JEREMIAH 17

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The Sin of Judah  17:1 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of their altars, 2 while their children remember their altars and their Asherim, beside every green tree and on the high hills, 3 on the mountains in the open country. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. 4 You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, and I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, for in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”
5

Thus says the Lord:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man

and makes flesh his strength,

whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6

He is like a shrub in the desert,

and shall not see any good come.

He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,

in an uninhabited salt land.
7

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

whose trust is the Lord. 8

He is like a tree planted by water,

that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes,

for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought,

for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
9

The heart is deceitful above all things,

and desperately sick;

who can understand it? 10

“I the Lord search the heart

and test the mind,

to give every man according to his ways,

according to the fruit of his deeds.”
11

Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,

so is he who gets riches but not by justice;

in the midst of his days they will leave him,

and at his end he will be a fool.
12

A glorious throne set on high from the beginning

is the place of our sanctuary. 13

O Lord, the hope of Israel,

all who forsake you shall be put to shame;

those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth,

for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water. Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance14

Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;

save me, and I shall be saved,

for you are my praise. 15

Behold, they say to me,

“Where is the word of the Lord?

Let it come!” 16

I have not run away from being your shepherd,

nor have I desired the day of sickness.

You know what came out of my lips;

it was before your face. 17

Be not a terror to me;

you are my refuge in the day of disaster. 18

Let those be put to shame who persecute me,

but let me not be put to shame;

let them be dismayed,

but let me not be dismayed;

bring upon them the day of disaster;

destroy them with double destruction! Keep the Sabbath Holy19 Thus said the Lord to me: “Go and stand in the People’s Gate, by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the Lord: Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. 23 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.
    24 “‘But if you listen to me, declares the Lord, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25 then there shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. 26 And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.’”

JEREMIAH 18

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The Potter and the Clay  18:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.
    5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Return, every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.’
    12 “But they say, ‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’
13

“Therefore thus says the Lord:

Ask among the nations,

Who has heard the like of this?

The virgin Israel

has done a very horrible thing. 14

Does the snow of Lebanon leave

the crags of Sirion?

Do the mountain waters run dry,

the cold flowing streams? 15

But my people have forgotten me;

they make offerings to false gods;

they made them stumble in their ways,

in the ancient roads,

and to walk into side roads,

not the highway, 16

making their land a horror,

a thing to be hissed at forever.

Everyone who passes by it is horrified

and shakes his head. 17

Like the east wind I will scatter them

before the enemy.

I will show them my back, not my face,

in the day of their calamity.”
    18 Then they said, “Come, let us make plots against Jeremiah, for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.”
19

Hear me, O Lord,

and listen to the voice of my adversaries. 20

Should good be repaid with evil?

Yet they have dug a pit for my life.

Remember how I stood before you

to speak good for them,

to turn away your wrath from them. 21

Therefore deliver up their children to famine;

give them over to the power of the sword;

let their wives become childless and widowed.

May their men meet death by pestilence,

their youths be struck down by the sword in battle. 22

May a cry be heard from their houses,

when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!

For they have dug a pit to take me

and laid snares for my feet. 23

Yet you, O Lord, know

all their plotting to kill me.

Forgive not their iniquity,

nor blot out their sin from your sight.

Let them be overthrown before you;

deal with them in the time of your anger.

PROVERBS 10

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The Proverbs of Solomon  10:1 The proverbs of Solomon.

A wise son makes a glad father,

but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother. 2

Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,

but righteousness delivers from death. 3

The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,

but he thwarts the craving of the wicked. 4

A slack hand causes poverty,

but the hand of the diligent makes rich. 5

He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,

but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame. 6

Blessings are on the head of the righteous,

but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. 7

The memory of the righteous is a blessing,

but the name of the wicked will rot. 8

The wise of heart will receive commandments,

but a babbling fool will come to ruin. 9

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,

but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out. 10

Whoever winks the eye causes trouble,

and a babbling fool will come to ruin. 11

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,

but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. 12

Hatred stirs up strife,

but love covers all offenses. 13

On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found,

but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense. 14

The wise lay up knowledge,

but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near. 15

A rich man’s wealth is his strong city;

the poverty of the poor is their ruin. 16

The wage of the righteous leads to life,

the gain of the wicked to sin. 17

Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life,

but he who rejects reproof leads others astray. 18

The one who conceals hatred has lying lips,

and whoever utters slander is a fool. 19

When words are many, transgression is not lacking,

but whoever restrains his lips is prudent. 20

The tongue of the righteous is choice silver;

the heart of the wicked is of little worth. 21

The lips of the righteous feed many,

but fools die for lack of sense. 22

The blessing of the Lord makes rich,

and he adds no sorrow with it. 23

Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool,

but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding. 24

What the wicked dreads will come upon him,

but the desire of the righteous will be granted. 25

When the tempest passes, the wicked is no more,

but the righteous is established forever. 26

Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,

so is the sluggard to those who send him. 27

The fear of the Lord prolongs life,

but the years of the wicked will be short. 28

The hope of the righteous brings joy,

but the expectation of the wicked will perish. 29

The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless,

but destruction to evildoers. 30

The righteous will never be removed,

but the wicked will not dwell in the land. 31

The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom,

but the perverse tongue will be cut off. 32

The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable,

but the mouth of the wicked, what is perverse.

PSALM 120

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Deliver Me, O LordA Song of Ascents.
120:1

In my distress I called to the Lord,

and he answered me. 2

Deliver me, O Lord,

from lying lips,

from a deceitful tongue.
3

What shall be given to you,

and what more shall be done to you,

you deceitful tongue? 4

A warrior’s sharp arrows,

with glowing coals of the broom tree!
5

Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech,

that I dwell among the tents of Kedar! 6

Too long have I had my dwelling

among those who hate peace. 7

I am for peace,

but when I speak, they are for war!

PSALM 121

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My Help Comes from the LordA Song of Ascents.
121:1

I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come? 2

My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.
3

He will not let your foot be moved;

he who keeps you will not slumber. 4

Behold, he who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.
5

The Lord is your keeper;

the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6

The sun shall not strike you by day,

nor the moon by night.
7

The Lord will keep you from all evil;

he will keep your life. 8

The Lord will keep

your going out and your coming in

from this time forth and forevermore.