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16 But for now I, the Lord, say:[a] “I will send many enemies who will catch these people like fishermen. After that I will send others who will hunt them out like hunters from all the mountains, all the hills, and the crevices in the rocks.[b] 17 For I see everything they do. Their wicked ways are not hidden from me. Their sin is not hidden away where I cannot see it.[c] 18 Before I restore them[d] I will punish them in full[e] for their sins and the wrongs they have done. For they have polluted my land with the lifeless statues of their disgusting idols. They have filled the land I have claimed as my own[f] with their detestable idols.”[g]
19 Then I said,[h]
“Lord, you give me strength and protect me.
You are the one I can run to for safety when I am in trouble.[i]
Nations from all over the earth
will come to you and say,
‘Our ancestors had nothing but false gods—
worthless idols that could not help them at all.’[j]
20 Can people make their own gods?
No, what they make are not gods at all.”[k]
21 The Lord said,[l]
“So I will now let this wicked people know—
I will let them know my mighty power in judgment.
Then they will know that my name is the Lord.[m]
17 [n] “The sin of Judah is engraved with an iron chisel
on their stone-hard[o] hearts.
It is inscribed with a diamond[p] point
on the horns of their altars.[q]
2 Their children are always thinking about[r] their[s] altars
and their sacred poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah,[t]
set up beside the green trees on the high hills
3 and on the mountains and in the fields.[u]
I will give your wealth and all your treasures away as plunder.
I will give it away as the price[v] for the sins you have committed throughout your land.
4 You will lose your hold on the land[w]
that I gave to you as a permanent possession.
I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you know nothing about.
For you have made my anger burn like a fire that will never be put out.”[x]
Individuals Are Challenged to Put Their Trust in the Lord[y]
5 The Lord says,
“I will put a curse on people
who trust in mere human beings,
who depend on mere flesh and blood for their strength,[z]
and whose hearts[aa] have turned away from the Lord.
6 They will be like a shrub[ab] in the arid rift valley.[ac]
They will not experience good things even when they happen.
It will be as though they were growing in the stony wastes in the wilderness,[ad]
in a salt land where no one can live.
7 My blessing is on those people who trust in me,
who put their confidence in me.[ae]
8 They will be like a tree planted near a stream
whose roots spread out toward the water.
It has nothing to fear when the heat comes.
Its leaves are always green.
It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought.
It does not stop bearing fruit.
9 The human mind is more deceitful than anything else.
It is incurably bad.[af] Who can understand it?
10 I, the Lord, probe into people’s minds.
I examine people’s hearts.[ag]
I deal with each person according to how he has behaved.
I give them what they deserve based on what they have done.
11 The person who gathers wealth by unjust means
is like the partridge that broods over eggs but does not hatch them.[ah]
Before his life is half over he will lose his ill-gotten gains.[ai]
At the end of his life it will be clear he was a fool.”[aj]
Jeremiah Appeals to the Lord for Vindication
12 Then I said,[ak]
“Lord, from the very beginning
you have been seated on your glorious throne on high.
You are the place where we can find refuge.
13 You are the one in whom Israel may find hope.[al]
All who leave you will suffer shame.
Those who turn away from you[am] will be consigned to the netherworld.[an]
For they have rejected you, the Lord, the fountain of life.[ao]
14 Lord, grant me relief from my suffering
so that I may have some relief;
rescue me from those who persecute me
so that I may be rescued,[ap] for you give me reason to praise![aq]
15 Listen[ar] to what they are saying to me,
‘Where are the things the Lord threatens us with?
May it please happen!’
[as]
16 But I have not pestered you to bring disaster.[at]
I have not desired the time of irreparable devastation.[au]
You know that.
You are fully aware of every word that I have spoken.[av]
17 Do not cause me dismay![aw]
You are my source of safety in times of trouble.
18 May those who persecute me be disgraced.
Do not let me be disgraced.
May they be dismayed.
Do not let me be dismayed.
Bring days of disaster on them.
Bring on them the destruction they deserve.”[ax]
Observance of the Sabbath Day Is a Key to the Future[ay]
19 The Lord told me, “Go and stand in the People’s Gate[az] through which the kings of Judah enter and leave the city. Then go and stand in all the other gates of the city of Jerusalem. 20 And then announce to them, ‘Listen to the Lord’s message, you kings of Judah, and everyone from Judah, and all you citizens of Jerusalem, those who pass through these gates. 21 The Lord says, Be very careful if you value your lives![ba] Do not carry any loads[bb] in through[bc] the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. 22 Do not carry any loads out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath day.[bd] But observe the Sabbath day as a day set apart to the Lord,[be] as I commanded your ancestors.[bf] 23 Your ancestors,[bg] however, did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They stubbornly refused[bh] to pay attention or to respond to any discipline.’ 24 The Lord says,[bi] ‘You must make sure to obey me. You must not bring any loads through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day. You must set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not do any work on that day. 25 If you do this,[bj] then the kings and princes who follow in David’s succession[bk] and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to enter through these gates, as well as their officials and the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem.[bl] This city will always be filled with people.[bm] 26 Then people will come here from the towns in Judah, from the villages surrounding Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin, from the foothills,[bn] from the southern hill country, and from the southern part of Judah. They will come bringing offerings to the temple of the Lord: burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and incense along with their thank offerings.[bo] 27 But you must obey me and set the Sabbath day apart to me. You must not carry any loads in through[bp] the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. If you disobey, I will set the gates of Jerusalem on fire. It will burn down all the fortified dwellings in Jerusalem and no one will be able to put it out.’”
An Object Lesson from the Making of Pottery
18 The Lord said to Jeremiah:[bq] 2 “Go down at once[br] to the potter’s house. I will speak to you further there.”[bs] 3 So I went down to the potter’s house and found him working[bt] at his wheel.[bu] 4 Now and then[bv] there would be something wrong[bw] with the pot he was molding from the clay[bx] with his hands. So he would rework[by] the clay into another kind of pot as he saw fit.[bz]
5 Then the Lord’s message came to me, 6 “I, the Lord, say:[ca] ‘O nation of Israel, can I not deal with you as this potter deals with the clay?[cb] In my hands, you, O nation of Israel, are just like the clay in this potter’s hand.’ 7 There are times, Jeremiah,[cc] when I threaten to uproot, tear down, and destroy a nation or kingdom.[cd] 8 But if that nation I threatened stops doing wrong,[ce] I will cancel the destruction[cf] I intended to do to it. 9 And there are times when I promise to build up and establish[cg] a nation or kingdom. 10 But if that nation does what displeases me and does not obey me, then I will cancel the good I promised to do to it. 11 So now, tell the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem this: The Lord says, ‘I am preparing to bring disaster on you! I am making plans to punish you.[ch] So, every one of you, stop the evil things you have been doing.[ci] Correct the way you have been living and do what is right.’[cj] 12 But they just keep saying, ‘We do not care what you say![ck] We will do whatever we want to do! We will continue to behave wickedly and stubbornly!’”[cl]
13 Therefore, the Lord says,
“Ask the people of other nations
whether they have heard of anything like this.
Israel should have been like a virgin,
but she has done something utterly revolting!
14 Does the snow ever completely vanish from the rocky slopes of Lebanon?
Do the cool waters from those distant mountains ever cease to flow?[cm]
15 Yet my people have forgotten me
and offered sacrifices to worthless idols.
This makes them stumble along in the way they live
and leave the old reliable path of their fathers.[cn]
They have left them to walk in bypaths,
in roads that are not smooth and level.[co]
16 So their land will become an object of horror.[cp]
People will forever hiss out their scorn over it.
All who pass that way will be filled with horror
and will shake their heads in derision.[cq]
17 I will scatter them before their enemies
like dust blowing in front of a burning east wind.
I will turn my back on them and not look favorably on them[cr]
when disaster strikes them.”
Jeremiah Petitions the Lord to Punish Those Who Attack Him
18 Then some people[cs] said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah![ct] There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word.[cu] Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him![cv] Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”
19 Then I said,[cw]
“Lord, pay attention to me.
Listen to what my enemies are saying.[cx]
20 Should good be paid back with evil?
Yet they are virtually digging a pit to kill me.[cy]
Just remember how I stood before you
pleading on their behalf[cz]
to keep you from venting your anger on them.[da]
21 So let their children die of starvation.
Let them be cut down by the sword.[db]
Let their wives lose their husbands and children.
Let the older men die of disease[dc]
and the younger men die by the sword in battle.
22 Let cries of terror be heard in their houses
when you send bands of raiders unexpectedly to plunder them.[dd]
For they have virtually dug a pit to capture me
and have hidden traps for me to step into.
23 But you, Lord, know
all their plots to kill me.
Do not pardon their crimes!
Do not ignore their sins as though you had erased them.[de]
Let them be brought down in defeat before you.
Deal with them while you are still angry![df]
A Life Pleasing to God
4 Finally then, brothers and sisters,[a] we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us about how[b] you must live and please God (as you are in fact living)[c] that you do so more and more. 2 For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is God’s will: that you become holy,[d] that you keep away from sexual immorality, 4 that each of you know how to possess his own body[e] in holiness and honor, 5 not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God. 6 In this matter no one should violate the rights of his brother or take advantage of him,[f] because the Lord is the avenger in all these cases,[g] as we also told you earlier and warned you solemnly. 7 For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. 8 Consequently the one who rejects this is not rejecting human authority[h] but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
9 Now on the topic of brotherly love[i] you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. 10 And indeed you are practicing it toward all the brothers and sisters[j] in all of Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more,[k] 11 to aspire to lead a quiet life, to attend to your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you. 12 In this way you will live[l] a decent life before outsiders and not be in need.[m]
The Lord Returns for Believers
13 Now we do not want you to be uninformed,[n] brothers and sisters,[o] about those who are asleep,[p] so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also we believe that[q] God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep as Christians.[r] 15 For we tell you this by the word of the Lord,[s] that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the archangel,[t] and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left,[u] will be suddenly caught up[v] together[w] with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
The Day of the Lord
5 Now on the topic of times and seasons,[x] brothers and sisters,[y] you have no need for anything to be written to you. 2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord[z] will come in the same way as a thief in the night.[aa] 3 Now when[ab] they are saying, “There is peace and security,”[ac] then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains[ad] on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape.
Psalm 81[a]
For the music director, according to the gittith style;[b] by Asaph.
81 Shout for joy to God, our source of strength!
Shout out to the God of Jacob!
2 Sing[c] a song and play the tambourine,
the pleasant-sounding harp, and the ten-stringed instrument.
3 Sound the ram’s horn on the day of the new moon,[d]
and on the day of the full moon when our festival begins.[e]
4 For observing the festival is a requirement for Israel;[f]
it is an ordinance given by the God of Jacob.
5 He decreed it as a regulation in Joseph,
when he attacked the land of Egypt.[g]
I heard a voice I did not recognize.[h]
6 It said:[i] “I removed the burden from his shoulder;
his hands were released from holding the basket.[j]
7 In your distress you called out and I rescued you.
I answered you from a dark thundercloud.[k]
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.[l] (Selah)
8 I said,[m] ‘Listen, my people!
I will warn[n] you.
O Israel, if only you would obey me![o]
9 There must be[p] no other[q] god among you.
You must not worship a foreign god.
10 I am the Lord, your God,
the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.’
11 But my people did not obey me;[r]
Israel did not submit to me.[s]
12 I gave them over to their stubborn desires;[t]
they did what seemed right to them.[u]
13 If only my people would obey me![v]
If only Israel would keep my commands![w]
14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,
and attack[x] their adversaries.”
15 (May those who hate the Lord[y] cower in fear[z] before him.
May they be permanently humiliated.)[aa]
16 “I would feed Israel the best wheat,[ab]
and would satisfy your appetite[ac] with honey from the rocky cliffs.”[ad]
6 Do not honor yourself before the king,
and do not stand in the place of great men;
7 for it is better for him[a] to say to you, “Come up here,”[b]
than to put you lower[c] before a prince,
whom your eyes have seen.[d]
8 Do not go out hastily to litigation,[e]
or[f] what will you do afterward
when your neighbor puts you to shame?
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