8You say, "We are wise

   because we have the teachings

   and laws of the LORD."

   But I say that your teachers

   have turned my words

   into lies!

    9Your wise men

   have rejected what I say,

   and so they have no wisdom.

   Now they will be trapped

   and put to shame;

   they won't know what to do.

    10I'll give their wives and fields

   to strangers.

   Everyone is greedy and dishonest,

   whether poor or rich.

   Even the prophets and priests

   cannot be trusted.

    11All they ever offer

   to my deeply wounded people

   are empty hopes for peace.

    12They should be ashamed

   of their disgusting sins,

   but they don't even blush.

   And so, when I punish Judah,

   they will end up on the ground,

   dead like everyone else.

    13I will wipe them out. ^[a] They are vines without grapes;

   fig trees without figs or leaves.

   They have not done a thing

   that I told them! ^[b] I, the LORD, have spoken.

The People and Their Punishment

   say to each other,

   "What are we waiting for?

   Let's run to a town with walls

   and die there.

   We rebelled against the LORD,

   and we were sentenced to die

   by drinking poison.

    15We had hoped for peace

   and a time of healing,

   but all we got was terror.

    16Our enemies have reached

   the town of Dan in the north,

   and the snorting of their horses

   makes us tremble with fear.

   The enemy will destroy Jerusalem

   and our entire nation.

   No one will survive."

    17"Watch out!" the LORD says.

   "I'm sending poisonous snakes

   to attack you,

   and no one can stop them."

Jeremiah Mourns for His People

   and feel like giving up.

    19In a foreign land

   my people are crying.

   Listen! You'll hear them say,

   "Has the LORD deserted Zion?

   Is he no longer its king?"

   I hear the LORD reply,

   "Why did you make me angry

   by worshiping useless idols?"

    20The people complain,

   "Spring and summer

   have come and gone,

   but still the LORD

   hasn't rescued us."

    21My people are crushed,

   and so is my heart.

   I am horrified and mourn.

    22If medicine and doctors

   may be found in Gilead,

   why aren't my people healed?

Jeremiah 9

   were fountains of tears,

   so I could cry day and night

   for my people

   who were killed.

    2I wish I could go into the desert

   and find a hiding place

   from all who are treacherous

   and unfaithful to God.

The LORD Answers Jeremiah

   Lies come from the mouths

   of my people,

   like arrows from a bow.

   With each dishonest deed

   their power increases,

   and not one of them will admit

   that I am God.

    4Jeremiah, all your friends

   and relatives

   tell lies about you,

   so don't trust them.

    5They wear themselves out,

   always looking for a new way

   to cheat their friends.

    6Everyone takes advantage

   of everyone else,

   and no one will admit

   that I am God.

    7And so I will purify

   the hearts of my people

   just as gold is purified

   in a furnace.

   I have no other choice.

    8They say they want peace,

   but this lie is deadly,

   like an arrow that strikes

   when you least expect it.

    9Give me one good reason

   not to punish them

   as they deserve.

   I, the LORD All-Powerful,

   have spoken.

Jeremiah Weeps for His People

   in the hill country.

   It's so barren and scorched

   that no one travels there.

   No cattle can be found there,

   and birds and wild animals

   have all disappeared.

    11I heard the LORD reply,

   "When I am finished,

   Jerusalem and the towns of Judah

   will be piles of ruins

   where only jackals ^[c] live."

Why the Land Was Destroyed

    13The LORD said:

   I destroyed the land because the people disobeyed me and rejected my laws and teachings. 14They were stubborn and worshiped Baal, ^[d] just as their ancestors did. 15So I, the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel, promise them poison to eat and drink. ^[e] 16I'll scatter them in foreign countries that they and their ancestors have never even heard of. Finally, I will send enemy soldiers to kill every last one of them.

The Women Who Are Paid To Weep

   "Send for the women

   who are paid to weep

   at funerals, ^[f] especially the women

   who can cry the loudest."

    18The people answered,

   "Let them come quickly

   and cry for us,

   until our own eyes

   are flooded with tears.

    19Now those of us on Zion cry,

   `We are ruined!

   We can't stand the shame.

   Our homes have been destroyed,

   and we must leave our land.'

    20"We ask you women

   to pay attention

   to what the LORD says.

   We will teach you a funeral song

   that you can teach

   your daughters and friends:

    21'We were in our fortress,

   but death sneaked in

   through our windows.

   It even struck down

   children at play

   and our strongest young men.'

    22"The LORD has told us

   the ground will be covered

   with dead bodies,

   like stalks of ungathered grain

   or like manure."

What the LORD Likes Best

   Don't brag about your wisdom

   or strength or wealth.

    24If you feel you must brag,

   then have enough sense

   to brag about worshiping me,

   the LORD.

   What I like best

   is showing kindness,

   justice, and mercy

   to everyone on earth.

    25-26Someday I will punish the nations of Egypt, Edom, Ammon, and Moab, and the tribes of the desert. ^[g] The men of these nations are circumcised, but they don't worship me. And it's the same with you people of Judah. Your bodies are circumcised, but your hearts are unchanged.

Footnotes:

1. Jeremiah 8:13 I will wipe them out: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
2. Jeremiah 8:13 They have not. . . them: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
3. Jeremiah 9:11 jackals: Desert animals related to wolves, but smaller.
4. Jeremiah 9:14 Baal: See the note at 2.23.
5. Jeremiah 9:15 poison to eat and drink: Or "bitter disappointment to eat, and tears to drink."
6. Jeremiah 9:17 women. . . weep at funerals: Or "the women who weep for Baal"; the god Baal was believed to have died and come back to life, and some women would go to places of worship and weep over the death of Baal.
7. Jeremiah 9:25 the tribes of the desert: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

Colossians 3

   2Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth.

   3You died, which means that your life is hidden with Christ, who sits beside God.

   4Christ gives meaning to your ^[b] life, and when he appears, you will also appear with him in glory.

   5Don't be controlled by your body. Kill every desire for the wrong kind of sex. Don't be immoral or indecent or have evil thoughts. Don't be greedy, which is the same as worshiping idols.

   6God is angry with people who disobey him by doing ^[c] these things.

   7And that is exactly what you did, when you lived among people who behaved in this way.

   8But now you must stop doing such things. You must quit being angry, hateful, and evil. You must no longer say insulting or cruel things about others.

   9And stop lying to each other. You have given up your old way of life with its habits.

   10Each of you is now a new person. You are becoming more and more like your Creator, and you will understand him better.

   11It doesn't matter if you are a Greek or a Jew, or if you are circumcised or not. You may even be a barbarian or a Scythian, ^[d] and you may be a slave or a free person. Yet Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

   12God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient.

   13Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you.

   14Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together.

   15Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful.

   16Let the message about Christ completely fill your lives, while you use all your wisdom to teach and instruct each other. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.

   17Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him.

Footnotes:

1. Colossians 3:1 right side: The place of power and honor.
2. Colossians 3:4 your: Some manuscripts have " our."
3. Colossians 3:6 people who disobey him by doing: Some manuscripts do not have these words.
4. Colossians 3:11 a barbarian or a Scythian: Barbarians were people who could not speak Greek and would be in the lower class of society. Scythians were people who were known for their cruelty.

32But the rest kept on sinning

   and would not trust

   God's miracles.

    33So he cut their lives short

   and made them terrified.

    34After he killed some of them,

   the others turned to him

   with all their hearts.

    35They remembered God Most High,

   the mighty rock ^[a] that kept them safe.

    36But they tried to flatter God,

   and they told him lies;

    37they were unfaithful

   and broke their promises.

    38Yet God was kind.

   He kept forgiving their sins

   and didn't destroy them.

   He often became angry,

   but never lost his temper.

    39God remembered that they

   were made of flesh

   and were like a wind

   that blows once

   and then dies down.

    40While they were in the desert,

   they often rebelled

   and made God sad.

    41They kept testing him

   and caused terrible pain

   for the Holy One of Israel.

    42They forgot about his power

   and how he had rescued them

   from their enemies.

    43God showed them all kinds

   of wonderful miracles

   near Zoan ^[b] in Egypt. 44He turned the rivers of Egypt

   into blood,

   and no one could drink

   from the streams.

    45He sent swarms of flies

   to pester the Egyptians,

   and he sent frogs

   to cause them trouble.

    46God let worms and grasshoppers

   eat their crops.

    47He destroyed their grapevines

   and their fig trees

   with hail and floods. ^[c] 48Then he killed their cattle

   with hail

   and their other animals

   with lightning.

    49God was so angry and furious

   that he went into a rage

   and caused them great trouble

   by sending swarms

   of destroying angels.

    50God gave in to his anger

   and slaughtered them

   in a terrible way.

    51He killed the first-born son

   of each Egyptian family.

    52Then God led his people

   out of Egypt

   and guided them in the desert

   like a flock of sheep.

    53He led them safely along,

   and they were not afraid,

   but their enemies drowned

   in the sea.

    54God brought his people

   to the sacred mountain

   that he had taken

   by his own power.

    55He made nations run

   from the tribes of Israel,

   and he let the tribes

   take over their land.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 78:35 mighty rock: See the note at 18.2.
2. Psalm 78:43 Zoan: See the note at 78.12.
3. Psalm 78:47 floods: Or " frost."

27Get your fields ready

   and plant your crops

   before starting a home.