Jeremiah 1–3
1:1The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
4Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,and before you were born I consecrated you;I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 7But the LORD said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,and whatever I command you, you shall speak.8Do not be afraid of them,for I am with you to deliver you,declares the LORD.”
9Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me,
“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.10See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,to pluck up and to break down,to destroy and to overthrow,to build and to plant.”
11And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond branch.” 12Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”
13The word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” 14Then the LORD said to me, “Out of the north disaster shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the LORD, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. 16And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. 17But you, dress yourself for work; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. 18And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. 19They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.”
2:1The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the LORD,
“I remember the devotion of your youth,your love as a bride,how you followed me in the wilderness,in a land not sown.3Israel was holy to the LORD,the firstfruits of his harvest.All who ate of it incurred guilt;disaster came upon them,declares the LORD.”
4Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. 5Thus says the LORD:
“What wrong did your fathers find in methat they went far from me,and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?6They did not say, ‘Where is the LORDwho brought us up from the land of Egypt,who led us in the wilderness,in a land of deserts and pits,in a land of drought and deep darkness,in a land that none passes through,where no man dwells?’7And I brought you into a plentiful landto enjoy its fruits and its good things.But when you came in, you defiled my landand made my heritage an abomination.8The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’Those who handle the law did not know me;the shepherds transgressed against me;the prophets prophesied by Baaland went after things that do not profit. 9“Therefore I still contend with you,declares the LORD,and with your children’s children I will contend.10For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see,or send to Kedar and examine with care;see if there has been such a thing.11Has a nation changed its gods,even though they are no gods?But my people have changed their gloryfor that which does not profit.12Be appalled, O heavens, at this;be shocked, be utterly desolate,declares the LORD,13for my people have committed two evils:they have forsaken me,the fountain of living waters,and hewed out cisterns for themselves,broken cisterns that can hold no water. 14“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?Why then has he become a prey?15The lions have roared against him;they have roared loudly.They have made his land a waste;his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.16Moreover, the men of Memphis and Tahpanheshave shaved the crown of your head.17Have you not brought this upon yourselfby forsaking the LORD your God,when he led you in the way?18And now what do you gain by going to Egyptto drink the waters of the Nile?Or what do you gain by going to Assyriato drink the waters of the Euphrates?19Your evil will chastise you,and your apostasy will reprove you.Know and see that it is evil and bitterfor you to forsake the LORD your God;the fear of me is not in you,declares the Lord GOD of hosts. 20“For long ago I broke your yokeand burst your bonds;but you said, ‘I will not serve.’Yes, on every high hilland under every green treeyou bowed down like a whore.21Yet I planted you a choice vine,wholly of pure seed.How then have you turned degenerateand become a wild vine?22Though you wash yourself with lyeand use much soap,the stain of your guilt is still before me,declares the Lord GOD.23How can you say, ‘I am not unclean,I have not gone after the Baals’?Look at your way in the valley;know what you have done—a restless young camel running here and there,24a wild donkey used to the wilderness,in her heat sniffing the wind!Who can restrain her lust?None who seek her need weary themselves;in her month they will find her.25Keep your feet from going unshodand your throat from thirst.But you said, ‘It is hopeless,for I have loved foreigners,and after them I will go.’ 26“As a thief is shamed when caught,so the house of Israel shall be shamed:they, their kings, their officials,their priests, and their prophets,27who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’For they have turned their back to me,and not their face.But in the time of their trouble they say,‘Arise and save us!’28But where are your godsthat you made for yourself?Let them arise, if they can save you,in your time of trouble;for as many as your citiesare your gods, O Judah. 29“Why do you contend with me?You have all transgressed against me,declares the LORD.30In vain have I struck your children;they took no correction;your own sword devoured your prophetslike a ravening lion.31And you, O generation, behold the word of the LORD.Have I been a wilderness to Israel,or a land of thick darkness?Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,we will come no more to you’?32Can a virgin forget her ornaments,or a bride her attire?Yet my people have forgotten medays without number. 33“How well you direct your courseto seek love!So that even to wicked womenyou have taught your ways.34Also on your skirts is foundthe lifeblood of the guiltless poor;you did not find them breaking in.Yet in spite of all these things35you say, ‘I am innocent;surely his anger has turned from me.’Behold, I will bring you to judgmentfor saying, ‘I have not sinned.’36How much you go about,changing your way!You shall be put to shame by Egyptas you were put to shame by Assyria.37From it too you will come awaywith your hands on your head,for the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust,and you will not prosper by them. 3:1“If a man divorces his wifeand she goes from himand becomes another man’s wife,will he return to her?Would not that land be greatly polluted?You have played the whore with many lovers;and would you return to me?declares the LORD.2Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see!Where have you not been ravished?By the waysides you have sat awaiting loverslike an Arab in the wilderness.You have polluted the landwith your vile whoredom.3Therefore the showers have been withheld,and the spring rain has not come;yet you have the forehead of a whore;you refuse to be ashamed.4Have you not just now called to me,‘My father, you are the friend of my youth—5will he be angry forever,will he be indignant to the end?’Behold, you have spoken,but you have done all the evil that you could.”
6The LORD said to me in the days of King Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore? 7And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore. 9Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. 10Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the LORD.”
11And the LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say,
“‘Return, faithless Israel,declares the LORD.I will not look on you in anger,for I am merciful,declares the LORD;I will not be angry forever.13Only acknowledge your guilt,that you rebelled against the LORD your Godand scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree,and that you have not obeyed my voice,declares the LORD.14Return, O faithless children,declares the LORD;for I am your master;I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,and I will bring you to Zion.
15“‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the LORD, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the LORD.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. 17At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. 18In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.
19“‘I said,How I would set you among my sons,and give you a pleasant land,a heritage most beautiful of all nations.And I thought you would call me, My Father,and would not turn from following me.20Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband,so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel,declares the LORD.’” 21A voice on the bare heights is heard,the weeping and pleading of Israel’s sonsbecause they have perverted their way;they have forgotten the LORD their God.22“Return, O faithless sons;I will heal your faithlessness.”“Behold, we come to you,for you are the LORD our God.23Truly the hills are a delusion,the orgies on the mountains.Truly in the LORD our Godis the salvation of Israel.
24“But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”
Mark 14:66–72
66And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came, 67and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” 68But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway and the rooster crowed. 69And the servant girl saw him and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70But again he denied it. And after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.” 71But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” 72And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.
Psalm 144:1–8
Of David.
144:1Blessed be the LORD, my rock,who trains my hands for war,and my fingers for battle;2he is my steadfast love and my fortress,my stronghold and my deliverer,my shield and he in whom I take refuge,who subdues peoples under me. 3O LORD, what is man that you regard him,or the son of man that you think of him?4Man is like a breath;his days are like a passing shadow. 5Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;send out your arrows and rout them!7Stretch out your hand from on high;rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,from the hand of foreigners,8whose mouths speak liesand whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
Proverbs 14:1–4
14:1The wisest of women builds her house,but folly with her own hands tears it down.2Whoever walks in uprightness fears the LORD,but he who is devious in his ways despises him.3By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back,but the lips of the wise will preserve them.4Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean,but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox.
