Deliverance from Captivity Promised

1The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. 3For behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it.’ ”

4Now these are the words which the Lord spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah:

5“For thus says the Lord,

‘I have heard a sound of terror,

Of dread, and there is no peace.

6Ask now, and see

If a male can give birth.

Why do I see every man

With his hands on his loins, as a woman in childbirth?

And why have all faces turned pale?

7Alas! for that day is great,

There is none like it;

And it is the time of Jacob’s distress,

But he will be saved from it.

8‘It shall come about on that day,’ declares the Lord of hosts, ‘that I will break his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves. 9But they shall serve the Lord their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

10Fear not, O Jacob My servant,’ declares the Lord,

‘And do not be dismayed, O Israel;

For behold, I will save you from afar

And your offspring from the land of their captivity.

And Jacob will return and will be quiet and at ease,

And no one will make him afraid.

11For I am with you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to save you;

For I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you,

Only I will not destroy you completely.

But I will chasten you justly

And will by no means leave you unpunished.’

12“For thus says the Lord,

‘Your wound is incurable

And your injury is serious.

13There is no one to plead your cause;

No healing for your sore,

No recovery for you.

14All your lovers have forgotten you,

They do not seek you;

For I have wounded you with the wound of an enemy,

With the punishment of a cruel one,

Because your iniquity is great

And your sins are numerous.

15Why do you cry out over your injury?

Your pain is incurable.

Because your iniquity is great

And your sins are numerous,

I have done these things to you.

16Therefore all who devour you will be devoured;

And all your adversaries, every one of them, will go into captivity;

And those who plunder you will be for plunder,

And all who prey upon you I will give for prey.

17For I will restore you to health

And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares the Lord,

‘Because they have called you an outcast, saying:

“It is Zion; no one cares for her.” ’

Restoration of Jacob

18“Thus says the Lord,

‘Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob

And have compassion on his dwelling places;

And the city will be rebuilt on its ruin,

And the palace will stand on its rightful place.

19From them will proceed thanksgiving

And the voice of those who celebrate;

And I will multiply them and they will not be diminished;

I will also honor them and they will not be insignificant.

20Their children also will be as formerly,

And their congregation shall be established before Me;

And I will punish all their oppressors.

21Their leader shall be one of them,

And their ruler shall come forth from their midst;

And I will bring him near and he shall approach Me;

For who would dare to risk his life to approach Me?’ declares the Lord.

22‘You shall be My people,

And I will be your God.’ ”

23Behold, the tempest of the Lord!

Wrath has gone forth,

A sweeping tempest;

It will burst on the head of the wicked.

24The fierce anger of the Lord will not turn back

Until He has performed and until He has accomplished

The intent of His heart;

In the latter days you will understand this.

The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus

1Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” 4But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. 7Then after this He *said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8The disciples *said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?” 9Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11This He said, and after that He *said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” 12The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep. 14So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” 16Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

17So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. 18Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; 19and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. 20Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. 21Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. 22Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” 23Jesus *said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24Martha *said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, 26and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27She *said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”

28When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29And when she heard it, she *got up quickly and was coming to Him.

30Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him. 31Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, 34and said, “Where have you laid him?” They *said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35Jesus wept. 36So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” 37But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?”

38So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, *came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39Jesus *said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, *said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40Jesus *said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” 41So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” 43When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” 44The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus *said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

45Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him. 46But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them the things which Jesus had done.

Conspiracy to Kill Jesus

47Therefore the chief priests and the Pharisees convened a council, and were saying, “What are we doing? For this man is performing many signs. 48If we let Him go on like this, all men will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” 49But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all, 50nor do you take into account that it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” 51Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53So from that day on they planned together to kill Him.

54Therefore Jesus no longer continued to walk publicly among the Jews, but went away from there to the country near the wilderness, into a city called Ephraim; and there He stayed with the disciples.

55Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up to Jerusalem out of the country before the Passover to purify themselves. 56So they were seeking for Jesus, and were saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think; that He will not come to the feast at all?” 57Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he was to report it, so that they might seize Him.

1) How does Jeremiah reassure Jacob of יהוה’s preservation?

2) How does John show Messiah’s death gathers the covenant people?

3) What hope does this give you in יהוה’s covenant faithfulness?

Philistines Take the Ark in Victory

1Thus the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out to meet the Philistines in battle and camped beside Ebenezer while the Philistines camped in Aphek. 2The Philistines drew up in battle array to meet Israel. When the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield. 3When the people came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us take to ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of the Lord, that it may come among us and deliver us from the power of our enemies.” 4So the people sent to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5As the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth resounded. 6When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, “What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. 7The Philistines were afraid, for they said, “God has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8Woe to us! Who shall deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? These are the gods who smote the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9Take courage and be men, O Philistines, or you will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they have been slaves to you; therefore, be men and fight.”

10So the Philistines fought and Israel was defeated, and every man fled to his tent; and the slaughter was very great, for there fell of Israel thirty thousand foot soldiers. 11And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

12Now a man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes torn and dust on his head. 13When he came, behold, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road eagerly watching, because his heart was trembling for the ark of God. So the man came to tell it in the city, and all the city cried out. 14When Eli heard the noise of the outcry, he said, “What does the noise of this commotion mean?” Then the man came hurriedly and told Eli. 15Now Eli was ninety-eight years old, and his eyes were set so that he could not see. 16The man said to Eli, “I am the one who came from the battle line. Indeed, I escaped from the battle line today.” And he said, “How did things go, my son?” 17Then the one who brought the news replied, “Israel has fled before the Philistines and there has also been a great slaughter among the people, and your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been taken.” 18When he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell off the seat backward beside the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for he was old and heavy. Thus he judged Israel forty years.

19Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’s wife, was pregnant and about to give birth; and when she heard the news that the ark of God was taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she kneeled down and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. 20And about the time of her death the women who stood by her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have given birth to a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21And she called the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” because the ark of God was taken and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22She said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God was taken.”

The Pursuit of Wisdom Brings Security

1My son, if you will receive my words

And treasure my commandments within you,

2Make your ear attentive to wisdom,

Incline your heart to understanding;

3For if you cry for discernment,

Lift your voice for understanding;

4If you seek her as silver

And search for her as for hidden treasures;

5Then you will discern the fear of the Lord

And discover the knowledge of God.

6For the Lord gives wisdom;

From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

8Guarding the paths of justice,

And He preserves the way of His godly ones.

9Then you will discern righteousness and justice

And equity and every good course.

10For wisdom will enter your heart

And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

11Discretion will guard you,

Understanding will watch over you,

12To deliver you from the way of evil,

From the man who speaks perverse things;

13From those who leave the paths of uprightness

To walk in the ways of darkness;

14Who delight in doing evil

And rejoice in the perversity of evil;

15Whose paths are crooked,

And who are devious in their ways;

16To deliver you from the strange woman,

From the adulteress who flatters with her words;

17That leaves the companion of her youth

And forgets the covenant of her God;

18For her house sinks down to death

And her tracks lead to the dead;

19None who go to her return again,

Nor do they reach the paths of life.

20So you will walk in the way of good men

And keep to the paths of the righteous.

21For the upright will live in the land

And the blameless will remain in it;

22But the wicked will be cut off from the land

And the treacherous will be uprooted from it.

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.’ ”