Jeremiah 1-2

New King James Version

Jeremiah Called to Be a Priest

1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were ^(A)in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, ²to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of ^(B)Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, ^(C)in the thirteenth year of his reign. ³It came also in the days of ^(D)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, ^(E)until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, ^(F)until the carrying away of Jerusalem captive ^(G)in the fifth month.

The Prophet Is Called

⁴Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

⁵“Before I ^(H)formed you in the womb ^(I)I knew you;
Before you were born I ^(J)sanctified^[a] you;
I ^[b]ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

⁶Then said I:

^(K)“Ah, Lord God!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”

⁷But the Lord said to me:

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And ^(L)whatever I command you, you shall speak.
⁸^(M)Do not be afraid of their faces,
For ^(N)I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

⁹Then the Lord put forth His hand and ^(O)touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me:

“Behold, I have ^(P)put My words in your mouth.
¹⁰^(Q)See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To ^(R)root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.”

¹¹Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”

And I said, “I see a ^[c]branch of an almond tree.”

¹²Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am ^[d]ready to perform My word.”

¹³And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, “What do you see?”

And I said, “I see ^(S)a boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north.”

¹⁴Then the Lord said to me:

“Out of the ^(T)north calamity shall break forth
On all the inhabitants of the land.
¹⁵For behold, I am ^(U)calling
All the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord;
“They shall come and ^(V)each one set his throne
At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,
Against all its walls all around,
And against all the cities of Judah.
¹⁶I will utter My judgments
Against them concerning all their wickedness,
Because ^(W)they have forsaken Me,
Burned ^(X)incense to other gods,
And worshiped the works of their own ^(Y)hands.

¹⁷“Therefore ^(Z)prepare yourself and arise,
And speak to them all that I command you.
^(AA)Do not be dismayed before their faces,
Lest I dismay you before them.
¹⁸For behold, I have made you this day
^(AB)A fortified city and an iron pillar,
And bronze walls against the whole land—
Against the kings of Judah,
Against its princes,
Against its priests,
And against the people of the land.
¹⁹They will fight against you,
But they shall not prevail against you.
For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”

God’s Case Against Israel

2 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord:

“I remember you,
The kindness of your ^(AC)youth,
The love of your betrothal,
^(AD)When you ^[e]went after Me in the wilderness,
In a land not sown.
³^(AE)Israel was holiness to the Lord,
^(AF)The firstfruits of His increase.
^(AG)All that devour him will offend;
Disaster will ^(AH)come upon them,” says the Lord.’ ”

⁴Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. ⁵Thus says the Lord:

^(AI)“What injustice have your fathers found in Me,
That they have gone far from Me,
^(AJ)Have followed ^[f]idols,
And have become idolaters?
⁶Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord,
Who ^(AK)brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who led us through ^(AL)the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and pits,
Through a land of drought and the shadow of death,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no one dwelt?’
⁷I brought you into ^(AM)a bountiful country,
To eat its fruit and its goodness.
But when you entered, you ^(AN)defiled My land
And made My heritage an abomination.
⁸The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the ^(AO)law did not know Me;
The rulers also transgressed against Me;
^(AP)The prophets prophesied by Baal,
And walked after things that do not profit.

⁹“Therefore ^(AQ)I will yet ^[g]bring charges against you,” says the Lord,
“And against your children’s children I will bring charges.
¹⁰For pass beyond the coasts of ^[h]Cyprus and see,
Send to ^[i]Kedar and consider diligently,
And see if there has been such a ^(AR)thing.
¹¹^(AS)Has a nation changed its gods,
Which are ^(AT)not gods?
^(AU)But My people have changed their Glory
For what does not profit.
¹²Be astonished, O heavens, at this,
And be horribly afraid;
Be very desolate,” says the Lord.
¹³“For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the ^(AV)fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.

¹⁴“Is Israel ^(AW)a servant?
Is he a homeborn slave?
Why is he plundered?
¹⁵^(AX)The young lions roared at him, and growled;
They made his land waste;
His cities are burned, without inhabitant.
¹⁶Also the people of ^[j]Noph and ^(AY)Tahpanhes
Have ^[k]broken the crown of your head.
¹⁷^(AZ)Have you not brought this on yourself,
In that you have forsaken the Lord your God
When ^(BA)He led you in the way?
¹⁸And now why take ^(BB)the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of ^(BC)Sihor?
Or why take the road to ^(BD)Assyria,
To drink the waters of ^[l]the River?
¹⁹Your own wickedness will ^(BE)correct you,
And your backslidings will rebuke you.
Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing
That you have forsaken the Lord your God,
And the ^[m]fear of Me is not in you,”
Says the Lord God of hosts.

²⁰“For of old I have ^(BF)broken your yoke and burst your bonds;
And ^(BG)you said, ‘I will not ^[n]transgress,’
When ^(BH)on every high hill and under every green tree
You lay down, ^(BI)playing the harlot.
²¹Yet I had ^(BJ)planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality.
How then have you turned before Me
Into ^(BK)the degenerate plant of an alien vine?
²²For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap,
Yet your iniquity is ^(BL)marked^[o] before Me,” says the Lord God.

²³“How^(BM) can you say, ‘I am not ^[p]polluted,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
See your way in the valley;
Know what you have done:
You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways,
²⁴A wild donkey used to the wilderness,
That sniffs at the wind in her desire;
In her time of mating, who can turn her away?
All those who seek her will not weary themselves;
In her month they will find her.
²⁵Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst.
But you said, ^(BN)‘There is no hope.
No! For I have loved ^(BO)aliens, and after them I will go.’

²⁶“As the thief is ashamed when he is found out,
So is the house of Israel ashamed;
They and their kings and their princes, and their priests and their ^(BP)prophets,
²⁷Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
And to a ^(BQ)stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face.
But in the time of their ^(BR)trouble
They will say, ‘Arise and save us.’
²⁸But ^(BS)where are your gods that you have made for yourselves?
Let them arise,
If they ^(BT)can save you in the time of your ^[q]trouble;
For ^(BU)according to the number of your cities
Are your gods, O Judah.

²⁹“Why will you plead with Me?
You all have transgressed against Me,” says the Lord.
³⁰“In vain I have ^(BV)chastened your children;
They ^(BW)received no correction.
Your sword has ^(BX)devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.

³¹“O generation, see the word of the Lord!
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a land of darkness?
Why do My people say, ‘We ^[r]are lords;
^(BY)We will come no more to You’?
³²Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people ^(BZ)have forgotten Me days without number.

³³“Why do you beautify your way to seek love?
Therefore you have also taught
The wicked women your ways.
³⁴Also on your skirts is found
^(CA)The blood of the lives of the poor innocents.
I have not found it by ^[s]secret search,
But plainly on all these things.
³⁵^(CB)Yet you say, ‘Because I am innocent,
Surely His anger shall turn from me.’
Behold, ^(CC)I will plead My case against you,
^(CD)Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
³⁶^(CE)Why do you gad about so much to change your way?
Also ^(CF)you shall be ashamed of Egypt ^(CG)as you were ashamed of Assyria.
³⁷Indeed you will go forth from him
With your hands on ^(CH)your head;
For the Lord has rejected your trusted allies,
And you will ^(CI)not prosper by them.

Footnotes

Jeremiah 1:5 set you apart
Jeremiah 1:5 appointed
Jeremiah 1:11 Lit. rod
Jeremiah 1:12 Lit. watching
Jeremiah 2:2 followed
Jeremiah 2:5 vanities or futilities
Jeremiah 2:9 contend with
Jeremiah 2:10 Heb. Kittim, representative of western cultures
Jeremiah 2:10 In northern Arabian desert, representative of eastern cultures
Jeremiah 2:16 Memphis in ancient Egypt
Jeremiah 2:16 Or grazed
Jeremiah 2:18 The Euphrates
Jeremiah 2:19 dread
Jeremiah 2:20 Kt. serve
Jeremiah 2:22 stained
Jeremiah 2:23 defiled
Jeremiah 2:28 Or evil
Jeremiah 2:31 have dominion
Jeremiah 2:34 digging

John 10

New King James Version

Jesus the True Shepherd

10 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. ²But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by ^(A)name and leads them out. ⁴And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵Yet they will by no means follow a ^(B)stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” ⁶Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.

Jesus the Good Shepherd

⁷Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. ⁸All who ever came ^[a]before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. ⁹^(C)I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

¹¹^(D)“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. ¹²But a ^[b]hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and ^(E)leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. ¹³The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. ¹⁴I am the good shepherd; and ^(F)I know My sheep, and ^(G)am known by My own. ¹⁵^(H)As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; ^(I)and I lay down My life for the sheep. ¹⁶And ^(J)other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; ^(K)and there will be one flock and one shepherd.

¹⁷“Therefore My Father ^(L)loves Me, ^(M)because I lay down My life that I may take it again. ¹⁸No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I ^(N)have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. ^(O)This command I have received from My Father.”

¹⁹Therefore ^(P)there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. ²⁰And many of them said, ^(Q)“He has a demon and is ^[c]mad. Why do you listen to Him?”

²¹Others said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. ^(R)Can a demon ^(S)open the eyes of the blind?”

The Shepherd Knows His Sheep

²²Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. ²³And Jesus walked in the temple, ^(T)in Solomon’s porch. ²⁴Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in ^[d]doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”

²⁵Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. ^(U)The works that I do in My Father’s name, they ^(V)bear witness of Me. ²⁶But ^(W)you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, ^[e]as I said to you. ²⁷^(X)My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹^(Y)My Father, ^(Z)who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. ³⁰^(AA)I and My Father are one.”

Renewed Efforts to Stone Jesus

³¹Then ^(AB)the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. ³²Jesus answered them, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?”

³³The Jews answered Him, saying, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for ^(AC)blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, ^(AD)make Yourself God.”

³⁴Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ^(AE)‘I said, “You are gods” ’? ³⁵If He called them gods, ^(AF)to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture ^(AG)cannot be broken), ³⁶do you say of Him ^(AH)whom the Father sanctified and ^(AI)sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ ^(AJ)because I said, ‘I am ^(AK)the Son of God’? ³⁷^(AL)If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; ³⁸but if I do, though you do not believe Me, ^(AM)believe the works, that you may know and ^[f]believe ^(AN)that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.” ³⁹^(AO)Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.

The Believers Beyond Jordan

⁴⁰And He went away again beyond the Jordan to the place ^(AP)where John was baptizing at first, and there He stayed. ⁴¹Then many came to Him and said, “John performed no sign, ^(AQ)but all the things that John spoke about this Man were true.” ⁴²And many believed in Him there.