Message to Baruch
1 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to sBaruch the son of Neriah, twhen he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, uin the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2 “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: 3 You said, v‘Woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. wI am weary with my groaning, xand I find no rest.’ 4 Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord: yBehold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. 5 And zdo you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, aI am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you byour life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.”
Judgment on Egypt
1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet cconcerning the nations.
2 About Egypt. dConcerning the army of Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates at Carchemish and which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in ethe fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3 f“Prepare buckler and shield,
and advance for battle!
4 gHarness the horses;
mount, O horsemen!
Take your stations with your helmets,
fpolish your spears,
put on your armor!
5 Why have I seen it?
They are dismayed
and have turned backward.
Their hwarriors are beaten down
and have fled in haste;
ithey look not back—
jterror on every side!
declares the Lord.
6 “The swift cannot flee away,
nor the warrior escape;
din the north by the river Euphrates
kthey have stumbled and fallen.
7 “Who is this, lrising like the Nile,
like rivers mwhose waters surge?
8 Egypt rises like the Nile,
like rivers mwhose waters surge.
He said, ‘I will rise, I will cover the earth,
I will destroy cities and their inhabitants.’
9 nAdvance, O horses,
and rage, O chariots!
Let the warriors go out:
men of Cush and oPut who handle the shield,
pmen of Lud, skilled in handling the bow.
10 qThat day is the day of the Lord God of hosts,
ra day of vengeance,
sto avenge himself on his foes.
tThe sword shall devour and be sated
and drink its fill of their blood.
For the Lord God of hosts holds ua sacrifice
vin the north country wby the river Euphrates.
11 xGo up to Gilead, and take xbalm,
O virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain you have used many medicines;
ythere is no healing for you.
12 The nations have heard of your shame,
and the earth is full of your cry;
zfor warrior has stumbled against warrior;
they have both fallen together.”
13 The word that the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:
14 “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in bMigdol;
proclaim in bMemphis and bTahpanhes;
say, c‘Stand ready and be prepared,
for dthe sword shall devour around you.’
15 Why are your mighty ones face down?
They do not stand1
because the Lord thrust them down.
16 He made many stumble, fand they fell,
and they said one to another,
‘Arise, and let us go back to our own people
and to the land of our birth,
gbecause of the sword of the oppressor.’
17 Call the name of hPharaoh, king of Egypt,
‘Noisy one who lets the hour go by.’
18 i“As I live, declares the King,
jwhose name is the Lord of hosts,
like kTabor among the mountains
and like lCarmel by the sea, shall one come.
19 mPrepare yourselves baggage for exile,
O ninhabitants of Egypt!
For oMemphis shall become a waste,
a ruin, pwithout inhabitant.
20 “A beautiful qheifer is Egypt,
but a biting fly rfrom the north has come upon her.
21 Even her hired soldiers in her midst
are like sfattened calves;
yes, they have turned and fled together;
they did not stand,
for the day of their calamity has come upon them,
tthe time of their punishment.
22 “She makes ua sound like a serpent gliding away;
for her enemies march in force
and come against her with axes
vlike those who fell trees.
23 vThey shall cut down her forest,
declares the Lord,
though it is impenetrable,
because wthey are more numerous than locusts;
they are without number.
24 The daughter of Egypt shall be put to shame;
she shall be delivered into the hand of ra people from the north.”
25 The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, said: “Behold, I am bringing punishment upon xAmon of yThebes, and Pharaoh and Egypt zand her gods and her kings, upon Pharaoh and those who trust in him. 26 aI will deliver them into the hand of those who seek their life, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. bAfterward Egypt shall be inhabited cas in the days of old, declares the Lord.
27 d“But fear not, O Jacob my servant,
nor be dismayed, O Israel,
for behold, I will save you from far away,
and your offspring from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease,
and none shall make him afraid.
28 dFear not, O Jacob my servant,
declares the Lord,
for I am with you.
I will make a full end of all the nations
to which I have driven you,
but of you I will not make a full end.
eI will discipline you in just measure,
and I will by no means leave you unpunished.”
Judgment on the Philistines
1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet fconcerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh struck down gGaza.
2 “Thus says the Lord:
hBehold, waters are rising iout of the north,
hand shall become an overflowing torrent;
they shall overflow jthe land and all that fills it,
the city and those who dwell in it.
Men shall cry out,
and every inhabitant of the land shall wail.
3 At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions,
lat the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of their wheels,
the fathers mlook not back to their children,
so feeble are their hands,
4 because of the day that is coming to destroy
all fthe Philistines,
to cut off from nTyre and Sidon
every helper that remains.
For the Lord is destroying the Philistines,
othe remnant of the coastland of pCaphtor.
5 qBaldness has come upon Gaza;
rAshkelon has perished.
O remnant of their valley,
show long will you gash yourselves?
6 tAh, sword of the Lord!
How long till you are quiet?
Put yourself into your scabbard;
rest and be still!
7 How can it2 be quiet
uwhen the Lord has given it a charge?
Against vAshkelon and against the seashore
whe has appointed it.”
Beth
9 How can va young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 wWith my whole heart I seek you;
let me not xwander from your commandments!
11 I have ystored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
zteach me your statutes!
13 With my lips I adeclare
all the rules1 of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I bdelight
as much as in all criches.
15 I will dmeditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your eways.
16 I will fdelight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
The Resurrection of Christ
1 Now I would remind you, brothers,1 of the gospel gI preached to you, which you received, hin which you stand, 2 and by which iyou are being saved, if you jhold fast to the word I preached to you—kunless you believed in vain.
3 For lI delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died mfor our sins nin accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised oon the third day pin accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that qhe appeared to Cephas, then rto the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to sJames, then tto all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, uhe appeared also to me. 9 For vI am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because wI persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, xI worked harder than any of them, ythough it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
The Resurrection of the Dead
12 Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, zhow can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, athen not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that bhe raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and cyou are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who dhave fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope2 in this life only, ewe are of all people most to be pitied.
20 But in fact fChrist has been raised from the dead, gthe firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as hby a man came death, iby a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For jas in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then kat his coming lthose who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he delivers mthe kingdom to God the Father after destroying nevery rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign ountil he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be pdestroyed is death. 27 For q“God3 has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28 When rall things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that sGod may be all in all.
29 Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? 30 Why are we tin danger every hour? 31 I protest, brothers, by umy pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, vI die every day! 32 What do I gain if, humanly speaking, wI fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, x“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33 yDo not be deceived: z“Bad company ruins good morals.”4 34 aWake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For bsome have no knowledge of God. cI say this to your shame.
The Resurrection Body
35 But someone will ask, d“How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36 You foolish person! eWhat you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38 But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39 For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40 There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
42 fSo is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43 It is sown in dishonor; git is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 Thus it is written, h“The first man Adam became a living being”;5 ithe last Adam became a jlife-giving spirit. 46 But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47 kThe first man was from the earth, la man of dust; mthe second man is from heaven. 48 As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, nso also are those who are of heaven. 49 Just oas we have borne the image of the man of dust, pwe shall6 also bear the image of the man of heaven.
Mystery and Victory
50 I tell you this, brothers: qflesh and blood rcannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. sWe shall not all sleep, tbut we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For uthe trumpet will sound, and vthe dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and wthis mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
x“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 y“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and zthe power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, awho gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 bTherefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in cthe work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord dyour labor is not in vain.
The Collection for the Saints
1 Now concerning7 ethe collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. 2 On fthe first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, gas he may prosper, hso that there will be no collecting when I come. 3 And when I arrive, I will send ithose whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.
Plans for Travel
5 jI will visit you after passing through kMacedonia, for lI intend to pass through Macedonia, 6 and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may mhelp me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 For I do not want to see you now njust in passing. I hope to spend some time with you, oif the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay in Ephesus until pPentecost, 9 for qa wide door for effective work has opened to me, and rthere are many adversaries.
10 sWhen Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for the is doing uthe work of the Lord, as I am. 11 So vlet no one despise him. wHelp him on his way xin peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.
Final Instructions
12 Now concerning your brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will8 to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.
13 zBe watchful, astand firm in the faith, bact like men, cbe strong. 14 dLet all that you do be done in love.
15 Now I urge you, brothers9—you know that ethe household10 of Stephanas were fthe first converts in Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves gto the service of the saints— 16 hbe subject to such as these, and to every fellow worker and laborer. 17 I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, because they have made up for iyour absence, 18 for they jrefreshed my spirit as well as yours. kGive recognition to such people.
Greetings
19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. lAquila and Prisca, together with mthe church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. 20 All the brothers send you greetings. nGreet one another with a holy kiss.
21 I, Paul, write othis greeting with my own hand. 22 If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be paccursed. Our Lord, come!11 23 qThe grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.
