The Word Became Flesh
1 aIn the beginning bwas cthe Word, and the Word was dwith God, and ethe Word was God. 2 fHe was in the beginning with God. 3 gAll things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 hIn him was life,1 and the life was the ilight of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
6 jThere was a man ksent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a lwitness, mto bear witness about the light, nthat all might believe through him. 8 oHe was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
9 The true plight, which gives light qto everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own,2 and rhis own people3 did not sreceive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, twho believed uin his name, he gave the right to become vchildren of God, 13 who were wborn, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word xbecame flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his yglory, glory as of the only zSon4 from the Father, full of agrace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, b‘He who comes after me ranks cbefore me, because he was dbefore me.’”) 16 For from his efullness we have all received, grace upon grace.5 17 For the law was given fthrough Moses; ggrace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 hNo one has ever seen God; God the only Son, who6 is iat the Father’s side,7 jhe has made him known.
Greeting
1 aJames, a bservant1 of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes in the cDispersion:
Greetings.
Testing of Your Faith
2 dCount it all joy, my brothers,2 when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you eknow that the ftesting of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be gperfect and hcomplete, lacking in nothing.
5 If any of you lacks iwisdom, let him jask God, who gives generously to all kwithout reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, lwith no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and mtossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a ndouble-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9 oLet the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the prich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass3 he will pass away. 11 For the qsun rises with its scorching heat and withers the rgrass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
All Is Vanity
1 The words of the aPreacher,1 the bson of David, king in Jerusalem.
2 cVanity2 of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! dAll is vanity.
3 What does man egain by all the toil
at which he toils funder the sun?
4 A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens3 to the place where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
7 All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8 All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the geye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 hWhat has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already
in the ages before us.
11 There is no iremembrance of former things,4
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things5 yet to be
among those who come after.
The Vanity of Wisdom
12 I the Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 And I japplied my heart6 to seek and to ksearch out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an lunhappy mbusiness that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14 I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity7 and a nstriving after wind.8
15 oWhat is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16 I said in my heart, “I have acquired great wisdom, psurpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17 And I applied my heart to know wisdom and to know qmadness and folly. I perceived that this also is but a striving after wind.
18 For in rmuch wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
1 The words of aJeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of bJosiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the cthirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of dJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eeleventh year of fZedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the gfifth month.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 h“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, iI do not know how to speak, for I am jonly a youth.” 7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, kyou shall speak.
8 lDo not be afraid of them,
for I am mwith you to deliver you,
declares the Lord.”
9 Then the Lord put out his hand and ntouched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,
“Behold, oI have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to ppluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”
11 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, qwhat do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond1 branch.” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”
13 The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” 14 Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the rnorth disaster2 shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For behold, I am calling sall the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, and they shall come, and every one shall tset his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in uforsaking me. They have vmade offerings to other gods and worshiped the wworks of their own hands. 17 But you, xdress yourself for work;3 arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. 18 And I, behold, yI make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and zbronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”
Israel Forsakes the Lord
1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,
“I remember the devotion of your ayouth,
your love bas a bride,
how you followed me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.
3 Israel was choly to the Lord,
the firstfruits of his harvest.
dAll who ate of it incurred guilt;
disaster came upon them,
declares the Lord.”
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord:
e“What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
and fwent after gworthlessness, and became worthless?
6 They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the hwilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that none passes through,
where no man dwells?’
7 And I brought you into a plentiful land
to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, you idefiled my land
and made my heritage an abomination.
8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who handle the law did not jknow me;
the kshepherds4 transgressed against me;
the prophets lprophesied by Baal
and went after mthings that do not profit.
9 “Therefore I still contend with you,
declares the Lord,
and with your children’s children I will contend.
10 For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see,
or send to Kedar and examine with care;
see if there has been such a thing.
11 Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are nno gods?
But my people have ochanged their glory
for that which does not profit.
12 Be appalled, pO heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the Lord,
13 for my people have committed two evils:
they have qforsaken me,
the rfountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
14 “Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
Why then has he become a prey?
15 sThe lions have roared against him;
they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a twaste;
his cities are in ruins, uwithout inhabitant.
16 Moreover, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have shaved5 the crown of your head.
17 Have you not vbrought this upon yourself
by forsaking the Lord your God,
when he led you in the way?
18 wAnd now what do you gain by going to Egypt
to drink the waters of the Nile?6
Or what do you gain by going to Assyria
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?7
19 Your evil will chastise you,
and your apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and xbitter
for you to forsake the Lord your God;
the fear of me is not in you,
declares the Lord God of hosts.
20 “For long ago I ybroke your yoke
and burst your bonds;
but you said, ‘I will not serve.’
Yes, zon every high hill
and under every green tree
you bowed down alike a whore.
21 Yet I bplanted you a choice cvine,
wholly of pure seed.
How then have you turned degenerate
and become a dwild vine?
22 Though you wash yourself ewith lye
and use much soap,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,
declares the Lord God.
23 How can you say, ‘I am not unclean,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way in the valley;
know what you have done—
a restless young camel running here and there,
24 a wild donkey used to the wilderness,
in her heat sniffing the wind!
Who can restrain her lust?
None who seek her need weary themselves;
in her month they will find her.
25 Keep your ffeet from going unshod
and your throat from gthirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless,
for I have loved hforeigners,
and after them I will go.’
26 “As a thief is shamed when caught,
so the house of Israel shall be shamed:
they, their ikings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets,
27 who say to a jtree, ‘You are my father,’
and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have kturned their back to me,
and not their face.
But in the time of their trouble they say,
‘Arise and save us!’
28 But lwhere are your gods
that you made for yourself?
mLet them arise, if they can save you,
in your time of trouble;
for nas many as your cities
are your gods, O Judah.
29 “Why do you contend with me?
You have all transgressed against me,
declares the Lord.
30 In vain have I struck your children;
they took no ocorrection;
your own sword devoured your pprophets
like a ravening lion.
31 And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
or a land of thick darkness?
Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,
we will come no more to you’?
32 Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
or a bride her attire?
Yet my people have qforgotten me
days without number.
33 “How well you direct your course
to seek love!
So that even to wicked women
you have taught your ways.
34 Also on your skirts is found
the rlifeblood of the guiltless poor;
syou did not find them breaking in.
Yet in spite of all these things
35 you say, ‘I am innocent;
surely his anger has turned from me.’
Behold, I will bring you to judgment
for saying, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 How much you go about,
changing your way!
You shall be put to shame tby Egypt
as you were put to shame uby Assyria.
37 From it too you will come away
vwith your hands on your head,
for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,
and you will not prosper by them.
