Day 285 of 365

Jer 12:1–13:27

12:1 You are righteous, Lord, when I contend with you; yet I would reason the cause with you: why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are they all at ease who deal very treacherously?

12:2 You have planted them, yes, they have taken root; they grow, yes, they bring forth fruit: you are near in their mouth, and far from their heart.

12:3 But you, Lord, know me; you see me, and try my heart toward you: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.

12:4 How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of the whole country wither? For the wickedness of those who dwell therein, the animals are consumed, and the birds; because they said, "He shall not see our latter end."

12:5 "If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And though in a land of peace you are secure, yet how will you do in the pride of the Jordan?

12:6 For even your brothers, and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you; even they have cried aloud after you: do not believe them, though they speak beautiful words to you.

12:7 I have forsaken my house, I have cast off my heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.

12:8 My heritage has become to me as a lion in the forest: she has uttered her voice against me; therefore I have hated her.

12:9 Is my heritage to me as a speckled bird of prey? Are the birds of prey against her all around? Go, assemble all the animals of the field, bring them to devour.

12:10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.

12:11 They have made it a desolation; it mourns to me, being desolate; the whole land is made desolate, because no man lays it to heart.

12:12 Destroyers have come on all the bare heights in the wilderness; for the sword of the Lord devours from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh has peace.

12:13 They have sown wheat, and have reaped thorns; they have put themselves to pain, and profit nothing: and you shall be ashamed of your fruits, because of the fierce anger of the Lord.

12:14 Thus says the Lord against all my evil neighbors, who touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit: 'behold, I will pluck them up from off their land, and will pluck up the house of Judah from among them.

12:15 It shall happen, after that I have plucked them up, I will return and have compassion on them; and I will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.

12:16 It shall happen, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, "As the Lord lives;" even as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built up in the midst of my people.

12:17 But if they will not hear, then will I pluck up that nation, plucking up and destroying it,'" says the Lord.

13:1 Thus says the Lord to me, "Go, and buy yourself a linen belt, and put it on your waist, and do not put it in water."

13:2 So I bought a belt according to the word of the Lord, and put it on my waist.

13:3 The word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying,

13:4 "Take the belt that you have bought, which is on your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock."

13:5 So I went, and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.

13:6 It happened after many days, that the Lord said to me, "Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take the belt from there, which I commanded you to hide there."

13:7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and took the belt from the place where I had hidden it; and behold, the belt was marred, it was profitable for nothing.

13:8 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

13:9 "Thus says the Lord, 'In this way I will mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.

13:10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and are gone after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this belt, which is profitable for nothing.

13:11 For as the belt clings to the waist of a man, so have I caused to cling to me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah,' says the Lord; 'that they might be my people, for a name, for praise, and for glory. But they would not listen.

13:12 Therefore you shall speak to them this word: 'Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, "Every bottle shall be filled with wine:"' and they shall tell you, 'Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?'

13:13 Then you shall tell them, 'Thus says the Lord, "Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings who sit on David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.

13:14 I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, says the Lord. I will not pity, nor spare, nor have compassion, that I should not destroy them."'"

13:15 "Hear, and give ear; do not be proud; for the Lord has spoken.

13:16 Give glory to the Lord your God, before he causes darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and, while you look for light, he turns it into the shadow of death, and makes it gross darkness.

13:17 But if you will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret for your pride; and my eye shall weep bitterly, and run down with tears, because the Lord's flock is taken captive."

13:18 "Say to the king and to the queen mother, 'Humble yourselves, sit down; for your headdresses have come down, even the crown of your glory.

13:19 The cities toward the south are shut up, and there is none to open them: Judah is carried away captive, all of it; it is wholly carried away captive.'"

13:20 "Lift up your eyes, and see those who come from the north: where is the flock that was given you, your beautiful flock?

13:21 What will you say, when he shall set over you as head those whom you have yourself taught to be friends to you? Shall not sorrows take hold of you, as of a woman in travail?

13:22 If you say in your heart, 'Why are these things come on me?' for the greatness of your iniquity are your skirts uncovered, and your heels suffer violence.

13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may you also do good, who are accustomed to do evil.

13:24 'Therefore will I scatter them, as the stubble that passes away, by the wind of the wilderness.

13:25 This is your lot, the portion measured to you from me,' says the Lord; 'because you have forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.

13:26 Therefore will I also uncover your skirts on your face, and your shame shall appear.

13:27 I have seen your abominations, even your adulteries, and your neighing, the lewdness of your prostitution, on the hills in the field. Woe to you, Jerusalem! You will not be made clean; how long shall it yet be?'"

2 Cor 11:1–16

1 I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you do bear with me.

2 For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy. For I married you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

3 But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus, whom we did not proclaim, or if you receive a different spirit, which you did not receive, or a different "good news", which you did not accept, you put up with that well enough.

5 For I reckon that I am not at all behind the very best apostles.

6 Even though I am unskilled in speech, I am not unskilled in knowledge. But in every way we have made this known to you in all things.

7 Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached to you God's Good News free of charge?

8 I robbed other churches, taking wages from them that I might serve you.

9 When I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden on anyone, for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, supplied the measure of my need. In everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and I will continue to do so.

10 As the truth of Christ is in me, no one will stop me from this boasting in the regions of Achaia.

11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows.

12 But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them that desire an occasion, that in which they boast, they may be found even as we.

13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as Christ's apostles.

14 And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.

15 It is no great thing therefore if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

16 I say again, let no one think me foolish. But if so, yet receive me as foolish, that I also may boast a little.

Job 21:1–17

1 Then Job answered,

2 "Listen diligently to my speech. Let this be your consolation.

3 Allow me, and I also will speak; After I have spoken, mock on.

4 As for me, is my complaint to man? Why shouldn't I be impatient?

5 Look at me, and be astonished. Lay your hand on your mouth.

6 When I remember, I am troubled. Horror takes hold of my flesh.

7 "Why do the wicked live, become old, yes, and grow mighty in power?

8 Their child is established with them in their sight, their offspring before their eyes.

9 Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the rod of God upon them.

10 Their bulls breed without fail. Their cows calve, and do not miscarry.

11 They send forth their little ones like a flock. Their children dance.

12 They sing to the tambourine and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the pipe.

13 They spend their days in prosperity. In an instant they go down to Sheol.

14 They tell God, 'Depart from us, for we do not want to know about your ways.

15 What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? What profit should we have, if we pray to him?'

16 Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand. The counsel of the wicked is far from me.

17 "How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out, that their calamity comes on them, that God distributes sorrows in his anger?