1 Moses told the leaders of the tribes concerning the Israelites, “This is what the Lord has commanded: 2 If a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath of binding obligation on himself, he must not break his word, but must do whatever he has promised.
3 “If a young woman who is still living in her father’s house makes a vow to the Lord or places herself under an obligation, 4 and her father hears of her vow or the obligation to which she has pledged herself, and her father remains silent about her, then all her vows will stand, and every obligation to which she has pledged herself will stand. 5 But if her father overrules her when he hears about it, then none of her vows or her obligations that she has pledged for herself will stand. And the Lord will release her from it, because her father overruled her.
6 “And if she marries a husband while under a vow, or she uttered anything impulsively by which she has pledged herself, 7 and her husband hears about it but remains silent about her when he hears about it, then her vows will stand and her obligations that she has pledged for herself will stand. 8 But if when her husband hears it he overrules her, then he will nullify the vow she has taken, and whatever she uttered impulsively that she has pledged for herself. And the Lord will release her from it.
9 “But every vow of a widow or of a divorced woman which she has pledged for herself will remain intact. 10 If she made the vow in her husband’s house or put herself under obligation with an oath, 11 and her husband heard about it, but remained silent about her, and did not overrule her, then all her vows will stand, and every obligation which she pledged for herself will stand. 12 But if her husband clearly nullifies them when he hears them, then whatever she says by way of vows or obligations will not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the Lord will release her from them.
13 “Any vow or sworn obligation that would bring affliction to her, her husband can confirm or nullify. 14 But if her husband remains completely silent about her from day to day, he thus confirms all her vows or all her obligations which she is under; he confirms them because he remained silent about her when he heard them. 15 But if he should nullify them after he has heard them, then he will bear her iniquity.”
16 These are the statutes that the Lord commanded Moses, relating to a man and his wife, and a father and his young daughter who is still living in her father’s house.
1 Why, O God, have you permanently rejected us?
Why does your anger burn against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your people whom you acquired in ancient times,
whom you rescued so they could be your very own nation,
as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell.
3 Hurry to the permanent ruins,
and to all the damage the enemy has done to the temple.
4 Your enemies roar in the middle of your sanctuary;
they set up their battle flags.
5 They invade like lumberjacks
swinging their axes in a thick forest.
6 And now they are tearing down all its engravings
with axes and crowbars.
7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrate your dwelling place by knocking it to the ground.
8 They say to themselves,
“We will oppress all of them.”
They burn down all the places in the land where people worship God.
9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence;
there are no longer any prophets,
and we have no one to tell us how long this will last.
10 How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults?
Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
11 Why do you remain inactive?
Intervene and destroy him.
12 But God has been my king from ancient times,
performing acts of deliverance on the earth.
13 You destroyed the sea by your strength;
you shattered the heads of the sea monster in the water.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you fed him to the people who live along the coast.
15 You broke open the spring and the stream;
you dried up perpetually flowing rivers.
16 You established the cycle of day and night;
you put the moon and sun in place.
17 You set up all the boundaries of the earth;
you created the cycle of summer and winter.
18 Remember how the enemy hurls insults, O Lord,
and how a foolish nation blasphemes your name.
19 Do not hand the life of your dove over to a wild animal.
Do not continue to disregard the lives of your oppressed people.
20 Remember your covenant promises,
for the dark regions of the earth are full of places where violence rules.
21 Do not let the afflicted be turned back in shame.
Let the oppressed and poor praise your name.
22 Rise up, O God. Defend your honor.
Remember how fools insult you all day long.
23 Do not disregard what your enemies say,
or the unceasing shouts of those who defy you.
1 This is an oracle about the Valley of Vision:
What is the reason
that all of you go up to the rooftops?
2 The noisy city is full of raucous sounds;
the town is filled with revelry.
Your slain were not cut down by the sword;
they did not die in battle.
3 All your leaders ran away together—
they fled to a distant place;
all your refugees were captured together—
they were captured without a single arrow being shot.
4 So I say:
“Don’t look at me!
I am weeping bitterly.
Don’t try to console me
concerning the destruction of my defenseless people.”
5 For the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion.
In the Valley of Vision people shout
and cry out to the hill.
6 The Elamites picked up the quiver,
and came with chariots and horsemen;
the men of Kir prepared the shield.
7 Your very best valleys were full of chariots;
horsemen confidently took their positions at the gate.
8 They removed the defenses of Judah.
At that time you looked
for the weapons in the House of the Forest.
9 You saw the many breaks
in the walls of the City of David;
you stored up water in the lower pool.
10 You counted the houses in Jerusalem,
and demolished houses so you could have material to reinforce the wall.
11 You made a reservoir between the two walls
for the water of the old pool—
but you did not trust in the one who made it;
you did not depend on the one who formed it long ago.
12 At that time the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies called for weeping and mourning,
for shaved heads and sackcloth.
13 But look, there is outright celebration!
You say, “Kill the ox and slaughter the sheep,
eat meat and drink wine.
Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
14 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies told me this: “Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live,” says the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
15 This is what the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace, and tell him:
16 ‘What right do you have to be here? What relatives do you have buried here?
Why do you chisel out a tomb for yourself here?
He chisels out his burial site in an elevated place,
he carves out his tomb on a cliff.
17 Look, the Lord will throw you far away, you mere man!
He will wrap you up tightly.
18 He will wind you up tightly into a ball
and throw you into a wide, open land.
There you will die,
and there with you will be your impressive chariots,
which bring disgrace to the house of your master.
19 I will remove you from your office;
you will be thrown down from your position.
20 “‘At that time I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah. 21 I will put your robe on him, tie your belt around him, and transfer your authority to him. He will become a protector of the residents of Jerusalem and of the people of Judah. 22 I will place the key to the house of David on his shoulder. When he opens the door, no one can close it; when he closes the door, no one can open it. 23 I will fasten him like a peg into a solid place; he will bring honor and respect to his father’s family. 24 His father’s family will gain increasing prominence because of him, including the offspring and the offshoots. All the small containers, including the bowls and all the jars, will hang from this peg.’
25 “At that time,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “the peg fastened into a solid place will come loose. It will be cut off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off.” Indeed, the Lord has spoken.
1 Dear friends, this is already the second letter I have written you, in which I am trying to stir up your pure mind by way of reminder: 2 I want you to recall both the predictions foretold by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles. 3 Above all, understand this: In the last days blatant scoffers will come, being propelled by their own evil urges 4 and saying, “Where is his promised return? For ever since our ancestors died, all things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately suppress this fact, that by the word of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and by means of water. 6 Through these things the world existing at that time was destroyed when it was deluged with water. 7 But by the same word the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire, by being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.
8 Now, dear friends, do not let this one thing escape your notice, that a single day is like a thousand years with the Lord and a thousand years are like a single day. 9 The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some regard slowness, but is being patient toward you, because he does not wish for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes, the heavens will disappear with a horrific noise, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze, and the earth and every deed done on it will be laid bare. 11 Since all these things are to melt away in this manner, what sort of people must you be, conducting your lives in holiness and godliness, 12 while waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God? Because of this day, the heavens will be burned up and dissolve, and the celestial bodies will melt away in a blaze! 13 But, according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness truly resides.
14 Therefore, dear friends, since you are waiting for these things, strive to be found at peace, without spot or blemish, when you come into his presence. 15 And regard the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also our dear brother Paul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him, 16 speaking of these things in all his letters. Some things in these letters are hard to understand, things the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they also do to the rest of the scriptures. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard that you do not get led astray by the error of these unprincipled men and fall from your firm grasp on the truth. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the honor both now and on that eternal day.
