JEREMIAH 19:1-21:14
1 THESSALONIANS 5:4-28
PSALM 82:1-8
PROVERBS 25:9-10
JEREMIAH 19:1-21:14
The LORD said to me [Jeremiah], " Go and buy a clay jar. Then ask some of the leaders of the people and of the priests to follow you. 2 Go out into the valley of the son of Hinnom by the entrance to the Potsherd Gate, and repeat to them the words that I give you. 3 Say to them, ` Listen to this message from the LORD, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will bring such a terrible disaster on this place that the ears of those who hear about it will ring! 4 " ` For Israel has forsaken me and turned this valley into a place of wickedness. The people burn incense to foreign gods--idols never before worshiped by this generation, by their ancestors, or by the kings of Judah. And they have filled this place with the blood of innocent children. 5 They have built pagan shrines to Baal, and there they burn their sons as sacrifices to Baal. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing! 6 So beware, for the time is coming, says the LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 For I will upset the battle plans of Judah and Jerusalem and let invading armies slaughter them. The enemy will leave the dead bodies as food for the vultures and wild animals. 8 I will wipe Jerusalem from the face of the earth, making it a monument to their stupidity. All who pass by will be appalled and will gasp at the destruction they see there. 9 I will see to it that your enemies lay siege to the city until all the food is gone. Then those trapped inside will have to eat their own sons and daughters and friends. They will be driven to utter despair.' 10 " As these men watch, Jeremiah, smash the jar you brought with you. 11 Then say to them, ` This is what the LORD Almighty says: As this jar lies shattered, so I will shatter the people of Judah and Jerusalem beyond all hope of repair. They will bury the bodies in Topheth until there is no more room. 12 This is what I will do to this place and its people, says the LORD. I will cause this city to become defiled like Topheth. 13 Yes, all the houses in Jerusalem, including the palace of Judah's kings, will become like Topheth--all the houses where you burned incense on the rooftops to your star gods, and where drink offerings were poured out to your idols.' " 14 Then Jeremiah returned from Topheth where he had delivered this message, and he stopped in front of the Temple of the LORD. He said to the people there, 15 " This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I will bring disaster upon this city and its surrounding towns just as I promised, because you have stubbornly refused to listen to me."20:1 NOW Pashhur son of Immer, the priest in charge of the Temple of the LORD, heard what Jeremiah was saying. 2 So he arrested Jeremiah the prophet and had him whipped and put in stocks at the Benjamin Gate of the LORD's Temple. 3 The next day, when Pashhur finally released him, Jeremiah said, " Pashhur, the LORD has changed your name. From now on you are to be called ` The Man Who Lives in Terror.' 4 For this is what the LORD says: I will send terror upon you and all your friends, and you will watch as they are slaughtered by the swords of the enemy. I will hand the people of Judah over to the king of Babylon. He will take them captive to Babylon or run them through with the sword. 5 And I will let your enemies plunder Jerusalem. All the famed treasures of the city--the precious jewels and gold and silver of your kings--will be carried off to Babylon. 6 As for you, Pashhur, you and all your household will go as captives to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you promised that everything would be all right." 7 O LORD, you persuaded me, and I allowed myself to be persuaded. You are stronger than I am, and you overpowered me. Now I am mocked by everyone in the city. 8 Whenever I speak, the words come out in a violent outburst. " Violence and destruction!" I shout. So these messages from the LORD have made me a household joke. 9 And I can't stop! If I say I'll never mention the LORD or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It's like a fire in my bones! I am weary of holding it in! 10 I have heard the many rumors about me. They call me " The Man Who Lives in Terror." And they say, " If you say anything, we will report it." Even my old friends are watching me, waiting for a fatal slip. " He will trap himself," they say, " and then we will get our revenge on him." 11 But the LORD stands beside me like a great warrior. Before him they will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will be shamed and thoroughly humiliated. Their dishonor will never be forgotten. 12 O LORD Almighty! You know those who are righteous, and you examine the deepest thoughts of hearts and minds. Let me see your vengeance against them, for I have committed my cause to you. 13 Now I will sing out my thanks to the LORD! Praise the LORD! For though I was poor and needy, he delivered me from my oppressors. 14 Yet I curse the day I was born! May the day of my birth not be blessed. 15 I curse the messenger who told my father, " Good news--you have a son!" 16 Let him be destroyed like the cities of old that the LORD overthrew without mercy. Terrify him all day long with battle shouts, 17 for he did not kill me at birth. Oh, that I had died in my mother's womb, that her body had been my grave! 18 Why was I ever born? My entire life has been filled with trouble, sorrow, and shame.21:1 THE LORD spoke through Jeremiah when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur son of Malkijah and Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, the priest, to speak with him. They begged Jeremiah, 2 " Please ask the LORD to help us. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has begun his attack on Judah. Perhaps the LORD will be gracious and do a mighty miracle as he has done in the past. Perhaps he will force Nebuchadnezzar to withdraw his armies." 3 Jeremiah replied, " Go back to King Zedekiah and tell him, 4 ` This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I will make your weapons useless against the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are attacking you. Yes, I will bring your enemies right into the heart of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you with great power, for I am very angry. You have made me furious! 6 I will send a terrible plague upon this city, and both people and animals will die. 7 And then, says the LORD, even after King Zedekiah, his officials, and everyone else in the city have survived war, famine, and disease, I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He will slaughter them all without mercy, pity, or compassion.' 8 " Tell all the people, ` This is what the LORD says: Take your choice of life or death! 9 Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians will live. 10 For I have decided to bring disaster and not good upon this city, says the LORD. It will be captured by the king of Babylon, and he will reduce it to ashes.' 11 " Say to the royal family of Judah, ` Listen to this message from the LORD! 12 This is what the LORD says to the dynasty of David: Give justice to the people you judge! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Do what is right, or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins. 13 I will fight against this city of Jerusalem that boasts, " We are safe on our mountain! No one can touch us here." 14 And I myself will punish you for your sinfulness, says the LORD. I will light a fire in your forests that will burn up everything around you.' "
1 THESSALONIANS 5:4-28
But you aren't in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won't be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. 5 For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don't belong to darkness and night. 6 So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be sober. 7 Night is the time for sleep and the time when people get drunk. 8 But let us who live in the light think clearly, protected by the body armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. 9 For God decided to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. 10 He died for us so that we can live with him forever, whether we are dead or alive at the time of his return. 11 So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing. 12 Dear brothers and sisters, honor those who are your leaders in the Lord's work. They work hard among you and warn you against all that is wrong. 13 Think highly of them and give them your wholehearted love because of their work. And remember to live peaceably with each other. 14 Brothers and sisters, we urge you to warn those who are lazy. Encourage those who are timid. Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. 15 See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to everyone else. 16 Always be joyful. 17 Keep on praying. 18 No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22 Keep away from every kind of evil.23 Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until that day when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. 24 God, who calls you, is faithful; he will do this. 25 Dear brothers and sisters, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brothers and sisters in Christian love. 27 I command you in the name of the Lord to read this letter to all the brothers and sisters. 28 And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.
PSALM 82:1-8
A psalm of Asaph.
1 God presides over heaven's court;
he pronounces judgment on the judges:
2 " How long will you judges hand down unjust decisions?
How long will you shower special favors on the wicked?
Interlude3 " Give fair judgment to the poor and the orphan;
uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.
4 Rescue the poor and helpless;
deliver them from the grasp of evil people.
5 But these oppressors know nothing;
they are so ignorant!
And because they are in darkness,
the whole world is shaken to the core.
6 I say, ` You are gods
and children of the Most High.
7 But in death you are mere men.
You will fall as any prince,
for all must die.' "
8 Rise up, O God, and judge the earth,
for all the nations belong to you.
PROVERBS 25:9-10
So discuss the matter with them [your neighbors] privately. Don't tell anyone else, or others may accuse you of gossip. Then you will never regain your good reputation.
