October 9

John 3:16-21

For God So Loved the World

[16] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. [18] Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. [19] And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. [20] For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. [21] But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

James 4:11-17

[11] Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. [12] There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

Boasting About Tomorrow

[13] Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—[14] yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. [15] Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” [16] As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. [17] So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.

Ecclesiastes 7:1-14

The Contrast of Wisdom and Folly

    [1] A good name is better than precious ointment,

        and the day of death than the day of birth. 

    [2] It is better to go to the house of mourning

        than to go to the house of feasting,

    for this is the end of all mankind,

        and the living will lay it to heart. 

    [3] Sorrow is better than laughter,

        for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. 

    [4] The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,

        but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 

    [5] It is better for a man to hear the rebuke of the wise

        than to hear the song of fools. 

    [6] For as the crackling of thorns under a pot,

        so is the laughter of the fools;

        this also is vanity. 

    [7] Surely oppression drives the wise into madness,

        and a bribe corrupts the heart. 

    [8] Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,

        and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. 

    [9] Be not quick in your spirit to become angry,

        for anger lodges in the heart of fools. 

    [10] Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”

        For it is not from wisdom that you ask this. 

    [11] Wisdom is good with an inheritance,

        an advantage to those who see the sun. 

    [12] For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money,

        and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it. 

    [13] Consider the work of God:

        who can make straight what he has made crooked?

    [14] In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

Jeremiah 19

The Broken Flask

[1] Thus says the LORD, “Go, buy a potter’s earthenware flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests, [2] and go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you. [3] You shall say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. [4] Because the people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by making offerings in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; and because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, [5] and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind—[6] therefore, behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place shall no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. [7] And in this place I will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, and will cause their people to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life. I will give their dead bodies for food to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the earth. [8] And I will make this city a horror, a thing to be hissed at. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its wounds. [9] And I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his neighbor in the siege and in the distress, with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them.’

[10] “Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, [11] and shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, so that it can never be mended. Men shall bury in Topheth because there will be no place else to bury. [12] Thus will I do to this place, declares the LORD, and to its inhabitants, making this city like Topheth. [13] The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah—all the houses on whose roofs offerings have been offered to all the host of heaven, and drink offerings have been poured out to other gods—shall be defiled like the place of Topheth.’”

[14] Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the court of the LORD’s house and said to all the people: [15] “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I am bringing upon this city and upon all its towns all the disaster that I have pronounced against it, because they have stiffened their neck, refusing to hear my words.”

Jeremiah 20

Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur

[1] Now Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. [2] Then Pashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper Benjamin Gate of the house of the LORD. [3] The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD does not call your name Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side. [4] For thus says the LORD: Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. [5] Moreover, I will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. [6] And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied falsely.”

    [7] O LORD, you have deceived me,

        and I was deceived;

    you are stronger than I,

        and you have prevailed.

    I have become a laughingstock all the day;

        everyone mocks me. 

    [8] For whenever I speak, I cry out,

        I shout, “Violence and destruction!”

    For the word of the LORD has become for me

        a reproach and derision all day long. 

    [9] If I say, “I will not mention him,

        or speak any more in his name,”

    there is in my heart as it were a burning fire

        shut up in my bones,

    and I am weary with holding it in,

        and I cannot. 

    [10] For I hear many whispering.

        Terror is on every side!

    “Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”

        say all my close friends,

        watching for my fall.

    “Perhaps he will be deceived;

        then we can overcome him

        and take our revenge on him.” 

    [11] But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior;

        therefore my persecutors will stumble;

        they will not overcome me.

    They will be greatly shamed,

        for they will not succeed.

    Their eternal dishonor

        will never be forgotten. 

    [12] O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous,

        who sees the heart and the mind,

    let me see your vengeance upon them,

        for to you have I committed my cause.

    [13] Sing to the LORD;

        praise the LORD!

    For he has delivered the life of the needy

        from the hand of evildoers.

    [14] Cursed be the day

        on which I was born!

    The day when my mother bore me,

        let it not be blessed! 

    [15] Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father,

    “A son is born to you,”

        making him very glad. 

    [16] Let that man be like the cities

        that the LORD overthrew without pity;

    let him hear a cry in the morning

        and an alarm at noon, 

    [17] because he did not kill me in the womb;

        so my mother would have been my grave,

        and her womb forever great. 

    [18] Why did I come out from the womb

        to see toil and sorrow,

        and spend my days in shame?

Jeremiah 21

Jerusalem Will Fall to Nebuchadnezzar

[1] This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, [2] “Inquire of the LORD for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”

[3] Then Jeremiah said to them: “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, [4] ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. And I will bring them together into the midst of this city. [5] I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and strong arm, in anger and in fury and in great wrath. [6] And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. [7] Afterward, declares the LORD, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. He shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’

[8] “And to this people you shall say: ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. [9] He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and shall have his life as a prize of war. [10] For I have set my face against this city for harm and not for good, declares the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’

Message to the House of David

[11] “And to the house of the king of Judah say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, [12] O house of David! Thus says the LORD: 

    “‘Execute justice in the morning,

        and deliver from the hand of the oppressor

        him who has been robbed,

    lest my wrath go forth like fire,

        and burn with none to quench it,

        because of your evil deeds.’”

    [13] “Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley,

        O rock of the plain,

    declares the LORD;

    you who say, ‘Who shall come down against us,

        or who shall enter our habitations?’ 

    [14] I will punish you according to the fruit of your deeds,

    declares the LORD;

        I will kindle a fire in her forest,

        and it shall devour all that is around her.”

Jeremiah 22

[1] Thus says the LORD: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, [2] and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. [3] Thus says the LORD: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. [4] For if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people. [5] But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation. [6] For thus says the LORD concerning the house of the king of Judah: 

    “‘You are like Gilead to me,

        like the summit of Lebanon,

    yet surely I will make you a desert,

        an uninhabited city. 

    [7] I will prepare destroyers against you,

        each with his weapons,

    and they shall cut down your choicest cedars

        and cast them into the fire.

    [8] “‘And many nations will pass by this city, and every man will say to his neighbor, “Why has the LORD dealt thus with this great city?” [9] And they will answer, “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and worshiped other gods and served them.”’”

    [10] Weep not for him who is dead,

        nor grieve for him,

    but weep bitterly for him who goes away,

        for he shall return no more

        to see his native land.

    Message to the Sons of Josiah

[11] For thus says the LORD concerning Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, and who went away from this place: “He shall return here no more, [12] but in the place where they have carried him captive, there shall he die, and he shall never see this land again.”

    [13] “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness,

        and his upper rooms by injustice,

    who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing

        and does not give him his wages, 

    [14] who says, ‘I will build myself a great house

        with spacious upper rooms,’

    who cuts out windows for it,

        paneling it with cedar

        and painting it with vermilion. 

    [15] Do you think you are a king

        because you compete in cedar?

    Did not your father eat and drink

        and do justice and righteousness?

        Then it was well with him. 

    [16] He judged the cause of the poor and needy;

        then it was well.

    Is not this to know me?

        declares the LORD. 

    [17] But you have eyes and heart

        only for your dishonest gain,

    for shedding innocent blood,

        and for practicing oppression and violence.”

    [18] Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 

    “They shall not lament for him, saying,

        ‘Ah, my brother!’ or ‘Ah, sister!’

    They shall not lament for him, saying,

        ‘Ah, lord!’ or ‘Ah, his majesty!’ 

    [19] With the burial of a donkey he shall be buried,

        dragged and dumped beyond the gates of Jerusalem.”

    [20] “Go up to Lebanon, and cry out,

        and lift up your voice in Bashan;

    cry out from Abarim,

        for all your lovers are destroyed. 

    [21] I spoke to you in your prosperity,

        but you said, ‘I will not listen.’

    This has been your way from your youth,

        that you have not obeyed my voice. 

    [22] The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds,

        and your lovers shall go into captivity;

    then you will be ashamed and confounded

        because of all your evil. 

    [23] O inhabitant of Lebanon,

        nested among the cedars,

    how you will be pitied when pangs come upon you,

        pain as of a woman in labor!”

    [24] “As I live, declares the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet ring on my right hand, yet I would tear you off [25] and give you into the hand of those who seek your life, into the hand of those of whom you are afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. [26] I will hurl you and the mother who bore you into another country, where you were not born, and there you shall die. [27] But to the land to which they will long to return, there they shall not return.”

    [28] Is this man Coniah a despised, broken pot,

        a vessel no one cares for?

    Why are he and his children hurled and cast

        into a land that they do not know? 

    [29] O land, land, land,

        hear the word of the LORD! 

    [30] Thus says the LORD:

    “Write this man down as childless,

        a man who shall not succeed in his days,

    for none of his offspring shall succeed

        in sitting on the throne of David

        and ruling again in Judah.”