Faithfulness in Prison, Strength for the Task

1. Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned as king, instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. 2. But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, listened to Yahweh’s words, which he spoke by the prophet Jeremiah. 3. Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Pray now to Yahweh our God for us.” 4. Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people; for they had not put him into prison. 5. Pharaoh’s army had come out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news of them, they broke up from Jerusalem. 6. Then Yahweh’s word came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 7. “Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘You shall tell the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, will return to Egypt into their own land. 8. The Chaldeans will come again, and fight against this city. They will take it and burn it with fire.”’ 9. “Yahweh says, ‘Don’t deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely depart from us;” for they will not depart. 10. For though you had struck the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yes they would each rise up in his tent and burn this city with fire.’” 11. When the army of the Chaldeans had broken up from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, 12. then Jeremiah went out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to receive his portion there, in the middle of the people. 13. When he was in Benjamin’s gate, a captain of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are defecting to the Chaldeans!” 14. Then Jeremiah said, “That is false! I am not defecting to the Chaldeans.” But he didn’t listen to him; so Irijah siezed Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes. 15. The princes were angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made that the prison. 16. When Jeremiah had come into the dungeon house, and into the cells, and Jeremiah had remained there many days, 17. then Zedekiah the king sent, and had him brought out. The king asked him secretly in his house, “Is there any word from Yahweh?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” He also said, “You will be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” 18. Moreover Jeremiah said to king Zedekiah, “How have I sinned against you, against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison? 19. Now where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you, nor against this land?’ 20. Now please hear, my lord the king: please let my supplication be presented before you, that you not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.” 21. Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah into the court of the guard. They gave him daily a loaf of bread out of the bakers’ street, until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. 1. Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying, 2. “Yahweh says, ‘He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live, and he will escape with his life, and he will live.’ 3. Yahweh says, ‘This city will surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he will take it.’” 4. Then the princes said to the king, “Please let this man be put to death; because he weakens the hands of the men of war who remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words to them: for this man doesn’t seek the welfare of this people, but harm.” 5. Zedekiah the king said, “Behold, he is in your hand; for the king can’t do anything to oppose you.” 6. Then took they Jeremiah and threw him into the dungeon of Malchijah the king’s son, that was in the court of the guard. They let down Jeremiah with cords. In the dungeon there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire. 7. Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon (the king was then sitting in Benjamin’s gate), 8. Ebedmelech went out of the king’s house, and spoke to the king, saying, 9. “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon. He is likely to die in the place where he is, because of the famine; for there is no more bread in the city.” 10. Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take from here thirty men with you, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he dies.” 11. So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took from there rags and worn-out garments, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. 12. Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, “Now put these rags and worn-out garments under your armpits under the cords.” Jeremiah did so. 13. So they drew up Jeremiah with the cords, and took him up out of the dungeon; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard. 14. Then Zedekiah the king sent and took Jeremiah the prophet to himself into the third entry that is in Yahweh’s house. Then the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask you something. Hide nothing from me.” 15. Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I declare it to you, will you not surely put me to death? If I give you counsel, you will not listen to me.” 16. So Zedekiah the king swore secretly to Jeremiah, saying, “As Yahweh lives, who made us this soul, I will not put you to death, neither will I give you into the hand of these men who seek your life.” 17. Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Yahweh, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you will go out to the king of Babylon’s princes, then your soul will live, and this city will not be burned with fire. You will live, along with your house. 18. But if you will not go out to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city will be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they will burn it with fire, and you won’t escape out of their hand.’” 19. Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have defected to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.” 20. But Jeremiah said, “They won’t deliver you. Obey, I beg you, Yahweh’s voice, in that which I speak to you; so it will be well with you, and your soul will live. 21. But if you refuse to go out, this is the word that Yahweh has shown me: 22. ‘Behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah’s house will be brought out to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women will say, “Your familiar friends have turned on you, and have prevailed over you. Your feet are sunk in the mire, they have turned away from you.” 23. They will bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans. You won’t escape out of their hand, but will be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon. You will cause this city to be burned with fire.’” 24. Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no man know of these words, and you won’t die. 25. But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you, and tell you, ‘Declare to us now what you have said to the king; don’t hide it from us, and we will not put you to death; also tell us what the king said to you;’ 26. then you shall tell them, ‘I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house, to die there.’” 27. Then all the princes came to Jeremiah, and asked him; and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they stopped speaking with him; for the matter was not perceived. 28. So Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken. 1. In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came against Jerusalem, and besieged it. 2. In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month, a breach was made in the city. 3. All the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, Nergal Sharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergal Sharezer, Rabmag, with all the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon. 4. When Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, then they fled, and went out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls; and he went out toward the Arabah. 5. But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. When they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he pronounced judgment on him. 6. Then the king of Babylon killed Zedekiah’s sons in Riblah before his eyes. The king of Babylon also killed all the nobles of Judah. 7. Moreover he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon. 8. The Chaldeans burned the king’s house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 9. Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the residue of the people who remained in the city, the deserters also who fell away to him, and the residue of the people who remained. 10. But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of the poor of the people, who had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time. 11. Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon commanded Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard concerning Jeremiah, saying, 12. “Take him, and take care of him. Do him no harm; but do to him even as he tells you.” 13. So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent, with Nebushazban, Rabsaris, and Nergal Sharezer, Rabmag, and all the chief officers of the king of Babylon; 14. they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guard, and committed him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home. So he lived among the people. 15. Now Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the guard, saying, 16. “Go, and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will bring my words on this city for evil, and not for good; and they will be accomplished before you in that day. 17. But I will deliver you in that day,” says Yahweh; “and you will not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. 18. For I will surely save you, and you won’t fall by the sword, but you will escape with your life; because you have put your trust in me,” says Yahweh.’”

1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus, 2. to Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. 3. I thank God, whom I serve as my forefathers did, with a pure conscience. How unceasing is my memory of you in my petitions, night and day 4. longing to see you, remembering your tears, that I may be filled with joy; 5. having been reminded of the sincere faith that is in you; which lived first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and, I am persuaded, in you also. 6. For this cause, I remind you that you should stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7. For God didn’t give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. 8. Therefore don’t be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but endure hardship for the Good News according to the power of God, 9. who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before times eternal, 10. but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Good News. 11. For this, I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12. For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day. 13. Hold the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 14. That good thing which was committed to you, guard through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. 15. This you know, that all who are in Asia turned away from me; of whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16. May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain, 17. but when he was in Rome, he sought me diligently, and found me 18. (the Lord grant to him to find the Lord’s mercy in that day); and in how many things he served at Ephesus, you know very well. 1. You therefore, my child, be strengthened in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2. The things which you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit the same to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3. You therefore must endure hardship, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4. No soldier on duty entangles himself in the affairs of life, that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier. 5. Also, if anyone competes in athletics, he isn’t crowned unless he has competed by the rules. 6. The farmer who labors must be the first to get a share of the crops. 7. Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things. 8. Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, of the offspring of David, according to my Good News, 9. in which I suffer hardship to the point of chains as a criminal. But God’s word isn’t chained. 10. Therefore I endure all things for the chosen ones’ sake, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11. This saying is trustworthy: “For if we died with him, we will also live with him. 12. If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us. 13. If we are faithless, he remains faithful. For he can’t deny himself.” 14. Remind them of these things, charging them in the sight of the Lord, that they don’t argue about words, to no profit, to the subverting of those who hear. 15. Give diligence to present yourself approved by God, a workman who doesn’t need to be ashamed, properly handling the Word of Truth. 16. But shun empty chatter, for it will go further in ungodliness, 17. and those words will consume like gangrene, of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18. men who have erred concerning the truth, saying that the resurrection is already past, and overthrowing the faith of some. 19. However God’s firm foundation stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let every one who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.” 20. Now in a large house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of clay. Some are for honor, and some for dishonor. 21. If anyone therefore purges himself from these, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, and suitable for the master’s use, prepared for every good work. 22. Flee from youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23. But refuse foolish and ignorant questionings, knowing that they generate strife. 24. The Lord’s servant must not quarrel, but be gentle towards all, able to teach, patient, 25. in gentleness correcting those who oppose him: perhaps God may give them repentance leading to a full knowledge of the truth, 26. and they may recover themselves out of the devil’s snare, having been taken captive by him to his will. 1. But know this, that in the last days, grievous times will come. 2. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3. without natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, not lovers of good, 4. traitors, headstrong, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; 5. holding a form of godliness, but having denied its power. Turn away from these, also. 6. For some of these are people who creep into houses, and take captive gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7. always learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 8. Even as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so do these also oppose the truth; men corrupted in mind, who concerning the faith are rejected. 9. But they will proceed no further. For their folly will be evident to all men, as theirs also came to be. 10. But you did follow my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, steadfastness, 11. persecutions, and sufferings: those things that happened to me at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. I endured those persecutions. The Lord delivered me out of them all. 12. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 13. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14. But you remain in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them. 15. From infancy, you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. 16. Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, 17. that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. 1. I command you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom: 2. preach the word; be urgent in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all patience and teaching. 3. For the time will come when they will not listen to the sound doctrine, but, having itching ears, will heap up for themselves teachers after their own lusts; 4. and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn away to fables. 5. But you be sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry. 6. For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure has come. 7. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. 8. From now on, there is stored up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day; and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing. 9. Be diligent to come to me soon, 10. for Demas left me, having loved this present world, and went to Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia. 11. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service. 12. But I sent Tychicus to Ephesus. 13. Bring the cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus when you come, and the books, especially the parchments. 14. Alexander, the coppersmith, did much evil to me. The Lord will repay him according to his deeds, 15. of whom you also must beware; for he greatly opposed our words. 16. At my first defense, no one came to help me, but all left me. May it not be held against them. 17. But the Lord stood by me, and strengthened me, that through me the message might be fully proclaimed, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. 18. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me for his heavenly Kingdom; to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 19. Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the house of Onesiphorus. 20. Erastus remained at Corinth, but I left Trophimus at Miletus sick. 21. Be diligent to come before winter. Eubulus salutes you, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers. 22. The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen.

1. Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand on the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers; 2. but his delight is in Yahweh’s law. On his law he meditates day and night. 3. He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper. 4. The wicked are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. 5. Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. 6. For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked shall perish.