Bible Reading November 22 (World English Bible)
Jeremiah
38-41
Jer
38:1 Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur,
and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah,
heard the words that Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying,
Jer
38:2 Thus says Yahweh, He who remains in this city shall die by the
sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes forth to
the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be to him for a prey,
and he shall live.
Jer
38:3 Thus says Yahweh, This city shall surely be given into the hand
of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.
Jer
38:4 Then the princes said to the king, Let this man, we pray you,
be put to death; because he weakens the hands of the men of war who
remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking
such words to them: for this man doesn't seek the welfare of this
people, but the hurt.
Jer
38:5 Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand; for the
king is not he who can do anything against you.
Jer
38:6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of
Malchijah the king's son, that was in the court of the guard: and
they let down Jeremiah with cords. In the dungeon there was no water,
but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.
Jer
38:7 Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was in the
king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon (the
king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin),
Jer
38:8 Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spoke to the
king, saying,
Jer
38:9 My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they
have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the
dungeon; and he is likely to die in the place where he is, because of
the famine; for there is no more bread in the city.
Jer
38:10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take
from hence thirty men with you, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out
of the dungeon, before he dies.
Jer
38:11 So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house
of the king under the treasury, and took there rags and worn-out
garments, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.
Jer
38:12 Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, Put now these rags
and worn-out garments under your armholes under the cords. Jeremiah
did so.
Jer
38:13 So they drew up Jeremiah with the cords, and took him up out
of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.
Jer
38:14 Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet to
him into the third entry that is in the house of Yahweh: and the king
said to Jeremiah, I will ask you a thing; hide nothing from me.
Jer
38:15 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, If I declare it to you, will
you not surely put me to death? and if I give you counsel, you will
not listen to me.
Jer
38:16 So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, As
Yahweh lives, who made us this soul, I will not put you to death,
neither will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your
life.
Jer
38:17 Then said Jeremiah to Zedekiah, Thus says Yahweh, the God of
Armies, the God of Israel: If you will go forth to the king of
Babylon's princes, then your soul shall live, and this city shall not
be burned with fire; and you shall live, and your house.
Jer
38:18 But if you will not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes,
then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and
they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape out of their
hand.
Jer
38:19 Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews
who are fallen away to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their
hand, and they mock me.
Jer
38:20 But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver you. Obey, I beg
you, the voice of Yahweh, in that which I speak to you: so it shall
be well with you, and your soul shall live.
Jer
38:21 But if you refuse to go forth, this is the word that Yahweh
has shown me:
Jer
38:22 behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah's
house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and
those women shall say, Your familiar friends have set you on, and
have prevailed over you: now that
your feet are sunk in the mire, they are turned away back.
Jer
38:23 They shall bring out all your wives and your children to the
Chaldeans; and you shall not escape out of their hand, but shall be
taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and you shall cause this
city to be burned with fire.
Jer
38:24 Then said Zedekiah to Jeremiah, Let no man know of these
words, and you shall not die.
Jer
38:25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they
come to you, and tell you, Declare to us now what you have said to
the king; don't hide it from us, and we will not put you to death;
also what the king said to you:
Jer
38:26 then you shall tell them, I presented my supplication before
the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house,
to die there.
Jer
38:27 Then came all the princes to Jeremiah, and asked him; and he
told them according to all these words that the king had commanded.
So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived.
Jer
38:28 So Jeremiah abode in the court of the guard until the day that
Jerusalem was taken.
Jer
39:1 It happened when Jerusalem was taken, (in the ninth year of
Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and besieged it;
Jer
39:2 in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the
ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city),
Jer
39:3 that all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in
the middle gate, to wit,
Nergal Sharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergal Sharezer,
Rabmag, with all the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon.
Jer
39:4 It happened that, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the
men of war saw them, then they fled, and went forth out of the city
by night, by the way of the king's garden, through the gate between
the two walls; and he went out toward the Arabah.
Jer
39:5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them, and overtook
Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they
brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the
land of Hamath; and he gave judgment on him.
Jer
39:6 Then the king of Babylon killed the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah
before his eyes: also the king of Babylon killed all the nobles of
Judah.
Jer
39:7 Moreover he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and bound him in fetters,
to carry him to Babylon.
Jer
39:8 The Chaldeans burned the king's house, and the houses of the
people, with fire, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem.
Jer
39:9 Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive
into Babylon the residue of the people who remained in the city, the
deserters also who fell away to him, and the residue of the people
who remained.
Jer
39:10 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of
the people, who had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them
vineyards and fields at the same time.
Jer
39:11 Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon commanded Nebuzaradan the
captain of the guard concerning Jeremiah, saying,
Jer
39:12 Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do to
him even as he shall tell you.
Jer
39:13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushazban,
Rabsaris, and Nergal Sharezer, Rabmag, and all the chief officers of
the king of Babylon;
Jer
39:14 they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard,
and committed him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan,
that he should carry him home: so he lived among the people.
Jer
39:15 Now the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, while he was shut up
in the court of the guard, saying,
Jer
39:16 Go, and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus says
Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring my words on
this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished
before you in that day.
Jer
39:17 But I will deliver you in that day, says Yahweh; and you shall
not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid.
Jer
39:18 For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the
sword, but your life shall be for a prey to you; because you have put
your trust in me, says Yahweh.
Jer
40:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, after that
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when
he had taken him being bound in chains among all the captives of
Jerusalem and Judah, who were carried away captive to Babylon.
Jer
40:2 The captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said to him, Yahweh
your God pronounced this evil on this place;
Jer
40:3 and Yahweh has brought it, and done according as he spoke:
because you have sinned against Yahweh, and have not obeyed his
voice, therefore this thing is come on you.
Jer
40:4 Now, behold, I loose you this day from the chains which are on
your hand. If it seems good to you to come with me into Babylon,
come, and I will take care of you; but if it seems bad to you to come
with me into Babylon, don't: behold, all the land is before you;
where it seems good and right to you to go, there go.
Jer
40:5 Now while he was not yet gone back, Go back then, said
he, to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the
son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the
cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people; or go wherever
it seems right to you to go. So the captain of the guard gave him
food and a present, and let him go.
Jer
40:6 Then went Jeremiah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah, and
lived with him among the people who were left in the land.
Jer
40:7 Now when all the captains of the forces who were in the fields,
even they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made
Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed to
him men, and women, and children, and of the poorest of the land, of
those who were not carried away captive to Babylon;
Jer
40:8 then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, to
wit, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and
Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of
Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the
son of the Maacathite, they and their men.
Jer
40:9 Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan swore to them and
to their men, saying, Don't be afraid to serve the Chaldeans: dwell
in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with
you.
Jer
40:10 As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah, to stand before the
Chaldeans who shall come to us: but you, gather you wine and summer
fruits and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your
cities that you have taken.
Jer
40:11 Likewise when all the Jews who were in Moab, and among the
children of Ammon, and in Edom, and who were in all the countries,
heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that
he had set over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan;
Jer
40:12 then all the Jews returned out of all places where they were
driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, to Mizpah, and
gathered wine and summer fruits very much.
Jer
40:13 Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of
the forces who were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah,
Jer
40:14 and said to him, Do you know that Baalis the king of the
children of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your
life? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam didn't believe them.
Jer
40:15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke to Gedaliah in Mizpah
secretly, saying, Please let me go, and I will kill Ishmael the son
of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it: why should he take your life,
that all the Jews who are gathered to you should be scattered, and
the remnant of Judah perish?
Jer
40:16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of
Kareah, You shall not do this thing; for you speak falsely of
Ishmael.
Jer
41:1 Now it happened in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of
Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the seed royal and one
of the chief officers of the king, and
ten men with him, came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and
there they ate bread together in Mizpah.
Jer
41:2 Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men who
were with him, and struck Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of
Shaphan with the sword, and killed him, whom the king of Babylon had
made governor over the land.
Jer
41:3 Ishmael also killed all the Jews who were with him, to
wit, with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the
Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war.
Jer
41:4 It happened the second day after he had killed Gedaliah, and no
man knew it,
Jer
41:5 that there came men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from
Samaria, even eighty men, having their beards shaved and their
clothes torn, and having cut themselves, with meal offerings and
frankincense in their hand, to bring them to the house of Yahweh.
Jer
41:6 Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet
them, weeping all along as he went: and it happened, as he met them,
he said to them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.
Jer
41:7 It was so, when they came into the midst of the city, that
Ishmael the son of Nethaniah killed them, and
cast them into the midst of the pit, he,
and the men who were with him.
Jer
41:8 But ten men were found among those who said to Ishmael, Don't
kill us; for we have stores hidden in the field, of wheat, and of
barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he stopped, and didn't kill them
among their brothers.
Jer
41:9 Now the pit in which Ishmael cast all the dead bodies of the
men whom he had killed, by the side of Gedaliah (the same was who
which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel),
Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with those who were killed.
Jer
41:10 Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the
people who were in Mizpah, even the king's daughters, and all the
people who remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the
guard had committed to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam; Ishmael the son of
Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to go over to the
children of Ammon.
Jer
41:11 But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of
the forces who were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the
son of Nethaniah had done,
Jer
41:12 then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the
son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in
Gibeon.
Jer
41:13 Now it happened that, when all the people who were with
Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the
forces who were with him, then they were glad.
Jer
41:14 So all the people who Ishmael had carried away captive from
Mizpah turned about and came back, and went to Johanan the son of
Kareah.
Jer
41:15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with
eight men, and went to the children of Ammon.
Jer
41:16 Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of
the forces who were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he
had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after
that he had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, to
wit, the men of war, and the women, and
the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon:
Jer
41:17 and they departed, and lived in Geruth Chimham, which is by
Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt,
Jer
41:18 because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them,
because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah the son of
Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor over the land.
Hebrews 8
Heb 8:1
Now in the things which we are saying, the main point is this. We
have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne
of the Majesty in the heavens,
Heb 8:2 a
servant of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord
pitched, not man.
Heb 8:3
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and
sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this high priest also have
something to offer.
Heb 8:4
For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing
there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law;
Heb 8:5
who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses was
warned by God when he was about to make the tabernacle, for he said,
"See, you shall make everything according to the pattern that
was shown to you on the mountain."
Heb 8:6
But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much as he
is also the mediator of a better covenant, which on better promises
has been given as law.
Heb 8:7
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would
have been sought for a second.
Heb 8:8
For finding fault with them, he said, "Behold, the days come,"
says the Lord, "that I will make a new covenant with the house
of Israel and with the house of Judah;
Heb 8:9
not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the
day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of
Egypt; for they didn't continue in my covenant, and I disregarded
them," says the Lord.
Heb 8:10
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of
Israel. After those days," says the Lord; "I will put my
laws into their mind, I will also write them on their heart. I will
be their God, and they will be my people.
Heb 8:11
They will not teach every man his fellow citizen, and every man his
brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for all will know me, from the
least of them to the greatest of them.
Heb 8:12
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will remember
their sins and lawless deeds no more."
Heb 8:13
In that he says, "A new covenant," he has made the first
old. But that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to
vanishing away.
Recently
we received an e-mail at Apologetics Press from a skeptic who accused
God of breaking one of His own commandments. The skeptic cited Exodus
20:17, which is the final commandment in the list of the Ten
Commandments, that states: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house;
you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.” The skeptic then stated that
“God most certainly wronged Joseph when He seduced Mary, the betrothed
of Joseph.” Did God violate His own laws of morality when the Holy
Spirit came upon Mary so that she conceived Jesus? Not in any way.
