1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:13
English Standard Version
9 For you remember, brothers, (A)our labor and toil: we (B)worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and (C)God also, (D)how holy and righteous and blameless was our conduct toward you believers. 11 For you know how, (E)like a father with his children, 12 we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and (F)charged (G)you to walk in a manner worthy of God, (H)who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
13 And (I)we also thank God constantly[a] for this, that when you received (J)the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it (K)not as the word of men[b] but as what it really is, the word of God, (L)which is at work in you believers. 14 For you, brothers, (M)became imitators of (N)the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For (O)you suffered the same things from your own countrymen (P)as they did from the Jews,[c] 15 (Q)who killed both the Lord Jesus and (R)the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and (S)oppose all mankind 16 (T)by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always (U)to fill up the measure of their sins. But (V)wrath has come upon them at last![d]
Paul's Longing to See Them Again
17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, (W)in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire (X)to see you face to face, 18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan (Y)hindered us. 19 For what is our hope or (Z)joy or crown of boasting (AA)before our Lord Jesus at his (AB)coming? Is it not you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.
3 Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing (AC)to be left behind at Athens alone, 2 and we (AD)sent Timothy, (AE)our brother and God's coworker[e] in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, 3 that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that (AF)we are destined for this. 4 For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, (AG)just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. 5 For this reason, (AH)when I could bear it no longer, (AI)I sent to learn about your faith, (AJ)for fear that somehow (AK)the tempter had tempted you and (AL)our labor would be in vain.
Timothy's Encouraging Report
6 But (AM)now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of (AN)your faith and love and reported (AO)that you always remember us kindly and (AP)long to see us, as we long to see you— 7 for this reason, brothers,[f] in all our distress and affliction (AQ)we have been comforted about you through your faith. 8 For now we live, if you (AR)are standing fast in the Lord. 9 For (AS)what thanksgiving can we return to God for you, for all the joy that we feel for your sake before our God, 10 as we pray most earnestly (AT)night and day (AU)that we may see you face to face and (AV)supply what is lacking in your faith?
11 Now may (AW)our God and Father himself, and our Lord Jesus, (AX)direct our way to you, 12 and may the Lord (AY)make you increase and abound in love (AZ)for one another and for all, as we do for you, 13 so that he may (BA)establish your hearts blameless in holiness before (BB)our God and Father, at (BC)the coming of our Lord Jesus (BD)with all his saints.
Footnotes
- 1 Thessalonians 2:13 Or without ceasing
- 1 Thessalonians 2:13 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women
- 1 Thessalonians 2:14 The Greek word Ioudaioi can refer to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, who opposed the Christian faith in that time
- 1 Thessalonians 2:16 Or completely, or forever
- 1 Thessalonians 3:2 Some manuscripts servant
- 1 Thessalonians 3:7 Or brothers and sisters
Jeremiah 14:11-16:15
English Standard Version
11 The Lord said to me: (A)“Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12 Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, (B)and though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them (C)by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”
Lying Prophets
13 Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets (D)say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’” 14 And the Lord said to me: “The (E)prophets are prophesying lies in my name. (F)I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, (G)worthless divination, and (H)the deceit of their own minds. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although (I)I did not send them, and who say, (J)‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: (K)By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, (L)with none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them.
17 “You shall say to them this word:
(M)‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,
and let them not cease,
for the virgin (N)daughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,
(O)with a very grievous blow.
18 (P)If I go out into the field,
behold, those pierced by the sword!
(Q)And if I enter the city,
behold, the diseases of famine!
(R)For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land
and have no knowledge.’”
19 (S)Have you utterly rejected Judah?
Does your soul loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
(T)so that there is no healing for us?
(U)We looked for peace, but no good came;
(V)for a time of healing, but behold, terror.
20 (W)We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,
and the iniquity of our fathers,
(X)for we have sinned against you.
21 Do not spurn us, (Y)for your name's sake;
do not dishonor your glorious throne;
(Z)remember and do not break your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among (AA)the false gods of the nations (AB)that can bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Are you not he, O Lord our God?
We set our hope on you,
(AC)for you do all these things.
The Lord Will Not Relent
15 Then the Lord said to me, (AD)“Though (AE)Moses (AF)and Samuel (AG)stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go! 2 And when they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord:
(AH)“‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence,
and those who are for the sword, to the sword;
those who are for famine, to famine,
and those who are for captivity, to captivity.’
3 (AI)I will appoint over them four kinds of destroyers, declares the Lord: the sword to kill, the dogs to tear, and (AJ)the birds of the air (AK)and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 (AL)And I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what (AM)Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.
5 (AN)“Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem,
(AO)or who will grieve for you?
Who will turn aside
to ask about your welfare?
6 (AP)You have rejected me, declares the Lord;
(AQ)you keep going backward,
so I have stretched out my hand against you and destroyed you—
(AR)I am weary of relenting.
7 (AS)I have winnowed them with (AT)a winnowing fork
in the gates of the land;
I have bereaved them; I have destroyed my people;
(AU)they did not turn from their ways.
8 I have made their widows more in number
than (AV)the sand of the seas;
I have brought against the mothers of young men
a destroyer at noonday;
I have made anguish and terror
fall upon them suddenly.
9 (AW)She who bore seven has grown feeble;
(AX)she has fainted away;
(AY)her sun went down while it was yet day;
she has been shamed and disgraced.
And the rest of them I will give to the sword
before their enemies,
declares the Lord.”
Jeremiah's Complaint
10 (AZ)Woe is me, my mother, that you bore me, a man of strife and contention to the whole land! (BA)I have not lent, nor have I borrowed, yet all of them curse me. 11 The Lord said, “Have I not[a] set you free for their good? Have I not pleaded for you before the enemy in the time of trouble and in the time of distress? 12 Can one break iron, iron (BB)from the north, and bronze?
13 (BC)“Your wealth and your treasures I will give as (BD)spoil, without price, for all your sins, throughout all your territory. 14 I will make you serve your enemies (BE)in a land that you do not know, (BF)for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”
15 (BG)O Lord, you know;
(BH)remember me and visit me,
(BI)(BJ)and take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In your forbearance take me not away;
(BK)know that (BL)for your sake I bear reproach.
16 Your words were found, (BM)and I ate them,
and (BN)your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
(BO)for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
17 (BP)I did not sit in the company of revelers,
nor did I rejoice;
(BQ)I sat alone, because your hand was upon me,
for you had filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unceasing,
(BR)my wound incurable,
refusing to be healed?
Will you be to me (BS)like a deceitful brook,
like waters that fail?
19 Therefore thus says the Lord:
(BT)“If you return, I will restore you,
and you shall (BU)stand before me.
If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless,
you shall be as my mouth.
They shall turn to you,
but you shall not turn to them.
20 (BV)And I will make you to this people
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you,
(BW)but they shall not prevail over you,
(BX)for I am with you
to save you and deliver you,
declares the Lord.
21 (BY)I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked,
and redeem you from the grasp of (BZ)the ruthless.”
Famine, Sword, and Death
16 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place. 3 For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning the mothers who bore them and the fathers who fathered them in this land: 4 (CA)They shall die of deadly diseases. (CB)They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried. (CC)They shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. (CD)They shall perish by the sword and by famine, (CE)and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth.
5 “For thus says the Lord: (CF)Do not enter the house of mourning, or go to lament or grieve for them, for I have taken away my peace from this people, my steadfast love and mercy, declares the Lord. 6 Both great and small shall die in this land. (CG)They shall not be buried, and no one shall lament for them or (CH)cut himself (CI)or make himself bald for them. 7 No one shall (CJ)break bread for the mourner, to comfort him for the dead, nor shall anyone give him the cup of consolation to drink for his father or his mother. 8 You shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink. 9 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: (CK)Behold, I will silence in this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
10 “And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you, (CL)‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ 11 then you shall say to them: (CM)‘Because your fathers have forsaken me, declares the Lord, and (CN)have gone after other gods and have served and worshiped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law, 12 and because (CO)you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, (CP)every one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me. 13 Therefore (CQ)I will hurl you out of this land into (CR)a land that neither you nor your fathers have known, (CS)and there you shall serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’
The Lord Will Restore Israel
14 (CT)“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, (CU)‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15 but (CV)‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel (CW)out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For (CX)I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 15:11 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
Psalm 80
English Standard Version
Restore Us, O God
To the choirmaster: according to (A)Lilies. A Testimony. Of (B)Asaph, a Psalm.
80 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead (C)Joseph like (D)a flock.
You who are (E)enthroned upon the cherubim, (F)shine forth.
2 Before (G)Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,
(H)stir up your might
and (I)come to save us!
4 O (L)Lord God of hosts,
(M)how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?
5 You have fed them with (N)the bread of tears
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6 (O)You make us an object of contention for our (P)neighbors,
and our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 (Q)Restore us, O God of hosts;
let your face shine, that we may be saved!
8 You brought (R)a vine out of Egypt;
you (S)drove out the nations and planted it.
9 You (T)cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 It sent out its branches to (U)the sea
and its shoots to (V)the River.[b]
12 Why then have you (W)broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13 (X)The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
14 Turn again, O God of hosts!
(Y)Look down from heaven, and see;
have regard for this vine,
15 the stock that your right hand planted,
and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.
16 They have (Z)burned it with fire; they have (AA)cut it down;
may they perish at (AB)the rebuke of your face!
17 But (AC)let your hand be on the man of your right hand,
the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!
18 Then we shall not turn back from you;
(AD)give us life, and we will call upon your name!
19 (AE)Restore us, O Lord God of hosts!
Let your face shine, that we may be saved!
Footnotes
- Psalm 80:3 Or Turn us again; also verses 7, 19
- Psalm 80:11 That is, the Euphrates
Proverbs 25:1-5
English Standard Version
More Proverbs of Solomon
25 These also are (A)proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied.
2 It is the glory of God to (B)conceal things,
but the glory of kings is to (C)search things out.
3 As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth,
so the heart of kings is (D)unsearchable.
4 Take away (E)the dross from the silver,
and (F)the smith has material for a vessel;
5 take away (G)the wicked from the presence of the king,
and his (H)throne will be established in righteousness.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Bible Gateway Recommends
