Old/New Testament
A Warning to Zedekiah
34 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and all the towns around it. Nebuchadnezzar had with him all his army and the armies of all the kingdoms and peoples ·he ruled [under his hand]. 2 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said: “Jeremiah, go to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him: ‘This is what the Lord says: I will soon hand this city [C Jerusalem] over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it ·down [L with fire]! 3 You will not escape from ·the king of Babylon [L his hand]; you will surely be captured and handed over to him. You will see the king of Babylon ·with your own eyes [eye to eye], and he will talk to you face to face. And you will go to Babylon. 4 But, Zedekiah king of Judah, listen to the promise of the Lord. This is what the Lord says about you: You will not be killed with a sword. 5 You will die in a peaceful way. As people ·made funeral fires [or burn spices; L burn] to honor your ·ancestors [fathers], the kings who ruled before you, so people will ·make a funeral fire [or burn spices; L burn] to honor you. They will ·cry for you and sadly [mourn for you and] say, “Ah, master!” I myself make this promise to you, says the Lord [52:8–11].’”
6 So Jeremiah the prophet gave this message to Zedekiah in Jerusalem. 7 This was while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the cities of Judah that ·had not yet been taken [remained]—Lachish and Azekah [C fortress cities to the west of Jerusalem]. These were the only ·strong, walled [fortified] cities left in the land of Judah.
Slaves Are Mistreated
8 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. This was after King Zedekiah had ·made [L cut] an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with all the people in Jerusalem to ·free all the Hebrew slaves [L proclaim liberty/emancipation; Ex. 21:1–11; Lev. 25:39–46; Deut. 15:12–18]. 9 Everyone was supposed to free his Hebrew slaves, both male and female. No one was to keep a fellow ·Jew [L Judean] as a slave. 10 All the officers and all the people ·accepted [obeyed] this agreement; they agreed to free their male and female slaves and no longer keep them as slaves. So all the slaves were set free. 11 But after that, they [C the people who owned slaves] ·changed their minds [L turned back]. So they took back the people they had set free and made them slaves again.
12 Then the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah: 13 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought your ·ancestors [fathers] out of Egypt ·where they were slaves [L the house of bondage/slavery] and ·made [L cut] an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with them. 14 I said to your ·ancestors [fathers]: ‘At the end of every seven years, each one of you must set his Hebrew slaves free. If a fellow Hebrew has sold himself to you, you must let him go free after he has served you for six years.’ But your ·ancestors [fathers] did not listen or ·pay attention [L incline their ear] to me. 15 A short time ago you ·changed your hearts [repented] and did what ·I say is right [L was right in my eyes]. ·Each of you gave freedom [L …to proclaim liberty/emancipation] to his fellow Hebrews who were slaves. And you even ·made [L cut] an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] before me in the place ·where I have chosen to be worshiped [L called by my name]. 16 But now you have ·changed your minds [turned around]. You have ·shown you do not honor [profaned; dishonored] me. Each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free, and you have forced them to become your slaves again.
17 “So this is what the Lord says: You have not ·obeyed [listened to] me. You have not ·given freedom [proclaimed liberty/emancipation] to your fellow Hebrews, neither ·relatives [brothers] nor ·friends [neighbors]. But now I will ·give freedom [proclaim liberty/emancipation to you], says the Lord, to ·war [L the sword], to ·terrible diseases [plague; pestilence], and to ·hunger [famine]. I will make you ·hated by [a horror to] all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 I will hand over the men who ·broke [transgressed] my ·agreement [covenant; treaty], who have not kept the ·promises [L terms of the covenant/treaty] they made before me. They cut a calf into two pieces before me and ·walked between [L passed through] the pieces [C an ancient oath ritual saying that if one broke the agreement they would die like the calf; Gen. 15:9–20]. 19 These people made the ·agreement [covenant; treaty] before me by ·walking between [L passing through] the pieces of the calf: the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the ·officers of the court [or eunuchs], the priests, and all the people of the land. 20 So I will hand them over to their enemies and to everyone who ·wants to kill them [L seeks their life]. Their ·bodies [corpses] will become food for the birds of the ·air [heavens] and for the wild animals of the earth. 21 I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah and his officers over to their enemies, and to everyone who ·wants to kill them [L seeks their life], and to the army of the king of Babylon, even though they have ·left Jerusalem [L gone up from you]. 22 I will give the order, says the Lord, to ·bring the Babylonian army back to Jerusalem [L return them to this city]. It will fight against it, capture it, set it on fire, and burn it down. I will ·destroy the towns in Judah so that they become ruins [L make the towns of Judah a desolation] where no one lives!”
The Recabite Family Obeys God
35 When Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah [C ruled 609–597 bc], the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah, saying: 2 “Go to the ·family [L house] of Recab. Invite them to come to one of the ·side rooms [chambers] of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, and offer them wine to drink.”
3 So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah [C not the prophet, but a man with the same name], the son of Habazziniah. And I gathered all of Jaazaniah’s brothers and sons and the whole ·family [L house] of the Recabites together. 4 Then I brought them into the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. We went into the ·room [chamber] of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, who was a man of God. The ·room [chamber] was next to the one where the officers stay and above the ·room [chamber] of Maaseiah son of Shallum, the ·doorkeeper in the Temple [L guard/keeper of the threshold]. 5 Then I put some ·bowls [pitchers] full of wine and some cups before the men of the Recabite ·family [L house]. And I said to them, “Drink some wine.”
6 But the Recabite men answered, “We never drink wine. Our ·ancestor [father] Jonadab son of Recab [2 Kin. 10:15–17] gave us this command: ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine. 7 Also you must never build houses, ·plant [L sow] seeds, or plant vineyards, or do any of those things. You must live only in tents all your days. Then you will live ·a long time [L many days] in the land where you are ·wanderers [sojourners; resident aliens].’ 8 So we Recabites ·have obeyed everything [L listened to the voice of] Jonadab our ·ancestor [father] commanded us. Neither we nor our wives, sons, or daughters ever drink wine. 9 We never build houses in which to live, or own fields or vineyards, or ·plant crops [L seed]. 10 We have lived in tents and have obeyed everything our ancestor Jonadab commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon ·attacked Judah [L came up to the land], we said to each other, ‘Come, we must enter Jerusalem ·so we can escape [L from before] the ·Babylonian [L Chaldean] army and the Aramean army.’ So we have stayed [lived] in Jerusalem [C though they may not be living in houses, in conformity to their ancestor’s command].”
12 Then the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah: 13 “This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says: Jeremiah, go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem: ‘·You should [L Can you not…?] learn a lesson and obey my message,’ says the Lord. 14 ‘Jonadab son of Recab ordered his descendants not to drink wine, and that command has been obeyed. Until today they have obeyed their ·ancestor’s [father’s] command; they do not drink wine. But I, the Lord, have given you messages again and again, but you did not ·obey [listen to] me. 15 I sent all my servants the prophets to you again and again, saying, “Each of you must ·stop doing evil [L turn from his evil way/path]. You must change and be good. Do not ·follow [L go after] other gods to serve them. If you obey me, you will live in the land I have given to you and your ·ancestors [fathers].” But you have not ·listened [L inclined your ear] to me or paid attention to my message. 16 The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab obeyed the commands their ancestor gave them, but the people of Judah have not obeyed me [C the Recabites carefully observe the law of a human while Israel rejects divine law].’
17 “So the Lord God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says: ‘I will soon bring every ·disaster [trouble; evil] I said would come to Judah and to everyone living in Jerusalem. I spoke to those people, but they refused to listen. I called out to them, but they did not answer me.’”
18 Then Jeremiah said to the [L house of the] Recabites, “This is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says: ‘You have ·obeyed [listened to] the commands of your ·ancestor [father] Jonadab and have ·followed all of his teachings [kept/guarded all his commands]; you have done everything he commanded.’ 19 So this is what the Lord ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts], the God of Israel, says: ‘·There will always be a descendant of Jonadab son of Recab to serve me [L Jonadab son of Recab will not lack a descendant to stand before me for all days].’”
Jehoiakim Burns Jeremiah’s Scroll
36 The Lord spoke this word to Jeremiah during the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah [C 605 bc]: 2 “Get a scroll. Write on it all the words I have spoken to you about Israel and Judah and all the nations. Write everything from when I first spoke to you, when Josiah was king, until now [C his prophecies began in the thirteenth year of this king, 626 bc; 1:1–3]. 3 Maybe the ·family [L house] of Judah will hear what ·disasters [evil; troubles] I am planning to ·bring on [L do to] them and will ·stop doing wicked things [L turn back from his evil ways/paths]. Then I would forgive them for ·the sins and the evil things they have done [L their iniquities and their sins].”
4 So Jeremiah called for Baruch son of Neriah [32:12; 43:3, 6; 45:1–2]. ·Jeremiah spoke the messages the Lord had given him, and Baruch wrote those messages [L Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which he spoke to him] on the scroll. 5 Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, “I cannot go to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord. I ·must stay here [L am confined/restricted/imprisoned]. 6 So I want you to go to the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord on a day when the people are fasting. Read from the scroll ·to [L in the ears of] all the people of Judah who come into Jerusalem from their towns. Read the messages from the Lord, which are the words you wrote on the scroll ·as I spoke them to you [L from my mouth]. 7 Perhaps ·they will ask the Lord to help them [L their supplications will fall before the Lord]. Perhaps each one will ·stop doing wicked things [L turn from their evil ways], because the Lord has announced that he is very angry with them.” 8 So Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet ·told [L commanded] him to do. In the Lord’s ·Temple [L house] he read aloud the scroll that had the Lord’s messages written on it.
9 In the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king [C 604 bc], a fast was announced. All the people of Jerusalem and everyone who had come into Jerusalem from the towns of Judah were supposed to ·give up eating to honor [L fast before] the Lord. 10 At that time Baruch read to all the people there the scroll containing Jeremiah’s words. He read the scroll in the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord in the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan, a ·royal secretary [scribe]. That ·room [chamber] was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate of the Temple.
11 Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the messages from the Lord that were on the scroll. 12 Micaiah went down to the ·royal secretary’s [scribe’s] room in the king’s ·palace [L house] where all of the officers were sitting: Elishama the ·royal secretary [scribe]; Delaiah son of Shemaiah; Elnathan son of Acbor [2 Kin. 22:8–10]; Gemariah son of Shaphan; Zedekiah son of Hananiah; and all the other officers. 13 Micaiah told those officers everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll.
14 Then the officers sent a man named Jehudi son of Nethaniah to Baruch. (Nethaniah was the son of Shelemiah, who was the son of Cushi.) Jehudi said to Baruch, “·Bring [L Take in your hand] the scroll that you read ·to [L in the ears of] the people and come with me.”
So Baruch son of Neriah took in his hand the scroll and went with Jehudi to the officers. 15 Then the officers said to Baruch, “Please sit down and read the scroll ·to us [L in our ears].”
So Baruch read the scroll ·to them [L in their ears] . 16 When the officers heard all the words, they became afraid and looked at each other. They said to Baruch, “We must certainly tell the king about these words.” 17 Then the officers asked Baruch, “Tell us, please, ·where did you get all these words you wrote on the scroll [L how did you write all these words]? ·Did you write down what Jeremiah said to you [At his dictation; L From his mouth]?”
18 “Yes,” Baruch answered. “Jeremiah spoke them ·all to me [L from his mouth], and I wrote them down with ink on this scroll.”
19 Then the officers said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide, and ·don’t tell anyone [L no one must know] where you are.”
20 The officers put the scroll in the room of Elishama the ·royal secretary [scribe]. Then they went to the king in the courtyard and told ·him all about the scroll [L all these words in the ear of the king]. 21 So King Jehoiakim sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought the scroll from the room of Elishama the ·royal secretary [scribe] and read it ·to [L in the ears of] the king and ·to [L in the ears of] all the officers who stood around the king. 22 It was the ninth month of the year [C late autumn], so King Jehoiakim was sitting in the winter apartment. There was a fire burning in a ·small firepot [brazier] in front of him. 23 After Jehudi had read three or four columns, ·the king [L he] cut those columns off of the scroll with a penknife and threw them into the ·firepot [brazier]. Finally, the whole scroll was burned in the fire. 24 King Jehoiakim and his servants heard ·everything that was said [L all these words], but they were not frightened! They did not tear their clothes [C to show their sorrow]. 25 Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah ·even tried to talk [beseeched] King Jehoiakim out of burning the scroll, but he would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king ordered Jerahmeel son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel, and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the ·secretary [scribe] and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden them.
27 So King Jehoiakim burned the scroll where Baruch had written ·all the words Jeremiah had spoken to him [L from the mouth of Jeremiah]. Then the Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah: 28 “Get another scroll. Write all the words on it that were on the first scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. 29 Also say this to Jehoiakim king of Judah: ‘This is what the Lord says: You burned up that scroll and said, “Why, Jeremiah, did you write on it ‘the king of Babylon will surely come and destroy this land and the people and animals in it’?” 30 So this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: Jehoiakim’s descendants will not sit on David’s throne. When Jehoiakim dies, his body will be thrown out on the ground. It will be left out in the heat of the day and in the frost of the night. 31 I will punish Jehoiakim and his ·children [L seed] and his servants, because ·they have done evil things [of their guilt/iniquity]. I will bring ·disasters [evil; trouble] upon them and upon all the people in Jerusalem and Judah—everything I promised but which they refused to hear.’”
32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, his ·secretary [scribe]. ·As Jeremiah spoke [L From the mouth of Jeremiah], Baruch wrote on the scroll the same words that were on the scroll Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to the second scroll.
Our Salvation Is Great
2 ·So [For this reason] we must ·be more careful to follow [pay even closer attention to] what we ·were taught [have heard]. Then we will not ·stray [drift] away from the truth. 2 ·The teaching [L If/Since the message/word…] God spoke through angels [Acts 7:53] was shown to be ·true [firm; reliable], and ·anyone who did not follow it or obey it [every violation/transgression and disobedience] received the punishment that ·was earned [it deserved; was just]. 3 ·So surely we also will be punished [L How will we escape…?] if we ignore ·this [such a] great salvation. The Lord himself first ·told about [announced] this salvation, and those who heard him ·testified [confirmed to us] it was true. 4 God also ·testified to the truth of the message [joined in/confirmed their testimony] by using great signs, wonders, many kinds of ·miracles [acts of power], and by ·giving people [L the distribution/apportioning of] gifts through the Holy Spirit, ·just as he wanted [or however he desired].
Christ Became like Us
5 [L For] God did not ·choose angels to be the rulers of the new world that was coming [L subject the world to come to angels], which is what we have been talking about. 6 ·It is written in the Scriptures [L Someone has testified somewhere],
“·Why are people even important to you [L What is man/humanity that you remember/think about him/them]?
·Why do you take care of human beings [L Or the son of man/children of Adam that you care for/about them]?
7 You made ·them [or him] ·a little [or for a little while] lower than the angels
and crowned ·them [or him] with glory and honor.[a]
8 You ·put all things under their control [L subjected everything under his feet; Ps. 8:4–6].”
[L For] When God ·put everything under their control [L subjected everything to him], there was nothing left ·that they did not rule [uncontrolled; not subjected]. Still, [L now; at the present time] we do not yet see ·them [or him; C referring to humanity] ruling over everything. 9 But we see Jesus, who for a short time was made lower than the angels. This was so that, by God’s grace, he could ·die [L taste death] for everyone. And now, because he suffered and died, he is ·wearing a crown of [L crowned with] glory and honor. [C Jesus fulfills humanity’s destiny: to be crowned with glory and honor; Ps. 8 (cited above).]
10 God is the One ·who made all things, and all things are for his glory [L through whom and for whom all things exist]. He wanted to ·have many children share his [lead/bring many children/sons to] glory, so [L it was fitting/appropriate that] he made the ·One who leads people to [Leader/Pioneer/Source of their] salvation perfect through suffering.
11 [L For indeed] ·Jesus, [L the one] who makes people holy, and those who are made holy ·are from the same family [or have the same Father; or have one origin; L are all from one]. ·So [For this reason] he is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters. 12 He says,
“Then, I will ·tell my brothers and sisters about you [L proclaim your name to my brothers (and sisters)];
I will ·praise [sing hymns/praise songs to] you in the ·public meeting [midst of the assembly; Ps. 22:22].”
13 He also says,
“I will ·trust [put my confidence] in ·God [L him; Is. 8:17].”
And he also says,
“I am here, and with me are the children God has given me [Is. 8:18].”
14 [L Therefore] Since these children ·are people with physical bodies [have in common their flesh and blood], Jesus himself ·became like them [shared their humanity; L likewise shared the same things]. He did this so that, by dying, he could destroy the one who has the power of death—the devil— 15 and free those who were ·like slaves [held in slavery] all their lives because of their fear of death. 16 [L For] Clearly, it is not angels that Jesus helps, but the ·people who are from [seed/descendants of] Abraham [C the father of the Jewish nation; Gen. 12—25]. 17 For this reason Jesus had to be made like his brothers and sisters in every way so he could ·be their [L become a] merciful and faithful high priest in ·service [L the things pertaining] to God. Then Jesus could ·die in their place to take away [make atonement for; be the sacrifice that pays for; be the sacrifice that appeases God’s wrath against] ·their sins [L the sins of the people]. 18 And now he can help those who are ·tempted [or tested], because he himself suffered and ·was tempted [or was tested; or passed the test].
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