Jeremiah 34; Jeremiah 35; Jeremiah 36; Hebrews 2

1 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and all the towns around it. Nebuchadnezzar had with him all his army and the armies of all the kingdoms and peoples he ruled.

2 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said: "Jeremiah, go to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him: 'This is what the Lord says: I will soon hand the city of Jerusalem over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down!

3 You will not escape from the king of Babylon; you will surely be captured and handed over to him. You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes, and he will talk to you face to face. And you will go to Babylon.

4 But, Zedekiah king of Judah, listen to the promise of the Lord. This is what the Lord says about you: You will not be killed with a sword.

5 You will die in a peaceful way. As people made funeral fires to honor your ancestors, the kings who ruled before you, so people will make a funeral fire to honor you. They will cry for you and sadly say, "Ah, master!" I myself make this promise to you, says the Lord.'"

6 So Jeremiah the prophet gave this message to Zedekiah in Jerusalem.

7 This was while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that had not yet been taken -- Lachish and Azekah. These were the only strong, walled cities left in the land of Judah.

8 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. This was after King Zedekiah had made an agreement with all the people in Jerusalem to free all the Hebrew slaves.

9 Everyone was supposed to free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female. No one was to keep a fellow Jew as a slave.

10 All the officers and all the people accepted this agreement; they agreed to free their male and female slaves and no longer keep them as slaves. So all the slaves were set free.

11 But after that, the people who had slaves changed their minds. So they took back the people they had set free and made them slaves again.

12 Then the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah:

13 "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought your ancestors out of Egypt where they were slaves and made an agreement with them.

14 I said to your ancestors: 'At the end of every seven years, each one of you must set his Hebrew slaves free. If a fellow Hebrew has sold himself to you, you must let him go free after he has served you for six years.' But your ancestors did not listen or pay attention to me.

15 A short time ago you changed your hearts and did what I say is right. Each of you gave freedom to his fellow Hebrews who were slaves. And you even made an agreement before me in the place where I have chosen to be worshiped.

16 But now you have changed your minds. You have shown you do not honor me. Each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free, and you have forced them to become your slaves again.

17 "So this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me. You have not given freedom to your fellow Hebrews, neither relatives nor friends. But now I will give freedom, says the Lord, to war, to terrible diseases, and to hunger. I will make you hated by all the kingdoms of the earth.

18 I will hand over the men who broke my agreement, who have not kept the promises they made before me. They cut a calf into two pieces before me and walked between the pieces.

19 These people made the agreement before me by walking between the pieces of the calf: the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the officers of the court, the priests, and all the people of the land.

20 So I will hand them over to their enemies and to everyone who wants to kill them. Their bodies will become food for the birds of the air and for the wild animals of the earth.

21 I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah and his officers over to their enemies, and to everyone who wants to kill them, and to the army of the king of Babylon, even though they have left Jerusalem.

22 I will give the order, says the Lord, to bring the Babylonian army back to Jerusalem. It will fight against Jerusalem, capture it, set it on fire, and burn it down. I will destroy the towns in Judah so that they become ruins where no one lives!"

1 When Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah, saying:

2 "Go to the family of Recab. Invite them to come to one of the side rooms of the Temple of the Lord, and offer them wine to drink."

3 So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah. And I gathered all of Jaazaniah's brothers and sons and the whole family of the Recabites together.

4 Then I brought them into the Temple of the Lord. We went into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, who was a man of God. The room was next to the one where the officers stay and above the room of Maaseiah son of Shallum, the doorkeeper in the Temple.

5 Then I put some bowls full of wine and some cups before the men of the Recabite family. And I said to them, "Drink some wine."

6 But the Recabite men answered, "We never drink wine. Our ancestor Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: 'You and your descendants must never drink wine.

7 Also you must never build houses, plant seeds, or plant vineyards, or do any of those things. You must live only in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are wanderers.'

8 So we Recabites have obeyed everything Jonadab our ancestor commanded us. Neither we nor our wives, sons, or daughters ever drink wine.

9 We never build houses in which to live, or own fields or vineyards, or plant crops.

10 We have lived in tents and have obeyed everything our ancestor Jonadab commanded us.

11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked Judah, we said to each other, 'Come, we must enter Jerusalem so we can escape the Babylonian army and the Aramean army.' So we have stayed in Jerusalem."

12 Then the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah:

13 "This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: Jeremiah, go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem: 'You should learn a lesson and obey my message,' says the Lord.

14 'Jonadab son of Recab ordered his descendants not to drink wine, and that command has been obeyed. Until today they have obeyed their ancestor's command; they do not drink wine. But I, the Lord, have given you messages again and again, but you did not obey me.

15 I sent all my servants the prophets to you again and again, saying, "Each of you must stop doing evil. You must change and be good. Do not follow other gods to serve them. If you obey me, you will live in the land I have given to you and your ancestors." But you have not listened to me or paid attention to my message.

16 The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab obeyed the commands their ancestor gave them, but the people of Judah have not obeyed me.'

17 "So the Lord God All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: 'I will soon bring every disaster I said would come to Judah and to everyone living in Jerusalem. I spoke to those people, but they refused to listen. I called out to them, but they did not answer me.'"

18 Then Jeremiah said to the Recabites, "This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: 'You have obeyed the commands of your ancestor Jonadab and have followed all of his teachings; you have done everything he commanded.'

19 So this is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: 'There will always be a descendant of Jonadab son of Recab to serve me.'"

1 The Lord spoke this word to Jeremiah during the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah:

2 "Get a scroll. Write on it all the words I have spoken to you about Israel and Judah and all the nations. Write everything from when I first spoke to you, when Josiah was king, until now.

3 Maybe the family of Judah will hear what disasters I am planning to bring on them and will stop doing wicked things. Then I would forgive them for the sins and the evil things they have done."

4 So Jeremiah called for Baruch son of Neriah. Jeremiah spoke the messages the Lord had given him, and Baruch wrote those messages on the scroll.

5 Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, "I cannot go to the Temple of the Lord. I must stay here.

6 So I want you to go to the Temple of the Lord on a day when the people are giving up eating. Read from the scroll to all the people of Judah who come into Jerusalem from their towns. Read the messages from the Lord, which are the words you wrote on the scroll as I spoke them to you.

7 Perhaps they will ask the Lord to help them. Perhaps each one will stop doing wicked things, because the Lord has announced that he is very angry with them."

8 So Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do. In the Lord's Temple he read aloud the scroll that had the Lord's messages written on it.

9 In the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king, a special time to give up eating was announced. All the people of Jerusalem and everyone who had come into Jerusalem from the towns of Judah were supposed to give up eating to honor the Lord.

10 At that time Baruch read to all the people there the scroll containing Jeremiah's words. He read the scroll in the Temple of the Lord in the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan, a royal secretary. That room was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate of the Temple.

11 Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the messages from the Lord that were on the scroll.

12 Micaiah went down to the royal secretary's room in the king's palace where all of the officers were sitting: Elishama the royal secretary; Delaiah son of Shemaiah; Elnathan son of Acbor; Gemariah son of Shaphan; Zedekiah son of Hananiah; and all the other officers.

13 Micaiah told those officers everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll.

14 Then the officers sent a man named Jehudi son of Nethaniah to Baruch. (Nethaniah was the son of Shelemiah, who was the son of Cushi.) Jehudi said to Baruch, "Bring the scroll that you read to the people and come with me." So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went with Jehudi to the officers.

15 Then the officers said to Baruch, "Please sit down and read the scroll to us." So Baruch read the scroll to them.

16 When the officers heard all the words, they became afraid and looked at each other. They said to Baruch, "We must certainly tell the king about these words."

17 Then the officers asked Baruch, "Tell us, please, where did you get all these words you wrote on the scroll? Did you write down what Jeremiah said to you?"

18 "Yes," Baruch answered. "Jeremiah spoke them all to me, and I wrote them down with ink on this scroll."

19 Then the officers said to Baruch, "You and Jeremiah must go and hide, and don't tell anyone where you are."

20 The officers put the scroll in the room of Elishama the royal secretary. Then they went to the king in the courtyard and told him all about the scroll.

21 So King Jehoiakim sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought the scroll from the room of Elishama the royal secretary and read it to the king and to all the officers who stood around the king.

22 It was the ninth month of the year, so King Jehoiakim was sitting in the winter apartment. There was a fire burning in a small firepot in front of him.

23 After Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut those columns off of the scroll with a penknife and threw them into the firepot. Finally, the whole scroll was burned in the fire.

24 King Jehoiakim and his servants heard everything that was said, but they were not frightened! They did not tear their clothes to show their sorrow.

25 Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah even tried to talk King Jehoiakim out of burning the scroll, but he would not listen to them.

26 Instead, the king ordered Jerahmeel son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden them.

27 So King Jehoiakim burned the scroll where Baruch had written all the words Jeremiah had spoken to him. Then the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah:

28 "Get another scroll. Write all the words on it that were on the first scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up.

29 Also say this to Jehoiakim king of Judah: 'This is what the Lord says: You burned up that scroll and said, "Why, Jeremiah, did you write on it 'the king of Babylon will surely come and destroy this land and the people and animals in it'?"

30 So this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: Jehoiakim's descendants will not sit on David's throne. When Jehoiakim dies, his body will be thrown out on the ground. It will be left out in the heat of the day and in the cold frost of the night.

31 I will punish Jehoiakim and his children and his servants, because they have done evil things. I will bring disasters upon them and upon all the people in Jerusalem and Judah -- everything I promised but which they refused to hear.'"

32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, his secretary. As Jeremiah spoke, Baruch wrote on the scroll the same words that were on the scroll Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to the second scroll.

1 So we must be more careful to follow what we were taught. Then we will not stray away from the truth.

2 The teaching God spoke through angels was shown to be true, and anyone who did not follow it or obey it received the punishment that was earned.

3 So surely we also will be punished if we ignore this great salvation. The Lord himself first told about this salvation, and it was proven true to us by those who heard him.

4 God also proved it by using wonders, great signs, many kinds of miracles, and by giving people gifts through the Holy Spirit, just as he wanted.

5 God did not choose angels to be the rulers of the new world that was coming, which is what we have been talking about.

6 It is written in the Scriptures, "Why are people important to you? Why do you take care of human beings?

7 You made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. You put all things under their control."

8 When God put everything under their control, there was nothing left that they did not rule. Still, we do not yet see them ruling over everything.

9 But we see Jesus, who for a short time was made lower than the angels. And now he is wearing a crown of glory and honor because he suffered and died. And by God's grace, he died for everyone.

10 God is the One who made all things, and all things are for his glory. He wanted to have many children share his glory, so he made the One who leads people to salvation perfect through suffering.

11 Jesus, who makes people holy, and those who are made holy are from the same family. So he is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.

12 He says, "Then, I will tell my fellow Israelites about you; I will praise you in the public meeting."

13 He also says, "I will trust in God." And he also says, "I am here, and with me are the children God has given me."

14 Since these children are people with physical bodies, Jesus himself became like them. He did this so that, by dying, he could destroy the one who has the power of death -- the devil --

15 and free those who were like slaves all their lives because of their fear of death.

16 Clearly, it is not angels that Jesus helps, but the people who are from Abraham.

17 For this reason Jesus had to be made like his brothers in every way so he could be their merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. Then Jesus could bring forgiveness for their sins.

18 And now he can help those who are tempted, because he himself suffered and was tempted.