Day 304 of 730

¹It happened that, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking to all the people all the words of the Lord their God, with which the Lord their God had sent him to them, even all these words,

²then spoke Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying to Jeremiah, "You speak falsely. The Lord our God has not sent you to say, 'You shall not go into Egypt to live there';

³but Baruch the son of Neriah sets you on against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death, and carry us away captive to Babylon."

⁴So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of the Lord, to dwell in the land of Judah.

⁵But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, who were returned from all the nations where they had been driven, to live in the land of Judah;

⁶the men, and the women, and the children, and the king's daughters, and every person who Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan; and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah;

⁷and they came into the land of Egypt; for they did not obey the voice of the Lord: and they came to Tahpanhes.

⁸Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying,

⁹"Take great stones in your hand, and hide them in mortar in the brick work, which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah;

¹⁰and tell them, 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne on these stones that I have hidden; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.

¹¹He shall come, and shall strike the land of Egypt; such as are for death shall be put to death, and such as are for captivity to captivity, and such as are for the sword to the sword.

¹²I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captive: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd puts on his garment; and he shall go forth from there in peace.

¹³He shall also break the pillars of Beth Shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of Egypt shall he burn with fire."'"

¹The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews who lived in the land of Egypt, who lived at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Memphis, and in the country of Pathros, saying,

²"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'You have seen all the evil that I have brought on Jerusalem, and on all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwells therein,

³because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, to serve other gods, that they did not know, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers.

⁴However I sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, 'Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate.'

⁵But they did not listen, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to other gods.

⁶Therefore my wrath and my anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are wasted and desolate, as it is this day.'

⁷Therefore now thus says the Lord, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel: 'Why do you commit great evil against your own souls, to cut off from yourselves man and woman, infant and nursing child out of the midst of Judah, to leave yourselves none remaining;

⁸in that you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have gone to live; that you may be cut off, and that you may be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

⁹Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives which they committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?

¹⁰They are not humbled even to this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before you and before your fathers.'

¹¹Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, even to cut off all Judah.

¹²I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to live there, and they shall all be consumed; in the land of Egypt shall they fall; they shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine; they shall die, from the least even to the greatest, by the sword and by the famine; and they shall be an object of horror, an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach.

¹³For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence;

¹⁴so that none of the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to live there, shall escape or be left, to return into the land of Judah, to which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return save such as shall escape.'"

¹⁵Then all the men who knew that their wives burned incense to other gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, even all the people who lived in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying,

¹⁶"As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not listen to you.

¹⁷But we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of food, and were well, and saw no evil.

¹⁸But since we left off burning incense to the queen of the sky, and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine.

¹⁹When we burned incense to the queen of the sky, and poured out drink offerings to her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings to her, without our husbands?"

²⁰Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men, and to the women, even to all the people who had given him an answer, saying,

²¹"The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land. Did not the Lord remember them, and did not it come into his mind,

²²so that the Lord could no longer bear because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which you have committed? Therefore your land has become a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day.

²³Because you have burned incense, and because you have sinned against the Lord, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil has happened to you, as it is this day."

²⁴Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people, and to all the women, "Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt:

²⁵Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, 'You and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and with your hands have fulfilled it, saying, "We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to her": establish then your vows, and perform your vows.'

²⁶Therefore hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: 'Behold, I have sworn by my great name,' says the Lord, 'that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, "As the Lord God lives."

²⁷Behold, I watch over them for evil, and not for good; and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by the famine, until they are all gone.

²⁸Those who escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt to live there, shall know whose word shall stand, mine, or theirs.

²⁹This shall be the sign to you,' says the Lord, 'that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil':

³⁰Thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of those who seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy, and sought his life.'"

¹Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness. Give me relief from my distress. Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

²You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor? Will you love vanity, and seek after falsehood? Selah.

³But know that the Lord has set apart for himself him who is godly: The Lord will hear when I call to him.

⁴When agitated, do not sin. Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Selah.

⁵Offer the sacrifices of righteousness. Put your trust in the Lord.

⁶Many say, "Who will show us any good?" Lord, let the light of your face shine on us.

⁷You have put gladness in my heart, more than when their grain and their new wine are increased.

⁸In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep, for you, the Lord alone, make me live in safety.

¹These also are proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied out.

²It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

³As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, so the hearts of kings are unsearchable.

⁴Take away the dross from the silver, and material comes out for the refiner;

⁵Take away the wicked from the king's presence, and his throne will be established in righteousness.

⁶Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, or claim a place among great men;

⁷for it is better that it be said to you, "Come up here," than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, whom your eyes have seen.

⁸Do not be hasty in bringing charges to court. What will you do in the end when your neighbor shames you?

⁹Debate your case with your neighbor, and do not betray the confidence of another;

¹⁰lest one who hears it put you to shame, and your bad reputation never depart.

¹¹A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.

¹²As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover to an obedient ear.

¹³As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to those who send him; for he refreshes the soul of his masters.

¹⁴As clouds and wind without rain, so is he who boasts of gifts deceptively.

¹⁵By patience a ruler is persuaded. A soft tongue breaks the bone.

¹⁶Have you found honey? Eat as much as is sufficient for you, lest you eat too much, and vomit it.

¹⁷Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house, lest he be weary of you, and hate you.

¹⁸A man who gives false testimony against his neighbor is like a club, a sword, or a sharp arrow.

¹⁹Confidence in someone unfaithful in time of trouble is like a bad tooth, or a lame foot.

²⁰As one who takes away a garment in cold weather, or vinegar on soda, so is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.

²¹If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat. If he is thirsty, give him water to drink:

²²for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

²³The north wind brings forth rain: so a backbiting tongue brings an angry face.

²⁴It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than to share a house with a contentious woman.

²⁵Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.

²⁶Like a muddied spring, and a polluted well, so is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

²⁷It is not good to eat much honey; nor is it honorable to seek one's own honor.

²⁸Like a city that is broken down and without walls is a man whose spirit is without restraint.