24Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt, 25thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, as follows: ‘As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, “We will certainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her.” Go ahead and confirm your vows, and certainly perform your vows!’ 26Nevertheless hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt, ‘Behold, I have sworn by My great name,’ says the Lord, ‘never shall My name be invoked again by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “As the Lord God lives.” 27Behold, I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will meet their end by the sword and by famine until they are completely gone. 28Those who escape the sword will return out of the land of Egypt to the land of Judah few in number. Then all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know whose word will stand, Mine or theirs. 29This will be the sign to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that My words will surely stand against you for harm.’ 30Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am going to give over Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt to the hand of his enemies, to the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave over Zedekiah king of Judah to the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life.’ ”

Message to Baruch

1This is the message which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written down these words in a book at Jeremiah’s dictation, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying: 2“Thus says the Lord the God of Israel to you, O Baruch: 3‘You said, “Ah, woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning and have found no rest.” ’ 4Thus you are to say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, what I have built I am about to tear down, and what I have planted I am about to uproot, that is, the whole land.” 5But you, are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I am going to bring disaster on all flesh,’ declares the Lord, ‘but I will give your life to you as booty in all the places where you may go.’ ”

Defeat of Pharaoh Foretold

1That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.

2To Egypt, concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:

3“Line up the shield and buckler,

And draw near for the battle!

4Harness the horses,

And mount the steeds,

And take your stand with helmets on!

Polish the spears,

Put on the scale-armor!

5Why have I seen it?

They are terrified,

They are drawing back,

And their mighty men are defeated

And have taken refuge in flight,

Without facing back;

Terror is on every side!”

Declares the Lord.

6Let not the swift man flee,

Nor the mighty man escape;

In the north beside the river Euphrates

They have stumbled and fallen.

7Who is this that rises like the Nile,

Like the rivers whose waters surge about?

8Egypt rises like the Nile,

Even like the rivers whose waters surge about;

And He has said, “I will rise and cover that land;

I will surely destroy the city and its inhabitants.”

9Go up, you horses, and drive madly, you chariots,

That the mighty men may march forward:

Ethiopia and Put, that handle the shield,

And the Lydians, that handle and bend the bow.

10For that day belongs to the Lord God of hosts,

A day of vengeance, so as to avenge Himself on His foes;

And the sword will devour and be satiated

And drink its fill of their blood;

For there will be a slaughter for the Lord God of hosts,

In the land of the north by the river Euphrates.

11Go up to Gilead and obtain balm,

O virgin daughter of Egypt!

In vain have you multiplied remedies;

There is no healing for you.

12The nations have heard of your shame,

And the earth is full of your cry of distress;

For one warrior has stumbled over another,

And both of them have fallen down together.

13This is the message which the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to smite the land of Egypt:

14“Declare in Egypt and proclaim in Migdol,

Proclaim also in Memphis and Tahpanhes;

Say, ‘Take your stand and get yourself ready,

For the sword has devoured those around you.’

15Why have your mighty ones become prostrate?

They do not stand because the Lord has thrust them down.

16They have repeatedly stumbled;

Indeed, they have fallen one against another.

Then they said, ‘Get up! And let us go back

To our own people and our native land

Away from the sword of the oppressor.’

17They cried there, ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a big noise;

He has let the appointed time pass by!’

18As I live,” declares the King

Whose name is the Lord of hosts,

“Surely one shall come who looms up like Tabor among the mountains,

Or like Carmel by the sea.

19Make your baggage ready for exile,

O daughter dwelling in Egypt,

For Memphis will become a desolation;

It will even be burned down and bereft of inhabitants.

20Egypt is a pretty heifer,

But a horsefly is coming from the north—it is coming!

21Also her mercenaries in her midst

Are like fattened calves,

For even they too have turned back and have fled away together;

They did not stand their ground.

For the day of their calamity has come upon them,

The time of their punishment.

22Its sound moves along like a serpent;

For they move on like an army

And come to her as woodcutters with axes.

23They have cut down her forest,” declares the Lord;

“Surely it will no more be found,

Even though they are now more numerous than locusts

And are without number.

24The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,

Given over to the power of the people of the north.”

25The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says, “Behold, I am going to punish Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh, and Egypt along with her gods and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26I shall give them over to the power of those who are seeking their lives, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his officers. Afterwards, however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old,” declares the Lord.

27“But as for you, O Jacob My servant, do not fear,

Nor be dismayed, O Israel!

For, see, I am going to save you from afar,

And your descendants from the land of their captivity;

And Jacob will return and be undisturbed

And secure, with no one making him tremble.

28O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares the Lord,

“For I am with you.

For I will make a full end of all the nations

Where I have driven you,

Yet I will not make a full end of you;

But I will correct you properly

And by no means leave you unpunished.”

Prophecy against Philistia

1That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh conquered Gaza. 2Thus says the Lord:

“Behold, waters are going to rise from the north

And become an overflowing torrent,

And overflow the land and all its fullness,

The city and those who live in it;

And the men will cry out,

And every inhabitant of the land will wail.

3Because of the noise of the galloping hoofs of his stallions,

The tumult of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels,

The fathers have not turned back for their children,

Because of the limpness of their hands,

4On account of the day that is coming

To destroy all the Philistines,

To cut off from Tyre and Sidon

Every ally that is left;

For the Lord is going to destroy the Philistines,

The remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.

5Baldness has come upon Gaza;

Ashkelon has been ruined.

O remnant of their valley,

How long will you gash yourself?

6Ah, sword of the Lord,

How long will you not be quiet?

Withdraw into your sheath;

Be at rest and stay still.

7How can it be quiet,

When the Lord has given it an order?

Against Ashkelon and against the seacoast—

There He has assigned it.”

22Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. 24The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, 25with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, 26and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.

“Difficult Times Will Come”

1But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. 2For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. 6For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, 7always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith. 9But they will not make further progress; for their folly will be obvious to all, just as Jannes’s and Jambres’s folly was also.

10Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, 11persecutions, and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium and at Lystra; what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me! 12Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. 13But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

PSALM 94

The Lord Implored to Avenge His People.

1O Lord, God of vengeance,

God of vengeance, shine forth!

2Rise up, O Judge of the earth,

Render recompense to the proud.

3How long shall the wicked, O Lord,

How long shall the wicked exult?

4They pour forth words, they speak arrogantly;

All who do wickedness vaunt themselves.

5They crush Your people, O Lord,

And afflict Your heritage.

6They slay the widow and the stranger

And murder the orphans.

7They have said, “The Lord does not see,

Nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.”

8Pay heed, you senseless among the people;

And when will you understand, stupid ones?

9He who planted the ear, does He not hear?

He who formed the eye, does He not see?

10He who chastens the nations, will He not rebuke,

Even He who teaches man knowledge?

11The Lord knows the thoughts of man,

That they are a mere breath.

12Blessed is the man whom You chasten, O Lord,

And whom You teach out of Your law;

13That You may grant him relief from the days of adversity,

Until a pit is dug for the wicked.

14For the Lord will not abandon His people,

Nor will He forsake His inheritance.

15For judgment will again be righteous,

And all the upright in heart will follow it.

16Who will stand up for me against evildoers?

Who will take his stand for me against those who do wickedness?

17If the Lord had not been my help,

My soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence.

18If I should say, “My foot has slipped,”

Your lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up.

19When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,

Your consolations delight my soul.

20Can a throne of destruction be allied with You,

One which devises mischief by decree?

21They band themselves together against the life of the righteous

And condemn the innocent to death.

22But the Lord has been my stronghold,

And my God the rock of my refuge.

23He has brought back their wickedness upon them

And will destroy them in their evil;

The Lord our God will destroy them.

6He cuts off his own feet and drinks violence

Who sends a message by the hand of a fool.

7Like the legs which are useless to the lame,

So is a proverb in the mouth of fools.

8Like one who binds a stone in a sling,

So is he who gives honor to a fool.