24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt! 25 This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, “We will certainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” By all means fulfill your vows, and be sure to perform your vows!’ 26 In return, hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt: ‘Behold, I have sworn by My great name,’ says the Lord, ‘that My name shall never be invoked again by the mouth of anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “As the Lord God lives.” 27 Behold, I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and all the people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will meet their end by the sword or by famine until they are completely gone. 28 Those who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah few in number. Then all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know whose word will stand, Mine or theirs. 29 And this will be the sign to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that My words will assuredly stand against you for harm.’ 30 This is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to hand Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt over to his enemies, to those who seek his life, just as I handed Zedekiah king of Judah over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life.’”
1 This is the message which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at Jeremiah’s dictation, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying: 2 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says to you, Baruch: 3 ‘You said, “Oh, woe to me! For the Lord has added grief to my pain; I am weary with my groaning and have found no rest.”’ 4 This is what you are to say to him: ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, what I have built I am going to tear down, and what I have planted I am going to uproot, that is, all the people of the land.” 5 But as for you, are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I am going to bring disaster on all flesh,’ declares the Lord, ‘but I will give your life to you as plunder in all the places where you may go.’”
1 That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
2 To Egypt, concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 “Set up the buckler and shield,
And advance to the battle!
4 Harness the horses,
And mount the steeds,
Take your stand with helmets on!
Polish the spears,
Put on the coats of armor!
5 Why have I seen it?
They are terrified,
They are retreating,
And their warriors are defeated
And have taken refuge in flight,
Without facing back.
Terror is on every side!”
Declares the Lord.
6 Let not the swift man flee,
Nor the warrior escape.
In the north beside the river Euphrates
They have stumbled and fallen.
7 Who is this that rises like the Nile,
Like the rivers whose waters surge?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
And like the rivers whose waters surge;
And He has said, “I will rise and cover that land;
I will destroy the city and its inhabitants.”
9 Go up, you horses, and drive wildly, you chariots,
So that the warriors may march forward:
Cush and Put, who handle the shield,
And the Lydians, who handle and bend the bow.
10 For that day belongs to the Lord God of armies,
A day of vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes;
And the sword will devour and be satisfied,
And drink its fill of their blood;
For there will be a slaughter for the Lord God of armies,
In the land of the north at the river Euphrates.
11 Go up to Gilead and obtain balm,
Virgin daughter of Egypt!
You have used many remedies in vain;
There is no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your shame,
And the earth is full of your cry of distress;
For one warrior has stumbled over another,
And both of them have fallen down together.
13 This is the message which the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:
14 “Declare in Egypt and proclaim in Migdol,
Proclaim also in Memphis and Tahpanhes;
Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,
For the sword has devoured those around you.’
15 Why have your powerful ones been cut down?
They do not stand because the Lord has thrust them away.
16 They have repeatedly stumbled;
Indeed, they have fallen, one against another.
Then they said, ‘Get up, and let’s go back
To our own people and our native land,
Away from the sword of the oppressor!’
17 They shouted there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is nothing but a big noise;
He has let the appointed time pass by!’
18 As I live,” declares the King,
Whose name is the Lord of armies,
“One certainly shall come who is like Tabor among the mountains,
Or like Carmel by the sea.
19 Make your baggage ready for exile,
Daughter living in Egypt,
For Memphis will become a desolation;
It will be destroyed and deprived of inhabitants.
20 Egypt is a pretty heifer,
But a horsefly is coming from the north—it is coming!
21 Also her mercenaries in her midst
Are like fattened calves,
For they too have turned away and have fled together;
They did not stand their ground.
For the day of their disaster has come upon them,
The time of their punishment.
22 Its sound moves along like a serpent;
For they move on like an army
And come to her as woodcutters with axes.
23 They have cut down her forest,” declares the Lord;
“Certainly it will no longer be found,
Even though they are more numerous than locusts
And are without number.
24 The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,
Turned over to the power of the people of the north.”
25 The Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to punish Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her gods and her kings, indeed, Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 I shall hand them over to those who are seeking their lives, that is, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to his officers. Afterward, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old,” declares the Lord.
27 “But as for you, Jacob My servant, do not fear,
Nor be dismayed, Israel!
For, see, I am going to save you from far away,
And your descendants from the land of their captivity;
And Jacob will return and be undisturbed
And secure, with no one making him afraid.
28 Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares the Lord,
“For I am with you.
For I will make a complete destruction of all the nations
Where I have driven you,
Yet I will not make a complete destruction of you;
But I will correct you properly
And by no means leave you unpunished.”
1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh conquered Gaza. 2 This is what the Lord says:
“Behold, waters are going to rise from the north
And become an overflowing torrent,
And overflow the land and everything that is in it,
The city and those who live in it;
And the people will cry out,
And every inhabitant of the land will wail.
3 Because of the noise of the galloping hoofs of his stallions,
The roar of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels,
The fathers have not turned back for their children,
Because of the debility of their hands,
4 Because of the day that is coming
To destroy all the Philistines,
To eliminate from Tyre and Sidon
Every surviving ally;
For the Lord is going to destroy the Philistines,
The remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.
5 Baldness has come upon Gaza;
Ashkelon has been destroyed.
Remnant of their valley,
How long will you gash yourself?
6 Ah, sword of the Lord,
How long will you not be quiet?
Withdraw into your sheath;
Rest and stay still.
7 How can it be quiet,
When the Lord has given it an order?
Against Ashkelon and against the sea shore—
There He has summoned it.”
22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. 24 The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, skillful in teaching, patient when wronged, 25 with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, 26 and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
1 But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these. 6 For among them are those who slip into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, worthless in regard to the faith. 9 But they will not make further progress; for their foolishness will be obvious to all, just as was that also of Jannes and Jambres.
10 Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, 11 persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! 12 Indeed, all who want to live in a godly way in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13 But evil people and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17 so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work.
1 Lord, God of vengeance,
God of vengeance, shine forth!
2 Rise up, Judge of the earth,
Pay back retribution to the proud.
3 How long, Lord, shall the wicked—
How long shall the wicked triumph?
4 They pour out words, they speak arrogantly;
All who do injustice boast.
5 They crush Your people, Lord,
And afflict Your inheritance.
6 They kill the widow and the stranger
And murder the orphans.
7 They have said, “The Lord does not see,
Nor does the God of Jacob perceive.”
8 Pay attention, you stupid ones among the people;
And when will you understand, foolish ones?
9 He who planted the ear, does He not hear?
Or He who formed the eye, does He not see?
10 He who disciplines the nations, will He not rebuke,
He who teaches mankind knowledge?
11 The Lord knows human thoughts,
That they are mere breath.
12 Blessed is the man whom You discipline, Lord,
And whom You teach from Your Law,
13 So that You may grant him relief from the days of adversity,
Until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not abandon His people,
Nor will He abandon His inheritance.
15 For judgment will again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
Who will take his stand for me against those who do injustice?
17 If the Lord had not been my help,
My soul would soon have dwelt in the land of silence.
18 If I should say, “My foot has slipped,”
Your faithfulness, Lord, will support me.
19 When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,
Your comfort delights my soul.
20 Can a throne of destruction be allied with You,
One which devises mischief by decree?
21 They band themselves together against the life of the righteous
And condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has been my refuge,
And my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He has brought back their injustice upon them,
And He will destroy them in their evil;
The Lord our God will destroy them.
6 One who sends a message by the hand of a fool
Chops off his own feet and drinks violence.
7 Like useless legs to one who cannot walk,
So is a proverb in the mouths of fools.
8 Like one who binds a stone in a sling,
So is one who gives honor to a fool.
