Jeremiah’s Message to Baruch

¹This is the word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch son of Neriah when he wrote these words on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:

²“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch:

³You have said, ‘Woe is me because the LORD has added sorrow to my pain! I am worn out with groaning and have found no rest.’”

⁴Thus Jeremiah was to say to Baruch:“This is what the LORD says: Throughout the land I will demolish what I have built and uproot what I have planted.

⁵But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I will bring disaster on every living creature, declares the LORD, but wherever you go, I will grant your life as a spoil of war.”

Pharaoh’s First Refusal

¹After that, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”

²But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”

³“The God of the Hebrews has met with us,” they answered. “Please let us go on a three-day journey into the wilderness to sacrifice to the LORD our God, or He may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”

⁴But the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people away from their work? Get back to your labor!”

⁵Pharaoh also said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you would be stopping them from their labor.”

Bricks and Straw

⁶That same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their foremen:

⁷“You shall no longer supply the people with straw for making bricks. They must go and gather their own straw.

⁸But require of them the same quota of bricks as before; do not reduce it. For they are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’

⁹Make the work harder on the men so they will be occupied and pay no attention to these lies.”

¹⁰So the taskmasters and foremen of the people went out and said to them, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I am no longer giving you straw.

¹¹Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it; but your workload will in no way be reduced.’”

¹²So the people scattered all over the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw.

¹³The taskmasters kept pressing them, saying, “Fulfill your quota each day, just as you did when straw was provided.”

¹⁴Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over the people, were beaten and asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”

The Cry of the Israelites

¹⁵So the Israelite foremen went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why are you treating your servants this way?

¹⁶No straw has been given to your servants, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Look, your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”

¹⁷“You are slackers!” Pharaoh replied. “Slackers! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.’

¹⁸Now get to work. You will be given no straw, yet you must deliver the full quota of bricks.”

¹⁹The Israelite foremen realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You must not reduce your daily quota of bricks.”

²⁰When they left Pharaoh, they confronted Moses and Aaron, who stood waiting to meet them.

²¹“May the LORD look upon you and judge you,” the foremen said, “for you have made us a stench before Pharaoh and his officials; you have placed in their hand a sword to kill us!”

²²So Moses returned to the LORD and asked, “Lord, why have You brought trouble upon this people? Is this why You sent me?

²³Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and You have not delivered Your people in any way.”

God’s Covenant with David

¹After the king had settled into his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,

²he said to Nathan the prophet, “Here I am, living in a house of cedar, while the ark of God remains in a tent.”

³And Nathan replied to the king, “Go and do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you.”

⁴But that night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,

⁵“Go and tell My servant David that this is what the LORD says: Are you the one to build for Me a house to dwell in?

⁶For I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought the Israelites up out of Egypt until this day, but I have moved about with a tent as My dwelling.

⁷In all My journeys with all the Israelites, have I ever asked any of the leadersI appointed to shepherd My people Israel, ‘Why haven’t you built Me a house of cedar?’

⁸Now then, you are to tell My servant David that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I took you from the pasture, from following the flock, to be the ruler over My people Israel.

⁹I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all your enemies from before you. Now I will make for you a name like that of the greatest in the land.

¹⁰And I will provide a place for My people Israel and will plant them so that they may dwell in a place of their own and be disturbed no more. No longer will the sons of wickedness oppress them as they did at the beginning

¹¹and have done since the day I appointed judges over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all your enemies.The LORD declares to you that He Himself will establish a house for you.

¹²And when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come from your own body, and I will establish his kingdom.

¹³He will build a house for My Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

¹⁴I will be his Father, and he will be My son.When he does wrong, I will discipline him with the rod of men and with the blows of the sons of men.

¹⁵But My loving devotion will never be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

¹⁶Your house and kingdom will endure forever before Me,and your throne will be established forever.”

¹⁷So Nathan relayed to David all the words of this entire revelation.

David’s Prayer of Thanksgiving

¹⁸Then King David went in, sat before the LORD, and said, “Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?

¹⁹And as if this was a small thing in Your eyes, O Lord GOD, You have also spoken about the future of the house of Your servant. Is this Your custom with man, O Lord GOD?

²⁰What more can David say to You? For You know Your servant, O Lord GOD.

²¹For the sake of Your word and according to Your own heart, You have accomplished this great thing and revealed it to Your servant.

²²How great You are, O Lord GOD! For there is none like You, and there is no God but You, according to everything we have heard with our own ears.

²³And who is like Your people Israel—the one nation on earth whom God went out to redeem as a people for Himself and to make a name for Himself? You performed great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before Your people, whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt.

²⁴For You have established Your people Israel as Your very own forever, and You, O LORD, have become their God.

²⁵And now, O LORD God, confirm forever the word You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house. Do as You have promised,

²⁶so that Your name will be magnified forever when it is said, ‘The LORD of Hosts is God over Israel.’ And the house of Your servant David will be established before You.

²⁷For You, O LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, have revealed this to Your servant when You said, ‘I will build a house for you.’ Therefore Your servant has found the courage to offer this prayer to You.

²⁸And now, O Lord GOD, You are God! Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant.

²⁹Now therefore, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord GOD, have spoken, and with Your blessing the house of Your servant will be blessed forever.”

I Will Sing of His Love Forever

¹I will sing of the loving devotion of the LORD forever;with my mouth I will proclaim Your faithfulness to all generations.

²For I have said, “Loving devotion is built up forever;in the heavens You establish Your faithfulness.”

³You said, “I have made a covenant with My chosen one,I have sworn to David My servant:

⁴‘I will establish your offspring foreverand build up your throne for all generations.’”Selah

⁵The heavens praise Your wonders, O LORD—Your faithfulness as well—in the assembly of the holy ones.

⁶For who in the skies can compare with the LORD?Who among the heavenly beingsis like the LORD?

⁷In the council of the holy ones, God is greatly feared,and awesome above all who surround Him.

⁸O LORD God of Hosts, who is like You?O mighty LORD, Your faithfulness surrounds You.

⁹You rule the raging sea;when its waves mount up, You still them.

¹⁰You crushed Rahab like a carcass;You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

¹¹The heavens are Yours, and also the earth.The earth and its fullness You founded.

¹²North and south You created;Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Your name.

¹³Mighty is Your arm; strong is Your hand.Your right hand is exalted.

¹⁴Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;loving devotion and faithfulness go before You.

¹⁵Blessed are those who know the joyful sound,who walk, O LORD, in the light of Your presence.

¹⁶They rejoice in Your name all day long,and in Your righteousness they exult.

¹⁷For You are the glory of their strength,and by Your favor our horn is exalted.

¹⁸Surely our shield belongs to the LORD,and our king to the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹You once spoke in a vision;to Your godly ones You said,“I have bestowed help on a warrior;I have exalted one chosen from the people.

²⁰I have found My servant David;with My sacred oil I have anointed him.

²¹My hand will sustain him;surely My arm will strengthen him.

²²No enemy will exact tribute;no wicked man will oppress him.

²³I will crush his foes before himand strike down those who hate him.

²⁴My faithfulness and loving devotion will be with him,and through My name his horn will be exalted.

²⁵I will set his hand over the sea,and his right hand upon the rivers.

²⁶He will call to Me, ‘You are my Father,my God, the Rock of my salvation.’

²⁷I will indeed appoint him as My firstborn,the highest of the kings of the earth.

²⁸I will forever preserve My loving devotion for him,and My covenant with him will stand fast.

²⁹I will establish his line forever,his throne as long as the heavens endure.

³⁰If his sons forsake My lawand do not walk in My judgments,

³¹if they violate My statutesand fail to keep My commandments,

³²I will attend to their transgression with the rod,and to their iniquity with stripes.

³³But I will not withdraw My loving devotion from him,nor ever betray My faithfulness.

³⁴I will not violate My covenantor alter the utterance of My lips.

³⁵Once and for all I have sworn by My holiness—I will not lie to David—

³⁶his offspring shall endure forever,and his throne before Me like the sun,

³⁷like the moon, established forever,a faithful witness in the sky.”Selah

³⁸Now, however, You have spurned and rejected him;You are enraged by Your anointed one.

³⁹You have renounced the covenant with Your servantand sullied his crown in the dust.

⁴⁰You have broken down all his walls;You have reduced his strongholds to rubble.

⁴¹All who pass by plunder him;he has become a reproach to his neighbors.

⁴²You have exalted the right hand of his foes;You have made all his enemies rejoice.

⁴³You have bent the edge of his swordand have not sustained him in battle.

⁴⁴You have ended his splendorand cast his throne to the ground.

⁴⁵You have cut short the days of his youth;You have covered him with shame.Selah

⁴⁶How long, O LORD?Will You hide Yourself forever?Will Your wrath keep burning like fire?

⁴⁷Remember the briefness of my lifespan!For what futility You have created all men!

⁴⁸What man can live and never see death?Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol?Selah

⁴⁹Where, O Lord, is Your loving devotion of old,which You faithfully swore to David?

⁵⁰Remember, O Lord, the reproach of Your servants,which I bear in my heart from so many people—

⁵¹how Your enemies have taunted, O LORD,and have mocked every step of Your anointed one!

⁵²Blessed be the LORD forever!Amen and amen.