Jeremiah 30 - 31

Yahweh Will Return the Fortunes of His People

The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, 2 “Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. 3 For behold, days are coming,’ declares Yahweh, ‘when I will return the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ Yahweh says, ‘I will also cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.’” 4 Now these are the words which Yahweh spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah: 5 “For thus says Yahweh,

‘We have heard a sound of trembling,

Of dread, and there is no peace.

Ask 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?

Alas! 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 ‘And it will be in that day,’ declares Yahweh of hosts, ‘that I will break his yoke from off your neck and will tear off your bonds; and strangers will no longer make them their slaves. 9 But they shall be a slave to Yahweh their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. 10

Fear not, O Jacob My servant,’ declares Yahweh,

‘And do not be dismayed, O Israel;

For behold, I will save you from afar

And your seed from the land of their captivity.

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

And no one will make him tremble.

For I am with you,’ declares Yahweh, ‘to save you;

For I will make a complete destruction of all the nations where I have scattered you,

Only I will not make a complete destruction of you.

But I will chasten you justly

And will by no means leave you unpunished.’

12 “For thus says Yahweh,

‘Your injury is incurable,

And your wound is desperately sick.

There is no one to plead your cause;

No healing for your sore,

No recovery for you.

All 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 numerous

And your sins are mighty.

Why do you cry out over your injury?

Your pain is incurable.

Because your iniquity is numerous

And your sins are mighty,

I have done these things to you.

Therefore all who devour you will be devoured;

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

And those who take you as spoil will be spoil,

And all who plunder you I will give as plunder.

For I will restore you to health,

And I will heal you of your wounds,’ declares Yahweh,

‘Because they have called you a banished one, saying:

“It is Zion; no one is seeking her.”’

18 “Thus says Yahweh,

‘Behold, I will return 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 sit on its just place.

From them will come forth thanksgiving

And the voice of those who celebrate;

And I will multiply them, and they will not decrease;

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

Their children also will be as formerly,

And their congregation shall be established before Me;

And I will punish all their oppressors.

And their mighty one 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 give his heart as security to approach Me?’ declares Yahweh.

‘You shall be My people,

And I will be your God.’”

Behold, the storm of Yahweh!

Wrath has gone forth,

A sweeping storm;

It will burst on the head of the wicked.

The burning anger of Yahweh will not turn back

Until He has done and until He has established

The intent of His heart;

In the last days you will understand this.

Israel’s Mourning Turned to Joy

“At that time,” declares Yahweh, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.” 2 Thus says Yahweh,

“The people who survived the sword

Found grace in the wilderness—

Israel, when it went to find its relief.”

Yahweh appeared to him from afar, saying,

“I have loved you with an everlasting love;

Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.

Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt,

O virgin of Israel!

Again you will take up your tambourines

And go forth to the dances of those celebrating.

Again you will plant vineyards

On the hills of Samaria;

The planters will plant

And will enjoy them.

For there will be a day when watchmen

On the hills of Ephraim call out,

‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,

To Yahweh our God.’”

7 For thus says Yahweh,

“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,

And shout among the head of the nations;

Make it heard, give praise, and say,

‘O Yahweh, save Your people,

The remnant of Israel.’

Behold, I am bringing them from the north country,

And I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth,

Among them the blind and the lame,

The woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together;

A great assembly, they will return here.

With weeping they will come,

And by supplication I will lead them;

I will make them walk by streams of waters,

On a straight path in which they will not stumble;

For I am a father to Israel,

And Ephraim is My firstborn.”

Hear the word of Yahweh, O nations,

And declare in the coastlands far away,

And say, “He who dispersed Israel will gather him

And keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”

For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob

And redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he.

“They will come and sing for joy on the height of Zion,

And they will be radiant over the goodness of Yahweh—

Over the grain and the new wine and the oil,

And over the young of the flock and the herd;

And their soul will be like a watered garden,

And they will never waste away again.

Then the virgin will be glad in the dance,

And the young men and the old, together,

For I will turn their mourning into joy

And will comfort them and give them gladness for their sorrow.

I will fill the soul of the priests with richness,

And My people will be satisfied with My goodness,” declares Yahweh.

15 Thus says Yahweh,

“A voice is heard in Ramah,

Wailing and bitter weeping.

Rachel is weeping for her children;

She refuses to be comforted for her children

Because they are no more.”

16 Thus says Yahweh,

“Restrain your voice from weeping

And your eyes from tears,

For your work will be rewarded,” declares Yahweh,

“And they will return from the land of the enemy.

And there is hope for your future,” declares Yahweh,

“And your children will return to their own territory.

I have surely heard Ephraim grieving,

‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised,

Like an untrained calf;

Cause me to return that I may return,

For You are Yahweh my God.

For after I turned away, I repented;

And after I was instructed, I slapped my thigh;

I was ashamed and also dishonored

Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’

Is Ephraim My dear son?

Is he a delightful child?

Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,

I certainly still remember him;

Therefore My inmost being yearns for him;

I will surely have compassion on him,” declares Yahweh.

“Set up roadmarks for yourself,

Place for yourself guideposts;

Set your heart to the highway,

The way by which you went.

Return, O virgin of Israel,

Return to these your cities.

How long will you go here and there,

O faithless daughter?

For Yahweh has created a new thing in the earth—

A woman will encompass a man.”

23 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Once again they will speak this word in the land of Judah and in its cities when I return their fortunes,

‘Yahweh bless you, O abode of righteousness,

O holy hill!’

24 And Judah and all its cities will inhabit it together, the farmer and they who go about with flocks. 25 For I satisfy the weary soul and fill up every soul who wastes away.” 26 At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.

The New Covenant

27 “Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast. 28 And it will be that as I have watched over them to uproot, to tear down, to pull down, to destroy, and to bring calamity, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares Yahweh. 29

“In those days they will not say again,

‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,

And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’

30 But everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge. 31 “Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will cut a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant which I cut with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, but I was a husband to them,” declares Yahweh. 33 “But this is the covenant which I will cut with the house of Israel after those days,” declares Yahweh: “I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 And they will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know Yahweh,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares Yahweh, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” 35 Thus says Yahweh,

Who gives the sun for light by day

And the statutes for the moon and the stars for light by night,

Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar;

Yahweh of hosts is His name:

“If these statutes are removed

From before Me,” declares Yahweh,

“Then the seed of Israel also will cease

From being a nation before Me forever.”

37 Thus says Yahweh,

“If the heavens above can be measured

And the foundations of the earth searched out below,

Then I will also reject all the seed of Israel

For all that they have done,” declares Yahweh.

38 “Behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when the city will be rebuilt for Yahweh from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39 The measuring line will go out farther, straight ahead to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. 40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to Yahweh; it will not be uprooted or pulled down anymore forever.”

Romans 13

Be Subject to Government

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist have been appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists that authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. 3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of that authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword in vain, for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of that wrath, but also because of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. 7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor. 8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. 9 For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does not work evil against a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law. 11 And do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. 12 The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

Psalm 107:23 - 107:43

Those who go down to the sea in ships,

Who do business on many waters;

They have seen the works of Yahweh,

And His wondrous deeds in the deep.

He spoke and set up a stormy wind,

Which raised up the waves of the sea.

They went up to the heavens, they went down to the depths;

Their soul melted away in the calamity.

They staggered and swayed like a drunken man,

And all their wisdom was swallowed up.

Then they cried to Yahweh in their trouble,

And He brought them out of their distresses.

He caused the storm to stand still,

So that its waves were hushed.

Then they were glad because they were quiet,

So He led them to their desired haven.

Let them give thanks to Yahweh for His lovingkindness,

And for His wondrous deeds to the sons of men!

Let them exalt Him also in the assembly of the people,

And praise Him at the seat of the elders.

He makes rivers into a wilderness

And springs of water into a thirsty ground;

A fruitful land into a salt waste,

Because of the evil of those who inhabited it.

He makes a wilderness into a pool of water

And a dry land into springs of water;

And there He causes the hungry to inhabit,

So that they may establish an inhabited city,

And sow fields and plant vineyards,

And produce a fruitful harvest.

Also He blesses them and they multiply greatly,

And He does not let their cattle decrease.

But when they decrease and are bowed down

Through oppression, evil, and sorrow,

He pours contempt upon nobles

And makes them wander in a pathless void.

But He sets the needy securely on high away from affliction,

And makes his families like a flock.

The upright see it and are glad;

But all unrighteousness shuts its mouth.

Who is wise? Let him keep these things,

And carefully consider the lovingkindnesses of Yahweh.