Condemn them, ¹  O God! May their own schemes be their downfall! ²  Drive them away ³  because of their many acts of insurrection, ⁴  for they have rebelled against you.

We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight. ¹  We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind.

“For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all ¹  says, ‘Do not let the prophets or those among you who claim to be able to predict the future by divination ²  deceive you. And do not pay any attention to the dreams that you are encouraging them to dream.

Then Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard, ¹  took captive the rest of the people who were left in the city. He carried them off to Babylon along with the people who had deserted to him. ² 

Then they began asking ¹  him, “Who is your father?” Jesus answered, “You do not know either me or my Father. If you knew me you would know my Father too.” ² 

Do you not know that if you present yourselves ¹  as obedient slaves, ²  you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness? ³ 

Now this matter arose ¹  because of the false brothers with false pretenses ²  who slipped in unnoticed to spy on ³  our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves. ⁴ 

Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you ¹  through an empty, deceitful philosophy ²  that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits ³  of the world, and not according to Christ.

David said on that day, “Whoever attacks the Jebusites must approach the ‘lame’ and the ‘blind’ who are David’s enemies ¹  by going through the water tunnel.” ²  For this reason it is said, “The blind and the lame cannot enter the palace.” ³ 

He eliminated ¹  the pagan priests whom the kings of Judah had appointed to offer sacrifices ²  on the high places in the cities of Judah and in the area right around Jerusalem. (They offered sacrifices ³  to Baal, the sun god, the moon god, the constellations, and all the stars in the sky.)

But you banished ¹  the Lord’s priests, Aaron’s descendants, and the Levites, and appointed your own priests just as the surrounding nations do! Anyone who comes to consecrate himself with a young bull or seven rams becomes a priest of these fake gods! ² 

In those days, your population will greatly increase ¹  in the land. At that time,” says the Lord, “people will no longer talk about having the ark ²  that contains the Lord’s covenant with us. ³  They will not call it to mind, remember it, or miss it. No, that will not be done any more! ⁴ 

I ¹  hear many whispering words of intrigue against me. Those who would cause me terror are everywhere! ²  They are saying, “Come on, let’s publicly denounce him!” ³  All my so-called friends ⁴  are just watching for something that would lead to my downfall. ⁵  They say, “Perhaps he can be enticed into slipping up, so we can prevail over ⁶  him and get our revenge on him.

All the women who are left in the royal palace of Judah will be led out to the officers of the king of Babylon. They will taunt you saying, ¹  ‘Your trusted friends misled you; they have gotten the best of you. Now that your feet are stuck in the mud, they have turned their backs on you.’ ² 

“A lion coming up from the thick undergrowth along the Jordan scatters the sheep in the pastureland around it. So too I will chase the Babylonians off of their land. Then I will appoint over it whomever I choose. For there is no one like me. There is no one who can call me to account. There is no ruler that can stand up against me.

I am enraged at the shepherds and will punish the lead-goats. For the Lord who rules over all has brought blessing to his flock, the house of Judah, and will transform them into his majestic warhorse.

“I wish that one of you would close the temple doors, ¹  so that you no longer would light useless fires on my altar. I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord who rules over all, “and I will no longer accept an offering from you.

But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who calls himself a Christian ¹  who is sexually immoral, or greedy, or an idolater, or verbally abusive, ²  or a drunkard, or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person.

Now as for you, the anointing ¹  that you received from him ²  resides ³  in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as his ⁴  anointing teaches you about all things, it is true and is not a lie. Just as ⁵  it ⁶  has taught you, you reside ⁷  in him.