Day 305 of 730

¹The message that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,

²"Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, Baruch:

³'You said, "Woe is me now! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest."'"

⁴"You shall tell him, 'Thus says the Lord: "Behold, that which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up; and this in the whole land.

⁵Do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for, behold, I will bring disaster on all flesh, says the Lord; but your life will I give to you for a reward in all places where you go."'"

¹The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.

²Of Egypt: concerning the army of Pharaoh Necoh king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah.

³"Prepare the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle!

⁴Harness the horses, and get up, you horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish the spears, put on the coats of mail.

⁵Why have I seen it? They are dismayed and are turned backward; and their mighty ones are beaten down, and have fled in haste, and do not look back: terror is on every side," says the Lord.

⁶"Do not let the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; in the north by the river Euphrates have they stumbled and fallen.

⁷Who is this who rises up like the Nile, whose waters toss themselves like the rivers?

⁸Egypt rises up like the Nile, and his waters toss themselves like the rivers: and he says, 'I will rise up, I will cover the earth; I will destroy cities and its inhabitants.'

⁹Go up, you horses; and rage, you chariots; and let the mighty men go forth: Cush and Put, who handle the shield; and the Ludim, who handle and bend the bow.

¹⁰For that day is of the Lord, the Lord of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword shall devour and be satiate, and shall drink its fill of their blood; for the Lord, the Lord of hosts, has a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

¹¹Go up into Gilead, and take balm, virgin daughter of Egypt: in vain do you use many medicines; there is no healing for you.

¹²The nations have heard of your shame, and the earth is full of your cry; for the mighty man has stumbled against the mighty, they are fallen both of them together."

¹³The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, how that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon should come and strike the land of Egypt.

¹⁴"Declare in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Memphis and in Tahpanhes: say, 'Stand forth, and prepare; for the sword has devoured around you.'

¹⁵Why are your strong ones swept away? They did not stand, because the Lord pushed them.

¹⁶He made many to stumble, yes, they fell one on another: and they said, 'Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our birth, from the oppressing sword.'

¹⁷They cried there, 'Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he has let the appointed time pass by.'"

¹⁸"As I live," says the King, "whose name is the Lord of hosts, surely like Tabor among the mountains, and like Carmel by the sea, so shall he come.

¹⁹You daughter who dwells in Egypt, furnish yourself to go into captivity; for Memphis shall become a desolation, and shall be burnt up, without inhabitant.

²⁰Egypt is a very beautiful heifer; but destruction out of the north has come, it has come.

²¹Also her hired men in the midst of her are like calves of the stall; for they also are turned back, they are fled away together, they did not stand: for the day of their calamity has come on them, the time of their visitation.

²²The sound of it shall go like the serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her with axes, as wood cutters.

²³They shall cut down her forest, says the Lord, though it can't be searched; because they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable.

²⁴The daughter of Egypt shall be disappointed; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of the north."

²⁵"The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says: 'Behold, I will punish Amon of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with her gods, and her kings; even Pharaoh, and those who trust in him:

²⁶and I will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants; and afterwards it shall be inhabited, as in the days of old,' says the Lord.

²⁷'But do not be afraid, Jacob my servant, neither be dismayed, Israel: for, behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and at ease, and none shall make him afraid.

²⁸Do not be afraid, O Jacob my servant,' says the Lord; 'for I am with you: for I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven you; but I will not make a full end of you, but I will correct you in measure, and will in no way leave you unpunished.'"

¹Give ear to my words, Lord. Consider my meditation.

²Listen to the voice of my cry, my King and my God; for to you do I pray.

³Lord, in the morning you shall hear my voice. In the morning I will lay my requests before you, and will watch expectantly.

⁴For you are not a God who has pleasure in wickedness. Evil can't live with you.

⁵The arrogant shall not stand in your sight. You hate all workers of iniquity.

⁶You will destroy those who speak lies. The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

⁷But as for me, in the abundance of your loving kindness I will come into your house. I will bow toward your holy temple in reverence of you.

⁸Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies. Make your way straight before my face.

⁹For there is no faithfulness in their mouth. Their heart is destruction. Their throat is an open tomb; with their tongue they are deceitful.

¹⁰Hold them guilty, God. Let them fall by their own counsels; Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against you.

¹¹But let all those who take refuge in you rejoice, Let them always shout for joy, because you defend them. Let them also who love your name be joyful in you.

¹²For you will bless the righteous. Lord, you will surround him with favor as with a shield.

¹Like snow in summer, and as rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.

²Like a fluttering sparrow, like a darting swallow, so the undeserved curse doesn't come to rest.

³A whip is for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools!

⁴Do not answer a fool according to his folly, lest you also be like him.

⁵Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

⁶One who sends a message by the hand of a fool is cutting off feet and drinking violence.

⁷Like the legs of the lame that hang loose: so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

⁸As one who binds a stone in a sling, so is he who gives honor to a fool.

⁹Like a thornbush that goes into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.

¹⁰As an archer who wounds all, so is he who hires a fool or he who hires those who pass by.

¹¹As a dog that returns to his vomit, so is a fool who repeats his folly.

¹²Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

¹³The sluggard says, "There is a lion in the road! A fierce lion roams the streets!"

¹⁴As the door turns on its hinges, so does the sluggard on his bed.

¹⁵The sluggard buries his hand in the dish. He is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth.

¹⁶The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who answer with discretion.

¹⁷Like one who grabs a dog's ears is one who passes by and meddles in a quarrel not his own.

¹⁸Like a madman who shoots firebrands, arrows, and death,

¹⁹is the man who deceives his neighbor and says, "Am I not joking?"

²⁰For lack of wood a fire goes out. Without gossip, a quarrel dies down.

²¹As coals are to hot embers, and wood to fire, so is a contentious man to kindling strife.

²²The words of a whisperer are as dainty morsels, they go down into the innermost parts.

²³Like silver dross on an earthen vessel are the lips of a fervent one with an evil heart.

²⁴A malicious man disguises himself with his lips, but he harbors evil in his heart.

²⁵When his speech is charming, do not believe him; for there are seven abominations in his heart.

²⁶His malice may be concealed by deception, but his wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.

²⁷Whoever digs a pit shall fall into it. Whoever rolls a stone, it will come back on him.

²⁸A lying tongue hates those it hurts; and a flattering mouth works ruin.