Jeremiah 1; Jeremiah 2; 1 Timothy 3

Jeremiah 1

1 The words of Jeremias the son of Helcias, of the priests that were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin.

2 The word of the Lord which came to him in the days of Josias the son of Amon king of Juda, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

3 And which came to him in the days of Joakim the son of Josias king of Juda, unto the end of the eleventh year of Sedecias the son of Josias king of Juda, even unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive, in the fifth month.

4 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

5 Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee: and before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and made thee a prophet unto the nations.

6 And I said: Ah, ah, ah, Lord God: behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child.

7 And the Lord said to me: Say not: I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee: and whatsoever I shall command thee, thou shalt speak.

8 Be not afraid at their presence: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

9 And the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth: and the Lord said to me: Behold I have given my words in thy mouth:

10 Lo, I have set thee this day over the nations, and over kingdoms, to root up, and to pull down, and to waste, and to destroy, and to build, and to plant.

11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: What seest thou, Jeremias? And I said: I see a rod watching.

12 And the Lord said to me: Thou hast seen well: for I will watch over my word to perform it.

13 And the word of the Lord came to me a second time saying: What seest thou? And I said: I see a boiling caldron, and the face thereof from the face of the north.

14 And the Lord said to me: From the north shall an evil break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

15 For behold I will call together all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord: and they shall come, and shall set every one his throne in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and upon all the walls thereof round about, and upon all the cities of Juda.

16 And I will pronounce my judgments against them, touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have sacrificed to strange gods, and have adored the work of their own hands.

17 Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak to them all that I command thee. Be not afraid at their presence: for I will make thee not to fear their countenance.

18 For behold I have made thee this day a fortified city, and a pillar of iron, and a wall of brass, over all the land, to the kings of Juda, to the princes thereof, and to the priests, and to the people of the land.

19 And they shall fight against them, and shall not prevail: for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.

Jeremiah 2

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

2 Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: Thus saith the Lord: I have remembered thee, pitying thy youth, and the love of thy espousals, when thou followedst me in the desert, in a land that is not sown.

3 Israel is holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his increase: all they that devour him offend: evils shall come upon them, saith the Lord.

4 Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all ye families of the house of Israel:

5 Thus saith the Lord: What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?

6 And they have not said: Where is the Lord, that made us come up out of the land of Egypt? that led us through the desert, through a land uninhabited and unpassable, through a land of drought, and the image of death, through a land wherein no man walked, nor any man dwelt?

7 And I brought you into the land of Carmel, to eat the fruit thereof, and the best things thereof: and when ye entered in, you defiled my land and made my inheritance an abomination.

8 The priests did not say: Where is the Lord? and they that held the law knew me not, and the pastors transgressed against me: and the prophets prophesied in Baal, and followed idols.

9 Therefore will I yet contend in judgment with you, saith the Lord, and I will plead with your children.

10 Pass over to the isles of Cethim, and see: and send into Cedar, and consider diligently: and see if there hath been done any thing like this.

11 If a nation hath changed their gods, and indeed they are not gods: but my people have changed their glory into an idol.

12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and ye gates thereof, be very desolate, saith the Lord.

13 For my people have done two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have digged to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

14 Is Israel a bondman, or a homeborn slave? why then is he become a prey?

15 The lions have roared upon him, and have made a noise, they have made his land a wilderness: his cities are burnt down, and there is none to dwell in them.

16 The children also of Memphis, and of Taphnes have defloured thee, even to the crown of the head.

17 Hath not this been done to thee, because thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God at that time, when he led thee by the way?

18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the troubled water? And what hast thou to do with the way of the Assyrians, to drink the water of the river?

19 Thy own wickedness shall reprove thee, and thy apostasy shall rebuke thee. Know thou, and see that it is an evil and a bitter thing for thee, to have left the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not with thee, saith the Lord the God of hosts.

20 Of old time thou hast broken my yoke, thou hast burst my bands, and thou saidst: I will not serve. For on every high hill, and under every green tree thou didst prostitute thyself.

21 Yet, I planted thee a chosen vineyard, all true seed: how then art thou turned unto me into that which is good for nothing, O strange vineyard?

22 Though thou wash thyself with nitre, and multiply to thyself the herb borith, thou art stained in thy iniquity before me, saith the Lord God.

23 How canst thou say: I am not polluted, I have not walked after Baalim? see thy ways in the valley, know what thou hast done: as a swift runner pursuing his course.

24 A wild ass accustomed to the wilderness in the desire of his heart, snuffed up the wind of his love: none shall turn her away: all that seek her shall not fail: in her monthly filth they shall find her.

25 Keep thy foot from being bare, and thy throat from thirst. But thou saidst: I have lost all hope, I will not do it: for I have loved strangers, and I will walk after them.

26 As the thief is confounded when he is taken, so is the house of Israel confounded, they and their kings, their princes and their priests, and their prophets.

27 Saying to a stock: Thou art my father: and to a stone: Thou hast begotten me: they have turned their back to me, and not their face: and in the time of their affliction they will say: Arise, and deliver us.

28 Where are the gods, whom thou hast made thee? let them arise and deliver thee in the time of thy affliction: for according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Juda.

29 Why will you contend with me in judgment? you have all forsaken me, saith the Lord.

30 In vain have I struck your children, they have not received correction: your sword hath devoured your prophets, your generation is like a ravaging lion.

31 See ye the word of the Lord: Am I become a wilderness to Israel, or a lateward springing land? why then have my people said: We are revolted, we will come to thee no more?

32 Will a virgin forget her ornament, or a bride her stomacher? but my people hath forgotten me days without number.

33 Why dost thou endeavour to shew thy way good to seek my love, thou who hast also taught thy malices to be thy ways,

34 And in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor and innocent? not in ditches have I found them, but in all places, which I mentioned before.

35 And thou hast said: I am without sin and am innocent: and therefore let thy anger be turned away from me. Behold, I will contend with thee in judgment, because thou hast said: I have not sinned.

36 How exceeding base art thou become, going the same ways over again! and thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.

37 For from thence thou shalt go, and thy hand shall be upon thy head: for the Lord hath destroyed thy trust, and thou shalt have nothing prosperous therein.

1 Timothy 3

1 A faithful saying: If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth good work.

2 It behoveth therefore a bishop to be blameless, the husband of one wife, sober, prudent, of good behaviour, chaste, given to hospitality, a teacher,

3 Not given to wine, no striker, but modest, not quarrelsome, not covetous, but

4 One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all chastity.

5 But if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?

6 Not a neophyte: lest, being puffed up with pride, he fall into the judgment of the devil.

7 Moreover, he must have a good testimony of them who are without: lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

8 Deacons in like manner: chaste, not double tongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre:

9 Holding the mystery of faith in a pure conscience.

10 And let these also first be proved: and so let them minister, having no crime.

11 The women in like manner: chaste, not slanderers, but sober, faithful in all things.

12 Let deacons be the husbands of one wife: who rule well their children and their own houses.

13 For they that have ministered well shall purchase to themselves a good degree and much confidence in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

14 These things I write to thee, hoping that I shall come to thee shortly.

15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.

16 And evidently great is the mystery of godliness, which was manifested in the flesh, was justified in the spirit, appeared unto angels, hath been preached unto the Gentiles, is believed in the world, is taken up in glory.