Jeremiah 3 - 4 - Legacy Standard Bible

Jeremiah 3 - 4

The Polluted Land

God says, “If a husband divorces his wife

And she goes from him

And belongs to another man,

Will he still return to her?

Will not that land be completely polluted?

But you are a harlot with many lovers;

Yet you turn to Me,” declares Yahweh.

“Lift up your eyes to the bare heights and see;

Where have you not been ravished?

By the roads you have sat for them

Like an Arab in the wilderness,

And you have polluted a land

With your harlotry and with your evil.

Therefore the showers have been withheld,

And the late rain has not come.

Yet you had a harlot’s forehead;

You refused to feel dishonor.

Have you not just now called to Me,

‘My Father, You are the close companion of my youth?

Will He be angry forever?

Will He keep it to the end?’

Behold, you have spoken

And have done evil things,

And you have had your way.”

Faithless Israel Called to Repentance

6 Then Yahweh said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. 7 I said, ‘After she has done all these things, she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a certificate of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. 9 So it was, because of the lightness of her harlotry, that she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. 10 Yet in spite of all this, her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in lying,” declares Yahweh. 11 And Yahweh said to me, “Faithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and call out these words toward the north and say,

‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares Yahweh;

‘I will not look upon you in anger.

For I am One of lovingkindness,’ declares Yahweh;

‘I will not be angry forever.

Only acknowledge your iniquity,

That you have transgressed against Yahweh your God

And have scattered your ways of harlotry to the strangers under every green tree,

And you have not listened to My voice,’ declares Yahweh.

‘Return, O faithless sons,’ declares Yahweh;

‘For I am a master to you,

And I will take you one from a city and two from a family,

And I will bring you to Zion.’

15 “Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will shepherd you on knowledge and understanding. 16 It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and fruitful in the land,” declares Yahweh, “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of Yahweh.’ And it will not come upon the heart, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of Yahweh,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of Yahweh; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance. 19 “Then I said,

‘How I would set you among My sons

And give you a pleasant land,

The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’

And I said, ‘You shall call Me, “My Father,”

And not turn away from following Me.’

Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her lover,

So you have dealt treacherously with Me,

O house of Israel,” declares Yahweh.

A voice is heard on the bare heights,

The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel;

Because they have perverted their way,

They have forgotten Yahweh their God.

“Return, O faithless sons;

I will heal your faithlessness.”

“Behold, we come to You,

For You are Yahweh our God.

Surely, the hills are a lie,

A tumult on the mountains.

Surely in Yahweh our God

Is the salvation of Israel.

24 “But the shameful thing has devoured the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us; for we have sinned against Yahweh our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. And we have not listened to the voice of Yahweh our God.”

Yahweh Calls Israel to Return to Him

“If you will return, O Israel,” declares Yahweh,

“Then you should return to Me.

And if you will put away your detested things from My presence

And will not waver

And you will swear, ‘As Yahweh lives,’

In truth, in justice, and in righteousness;

Then the nations will be blessed in Him,

And in Him they will boast.”

3 For thus says Yahweh to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,

“Break up your fallow ground,

And do not sow among thorns.

Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh

And remove the foreskins of your heart,

Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

Lest My wrath go forth like fire

And burn with none to quench it

Because of the evil of your deeds.”

Evil from the North

Declare in Judah and make it heard in Jerusalem and say,

“Blow the trumpet in the land;

Call out, make your voice full, and say,

‘Gather yourselves, and let us go

Into the fortified cities.’

Lift up a standard toward Zion!

Seek safety, do not stand still,

For I am bringing evil from the north,

And great destruction.

A lion has gone up from his thicket,

And a destroyer of nations has set out;

He has gone out from his place

To make your land a desolation.

Your cities will be turned into ruins

Without inhabitant.

For this, I gird myself with sackcloth,

Lament and wail;

For the burning anger of Yahweh

Has not turned back from us.”

9 “It will be in that day,” declares Yahweh, “that the heart of the king and the heart of the princes will perish; and the priests will be appalled, and the prophets will be astonished.” 10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace’; whereas a sword touches the throat.” 11 In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness along the way of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse, 12 a wind too full for these things—will come for My purpose; now I will also speak judgments against them. 13

Behold, he goes up like clouds,

And his chariots like the whirlwind;

His horses are swifter than eagles.

Woe to us, for we are devastated!”

Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem,

That you may be saved.

How long will your wicked thoughts

Lodge within you?

For a voice declares from Dan,

And makes wickedness heard from Mount Ephraim.

“Make mention of it to the nations, saying, ‘Behold!’

Make it heard over Jerusalem,

‘Besiegers come from a far country,

And give forth their voices against the cities of Judah.

Like watchmen of a field they are against her round about

Because she has rebelled against Me,’ declares Yahweh.

Your ways and your deeds

Have done these things to you.

This is your evil. How bitter!

How it has touched your heart!”

Anguish over Judah’s Desolation

My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart!

My heart is pounding in me;

I cannot be silent

Because you have heard, O my soul,

The sound of the trumpet,

The shout of war.

Destruction upon destruction is called out,

For the whole land is devastated;

Suddenly my tents are devastated,

My curtains in an instant.

How long must I see the standard

And hear the sound of the trumpet?

“For My people are ignorant fools,

They know Me not;

They are simpleminded children

And have no understanding.

They are wise to do evil,

But to do good they do not know.”

I saw on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void;

And to the heavens, and they had no light.

I saw on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,

And all the hills moved to and fro.

I saw, and behold, there was no man,

And all the birds of the sky had fled.

I saw, and behold, the fruitful orchard was a wilderness,

And all its cities were torn down

Before Yahweh, before His burning anger.

27 For thus says Yahweh,

“The whole land shall be a desolation,

Yet I will not execute a complete destruction.

For this the earth shall mourn

And the heavens above be dark

Because I have spoken; I have purposed,

And I will not relent, nor will I turn from it.”

At the sound of the horseman and bowman every city flees;

They go into the thickets and climb up among the rocks;

Every city is forsaken,

And no man inhabits them.

And you, O devastated one, what will you do?

Although you dress in scarlet,

Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold,

Although you enlarge your eyes with paint,

In vain you make yourself beautiful.

Your lovers despise you;

They seek your life.

For I heard a sound as of a woman in labor pains,

The distress as of one giving birth to her first child,

The sound of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,

Stretching out her hands, saying,

“Ah, woe is me, for my soul faints before murderers.”

Romans 1

The Gospel Exalted

Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, having been set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 who was designated as the Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we received grace and apostleship for the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for the sake of His name, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ; 7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world. 9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how without ceasing I make mention of you, 10 always in my prayers earnestly asking, if perhaps now at last by the will of God I may succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be strengthened; 12 that is, to be mutually encouraged, while among you, by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that often I have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may have some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 In this way, for my part, I am eager to proclaim the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous will live by faith.”

God’s Wrath on Unrighteousness

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, both His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the likeness of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions; for their females exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the males abandoned the natural function of the female and burned in their desire toward one another, males with males committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, violent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the righteous requirement of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Psalm 97

Remember His Holy Name

Yahweh reigns, let the earth rejoice;

Let the many coastlands be glad.

Clouds and thick darkness are all around Him;

Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

Fire goes before Him

And burns up His adversaries all around.

His lightnings light up the world;

The earth sees and trembles.

The mountains melt like wax at the presence of Yahweh,

At the presence of the Lord of all the earth.

The heavens declare His righteousness,

And all the peoples see His glory.

Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images,

Who boast of idols;

Worship Him, all you gods!

Zion heard this and was glad,

And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced

Because of Your judgments, O Yahweh.

For You are Yahweh Most High over all the earth;

You are exalted far above all gods.

Hate evil, you who love Yahweh,

Who keeps the souls of His holy ones;

He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Light is sown for the righteous

And gladness for the upright in heart.

Be glad in Yahweh, you righteous ones,

And give thanks for the remembrance of His holy name.