Jeremiah 20–21; 2 Timothy 4

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Jeremiah 20–21

Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur

Now jPashhur the priest, the son of kImmer, who was lchief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. Then jPashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him min the stocks that were in the upper nBenjamin Gate of the house of the Lord. The next day, when jPashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, The Lord does not call your name jPashhur, but Terror on Every Side. For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will make you oa terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. Moreover, pI will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its qprized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. And you, rPashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, sto whom you have prophesied falsely.

O Lord, tyou have deceived me,

and I was deceived;

uyou are stronger than I,

and you have prevailed.

vI have become a laughingstock all the day;

everyone mocks me.

For whenever I speak, I cry out,

I shout, wViolence and destruction!

For xthe word of the Lord has become for me

ya reproach and yderision all day long.

If I say, I will not mention him,

or speak any more in his name,

zthere is in my heart as it were a burning fire

shut up in my bones,

and aI am weary with holding it in,

and I cannot.

10  bFor I hear many whispering.

cTerror is on every side!

Denounce him! dLet us denounce him!

say all my eclose friends,

fwatching for gmy fall.

Perhaps he will be deceived;

then hwe can overcome him

and take our revenge on him.

11  But ithe Lord is with me as a dread warrior;

therefore my persecutors will stumble;

ithey will not overcome me.

jThey will be greatly shamed,

for they will not succeed.

Their keternal dishonor

will never be forgotten.

12  O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous,

lwho sees the heart and the mind,1

let me see your vengeance upon them,

for to you have I committed my cause.

13  mSing to the Lord;

praise the Lord!

For he has delivered the life of the needy

from the hand of evildoers.

14  nCursed be the day

on which I was born!

The day when my mother bore me,

let it not be blessed!

15  Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father,

A son is born to you,

omaking him very glad.

16  Let that man be like pthe cities

that the Lord overthrew without pity;

qlet him hear a cry in the morning

and an alarm at noon,

17  rbecause he did not kill me in the womb;

so my mother would have been my grave,

and her womb forever great.

18  sWhy did I come out from the womb

tto see toil and sorrow,

and spend my days in shame?

Jerusalem Will Fall to Nebuchadnezzar

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him uPashhur the son of Malchiah and vZephaniah the priest, the son of wMaaseiah, saying, xInquire of the Lord for us, yfor Nebuchadnezzar2 king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to zall his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.

Then Jeremiah said to them: Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: aBehold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. bAnd I will bring them together into the midst of this city. I myself will fight against you cwith outstretched hand and strong arm, din anger and in fury and in great wrath. And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. Afterward, declares the Lord, eI will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. fHe shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.

And to this people you shall say: gThus says the Lord: Behold, hI set before you the way of life and the way of death. He who stays in this city shall die iby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and jsurrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live kand shall have his life as a prize of war. 10 For lI have set my face against this city for harm and mnot for good, declares the Lord: nit shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

Message to the House of David

11 And to the house of the king of Judah say, Hear the word of the Lord, 12 O house of David! Thus says the Lord:

oExecute justice pin the morning,

and deliver from the hand of the oppressor

him who has been robbed,

qlest my wrath go forth like fire,

and burn with none to quench it,

because of your evil deeds.

13  rBehold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley,

O rock of the plain,

declares the Lord;

you who say, sWho shall come down against us,

or who shall enter our habitations?

14  tI will punish you according to uthe fruit of your deeds,

declares the Lord;

vI will kindle a fire in her forest,

vand it shall devour all that is around her.


2 Timothy 4

Preach the Word

hI charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, iwho is to judge the living and the dead, and by jhis appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; kreprove, rebuke, and lexhort, with complete patience and teaching. mFor the time is coming when people will not endure nsound1 teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and owill turn away from listening to the truth and pwander off into myths. As for you, qalways be sober-minded, rendure suffering, do the work of san evangelist, tfulfill your ministry.

For uI am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my vdeparture has come. wI have fought the good fight, xI have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is ylaid up for me zthe crown of righteousness, which the Lord, athe righteous judge, will award to me on bthat day, and not only to me but also to all cwho have loved his appearing.

Personal Instructions

dDo your best to come to me soon. 10 For eDemas, fin love with gthis present world, hhas deserted me and gone to Thessalonica. Crescens has gone to Galatia,2 iTitus to Dalmatia. 11 hLuke alone is with me. Get jMark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for ministry. 12 kTychicus I have sent to Ephesus. 13 When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, also the books, and above all the parchments. 14 lAlexander the coppersmith did me great harm; mthe Lord will repay him according to his deeds. 15 Beware of him yourself, for he strongly opposed our message. 16 At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me. nMay it not be charged against them! 17 But othe Lord stood by me and pstrengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and qall the Gentiles might hear it. So rI was rescued sfrom the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. tTo him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Final Greetings

19 Greet uPrisca and Aquila, and vthe household of Onesiphorus. 20 Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left wTrophimus, who was ill, at Miletus. 21 xDo your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers.3

22 The Lord be ywith your spirit. zGrace be with you.4