Who decreed this from the beginning, so we could know? Who announced it ¹  ahead of time, so we could say, ‘He’s correct’? Indeed, none of them decreed it! Indeed, none of them announced it! Indeed, no one heard you say anything!

You must ¹  observe the Sabbath ²  rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. ³  You must look forward to the Sabbath ⁴  and treat the Lord’s holy day with respect. ⁵  You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities, and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals. ⁶ 

Then some people ¹  said, “Come on! Let us consider how to deal with Jeremiah! ²  There will still be priests to instruct us, wise men to give us advice, and prophets to declare God’s word. ³  Come on! Let’s bring charges against him and get rid of him! ⁴  Then we will not need to pay attention to anything he says.”

I will do so because these people ¹  have rejected me and have defiled ²  this place. They have offered sacrifices in it to other gods which neither they nor their ancestors ³  nor the kings of Judah knew anything about. They have filled it with the blood of innocent children. ⁴ 

But when they came in and took possession of it, they did not obey you or live as you had instructed them. They did not do anything that you commanded them to do. ¹  So you brought all this disaster on them.

Some time later ¹  Zedekiah sent and had Jeremiah brought to him at the third entrance ²  of the Lord’s temple. The king said to Jeremiah, “I would like to ask you a question. Do not hide anything from me when you answer.” ³ 

The officials may hear that I have talked with you. They may come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you. ¹  Do not hide anything from us. If you do, we will kill you.’ ² 

“After these things, as I was watching in the night visions ¹  a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. ²  It had two large rows ³  of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.

“Then I wanted to know the meaning ¹  of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others. It was very dreadful, with two rows of iron teeth and bronze claws, and it devoured, crushed, and trampled anything that was left with its feet.

I tell you, even though the man inside ¹  will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of the first man’s ²  sheer persistence ³  he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

So do not let them persuade you to do this, ¹  because more than forty of them ²  are lying in ambush ³  for him. They ⁴  have bound themselves with an oath ⁵  not to eat or drink anything ⁶  until they have killed him, and now they are ready, waiting for you to agree to their request.” ⁷ 

If then I am in the wrong ¹  and have done anything that deserves death, I am not trying to escape dying, ²  but if not one of their charges against me is true, ³  no one can hand me over to them. ⁴  I appeal to Caesar!” ⁵ 

Now we pray to God that you may not do anything wrong, not so that we may appear to have passed the test, ¹  but so that you may do what is right ²  even if we may appear to have failed the test. ³