Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries by Pastor Ken Klaus, Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour "He Knows and Remembers" for Saturday, October 28, 2017
Psalm 139:1-6 - LORD, You have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; You discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, You know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.Most people I know forget things.
Me, I forget where I have placed my car keys, glasses, wallet, watch, and anything else that isn't surgically attached, along with these lesser things:
- at airports and shopping malls, I forget where I parked my car;
- I forget if I have closed my garage door;
- I forget names, including those of my children and my dog.
The next day the mother called police and confessed she was missing a child.
That was 12 hours after a lady had found the crying child and turned him into the Maze owners. The Maze owners went car-to-car and throughout the Maze trying to find the parents. Their job was made harder because the lad would only tell them his age and the names of his brother and his cat.
Eventually, the boy was handed over to the Department of Child and Family services.
According to the police, the child and mother live in a home with multiple families and a lot of children under the same roof. Still, even they were shocked when the boy's mother showed up with about ten children in tow. As of this writing, nobody knew if the boy was back with his family.
That story got me to thinking about the things which God remembers and those things He forgets.
I have to admit when you are speaking about the all-knowing Triune God, it is a challenge to find an example of anything which the Lord forgets. That being said, here is one which fits the bill. In Hebrews 8:12, the Lord gives this promise to His redeemed people: "For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more."
Another way of saying it is because of the sacrifice of His Son and the redemption of our souls which Jesus has won, the Lord absolutely remembers to forget our sins and the charges which once had destined our souls for hell.
And as far as the things which the Lord remembers, that list could go on forever. The Lord never forgets His covenant which bestows salvation; He remembers who we were before we were born. He recalls the hairs on our head and He knows the secrets of our hearts. The Lord knows us and remembers us and because He does there is hope and salvation for all who are brought to faith.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, it is a sad thing that humanity so regularly forgets You and all You have done for us. Open the eyes of the world so they may see all You have done to save them. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
The above devotion was inspired by a number of sources, including one written by Arden Dier for Newser on October 11, 2017. Those who wish to reference that article may do so at the following link, which was fully functional at the time this devotion was written: click here.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker Emeritus of The Lutheran Hour
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible in a Year Reading: Jeremiah 49, 13-22; Hebrews 3
Jeremiah 49:1 Concerning the people of ‘Amon, here is what Adonai says:
“Has Isra’el no sons?
Has he no heir?
Then why has Malkam inherited Gad,
with his people settled in its cities?
2 Therefore,” says Adonai, “the days are coming
when I will sound the battle alarm
against Rabbah and the people of ‘Amon;
it will become a tel of ruins,
her villages burned to the ground.
Then Isra’el will inherit from them
who disinherited him,” says Adonai.
3 “Wail, Heshbon, for ‘Ai is doomed!
Cry out, daughters of Rabbah!
Wear sackcloth and mourn,
running here and there among the sheep pens.
For Malkam will go into exile,
together with his priests and officers.
4 Why do you take such pride in the valleys,
your well-watered valleys, rebellious daughter?
You trusted in your riches
and thought, ‘Who can attack me?’
5 I am bringing terror on you,”
says Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot, “from every side.
Each of you will be driven out headlong,
with no one to gather the fugitives.
6 But afterwards, I will bring back
the exiles of ‘Amon,” says Adonai.
7 Concerning Edom, this is what Adonai-Tzva’ot says:
“Is there no wisdom left in Teman?
Have her wise men forgotten how to counsel?
Has their wisdom vanished?
8 Flee! Turn back! Hide yourselves well,
you who live in D’dan;
for I am bringing calamity on ‘Esav,
when the time for me to punish him comes.
9 If grape-pickers came to you,
they would leave no grapes for gleaning.
If thieves came at night,
they would destroy until they were satisfied.
10 So I, for my part, have stripped ‘Esav bare,
I have exposed his hiding-places;
he will not be able to hide himself.
He is doomed — sons, brothers and neighbors —
so that he is no more.
11 Leave your orphans; I will keep them alive;
let your widows trust in me.”
12 For this is what Adonai says: “Those who do not deserve to drink from this cup will have to drink it anyway, so should you go unpunished? No, you will not go unpunished; you will certainly drink it. 13 For I have sworn by myself,” says Adonai, “that Botzrah will become a ruin and an object of astonishment, reproach and cursing; all its cities will be ruins forever.”
14 I have heard a message from Adonai:
“A messenger is sent among the nations, saying:
‘Gather together, and march against her!
Prepare for battle!’
15 Here! I will make you least among nations,
the most despised of people.
16 Your capacity to terrorize
has deceived you and made you arrogant.
You make your home in the rocky crags
and seize the top of the mountain;
but even if you build your nest high as an eagle’s,
from there I will drag you down,” says Adonai.
17 Edom will become an object of horror;
everyone passing by will whistle
in astonishment at all its disasters.
18 It will be like the overthrow of S’dom,
‘Amora and their neighboring towns,” says Adonai.
“No one will settle there any more,
no human being will live there again.
19 It will be like a lion coming up from the thickets
of the Yarden against a strong settlement:
in an instant I will chase him away
and appoint over it whomever I choose.
For who is like me? Who can call me to account?
What shepherd can stand up to me?”
20 So hear the plan of Adonai
that he has devised against Edom,
and his purpose that he will accomplish
against those who live in Teman:
the least of the flock will drag them away;
their own pasture will be in shock at them.
21 The earth quakes at the sound of their fall;
their cry can be heard at the Sea of Suf.
22 Like a vulture he will soar, swoop down
and spread out his wings against Botzrah.
On that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
23 Concerning Dammesek:
“Hamat and Arpad are confused;
having heard bad news, they dissolve in fear,
like the churning sea, which cannot calm itself.
24 Dammesek, weakened, turns to flee;
trembling has seized her;
anguish and pain take hold of her
like the pains of a woman in labor.
25 How can a city so praised be deserted,
a city that gave me such joy?
26 Therefore her young men will fall in her squares,
and all her warriors be silenced on that day,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
27 “I will light a fire inside Dammesek’s walls
which will consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.”
28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hatzor, which N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel struck, Adonai says:
“Set out! March against Kedar!
Plunder the people of the east!
29 They will seize their tents and their flocks,
their tent curtains and all their equipment;
their camels too they will take for themselves
and shout at them, ‘Terror in every direction!’
30 Flee! Leave your homes! Hide yourselves well,
you who live in Hatzor,” says Adonai;
“for N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel
has devised a plan against you;
he has formed a scheme against you.
31 Get up! March on a nation at ease,
that lives secure,” says Adonai.
“They have neither gates nor bars;
they live in isolation.
32 Their camels will be booty,
their many cattle a spoil.
I will scatter to the winds
those who shave the sides of their heads;
From every direction I will bring
their disaster on them,” says Adonai.
33 “Hatzor will be a place for jackals to live,
desolate forever;
no one will settle there any more,
no human being will live there again.”
34 This is the word of Adonai that came to Yirmeyahu the prophet concerning ‘Eilam at the beginning of the reign of Tzidkiyahu king of Y’hudah: 35 “Adonai-Tzva’ot says:
‘I will break ‘Eilam’s bow,
the mainstay of their might.
36 I will bring against ‘Eilam the four winds
from the four quarters of the sky
and scatter them to all those winds.
There will not be one nation to which
the dispersed of ‘Eilam will not come.
37 I will break ‘Eilam before their foes,
before those who seek their lives;
I will bring disaster on them,
my burning anger,’ says Adonai.
‘I will send the sword to pursue them
until I have finished them off.
38 I will put my throne in ‘Eilam
and destroy their king and leaders,’ says Adonai.
39 ‘But in the acharit-hayamim,
I will bring back the exiles of ‘Eilam,’ says Adonai.”
13:1 Adonai said to me, “Go, buy yourself a linen loincloth, and wrap it around your body; but don’t soften it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth, as Adonai had said, and put it on.
3 Then the word of Adonai came to me a second time: 4 “Take the loincloth you bought and are wearing, get up, go to Parah, and hide it there in a hole in the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it in Parah, as Adonai had ordered me.
6 A long time afterwards, Adonai said to me, “Get up, go to Parah, and recover the loincloth I ordered you to hide there.” 7 So I went to Parah and dug up the loincloth; but when I took it from the place where I had hidden it, I saw that it was ruined and useless for anything. 8 Then the word of Adonai came to me: 9 “Here is what Adonai says: ‘This is how I will ruin what makes Y’hudah so proud and Yerushalayim so very proud: 10 I will ruin this evil people, who refuse to hear my words and live according to their own stubborn inclinations, who go after other gods to serve and worship them. They will be like this loincloth, which is useless for anything. 11 For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s body, I made the whole house of Isra’el and the whole house of Y’hudah cling to me,’ says Adonai, ‘so that they could be my people, building me a name and becoming for me a source of praise and honor. But they would not listen. 12 So you are to tell them, “This is what Adonai the God of Isra’el says: ‘Every bottle is filled with wine.’” Then when they ask you, “Don’t we already know that every bottle is filled with wine?” 13 you are to answer them, “This is what Adonai says: ‘I am going to fill all the inhabitants of this land — including the kings sitting on the throne of David, the cohanim, the prophets and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim — with drunkenness. 14 Then I will smash them one against another, even fathers and sons together,’ says Adonai ‘I will show neither pity nor compassion, but I will destroy them relentlessly.’”’”
15 Listen and pay attention; don’t be proud!
For Adonai has spoken.
16 Give glory to Adonai your God
before the darkness falls,
before your feet stumble
on the mountains in the twilight,
and, while you are seeking light,
he turns it into deathlike shadows
and makes it completely dark.
17 But if you will not hear this warning,
I will weep secretly because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly, streaming with tears,
because Adonai’s flock is carried away captive.
18 Tell the king and the queen mother,
“Come down from your thrones,
for your magnificent crowns
are falling from your heads.”
19 The cities of the Negev are besieged,
and no one can relieve them;
all of Y’hudah is carried into exile,
completely swept into exile.
20 Raise your eyes, and you will see them
coming from the north.
Where is the flock once entrusted to you,
the sheep that were your pride?
21 When he sets over you as rulers
those you trained to be allies,
what will you say? Won’t pains seize you
like those of a woman in labor?
22 And if you ask yourself,
“Why have these things happened to me?”
it is because of your many sins
that your skirts are pulled up and you have been violated.
23 Can an Ethiopian change his skin?
or a leopard its spots?
If they can, then you can do good,
who are so accustomed to doing evil.
24 “So I will scatter them like chaff
that flies away in the desert wind.
25 This is what you get,” says Adonai,
“the portion I measure out to you,
because you have forgotten me
and trusted in the lie.
26 I myself will lift your skirts above your face,
and your privates will be exposed.
27 On the hills and in the fields,
I have seen your abominations —
your adulteries, your lustful neighings
your shameless prostitution.
Woe to you, Yerushalayim!
You refuse to be purified!
Won’t you ever allow it?”
14:1 The word of Adonai that came to Yirmeyahu concerning the drought:
2 “Y’hudah is mourning, her gates are languishing;
they sit on the ground in gloom;
Yerushalayim sends up a cry of anguish.
3 Her nobles send their servants for water;
they go to the cisterns but find no water,
so they return with empty jars.
Ashamed and dismayed, they cover their heads.
4 Because of the ground, which is cracked,
since it has not rained in the land,
the farmers are ashamed;
they cover their heads.
5 The doe in the countryside, giving birth,
abandons her young for lack of grass.
6 The wild donkeys standing on the bare heights
gasp for air like jackals;
their eyes grow dim from trying to spot
any vegetation.”
7 Although our crimes witness against us,
take action, Adonai, for your name’s sake;
for our backslidings are many;
we have sinned against you.
8 You, hope of Isra’el,
its savior in time of trouble,
why should you be like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler turning aside for the night?
9 Why should you be like a man in shock,
like a champion unable to save?
You, Adonai, are right here with us;
we bear your name — don’t leave us!
10 Here is what Adonai says to this people:
“They so love to wander,
they don’t restrain their feet;
so Adonai does not want them.
Now he will remember their crimes,
and he will punish their sins.”
11 Then Adonai said to me, “Don’t pray for this people or for their welfare. 12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; when they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Rather, I will destroy them with war, famine and disease.” 13 Then I said, “Adonai, God! The prophets are telling them, ‘You won’t see war, and you won’t have famine; but I will give you secure peace in this place.’” 14 Adonai replied, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I didn’t send them, order them or speak to them. They are prophesying false visions to you, worthless divinations, the delusions of their own minds. 15 Therefore,” Adonai says, “concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, whom I did not send, yet they say, ‘There will be neither war nor famine in this land’ — it will be war and famine that will destroy those prophets. 16 And the people to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Yerushalayim because of the famine and war, with no one to bury them — them, or their wives, or their sons, or their daughters — because I will pour their own wickedness out upon them. 17 You are to give them this message:
‘Let my eyes stream with tears
night and day, unceasingly,
because the virgin daughter of my people
has been severely broken;
she has been dealt a crushing blow.
18 If I go out in the field,
I see those slain with the sword.
If I enter the city,
I see the victims of famine.
Meanwhile, prophets and cohanim
ply their trade in the land, knowing nothing.’”
19 Have you rejected Y’hudah completely?
Is Tziyon loathsome to you?
Why have you struck us irreparably?
We looked for peace, but to no avail;
for a time of healing, but instead found terror!
20 We confess our rebellion, Adonai,
also the crimes of our ancestors;
yes, we have sinned against you.
21 For your name’s sake, do not spurn us;
do not dishonor your glorious throne.
Remember your covenant with us;
do not break it.
22 Among the nations’ idols,
can any make it rain?
Can the skies, of themselves,
send showers?
Aren’t you the one,
Adonai, our God?
Don’t we look to you?
For you do all these things.
15:1 Then Adonai said to me, “Even if Moshe and Sh’mu’el were standing in front of me, my heart would not turn toward this people! Drive them out of my sight, get them out of here! 2 And when they ask you where they should go, tell them that this is what Adonai says:
‘Those destined for death — to death!
Those destined for the sword — to the sword!
Those destined for famine — to famine!
Those destined for captivity — to captivity!’
3 “I will assign them four kinds [of scourges],” says Adonai, “the sword to kill, dogs to drag away, birds in the air and wild animals to devour and destroy. 4 I will make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of M’nasheh the son of Hizkiyahu king of Y’hudah, because of what he did in Yerushalayim.
5 “Who will take pity on you, Yerushalayim?
Who will grieve for you?
Who will turn aside
to ask about your welfare?
6 You have rejected me,” says Adonai.
“You are heading backward.
So I am stretching out my hand against you;
tired of sparing you, I am destroying you.
7 With a winnowing fork I am scattering them
to the wind at the gates of the land;
I am bereaving them, destroying my people,
because they will not return from their ways.
8 Their widows increase in number
more than the sand of the seas;
At midday I am bringing the destroyer
on the mothers of young men,
causing anguish and terror
suddenly to fall upon her.
9 The mother of seven sons grows faint,
panting in despair;
her sun has gone down while it’s still daytime;
she is left disgraced and bewildered.
And the rest of them I will give to the sword,
to their enemies,” says Adonai.
10 Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth,
a man who is the object of strife
and controversy throughout the land!
I neither lend nor borrow,
yet all of them curse me.
11 Adonai said, “I promise to release you for good, I promise to make your enemies appeal to you when calamity and trouble come.
12 “Can iron break iron and bronze from the north? 13 I will give away your wealth and your treasures as plunder, and you will not be paid for them, because of all your sins throughout your territory; 14 and I will make you pass together with your enemies into a land you do not know. For my anger has become a blazing fire, and it will flare up against you.”
15 Adonai, you know. Remember me, think of me,
and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
Because you are patient, don’t banish me;
know that for your sake I suffer insults.
16 When I found your words, I devoured them;
your words made me glad, they gave me joy;
because, Adonai-Tzva’ot,
you had me bear your name.
17 I have never kept company with merrymakers,
I could not celebrate;
with your hand on me I sat by myself,
for you filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unending,
my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Will you be for me like a deceptive vadi,
which is only sometimes filled with water?
19 This is Adonai’s answer:
“If you return — if I bring you back —
you will stand before me.
If you separate the precious from the base,
you will be my spokesman.
It will then be they who turn to you,
not you who turn to them.
20 Toward this people I will make you
a fortified wall of bronze —
they will fight against you
but not prevail against you;
for I am with you to save you
and rescue you,” says Adonai.
21 “I will free you from the grasp of the wicked
and redeem you from the clutches of the ruthless.”
16:1 This word of Adonai came to me: 2 “You are not to marry or have sons and daughters in this place. 3 For this is what Adonai says concerning the sons and daughters born here, as well as their mothers who gave birth to them and their fathers who conceived them in this land: 4 ‘They will die terrible deaths without being mourned or buried; they will be left on the ground like dung. They will die by the sword and by famine, and their corpses will be food for the birds in the air and the wild animals.’
5 “For here is what Adonai says: ‘Do not enter any house where there is mourning; don’t lament them, and don’t grieve for them; for I have removed my shalom from this people, as well as my grace and compassion,’ says Adonai. 6 ‘Great and small alike will die in this land; they will not be buried, people will not lament them; nor will they cut their flesh or shave their heads for them. 7 No one will prepare a meal for those in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; and no one will give them a cup to drink, to console them for their father or mother.’ 8 And you are not to go into any house where there is celebrating to sit with them, eating and drinking. 9 For here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘In this place, while you are still alive, before your very eyes, I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bridegroom and bride.’
10 “When you tell this people all that I have said, and they ask you, ‘Why has Adonai decreed all this terrible disaster against us? What is our iniquity, what is our sin, that we have committed against Adonai our God?’ 11 then you are to say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors abandoned me, says Adonai, and went after other gods, serving and worshipping them, but abandoned me and did not keep my Torah. 12 And you have done worse than your ancestors, for — look! — each of you lives according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, so that you don’t listen to me. 13 Therefore I am thrusting you out of this land into a land you have not known, neither you nor your ancestors; and there you will serve other gods day and night; for I will show you no favor.’
14 “‘Therefore,’ says Adonai, ‘the day will come when people will no longer swear, “As Adonai lives, who brought the people of Isra’el out of the land of Egypt,” 15 but, “As Adonai lives, who brought the people of Isra’el out of the land to the north and out of all the countries where he drove them”; for I will bring them back to their own land, which I gave to their ancestors.
16 “‘Look,’ says Adonai, ‘I will send for many fishermen, and they will fish for them. Afterwards, I will send for many hunters; and they will hunt them from every mountain and hill and out of caves in the rocks. 17 For I see all their ways; they are not hidden from me; their crimes are not concealed from my eyes. 18 First, I will pay them back double for their crimes and sins; because they have defiled the land which is mine; they have filled my heritage with the corpses of their horrors and abominations.’”
19 Adonai, my strength, my fortress,
my refuge in time of trouble,
the nations will come to you
from the ends of the earth, saying,
“Our ancestors inherited nothing but lies,
futile idols, completely useless.”
20 Can a person make himself gods?
(In fact they aren’t gods at all.)
21 “Therefore, I will make them know,
once and for all, I will make them know
my power and my might.
Then they will know that my name is Adonai.
17:1 “Y’hudah’s sin is written with an iron pen;
with a diamond point it is engraved
on the tablet of their hearts
and on the horns of your altars.
2 As they remember their children,
so they remember their altars
and their sacred poles by the green trees
on the high hills.
3 My mountain in the field, your wealth
and all your treasures will be plundered;
because of the sin of your high places
throughout your territory.
4 You will relinquish your hold
on your heritage which I gave you.
I will make you serve your enemies
in a land you do not know.
For you have kindled my fiery anger,
and it will burn forever.”
5 Here is what Adonai says:
“A curse on the person who trusts in humans,
who relies on merely human strength,
whose heart turns away from Adonai.
6 He will be like a tamarisk in the ‘Aravah —
when relief comes, it is unaffected;
for it lives in the sun-baked desert,
in salty, uninhabited land.
7 Blessed is the man who trusts in Adonai;
Adonai will be his security.
8 He will be like a tree planted near water;
it spreads out its roots by the river;
it does not notice when heat comes;
and its foliage is luxuriant;
it is not anxious in a year of drought
but keeps on yielding fruit.
9 “The heart is more deceitful than anything else
and mortally sick. Who can fathom it?
10 I, Adonai, search the heart;
I test inner motivations;
in order to give to everyone
what his actions and conduct deserve.”
11 A partridge hatches eggs it did not lay;
like this are those who get rich unjustly:
in the prime of life their wealth will desert them;
in the end they will prove to be fools.
12 Throne of Glory,
exalted from the beginning!
Our Holy Sanctuary,
13 Hope of Isra’el, Adonai!
All who abandon you will be ashamed,
those who leave you will be inscribed in the dust,
because they have abandoned Adonai,
the source of living water.
14 Heal me, Adonai, and I will be healed;
save me, and I will be saved,
for you are my praise.
15 They keep asking me,
“Where is the word of Adonai?
Let it come now.”
16 As for me, I have not run away
from being a shepherd who follows you;
you know I didn’t want this fatal day;
what came from my lips has been clear to you.
17 So do not be my ruin,
you, my refuge on the day of disaster.
18 Let my persecutors be ashamed, not me;
let them be terrified, not me.
Bring on them the day of disaster,
destroy them with double destruction.
19 Then Adonai said this to me: “Go, and stand at the People’s Gate, where the kings of Y’hudah go in and out, and at all the gates of Yerushalayim; 20 and say to them: ‘Kings of Y’hudah, all Y’hudah and all living in Yerushalayim who enter through these gates, hear the word of Adonai! 21 Here is what Adonai says: “If you value your lives, don’t carry anything on Shabbat or bring it in through the gates of Yerushalayim; 22 don’t carry anything out of your houses on Shabbat; and don’t do any work. Instead, make Shabbat a holy day. I ordered your ancestors to do this, 23 but they neither listened nor paid attention; rather, they stiffened their necks, so that they wouldn’t have to hear or receive instruction. 24 However, if you will pay careful heed to me,” says Adonai “and carry nothing through the gates of this city on Shabbat, but instead make Shabbat a day which is holy and not for doing work; 25 then kings and princes occupying the throne of David will enter through the gates of this city, riding in chariots and on horses. They, their princes, the people of Y’hudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim will enter; and this city will be inhabited forever. 26 They will come from the cities of Y’hudah, from the places surrounding Yerushalayim, from the land of Binyamin, from the Sh’felah, from the hills and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, frankincense and thanksgiving sacrifices to the house of Adonai. 27 But if you will not obey me and make Shabbat a holy day and not carry loads through the gates of Yerushalayim on Shabbat, then I will set its gates on fire; it will burn up the palaces of Yerushalayim and not be quenched.”’”
18:1 This word came to Yirmeyahu from Adonai: 2 “Get up, and go down to the potter’s house; there I will tell you more.” 3 So I went down to the house of the potter; and there he was, working at the wheels. 4 Whenever a pot he made came out imperfect, the potter took the clay and made another pot with it, in whatever shape suited him.
5 Then the word of Adonai came to me: 6 “House of Isra’el, can’t I deal with you as the potter deals with his clay? — says Adonai. Look! You, house of Isra’el, are the same in my hand as the clay in the potter’s hand. 7 At one time, I may speak about uprooting, breaking down and destroying a nation or kingdom; 8 but if that nation turns from their evil, which prompted me to speak against it, then I relent concerning the disaster I had planned to inflict on it. 9 Similarly, at another time, I may speak about building and planting a nation or kingdom; 10 but if it behaves wickedly from my perspective and doesn’t listen to what I say, then I change my mind and don’t do the good I said I would do that would have helped it.
11 “So now, tell the people of Y’hudah and those living in Yerushalayim that this is what Adonai says:
‘I am designing disaster for you,
working out my plan against you.
Turn, each of you, from his evil ways;
improve your conduct and actions.’
12 “But they will answer, ‘It’s hopeless!
We will stick to our own plans;
each of us will stubbornly follow
his own evil desires!’
13 “Therefore, Adonai says this:
‘Ask among the nations
who has heard anything like this.
The virgin Isra’el has done
a most horrible thing.
14 Does the snow of the L’vanon
disappear from the mountain crags?
Do the cold waters of foreign lands
ever run dry?
15 No, but my people have forgotten me
and offer incense to nothings.
This causes them to stumble
as they walk the ancient paths;
they leave the highway
to walk on side-trails.
16 Thus they make their land an object of horror
and ongoing ridicule.
Passers-by shake their heads,
appalled, every one.
17 Like a strong east wind, I will scatter them
before the enemy.
I will see their back, not their face,
on their day of disaster.’”
18 Then they said, “Let’s develop a plan for dealing with Yirmeyahu. Torah won’t be lost from the cohanim, or counsel from the wise, or words from the prophets. So come, let’s destroy him with slander; and meanwhile, we won’t pay attention to anything he says.”
19 Pay attention to me, Adonai!
Listen to what my opponents are saying!
20 Is good to be repaid with evil?
For they have dug a pit [to trap] me.
Remember how I stood before you
and spoke well of them,
in order to turn your anger
away from them?
21 Therefore, hand their sons over to famine,
hurl them into the power of the sword,
let their wives be made childless and widows,
let their husbands be slain by disease,
let their young men be slain by the sword in battle,
22 let screams be heard from their houses
when you bring raiders on them without warning.
For they have dug a pit to catch me
and have laid snares for my feet.
23 Nevertheless, Adonai, you know
all their plans against me to stop me.
Do not forgive their crime,
do not blot out their sin from your sight;
but let them be made to stumble before you;
deal with them when you are angry.
19:1 Adonai then said, “Go; buy a clay jar from the potter; take some of the people’s leaders and some of the leading cohanim; 2 and go out into the Ben-Hinnom Valley, by the entry to the Potsherd Gate. There you are to proclaim the words I am about to tell you. 3 Say: ‘Hear the word of Adonai, kings of Y’hudah and inhabitants of Yerushalayim! This is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: “I am about to bring disaster on this place that will make the ears of whoever hears about it ring. 4 This is because they have abandoned me and alienated this place. In it they have offered to other gods that neither they nor their ancestors have known, nor the kings of Y’hudah. They have filled this place with the blood of innocent people. 5 They have built the high places of Ba‘al, in order to burn up their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Ba‘al — something I never ordered or said; it never even entered my mind.
6 “‘“Therefore the time is coming,” says Adonai, “when this place will no longer be called either Tofet or the Ben-Hinnom Valley, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 I will nullify the plans of Y’hudah and Yerushalayim in this place. I will have them fall by the sword before their enemies and at the hand of those seeking their lives, and I will give their corpses as food for the birds in the air and the wild animals. 8 I will make this city an object of horror and ridicule; everyone passing by will be horrified and will ridicule it because of all its wounds. 9 I will cause them to eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters; everyone will be eating the flesh of his friends during the siege, because of the shortage imposed on them by their enemies and those set on killing them.”’
10 “Then you are to smash the jar in front of the people who went with you, 11 and say to them, ‘Adonai-Tzva’ot says that this is how I will break this people and this city, just as one smashes a potter’s vessel beyond the possibility of repair. The dead will be buried in Tofet, because there will be no space left for burial [anywhere else]. 12 That is what I will do to this place,’ says Adonai ‘and to its inhabitants; I will make it like Tofet. 13 The houses of Yerushalayim and those of the kings of Y’hudah will be defiled like this place Tofet — yes, all the houses on whose roofs they have offered to all the stars in heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’”
14 Then Yirmeyahu returned from Tofet, where Adonai had sent him to prophesy, stood in the courtyard of Adonai’s house and said to all the people, 15 “This is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘I am bringing on this city and all its surrounding villages all the disaster I have pronounced against it; because they have stiffened their necks and refused to pay attention to my words.’”
20:1 Now when the cohen Pash’chur son of Immer, chief official in the house of Adonai, heard Yirmeyahu prophesying these things, 2 he had him flogged and put him in the stocks at the Upper Binyamin Gate of the house of Adonai. 3 The following morning, when Pash’chur led Yirmeyahu out of the stocks, Yirmeyahu said to him, “Adonai no longer calls you Pash’chur but Magor-Missaviv [terror on every side]. 4 For this is what Adonai says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies, while you watch. I will hand over all of Y’hudah to the king of Bavel, and he will carry them off captive to Bavel and put them to the sword. 5 Moreover, I will hand over everything stored in this city, all its valuables, all its wealth, indeed all the treasures of the kings of Y’hudah, to their enemies, who will plunder them, take them and carry them to Bavel. 6 And you, Pash’chur, along with your entire household, will go into captivity; you will go to Bavel, where you will die and be buried — you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’”
7 You fooled me, Adonai; I have been your dupe.
You overpowered me, and you have prevailed.
All day long I’m a laughingstock;
everyone makes fun of me.
8 Whenever I speak, I have to cry out;
I shout, “Violence!” and “Destruction!”
Thus the word of Adonai becomes for me
the cause of reproach and derision all day!
9 But if I say, “I won’t think about him,
I won’t speak in his name any more,”
then it seems as though a fire
is burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones;
I wear myself out
trying to hold it in,
but I just can’t do it.
10 I have heard many whispering their plot:
“‘Terror in every direction’?
Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!”
Even all my close friends
are watching for me to make a false step —
“Maybe he can be tricked,
then we’ll get the better of him,
then we’ll take our revenge on him.”
11 But Adonai is with me like a dreaded warrior;
so my persecutors will stumble, defeated,
greatly ashamed because of their failure;
their lasting disgrace will not be forgotten.
12 Adonai-Tzva’ot, you who test the righteous
and see people’s hearts and thoughts,
let me see you take vengeance on them,
for I have committed my cause to you.
13 Sing to Adonai! Praise Adonai!
For he rescues those in need
from the clutches of evildoers.
14 A curse on the day I was born!
The day my mother gave birth to me —
let it not be blessed!
15 A curse on the man who brought the news
to my father, “A son has been born to you!” —
thus making him very happy.
16 Let that man be like the cities
Adonai overthrew without mercy!
Let him hear cries of alarm in the morning
and the sound of battle at noon,
17 because God did not put me to death in the womb
and let my mother become my grave,
her womb forever filled with me.
18 Why did I have to emerge from the womb,
just to see toil and sorrow,
and end my days in shame?
21:1 This is the word that came to Yirmeyahu from Adonai when King Tzidkiyahu sent to him Pash’chur the son of Malkiyah and Tz’fanyah the son of Ma‘aseiyah with this message: 2 “Please consult Adonai for us, because N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel is making war on us. Maybe Adonai will perform a miracle for us and cause him to withdraw.”
3 Yirmeyahu answered them, “Here is what you are to tell Tzidkiyahu: 4 ‘This is what Adonai, the God of Isra’el, says: “I will make the weapons of war that you have in your hands ineffectual in your fight against the king of Bavel and the Kasdim who are outside the walls besieging you. Instead, I will gather them inside this city; 5 and I myself will fight against you with my hand stretched out and with a strong arm, in anger, rage and great fury. 6 I will strike the inhabitants of this city, humans and animals alike, and they will die of a terrible plague. 7 Afterwards,” says Adonai “I will hand over Tzidkiyahu king of Y’hudah, his servants, the people, and anyone remaining alive in this city after the plague, war and famine, to N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel and to their enemies, to those who seek their lives; and he will put them to the sword. He will not spare them; he will have no pity, no compassion.”’
8 “And here is what you are to tell this people: ‘Adonai says: “Look! I am presenting you with the way of life and the way of death. 9 Anyone who stays in this city will die by sword, famine and plague. But he who leaves and surrenders to the Kasdim besieging you will stay alive; his own life will be his only ‘spoils of war.’ 10 For I have determined absolutely that this city will have evil, not good,” says Adonai. “It is going to be handed over to the king of Bavel, and he will burn it to the ground.”’
11 “To the royal house of Y’hudah say: ‘Hear the word of Adonai; 12 house of David, this is what Adonai says:
“Judge fairly every morning,
rescue the wronged from their oppressors;
or my fury will lash out like fire,
burning so hot that no one can quench it,
because of how evil your actions are.”
13 Adonai says, “I am against you, [Yerushalayim,]
situated in a valley like a rock on a plain.
You who say, ‘Who can come down against us?
Who can enter our lairs?’ —
14 I will punish you,” says Adonai,
“as your deeds deserve.
I will set its forest on fire,
and it will devour everything around it.”’”
22:1 Adonai said, “Go down to the house of the king of Y’hudah and there speak this word: 2 ‘King of Y’hudah occupying David’s throne, hear the word of Adonai — you, your servants and your people who enter through these gates. 3 This is what Adonai says:
“Do what is right and just;
rescue the wronged from their oppressors;
do nothing wrong or violent
to the stranger, orphan or widow;
don’t shed innocent blood in this place.
4 “‘“If you are careful to do this, then future kings occupying David’s throne will enter these palace gates riding in chariots and on horses — he, his servants and his people. 5 But if you will not pay attention to these words, then I swear by myself,” says Adonai, “that this palace will become a ruin.”’
6 “For here is what Adonai says concerning the palace of the king of Y’hudah:
‘You are like Gil‘ad to me,
like the peak of the L’vanon;
yet I will turn you into a desert,
uninhabited cities.
7 I will designate men to destroy you,
each one with his weapons;
they will chop down your choice cedars
and throw them in the fire.’
8 “Many nations will pass by this city, and they will say to one another, ‘Why has Adonai done such a thing to this great city?’ 9 The answer will be, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of Adonai their God and worshipped other gods, serving them.’”
10 Do not weep for [the king] who has died,
do not mourn for him [Yoshiyahu].
But weep for him who departs [to Egypt],
for he will never return
or see his native land again.
11 For this is what Adonai says about Shalum the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah, who succeeded Yoshiyahu his father as king: “He has left this place, never to return; 12 but he will die in the place where they have led him captive, without seeing this land again.
13 “Woe to him who builds his palace unfairly,
its upper rooms by injustice;
who makes his neighbor work for free
and will not give him his wages;
14 who says, ‘I will build me a spacious palace
with airy upper rooms,’
then makes windows and cedar panels
painted with vermilion!
15 Your cedar may be excellent,
but that doesn’t make you a better king.
True, your father ate and drank,
but he also did what was right and just,
so things went well with him.
16 He upheld the cause of the poor and the weak,
so everything went well.
Isn’t that what knowing me
is all about?” says Adonai.
17 “In contrast, your eyes and heart
are controlled entirely by your greed,
your desire for shedding innocent blood,
oppressing and extorting.”
18 Therefore here is what Adonai says concerning Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah:
“There will be no one to mourn for him,
‘Oh! My brother!’ or ‘Oh! My sister!’
There will be no one to mourn for him,
‘Oh! My master!’ or ‘Oh! His glory!’
19 He will be given a donkey’s ‘burial’ —
dragged out the gates of Yerushalayim
and thrown away [to rot].
20 Climb up to the L’vanon and cry out,
raise your voice in Bashan,
cry out from ‘Avarim,
for all your lovers are broken.
21 I spoke to you in your times of prosperity,
but you said, ‘I won’t listen.’
This has been your pattern since you were young —
you pay no attention to what I say.
22 The wind will shepherd all your shepherds away,
and your lovers will go into captivity.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced
for all your wicked deeds.
23 You who live in the L’vanon,
nesting in the cedars,
how gracious will you be
when pains come on you like a woman in labor?
24 “As I live,” says Adonai, “even if Koniyahu the son of Y’hoyakim king of Y’hudah were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off 25 and hand you over to those who seek your life, to those you fear, N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel and the Kasdim. 26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave birth to you into a country different from the one you were born in, and you will die there. 27 They will not return to the country to which they long to return.”
28 Is this man Koniyahu
a despised, broken pot,
an instrument nobody wants?
Why are they being thrown out?
Why are he and his offspring thrown out
into a country they do not know?
29 Oh, land, land, land!
Hear the word of Adonai!
30 This what Adonai says:
“List this man as childless;
he is a lifetime failure —
none of his offspring will succeed,
none will sit on David’s throne
or rule again in Y’hudah.”
Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, brothers whom God has set apart, who share in the call from heaven, think carefully about Yeshua, whom we acknowledge publicly as God’s emissary and as cohen gadol. 2 He was faithful to God, who appointed him; just as
“Moshe was faithful in all God’s house.”[Hebrews 3:2 Numbers 12:7]
3 But Yeshua deserves more honor than Moshe, just as the builder of the house deserves more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone, but the one who built everything is God.
5 Also, Moshe was faithful in all God’s house, as a servant giving witness to things God would divulge later. 6 But the Messiah, as Son, was faithful over God’s house. And we are that house of his, provided we hold firmly to the courage and confidence inspired by what we hope for.
7 Therefore, as the Ruach HaKodesh says,
“Today, if you hear God’s voice,
8 don’t harden your hearts, as you did in the Bitter Quarrel
on that day in the Wilderness when you put God to the test.
9 Yes, your fathers put me to the test;
they challenged me, and they saw my work for forty years!
10 Therefore, I was disgusted with that generation —
I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
they have not understood how I do things’;
11 in my anger, I swore
that they would not enter my rest.”[Hebrews 3:11 Psalm 95:7–11]
12 Watch out, brothers, so that there will not be in any one of you an evil heart lacking trust, which could lead you to apostatize from the living God! 13 Instead, keep exhorting each other every day, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you will become hardened by the deceit of sin. 14 For we have become sharers in the Messiah, provided, however, that we hold firmly to the conviction we began with, right through until the goal is reached.
15 Now where it says,
“Today, if you hear God’s voice,
don’t harden your hearts, as you did in the Bitter Quarrel,” [Hebrews 3:15 Psalm 95:7–8]
16 who were the people who, after they heard, quarreled so bitterly? All those whom Moshe brought out of Egypt. 17 And with whom was God disgusted for forty years? Those who sinned — yes, they fell dead in the Wilderness! 18 And to whom was it that he swore that they would not enter his rest? Those who were disobedient. 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of lack of trust.
-------
“Has Isra’el no sons?
Has he no heir?
Then why has Malkam inherited Gad,
with his people settled in its cities?
2 Therefore,” says Adonai, “the days are coming
when I will sound the battle alarm
against Rabbah and the people of ‘Amon;
it will become a tel of ruins,
her villages burned to the ground.
Then Isra’el will inherit from them
who disinherited him,” says Adonai.
3 “Wail, Heshbon, for ‘Ai is doomed!
Cry out, daughters of Rabbah!
Wear sackcloth and mourn,
running here and there among the sheep pens.
For Malkam will go into exile,
together with his priests and officers.
4 Why do you take such pride in the valleys,
your well-watered valleys, rebellious daughter?
You trusted in your riches
and thought, ‘Who can attack me?’
5 I am bringing terror on you,”
says Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot, “from every side.
Each of you will be driven out headlong,
with no one to gather the fugitives.
6 But afterwards, I will bring back
the exiles of ‘Amon,” says Adonai.
7 Concerning Edom, this is what Adonai-Tzva’ot says:
“Is there no wisdom left in Teman?
Have her wise men forgotten how to counsel?
Has their wisdom vanished?
8 Flee! Turn back! Hide yourselves well,
you who live in D’dan;
for I am bringing calamity on ‘Esav,
when the time for me to punish him comes.
9 If grape-pickers came to you,
they would leave no grapes for gleaning.
If thieves came at night,
they would destroy until they were satisfied.
10 So I, for my part, have stripped ‘Esav bare,
I have exposed his hiding-places;
he will not be able to hide himself.
He is doomed — sons, brothers and neighbors —
so that he is no more.
11 Leave your orphans; I will keep them alive;
let your widows trust in me.”
12 For this is what Adonai says: “Those who do not deserve to drink from this cup will have to drink it anyway, so should you go unpunished? No, you will not go unpunished; you will certainly drink it. 13 For I have sworn by myself,” says Adonai, “that Botzrah will become a ruin and an object of astonishment, reproach and cursing; all its cities will be ruins forever.”
14 I have heard a message from Adonai:
“A messenger is sent among the nations, saying:
‘Gather together, and march against her!
Prepare for battle!’
15 Here! I will make you least among nations,
the most despised of people.
16 Your capacity to terrorize
has deceived you and made you arrogant.
You make your home in the rocky crags
and seize the top of the mountain;
but even if you build your nest high as an eagle’s,
from there I will drag you down,” says Adonai.
17 Edom will become an object of horror;
everyone passing by will whistle
in astonishment at all its disasters.
18 It will be like the overthrow of S’dom,
‘Amora and their neighboring towns,” says Adonai.
“No one will settle there any more,
no human being will live there again.
19 It will be like a lion coming up from the thickets
of the Yarden against a strong settlement:
in an instant I will chase him away
and appoint over it whomever I choose.
For who is like me? Who can call me to account?
What shepherd can stand up to me?”
20 So hear the plan of Adonai
that he has devised against Edom,
and his purpose that he will accomplish
against those who live in Teman:
the least of the flock will drag them away;
their own pasture will be in shock at them.
21 The earth quakes at the sound of their fall;
their cry can be heard at the Sea of Suf.
22 Like a vulture he will soar, swoop down
and spread out his wings against Botzrah.
On that day the hearts of Edom’s warriors
will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
23 Concerning Dammesek:
“Hamat and Arpad are confused;
having heard bad news, they dissolve in fear,
like the churning sea, which cannot calm itself.
24 Dammesek, weakened, turns to flee;
trembling has seized her;
anguish and pain take hold of her
like the pains of a woman in labor.
25 How can a city so praised be deserted,
a city that gave me such joy?
26 Therefore her young men will fall in her squares,
and all her warriors be silenced on that day,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
27 “I will light a fire inside Dammesek’s walls
which will consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.”
28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hatzor, which N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel struck, Adonai says:
“Set out! March against Kedar!
Plunder the people of the east!
29 They will seize their tents and their flocks,
their tent curtains and all their equipment;
their camels too they will take for themselves
and shout at them, ‘Terror in every direction!’
30 Flee! Leave your homes! Hide yourselves well,
you who live in Hatzor,” says Adonai;
“for N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel
has devised a plan against you;
he has formed a scheme against you.
31 Get up! March on a nation at ease,
that lives secure,” says Adonai.
“They have neither gates nor bars;
they live in isolation.
32 Their camels will be booty,
their many cattle a spoil.
I will scatter to the winds
those who shave the sides of their heads;
From every direction I will bring
their disaster on them,” says Adonai.
33 “Hatzor will be a place for jackals to live,
desolate forever;
no one will settle there any more,
no human being will live there again.”
34 This is the word of Adonai that came to Yirmeyahu the prophet concerning ‘Eilam at the beginning of the reign of Tzidkiyahu king of Y’hudah: 35 “Adonai-Tzva’ot says:
‘I will break ‘Eilam’s bow,
the mainstay of their might.
36 I will bring against ‘Eilam the four winds
from the four quarters of the sky
and scatter them to all those winds.
There will not be one nation to which
the dispersed of ‘Eilam will not come.
37 I will break ‘Eilam before their foes,
before those who seek their lives;
I will bring disaster on them,
my burning anger,’ says Adonai.
‘I will send the sword to pursue them
until I have finished them off.
38 I will put my throne in ‘Eilam
and destroy their king and leaders,’ says Adonai.
39 ‘But in the acharit-hayamim,
I will bring back the exiles of ‘Eilam,’ says Adonai.”
13:1 Adonai said to me, “Go, buy yourself a linen loincloth, and wrap it around your body; but don’t soften it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth, as Adonai had said, and put it on.
3 Then the word of Adonai came to me a second time: 4 “Take the loincloth you bought and are wearing, get up, go to Parah, and hide it there in a hole in the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it in Parah, as Adonai had ordered me.
6 A long time afterwards, Adonai said to me, “Get up, go to Parah, and recover the loincloth I ordered you to hide there.” 7 So I went to Parah and dug up the loincloth; but when I took it from the place where I had hidden it, I saw that it was ruined and useless for anything. 8 Then the word of Adonai came to me: 9 “Here is what Adonai says: ‘This is how I will ruin what makes Y’hudah so proud and Yerushalayim so very proud: 10 I will ruin this evil people, who refuse to hear my words and live according to their own stubborn inclinations, who go after other gods to serve and worship them. They will be like this loincloth, which is useless for anything. 11 For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s body, I made the whole house of Isra’el and the whole house of Y’hudah cling to me,’ says Adonai, ‘so that they could be my people, building me a name and becoming for me a source of praise and honor. But they would not listen. 12 So you are to tell them, “This is what Adonai the God of Isra’el says: ‘Every bottle is filled with wine.’” Then when they ask you, “Don’t we already know that every bottle is filled with wine?” 13 you are to answer them, “This is what Adonai says: ‘I am going to fill all the inhabitants of this land — including the kings sitting on the throne of David, the cohanim, the prophets and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim — with drunkenness. 14 Then I will smash them one against another, even fathers and sons together,’ says Adonai ‘I will show neither pity nor compassion, but I will destroy them relentlessly.’”’”
15 Listen and pay attention; don’t be proud!
For Adonai has spoken.
16 Give glory to Adonai your God
before the darkness falls,
before your feet stumble
on the mountains in the twilight,
and, while you are seeking light,
he turns it into deathlike shadows
and makes it completely dark.
17 But if you will not hear this warning,
I will weep secretly because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly, streaming with tears,
because Adonai’s flock is carried away captive.
18 Tell the king and the queen mother,
“Come down from your thrones,
for your magnificent crowns
are falling from your heads.”
19 The cities of the Negev are besieged,
and no one can relieve them;
all of Y’hudah is carried into exile,
completely swept into exile.
20 Raise your eyes, and you will see them
coming from the north.
Where is the flock once entrusted to you,
the sheep that were your pride?
21 When he sets over you as rulers
those you trained to be allies,
what will you say? Won’t pains seize you
like those of a woman in labor?
22 And if you ask yourself,
“Why have these things happened to me?”
it is because of your many sins
that your skirts are pulled up and you have been violated.
23 Can an Ethiopian change his skin?
or a leopard its spots?
If they can, then you can do good,
who are so accustomed to doing evil.
24 “So I will scatter them like chaff
that flies away in the desert wind.
25 This is what you get,” says Adonai,
“the portion I measure out to you,
because you have forgotten me
and trusted in the lie.
26 I myself will lift your skirts above your face,
and your privates will be exposed.
27 On the hills and in the fields,
I have seen your abominations —
your adulteries, your lustful neighings
your shameless prostitution.
Woe to you, Yerushalayim!
You refuse to be purified!
Won’t you ever allow it?”
14:1 The word of Adonai that came to Yirmeyahu concerning the drought:
2 “Y’hudah is mourning, her gates are languishing;
they sit on the ground in gloom;
Yerushalayim sends up a cry of anguish.
3 Her nobles send their servants for water;
they go to the cisterns but find no water,
so they return with empty jars.
Ashamed and dismayed, they cover their heads.
4 Because of the ground, which is cracked,
since it has not rained in the land,
the farmers are ashamed;
they cover their heads.
5 The doe in the countryside, giving birth,
abandons her young for lack of grass.
6 The wild donkeys standing on the bare heights
gasp for air like jackals;
their eyes grow dim from trying to spot
any vegetation.”
7 Although our crimes witness against us,
take action, Adonai, for your name’s sake;
for our backslidings are many;
we have sinned against you.
8 You, hope of Isra’el,
its savior in time of trouble,
why should you be like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler turning aside for the night?
9 Why should you be like a man in shock,
like a champion unable to save?
You, Adonai, are right here with us;
we bear your name — don’t leave us!
10 Here is what Adonai says to this people:
“They so love to wander,
they don’t restrain their feet;
so Adonai does not want them.
Now he will remember their crimes,
and he will punish their sins.”
11 Then Adonai said to me, “Don’t pray for this people or for their welfare. 12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; when they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Rather, I will destroy them with war, famine and disease.” 13 Then I said, “Adonai, God! The prophets are telling them, ‘You won’t see war, and you won’t have famine; but I will give you secure peace in this place.’” 14 Adonai replied, “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I didn’t send them, order them or speak to them. They are prophesying false visions to you, worthless divinations, the delusions of their own minds. 15 Therefore,” Adonai says, “concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, whom I did not send, yet they say, ‘There will be neither war nor famine in this land’ — it will be war and famine that will destroy those prophets. 16 And the people to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Yerushalayim because of the famine and war, with no one to bury them — them, or their wives, or their sons, or their daughters — because I will pour their own wickedness out upon them. 17 You are to give them this message:
‘Let my eyes stream with tears
night and day, unceasingly,
because the virgin daughter of my people
has been severely broken;
she has been dealt a crushing blow.
18 If I go out in the field,
I see those slain with the sword.
If I enter the city,
I see the victims of famine.
Meanwhile, prophets and cohanim
ply their trade in the land, knowing nothing.’”
19 Have you rejected Y’hudah completely?
Is Tziyon loathsome to you?
Why have you struck us irreparably?
We looked for peace, but to no avail;
for a time of healing, but instead found terror!
20 We confess our rebellion, Adonai,
also the crimes of our ancestors;
yes, we have sinned against you.
21 For your name’s sake, do not spurn us;
do not dishonor your glorious throne.
Remember your covenant with us;
do not break it.
22 Among the nations’ idols,
can any make it rain?
Can the skies, of themselves,
send showers?
Aren’t you the one,
Adonai, our God?
Don’t we look to you?
For you do all these things.
15:1 Then Adonai said to me, “Even if Moshe and Sh’mu’el were standing in front of me, my heart would not turn toward this people! Drive them out of my sight, get them out of here! 2 And when they ask you where they should go, tell them that this is what Adonai says:
‘Those destined for death — to death!
Those destined for the sword — to the sword!
Those destined for famine — to famine!
Those destined for captivity — to captivity!’
3 “I will assign them four kinds [of scourges],” says Adonai, “the sword to kill, dogs to drag away, birds in the air and wild animals to devour and destroy. 4 I will make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of M’nasheh the son of Hizkiyahu king of Y’hudah, because of what he did in Yerushalayim.
5 “Who will take pity on you, Yerushalayim?
Who will grieve for you?
Who will turn aside
to ask about your welfare?
6 You have rejected me,” says Adonai.
“You are heading backward.
So I am stretching out my hand against you;
tired of sparing you, I am destroying you.
7 With a winnowing fork I am scattering them
to the wind at the gates of the land;
I am bereaving them, destroying my people,
because they will not return from their ways.
8 Their widows increase in number
more than the sand of the seas;
At midday I am bringing the destroyer
on the mothers of young men,
causing anguish and terror
suddenly to fall upon her.
9 The mother of seven sons grows faint,
panting in despair;
her sun has gone down while it’s still daytime;
she is left disgraced and bewildered.
And the rest of them I will give to the sword,
to their enemies,” says Adonai.
10 Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth,
a man who is the object of strife
and controversy throughout the land!
I neither lend nor borrow,
yet all of them curse me.
11 Adonai said, “I promise to release you for good, I promise to make your enemies appeal to you when calamity and trouble come.
12 “Can iron break iron and bronze from the north? 13 I will give away your wealth and your treasures as plunder, and you will not be paid for them, because of all your sins throughout your territory; 14 and I will make you pass together with your enemies into a land you do not know. For my anger has become a blazing fire, and it will flare up against you.”
15 Adonai, you know. Remember me, think of me,
and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
Because you are patient, don’t banish me;
know that for your sake I suffer insults.
16 When I found your words, I devoured them;
your words made me glad, they gave me joy;
because, Adonai-Tzva’ot,
you had me bear your name.
17 I have never kept company with merrymakers,
I could not celebrate;
with your hand on me I sat by myself,
for you filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unending,
my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Will you be for me like a deceptive vadi,
which is only sometimes filled with water?
19 This is Adonai’s answer:
“If you return — if I bring you back —
you will stand before me.
If you separate the precious from the base,
you will be my spokesman.
It will then be they who turn to you,
not you who turn to them.
20 Toward this people I will make you
a fortified wall of bronze —
they will fight against you
but not prevail against you;
for I am with you to save you
and rescue you,” says Adonai.
21 “I will free you from the grasp of the wicked
and redeem you from the clutches of the ruthless.”
16:1 This word of Adonai came to me: 2 “You are not to marry or have sons and daughters in this place. 3 For this is what Adonai says concerning the sons and daughters born here, as well as their mothers who gave birth to them and their fathers who conceived them in this land: 4 ‘They will die terrible deaths without being mourned or buried; they will be left on the ground like dung. They will die by the sword and by famine, and their corpses will be food for the birds in the air and the wild animals.’
5 “For here is what Adonai says: ‘Do not enter any house where there is mourning; don’t lament them, and don’t grieve for them; for I have removed my shalom from this people, as well as my grace and compassion,’ says Adonai. 6 ‘Great and small alike will die in this land; they will not be buried, people will not lament them; nor will they cut their flesh or shave their heads for them. 7 No one will prepare a meal for those in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; and no one will give them a cup to drink, to console them for their father or mother.’ 8 And you are not to go into any house where there is celebrating to sit with them, eating and drinking. 9 For here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘In this place, while you are still alive, before your very eyes, I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bridegroom and bride.’
10 “When you tell this people all that I have said, and they ask you, ‘Why has Adonai decreed all this terrible disaster against us? What is our iniquity, what is our sin, that we have committed against Adonai our God?’ 11 then you are to say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors abandoned me, says Adonai, and went after other gods, serving and worshipping them, but abandoned me and did not keep my Torah. 12 And you have done worse than your ancestors, for — look! — each of you lives according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, so that you don’t listen to me. 13 Therefore I am thrusting you out of this land into a land you have not known, neither you nor your ancestors; and there you will serve other gods day and night; for I will show you no favor.’
14 “‘Therefore,’ says Adonai, ‘the day will come when people will no longer swear, “As Adonai lives, who brought the people of Isra’el out of the land of Egypt,” 15 but, “As Adonai lives, who brought the people of Isra’el out of the land to the north and out of all the countries where he drove them”; for I will bring them back to their own land, which I gave to their ancestors.
16 “‘Look,’ says Adonai, ‘I will send for many fishermen, and they will fish for them. Afterwards, I will send for many hunters; and they will hunt them from every mountain and hill and out of caves in the rocks. 17 For I see all their ways; they are not hidden from me; their crimes are not concealed from my eyes. 18 First, I will pay them back double for their crimes and sins; because they have defiled the land which is mine; they have filled my heritage with the corpses of their horrors and abominations.’”
19 Adonai, my strength, my fortress,
my refuge in time of trouble,
the nations will come to you
from the ends of the earth, saying,
“Our ancestors inherited nothing but lies,
futile idols, completely useless.”
20 Can a person make himself gods?
(In fact they aren’t gods at all.)
21 “Therefore, I will make them know,
once and for all, I will make them know
my power and my might.
Then they will know that my name is Adonai.
17:1 “Y’hudah’s sin is written with an iron pen;
with a diamond point it is engraved
on the tablet of their hearts
and on the horns of your altars.
2 As they remember their children,
so they remember their altars
and their sacred poles by the green trees
on the high hills.
3 My mountain in the field, your wealth
and all your treasures will be plundered;
because of the sin of your high places
throughout your territory.
4 You will relinquish your hold
on your heritage which I gave you.
I will make you serve your enemies
in a land you do not know.
For you have kindled my fiery anger,
and it will burn forever.”
5 Here is what Adonai says:
“A curse on the person who trusts in humans,
who relies on merely human strength,
whose heart turns away from Adonai.
6 He will be like a tamarisk in the ‘Aravah —
when relief comes, it is unaffected;
for it lives in the sun-baked desert,
in salty, uninhabited land.
7 Blessed is the man who trusts in Adonai;
Adonai will be his security.
8 He will be like a tree planted near water;
it spreads out its roots by the river;
it does not notice when heat comes;
and its foliage is luxuriant;
it is not anxious in a year of drought
but keeps on yielding fruit.
9 “The heart is more deceitful than anything else
and mortally sick. Who can fathom it?
10 I, Adonai, search the heart;
I test inner motivations;
in order to give to everyone
what his actions and conduct deserve.”
11 A partridge hatches eggs it did not lay;
like this are those who get rich unjustly:
in the prime of life their wealth will desert them;
in the end they will prove to be fools.
12 Throne of Glory,
exalted from the beginning!
Our Holy Sanctuary,
13 Hope of Isra’el, Adonai!
All who abandon you will be ashamed,
those who leave you will be inscribed in the dust,
because they have abandoned Adonai,
the source of living water.
14 Heal me, Adonai, and I will be healed;
save me, and I will be saved,
for you are my praise.
15 They keep asking me,
“Where is the word of Adonai?
Let it come now.”
16 As for me, I have not run away
from being a shepherd who follows you;
you know I didn’t want this fatal day;
what came from my lips has been clear to you.
17 So do not be my ruin,
you, my refuge on the day of disaster.
18 Let my persecutors be ashamed, not me;
let them be terrified, not me.
Bring on them the day of disaster,
destroy them with double destruction.
19 Then Adonai said this to me: “Go, and stand at the People’s Gate, where the kings of Y’hudah go in and out, and at all the gates of Yerushalayim; 20 and say to them: ‘Kings of Y’hudah, all Y’hudah and all living in Yerushalayim who enter through these gates, hear the word of Adonai! 21 Here is what Adonai says: “If you value your lives, don’t carry anything on Shabbat or bring it in through the gates of Yerushalayim; 22 don’t carry anything out of your houses on Shabbat; and don’t do any work. Instead, make Shabbat a holy day. I ordered your ancestors to do this, 23 but they neither listened nor paid attention; rather, they stiffened their necks, so that they wouldn’t have to hear or receive instruction. 24 However, if you will pay careful heed to me,” says Adonai “and carry nothing through the gates of this city on Shabbat, but instead make Shabbat a day which is holy and not for doing work; 25 then kings and princes occupying the throne of David will enter through the gates of this city, riding in chariots and on horses. They, their princes, the people of Y’hudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim will enter; and this city will be inhabited forever. 26 They will come from the cities of Y’hudah, from the places surrounding Yerushalayim, from the land of Binyamin, from the Sh’felah, from the hills and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, frankincense and thanksgiving sacrifices to the house of Adonai. 27 But if you will not obey me and make Shabbat a holy day and not carry loads through the gates of Yerushalayim on Shabbat, then I will set its gates on fire; it will burn up the palaces of Yerushalayim and not be quenched.”’”
18:1 This word came to Yirmeyahu from Adonai: 2 “Get up, and go down to the potter’s house; there I will tell you more.” 3 So I went down to the house of the potter; and there he was, working at the wheels. 4 Whenever a pot he made came out imperfect, the potter took the clay and made another pot with it, in whatever shape suited him.
5 Then the word of Adonai came to me: 6 “House of Isra’el, can’t I deal with you as the potter deals with his clay? — says Adonai. Look! You, house of Isra’el, are the same in my hand as the clay in the potter’s hand. 7 At one time, I may speak about uprooting, breaking down and destroying a nation or kingdom; 8 but if that nation turns from their evil, which prompted me to speak against it, then I relent concerning the disaster I had planned to inflict on it. 9 Similarly, at another time, I may speak about building and planting a nation or kingdom; 10 but if it behaves wickedly from my perspective and doesn’t listen to what I say, then I change my mind and don’t do the good I said I would do that would have helped it.
11 “So now, tell the people of Y’hudah and those living in Yerushalayim that this is what Adonai says:
‘I am designing disaster for you,
working out my plan against you.
Turn, each of you, from his evil ways;
improve your conduct and actions.’
12 “But they will answer, ‘It’s hopeless!
We will stick to our own plans;
each of us will stubbornly follow
his own evil desires!’
13 “Therefore, Adonai says this:
‘Ask among the nations
who has heard anything like this.
The virgin Isra’el has done
a most horrible thing.
14 Does the snow of the L’vanon
disappear from the mountain crags?
Do the cold waters of foreign lands
ever run dry?
15 No, but my people have forgotten me
and offer incense to nothings.
This causes them to stumble
as they walk the ancient paths;
they leave the highway
to walk on side-trails.
16 Thus they make their land an object of horror
and ongoing ridicule.
Passers-by shake their heads,
appalled, every one.
17 Like a strong east wind, I will scatter them
before the enemy.
I will see their back, not their face,
on their day of disaster.’”
18 Then they said, “Let’s develop a plan for dealing with Yirmeyahu. Torah won’t be lost from the cohanim, or counsel from the wise, or words from the prophets. So come, let’s destroy him with slander; and meanwhile, we won’t pay attention to anything he says.”
19 Pay attention to me, Adonai!
Listen to what my opponents are saying!
20 Is good to be repaid with evil?
For they have dug a pit [to trap] me.
Remember how I stood before you
and spoke well of them,
in order to turn your anger
away from them?
21 Therefore, hand their sons over to famine,
hurl them into the power of the sword,
let their wives be made childless and widows,
let their husbands be slain by disease,
let their young men be slain by the sword in battle,
22 let screams be heard from their houses
when you bring raiders on them without warning.
For they have dug a pit to catch me
and have laid snares for my feet.
23 Nevertheless, Adonai, you know
all their plans against me to stop me.
Do not forgive their crime,
do not blot out their sin from your sight;
but let them be made to stumble before you;
deal with them when you are angry.
19:1 Adonai then said, “Go; buy a clay jar from the potter; take some of the people’s leaders and some of the leading cohanim; 2 and go out into the Ben-Hinnom Valley, by the entry to the Potsherd Gate. There you are to proclaim the words I am about to tell you. 3 Say: ‘Hear the word of Adonai, kings of Y’hudah and inhabitants of Yerushalayim! This is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: “I am about to bring disaster on this place that will make the ears of whoever hears about it ring. 4 This is because they have abandoned me and alienated this place. In it they have offered to other gods that neither they nor their ancestors have known, nor the kings of Y’hudah. They have filled this place with the blood of innocent people. 5 They have built the high places of Ba‘al, in order to burn up their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Ba‘al — something I never ordered or said; it never even entered my mind.
6 “‘“Therefore the time is coming,” says Adonai, “when this place will no longer be called either Tofet or the Ben-Hinnom Valley, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 I will nullify the plans of Y’hudah and Yerushalayim in this place. I will have them fall by the sword before their enemies and at the hand of those seeking their lives, and I will give their corpses as food for the birds in the air and the wild animals. 8 I will make this city an object of horror and ridicule; everyone passing by will be horrified and will ridicule it because of all its wounds. 9 I will cause them to eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters; everyone will be eating the flesh of his friends during the siege, because of the shortage imposed on them by their enemies and those set on killing them.”’
10 “Then you are to smash the jar in front of the people who went with you, 11 and say to them, ‘Adonai-Tzva’ot says that this is how I will break this people and this city, just as one smashes a potter’s vessel beyond the possibility of repair. The dead will be buried in Tofet, because there will be no space left for burial [anywhere else]. 12 That is what I will do to this place,’ says Adonai ‘and to its inhabitants; I will make it like Tofet. 13 The houses of Yerushalayim and those of the kings of Y’hudah will be defiled like this place Tofet — yes, all the houses on whose roofs they have offered to all the stars in heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’”
14 Then Yirmeyahu returned from Tofet, where Adonai had sent him to prophesy, stood in the courtyard of Adonai’s house and said to all the people, 15 “This is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘I am bringing on this city and all its surrounding villages all the disaster I have pronounced against it; because they have stiffened their necks and refused to pay attention to my words.’”
20:1 Now when the cohen Pash’chur son of Immer, chief official in the house of Adonai, heard Yirmeyahu prophesying these things, 2 he had him flogged and put him in the stocks at the Upper Binyamin Gate of the house of Adonai. 3 The following morning, when Pash’chur led Yirmeyahu out of the stocks, Yirmeyahu said to him, “Adonai no longer calls you Pash’chur but Magor-Missaviv [terror on every side]. 4 For this is what Adonai says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies, while you watch. I will hand over all of Y’hudah to the king of Bavel, and he will carry them off captive to Bavel and put them to the sword. 5 Moreover, I will hand over everything stored in this city, all its valuables, all its wealth, indeed all the treasures of the kings of Y’hudah, to their enemies, who will plunder them, take them and carry them to Bavel. 6 And you, Pash’chur, along with your entire household, will go into captivity; you will go to Bavel, where you will die and be buried — you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’”
7 You fooled me, Adonai; I have been your dupe.
You overpowered me, and you have prevailed.
All day long I’m a laughingstock;
everyone makes fun of me.
8 Whenever I speak, I have to cry out;
I shout, “Violence!” and “Destruction!”
Thus the word of Adonai becomes for me
the cause of reproach and derision all day!
9 But if I say, “I won’t think about him,
I won’t speak in his name any more,”
then it seems as though a fire
is burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones;
I wear myself out
trying to hold it in,
but I just can’t do it.
10 I have heard many whispering their plot:
“‘Terror in every direction’?
Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!”
Even all my close friends
are watching for me to make a false step —
“Maybe he can be tricked,
then we’ll get the better of him,
then we’ll take our revenge on him.”
11 But Adonai is with me like a dreaded warrior;
so my persecutors will stumble, defeated,
greatly ashamed because of their failure;
their lasting disgrace will not be forgotten.
12 Adonai-Tzva’ot, you who test the righteous
and see people’s hearts and thoughts,
let me see you take vengeance on them,
for I have committed my cause to you.
13 Sing to Adonai! Praise Adonai!
For he rescues those in need
from the clutches of evildoers.
14 A curse on the day I was born!
The day my mother gave birth to me —
let it not be blessed!
15 A curse on the man who brought the news
to my father, “A son has been born to you!” —
thus making him very happy.
16 Let that man be like the cities
Adonai overthrew without mercy!
Let him hear cries of alarm in the morning
and the sound of battle at noon,
17 because God did not put me to death in the womb
and let my mother become my grave,
her womb forever filled with me.
18 Why did I have to emerge from the womb,
just to see toil and sorrow,
and end my days in shame?
21:1 This is the word that came to Yirmeyahu from Adonai when King Tzidkiyahu sent to him Pash’chur the son of Malkiyah and Tz’fanyah the son of Ma‘aseiyah with this message: 2 “Please consult Adonai for us, because N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel is making war on us. Maybe Adonai will perform a miracle for us and cause him to withdraw.”
3 Yirmeyahu answered them, “Here is what you are to tell Tzidkiyahu: 4 ‘This is what Adonai, the God of Isra’el, says: “I will make the weapons of war that you have in your hands ineffectual in your fight against the king of Bavel and the Kasdim who are outside the walls besieging you. Instead, I will gather them inside this city; 5 and I myself will fight against you with my hand stretched out and with a strong arm, in anger, rage and great fury. 6 I will strike the inhabitants of this city, humans and animals alike, and they will die of a terrible plague. 7 Afterwards,” says Adonai “I will hand over Tzidkiyahu king of Y’hudah, his servants, the people, and anyone remaining alive in this city after the plague, war and famine, to N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel and to their enemies, to those who seek their lives; and he will put them to the sword. He will not spare them; he will have no pity, no compassion.”’
8 “And here is what you are to tell this people: ‘Adonai says: “Look! I am presenting you with the way of life and the way of death. 9 Anyone who stays in this city will die by sword, famine and plague. But he who leaves and surrenders to the Kasdim besieging you will stay alive; his own life will be his only ‘spoils of war.’ 10 For I have determined absolutely that this city will have evil, not good,” says Adonai. “It is going to be handed over to the king of Bavel, and he will burn it to the ground.”’
11 “To the royal house of Y’hudah say: ‘Hear the word of Adonai; 12 house of David, this is what Adonai says:
“Judge fairly every morning,
rescue the wronged from their oppressors;
or my fury will lash out like fire,
burning so hot that no one can quench it,
because of how evil your actions are.”
13 Adonai says, “I am against you, [Yerushalayim,]
situated in a valley like a rock on a plain.
You who say, ‘Who can come down against us?
Who can enter our lairs?’ —
14 I will punish you,” says Adonai,
“as your deeds deserve.
I will set its forest on fire,
and it will devour everything around it.”’”
22:1 Adonai said, “Go down to the house of the king of Y’hudah and there speak this word: 2 ‘King of Y’hudah occupying David’s throne, hear the word of Adonai — you, your servants and your people who enter through these gates. 3 This is what Adonai says:
“Do what is right and just;
rescue the wronged from their oppressors;
do nothing wrong or violent
to the stranger, orphan or widow;
don’t shed innocent blood in this place.
4 “‘“If you are careful to do this, then future kings occupying David’s throne will enter these palace gates riding in chariots and on horses — he, his servants and his people. 5 But if you will not pay attention to these words, then I swear by myself,” says Adonai, “that this palace will become a ruin.”’
6 “For here is what Adonai says concerning the palace of the king of Y’hudah:
‘You are like Gil‘ad to me,
like the peak of the L’vanon;
yet I will turn you into a desert,
uninhabited cities.
7 I will designate men to destroy you,
each one with his weapons;
they will chop down your choice cedars
and throw them in the fire.’
8 “Many nations will pass by this city, and they will say to one another, ‘Why has Adonai done such a thing to this great city?’ 9 The answer will be, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant of Adonai their God and worshipped other gods, serving them.’”
10 Do not weep for [the king] who has died,
do not mourn for him [Yoshiyahu].
But weep for him who departs [to Egypt],
for he will never return
or see his native land again.
11 For this is what Adonai says about Shalum the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah, who succeeded Yoshiyahu his father as king: “He has left this place, never to return; 12 but he will die in the place where they have led him captive, without seeing this land again.
13 “Woe to him who builds his palace unfairly,
its upper rooms by injustice;
who makes his neighbor work for free
and will not give him his wages;
14 who says, ‘I will build me a spacious palace
with airy upper rooms,’
then makes windows and cedar panels
painted with vermilion!
15 Your cedar may be excellent,
but that doesn’t make you a better king.
True, your father ate and drank,
but he also did what was right and just,
so things went well with him.
16 He upheld the cause of the poor and the weak,
so everything went well.
Isn’t that what knowing me
is all about?” says Adonai.
17 “In contrast, your eyes and heart
are controlled entirely by your greed,
your desire for shedding innocent blood,
oppressing and extorting.”
18 Therefore here is what Adonai says concerning Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah:
“There will be no one to mourn for him,
‘Oh! My brother!’ or ‘Oh! My sister!’
There will be no one to mourn for him,
‘Oh! My master!’ or ‘Oh! His glory!’
19 He will be given a donkey’s ‘burial’ —
dragged out the gates of Yerushalayim
and thrown away [to rot].
20 Climb up to the L’vanon and cry out,
raise your voice in Bashan,
cry out from ‘Avarim,
for all your lovers are broken.
21 I spoke to you in your times of prosperity,
but you said, ‘I won’t listen.’
This has been your pattern since you were young —
you pay no attention to what I say.
22 The wind will shepherd all your shepherds away,
and your lovers will go into captivity.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced
for all your wicked deeds.
23 You who live in the L’vanon,
nesting in the cedars,
how gracious will you be
when pains come on you like a woman in labor?
24 “As I live,” says Adonai, “even if Koniyahu the son of Y’hoyakim king of Y’hudah were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off 25 and hand you over to those who seek your life, to those you fear, N’vukhadretzar king of Bavel and the Kasdim. 26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave birth to you into a country different from the one you were born in, and you will die there. 27 They will not return to the country to which they long to return.”
28 Is this man Koniyahu
a despised, broken pot,
an instrument nobody wants?
Why are they being thrown out?
Why are he and his offspring thrown out
into a country they do not know?
29 Oh, land, land, land!
Hear the word of Adonai!
30 This what Adonai says:
“List this man as childless;
he is a lifetime failure —
none of his offspring will succeed,
none will sit on David’s throne
or rule again in Y’hudah.”
Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, brothers whom God has set apart, who share in the call from heaven, think carefully about Yeshua, whom we acknowledge publicly as God’s emissary and as cohen gadol. 2 He was faithful to God, who appointed him; just as
“Moshe was faithful in all God’s house.”[Hebrews 3:2 Numbers 12:7]
3 But Yeshua deserves more honor than Moshe, just as the builder of the house deserves more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone, but the one who built everything is God.
5 Also, Moshe was faithful in all God’s house, as a servant giving witness to things God would divulge later. 6 But the Messiah, as Son, was faithful over God’s house. And we are that house of his, provided we hold firmly to the courage and confidence inspired by what we hope for.
7 Therefore, as the Ruach HaKodesh says,
“Today, if you hear God’s voice,
8 don’t harden your hearts, as you did in the Bitter Quarrel
on that day in the Wilderness when you put God to the test.
9 Yes, your fathers put me to the test;
they challenged me, and they saw my work for forty years!
10 Therefore, I was disgusted with that generation —
I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray,
they have not understood how I do things’;
11 in my anger, I swore
that they would not enter my rest.”[Hebrews 3:11 Psalm 95:7–11]
12 Watch out, brothers, so that there will not be in any one of you an evil heart lacking trust, which could lead you to apostatize from the living God! 13 Instead, keep exhorting each other every day, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you will become hardened by the deceit of sin. 14 For we have become sharers in the Messiah, provided, however, that we hold firmly to the conviction we began with, right through until the goal is reached.
15 Now where it says,
“Today, if you hear God’s voice,
don’t harden your hearts, as you did in the Bitter Quarrel,” [Hebrews 3:15 Psalm 95:7–8]
16 who were the people who, after they heard, quarreled so bitterly? All those whom Moshe brought out of Egypt. 17 And with whom was God disgusted for forty years? Those who sinned — yes, they fell dead in the Wilderness! 18 And to whom was it that he swore that they would not enter his rest? Those who were disobedient. 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of lack of trust.
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CHANGE THEIR WORLD. CHANGE YOURS.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING.
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