JEREMIAH 1-3

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Jeremiah’s Call and Commission  1:1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
    4 Now the word of the LORD came to me saying,

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

And before you were born I consecrated you;

I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

6 Then I said, “Alas, Lord GOD!

Behold, I do not know how to speak,

Because I am a youth.”

7 But the LORD said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’

Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,

And all that I command you, you shall speak.

8 “Do not be afraid of them,

For I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.

9 Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me,

“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

10 “See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,

To pluck up and to break down,

To destroy and to overthrow,

To build and to plant.”

The Almond Rod and Boiling Pot    11 The word of the LORD came to me saying, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a rod of an almond tree.” 12 Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.”
    13 The word of the LORD came to me a second time saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” 14 Then the LORD said to me, “Out of the north the evil will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the LORD; “and they will come and they will set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah. 16 I will pronounce My judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. 17 Now, gird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them. 18 Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the LORD.
Judah’s Apostasy  2:1 Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, 2 “Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD,

“I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth,

The love of your betrothals,

Your following after Me in the wilderness,

Through a land not sown.

3 “Israel was holy to the LORD,

The first of His harvest.

All who ate of it became guilty;

Evil came upon them,” declares the LORD.’”

    4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the LORD,

“What injustice did your fathers find in Me,

That they went far from Me

And walked after emptiness and became empty?

6 “They did not say, ‘Where is the LORD

Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt,

Who led us through the wilderness,

Through a land of deserts and of pits,

Through a land of drought and of deep darkness,

Through a land that no one crossed

And where no man dwelt?’

7 “I brought you into the fruitful land

To eat its fruit and its good things.

But you came and defiled My land,

And My inheritance you made an abomination.

8 “The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’

And those who handle the law did not know Me;

The rulers also transgressed against Me,

And the prophets prophesied by Baal

And walked after things that did not profit.

9 “Therefore I will yet contend with you,” declares the LORD,

“And with your sons’ sons I will contend.

10 “For cross to the coastlands of Kittim and see,

And send to Kedar and observe closely

And see if there has been such a thing as this!

11 “Has a nation changed gods

When they were not gods?

But My people have changed their glory

For that which does not profit.

12 “Be appalled, O heavens, at this,

And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the LORD.

13 “For My people have committed two evils:

They have forsaken Me,

The fountain of living waters,

To hew for themselves cisterns,

Broken cisterns

That can hold no water.

14 “Is Israel a slave? Or is he a homeborn servant?

Why has he become a prey?

15 “The young lions have roared at him,

They have roared loudly.

And they have made his land a waste;

His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.

16 “Also the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes

Have shaved the crown of your head.

17 “Have you not done this to yourself

By your forsaking the LORD your God

When He led you in the way?

18 “But now what are you doing on the road to Egypt,

To drink the waters of the Nile?

Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,

To drink the waters of the Euphrates?

19 “Your own wickedness will correct you,

And your apostasies will reprove you;

Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter

For you to forsake the LORD your God,

And the dread of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord GOD of hosts.

20 “For long ago I broke your yoke

And tore off your bonds;

But you said, ‘I will not serve!’

For on every high hill

And under every green tree

You have lain down as a harlot.

21 “Yet I planted you a choice vine,

A completely faithful seed.

How then have you turned yourself before Me

Into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?

22 “Although you wash yourself with lye

And use much soap,

The stain of your iniquity is before Me,” declares the Lord GOD.

23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled,

I have not gone after the Baals’?

Look at your way in the valley!

Know what you have done!

You are a swift young camel entangling her ways,

24 A wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,

That sniffs the wind in her passion.

In the time of her heat who can turn her away?

All who seek her will not become weary;

In her month they will find her.

25 “Keep your feet from being unshod

And your throat from thirst;

But you said, ‘It is hopeless!

No! For I have loved strangers,

And after them I will walk.’

26 “As the thief is shamed when he is discovered,

So the house of Israel is shamed;

They, their kings, their princes

And their priests and their prophets,

27 Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’

And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’

For they have turned their back to Me,

And not their face;

But in the time of their trouble they will say,

‘Arise and save us.’

28 “But where are your gods

Which you made for yourself?

Let them arise, if they can save you

In the time of your trouble;

For according to the number of your cities

Are your gods, O Judah.

29 “Why do you contend with Me?

You have all transgressed against Me,” declares the LORD.

30 “In vain I have struck your sons;

They accepted no chastening.

Your sword has devoured your prophets

Like a destroying lion.

31 “O generation, heed the word of the LORD.

Have I been a wilderness to Israel,

Or a land of thick darkness?

Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam;

We will no longer come to You’?

32 “Can a virgin forget her ornaments,

Or a bride her attire?

Yet My people have forgotten Me

Days without number.

33 “How well you prepare your way

To seek love!

Therefore even the wicked women

You have taught your ways.

34 “Also on your skirts is found

The lifeblood of the innocent poor;

You did not find them breaking in.

But in spite of all these things,

35 Yet you said, ‘I am innocent;

Surely His anger is turned away from me.’

Behold, I will enter into judgment with you

Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

36 “Why do you go around so much

Changing your way?

Also, you will be put to shame by Egypt

As you were put to shame by Assyria.

37 “From this place also you will go out

With your hands on your head;

For the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust,

And you will not prosper with them.”

The Polluted Land3:1 God says, “If a husband divorces his wife

And she goes from him

And belongs to another man,

Will he still return to her?

Will not that land be completely polluted?

But you are a harlot with many lovers;

Yet you turn to Me,” declares the LORD.

2 “Lift up your eyes to the bare heights and see;

Where have you not been violated?

By the roads you have sat for them

Like an Arab in the desert,

And you have polluted a land

With your harlotry and with your wickedness.

3 “Therefore the showers have been withheld,

And there has been no spring rain.

Yet you had a harlot’s forehead;

You refused to be ashamed.

4 “Have you not just now called to Me,

‘My Father, You are the friend of my youth?

5 ‘Will He be angry forever?

Will He be indignant to the end?’

Behold, you have spoken

And have done evil things,

And you have had your way.”

Faithless Israel    6 Then the LORD said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. 7 I thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. 9 Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. 10 Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception,” declares the LORD.
God Invites Repentance    11 And the LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say,

‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD;

‘I will not look upon you in anger.

For I am gracious,’ declares the LORD;

‘I will not be angry forever.

13 ‘Only acknowledge your iniquity,

That you have transgressed against the LORD your God

And have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree,

And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the LORD.

14 ‘Return, O faithless sons,’ declares the LORD;

‘For I am a master to you,

And I will take you one from a city and two from a family,

And I will bring you to Zion.’

    15 “Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. 16 It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land,” declares the LORD, “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of the LORD,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the LORD; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.
    19 “Then I said,

‘How I would set you among My sons

And give you a pleasant land,

The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’

And I said, ‘You shall call Me, My Father,

And not turn away from following Me.’

20 “Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her lover,

So you have dealt treacherously with Me,

O house of Israel,” declares the LORD.

21 A voice is heard on the bare heights,

The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel;

Because they have perverted their way,

They have forgotten the LORD their God.

22 “Return, O faithless sons,

I will heal your faithlessness.”

“Behold, we come to You;

For You are the LORD our God.

23 “Surely, the hills are a deception,

A tumult on the mountains.

Surely in the LORD our God

Is the salvation of Israel.

    24 “But the shameful thing has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 Let us lie down in our shame, and let our humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”

PROVERBS 6

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Parental Counsel6:1 My son, if you have become surety for your neighbor,

Have given a pledge for a stranger,

2 If you have been snared with the words of your mouth,

Have been caught with the words of your mouth,

3 Do this then, my son, and deliver yourself;

Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor,

Go, humble yourself, and importune your neighbor.

4 Give no sleep to your eyes,

Nor slumber to your eyelids;

5 Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hunter’s hand

And like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6 Go to the ant, O sluggard,

Observe her ways and be wise,

7 Which, having no chief,

Officer or ruler,

8 Prepares her food in the summer

And gathers her provision in the harvest.

9 How long will you lie down, O sluggard?

When will you arise from your sleep?

10 “A little sleep, a little slumber,

A little folding of the hands to rest”--

11 Your poverty will come in like a vagabond

And your need like an armed man.

12 A worthless person, a wicked man,

Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth,

13 Who winks with his eyes, who signals with his feet,

Who points with his fingers;

14 Who with perversity in his heart continually devises evil,

Who spreads strife.

15 Therefore his calamity will come suddenly;

Instantly he will be broken and there will be no healing.

16 There are six things which the LORD hates,

Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him:

17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

And hands that shed innocent blood,

18 A heart that devises wicked plans,

Feet that run rapidly to evil,

19 A false witness who utters lies,

And one who spreads strife among brothers.

20 My son, observe the commandment of your father

And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;

21 Bind them continually on your heart;

Tie them around your neck.

22 When you walk about, they will guide you;

When you sleep, they will watch over you;

And when you awake, they will talk to you.

23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light;

And reproofs for discipline are the way of life

24 To keep you from the evil woman,

From the smooth tongue of the adulteress.

25 Do not desire her beauty in your heart,

Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.

26 For on account of a harlot one is reduced to a loaf of bread,

And an adulteress hunts for the precious life.

27 Can a man take fire in his bosom

And his clothes not be burned?

28 Or can a man walk on hot coals

And his feet not be scorched?

29 So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;

Whoever touches her will not go unpunished.

30 Men do not despise a thief if he steals

To satisfy himself when he is hungry;

31 But when he is found, he must repay sevenfold;

He must give all the substance of his house.

32 The one who commits adultery with a woman is lacking sense;

He who would destroy himself does it.

33 Wounds and disgrace he will find,

And his reproach will not be blotted out.

34 For jealousy enrages a man,

And he will not spare in the day of vengeance.

35 He will not accept any ransom,

Nor will he be satisfied though you give many gifts.

PSALM 117

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A Psalm of Praise.117:1 Praise the LORD, all nations;

Laud Him, all peoples!

2 For His lovingkindness is great toward us,

And the truth of the LORD is everlasting.

Praise the LORD!

PSALM 118

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Thanksgiving for the LORD’S Saving Goodness.118:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

2 Oh let Israel say,

“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

3 Oh let the house of Aaron say,

“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

4 Oh let those who fear the LORD say,

“His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

5 From my distress I called upon the LORD;

The LORD answered me and set me in a large place.

6 The LORD is for me; I will not fear;

What can man do to me?

7 The LORD is for me among those who help me;

Therefore I will look with satisfaction on those who hate me.

8 It is better to take refuge in the LORD

Than to trust in man.

9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD

Than to trust in princes.

10 All nations surrounded me;

In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off.

11 They surrounded me, yes, they surrounded me;

In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off.

12 They surrounded me like bees;

They were extinguished as a fire of thorns;

In the name of the LORD I will surely cut them off.

13 You pushed me violently so that I was falling,

But the LORD helped me.

14 The LORD is my strength and song,

And He has become my salvation.

15 The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous;

The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.

16 The right hand of the LORD is exalted;

The right hand of the LORD does valiantly.

17 I will not die, but live,

And tell of the works of the LORD.

18 The LORD has disciplined me severely,

But He has not given me over to death.

19 Open to me the gates of righteousness;

I shall enter through them, I shall give thanks to the LORD.

20 This is the gate of the LORD;

The righteous will enter through it.

21 I shall give thanks to You, for You have answered me,

And You have become my salvation.

22 The stone which the builders rejected

Has become the chief corner stone.

23 This is the LORD’S doing;

It is marvelous in our eyes.

24 This is the day which the LORD has made;

Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

25 O LORD, do save, we beseech You;

O LORD, we beseech You, do send prosperity!

26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD;

We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.

27 The LORD is God, and He has given us light;

Bind the festival sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I give thanks to You;

You are my God, I extol You.

29 Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;

For His lovingkindness is everlasting.