She also saw ¹  that I gave wayward Israel her divorce papers and sent her away because of her adulterous worship of other gods. ²  Even after her unfaithful sister Judah had seen this, ³  she still was not afraid, and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods. ⁴ 

Tell them the Lord who rules over all says, ¹  ‘I will do just as Jeremiah has done. ²  I will smash this nation and this city as though it were a potter’s vessel which is broken beyond repair. ³  The dead will be buried here in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.’ ⁴ 

But at that time they will affirm them with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the descendants of the former nation of Israel ¹  from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished ²  them.” ³  At that time they will live in their own land.’”

The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter to the exiles Nebuchadnezzar had carried off from Jerusalem ¹  to Babylon. It was addressed to the elders who were left among the exiles, to the priests, to the prophets, and to all the other people who were exiled in Babylon. ² 

“People will no longer need to teach their neighbors and relatives to know me. ¹  For all of them, from the least important to the most important, will know me,” ²  says the Lord. “For ³  I will forgive their sin and will no longer call to mind the wrong they have done.”

Then Jeremiah got another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah. As Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on this scroll everything that had been on the scroll that King Jehoiakim of Judah burned in the fire. They also added on this scroll several other messages of the same kind. ¹ 

I will turn the land of Egypt into a desolation in the midst of desolate lands; for forty years her cities will lie desolate in the midst of ruined cities. I will scatter Egypt among the nations and disperse them among foreign countries.

Then he brought me to the porch of the temple and measured the jambs of the porch as 8¾ feet ¹  on either side, and the width of the gate was 24½ feet ²  and the sides ³  were 5¼ feet ⁴  on each side.

When you bring foreigners, those uncircumcised in heart and in flesh, into my sanctuary, you desecrate ¹  it – even my house – when you offer my food, the fat and the blood. You ²  have broken my covenant by all your abominable practices.

“Next to the border of Judah from the east side to the west will be the allotment you must set apart. It is to be eight and a quarter miles ¹  wide, and the same length as one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west; the sanctuary will be in the middle of it.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent out a summons to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, ¹  and all the other authorities of the province to attend the dedication of the statue that he ²  had erected.

So the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other provincial authorities assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected. They were standing in front of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had erected. ¹ 

Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, ¹  “Praised be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent forth his angel ²  and has rescued his servants who trusted in him, ignoring ³  the edict of the king and giving up their bodies rather than ⁴  serve or pay homage to any god other than their God!

To all the supervisors of the kingdom, the prefects, satraps, counselors, and governors it seemed like a good idea for a royal edict to be issued and an interdict to be enforced. For the next thirty days anyone who prays ¹  to any god or human other than you, O king, should be thrown into a den of lions.

“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.

He will arbitrate ¹  between many peoples and settle disputes between many ²  distant nations. ³  They will beat their swords into plowshares, ⁴  and their spears into pruning hooks. ⁵  Nations will not use weapons ⁶  against other nations, and they will no longer train for war.

Before that time there was no compensation for man or animal, nor was there any relief from adversity for those who came and went, because I had pitted everybody – each one – against everyone else.

Then those who respected ¹  the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice. ²  A scroll ³  was prepared before him in which were recorded the names of those who respected the Lord and honored his name.

He motioned to them ¹  with his hand to be quiet and then related ²  how the Lord had brought ³  him out of the prison. He said, “Tell James and the brothers these things,” and then he left and went to another place. ⁴ 

Look, for the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you, because I do not want your possessions, but you. For children should not have ¹  to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.