Daily Bible CEV November 22 Scroll

Helping Christian Leaders

1 Peter 5 Church leaders, I am writing to encourage you. I too am a leader, as well as a witness to Christ's suffering, and I will share in his glory when it is shown to us.

²Just as shepherds watch over their sheep, you must watch over everyone God has placed in your care. Do it willingly in order to please God, and not simply because you think you must. Let it be something you want to do, instead of something you do merely to make money. ³Don't be bossy to those people who are in your care, but set an example for them. ⁴Then when Christ the Chief Shepherd returns, you will be given a crown that will never lose its glory.

⁵All of you young people should obey your elders. In fact, everyone should be humble toward everyone else. The Scriptures say,

"God opposes proud people,

but he helps everyone who is humble."

⁶Be humble in the presence of God's mighty power, and he will honor you when the time comes. ⁷God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him.

⁸Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack. ⁹But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith. You know that all over the world the Lord's followers are suffering just as you are. ¹⁰But God shows undeserved kindness to everyone. That's why he had Christ Jesus choose you to share in his eternal glory. You will suffer for a while, but God will make you complete, steady, strong, and firm. ¹¹God will be in control forever! Amen.

Final Greetings

¹²Silvanus helped me write this short letter, and I consider him a faithful follower of the Lord. I wanted to encourage you and tell you how kind God really is, so that you will keep on having faith in him.

¹³Greetings from the Lord's followers in Babylon. They are God's chosen ones.

Mark, who is like a son to me, sends his greetings too.

¹⁴Give each other a warm greeting. I pray that God will give peace to everyone who belongs to Christ.

Jerusalem Is Captured by the Babylonians
(Jeremiah 52.4-16; 2 Kings 25.1-12)

Jeremiah 39 ^1-3In the tenth month of the ninth year that Zedekiah was king of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army began their attack on Jerusalem. They kept the city surrounded for a year and a half. Then, on the ninth day of the fourth month of the eleventh year that Zedekiah was king, they broke through the city walls.

After Jerusalem was captured, Nebuchadnezzar's highest officials, including Nebo Sarsechim and Nergal Sharezer from Simmagir, took their places at Middle Gate to show they were in control of the city.

⁴When King Zedekiah and his troops saw that Jerusalem had been captured, they tried to escape from the city that same night. They went to the king's garden, where they slipped through the gate between the two city walls and headed toward the Jordan River valley. ⁵But the Babylonian troops caught up with them near Jericho. They arrested Zedekiah and took him to the town of Riblah in the land of Hamath, where Nebuchadnezzar put him on trial, then found him guilty ⁶and gave orders for him to be punished. Zedekiah's sons were killed there in front of him, and so were the leaders of Judah's ruling families. ⁷His eyes were poked out, and he was put in chains, so he could be dragged off to Babylonia.

⁸Meanwhile, the Babylonian army had burned the houses in Jerusalem, including the royal palace, and they had broken down the city walls. ⁹Nebuzaradan, the Babylonian officer in charge of the guards, led away everyone from the city as prisoners, even those who had deserted to Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁰Only the poorest people who owned no land were left behind in Judah, and Nebuzaradan gave them fields and vineyards.

¹¹Nebuchadnezzar had given the following orders to Nebuzaradan: ¹²"Find Jeremiah and keep him safe. Take good care of him and do whatever he asks."

¹³Nebuzaradan, Nebushazban, Nergal Sharezer, and the other officers of King Nebuchadnezzar ¹⁴sent some of their troops to bring me from the courtyard of the royal palace guards. They put me in the care of Gedaliah son of Ahikam and told him to take me to my home. And so I was allowed to stay with the people who remained in Judah.

The LORD Promises To Protect Ebedmelech

¹⁵While I was a prisoner in the courtyard of the palace guard, the LORD told me to say ¹⁶to Ebedmelech from Ethiopia:

I am the LORD All-Powerful, the God of Israel. I warned everyone that I would bring disaster, not prosperity, to this city. Now very soon I will do what I said, and you will see it happen. ^17-18But because you trusted me, I will protect you from the officials of Judah, and when Judah is struck by disaster, I will rescue you and keep you alive. I, the LORD, have spoken.

Jeremiah Is Set Free

Jeremiah 40 I was led away in chains along with the people of Judah and Jerusalem who were being taken to Babylonia. Nebuzaradan was the officer in charge of the guard, and while we were stopped at Ramah, the LORD had him set me free. ²Nebuzaradan said:

Jeremiah, the LORD your God warned your people that he would bring disaster on this land. ³But they continued to rebel against him, and now he has punished them just as he threatened.

⁴Today I am taking the chains off your wrists and setting you free! If you want to, you can come with me to Babylonia, and I will see that you are taken care of. Or if you decide to stay here, you can go wherever you wish. ⁵King Nebuchadnezzar has chosen Gedaliah to rule Judah. You can live near Gedaliah, and he will provide for you, or you can live anywhere else you want.

Nebuzaradan gave me a supply of food, then let me leave. ⁶I decided to stay with the people of Judah, and I went to live near Gedaliah in Mizpah.

The Harvest Is Brought In

^7-8Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, together with Johanan and Jonathan, the two sons of Kareah, had been officers in Judah's army. And so had Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah from Maacah. They and their troops had been stationed outside Jerusalem and had not been captured. They heard that Gedaliah had been chosen to rule Judah, and that the poorest men, women, and children had not been taken away to Babylonia. So they went to Mizpah and met with their new ruler.

⁹Gedaliah told them, "There's no need to be afraid of the Babylonians. Everything will be fine, if we live peacefully and obey King Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁰I will stay here at Mizpah and meet with the Babylonian officials on each of their visits. But you must go back to your towns and bring in the harvest, then store the wine, olive oil, and dried fruit."

^11-12Earlier, when the Babylonians had invaded Judah, many of the Jews escaped to Moab, Ammon, Edom, and several other countries. But these Jews heard that the king of Babylonia had appointed Gedaliah as ruler of Judah, and that only a few people were left there. So the Jews in these other countries came back to Judah and helped with the grape and fruit harvest, which was especially large that year.

Gedaliah Is Murdered

¹³One day, Johanan got together with some of the other men who had been army officers, and they came to Mizpah and met with Gedaliah. ¹⁴They said, "Gedaliah, we came to warn you that King Baalis of Ammon hired Ishmael to murder you!"

Gedaliah refused to believe them, ¹⁵so Johanan went to Gedaliah privately and said, "Let me kill Ishmael. No one will find out who did it. There are only a few people left in Judah, but they are depending on you. And if you are murdered, they will be scattered or killed."

¹⁶Gedaliah answered, "Don't kill Ishmael! What you've said about him can't be true."

Psalm 138
[By David.]
Praise the LORD with All Your Heart

¹With all my heart I praise you, LORD.

In the presence of angels I sing your praises.

²I worship at your holy temple

and praise you for your love and your faithfulness.

You were true to your word

and made yourself more famous than ever before.

³When I asked for your help,

you answered my prayer and gave me courage.

⁴All kings on this earth have heard your promises, LORD,

and they will praise you.

⁵You are so famous that they will sing

about the things you have done.

⁶Though you are above us all,

you care for humble people,

and you keep a close watch on everyone who is proud.

⁷I am surrounded by trouble,

but you protect me against my angry enemies.

With your own powerful arm you keep me safe.

⁸You, LORD, will always treat me with kindness.

Your love never fails.

You have made us what we are. Don't give up on us now!

These daily Bible readings from the Contemporary English Version (CEV) are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. BibleCard® images copyright iCreative. All rights reserved.