Today's Reading

¹It happened that, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking to all the people all the words of the Lord their God, with which the Lord their God had sent him to them, even all these words,

²then spoke Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying to Jeremiah, "You speak falsely. The Lord our God has not sent you to say, 'You shall not go into Egypt to live there';

³but Baruch the son of Neriah sets you on against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death, and carry us away captive to Babylon."

⁴So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Judah.

⁵But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, who were returned from all the nations where they had been driven, to live in the land of Judah;

⁶the men, and the women, and the children, and the king's daughters, and every person who Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan; and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah;

⁷and they came into the land of Egypt; for they did not obey the voice of the Lord: and they came to Tahpanhes.

⁸Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,

⁹"Take great stones in your hand, and hide them in mortar in the brick work, which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;

¹⁰and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne on these stones that I have hidden; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.

¹¹He shall come, and shall strike the land of Egypt; such as are for death shall be put to death, and such as are for captivity to captivity, and such as are for the sword to the sword.

¹²I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captive: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd puts on his garment; and he shall go forth from there in peace.

¹³He shall also break the pillars of Beth Shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of Egypt shall he burn with fire."'"

¹The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who lived in the land of Egypt, who lived at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Memphis, and in the country of Pathros, saying,

²"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'You have seen all the evil that I have brought on Jerusalem, and on all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwells therein,

³because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, to serve other gods, that they did not know, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers.

⁴However I sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, 'Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate.'

⁵But they did not listen, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to other gods.

⁶Therefore my wrath and my anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as it is this day.'

⁷Therefore now thus says the Lord, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel: 'Why do you commit great evil against your own souls, to cut off from yourselves man and woman, infant and nursing child out of the midst of Judah, to leave yourselves none remaining;

⁸in that you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to live; that you may be cut off, and that you may be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

⁹Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives which they committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?

¹⁰They are not humbled even to this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.'

¹¹Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, even to cut off all Judah.

¹²I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to live there, and they shall all be consumed; in the land of Egypt shall they fall; they shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine; they shall die, from the least even to the greatest, by the sword and by the famine; and they shall be an object of horror, an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.

¹³For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence;

¹⁴so that none of the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to live there, shall escape or be left, to return into the land of Judah, to which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return save such as shall escape.'"

¹⁵Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, even all the people who lived in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,

¹⁶"As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you.

¹⁷But we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of food, and were well, and saw no evil.

¹⁸But since we left off burning incense to the queen of the sky, and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.

¹⁹When we burned incense to the queen of the sky, and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her, without our husbands?"

²⁰Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men, and to the women, even to all the people who had given him an answer, saying,

²¹"The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land. Did not the Lord remember them, and did not it come into his mind,

²²so that the Lord could no longer bear because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which you have committed? Therefore your land has become a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.

²³Because you have burned incense, and because you have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil has happened to you, as it is this day."

²⁴Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people, and to all the women, "Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt:

²⁵Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, 'You and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and with your hands have fulfilled it, saying, "We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to her": establish then your vows, and perform your vows.'

²⁶Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: 'Behold, I have sworn by my great name,' says the Lord, 'that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, "As the Lord God lives."

²⁷Behold, I watch over them for evil, and not for good; and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until they are all gone.

²⁸Those who escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to live there, shall know whose word shall stand, mine, or theirs.

²⁹This shall be the sign to you,' says the Lord, 'that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil':

³⁰Thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of those who seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy, and sought his life.'"

¹The message that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,

²"Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, Baruch:

³'You said, "Woe is me now! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest."'"

⁴"You shall tell him, 'Thus says the Lord: "Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up; and this in the whole land.

⁵Do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for, behold, I will bring disaster on all flesh, says the Lord; but your life will I give to you for a reward in all places where you go."'"

¹Remind them to be in subjection to rulers and to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,

²to speak evil of no one, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing all humility toward all men.

³For we were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

⁴But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared,

⁵not by works of righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us, through the washing of rebirth and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

⁶whom he poured out on us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior;

⁷that, being justified by his grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

⁸This saying is faithful, and concerning these things I desire that you affirm confidently, so that those who have believed God may be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men;

⁹but shun foolish questionings, genealogies, strife, and disputes about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

¹⁰Avoid a factious man after a first and second warning;

¹¹knowing that such a one is perverted, and sins, being self-condemned.

¹²When I send Artemas to you, or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me to Nicopolis, for I have determined to winter there.

¹³Send Zenas, the Law scholar, and Apollos on their journey speedily, that nothing may be lacking for them.

¹⁴Let our people also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they may not be unfruitful.

¹⁵All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in faith. Grace be with you all.

¹Better is a dry morsel with quietness, than a house full of feasting with strife.

²A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who causes shame, and shall have a part in the inheritance among the brothers.

³The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the hearts.

⁴An evildoer heeds wicked lips. A liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

⁵Whoever mocks the poor reproaches his Maker. He who is glad at calamity shall not be unpunished.

⁶Children's children are the crown of old men; the glory of children are their parents.

⁷Arrogant speech isn't fitting for a fool, much less do lying lips fit a prince.

⁸A bribe is a precious stone in the eyes of him who gives it; wherever he turns, he prospers.

⁹He who covers an offense promotes love; but he who repeats a matter separates best friends.

¹⁰A rebuke enters deeper into one who has understanding than a hundred lashes into a fool.

¹¹An evil man seeks only rebellion; therefore a cruel messenger shall be sent against him.

¹²Let a bear robbed of her cubs meet a man, rather than a fool in his folly.

¹³Whoever rewards evil for good, evil shall not depart from his house.

¹⁴The beginning of strife is like breaching a dam, therefore stop contention before quarreling breaks out.

¹⁵He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.

¹⁶Why is there money in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, seeing he has no understanding?

¹⁷A friend loves at all times; and a brother is born for adversity.

¹⁸A man void of understanding strikes hands, and becomes collateral in the presence of his neighbor.

¹⁹He who loves disobedience loves strife. One who builds a high gate seeks destruction.

²⁰One who has a perverse heart doesn't find prosperity, and one who has a deceitful tongue falls into trouble.

²¹He who becomes the father of a fool grieves. The father of a fool has no joy.

²²A cheerful heart makes good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

²³A wicked man receives a bribe in secret, to pervert the ways of justice.

²⁴Wisdom is before the face of one who has understanding, but the eyes of a fool wander to the ends of the earth.

²⁵A foolish son brings grief to his father, and bitterness to her who bore him.

²⁶Also to punish the righteous is not good, nor to flog officials for their integrity.

²⁷He who spares his words has knowledge. He who is even tempered is a man of understanding.

²⁸Even a fool, when he keeps silent, is counted wise. When he shuts his lips, he is thought to be discerning.