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False Gods Contrasted with the Creator
10 Hear the word that the Lord has spoken to[a] you, house of Israel. 2 This is what the Lord says:
Do not learn the way of the nations(A)
or be terrified by signs in the heavens,
although the nations are terrified by them,
3 for the customs of the peoples are worthless.
Someone cuts down a tree from the forest;
it is worked by the hands of a craftsman with a chisel.
4 He decorates it with silver and gold.(B)
It is fastened with hammer and nails,(C)
so it won’t totter.
5 Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch,
their idols cannot speak.(D)
They must be carried(E) because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them for they can do no harm(F)—
and they cannot do any good.(G)
6 Lord, there is no one like you.(H)
You are great;
your name is great in power.(I)
7 Who should not fear you,
King of the nations?(J)
It is what you deserve.
For among all the wise people of the nations
and among all their kingdoms,
there is no one like you.
8 They are both stupid and foolish,
instructed by worthless idols
made of wood!
9 Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish(K)
and gold from Uphaz.[b](L)
The work of a craftsman
and of a goldsmith’s hands
is clothed in blue and purple,
all the work of skilled artisans.
10 But the Lord is the true God;(M)
he is the living God(N) and eternal King.(O)
The earth quakes at his wrath,(P)
and the nations cannot endure his fury.
11 You are to say this to them: “The gods that did not make the heavens(Q) and the earth will perish from the earth(R) and from under these heavens.”[c]
12 He made the earth by his power,
established the world(S) by his wisdom,(T)
and spread out the heavens by his understanding.(U)
13 When he thunders,[d]
the waters in the heavens are in turmoil,(V)
and he causes the clouds to rise
from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from his storehouses.(W)
14 Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith is put to shame
by his carved image,(X)
for his cast images are a lie;(Y)
there is no breath in them.(Z)
15 They are worthless, a work to be mocked.
At the time of their punishment
they will be destroyed.(AA)
16 Jacob’s Portion[e] is not like these
because he is the one who formed all things.(AB)
Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;(AC)
the Lord of Armies is his name.(AD)
Exile after the Siege
18 For this is what the Lord says:
Look, I am flinging away(AF)
the land’s residents at this time
and bringing them such distress
that they will feel it.
Jeremiah Grieves
19 Woe to me because of my brokenness—
I am severely wounded!(AG)
I exclaimed, “This is my intense suffering,
but I must bear it.”
20 My tent is destroyed;(AH)
all my tent cords are snapped.
My sons have departed from me and are no more.
I have no one to pitch my tent again
or to hang up my curtains.
21 For the shepherds are stupid:
They don’t seek the Lord.(AI)
Therefore they have not prospered,
and their whole flock is scattered.
22 Listen! A noise—it is coming—
a great commotion(AJ) from the land to the north.
The cities of Judah will be made desolate,
a jackals’ den.(AK)
23 I know, Lord,
that a person’s way of life is not his own;
no one who walks determines his own steps.(AL)
24 Discipline me, Lord, but with justice—
not in your anger,(AM)
or you will reduce me to nothing.
25 Pour out your wrath on the nations
that don’t recognize you
and on the families
that don’t call on your name,
for they have consumed Jacob;
they have consumed him and finished him off
and made his homeland desolate.(AN)
Reminder of the Covenant
11 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Listen to the words of this covenant(AO) and tell them to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem. 3 Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Let a curse be on the man who does not obey the words of this covenant,(AP) 4 which I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt,(AQ) out of the iron furnace.”(AR) I declared, “Obey me, and do everything that I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God,”(AS) 5 in order to establish the oath I swore to your ancestors,(AT) to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is today.’”
I answered, “Amen, Lord.”(AU)
6 The Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Obey the words of this covenant and carry them out.’ 7 For I strongly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt until today, warning them time and time again,[g](AV) ‘Obey me.’ 8 Yet they would not obey or pay attention; each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart.(AW) So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant, because they had not done what I commanded them to do.”
9 The Lord said to me, “A conspiracy has been discovered among the men of Judah(AX) and the residents of Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the iniquities of their ancestors(AY) who refused to obey my words and have followed other gods to worship them.(AZ) The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke my covenant I made with their ancestors.
11 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am about to bring on them disaster that they cannot escape.(BA) They will cry out to me, but I will not hear them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods they have been burning incense to, but they certainly will not save them in their time of disaster.(BB) 13 Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, Judah,(BC) and the altars you have set up to Shame[h](BD)—altars to burn incense to Baal—as numerous as the streets of Jerusalem.
14 “As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf,(BE) for I will not be listening when they call out to me at the time of their disaster.
15 What right does my beloved have
to be in my house,(BF)
having carried out so many evil schemes?
Can holy meat[i](BG) prevent your disaster[j]
so you can celebrate?
16 The Lord named you
a flourishing olive tree,(BH)
beautiful with well-formed fruit.
He has set fire to it,
and its branches are consumed[k](BI)
with the sound of a mighty tumult.(BJ)
17 “The Lord of Armies who planted you(BK) has decreed disaster against you, because of the disaster[l] the house of Israel and the house of Judah brought on themselves when they angered me by burning incense to Baal.”
18 The Lord informed me, so I knew.
Then you helped me to see their deeds,
19 for I was like a docile[m] lamb led to slaughter.(BL)
I didn’t know that they had devised plots against me:
“Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit;[n]
let’s cut him off from the land of the living(BM)
so that his name will no longer be remembered.”
20 But, Lord of Armies, who judges righteously,
who tests(BN) heart[o] and mind,(BO)
let me see your vengeance on them,
for I have presented my case to you.(BP)
21 Therefore, here is what the Lord says concerning the people of Anathoth(BQ) who intend to take your life. They warn, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord,(BR) or you will certainly die at our hand.” 22 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Armies says: “I am about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword; their sons and daughters will die by famine.(BS) 23 They will have no remnant, for I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth(BT) in the year of their punishment.”
Christ in Your Home
18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.(A) 19 Husbands,(B) love your wives(C) and don’t be bitter(D) toward them. 20 Children,(E) obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers,(F) do not exasperate(G) your children, so that they won’t become discouraged. 22 Slaves, obey your human(H) masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord.(I) 23 Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people,(J) 24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer(K) will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism.
4 Masters,(L) deal with your slaves justly and fairly, since you know that you too have a Master in heaven.
Speaking to God and Others
2 Devote yourselves(M) to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us that God may open a door(N) to us for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ,(O) for which I am in chains,(P) 4 so that I may make it known as I should. 5 Act wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the time.(Q) 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt,(R) so that you may know how you should answer each person.(S)
Final Greetings
7 Tychicus,(T) our dearly loved brother, faithful(U) minister, and fellow servant in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know how we are[a] and so that he may encourage(V) your hearts.(W) 9 He is coming with Onesimus,(X) a faithful and dearly loved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you about everything here.
10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark,(Y) Barnabas’s(Z) cousin (concerning whom you have received instructions: if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and so does Jesus who is called Justus. These alone of the circumcised are my coworkers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras,(AA) who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. He is always wrestling(AB) for you in his prayers, so that you can stand mature and fully assured[b] in everything God wills.(AC) 13 For I testify about him that he works hard[c](AD) for you, for those in Laodicea,(AE) and for those in Hierapolis. 14 Luke, the dearly loved physician, and Demas(AF) send you greetings. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters in Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her home.(AG) 16 After this letter has been read at your gathering, have it read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And tell Archippus,(AH) “Pay attention to the ministry you have received in the Lord, so that you can accomplish it.”(AI)
18 I, Paul, am writing this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains.(AJ) Grace be with you.[d](AK)
56 But they rebelliously tested the Most High God,
for they did not keep his decrees.(A)
57 They treacherously turned away like their ancestors;
they became warped like a faulty bow.(B)
58 They enraged him with their high places
and provoked his jealousy with their carved images.(C)
59 God heard and became furious;
he completely rejected Israel.(D)
60 He abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh,
the tent where he resided among mankind.(E)
61 He gave up his strength to captivity
and his splendor to the hand of a foe.(F)
62 He surrendered his people to the sword
because he was enraged with his heritage.(G)
63 Fire consumed his chosen young men,
and his young women had no wedding songs.[a](H)
64 His priests fell by the sword,
and the widows could not lament.(I)
65 The Lord awoke as if from sleep,
like a warrior from the effects of wine.(J)
66 He beat back his foes;
he gave them lasting disgrace.(K)
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph
and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 He chose instead the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loved.(L)
69 He built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.(M)
70 He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;(N)
71 he brought him from tending ewes
to be shepherd over his people Jacob—
over Israel, his inheritance.(O)
72 He shepherded them with a pure heart
and guided them with his skillful hands.(P)
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