 106:33 Or they rebelled against God's Spirit (ESV) New Testament: Romans 7 Romans 7 (Listen) Released from the Law 7 Or do you not know, brothers1—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 2 For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.2 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. 4 Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.<

Old Testament: Jeremiah 10–12 Jeremiah 10–12 (Listen) Idols and the Living God 10 Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the LORD:   “Learn not the way of the nations,    nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens    because the nations are dismayed at them,3   for the customs of the peoples are vanity.1  A tree from the forest is cut down    and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.4   They decorate it with silver and gold;    they fasten it with hammer and nails    so that it cannot move.5   Their idols2 are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,    and they cannot speak;  they have to be carried,    for they cannot walk.  Do not be afraid of them,    for they cannot do evil,    neither is it in them to do good.” 6   There is none like you, O LORD;    you are great, and your name is great in might.7   Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?    For this is your due;  for among all the wise ones of the nations    and in all their kingdoms    there is none like you.8   They are both stupid and foolish;    the instruction of idols is but wood!9   Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,    and gold from Uphaz.  They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;    their clothing is violet and purple;    they are all the work of skilled men.10   But the LORD is the true God;    he is the living God and the everlasting King.  At his wrath the earth quakes,    and the nations cannot endure his indignation. 11 Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”3 12   It is he who made the earth by his power,    who established the world by his wisdom,    and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.13   When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,    and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.  He makes lightning for the rain,    and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.14   Every man is stupid and without knowledge;    every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,  for his images are false,    and there is no breath in them.15   They are worthless, a work of delusion;    at the time of their punishment they shall perish.16   Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,    for he is the one who formed all things,  and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;    the LORD of hosts is his name. 17   Gather up your bundle from the ground,    O you who dwell under siege!18   For thus says the LORD:  “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land    at this time,  and I will bring distress on them,    that they may feel it.” 19   Woe is me because of my hurt!    My wound is grievous.  But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,    and I must bear it.”20   My tent is destroyed,    and all my cords are broken;  my children have gone from me,    and they are not;  there is no one to spread my tent again    and to set up my curtains.21   For the shepherds are stupid    and do not inquire of the LORD;  therefore they have not prospered,    and all their flock is scattered. 22   A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—    a great commotion out of the north country  to make the cities of Judah a desolation,    a lair of jackals. 23   I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself,    that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.24   Correct me, O LORD, but in justice;    not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. 25   Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,    and on the peoples that call not on your name,  for they have devoured Jacob;    they have devoured him and consumed him,    and have laid waste his habitation. The Broken Covenant 11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.” 6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.” 9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal. 14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” 18   The LORD made it known to me and I knew;    then you showed me their deeds.19   But I was like a gentle lamb    led to the slaughter.  I did not know it was against me    they devised schemes, saying,  “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,    let us cut him off from the land of the living,    that his name be remembered no more.”20   But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,    who tests the heart and the mind,  let me see your vengeance upon them,    for to you have I committed my cause. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand”—22 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.” Jeremiah's Complaint 12   Righteous are you, O LORD,    when I complain to you;    yet I would plead my case before you.  Why does the way of the wicked prosper?    Why do all who are treacherous thrive?2   You plant them, and they take root;    they grow and produce fruit;  you are near in their mouth    and far from their heart.3   But you, O LORD, know me;    you see me, and test my heart toward you.  Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,    and set them apart for the day of slaughter.4   How long will the land mourn    and the grass of every field wither?  For the evil of those who dwell in it    the beasts and the birds are swept away,    because they said, “He will not see our latter end.” The Lord Answers Jeremiah 5   “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,    how will you compete with horses?  And if in a safe land you are so trusting,    what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?6   For even your brothers and the house of your father,    even they have dealt treacherously with you;    they are in full cry after you;  do not believe them,    though they speak friendly words to you.” 7   “I have forsaken my house;    I have abandoned my heritage;  I have given the beloved of my soul    into the hands of her enemies.8   My heritage has become to me    like a lion in the forest;  she has lifted up her voice against me;    therefore I hate her.9   Is my heritage to me like a hyena's lair?    Are the birds of prey against her all around?  Go, assemble all the wild beasts;    bring them to devour.10   Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;    they have trampled down my portion;  they have made my pleasant portion    a desolate wilderness.11   They have made it a desolation;    desolate, it mourns to me.  The whole land is made desolate,    but no man lays it to heart.12   Upon all the bare heights in the desert    destroyers have come,  for the sword of the LORD devours    from one end of the land to the other;    no flesh has peace.13   They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;    they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.  They shall be ashamed of their4 harvests    because of the fierce anger of the LORD.” 14 Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the LORD lives,' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD.” Footnotes [1] 10:3 Or vapor, or mist [2] 10:5 Hebrew They [3] 10:11 This verse is in Aramaic [4] 12:13 Hebrew your (ESV) New Testament: 2 Peter 1:12–21 2 Peter 1:12–21 (Listen) 12 Therefore I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth that you have. 13 I think it right, as long as I am in this body,1 to stir you up by way of reminder, 14 since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me. 15 And I will make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things. Christ's Glory and the Prophetic Word 16 For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 17 For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, “This is my beloved Son,2 with whom I am well pleased,” 18 we ourselves heard this very voice borne from heaven, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, 20 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. Footnotes [1] 1:13 Greek tent; also verse 14 [2] 1:17 Or my Son, my (or the) Beloved (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 106:24–48 Psalm 106:24–48 (Listen) 24   Then they despised the pleasant land,    having no faith in his promise.25   They murmured in their tents,    and did not obey the voice of the LORD.26   Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them    that he would make them fall in the wilderness,27   and would make their offspring fall among the nations,    scattering them among the lands. 28   Then they yoked themselves to the Baal of Peor,    and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;29   they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,    and a plague broke out among them.30   Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,    and the plague was stayed.31   And that was counted to him as righteousness    from generation to generation forever. 32   They angered him at the waters of Meribah,    and it went ill with Moses on their account,33   for they made his spirit bitter,1    and he spoke rashly with his lips. 34   They did not destroy the peoples,    as the LORD commanded them,35   but they mixed with the nations    and learned to do as they did.36   They served their idols,    which became a snare to them.37   They sacrificed their sons    and their daughters to the demons;38   they poured out innocent blood,    the blood of their sons and daughters,  whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,    and the land was polluted with blood.39   Thus they became unclean by their acts,    and played the whore in their deeds. 40   Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,    and he abhorred his heritage;41   he gave them into the hand of the nations,    so that those who hated them ruled over them.42   Their enemies oppressed them,    and they were brought into subjection under their power.43   Many times he delivered them,    but they were rebellious in their purposes    and were brought low through their iniquity. 44   Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,    when he heard their cry.45   For their sake he remembered his covenant,    and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love.46   He caused them to be pitied    by all those who held them captive. 47   Save us, O LORD our God,    and gather us from among the nations,  that we may give thanks to your holy name    a

Morning: Jeremiah 11–13 Jeremiah 11–13 (Listen) The Broken Covenant 11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.” 6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.” 9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal. 14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” 18   The LORD made it known to me and I knew;    then you showed me their deeds.19   But I was like a gentle lamb    led to the slaughter.  I did not know it was against me    they devised schemes, saying,  “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,    let us cut him off from the land of the living,    that his name be remembered no more.”20   But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,    who tests the heart and the mind,  let me see your vengeance upon them,    for to you have I committed my cause. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand”—22 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.” Jeremiah's Complaint 12   Righteous are you, O LORD,    when I complain to you;    yet I would plead my case before you.  Why does the way of the wicked prosper?    Why do all who are treacherous thrive?2   You plant them, and they take root;    they grow and produce fruit;  you are near in their mouth    and far from their heart.3   But you, O LORD, know me;    you see me, and test my heart toward you.  Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,    and set them apart for the day of slaughter.4   How long will the land mourn    and the grass of every field wither?  For the evil of those who dwell in it    the beasts and the birds are swept away,    because they said, “He will not see our latter end.” The Lord Answers Jeremiah 5   “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,    how will you compete with horses?  And if in a safe land you are so trusting,    what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?6   For even your brothers and the house of your father,    even they have dealt treacherously with you;    they are in full cry after you;  do not believe them,    though they speak friendly words to you.” 7   “I have forsaken my house;    I have abandoned my heritage;  I have given the beloved of my soul    into the hands of her enemies.8   My heritage has become to me    like a lion in the forest;  she has lifted up her voice against me;    therefore I hate her.9   Is my heritage to me like a hyena's lair?    Are the birds of prey against her all around?  Go, assemble all the wild beasts;    bring them to devour.10   Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;    they have trampled down my portion;  they have made my pleasant portion    a desolate wilderness.11   They have made it a desolation;    desolate, it mourns to me.  The whole land is made desolate,    but no man lays it to heart.12   Upon all the bare heights in the desert    destroyers have come,  for the sword of the LORD devours    from one end of the land to the other;    no flesh has peace.13   They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;    they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.  They shall be ashamed of their1 harvests    because of the fierce anger of the LORD.” 14 Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the LORD lives,' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD.” The Ruined Loincloth 13 Thus says the LORD to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the LORD, and put it around my waist. 3 And the word of the LORD came to me a second time, 4 “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. 6 And after many days the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was spoiled; it was good for nothing. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 9 “Thus says the LORD: Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the LORD, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen. The Jars Filled with Wine 12 “You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”' And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that every jar will be filled with wine?' 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14 And I will dash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the LORD. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.'” Exile Threatened 15   Hear and give ear; be not proud,    for the LORD has spoken.16   Give glory to the LORD your God    before he brings darkness,  before your feet stumble    on the twilight mountains,  and while you look for light    he turns it into gloom    and makes it deep darkness.17   But if you will not listen,    my soul will weep in secret for your pride;  my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,    because the LORD's flock has been taken captive. 18   Say to the king and the queen mother:    “Take a lowly seat,  for your beautiful crown    has come down from your head.”19   The cities of the Negeb are shut up,    with none to open them;  all Judah is taken into exile,    wholly taken into exile. 20   “Lift up your eyes and see    those who come from the north.  Where is the flock that was given you,    your beautiful flock?21   What will you say when they set as head over you    those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?  Will not pangs take hold of you    like those of a woman in labor?22   And if you say in your heart,    ‘Why have these things come upon me?'  it is for the greatness of your iniquity    that your skirts are lifted up    and you suffer violence.23   Can the Ethiopian change his skin    or the leopard his spots?  Then also you can do good    who are accustomed to do evil.24   I will scatter you2 like chaff    driven by the wind from the desert.25   This is your lot,    the portion I have measured out to you, declares the LORD,  because you have forgotten me    and trusted in lies.26   I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,    and your shame will be seen.27   I have seen your abominations,    your adulteries and neighings, your lewd whorings,    on the hills in the field.  Woe to you, O Jerusalem!    How long will it be before you are made clean?” Footnotes [1] 12:13 Hebrew your [2] 13:24 Hebrew them (ESV) Evening: 1 Timothy 4 1 Timothy 4 (Listen) Some Will Depart from the Faith 4 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. A Good Servant of Christ Jesus 6 If you put these things before the brothers,1 you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. 7 Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; 8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. 9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. 10 For to this end we toil and strive,2 because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. 11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them,3 so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. Footnotes [1] 4:6 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters [2] 4:10 Some manuscripts and suffer reproach [3] 4:15 Greek be in them (ESV)

Jeremiah 10–13 Jeremiah 10–13 (Listen) Idols and the Living God 10 Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the LORD:   “Learn not the way of the nations,    nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens    because the nations are dismayed at them,3   for the customs of the peoples are vanity.1  A tree from the forest is cut down    and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.4   They decorate it with silver and gold;    they fasten it with hammer and nails    so that it cannot move.5   Their idols2 are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,    and they cannot speak;  they have to be carried,    for they cannot walk.  Do not be afraid of them,    for they cannot do evil,    neither is it in them to do good.” 6   There is none like you, O LORD;    you are great, and your name is great in might.7   Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?    For this is your due;  for among all the wise ones of the nations    and in all their kingdoms    there is none like you.8   They are both stupid and foolish;    the instruction of idols is but wood!9   Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,    and gold from Uphaz.  They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;    their clothing is violet and purple;    they are all the work of skilled men.10   But the LORD is the true God;    he is the living God and the everlasting King.  At his wrath the earth quakes,    and the nations cannot endure his indignation. 11 Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”3 12   It is he who made the earth by his power,    who established the world by his wisdom,    and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.13   When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,    and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.  He makes lightning for the rain,    and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.14   Every man is stupid and without knowledge;    every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,  for his images are false,    and there is no breath in them.15   They are worthless, a work of delusion;    at the time of their punishment they shall perish.16   Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,    for he is the one who formed all things,  and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;    the LORD of hosts is his name. 17   Gather up your bundle from the ground,    O you who dwell under siege!18   For thus says the LORD:  “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land    at this time,  and I will bring distress on them,    that they may feel it.” 19   Woe is me because of my hurt!    My wound is grievous.  But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,    and I must bear it.”20   My tent is destroyed,    and all my cords are broken;  my children have gone from me,    and they are not;  there is no one to spread my tent again    and to set up my curtains.21   For the shepherds are stupid    and do not inquire of the LORD;  therefore they have not prospered,    and all their flock is scattered. 22   A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—    a great commotion out of the north country  to make the cities of Judah a desolation,    a lair of jackals. 23   I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself,    that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.24   Correct me, O LORD, but in justice;    not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. 25   Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,    and on the peoples that call not on your name,  for they have devoured Jacob;    they have devoured him and consumed him,    and have laid waste his habitation. The Broken Covenant 11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.” 6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.” 9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal. 14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” 18   The LORD made it known to me and I knew;    then you showed me their deeds.19   But I was like a gentle lamb    led to the slaughter.  I did not know it was against me    they devised schemes, saying,  “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,    let us cut him off from the land of the living,    that his name be remembered no more.”20   But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,    who tests the heart and the mind,  let me see your vengeance upon them,    for to you have I committed my cause. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand”—22 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.” Jeremiah's Complaint 12   Righteous are you, O LORD,    when I complain to you;    yet I would plead my case before you.  Why does the way of the wicked prosper?    Why do all who are treacherous thrive?2   You plant them, and they take root;    they grow and produce fruit;  you are near in their mouth    and far from their heart.3   But you, O LORD, know me;    you see me, and test my heart toward you.  Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,    and set them apart for the day of slaughter.4   How long will the land mourn    and the grass of every field wither?  For the evil of those who dwell in it    the beasts and the birds are swept away,    because they said, “He will not see our latter end.” The Lord Answers Jeremiah 5   “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,    how will you compete with horses?  And if in a safe land you are so trusting,    what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?6   For even your brothers and the house of your father,    even they have dealt treacherously with you;    they are in full cry after you;  do not believe them,    though they speak friendly words to you.” 7   “I have forsaken my house;    I have abandoned my heritage;  I have given the beloved of my soul    into the hands of her enemies.8   My heritage has become to me    like a lion in the forest;  she has lifted up her voice against me;    therefore I hate her.9   Is my heritage to me like a hyena's lair?    Are the birds of prey against her all around?  Go, assemble all the wild beasts;    bring them to devour.10   Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;    they have trampled down my portion;  they have made my pleasant portion    a desolate wilderness.11   They have made it a desolation;    desolate, it mourns to me.  The whole land is made desolate,    but no man lays it to heart.12   Upon all the bare heights in the desert    destroyers have come,  for the sword of the LORD devours    from one end of the land to the other;    no flesh has peace.13   They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;    they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.  They shall be ashamed of their4 harvests    because of the fierce anger of the LORD.” 14 Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the LORD lives,' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD.” The Ruined Loincloth 13 Thus says the LORD to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the LORD, and put it around my waist. 3 And the word of the LORD came to me a second time, 4 “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. 6 And after many days the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was spoiled; it was good for nothing. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 9 “Thus says the LORD: Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the LORD, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen. The Jars Filled with Wine 12 “You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”' And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that every jar will be filled with wine?' 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14 And I will dash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the LORD. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.'” Exile Threatened 15   Hear and give ear; be not proud,    for the LORD has spoken.16   Give glory to the LORD your God    before he brings darkness,  before your feet stumble    on the twilight mountains,  and while you look for light    he turns it into gloom    and makes it deep darkness.17   But if you will not listen,    my soul will weep in secret for your pride;  my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,    because the LORD's flock has been taken captive. 18   Say to the king and the queen mother:    “Take a lowly seat,  for your beautiful crown    has come down from your head.”19   The cities of the Negeb are shut up,    with none to open them;  all Judah is taken into exile,    wholly taken into exile. 20   “Lift up your eyes and see    those who come from the north.  Where is the flock that was given you,    your beautiful flock?21   What will you say when they set as head over you    those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?  Will not pangs take hold of you    like those of a woman in labor?22   And if you say in your heart,    ‘Why have these things come upon me?'  it is for the greatness of your iniquity    that your skirts are lifted up    and you suffer violence.23   Can the Ethiopian change his skin    or the leopard his spots?  Then also you can do good    who are accustomed to do evil.24   I will scatter you5 like chaff    driven by the wind from the desert.25   This is your lot,    the portion I have measured out to you, declares the LORD,  because you have forgotten me    and trusted in lies.26   I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,    and your shame will be seen.27   I have seen your abominations,    your adulteries and neighings, your lewd whorings,    on the hills in the field.  Woe to you, O Jerusalem!    How long will it be before you are made clean?” Footnotes [1] 10:3 Or vapor, or mist [2] 10:5 Hebrew They [3] 10:11 This verse is in Aramaic [4] 12:13 Hebrew your [5] 13:24 Hebrew them (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Ecclesiastes 10 Ecclesiastes 10 (Listen) 10   Dead flies make the perfumer's ointment give off a stench;    so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.2   A wise man's heart inclines him to the right,    but a fool's heart to the left.3   Even when the fool walks on the road, he lacks sense,    and he says to everyone that he is a fool.4   If the anger of the ruler rises against you, do not leave your place,    for calmness1 will lay great offenses to rest. 5 There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, as it were an error proceeding from the ruler: 6 folly is set in many high places, and the rich sit in a low place. 7 I have seen slaves on horses, and princes walking on the ground like slaves. 8   He who digs a pit will fall into it,    and a serpent will bite him who breaks through a wall.9   He who quarries stones is hurt by them,    and he who splits logs is endangered by them.10   If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge,    he must use more strength,    but wisdom helps one to succeed.211   If the serpent bites before it is charmed,    there is no advantage to the charmer. 12   The words of a wise man's mouth win him favor,3    but the lips of a fool consume him.13   The beginning of the words of his mouth is foolishness,    and the end of his talk is evil madness.14   A fool multiplies words,    though no man knows what is to be,    and who can tell him what will be after him?15   The toil of a fool wearies him,    for he does not know the way to the city. 16   Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child,    and your princes feast in the morning!17   Happy are you, O land, when your king is the son of the nobility,    and your princes feast at the proper time,    for strength, and not for drunkenness!18   Through sloth the roof sinks in,    and through indolence the house leaks.19   Bread is made for laughter,    and wine gladdens life,    and money answers everything.20   Even in your thoughts, do not curse the king,    nor in your bedroom curse the rich,  for a bird of the air will carry your voice,    or some winged creature tell the matter. Footnotes [1] 10:4 Hebrew healing [2] 10:10 Or wisdom is an advantage for success [3] 10:12 Or are gracious (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Joshua 18–19 Joshua 18–19 (Listen) Allotment of the Remaining Land 18 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them. 2 There remained among the people of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. 3 So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you? 4 Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me. 5 They shall divide it into seven portions. Judah shall continue in his territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall continue in their territory on the north. 6 And you shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the LORD our God. 7 The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the LORD is their heritage. And Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them.” 8 So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go up and down in the land and write a description and return to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the LORD in Shiloh.” 9 So the men went and passed up and down in the land and wrote in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions. Then they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh, 10 and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD. And there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, to each his portion. The Inheritance for Benjamin 11 The lot of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to its clans came up, and the territory allotted to it fell between the people of Judah and the people of Joseph. 12 On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan. Then the boundary goes up to the shoulder north of Jericho, then up through the hill country westward, and it ends at the wilderness of Beth-aven. 13 From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the shoulder of Luz (that is, Bethel), then the boundary goes down to Ataroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower Beth-horon. 14 Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-horon, and it ends at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city belonging to the people of Judah. This forms the western side. 15 And the southern side begins at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim. And the boundary goes from there to Ephron,1 to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. 16 Then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the Valley of Rephaim. And it then goes down the Valley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites, and downward to En-rogel. 17 Then it bends in a northerly direction going on to En-shemesh, and from there goes to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim. Then it goes down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, 18 and passing on to the north of the shoulder of Beth-arabah2 it goes down to the Arabah. 19 Then the boundary passes on to the north of the shoulder of Beth-hoglah. And the boundary ends at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this is the southern border. 20 The Jordan forms its boundary on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin, according to their clans, boundary by boundary all around. 21 Now the cities of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to their clans were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, 22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, Geba—twelve cities with their villages: 25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zela, Haeleph, Jebus3 (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah4 and Kiriath-jearim5—fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin according to its clans. The Inheritance for Simeon 19 The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the people of Simeon, according to their clans, and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the people of Judah. 2 And they had for their inheritance Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, 3 Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, 4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5 Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, 6 Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—thirteen cities with their villages; 7 Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four cities with their villages, 8 together with all the villages around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the Negeb. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Simeon according to their clans. 9 The inheritance of the people of Simeon formed part of the territory of the people of Judah. Because the portion of the people of Judah was too large for them, the people of Simeon obtained an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance. The Inheritance for Zebulun 10 The third lot came up for the people of Zebulun, according to their clans. And the territory of their inheritance reached as far as Sarid. 11 Then their boundary goes up westward and on to Mareal and touches Dabbesheth, then the brook that is east of Jokneam. 12 From Sarid it goes in the other direction eastward toward the sunrise to the boundary of Chisloth-tabor. From there it goes to Daberath, then up to Japhia. 13 From there it passes along on the east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and going on to Rimmon it bends toward Neah, 14 then on the north the boundary turns about to Hannathon, and it ends at the Valley of Iphtahel; 15 and Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve cities with their villages. 16 This is the inheritance of the people of Zebulun, according to their clans—these cities with their villages. The Inheritance for Issachar 17 The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for the people of Issachar, according to their clans. 18 Their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, 19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21 Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, Beth-pazzez. 22 The boundary also touches Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and its boundary ends at the Jordan—sixteen cities with their villages. 23 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Issachar, according to their clans—the cities with their villages. The Inheritance for Asher 24 The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the people of Asher according to their clans. 25 Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, 26 Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. On the west it touches Carmel and Shihor-libnath, 27 then it turns eastward, it goes to Beth-dagon, and touches Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtahel northward to Beth-emek and Neiel. Then it continues in the north to Cabul, 28 Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, as far as Sidon the Great. 29 Then the boundary turns to Ramah, reaching to the fortified city of Tyre. Then the boundary turns to Hosah, and it ends at the sea; Mahalab,6 Achzib, 30 Ummah, Aphek and Rehob—twenty-two cities with their villages. 31 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Asher according to their clans—these cities with their villages. The Inheritance for Naphtali 32 The sixth lot came out for the people of Naphtali, for the people of Naphtali, according to their clans. 33 And their boundary ran from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, and Adami-nekeb, and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and it ended at the Jordan. 34 Then the boundary turns westward to Aznoth-tabor and goes from there to Hukkok, touching Zebulun at the south and Asher on the west and Judah on the east at the Jordan. 35 The fortified cities are Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37 Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, 38 Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh—nineteen cities with their villages. 39 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Naphtali according to their clans—the cities with their villages. The Inheritance for Dan 40 The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans. 41 And the territory of its inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, 46 and Me-jarkon and Rakkon with the territory over against Joppa. 47 When the territory of the people of Dan was lost to them, the people of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and after capturing it and striking it with the sword they took possession of it and settled in it, calling Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor. 48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans—these cities with their villages. The Inheritance for Joshua 49 When they had finished distributing the several territories of the land as inheritances, the people of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. 50 By command of the LORD they gave him the city that he asked, Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he rebuilt the city and settled in it. 51 These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel distributed by lot at Shiloh before the LORD, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land. Footnotes [1] 18:15 See 15:9; Hebrew westward [2] 18:18 Septuagint; Hebrew to the shoulder over against the Arabah [3] 18:28 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew the Jebusite [4] 18:28 Hebrew Gibeath [5] 18:28 Septuagint; Hebrew Kiriath [6] 19:29 Compare Septuagint; Hebrew Mehebel (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Jeremiah 11:1–17 Jeremiah 11:1–17 (Listen) The Broken Covenant 11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.” 6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.” 9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal. 14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Matthew 25 Matthew 25 (Listen) The Parable of the Ten Virgins 25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps1 and went to meet the bridegroom.2 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.' 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. The Parable of the Talents 14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants3 and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,4 to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.' 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.5 You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.' 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.' 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' The Final Judgment 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,6 you did it to me.' 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Footnotes [1] 25:1 Or torches [2] 25:1 Some manuscripts add and the bride [3] 25:14 Or bondservants; also verse 19 [4] 25:15 A talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years' wages for a laborer [5] 25:21 Or bondservant; also verses 23, 26, 30 [6] 25:40 Or brothers and sisters (ESV)

With family: Joshua 22; Acts 2 Joshua 22 (Listen) The Eastern Tribes Return Home 22 At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. 3 You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the LORD your God. 4 And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” 6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. 7 Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua had given a possession beside their brothers in the land west of the Jordan. And when Joshua sent them away to their homes and blessed them, 8 he said to them, “Go back to your tents with much wealth and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.” 9 So the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, parting from the people of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, their own land of which they had possessed themselves by command of the LORD through Moses. The Eastern Tribes' Altar of Witness 10 And when they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size. 11 And the people of Israel heard it said, “Behold, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built the altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the people of Israel.” 12 And when the people of Israel heard of it, the whole assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them. 13 Then the people of Israel sent to the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, 14 and with him ten chiefs, one from each of the tribal families of Israel, every one of them the head of a family among the clans of Israel. 15 And they came to the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and they said to them, 16 “Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD, ‘What is this breach of faith that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away this day from following the LORD by building yourselves an altar this day in rebellion against the LORD? 17 Have we not had enough of the sin at Peor from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and for which there came a plague upon the congregation of the LORD, 18 that you too must turn away this day from following the LORD? And if you too rebel against the LORD today then tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. 19 But now, if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over into the LORD's land where the LORD's tabernacle stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us. Only do not rebel against the LORD or make us as rebels by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the LORD our God. 20 Did not Achan the son of Zerah break faith in the matter of the devoted things, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone for his iniquity.'” 21 Then the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel, 22 “The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows; and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith against the LORD, do not spare us today 23 for building an altar to turn away from following the LORD. Or if we did so to offer burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings on it, may the LORD himself take vengeance. 24 No, but we did it from fear that in time to come your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? 25 For the LORD has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you people of Reuben and people of Gad. You have no portion in the LORD.' So your children might make our children cease to worship the LORD. 26 Therefore we said, ‘Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice, 27 but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we do perform the service of the LORD in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings, so your children will not say to our children in time to come, “You have no portion in the LORD.”' 28 And we thought, ‘If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we should say, “Behold, the copy of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you.”' 29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD and turn away this day from following the LORD by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the LORD our God that stands before his tabernacle!” 30 When Phinehas the priest and the chiefs of the congregation, the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the people of Manasseh spoke, it was good in their eyes. 31 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the people of Manasseh, “Today we know that the LORD is in our midst, because you have not committed this breach of faith against the LORD. Now you have delivered the people of Israel from the hand of the LORD.” 32 Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the chiefs, returned from the people of Reuben and the people of Gad in the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the people of Israel, and brought back word to them. 33 And the report was good in the eyes of the people of Israel. And the people of Israel blessed God and spoke no more of making war against them to destroy the land where the people of Reuben and the people of Gad were settled. 34 The people of Reuben and the people of Gad called the altar Witness, “For,” they said, “it is a witness between us that the LORD is God.” (ESV) Acts 2 (Listen) The Coming of the Holy Spirit 2 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested1 on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. 7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.” 12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.” Peter's Sermon at Pentecost 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words. 15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.2 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17   “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,  that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh,  and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,    and your young men shall see visions,    and your old men shall dream dreams;18   even on my male servants and female servants    in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.19   And I will show wonders in the heavens above    and signs on the earth below,    blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke;20   the sun shall be turned to darkness    and the moon to blood,    before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.21   And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.' 22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—23 this Jesus,3 delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him,   “‘I saw the Lord always before me,    for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;26   therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced;    my flesh also will dwell in hope.27   For you will not abandon my soul to Hades,    or let your Holy One see corruption.28   You have made known to me the paths of life;    you will make me full of gladness with your presence.' 29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing. 34 For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says,   “‘The Lord said to my Lord,  “Sit at my right hand,35     until I make your enemies your footstool.”' 36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. The Fellowship of the Believers 42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe4 came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. Footnotes [1] 2:3 Or And tongues as of fire appeared to them, distributed among them, and rested [2] 2:15 That is, 9 a.m. [3] 2:23 Greek this one [4] 2:43 Or fear (ESV) In private: Jeremiah 11; Matthew 25 Jeremiah 11 (Listen) The Broken Covenant 11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.” 6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.” 9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal. 14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” 18   The LORD made it known to me and I knew;    then you showed me their deeds.19   But I was like a gentle lamb    led to the slaughter.  I did not know it was against me    they devised schemes, saying,  “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,    let us cut him off from the land of the living,    that his name be remembered no more.”20   But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,    who tests the heart and the mind,  let me see your vengeance upon them,    for to you have I committed my cause. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand”—22 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.” (ESV) Matthew 25 (Listen) The Parable of the Ten Virgins 25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps1 and went to meet the bridegroom.2 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.' 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. The Parable of the Talents 14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants3 and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,4 to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.' 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.5 You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.' 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.' 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' The Final Judgment 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,6 you did it to me.' 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?' 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.' 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Footnotes [1] 25:1 Or torches [2] 25:1 Some manuscripts add and the bride [3] 25:14 Or bondservants; also verse 19 [4] 25:15 A talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years' wages for a laborer [5] 25:21 Or bondservant; also verses 23, 26, 30 [6] 25:40 Or brothers and sisters (ESV)

Jeremiah 10–13 Jeremiah 10–13 (Listen) Idols and the Living God 10 Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the LORD:   “Learn not the way of the nations,    nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens    because the nations are dismayed at them,3   for the customs of the peoples are vanity.1  A tree from the forest is cut down    and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.4   They decorate it with silver and gold;    they fasten it with hammer and nails    so that it cannot move.5   Their idols2 are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,    and they cannot speak;  they have to be carried,    for they cannot walk.  Do not be afraid of them,    for they cannot do evil,    neither is it in them to do good.” 6   There is none like you, O LORD;    you are great, and your name is great in might.7   Who would not fear you, O King of the nations?    For this is your due;  for among all the wise ones of the nations    and in all their kingdoms    there is none like you.8   They are both stupid and foolish;    the instruction of idols is but wood!9   Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,    and gold from Uphaz.  They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;    their clothing is violet and purple;    they are all the work of skilled men.10   But the LORD is the true God;    he is the living God and the everlasting King.  At his wrath the earth quakes,    and the nations cannot endure his indignation. 11 Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”3 12   It is he who made the earth by his power,    who established the world by his wisdom,    and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.13   When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,    and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.  He makes lightning for the rain,    and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.14   Every man is stupid and without knowledge;    every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,  for his images are false,    and there is no breath in them.15   They are worthless, a work of delusion;    at the time of their punishment they shall perish.16   Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,    for he is the one who formed all things,  and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;    the LORD of hosts is his name. 17   Gather up your bundle from the ground,    O you who dwell under siege!18   For thus says the LORD:  “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land    at this time,  and I will bring distress on them,    that they may feel it.” 19   Woe is me because of my hurt!    My wound is grievous.  But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,    and I must bear it.”20   My tent is destroyed,    and all my cords are broken;  my children have gone from me,    and they are not;  there is no one to spread my tent again    and to set up my curtains.21   For the shepherds are stupid    and do not inquire of the LORD;  therefore they have not prospered,    and all their flock is scattered. 22   A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—    a great commotion out of the north country  to make the cities of Judah a desolation,    a lair of jackals. 23   I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself,    that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.24   Correct me, O LORD, but in justice;    not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. 25   Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,    and on the peoples that call not on your name,  for they have devoured Jacob;    they have devoured him and consumed him,    and have laid waste his habitation. The Broken Covenant 11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, LORD.” 6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, Obey my voice. 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.” 9 Again the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. They have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the LORD, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, altars to make offerings to Baal. 14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult? 16 The LORD once called you ‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed. 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.” 18   The LORD made it known to me and I knew;    then you showed me their deeds.19   But I was like a gentle lamb    led to the slaughter.  I did not know it was against me    they devised schemes, saying,  “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,    let us cut him off from the land of the living,    that his name be remembered no more.”20   But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,    who tests the heart and the mind,  let me see your vengeance upon them,    for to you have I committed my cause. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, or you will die by our hand”—22 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.” Jeremiah's Complaint 12   Righteous are you, O LORD,    when I complain to you;    yet I would plead my case before you.  Why does the way of the wicked prosper?    Why do all who are treacherous thrive?2   You plant them, and they take root;    they grow and produce fruit;  you are near in their mouth    and far from their heart.3   But you, O LORD, know me;    you see me, and test my heart toward you.  Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,    and set them apart for the day of slaughter.4   How long will the land mourn    and the grass of every field wither?  For the evil of those who dwell in it    the beasts and the birds are swept away,    because they said, “He will not see our latter end.” The Lord Answers Jeremiah 5   “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,    how will you compete with horses?  And if in a safe land you are so trusting,    what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?6   For even your brothers and the house of your father,    even they have dealt treacherously with you;    they are in full cry after you;  do not believe them,    though they speak friendly words to you.” 7   “I have forsaken my house;    I have abandoned my heritage;  I have given the beloved of my soul    into the hands of her enemies.8   My heritage has become to me    like a lion in the forest;  she has lifted up her voice against me;    therefore I hate her.9   Is my heritage to me like a hyena's lair?    Are the birds of prey against her all around?  Go, assemble all the wild beasts;    bring them to devour.10   Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;    they have trampled down my portion;  they have made my pleasant portion    a desolate wilderness.11   They have made it a desolation;    desolate, it mourns to me.  The whole land is made desolate,    but no man lays it to heart.12   Upon all the bare heights in the desert    destroyers have come,  for the sword of the LORD devours    from one end of the land to the other;    no flesh has peace.13   They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;    they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.  They shall be ashamed of their4 harvests    because of the fierce anger of the LORD.” 14 Thus says the LORD concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, ‘As the LORD lives,' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the LORD.” The Ruined Loincloth 13 Thus says the LORD to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the LORD, and put it around my waist. 3 And the word of the LORD came to me a second time, 4 “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. 6 And after many days the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was spoiled; it was good for nothing. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 9 “Thus says the LORD: Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the LORD, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen. The Jars Filled with Wine 12 “You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”' And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that every jar will be filled with wine?' 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: the kings who sit on David's throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14 And I will dash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the LORD. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.'” Exile Threatened 15   Hear and give ear; be not proud,    for the LORD has spoken.16   Give glory to the LORD your God    before he brings darkness,  before your feet stumble    on the twilight mountains,  and while you look for light    he turns it into gloom    and makes it deep darkness.17   But if you will not listen,    my soul will weep in secret for your pride;  my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,    because the LORD's flock has been taken captive. 18   Say to the king and the queen mother:    “Take a lowly seat,  for your beautiful crown    has come down from your head.”19   The cities of the Negeb are shut up,    with none to open them;  all Judah is taken into exile,    wholly taken into exile. 20   “Lift up your eyes and see    those who come from the north.  Where is the flock that was given you,    your beautiful flock?21   What will you say when they set as head over you    those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?  Will not pangs take hold of you    like those of a woman in labor?22   And if you say in your heart,    ‘Why have these things come upon me?'  it is for the greatness of your iniquity    that your skirts are lifted up    and you suffer violence.23   Can the Ethiopian change his skin    or the leopard his spots?  Then also you can do good    who are accustomed to do evil.24   I will scatter you5 like chaff    driven by the wind from the desert.25   This is your lot,    the portion I have measured out to you, declares the LORD,  because you have forgotten me    and trusted in lies.26   I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,    and your shame will be seen.27   I have seen your abominations,    your adulteries and neighings, your lewd whorings,    on the hills in the field.  Woe to you, O Jerusalem!    How long will it be before you are made clean?” Footnotes [1] 10:3 Or vapor, or mist [2] 10:5 Hebrew They [3] 10:11 This verse is in Aramaic [4] 12:13 Hebrew your [5] 13:24 Hebrew them (ESV)

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