John 5:16-30
[16]
And this was why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because he was doing
these things on the Sabbath. [17] But Jesus answered them, “My Father is
working until now, and I am working.”
[18]
This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because
not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his
own Father, making himself equal with God.
[19]
So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do
nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For
whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. [20] For the
Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And
greater works than these will he show him, so that you may marvel. [21]
For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son
gives life to whom he will. [22] For the Father judges no one, but has
given all judgment to the Son, [23] that all may honor the Son, just as
they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the
Father who sent him. [24] Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my
word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come
into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
[25]
“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when
the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will
live. [26] For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the
Son also to have life in himself. [27] And he has given him authority to
execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. [28] Do not marvel at
this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his
voice [29] and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of
life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
[30]
“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is
just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
1 Peter 2:1-8
[1]
So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all
slander. [2] Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk,
that by it you may grow up into salvation—[3] if indeed you have tasted
that the Lord is good.
[4]
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of
God chosen and precious, [5] you yourselves like living stones are being
built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. [6] For it
stands in Scripture:
“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”
[7] So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”
[8] and
“A stone of stumbling,
and a rock of offense.”
They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
Song of Solomon 1
[1] The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.
[2] Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your love is better than wine;
[3] your anointing oils are fragrant;
your name is oil poured out;
therefore virgins love you.
[4] Draw me after you; let us run.
The king has brought me into his chambers.
We will exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.
[5] I am very dark, but lovely,
O daughters of Jerusalem,
like the tents of Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.
[6] Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
because the sun has looked upon me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me keeper of the vineyards,
but my own vineyard I have not kept!
[7] Tell me, you whom my soul loves,
where you pasture your flock,
where you make it lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who veils herself
beside the flocks of your companions?
[8] If you do not know,
O most beautiful among women,
follow in the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
beside the shepherds’ tents.
[9] I compare you, my love,
to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariots.
[10] Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.
[11] We will make for you ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.
[12] While the king was on his couch,
my nard gave forth its fragrance.
[13] My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
[14] My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms
in the vineyards of Engedi.
[15] Behold, you are beautiful, my love;
behold, you are beautiful;
your eyes are doves.
[16] Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful.
Our couch is green;
[17] the beams of our house are cedar;
our rafters are pine.
Jeremiah 44
[1]
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Judeans who lived in
the land of Egypt, at Migdol, at Tahpanhes, at Memphis, and in the land
of Pathros, [2] “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You
have seen all the disaster that I brought upon Jerusalem and upon all
the cities of Judah. Behold, this day they are a desolation, and no one
dwells in them, [3] because of the evil that they committed, provoking
me to anger, in that they went to make offerings and serve other gods
that they knew not, neither they, nor you, nor your fathers. [4] Yet I
persistently sent to you all my servants the prophets, saying, ‘Oh, do
not do this abomination that I hate!’ [5] But they did not listen or
incline their ear, to turn from their evil and make no offerings to
other gods. [6] Therefore my wrath and my anger were poured out and
kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, and they
became a waste and a desolation, as at this day. [7] And now thus says
the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great
evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, infant and
child, from the midst of Judah, leaving you no remnant? [8] Why do you
provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, making offerings to
other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live, so that you
may be cut off and become a curse and a taunt among all the nations of
the earth? [9] Have you forgotten the evil of your fathers, the evil of
the kings of Judah, the evil of their wives, your own evil, and the evil
of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the
streets of Jerusalem? [10] They have not humbled themselves even to this
day, nor have they feared, nor walked in my law and my statutes that I
set before you and before your fathers.
[11]
“Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I
will set my face against you for harm, to cut off all Judah. [12] I will
take the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to come to the land
of Egypt to live, and they shall all be consumed. In the land of Egypt
they shall fall; by the sword and by famine they shall be consumed. From
the least to the greatest, they shall die by the sword and by famine,
and they shall become an oath, a horror, a curse, and a taunt. [13] I
will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished
Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, [14] so
that none of the remnant of Judah who have come to live in the land of
Egypt shall escape or survive or return to the land of Judah, to which
they desire to return to dwell there. For they shall not return, except
some fugitives.”
[15]
Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other
gods, and all the women who stood by, a great assembly, all the people
who lived in Pathros in the land of Egypt, answered Jeremiah: [16] “As
for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will
not listen to you. [17] But we will do everything that we have vowed,
make offerings to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to
her, as we did, both we and our fathers, our kings and our officials, in
the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had
plenty of food, and prospered, and saw no disaster. [18] But since we
left off making offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink
offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have been consumed by
the sword and by famine.” [19] And the women said, “When we made
offerings to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her,
was it without our husbands’ approval that we made cakes for her bearing
her image and poured out drink offerings to her?”
[20]
Then Jeremiah said to all the people, men and women, all the people who
had given him this answer: [21] “As for the offerings that you offered
in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your
fathers, your kings and your officials, and the people of the land, did
not the LORD remember them? Did it not come into his mind? [22] The LORD
could no longer bear your evil deeds and the abominations that you
committed. Therefore your land has become a desolation and a waste and a
curse, without inhabitant, as it is this day. [23] It is because you
made offerings and because you sinned against the LORD and did not obey
the voice of the LORD or walk in his law and in his statutes and in his
testimonies that this disaster has happened to you, as at this day.”
[24]
Jeremiah said to all the people and all the women, “Hear the word of
the LORD, all you of Judah who are in the land of Egypt. [25] Thus says
the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have declared
with your mouths, and have fulfilled it with your hands, saying, ‘We
will surely perform our vows that we have made, to make offerings to the
queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her.’ Then confirm
your vows and perform your vows! [26] Therefore hear the word of the
LORD, all you of 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
invoked by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt,
saying, ‘As the Lord GOD lives.’ [27] Behold, I am watching over them
for disaster and not for good. All the men of Judah who are in the land
of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there is an
end of them. [28] And those who escape the sword shall return from the
land of Egypt to the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant
of Judah, who came to the land of Egypt to live, shall know whose word
will stand, mine or theirs. [29] This shall be the sign to you, declares
the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, in order that you may
know that my words will surely stand against you for harm: [30] Thus
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.”
Jeremiah 45
[1]
The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah,
when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, in the
fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: [2] “Thus
says the LORD, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: [3] You said, ‘Woe
is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my
groaning, and I find no rest.’ [4] Thus shall you say to him, Thus says
the LORD: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have
planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. [5] And do you seek
great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I am bringing
disaster upon all flesh, declares the LORD. But I will give you your
life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.”
Jeremiah 46
[1] The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.
[2]
About Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which
was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon defeated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah,
king of Judah:
[3] “Prepare buckler and shield,
and advance for battle!
[4] Harness the horses;
mount, O horsemen!
Take your stations with your helmets,
polish your spears,
put on your armor!
[5] Why have I seen it?
They are dismayed
and have turned backward.
Their warriors are beaten down
and have fled in haste;
they look not back—
terror on every side!
declares the LORD.
[6] “The swift cannot flee away,
nor the warrior escape;
in the north by the river Euphrates
they have stumbled and fallen.
[7] “Who is this, rising like the Nile,
like rivers whose waters surge?
[8] Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers whose waters surge.
He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,
I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’
[9] Advance, O horses,
and rage, O chariots!
Let the warriors go out:
men of Cush and Put who handle the shield,
men of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
[10] That day is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts,
a day of vengeance,
to avenge himself on his foes.
The sword shall devour and be sated
and drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord GOD of hosts holds a sacrifice
in the north country by the river Euphrates.
[11] Go up to Gilead, and take balm,
O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain you have used many medicines;
there is no healing for you.
[12] The nations have heard of your shame,
and the earth is full of your cry;
for warrior has stumbled against warrior;
they have both fallen together.”
[13] The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the
coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:
[14] “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol;
proclaim in Memphis and Tahpanhes;
say, ‘Stand ready and be prepared,
for the sword shall devour around you.’
[15] Why are your mighty ones face down?
They do not stand
because the LORD thrust them down.
[16] He made many stumble, and they fell,
and they said one to another,
‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people
and to the land of our birth,
because of the sword of the oppressor.’
[17] Call the name of Pharaoh, king of Egypt,
‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’
[18] “As I live, declares the King,
whose name is the LORD of hosts,
like Tabor among the mountains
and like Carmel by the sea, shall one come.
[19] Prepare yourselves baggage for exile,
O inhabitants of Egypt!
For Memphis shall become a waste,
a ruin, without inhabitant.
[20] “A beautiful heifer is Egypt,
but a biting fly from the north has come upon her.
[21] Even her hired soldiers in her midst
are like fattened calves;
yes, they have turned and fled together;
they did not stand,
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
the time of their punishment.
[22] “She makes a sound like a serpent gliding away;
for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
like those who fell trees.
[23] They shall cut down her forest,
declares the LORD,
though it is impenetrable,
because they are more numerous than locusts;
they are without number.
[24] The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;
she shall be delivered into the hand of a people from the north.”
[25] The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am
bringing punishment upon Amon of Thebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt and her
gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. [26] I will
deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand
of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. Afterward Egypt
shall be inhabited as in the days of old, declares the LORD.
[27] “But fear not, O Jacob my servant,
nor be dismayed, O Israel,
for behold, I will save you from far away,
and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and none shall make him afraid.
[28] Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
declares the LORD,
for I am with you.
I will make a full end of all the nations
to which I have driven you,
but of you I will not make a full end.
I will discipline you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”
