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

1 "Suppose a man divorces his wife. What if she then gets married to another man? Should her first husband return to her again? If he does, won't the land become completely 'unclean'? People of Israel, you have lived like a prostitute. You have loved many other gods. So do you think you can return to me now?" announces the Lord.

2 "Look up at the bare hilltops. Is there any place where you have not committed adultery with other gods? By the side of the road you sat waiting for lovers. You sat there like someone who wanders in the desert. You have polluted the land. You are like a sinful prostitute.

3 So I have held the showers back. I have kept the spring rains from falling. But you still have the bold face of a prostitute. You refuse to blush with shame.

4 You have just now called out to me. You said, 'My Father, you have been my friend ever since I was young.

5 Will you always be angry with me? Will your anger continue forever?' That is how you talk. But you do all of the evil things you can."

6 During the time Josiah was king, the LORD spoke to me. He said, "Have you seen what the people of Israel have done? They have not been faithful to me. They have committed adultery with other gods. They worshiped them on every high hill and under every green tree.

7 "I thought that after they had done all of those things, they would return to me. But they did not. Their sister nation Judah saw it. And they were not faithful to me either.

8 "I gave Israel their letter of divorce. I sent them away because they were unfaithful to me so many times. But I saw that their sister nation Judah did not have any respect for me. They were not faithful to me either. They also went out and committed adultery with other gods.

9 "Israel was not faithful to me, but that did not bother them at all. They made the land 'unclean.' They worshiped gods that were made out of stone and wood.

10 In spite of all that, their sister Judah did not come back to me. They were not faithful to me either. They did not return with all their heart. They only pretended to," announces the Lord.

11 The LORD said to me, "Israel and Judah have not been faithful to me. But Israel was not as bad as Judah was.

12 "Go. Announce this message to the people in the north. Tell them, " 'Israel, you have not been faithful,' announces the Lord. 'Return to me. Then I will look on you with favor again. My love is faithful,' announces the Lord. 'I will not be angry with you forever.

13 Admit that you are guilty of doing what is wrong. You have refused to obey me. I am the LORD your God. You have committed adultery with other gods. You worshiped them under every green tree. And you have not obeyed me,' " announces the Lord.

14 "You people have not been faithful," announces the Lord. "Return to me. I am your husband. I will choose one of you from each town. I will choose two from each territory. And I will bring you to the city of Zion.

15 "Then I will give you shepherds who are dear to my heart. Their knowledge and understanding will help them lead you.

16 In those days your numbers will increase greatly in the land," announces the Lord. "Then people will not talk about the ark of the covenant of the LORD anymore. It will never enter their minds. They will not remember it. The ark will not be missed. And another one will not be made.

17 "At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord. All of the nations will gather together there. They will go there to honor me. They will no longer do what their stubborn and evil hearts want them to do.

18 "In those days the people of Judah will join the people of Israel. Together they will come from a land in the north. They will come to the land I gave to your people long ago. I wanted them to have it as their very own.

19 "I myself said, " 'I would gladly treat you like my children. I would give you a pleasant land. It is the most beautiful land any nation could have.' I thought you would call me 'Father.' I hoped you would always follow me.

20 But you people are like a woman who is not faithful to her husband. Israel, you have not been faithful to me," announces the Lord.

21 A cry is heard on the bare hilltops. The people of Israel are sobbing and praying. That's because their lives are so twisted. They've forgotten the LORD their God.

22 "You have not been faithful," says the Lord. "Return to me. I will heal you. Then you will not turn away from me anymore." "Yes," the people say. "We will come to you. You are the LORD our God.

23 The gods we worship on the hills and mountains are useless. You are the LORD our God. You are the only one who can save us.

24 From our earliest years shameful gods have eaten up everything our people worked for. They have eaten up our flocks and herds. They've destroyed our sons and daughters.

25 Let us lie down in our shame. Let our dishonor cover us. You are the LORD our God. But we have sinned against you. We and our people before us have sinned. We haven't obeyed you from our earliest years until now."

1 "If you will return, Israel, return to me," announces the Lord. "Put the statues of your gods out of my sight. I hate them. Stop going down the wrong path.

2 Take all of your oaths in my name. Say, 'You can be sure that the LORD is alive.' Let all of your promises be truthful, fair and honest. Then I will bless the nations. And they will take delight in me."

3 Here is what the LORD is telling the people of Judah and Jerusalem. He says, "Your hearts are as hard as a field that has not been plowed. So change your ways and produce good crops. Do not plant seeds among thorns.

4 People of Judah and Jerusalem, obey me. Do not let your hearts be stubborn. If you do, my anger will blaze out against you. It will burn like fire because of the evil things you have done. No one will be able to put it out.

5 "Announce my message in Judah. Tell it in Jerusalem. Say, 'Blow trumpets all through the land!' Give a loud shout and say, 'Gather together! Let's run to cities that have high walls around them!'

6 Warn everyone to go to Zion! Run for safety! Do not wait! I am bringing trouble from the north. Everything will be totally destroyed."

7 Lions have come out of their den. Those who destroy nations have begun to march out. They have left their place to destroy your land completely. Your towns will be broken to pieces. No one will live in them.

8 So put on black clothes. Sob and cry over what has happened. The LORD hasn't turned his burning anger away from us.

9 "A dark day is coming," announces the Lord. "The king and his officials will lose hope. The priests will be shocked. And the prophets will be terrified."

10 Then I said, "You are my LORD and King. You have completely tricked the people of Judah and Jerusalem. You have told them, 'You will have peace and rest.' But swords are pointed at our throats."

11 At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be warned. They will be told, "A hot and dry wind is coming, my people. It is blowing toward you from the bare hilltops in the desert. But it does not separate straw from grain.

12 It is much too strong for that. The wind is coming from me. I am making my decision against you."

13 Look! Our enemies are approaching like the clouds. Their chariots are coming like a strong wind. Their horses are faster than eagles. How terrible it will be for us! We'll be destroyed!

14 People of Jerusalem, wash your sins from your hearts and be saved. How long will you hold on to your evil thoughts?

15 A voice is speaking all the way from the city of Dan. From the hills of Ephraim it announces that trouble is coming.

16 "Tell the nations. Warn Jerusalem. Say, 'An army will attack you. It is coming from a land far away. It will shout a war cry against the cities of Judah.

17 It will surround them like people who guard a field. Judah has refused to obey me,' " announces the Lord.

18 "The army will attack you because of your conduct and actions. That is how you will be punished. It will be so bitter! It will cut deep down into your hearts!"

19 I'm suffering! I'm really suffering! I'm hurting badly. My heart is suffering so much! It's pounding inside me. I can't keep silent. I've heard the sound of trumpets. I've heard the battle cry.

20 One trouble follows another. The whole land is destroyed. In an instant my tents are gone. My home disappears in a moment.

21 How long must I look at our enemy's battle flag? How long must I hear the sound of the trumpets?

22 The LORD says, "My people are foolish. They do not know me. They are children who do not have any sense. They have no understanding at all. They are skilled in doing what is evil. They do not know how to do what is good."

23 I looked at the earth. It didn't have any shape. And it was empty. I looked at the sky. Its light was gone.

24 I looked at the mountains. They were shaking. All of the hills were swaying.

25 I looked. And there weren't any people. Every bird in the sky had flown away.

26 I looked. And the fruitful land had become a desert. All of its towns were destroyed. The LORD had done all of that because of his burning anger.

27 The LORD says, "The whole land will be destroyed. But I will not destroy it completely.

28 So the earth will be filled with sadness. The sky above will grow dark. I have spoken, and I will not take pity on them. I have made my decision, and I will not change my mind."

29 People can hear the sound of horsemen. Men who are armed with bows are coming. The people in every town run away. Some of them go into the bushes. Others climb up among the rocks. All of the towns are deserted. No one is living in them.

30 What are you doing, you who are destroyed? Why do you dress yourself in bright red clothes? Why do you put on jewels of gold? Why do you put makeup on your eyes? You make yourself beautiful for no reason at all. Your lovers hate you. They are trying to kill you.

31 I hear a cry like the cry of a woman having a baby. I hear a groan like someone having her first child. It's the cry of the people of Zion struggling to breathe. They reach out their hands and say, "Help us! We're fainting! Murderers are about to kill us!"

1 The LORD says, "Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look around. Think about what you see. Search through the market places. See if you can find one honest person who tries to be truthful. If you can, I will forgive this city.

2 They take all of their oaths in my name. They say, 'You can be sure that the LORD is alive.' But their oaths can't be trusted."

3 Lord, don't your eyes look for truth? You struck your people down. But they didn't feel any pain. You crushed them. But they refused to be corrected. They made their faces harder than stone. They refused to turn away from their sins.

4 I thought, "The people of Jerusalem are foolish. They don't know how the LORD wants them to live. They don't know what their God requires of them.

5 So I will go to the leaders. I'll speak to them. They should know how the LORD wants them to live. They must know what their God requires of them." But all of them had broken off the yoke the LORD had put on them. They had torn off the ropes he had tied them up with.

6 So a lion from the forest will attack them. A wolf from the desert will destroy them. A leopard will hide and wait near their towns. It will tear to pieces anyone who dares to go out. Again and again they have refused to obey the Lord. They have turned away from him many times.

7 The LORD says, "Jerusalem, why should I forgive you? Your people have deserted me. They have taken their oaths in the names of gods that are not really gods at all. I supplied everything they needed. But they committed adultery. Large crowds went to the houses of prostitutes.

8 Your people are like stallions that have plenty to eat. Their sinful longings are out of control. Each of them goes after another man's wife.

9 Shouldn't I punish them for that?" announces the Lord. "Shouldn't I pay back the nation that does those things?

10 "Armies of Babylonia, go through their vineyards and destroy them. But do not destroy them completely. Strip off their branches. Those people do not belong to me.

11 The people of Israel and Judah have not been faithful to me at all," announces the Lord.

12 They have told lies about the Lord. They said, "He won't do anything! No harm will come to us. We will never see war or be hungry.

13 The prophets are nothing but wind. Their message doesn't come from the Lord. So let what they say will happen be done to them."

14 The LORD God rules over all. He says to me, "The people have spoken those words. So my words will be like fire in your mouth. I will make the people like wood. And the fire will burn them up."

15 "People of Israel, listen to me," announces the Lord. "I am bringing against you a nation from far away. It is an old nation. And it will last for a long time. Its people speak a language you do not know. You can't understand what they are saying.

16 The bags they carry their arrows in are like an open grave. All of their soldiers are mighty.

17 They will eat up your crops and your food. They will strike down your sons and daughters. They will kill your sheep and cattle. They will destroy your vines and fig trees. You trust in your cities that have high walls around them. But the people in them will be killed with swords.

18 "In spite of that, even in those days I will not destroy you completely," announces the Lord.

19 " 'Jeremiah,' the people will ask, 'Why has the LORD our God done all of this to us?' "Then you will tell them, 'You have deserted the LORD. You have served other gods in your own land. So now you will serve another nation in a land that is not your own.'

20 "Here is what I want you to announce to the people of Jacob. Tell it in Judah. Tell them I say,

21 'Listen to this, you foolish people, who do not have any sense. You have eyes, but you do not see. You have ears, but you do not hear.

22 Shouldn't you have respect for me?' announces the Lord. 'Shouldn't you tremble with fear in front of me? I made the sand to hold the ocean back. It will do that forever. The ocean can't go past it. The waves might roll, but they can't sweep over it. They might roar, but they can't go across it.

23 But you people have stubborn hearts. You refuse to obey me. You have turned away from me. You have gone down the wrong path.

24 You do not say to yourselves, "Let us have respect for the LORD our God. He sends rain in the fall and the spring. He promises us that the harvest will come at the same time each year."

25 But the things you have done wrong have robbed you of those gifts. Your sins have kept those good things far away from you.'

26 "Jeremiah, some of my people are evil. They hide and wait just as people hide to catch birds. They set traps for men.

27 A hunter uses tricks to fill his cage with birds. And my people have filled their houses with a lot of goods. They have become rich and powerful.

28 They have grown fat and heavy. There is no limit to the evil things they do. In court they do not state the case of children whose fathers have died. They do not stand up for poor people.

29 Shouldn't I punish them for that?" announces the Lord. "Shouldn't I pay back the nation that does those things?

30 "Something horrible and shocking has happened in the land.

31 The prophets prophesy lies. The priests rule by their own authority. And my people love it that way. But what will they do in the end?"

1 The Holy Spirit clearly says that in the last days some people will leave the faith. They will follow spirits that will fool them. They will believe things that demons will teach them.

2 Teachings like those come from liars who pretend to be what they are not. Their sense of what is right and wrong has been burned as if with a hot iron.

3 They do not allow people to get married. They order them not to eat certain foods. But God created those foods. So people who believe and know the truth should receive them and give thanks for them.

4 Everything God created is good. You shouldn't turn anything down. Instead, you should thank God for it.

5 The word of God and prayer make it holy.

6 Point these things out to the brothers and sisters. Then you will serve Christ Jesus well. You were brought up in the truths of the faith. You received good teaching. You followed it.

7 Don't have anything to do with godless stories and silly tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly.

8 Training the body has some value. But being godly has value in every way. It promises help for the life you are now living and the life to come.

9 Here is a saying you can trust. You can accept it completely.

10 We work hard for it. Here is the saying. We have put our hope in the living God. He is the Savior of all people. Most of all he is the Savior of those who believe.

11 Command those things. Teach them.

12 Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young. Set an example for the believers in what you say and in how you live. Also set an example in how you love and in what you believe. Show the believers how to be pure.

13 Until I come, spend your time reading Scripture out loud to one another. Spend your time preaching and teaching.

14 Don't fail to use the gift the Holy Spirit gave you. He gave it to you through a message from God. It was given when the elders placed their hands on you.

15 Keep on doing those things. Give them your complete attention. Then everyone will see how you are coming along.

16 Be careful of how you live and what you believe. Never give up. Then you will save yourself and those who hear you.