Jeremiah 22; Jeremiah 23; Titus 1

1 This is what the LORD says: Go to the palace of the king of Judah, and speak this message there:

2 "Listen to the word of the LORD, you officials, you people who come into these gates, and you, king of Judah, the one sitting on David's throne.

3 "This is what the LORD says: Judge fairly, and do what is right. Rescue those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Don't mistreat foreigners, orphans, or widows, and don't oppress them. Don't kill innocent people in this place.

4 If you do what I say, then the kings who sit on David's throne will ride through the gates of this palace in chariots and on horses along with their officials and their people.

5 But if you don't do what I say, I will take an oath on myself," declares the LORD, "that this palace will become a pile of rubble.

6 "This is what the LORD says about the palace of the king of Judah: This palace is like Gilead to me, like the top of Lebanon. I will certainly turn it into a desert, into cities that no one lives in.

7 I will send people to destroy you. They will have their own weapons. They will cut down your finest cedar trees and throw them on a fire.

8 "People from many nations will pass by this city and ask each other, 'Why has the LORD done this to this important city?'

9 The answer will be: 'They rejected the promise of the LORD their God. They worshiped other gods and served them.'"

10 Don't cry for the dead. Don't shake your heads at them. Cry bitterly for those who are taken away, because they won't come back to see their homeland.

11 This is what the LORD says about King Josiah's son Shallum, who succeeded his father as king of Judah and left this place: He will never come back here again.

12 He will die in the place where he was taken captive, and he will never see this land again.

13 "How horrible it will be for the person who builds his house dishonestly and his upper rooms through injustice. He makes his neighbors work for nothing and doesn't pay them for their work.

14 He says, 'I will build a large house for myself with big upper rooms.' He cuts out windows in it, panels the rooms with cedar, and paints them red.

15 Do you think you're a better king than others because you use more cedar? Your father ate and drank and did what is fair and right. Everything went well for him.

16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy. Everything went well for him. Isn't this what it means to know me?" asks the LORD.

17 "But your eyes and your mind are set on nothing but dishonest profits. You kill innocent people and violently oppress your people."

18 This is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim, son of Judah's King Josiah: People won't mourn for him and say, "How horrible it is for my brother and sister!" They won't mourn for him and say, "How horrible it is for my master and his splendor!"

19 He will receive a donkey's burial. He will be dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.

20 "Go to Lebanon and cry! Raise your voice in Bashan! Cry out from Abarim, because all your lovers are defeated."

21 I spoke to you when you were prosperous, but you said that you wouldn't listen. This is how you've been ever since you were young. You don't listen to me.

22 The wind will blow away all your shepherds, and your lovers will go into captivity. Then you will be ashamed and disgraced by all your wickedness.

23 You live in Lebanon and have your nest in the cedars. But you will groan when pain strikes you, pain like a woman giving birth to a child.

24 "As I live," declares the LORD, "even though you, Jehoiakin, son of Judah's King Jehoiakim, are the signet ring on my right hand, I will pull you off my hand.

25 I will hand you over to those who want to kill you, those you fear--King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Babylonians.

26 I will throw you and your mother into another land. You weren't born there, but you will die there.

27 You will want to return to this land, but you won't be allowed to come home."

28 This Jehoiakin is like a rejected and broken pot that no one wants. Is that why he and his descendants will be thrown out and cast into another land they've never heard of?

29 O land, land, land! Listen to the word of the LORD.

30 This is what the LORD says: Write this about Jehoiakin: He will be childless. He won't prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will succeed him as king. They won't sit on David's throne and rule Judah again.

1 "How horrible it will be for the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep in my care," declares the LORD.

2 "This is what I, the LORD God of Israel, said to the shepherds who take care of my people: You have scattered my sheep and chased them away. You have not taken care of them, so now I will take care of you by punishing you for the evil you have done," declares the LORD.

3 "Then I will gather the remaining part of my flock from all the countries where I chased them. I will bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fertile and increase in number.

4 I will put shepherds over them. Those shepherds will take care of them. My sheep will no longer be afraid or terrified, and not one of them will be missing," declares the LORD.

5 "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will grow a righteous branch for David. He will be a king who will rule wisely. He will do what is fair and right in the land.

6 In his lifetime, Judah will be saved, and Israel will live in safety. This is the name that he will be given: The LORD Our Righteousness.

7 "That is why the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when people's oaths will no longer be, 'The LORD brought the people of Israel out of Egypt. As the LORD lives....'

8 Instead, their oaths will be, 'The LORD brought the descendants of the nation of Israel out of the land of the north and all the lands where he had scattered them. As the LORD lives....' At that time they will live in their own land.

9 "[Say this] about the prophets: I am deeply disturbed. All my bones tremble. I am like a drunk, like a person who has had too much wine, because of the LORD and his holy words.

10 The land is filled with adulterers. The land mourns because of the curse. Pastures in the wilderness have dried up. The people are evil, and they use their strength to do the wrong things.

11 The prophets and priests are godless. Even in my temple I've found them doing evil," declares the LORD.

12 "That is why their own way will become like slippery paths in the dark. They will be chased away, and they will fall down in the dark. I will bring disaster on them. It is time for them to be punished," declares the LORD.

13 "[Say this] about the prophets of Samaria: I saw something disgusting. The prophets of Samaria prophesied by Baal and led my people Israel astray.

14 "[Say this] about the prophets of Jerusalem: I see something horrible. The prophets of Jerusalem commit adultery and live a lie. They support those who do evil so that no one turns back from his wickedness. They are all like Sodom to me, and those who live in Jerusalem are like Gomorrah."

15 This is what the LORD of Armies says about the prophets: I will give them wormwood to eat and poison to drink. The prophets of Jerusalem have spread godlessness throughout the land.

16 This is what the LORD of Armies says: Don't listen to what the prophets are saying to you. They fill you with false hope. They speak about visions that they dreamed up. These visions are not from the LORD.

17 They keep saying to those who despise me, "The LORD says, 'Everything will go well for you.'" They tell all who live by their own stubborn ways, "Nothing bad will happen to you."

18 Who is in the LORD's inner circle and sees and hears his word? Who pays attention and listens to his word?

19 The storm of the LORD will come with his anger. Like a windstorm, it will swirl down on the heads of the wicked.

20 The anger of the LORD will not turn back until he has done everything he intends to do. In the last days you will understand this clearly.

21 I didn't send these prophets, yet they ran [with their message]. I didn't speak to them, yet they prophesied.

22 If they had been in my inner circle, they would have announced my words to my people. They would have turned back from their evil ways and the evil they have done.

23 "I am a God who is near. I am also a God who is far away," declares the LORD.

24 "No one can hide so that I can't see him," declares the LORD. "I fill heaven and earth!" declares the LORD.

25 "I've heard the prophets who speak lies in my name. They say, 'I had a dream! I had a dream!'

26 How long will these prophets continue to lie and deceive?

27 They tell each other the dreams they had, because they want to make my people forget my name, as their ancestors forgot my name because of Baal.

28 The prophet who has a dream should tell his dream. However, the person who has my word should honestly speak my word. What does grain have to do with straw?" asks the LORD.

29 "Isn't my word like fire or like a hammer that shatters a rock?" asks the LORD.

30 "I'm against the prophets who steal my words from each other," declares the LORD.

31 "I'm against the prophets who speak their own thoughts and say that they speak for me.

32 I'm against those who prophesy dreams they made up," declares the LORD. "They tell the dreams they made up and lead my people astray with their lies and their wild talk. I didn't send them or command them to go. They don't help these people at all," declares the LORD.

33 "When these people, the prophets, or the priests ask you, 'What revelation has the LORD burdened you with now?' say to them, 'You are the burden! I will abandon you, declares the LORD.'

34 Suppose the prophets, the priests, or these people say, 'This is the LORD's revelation!' I will punish them and their families.

35 They should ask their neighbors and their relatives, 'What is the LORD's answer?' and 'What did the LORD say?'

36 They should never again say, 'This is the LORD's revelation,' because each person's word becomes the revelation. They will twist the words of the living God, the LORD of Armies, our God.

37 "Jeremiah, say this to the prophets, 'What was the LORD's answer to you?' and 'What did the LORD say?'

38 Suppose they say, 'This is the LORD's revelation!' Then say, 'This is what the LORD says: Because you have said, "This is the LORD's revelation!" even though I commanded you not to repeat this saying,

39 I will certainly forget you. I will throw you out of my presence and out of the city that I gave you and your ancestors.

40 I will bring eternal disgrace and shame on you. It will never be forgotten.'"

1 From Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I was sent to lead God's chosen people to faith and to the knowledge of the truth that leads to a godly life.

2 My message is based on the confidence of eternal life. God, who never lies, promised this eternal life before the world began.

3 God has revealed this in every era by spreading his word. I was entrusted with this word by the command of God our Savior.

4 To Titus, a genuine child in the faith we share. Good will and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our Savior are yours!

5 I left you in Crete to do what still needed to be done--appointing spiritual leaders in every city as I directed you.

6 A spiritual leader must have a good reputation. He must have only one wife and have children who are believers. His children shouldn't be known for having wild lifestyles or being rebellious.

7 Because a bishop is a supervisor appointed by God, he must have a good reputation. He must not be a stubborn or irritable person. He must not drink too much or be a violent person. He must not use shameful ways to make money.

8 Instead, he must be hospitable, love what is good, use good judgment, be fair and moral, and have self-control.

9 He must be devoted to the trustworthy message we teach. Then he can use these accurate teachings to encourage people and correct those who oppose the word.

10 There are many believers, especially converts from Judaism, who are rebellious. They speak nonsense and deceive people.

11 They must be silenced because they are ruining whole families by teaching what they shouldn't teach. This is the shameful way they make money.

12 Even one of their own prophets said, "Cretans are always liars, savage animals, and lazy gluttons."

13 That statement is true. For this reason, sharply correct believers so that they continue to have faith that is alive and well.

14 They shouldn't pay attention to Jewish myths or commands given by people who are always rejecting the truth.

15 Everything is clean to those who are clean. But nothing is clean to corrupt unbelievers. Indeed, their minds and their consciences are corrupted.

16 They claim to know God, but they deny him by what they do. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit to do anything good.