Day 295 of 365
Jer 32:1–44, Eph 1:1–23, Job 24:1–11
Old Testament
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
2 Now at that time the king of Babylon's army was besieging Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah's house.
3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, "Why do you prophesy, and say, 'Thus says the Lord, "Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;
4 and Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall see his eyes;
5 and he shall bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and he shall be there until I visit him," says the Lord: "though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not prosper?"'"
6 Jeremiah said, "The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
7 'Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle shall come to you, saying, "Buy my field that is in Anathoth; for the right of redemption is yours to buy it."'
8 So Hanamel my uncle's son came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of the Lord, and said to me, "Please buy my field that is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.' Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.
9 I bought the field that was in Anathoth of Hanamel my uncle's son, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.
10 I subscribed the deed, and sealed it, and called witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.
11 So I took the deed of the purchase, both that which was sealed, containing the terms and conditions, and that which was open;
12 and I delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses who subscribed the deed of the purchase, before all the Jews who sat in the court of the guard.
13 I commanded Baruch before them, saying,
14 'Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: "Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase which is sealed, and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel; that they may continue many days."'
15 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Houses and fields and vineyards shall yet again be bought in this land.'
16 Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying,
17 'Ah, Lord God! Behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm; there is nothing too hard for you,
18 who show loving kindness to thousands, and recompense the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them; the great, the mighty God, the Lord of hosts is his name;
19 great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open on all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:
20 who performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even to this day, both in Israel and among other men; and made yourself a name, as in this day;
21 and brought forth your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terror;
22 and gave them this land, which you swore to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;
23 and they came in, and possessed it, but they did not obey your voice, neither walked in your law; they have done nothing of all that you commanded them to do: therefore you have caused all this evil to come on them.
24 Behold, the mounds, they have come to the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence; and what you have spoken has happened; and behold, you see it.
25 You have said to me, Lord God, "Buy the field for money, and call witnesses"; whereas the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.'"
26 Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, saying,
27 "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too difficult for me?
28 Therefore thus says the Lord: 'Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it:
29 and the Chaldeans, who fight against this city, shall come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses, on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal, and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger.
30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only that which was evil in my sight from their youth; for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, says the Lord.
31 For this city has been to me a provocation of my anger and of my wrath from the day that they built it even to this day; that I should remove it from before my face,
32 because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
33 They have turned to me the back, and not the face: and though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction.
34 But they set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it.
35 They built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through fire to Molech; which I did not command them, neither did it come into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.'
36 "Now therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city, about which you say, 'It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence':
37 'Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries, where I have driven them in my anger, and in my wrath, and in great indignation; and I will bring them again to this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:
38 and they shall be my people, and I will be their God:
39 and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their good, and of their children after them:
40 and I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from following them, to do them good; and I will put my fear in their hearts, that they may not depart from me.
41 Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.'
42 "For thus says the Lord: 'Just as I have brought all this great disaster on this people, so will I bring on them all the good that I have promised them.
43 Fields shall be bought in this land, about which you say, "It is desolate, without man or animal; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans."
44 Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe the deeds, and seal them, and call witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the hill country, and in the cities of the lowland, and in the cities of the Negev: for I will cause their captivity to return,' says the Lord."
New Testament
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ;
4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without blemish before him in love;
5 having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire,
6 to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved One,
7 in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
8 which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him
10 to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him;
11 in whom also we were assigned an inheritance, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who works all things after the counsel of his will;
12 to the end that we should be to the praise of his glory, we who had before hoped in Christ:
13 in whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the Good News of your salvation,-in whom, having also believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,
14 who is a pledge of our inheritance, to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of his glory.
15 For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which you have toward all the saints,
16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers,
17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him;
18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19 and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to that working of the strength of his might
20 which he worked in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and made him to sit at his right hand in the heavenly places,
21 far above all rule, and authority, and power, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come.
22 He put all things in subjection under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things for the church,
23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Wisdom
1 "Why aren't times laid up by the Almighty? Why do not those who know him see his days?
2 There are people who remove the landmarks. They violently take away flocks, and feed them.
3 They drive away the donkey of the fatherless, and they take the widow's ox for a pledge.
4 They turn the needy out of the way. The poor of the earth all hide themselves.
5 Behold, as wild donkeys in the desert, they go forth to their work, seeking diligently for food. The wilderness yields them bread for their children.
6 They cut their provender in the field. They glean the vineyard of the wicked.
7 They lie all night naked without clothing, and have no covering in the cold.
8 They are wet with the showers of the mountains, and embrace the rock for lack of a shelter.
9 There are those who pluck the fatherless from the breast, and take a pledge of the poor,
10 So that they go around naked without clothing. Being hungry, they carry the sheaves.
11 They make oil within the walls of these men. They tread wine presses, and suffer thirst.
Text: New Heart English Bible.