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THE SCROLL OF COMFORT
Healing and restoration for my people
30 Jeremiah received the Lord’s word: 2 The Lord, the God of Israel, proclaims: Write down in a scroll all the words I have spoken to you. 3 The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will bring back my people Israel and Judah from captivity,[a] says the Lord. I will bring them home to the land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it. 4 Here are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and Judah:
5 The Lord proclaims:
I[b] hear screams of panic and terror;
no one is safe.
6 Ask and see:
Can men bear children?
Then why do I see every man
bent over in pain,[c] as if he’s in labor?
Why have all turned pale?
7 That day is awful, beyond words.
A time of unspeakable pain
for my people Jacob.
But they will be delivered from it.
8 At that time, I will break the yoke off their[d] necks and remove their[e] shackles. Foreigners will no longer enslave them, declares the Lord of heavenly forces. 9 They will serve the Lord their God and the king whom I will raise up for them from David’s family.
10 So don’t be afraid, my servant Jacob,
declares the Lord,
Don’t lose hope, Israel.
I will deliver you from faraway places
and your children from the land of their exile.
My people Jacob will again be safe and sound,
with no one harassing them.
11 I am with you and will rescue you,
declares the Lord.
I will put an end to all the nations
where I have scattered you.
But I won’t put an end to you.
I won’t let you remain unpunished:
I will discipline you as you deserve.
12 This is what the Lord says:
Your injury is incurable;
your illness is grave.
13 No one comes to your aid;
no one attends to your wound;
your disease is incurable.
14 All your lovers disregard you;
they write you off as a lost cause,
because I have dealt harshly with you
as an enemy would,
because your guilt is great
and your sins are many.
15 Why cry out for relief from your pain?
Your wound is incurable.
I have done these things to you,
because your guilt is great
and your sins are many.
16 Yet all who ravage you will be ravaged;
all who oppress you will go into exile.
Those who rob you will be robbed,
and all who plunder you will be plundered.
17 I will restore your health,
and I will heal your wounds,
declares the Lord,
because you were labeled an outcast,
“Zion, the lost cause.”
18 The Lord proclaims:
I will restore Jacob’s tents
and have pity on their birthplace.
Their city will be rebuilt on its ruins
and the palace in its rightful place.
19 There will be laughter
and songs of thanks.
I will add to their numbers
so they don’t dwindle away.
I will honor them
so they aren’t humiliated.
20 Their children will thrive as they did long ago,
and their community will be established before me.
I will punish their oppressors.
21 They will have their own leader;
their ruler will come from among them.
I will let him approach me,
and he will draw near.
Who would dare approach me
unless I let them come?
declares the Lord.
22 You will be my people,
and I will be your God.
23 Look! The Lord’s anger breaks out like a violent storm,
a fierce wind that strikes the heads of the wicked.
24 The Lord’s fierce anger won’t turn back
until God’s[f] purposes are entirely accomplished.
In the days to come,
you will understand what this means.
31 At that time, declares the Lord,
I will be the God of all the families of Israel,
and they will be my people.
2 The Lord proclaims:
The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness.
As Israel searched for a place of rest,
3 the Lord appeared to them[g] from a distance:[h]
I have loved you with a love that lasts forever.
And so with unfailing love,
I have drawn you to myself.[i]
4 Again, I will build you up,
and you will be rebuilt, virgin Israel.
Again, you will play your tambourines
and dance with joy.
5 Again, you will plant vineyards
on the hills of Samaria;
farmers will plant and then enjoy the harvests.
6 The time will come when
the watchmen shout from
the highlands of Ephraim:
“Get ready! We’re going up to Zion
to the Lord our God!”
7 The Lord proclaims:
Sing joyfully for the people of Jacob;
shout for the leading nation.
Raise your voices with praise and call out:
“The Lord has saved his people,[j]
the remaining few in Israel!”
8 I’m going to bring them back from the north;
I will gather them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind and the disabled,
expectant mothers and those in labor;
a great throng will return here.
9 With tears of joy they will come;
while they pray, I will bring them back.
I will lead them by quiet streams
and on smooth paths so they don’t stumble.
I will be Israel’s father,
Ephraim will be my oldest child.
10 Listen to the Lord’s word, you nations,
and announce it to the distant islands:
The one who scattered Israel will gather them
and keep them safe, as a shepherd his flock.
11 The Lord will rescue the people of Jacob
and deliver them from the power of those stronger than they are.
12 They will come shouting for joy on the hills of Zion,
jubilant over the Lord’s gifts:
grain, wine, oil, flocks, and herds.
Their lives will be like a lush garden;
they will grieve no more.
13 Then the young women will dance for joy;
the young and old men will join in.
I will turn their mourning into laughter
and their sadness into joy;
I will comfort them.
14 I will lavish the priests with abundance
and shower my people with my gifts,
declares the Lord.
15 The Lord proclaims:
A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and wailing.
It’s Rachel crying for her children;
she refuses to be consoled,
because her children are no more.
16 The Lord proclaims:
Keep your voice from crying
and your eyes from weeping,
because your endurance will be rewarded,
declares the Lord.
They will return from the land of their enemy!
17 There’s hope for your future,
declares the Lord.
Your children will return home!
18 I hear, yes, I hear Ephraim lamenting:
“You disciplined me,
and I learned my lesson,
even though I was as stubborn as a mule.
Bring me back, let me return,
because you are the Lord my God.
19 After I turned away from you,
I regretted it;
I realized what I had done,
and I have hit myself[k]—
I was humiliated and disgraced,
and I have carried this disgrace
since I was young.”
20 Isn’t Ephraim my much-loved child?
Don’t I utterly adore him?
Even when I scold him,
I still hold him dear.
I yearn for him and love him deeply,
declares the Lord.
21 Set up markers,
put up signs;
think about the road you have traveled,
the path you have taken.
Return, virgin Israel;
return to these towns of yours.
22 How long will you hem and haw,
my rebellious daughter?
The Lord has created something new on earth:
Virgin Israel will once again embrace her God![l]
23 The Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: When I bring my people[m] back from captivity, they will once again utter these words in the land and towns of Judah:
The Lord bless you,
righteous dwelling place,
holy mountain.
24 Those who live in Judah and its towns will dwell together with farmers and shepherds. 25 I will strengthen the weary and renew those who are weak.
26 Then I woke up and looked around. What a pleasant sleep I had!
Prayer for everyone
2 First of all, then, I ask that requests, prayers, petitions, and thanksgiving be made for all people. 2 Pray for kings and everyone who is in authority so that we can live a quiet and peaceful life in complete godliness and dignity. 3 This is right and it pleases God our savior, 4 who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 There is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the human Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a payment to set all people free. This was a testimony that was given at the right time. 7 I was appointed to be a preacher and apostle of this testimony—I’m telling the truth and I’m not lying! I’m a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.
Instructions for men and women
8 Therefore, I want men to pray everywhere by lifting up hands that are holy, without anger or argument. 9 In the same way, I want women to enhance their appearance with clothing that is modest and sensible, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive clothes. 10 They should make themselves attractive by doing good, which is appropriate for women who claim to honor God.
11 A wife[a] should learn quietly with complete submission. 12 I don’t allow a wife[b] to teach or to control her husband.[c] Instead, she should be a quiet listener. 13 Adam was formed first, and then Eve. 14 Adam wasn’t deceived, but rather his wife[d] became the one who stepped over the line because she was completely deceived. 15 But a wife[e] will be brought safely through childbirth,[f] if they both continue in faith, love, and holiness, together with self-control.
Psalm 87
A psalm of the Korahites. A song.
87 God’s foundation is set on the holy mountains.
2 The Lord loves Zion’s gates
more than all of Jacob’s houses combined.
3 Glorious things are said about you,
the city of God! Selah
4 I count Rahab and Babel among those who know me;
also Philistia and Tyre, along with Cush—
each of these was born there.
5 And of Zion it is said:
“Each person was born in it,
but the one who will establish it is the Most High.”
6 The Lord makes a record as he registers the peoples:
“Each one was born there.” Selah
7 And while they dance, people sing:
“The source of my life comes from you.”
18 People who testify falsely against their neighbors
are like a club, sword, and sharpened arrow.
19 Trusting a treacherous person at a difficult time
is like having a bad tooth or a wobbly foot.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible