24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including the women,(A) “Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah in Egypt.(B) 25 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You and your wives(C) have done what you said you would do when you promised, ‘We will certainly carry out the vows we made to burn incense and pour out drink offerings to the Queen of Heaven.’(D)

“Go ahead then, do what you promised! Keep your vows!(E) 26 But hear the word of the Lord, all you Jews living in Egypt:(F) ‘I swear(G) by my great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that no one from Judah living anywhere in Egypt will ever again invoke my name or swear, “As surely as the Sovereign(H) Lord lives.”(I) 27 For I am watching(J) over them for harm,(K) not for good; the Jews in Egypt will perish(L) by sword and famine(M) until they are all destroyed.(N) 28 Those who escape the sword(O) and return to the land of Judah from Egypt will be very few.(P) Then the whole remnant(Q) of Judah who came to live in Egypt will know whose word will stand(R)—mine or theirs.(S)

29 “‘This will be the sign(T) to you that I will punish(U) you in this place,’ declares the Lord, ‘so that you will know that my threats of harm against you will surely stand.’(V) 30 This is what the Lord says: ‘I am going to deliver Pharaoh(W) Hophra king of Egypt into the hands of his enemies who want to kill him, just as I gave Zedekiah(X) king of Judah into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the enemy who wanted to kill him.’”(Y)

A Message to Baruch

45 When Baruch(Z) son of Neriah(AA) wrote on a scroll(AB) the words Jeremiah the prophet dictated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim(AC) son of Josiah king of Judah, Jeremiah said this to Baruch: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: You said, ‘Woe(AD) to me! The Lord has added sorrow(AE) to my pain;(AF) I am worn out with groaning(AG) and find no rest.’(AH) But the Lord has told me to say to you, ‘This is what the Lord says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot(AI) what I have planted,(AJ) throughout the earth.(AK) Should you then seek great(AL) things for yourself? Do not seek them.(AM) For I will bring disaster(AN) on all people,(AO) declares the Lord, but wherever you go I will let you escape(AP) with your life.’”(AQ)

A Message About Egypt

46 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations:(AR)

Concerning Egypt:(AS)

This is the message against the army of Pharaoh Necho(AT) king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish(AU) on the Euphrates(AV) River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim(AW) son of Josiah king of Judah:

“Prepare your shields,(AX) both large and small,
    and march out for battle!
Harness the horses,
    mount the steeds!
Take your positions
    with helmets on!
Polish(AY) your spears,
    put on your armor!(AZ)
What do I see?
    They are terrified,
they are retreating,
    their warriors are defeated.
They flee(BA) in haste
    without looking back,
    and there is terror(BB) on every side,”
declares the Lord.
“The swift cannot flee(BC)
    nor the strong escape.
In the north by the River Euphrates(BD)
    they stumble and fall.(BE)

“Who is this that rises like the Nile,
    like rivers of surging waters?(BF)
Egypt rises like the Nile,(BG)
    like rivers of surging waters.
She says, ‘I will rise and cover the earth;
    I will destroy cities and their people.’(BH)
Charge, you horses!
    Drive furiously, you charioteers!(BI)
March on, you warriors—men of Cush[a](BJ) and Put who carry shields,
    men of Lydia(BK) who draw the bow.
10 But that day(BL) belongs to the Lord, the Lord Almighty—
    a day of vengeance(BM), for vengeance on his foes.
The sword will devour(BN) till it is satisfied,
    till it has quenched its thirst with blood.(BO)
For the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will offer sacrifice(BP)
    in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.(BQ)

11 “Go up to Gilead and get balm,(BR)
    Virgin(BS) Daughter Egypt.
But you try many medicines in vain;
    there is no healing(BT) for you.
12 The nations will hear of your shame;
    your cries will fill the earth.
One warrior will stumble over another;
    both will fall(BU) down together.”

13 This is the message the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon(BV) to attack Egypt:(BW)

14 “Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol;
    proclaim it also in Memphis(BX) and Tahpanhes:(BY)
‘Take your positions and get ready,
    for the sword devours(BZ) those around you.’
15 Why will your warriors be laid low?
    They cannot stand, for the Lord will push them down.(CA)
16 They will stumble(CB) repeatedly;
    they will fall(CC) over each other.
They will say, ‘Get up, let us go back
    to our own people(CD) and our native lands,
    away from the sword of the oppressor.’(CE)
17 There they will exclaim,
    ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is only a loud noise;(CF)
    he has missed his opportunity.(CG)

18 “As surely as I live,” declares the King,(CH)
    whose name is the Lord Almighty,
“one will come who is like Tabor(CI) among the mountains,
    like Carmel(CJ) by the sea.
19 Pack your belongings for exile,(CK)
    you who live in Egypt,
for Memphis(CL) will be laid waste(CM)
    and lie in ruins without inhabitant.

20 “Egypt is a beautiful heifer,
    but a gadfly is coming
    against her from the north.(CN)
21 The mercenaries(CO) in her ranks
    are like fattened calves.(CP)
They too will turn and flee(CQ) together,
    they will not stand their ground,
for the day(CR) of disaster is coming upon them,
    the time(CS) for them to be punished.
22 Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent
    as the enemy advances in force;
they will come against her with axes,
    like men who cut down trees.(CT)
23 They will chop down her forest,”
declares the Lord,
    “dense though it be.
They are more numerous than locusts,(CU)
    they cannot be counted.
24 Daughter Egypt will be put to shame,
    given into the hands of the people of the north.(CV)

25 The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes,(CW) on Pharaoh,(CX) on Egypt and her gods(CY) and her kings, and on those who rely(CZ) on Pharaoh. 26 I will give them into the hands(DA) of those who want to kill them—Nebuchadnezzar king(DB) of Babylon and his officers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabited(DC) as in times past,” declares the Lord.

27 “Do not be afraid,(DD) Jacob(DE) my servant;(DF)
    do not be dismayed, Israel.
I will surely save you out of a distant place,
    your descendants from the land of their exile.(DG)
Jacob will again have peace and security,
    and no one will make him afraid.
28 Do not be afraid, Jacob my servant,
    for I am with you,”(DH) declares the Lord.
“Though I completely destroy(DI) all the nations
    among which I scatter you,
    I will not completely destroy you.
I will discipline you but only in due measure;
    I will not let you go entirely unpunished.”

A Message About the Philistines

47 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines(DJ) before Pharaoh attacked Gaza:(DK)

This is what the Lord says:

“See how the waters are rising in the north;(DL)
    they will become an overflowing torrent.
They will overflow the land and everything in it,
    the towns and those who live in them.
The people will cry out;
    all who dwell in the land will wail(DM)
at the sound of the hooves of galloping steeds,
    at the noise of enemy chariots(DN)
    and the rumble of their wheels.
Parents will not turn to help their children;
    their hands will hang limp.(DO)
For the day has come
    to destroy all the Philistines
and to remove all survivors
    who could help Tyre(DP) and Sidon.(DQ)
The Lord is about to destroy the Philistines,(DR)
    the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.[b](DS)
Gaza will shave(DT) her head in mourning;
    Ashkelon(DU) will be silenced.
You remnant on the plain,
    how long will you cut(DV) yourselves?

“‘Alas, sword(DW) of the Lord,
    how long till you rest?
Return to your sheath;
    cease and be still.’(DX)
But how can it rest
    when the Lord has commanded it,
when he has ordered it
    to attack Ashkelon and the coast?”(DY)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 46:9 That is, the upper Nile region
  2. Jeremiah 47:4 That is, Crete

22 Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love(A) and peace, along with those who call on the Lord(B) out of a pure heart.(C) 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.(D) 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.(E) 25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth,(F) 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil,(G) who has taken them captive to do his will.

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.(H) People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,(I) boastful, proud,(J) abusive,(K) disobedient to their parents,(L) ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous,(M) rash, conceited,(N) lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness(O) but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.(P)

They are the kind who worm their way(Q) into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth.(R) Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses,(S) so also these teachers oppose(T) the truth. They are men of depraved minds,(U) who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men,(V) their folly will be clear to everyone.

A Final Charge to Timothy

10 You, however, know all about my teaching,(W) my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch,(X) Iconium(Y) and Lystra,(Z) the persecutions I endured.(AA) Yet the Lord rescued(AB) me from all of them.(AC) 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,(AD) 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse,(AE) deceiving and being deceived.(AF) 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,(AG) 15 and how from infancy(AH) you have known the Holy Scriptures,(AI) which are able to make you wise(AJ) for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed(AK) and is useful for teaching,(AL) rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,(AM) 17 so that the servant of God[a](AN) may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.(AO)

Footnotes

  1. 2 Timothy 3:17 Or that you, a man of God,

Psalm 94

The Lord is a God who avenges.(A)
    O God who avenges, shine forth.(B)
Rise up,(C) Judge(D) of the earth;
    pay back(E) to the proud what they deserve.
How long, Lord, will the wicked,
    how long will the wicked be jubilant?(F)

They pour out arrogant(G) words;
    all the evildoers are full of boasting.(H)
They crush your people,(I) Lord;
    they oppress your inheritance.(J)
They slay the widow(K) and the foreigner;
    they murder the fatherless.(L)
They say, “The Lord does not see;(M)
    the God of Jacob(N) takes no notice.”

Take notice, you senseless ones(O) among the people;
    you fools, when will you become wise?
Does he who fashioned the ear not hear?
    Does he who formed the eye not see?(P)
10 Does he who disciplines(Q) nations not punish?
    Does he who teaches(R) mankind lack knowledge?
11 The Lord knows all human plans;(S)
    he knows that they are futile.(T)

12 Blessed is the one you discipline,(U) Lord,
    the one you teach(V) from your law;
13 you grant them relief from days of trouble,(W)
    till a pit(X) is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not reject his people;(Y)
    he will never forsake his inheritance.
15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness,(Z)
    and all the upright in heart(AA) will follow it.

16 Who will rise up(AB) for me against the wicked?
    Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?(AC)
17 Unless the Lord had given me help,(AD)
    I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.(AE)
18 When I said, “My foot is slipping,(AF)
    your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.
19 When anxiety(AG) was great within me,
    your consolation(AH) brought me joy.

20 Can a corrupt throne(AI) be allied with you—
    a throne that brings on misery by its decrees?(AJ)
21 The wicked band together(AK) against the righteous
    and condemn the innocent(AL) to death.(AM)
22 But the Lord has become my fortress,
    and my God the rock(AN) in whom I take refuge.(AO)
23 He will repay(AP) them for their sins
    and destroy(AQ) them for their wickedness;
    the Lord our God will destroy them.

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Sending a message by the hands of a fool(A)
    is like cutting off one’s feet or drinking poison.
Like the useless legs of one who is lame
    is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.(B)
Like tying a stone in a sling
    is the giving of honor to a fool.(C)

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