Jeremiah 3; Jeremiah 4; Jeremiah 5; 1 Timothy 4

1 A saying: If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, her first husband shouldn't go back to her again. The land would become thoroughly polluted. "You have acted like a prostitute who has many lovers. And now you want to come back to me!" declares the LORD.

2 "Look at the bare hills, and see. You have had sex with men in every place. You sat by the roadside waiting for them like a nomad in the desert. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and wickedness.

3 So the rain has been withheld, and there have been no spring showers. Yet, you have the shameless look of a prostitute, and you refuse to blush.

4 But now you are calling to me. You say, 'Father! You have been my companion ever since I was young.

5 He won't hold a grudge forever. He won't always be angry.' You have said and done all the evil things that you could."

6 When Josiah was king, the LORD asked me, "Did you see what unfaithful Israel did? She went up every high mountain and under every large tree, and she acted like a prostitute there.

7 I thought that after she had done all this that she would come back to me. But she didn't come back, and her treacherous sister Judah saw her.

8 Judah saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away because of her adultery and that I gave Israel her divorce papers. But treacherous Judah, her sister, wasn't afraid. She also acted like a prostitute.

9 Because she wasn't concerned about acting like a prostitute, she polluted the land and committed adultery with standing stones and wood pillars.

10 Even after all this, Israel's treacherous sister Judah didn't wholeheartedly come back to me.She was deceitful," declares the LORD.

11 Then the LORD said to me, "Unfaithful Israel was less guilty than treacherous Judah.

12 Go and proclaim these things to the north: "'Come back, unfaithful Israel. It is the LORD speaking. I will no longer frown on you because I'm merciful,' declares the LORD. 'I will no longer be angry with you.

13 Admit that you've done wrong! You have rebelled against the LORD your God. You have given yourself to strangers under every large tree. You have not obeyed me,' declares the LORD.

14 "Come back, you rebellious people," declares the LORD. "I'm your husband. I will take you, one from every city and two from every family, and bring you to Zion.

15 I will give you shepherds after my own heart. They will be shepherds who feed you with knowledge and insight.

16 In those days you will be fertile, and your population will increase in the land," declares the LORD. "People will no longer talk about the ark of the LORD's promise. It will no longer come to mind. They won't remember it, miss it, or make another one.

17 At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD. All nations will gather in Jerusalem because the name of the LORD will be found there. They will no longer follow their own stubborn, evil ways.

18 In those days the nation of Judah will live with the nation of Israel. They will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave their ancestors as their own property.

19 "I wanted to treat you like children and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful property among the nations. I thought that you would call me Father and wouldn't turn away from me.

20 But like a wife who betrays her husband, so you, nation of Israel, betrayed me," declares the LORD.

21 The sound of crying is heard on the hills. It is the crying and the pleading of the people of Israel. They have become crooked and have forgotten the LORD their God.

22 "Come back, you rebellious people, and I will forgive you for being unfaithful." Here we are! We have come to you because you are the LORD our God.

23 Truly, the noise from the hills, from the mountains, is the noise of false worship. Truly, the LORD our God will rescue us.

24 Ever since we were young, the shameful worship [of Baal] has taken everything our ancestors worked for, their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.

25 We must lie down in our shame and be covered by our disgrace. Ever since we were young, we and our ancestors have sinned against the LORD our God. We haven't obeyed the LORD our God.

1 The LORD declares, "If you come back, Israel, if you come back to me, if you take your disgusting idols out of my sight and you don't wander away from me,

2 if you take the oath, "As the LORD lives..." in an honest, fair, and right way, then the nations will be blessed, and they will be honored by me."

3 This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: Plow your unplowed fields, and don't plant among thorns.

4 Be circumcised by the LORD, and get rid of the foreskins of your hearts, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. If you don't, my fury will flare up like a fire. It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out, because of the evil you do.

5 Report this message in Judah. Make it heard in Jerusalem. Say, "Blow the ram's horn throughout the land." Shout loudly and say, "Gather together! Let's go into the fortified cities."

6 Raise the flag to signal people to go to Zion. Take cover! Don't just stand there! I'm bringing disaster and widespread destruction from the north.

7 A lion has come out of its lair. A destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to destroy your land. Your cities will be ruined, and no one will live in them.

8 So put on sackcloth, mourn, and cry because the LORD's burning anger hasn't turned away from us.

9 "When that day comes," declares the LORD, "the king and the leaders will lose their courage. The priests will be stunned. The prophets will be amazed and astonished."

10 I said, "Almighty LORD, you certainly have deceived these people and Jerusalem. You said that everything would go well for them, but a sword is held at their throats."

11 At that time it will be said to these people and to Jerusalem: "A hot wind from the heights will blow in the desert on the tracks of my people. It will not be a wind that winnows or cleanses.

12 It will be a stronger wind than that. It will come from me. Now, I will pass sentence on them."

13 The enemy comes up like clouds. His chariots are like a raging wind. His horses are faster than eagles. How horrible it will be for us! We will be destroyed!

14 Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart so that you may be rescued. Don't continue making evil plans.

15 A message is heard from Dan, and a report of disaster comes from the mountains of Ephraim.

16 Warn the nations about these things. Bring them to the attention of Jerusalem. "Hostile troops are coming from a distant country. They are shouting battle cries against the cities of Judah.

17 They surround them like men guarding a field, because Judah has rebelled against me," declares the LORD.

18 "You brought this on yourself. This is your punishment. It is bitter. It breaks your heart."

19 My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. My heart is beating wildly! My heart is pounding! I can't keep quiet because I hear a ram's horn sounding the alarm for war.

20 One disaster follows another. The whole land is ruined. My tents are suddenly destroyed. Their curtains are torn in an instant.

21 How long must I see the battle flag and hear the sound of rams' horns?

22 "My people are fools. They don't know me. They are stupid people. They don't understand. They are experts in doing wrong, and they don't know how to do good."

23 I see the earth. It's formless and empty. I see the sky. Its lights are gone.

24 I see the mountains. They are shaking, and the hills are swaying.

25 I see that there are no people, and every bird has flown away.

26 I see that the fertile land has become a desert, and all its cities are torn down because of the LORD and his burning anger.

27 This is what the LORD says: The whole earth will be ruined, although I will not destroy it completely.

28 The earth will mourn, and the sky will grow black. I have spoken, and I have planned it. I won't change my plans, and I won't turn back.

29 All the people in the city will flee at the sound of riders and archers. They will go off into the thickets and climb among the rocks. The entire city will be abandoned, and no one will live in it.

30 You are going to be destroyed! What are you going to do? Why do you dress in red and put on gold jewelry? Why do you wear eye shadow? You are making yourself beautiful for nothing. Your lovers reject you; they want to kill you.

31 I hear a woman in labor. I hear the woman cry with anguish as she gives birth to her first child. My people Zion are gasping for breath. They are stretching out their hands, saying, "How horrible it is for us! We're defenseless in the presence of murderers!"

1 Walk around the streets of Jerusalem. Look around, and think about these things. Search the city squares. See if you can find anyone who does what is right and seeks the truth. Then I will forgive Jerusalem.

2 People say, "As the LORD lives...." Yet, they lie when they take this oath.

3 LORD, your eyes look for the truth. You strike these people, but they don't feel it. You crush them, but they refuse to be corrected. They are more stubborn than rocks. They refuse to turn back.

4 I thought, "These are poor, foolish people. They don't know the way of the LORD and the justice that God demands.

5 Let me go to important people and speak to them. They know the way of the LORD and the justice that God demands." But they, too, had broken off their yokes and torn off their chains.

6 That is why a lion from the forest will attack them. A wolf from the wilderness will destroy them. A leopard will lie in ambush outside their cities. All who leave the cities will be torn to pieces, because they rebel so often and they become more and more unfaithful.

7 "Why should I forgive you? Your children abandoned me. They took godless oaths. They committed adultery, even though I satisfied their needs. They traveled in crowds to the houses of prostitutes.

8 They are like well-fed stallions that are wild with desire. They neigh for their neighbors' wives.

9 I will punish them for these things," declares the LORD. "I will punish this nation.

10 "Go among Jerusalem's rows of grapevines and destroy them, but don't destroy all of them. Cut off the branches because they don't belong to the LORD.

11 The nations of Israel and Judah are unfaithful to me," declares the LORD.

12 They lie about the LORD and say, "He doesn't exist! Nothing bad will happen to us. We won't experience war or famine.

13 The prophets are nothing but windbags. The LORD hasn't spoken through them, so let what they say happen to them."

14 This is what the LORD God of Armies says: Because you've talked like this, I'm going to put my words in your mouth like a fire. These people will be like wood. My words will burn them up.

15 Nation of Israel, I'm going to bring a nation from far away to attack you, declares the LORD. It is a nation that has lasted a long time. It is an ancient nation. You don't know the language of this nation. You can't understand what its people say.

16 Their arrow quivers are like open graves. They are all mighty warriors.

17 They will devour your harvest and your food. They will devour your sons and your daughters. They will devour your flocks and your cattle. They will devour your grapevines and your fig trees. With their swords they will destroy the fortified cities you trust.

18 Yet, even in those days, declares the LORD, I won't destroy all of you.

19 They will ask, "Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?" Answer them, "You have abandoned me and served foreign gods in your land. So you will serve foreigners in a land that isn't yours."

20 "Tell this to the descendants of Jacob, and make this heard in Judah:

21 Hear this, you stupid and senseless people! You have eyes, but you cannot see. You have ears, but you cannot hear.

22 Don't you fear me?" asks the LORD. "Don't you tremble in my presence? I made the sand a boundary for the sea, a permanent barrier that it cannot cross. Although the waves toss continuously, they can't break through. Although they roar, they can't cross it.

23 But these people are stubborn and rebellious. They have turned aside and wandered away from me.

24 They don't say to themselves, 'We should fear the LORD our God. He sends rain at the right time, the autumn rain and the spring rain. He makes sure that we have harvest seasons.'

25 Your wickedness has turned these things away. Your sins have kept good things away from you.

26 "Wicked people are found among my people. They lie in ambush like bird catchers. They set traps and catch people.

27 Like cages filled with birds, their houses are filled with deceit. That is why they become powerful and rich.

28 They grow big and fat. Their evil deeds have no limits. They have no respect for the rights of others. They have no respect for the rights of orphans. But they still prosper. They don't defend the rights of the poor.

29 I will punish them for these things," declares the LORD. "I will punish this nation.

30 "Something horrible and disgusting is happening in the land:

31 Prophets prophesy lies. Priests rule under the prophets' directions, and my people love this. But what will you do in the end?"

1 The Spirit says clearly that in later times some believers will desert the Christian faith. They will follow spirits that deceive, and they will believe the teachings of demons.

2 These people will speak lies disguised as truth. Their consciences have been scarred as if branded by a red-hot iron.

3 They will try to stop others from getting married and from eating certain foods. God created food to be received with prayers of thanks by those who believe and know the truth.

4 Everything God created is good. Nothing should be rejected if it is received with prayers of thanks.

5 The word of God and prayer set it apart as holy.

6 You are a good servant of Christ Jesus when you point these things out to our brothers and sisters. Then you will be nourished by the words of the Christian faith and the excellent teachings which you have followed closely.

7 Don't have anything to do with godless myths that old women like to tell. Rather, train yourself to live a godly life.

8 Training the body helps a little, but godly living helps in every way. Godly living has the promise of life now and in the world to come.

9 This is a statement that can be trusted and deserves complete acceptance.

10 Certainly, we work hard and struggle to live a godly life, because we place our confidence in the living God. He is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

11 Insist on these things and teach them.

12 Don't let anyone look down on you for being young. Instead, make your speech, behavior, love, faith, and purity an example for other believers.

13 Until I get there, concentrate on reading [Scripture] in worship, giving encouraging messages, and teaching people.

14 Don't neglect the gift which you received through prophecy when the spiritual leaders placed their hands on you [to ordain you].

15 Practice these things. Devote your life to them so that everyone can see your progress.

16 Focus on your life and your teaching. Continue to do what I've told you. If you do this, you will save yourself and those who hear you.