Jeremiah 9; Jeremiah 10; Jeremiah 11; 1 Timothy 6

1 I wish my head were like a spring of water and my eyes like a fountain of tears! Then I could cry day and night for my people who have been killed.

2 I wish I had a place in the desert -- a house where travelers spend the night -- so I could leave my people. I could go away from them, because they are all unfaithful to God; they are all turning against him.

3 "They use their tongues like a bow, shooting lies from their mouths like arrows. Lies, not truth, have grown strong in the land. They go from one evil thing to another. They do not know who I am," says the Lord.

4 "Watch out for your friends, and don't trust your own relatives, because every relative is a cheater, and every friend tells lies about you.

5 Everyone lies to his friend, and no one speaks the truth. tongues to lie. They have become tired from sinning.

6 Jeremiah, you live in the middle of lies. With their lies the people refuse to know me," says the Lord.

7 So this is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "I will test the people of Judah as a person tests metal in a fire. I have no other choice, because my people have sinned.

8 Their tongues are like sharp arrows. Their mouths speak lies. Everyone speaks nicely to his neighbor, but he is secretly planning to attack him.

9 Shouldn't I punish the people for doing this?" says the Lord. "Shouldn't I give a nation like this the punishment it deserves?"

10 I, Jeremiah, will cry loudly for the mountains and sing a funeral song for the empty fields. They are empty, and no one passes through. The mooing of cattle cannot be heard. The birds have flown away, and the animals are gone.

11 "I, the Lord, will make the city of Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a home for wild dogs. so no one can live there."

12 What person is wise enough to understand these things? Is there someone who has been taught by the Lord who can explain them? Why was the land ruined? Why has it been made like an empty desert where no one goes?

13 The Lord answered, "It is because Judah quit following my teachings that I gave them. They have not obeyed me or done what I told them to do.

14 Instead, they were stubborn and followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them to do.

15 So this is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: "I will soon make the people of Judah eat bitter food and drink poisoned water.

16 I will scatter them through other nations that they and their ancestors never knew about. I will chase the people of Judah with the sword until they are all killed."

17 This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "Now, think about these things! Call for the women who cry at funerals to come. Send for those women who are good at that job.

18 Let them come quickly and cry loudly for us. Then our eyes will fill with tears, and streams of water will flow from our eyelids.

19 The sound of loud crying is heard from Jerusalem: 'We are truly ruined! We are truly ashamed! We must leave our land, because our houses are in ruins.'"

20 Now, women of Judah, listen to the word of the Lord; open your ears to hear the words of his mouth. Teach your daughters how to cry loudly. Teach one another a funeral song.

21 Death has climbed in through our windows and has entered our strong cities. Death has taken away our children who play in the streets and the young men who meet in the city squares.

22 Say, "This is what the Lord says: 'The dead bodies of people will lie in the open field like dung. They will lie like grain a farmer has cut, but there will be no one to gather them.'"

23 This is what the Lord says: "The wise must not brag about their wisdom. The strong must not brag about their strength. The rich must not brag about their money.

24 But if someone wants to brag, let him brag that he understands and knows me. Let him brag that I am the Lord, and that I am kind and fair, and that I do things that are right on earth. This kind of bragging pleases me," says the Lord.

25 The Lord says, "The time is coming when I will punish all those who are circumcised only in the flesh:

26 the people of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and the desert people who cut their hair short. The men in all those countries are not circumcised. And the whole family of Israel does not give itself to serving me."

1 Family of Israel, listen to what the Lord says to you.

2 This is what he says: "Don't live like the people from other nations, and don't be afraid of special signs in the sky, even though the other nations are afraid of them.

3 The customs of other people are worth nothing. Their idols are just wood cut from the forest, shaped by a worker with his chisel.

4 They decorate their idols with silver and gold. With hammers and nails they fasten them down so they won't fall over.

5 Their idols are like scarecrows in melon fields; they cannot talk. Since they cannot walk, they must be carried. Do not be afraid of those idols, because they can't hurt you, and they can't help you either."

6 Lord, there is no one like you. You are great, and your name is great and powerful.

7 Everyone should respect you, King of the nations; you deserve respect. Of all the wise people among the nations and in all the kingdoms, none of them is as wise as you.

8 Those wise people are stupid and foolish. Their teachings come from worthless wooden idols.

9 Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz, so the idols are made by craftsmen and goldsmiths. They put blue and purple clothes on the idols. All these things are made by skilled workers.

10 But the Lord is the only true God. He is the only living God, the King forever. The earth shakes when he is angry, and the nations cannot stand up to his anger.

11 "Tell them this message: 'These gods did not make heaven and earth; they will be destroyed and disappear from heaven and earth.'"

12 God made the earth by his power. He used his wisdom to build the world and his understanding to stretch out the skies.

13 When he thunders, the waters in the skies roar. He makes clouds rise in the sky all over the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

14 People are so stupid and know so little. Goldsmiths are made ashamed by their idols, because those statues are only false gods. They have no breath in them.

15 They are worth nothing; people make fun of them. When they are judged, they will be destroyed.

16 But God, who is Jacob's Portion, is not like the idols. He made everything, and he chose Israel to be his special people. The Lord All-Powerful is his name.

17 Get everything you own and prepare to leave, you people who are trapped by your enemies.

18 This is what the Lord says: "At this time I will throw out the people who live in this land. I will bring trouble to them so that they may be captured."

19 How terrible it will be for me because of my injury. My wound cannot be healed. Yet I told myself, "This is my sickness; I must suffer through it."

20 My tent is ruined, and all its ropes are broken. My children have gone away and left me. No one is left to put up my tent again or to set up a shelter for me.

21 The shepherds are stupid and don't ask the Lord for advice. So they do not have success, and all their flocks are scattered and lost.

22 Listen! The news is coming. A loud noise comes from the north to make the towns of Judah an empty desert and a home for wild dogs!

23 Lord, I know that a person's life doesn't really belong to him. No one can control his own life.

24 Lord, correct me, but be fair. Don't punish me in your anger, or you will destroy me.

25 Pour out your anger on other nations that do not know you and do not pray to you. Those nations have destroyed Jacob's family. They have eaten him up completely and destroyed his homeland.

1 These are the words that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah:

2 "Listen to the words of this agreement and tell them to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem.

3 Tell them this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'Cursed is the person who does not obey the words of this agreement

4 that I made with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt. Egypt was like a furnace for melting iron!' I told them, 'Obey me and do everything I command you. Then you will be my people, and I will be your God.

5 Then I will keep the promise I made to your ancestors to give them a fertile land.' And you are living in that country today." I answered, "Amen, Lord."

6 The Lord said to me, "Announce this message in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: 'Listen to the words of this agreement and obey them.

7 I warned your ancestors to obey me when I brought them out of Egypt. I have warned them again and again to this very day: "Obey me!"

8 But your ancestors did not listen to me. They were stubborn and did what their own evil hearts wanted. So I made all the curses of this agreement come upon them. I commanded them to obey the agreement, but they did not.'"

9 Then the Lord said to me, "I know the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem have made secret plans.

10 They have gone back to the same sins their ancestors did. Their ancestors refused to listen to my message and followed and worshiped other gods instead. The families of Israel and Judah have broken the agreement I made with their ancestors.

11 So this is what the Lord says: 'I will soon bring a disaster on the people of Judah which they will not be able to escape. They will cry to me for help, but I will not listen to them.

12 The people living in the towns of Judah and the city of Jerusalem will pray to their idols to whom they burn incense. But those idols will not be able to help when disaster comes.

13 Look, people of Judah, you have as many idols as there are towns in Judah. You have built as many altars to burn incense to that shameful god Baal as there are streets in Jerusalem.'

14 "As for you, Jeremiah, don't pray for these people or cry out for them or ask anything for them. I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble.

15 "What is my beloved Judah doing in my Temple when she makes many evil plans? Do you think animal sacrifices will stop your punishment? When you do your evil, then you are happy."

16 The Lord called you "a leafy olive tree, with beautiful fruit and shape." But with the roar of a strong storm he will set that tree on fire, and its branches will be burned up.

17 The Lord All-Powerful, who planted you, has announced that disaster will come to you. This is because the families of Israel and Judah have done evil and have made him angry by burning incense to Baal.

18 The Lord showed me that men were making plans against me. Because he showed me what they were doing, I knew they were against me.

19 Before this, I was like a gentle lamb waiting to be butchered. I did not know they had made plans against me, saying: "Let us destroy the tree and its fruit. Let's kill him so people will forget him."

20 But, Lord All-Powerful, you are a fair judge. You know how to test peoples' hearts and minds. I have told you what I have against them. So let me see you give them the punishment they deserve.

21 So the Lord speaks about the men from Anathoth who plan to kill Jeremiah and say, "Don't prophesy in the name of the Lord, or we will kill you!"

22 So this is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "I will soon punish the men from Anathoth. Their young men will die in war. Their sons and daughters will die from hunger.

23 No one from the city of Anathoth will be left alive, because I will cause a disaster to happen to them that year."

1 All who are slaves under a yoke should show full respect to their mas- ters so no one will speak against God's name and our teaching.

2 The slaves whose masters are believers should not show their masters any less respect because they are believers. They should serve their masters even better, because they are helping believers they love. You must teach and preach these things.

3 Anyone who has a different teaching does not agree with the true teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that shows the true way to serve God.

4 This person is full of pride and understands nothing, but is sick with a love for arguing and fighting about words. This brings jealousy, fighting, speaking against others, evil mistrust,

5 and constant quarrels from those who have evil minds and have lost the truth. They think that serving God is a way to get rich.

6 Serving God does make us very rich, if we are satisfied with what we have.

7 We brought nothing into the world, so we can take nothing out.

8 But, if we have food and clothes, we will be satisfied with that.

9 Those who want to become rich bring temptation to themselves and are caught in a trap. They want many foolish and harmful things that ruin and destroy people.

10 The love of money causes all kinds of evil. Some people have left the faith, because they wanted to get more money, but they have caused themselves much sorrow.

11 But you, man of God, run away from all those things. Instead, live in the right way, serve God, have faith, love, patience, and gentleness.

12 Fight the good fight of faith, grabbing hold of the life that continues forever. You were called to have that life when you confessed the good confession before many witnesses.

13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, I give you a command. Christ Jesus made the good confession when he stood before Pontius Pilate.

14 Do what you were commanded to do without wrong or blame until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.

15 God will make that happen at the right time. He is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords.

16 He is the only One who never dies. He lives in light so bright no one can go near it. No one has ever seen God, or can see him. May honor and power belong to God forever. Amen.

17 Command those who are rich with things of this world not to be proud. Tell them to hope in God, not in their uncertain riches. God richly gives us everything to enjoy.

18 Tell the rich people to do good, to be rich in doing good deeds, to be generous and ready to share.

19 By doing that, they will be saving a treasure for themselves as a strong foundation for the future. Then they will be able to have the life that is true life.

20 Timothy, guard what God has trusted to you. Stay away from foolish, useless talk and from the arguments of what is falsely called "knowledge."

21 By saying they have that "knowledge," some have missed the true faith. Grace be with you.