Psalm 117

¹ Praise the LORD, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.
² For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.

Praise the LORD.^[a]

Psalm 118

¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

² Let Israel say:
"His love endures forever."
³ Let the house of Aaron say:
"His love endures forever."
⁴ Let those who fear the LORD say:
"His love endures forever."

⁵ When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD;
he brought me into a spacious place.
⁶ The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
⁷ The LORD is with me; he is my helper.
I look in triumph on my enemies.

⁸ It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in humans.
⁹ It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
¹⁰ All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them down.
¹¹ They surrounded me on every side,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them down.
¹² They swarmed around me like bees,
but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them down.
¹³ I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the LORD helped me.
¹⁴ The LORD is my strength and my defense^[b];
he has become my salvation.

¹⁵ Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
"The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!
¹⁶ The LORD’s right hand is lifted high;
the LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!"
¹⁷ I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the LORD has done.
¹⁸ The LORD has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
¹⁹ Open for me the gates of the righteous;
I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
²⁰ This is the gate of the LORD
through which the righteous may enter.
²¹ I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.

²² The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
²³ the LORD has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ The LORD has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.

²⁵ LORD, save us!
LORD, grant us success!

²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you.^[c]
27 The LORD is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up^[d] to the horns of the altar.

²⁸ You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.

²⁹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

Jeremiah 1

¹ The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. ² The word of the LORD came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, ³ and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.

The Call of Jeremiah

⁴ The word of the LORD came to me, saying,

⁵ "Before I formed you in the womb I knew^[a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

⁶ "Alas, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am too young."

⁷ But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, ’I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.

⁹ Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "I have put my words in your mouth. ¹⁰ See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."

¹¹ The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?"

"I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied.

¹² The LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching^[b] to see that my word is fulfilled."

¹³ The word of the LORD came to me again: "What do you see?"

"I see a pot that is boiling," I answered. "It is tilting toward us from the north."

¹⁴ The LORD said to me, "From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. ¹⁵ I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms," declares the LORD.

"Their kings will come and set up their thrones
in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
they will come against all her surrounding walls
and against all the towns of Judah.
¹⁶ I will pronounce my judgments on my people
because of their wickedness in forsaking me,
in burning incense to other gods
and in worshiping what their hands have made.

¹⁷ "Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. ¹⁸ Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land−against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. ¹⁹ They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 2

Israel Forsakes God

¹ The word of the LORD came to me: ² "Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:

"This is what the LORD says:

"’I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,
through a land not sown.
³ Israel was holy to the LORD,
the firstfruits of his harvest;
all who devoured her were held guilty,
and disaster overtook them,’"
declares the LORD.

⁴ Hear the word of the LORD, you descendants of Jacob,
all you clans of Israel.

⁵ This is what the LORD says:

"What fault did your ancestors find in me,
that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.
⁶ They did not ask, ’Where is the LORD,
who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness,
through a land of deserts and ravines,
a land of drought and utter darkness,
a land where no one travels and no one lives?’
⁷ I brought you into a fertile land
to eat its fruit and rich produce.
But you came and defiled my land
and made my inheritance detestable.
⁸ The priests did not ask,
’Where is the LORD?’
Those who deal with the law did not know me;
the leaders rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
following worthless idols.

⁹ "Therefore I bring charges against you again,"
declares the LORD.
"And I will bring charges against your children’s children.
¹⁰ Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
send to Kedar^[c] and observe closely;
see if there has ever been anything like this:
¹¹ Has a nation ever changed its gods?
(Yet they are not gods at all.)
But my people have exchanged their glorious God
for worthless idols.
¹² Be appalled at this, you heavens,
and shudder with great horror,"
declares the LORD.
¹³ "My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
¹⁴ Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth?
Why then has he become plunder?
¹⁵ Lions have roared;
they have growled at him.
They have laid waste his land;
his towns are burned and deserted.
¹⁶ Also, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have cracked your skull.
¹⁷ Have you not brought this on yourselves
by forsaking the LORD your God
when he led you in the way?
¹⁸ Now why go to Egypt
to drink water from the Nile^[d]?
And why go to Assyria
to drink water from the Euphrates?
¹⁹ Your wickedness will punish you;
your backsliding will rebuke you.
Consider then and realize
how evil and bitter it is for you
when you forsake the LORD your God
and have no awe of me,"
declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.

²⁰ "Long ago you broke off your yoke
and tore off your bonds;
you said, ’I will not serve you!’
Indeed, on every high hill
and under every spreading tree
you lay down as a prostitute.
²¹ I had planted you like a choice vine
of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me
into a corrupt, wild vine?
²² Although you wash yourself with soap
and use an abundance of cleansing powder,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,"
declares the Sovereign LORD.
²³ "How can you say, ’I am not defiled;
I have not run after the Baals’?
See how you behaved in the valley;
consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
running here and there,
²⁴ a wild donkey accustomed to the desert,
sniffing the wind in her craving−
in her heat who can restrain her?
Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
at mating time they will find her.
²⁵ Do not run until your feet are bare
and your throat is dry.
But you said, ’It’s no use!
I love foreign gods,
and I must go after them.’

²⁶ "As a thief is disgraced when he is caught,
so the people of Israel are disgraced−
they, their kings and their officials,
their priests and their prophets.
²⁷ They say to wood, ’You are my father,’
and to stone, ’You gave me birth.’
They have turned their backs to me
and not their faces;
yet when they are in trouble, they say,
’Come and save us!’
²⁸ Where then are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them come if they can save you
when you are in trouble!
For you, Judah, have as many gods
as you have towns.

²⁹ "Why do you bring charges against me?
You have all rebelled against me,"
declares the LORD.
³⁰ "In vain I punished your people;
they did not respond to correction.
Your sword has devoured your prophets
like a ravenous lion.

³¹ "You of this generation, consider the word of the LORD:

"Have I been a desert to Israel
or a land of great darkness?
Why do my people say, ’We are free to roam;
we will come to you no more’?
³² Does a young woman forget her jewelry,
a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten me,
days without number.
³³ How skilled you are at pursuing love!
Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.
³⁴ On your clothes is found
the lifeblood of the innocent poor,
though you did not catch them breaking in.
Yet in spite of all this
³⁵ you say, ’I am innocent;
he is not angry with me.’
But I will pass judgment on you
because you say, ’I have not sinned.’
³⁶ Why do you go about so much,
changing your ways?
You will be disappointed by Egypt
as you were by Assyria.
³⁷ You will also leave that place
with your hands on your head,
for the LORD has rejected those you trust;
you will not be helped by them.