1 Chronicles 13

New International Version

Bringing Back the Ark^(A)

13 David conferred with each of his officers, the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. ²He then said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send word far and wide to the rest of our people throughout the territories of Israel, and also to the priests and Levites who are with them in their towns and pasturelands, to come and join us. ³Let us bring the ark of our God back to us,^(B) for we did not inquire^(C) of^[a] it^[b] during the reign of Saul.” ⁴The whole assembly agreed to do this, because it seemed right to all the people.

⁵So David assembled all Israel,^(D) from the Shihor River^(E) in Egypt to Lebo Hamath,^(F) to bring the ark of God from Kiriath Jearim.^(G) ⁶David and all Israel went to Baalah^(H) of Judah (Kiriath Jearim) to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord, who is enthroned between the cherubim^(I)—the ark that is called by the Name.

⁷They moved the ark of God from Abinadab’s^(J) house on a new cart, with Uzzah and Ahio guiding it. ⁸David and all the Israelites were celebrating with all their might before God, with songs and with harps, lyres, timbrels, cymbals and trumpets.^(K)

⁹When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. ¹⁰The Lord’s anger^(L) burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down^(M) because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God.

¹¹Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.^[c]^(N)

¹²David was afraid of God that day and asked, “How can I ever bring the ark of God to me?” ¹³He did not take the ark to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom^(O) the Gittite. ¹⁴The ark of God remained with the family of Obed-Edom in his house for three months, and the Lord blessed his household^(P) and everything he had.

Footnotes

1 Chronicles 13:3 Or we neglected
1 Chronicles 13:3 Or him
1 Chronicles 13:11 Perez Uzzah means outbreak against Uzzah.

Jeremiah 51

New International Version

51 This is what the Lord says:

“See, I will stir^(A) up the spirit of a destroyer
    against Babylon^(B) and the people of Leb Kamai.^[a]
²I will send foreigners^(C) to Babylon
    to winnow^(D) her and to devastate her land;
they will oppose her on every side
    in the day^(E) of her disaster.
³Let not the archer string his bow,^(F)
    nor let him put on his armor.^(G)
Do not spare her young men;
    completely destroy^[b] her army.
⁴They will fall^(H) down slain in Babylon,^[c]
    fatally wounded in her streets.^(I)
⁵For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken^(J)
    by their God, the Lord Almighty,
though their land^[d] is full of guilt^(K)
    before the Holy One of Israel.

⁶“Flee^(L) from Babylon!
    Run for your lives!
    Do not be destroyed because of her sins.^(M)
It is time^(N) for the Lord’s vengeance;^(O)
    he will repay^(P) her what she deserves.
⁷Babylon was a gold cup^(Q) in the Lord’s hand;
    she made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine;
    therefore they have now gone mad.
⁸Babylon will suddenly fall^(R) and be broken.
    Wail over her!
Get balm^(S) for her pain;
    perhaps she can be healed.

⁹“‘We would have healed Babylon,
    but she cannot be healed;
let us leave^(T) her and each go to our own land,
    for her judgment^(U) reaches to the skies,
    it rises as high as the heavens.’

¹⁰“‘The Lord has vindicated^(V) us;
come, let us tell in Zion
what the Lord our God has done.’^(W)

¹¹“Sharpen the arrows,^(X)
    take up the shields!^(Y)
The Lord has stirred up the kings^(Z) of the Medes,^(AA)
    because his purpose^(AB) is to destroy Babylon.
The Lord will take vengeance,^(AC)
    vengeance for his temple.^(AD)
¹²Lift up a banner^(AE) against the walls of Babylon!
    Reinforce the guard,
station the watchmen,^(AF)
    prepare an ambush!^(AG)
The Lord will carry out his purpose,^(AH)
    his decree against the people of Babylon.
¹³You who live by many waters^(AI)
    and are rich in treasures,^(AJ)
your end has come,
    the time for you to be destroyed.^(AK)
¹⁴The Lord Almighty has sworn by himself:^(AL)
    I will surely fill you with troops, as with a swarm of locusts,^(AM)
    and they will shout^(AN) in triumph over you.

¹⁵“He made the earth by his power;
    he founded the world by his wisdom^(AO)
    and stretched^(AP) out the heavens by his understanding.^(AQ)
¹⁶When he thunders,^(AR) the waters in the heavens roar;
    he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He sends lightning with the rain^(AS)
    and brings out the wind from his storehouses.^(AT)

¹⁷“Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;
    every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.
The images he makes are a fraud;^(AU)
    they have no breath in them.
¹⁸They are worthless,^(AV) the objects of mockery;
    when their judgment comes, they will perish.
¹⁹He who is the Portion^(AW) of Jacob is not like these,
    for he is the Maker of all things,
including the people of his inheritance^(AX)—
    the Lord Almighty is his name.

²⁰“You are my war club,^(AY)
    my weapon for battle—
with you I shatter^(AZ) nations,^(BA)
    with you I destroy kingdoms,
²¹with you I shatter horse and rider,^(BB)
    with you I shatter chariot^(BC) and driver,
²²with you I shatter man and woman,
    with you I shatter old man and youth,
    with you I shatter young man and young woman,^(BD)
²³with you I shatter shepherd and flock,
    with you I shatter farmer and oxen,
    with you I shatter governors and officials.^(BE)

²⁴“Before your eyes I will repay^(BF) Babylon^(BG) and all who live in Babylonia^[e] for all the wrong they have done in Zion,” declares the Lord.

²⁵“I am against^(BH) you, you destroying mountain,
    you who destroy the whole earth,”^(BI)
declares the Lord.
“I will stretch out my hand^(BJ) against you,
    roll you off the cliffs,
    and make you a burned-out mountain.^(BK)
²⁶No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone,
    nor any stone for a foundation,
    for you will be desolate^(BL) forever,”
declares the Lord.

²⁷“Lift up a banner^(BM) in the land!
    Blow the trumpet among the nations!
Prepare the nations for battle against her;
    summon against her these kingdoms:^(BN)
    Ararat,^(BO) Minni and Ashkenaz.^(BP)
Appoint a commander against her;
    send up horses like a swarm of locusts.^(BQ)
²⁸Prepare the nations for battle against her—
    the kings of the Medes,^(BR)
their governors and all their officials,
    and all the countries they rule.^(BS)
²⁹The land trembles^(BT) and writhes,
    for the Lord’s purposes^(BU) against Babylon stand—
to lay waste^(BV) the land of Babylon
    so that no one will live there.^(BW)
³⁰Babylon’s warriors^(BX) have stopped fighting;
    they remain in their strongholds.
Their strength is exhausted;
    they have become weaklings.^(BY)
Her dwellings are set on fire;^(BZ)
    the bars^(CA) of her gates are broken.
³¹One courier^(CB) follows another
    and messenger follows messenger
to announce to the king of Babylon
    that his entire city is captured,^(CC)
³²the river crossings seized,
    the marshes set on fire,^(CD)
    and the soldiers terrified.^(CE)”

³³This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

“Daughter Babylon^(CF) is like a threshing floor^(CG)
at the time it is trampled;
the time to harvest^(CH) her will soon come.^(CI)”

³⁴“Nebuchadnezzar^(CJ) king of Babylon has devoured^(CK) us,^(CL)
    he has thrown us into confusion,
    he has made us an empty jar.
Like a serpent he has swallowed us
    and filled his stomach with our delicacies,
    and then has spewed^(CM) us out.
³⁵May the violence^(CN) done to our flesh^[f] be on Babylon,”
    say the inhabitants of Zion.
“May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia,”
    says Jerusalem.^(CO)

³⁶Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“See, I will defend your cause^(CP)
    and avenge^(CQ) you;
I will dry up^(CR) her sea
    and make her springs dry.
³⁷Babylon will be a heap of ruins,
    a haunt^(CS) of jackals,
an object of horror and scorn,^(CT)
    a place where no one lives.^(CU)
³⁸Her people all roar like young lions,^(CV)
    they growl like lion cubs.
³⁹But while they are aroused,
    I will set out a feast for them
    and make them drunk,^(CW)
so that they shout with laughter—
    then sleep forever^(CX) and not awake,”
declares the Lord.^(CY)
⁴⁰“I will bring them down
    like lambs to the slaughter,
    like rams and goats.^(CZ)

⁴¹“How Sheshak^[g]^(DA) will be captured,^(DB)
    the boast of the whole earth seized!
How desolate^(DC) Babylon will be
    among the nations!
⁴²The sea will rise over Babylon;
    its roaring waves^(DD) will cover her.
⁴³Her towns will be desolate,
    a dry and desert^(DE) land,
a land where no one lives,
    through which no one travels.^(DF)
⁴⁴I will punish Bel^(DG) in Babylon
    and make him spew out^(DH) what he has swallowed.
The nations will no longer stream to him.
    And the wall^(DI) of Babylon will fall.

⁴⁵“Come out^(DJ) of her, my people!
    Run^(DK) for your lives!
    Run from the fierce anger^(DL) of the Lord.
⁴⁶Do not lose heart^(DM) or be afraid^(DN)
    when rumors^(DO) are heard in the land;
one rumor comes this year, another the next,
    rumors of violence in the land
    and of ruler against ruler.
⁴⁷For the time will surely come
    when I will punish the idols^(DP) of Babylon;
her whole land will be disgraced^(DQ)
    and her slain will all lie fallen within her.^(DR)
⁴⁸Then heaven and earth and all that is in them
    will shout^(DS) for joy over Babylon,
for out of the north^(DT)
    destroyers^(DU) will attack her,”
declares the Lord.

⁴⁹“Babylon must fall because of Israel’s slain,
    just as the slain in all the earth
    have fallen because of Babylon.^(DV)
⁵⁰You who have escaped the sword,
    leave^(DW) and do not linger!
Remember^(DX) the Lord in a distant land,^(DY)
    and call to mind Jerusalem.”

⁵¹“We are disgraced,^(DZ)
    for we have been insulted
    and shame covers our faces,
because foreigners have entered
    the holy places of the Lord’s house.”^(EA)

⁵²“But days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will punish her idols,^(EB)
and throughout her land
    the wounded will groan.^(EC)
⁵³Even if Babylon ascends to the heavens^(ED)
    and fortifies her lofty stronghold,
    I will send destroyers^(EE) against her,”
declares the Lord.

⁵⁴“The sound of a cry^(EF) comes from Babylon,
    the sound of great destruction^(EG)
    from the land of the Babylonians.^[h]
⁵⁵The Lord will destroy Babylon;
    he will silence^(EH) her noisy din.
Waves^(EI) of enemies will rage like great waters;
    the roar of their voices will resound.
⁵⁶A destroyer^(EJ) will come against Babylon;
    her warriors will be captured,
    and their bows will be broken.^(EK)
For the Lord is a God of retribution;
    he will repay^(EL) in full.
⁵⁷I will make her officials^(EM) and wise^(EN) men drunk,^(EO)
    her governors, officers and warriors as well;
they will sleep^(EP) forever and not awake,”
    declares the King,^(EQ) whose name is the Lord Almighty.

⁵⁸This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Babylon’s thick wall^(ER) will be leveled
and her high gates^(ES) set on fire;
the peoples^(ET) exhaust^(EU) themselves for nothing,
the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.”^(EV)

⁵⁹This is the message Jeremiah the prophet gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah,^(EW) the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah^(EX) king of Judah in the fourth^(EY) year of his reign. ⁶⁰Jeremiah had written on a scroll^(EZ) about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon—all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. ⁶¹He said to Seraiah, “When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. ⁶²Then say, ‘Lord, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither people nor animals will live in it; it will be desolate^(FA) forever.’ ⁶³When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates.^(FB) ⁶⁴Then say, ‘So will Babylon sink to rise no more^(FC) because of the disaster I will bring on her. And her people^(FD) will fall.’”^(FE)

The words of Jeremiah end^(FF) here.

Footnotes

Jeremiah 51:1 Leb Kamai is a cryptogram for Chaldea, that is, Babylonia.
Jeremiah 51:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
Jeremiah 51:4 Or Chaldea
Jeremiah 51:5 Or Almighty, / and the land of the Babylonians
Jeremiah 51:24 Or Chaldea; also in verse 35
Jeremiah 51:35 Or done to us and to our children
Jeremiah 51:41 Sheshak is a cryptogram for Babylon.
Jeremiah 51:54 Or Chaldeans

1 Timothy 1-2

New International Version

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God^(A) our Savior^(B) and of Christ Jesus our hope,^(C)

²To Timothy^(D) my true son^(E) in the faith:

Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.^(F)

Timothy Charged to Oppose False Teachers

³As I urged you when I went into Macedonia,^(G) stay there in Ephesus^(H) so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines^(I) any longer ⁴or to devote themselves to myths^(J) and endless genealogies.^(K) Such things promote controversial speculations^(L) rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. ⁵The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart^(M) and a good conscience^(N) and a sincere faith.^(O) ⁶Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. ⁷They want to be teachers^(P) of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.^(Q)

⁸We know that the law is good^(R) if one uses it properly. ⁹We also know that the law is made not for the righteous^(S) but for lawbreakers and rebels,^(T) the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, ¹⁰for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine^(U) ¹¹that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.^(V)

The Lord’s Grace to Paul

¹²I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength,^(W) that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.^(X) ¹³Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor^(Y) and a violent man, I was shown mercy^(Z) because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.^(AA) ¹⁴The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly,^(AB) along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.^(AC)

¹⁵Here is a trustworthy saying^(AD) that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners^(AE)—of whom I am the worst. ¹⁶But for that very reason I was shown mercy^(AF) so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience^(AG) as an example for those who would believe^(AH) in him and receive eternal life.^(AI) ¹⁷Now to the King^(AJ) eternal, immortal,^(AK) invisible,^(AL) the only God,^(AM) be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.^(AN)

The Charge to Timothy Renewed

¹⁸Timothy, my son,^(AO) I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you,^(AP) so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well,^(AQ) ¹⁹holding on to faith and a good conscience,^(AR) which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.^(AS) ²⁰Among them are Hymenaeus^(AT) and Alexander,^(AU) whom I have handed over to Satan^(AV) to be taught not to blaspheme.

Instructions on Worship

2 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers,^(AW) intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— ²for kings and all those in authority,^(AX) that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness^(AY) and holiness. ³This is good, and pleases^(AZ) God our Savior,^(BA) ⁴who wants^(BB) all people^(BC) to be saved^(BD) and to come to a knowledge of the truth.^(BE) ⁵For there is one God^(BF) and one mediator^(BG) between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,^(BH) ⁶who gave himself as a ransom^(BI) for all people. This has now been witnessed to^(BJ) at the proper time.^(BK) ⁷And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying^(BL)—and a true and faithful teacher^(BM) of the Gentiles.^(BN)

⁸Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands^(BO) without anger or disputing. ⁹I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,^(BP) ¹⁰but with good deeds,^(BQ) appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

¹¹A woman^[a] should learn in quietness and full submission.^(BR) ¹²I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man;^[b] she must be quiet.^(BS) ¹³For Adam was formed first, then Eve.^(BT) ¹⁴And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.^(BU) ¹⁵But women^[c] will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love^(BV) and holiness with propriety.