Remind them to be  ¹subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready unto every good work,

To slander no one, to be  ¹uncontentious,  ²gentle, showing all meekness toward all men.

For we also  ¹were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving as slaves various  ²lusts and pleasures, spending our lives in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.

But when the  ¹kindness and the love to man of our Savior God appeared,

Not out of  ¹works in righteousness which we did but according to His  ²mercy He saved us, through the  ³washing of  ⁴regeneration and the renewing of the  ⁵Holy Spirit,

Whom He  ¹poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,

 ¹In order that having been justified by  ²His grace, we might become  ³heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Faithful is  ¹the word, and concerning  ²these things I desire you to  ³confidently affirm, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to maintain respectable works. These things are good and profitable to men.

But  ¹avoid foolish  ²questionings and  ³genealogies and  ⁴strifes and  ⁵contentions about the  ⁶law, for they are unprofitable and  ⁷vain.

A  ¹factious man, after a first and second admonition,  ²refuse,

Knowing that such a one is  ¹perverted and is sinning, though he is condemned by his own self.

When I send Artemas to you or Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at  ¹Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there.

 ¹Zenas the  ²lawyer and Apollos send forward diligently that nothing may be lacking to them.

And let those also who are ours learn to maintain respectable works for their necessary needs, that they may not be unfruitful.

All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in  ¹faith. Grace be with you all.

The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah when Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms of the earth under his dominion and all the peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities, saying,

Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, Go and speak to Zedekiah the king of Judah and say to him, Thus says Jehovah, I am about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire;

And you will not escape from his hand but will surely be captured and given into his hand; and your eyes will see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he will speak with you mouth to mouth, and you will go into Babylon.

Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O Zedekiah king of Judah, Thus says Jehovah concerning you, You will not die by the sword.

You will die in peace; and as there were burnings for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so men will burn spices for you and wail for you, saying, Alas, lord! Indeed, it is I who have spoken the word, declares Jehovah.

Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah the king of Judah in Jerusalem

When the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and against Azekah, for these were the fortified cities that remained among the cities of Judah.

The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to proclaim liberty to them,

That every one should set free his male servant and every one his female servant, who is a Hebrew male or a Hebrew female, so that no one should exact service of them, that is, of a Jew his brother.

And all the princes and all the people who had entered into the covenant obeyed, so as to set free every one his male servant and every one his female servant, so that no one would exact service of them again; and they obeyed and set them free.

But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants, whom they had set free, and they brought them into subjection as male servants and as female servants.

And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,

Thus says Jehovah the God of Israel, I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying,

At the end of every seven years each of you shall set free his brother who is a Hebrew, who was sold to you and has served you six years, and you shall set him free from you; but your fathers did not listen to Me or incline their ear.

And though you had turned in these days and done what is right in My eyes to proclaim liberty, each one to his neighbor, and made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My name;

You turned back and profaned My name when you took back each one his male servant and each one his female servant, whom you had set free according to their desire, and brought them into subjection to be your male servants and your female servants.

Therefore thus says Jehovah, You have not listened to Me to proclaim liberty each one to his brother and each one to his neighbor; I am now proclaiming liberty to you, declares Jehovah, to sword and to pestilence and to famine, and I will make you a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

And I will give the men who transgressed My covenant and did not establish the words of the covenant which they made before Me when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts,

The princes of Judah and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs and the priests and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf —

Indeed, I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life, and their corpses will be food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.

And Zedekiah the king of Judah and his princes I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, which has withdrawn from you.

I hereby give the command, declares Jehovah, to bring them back to this city; and they will fight against it and capture it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.

The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, saying,

Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak with them and bring them to the house of Jehovah, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.

So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites,

And I brought them to the house of Jehovah, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold.

And I set before the members of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine and cups; and I said to them, Drink wine.

But they said, We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, You shall not drink wine, you and your sons, forever.

And you shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed, and you shall not plant a vineyard or have one; but you shall dwell in tents all your days, that you may live many days on the land where you are sojourning.

And we have listened to the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, to all that he commanded us: to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters,

And not to build houses for us to dwell in; neither do we have a vineyard or a field or seed.

But we have dwelt in tents and have listened to and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

But when Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon came up against the land we said, Come and let us go to Jerusalem from before the army of the Chaldeans and from before the army of the Syrians. So we are dwelling in Jerusalem.

Then the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, saying,

Thus says Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Go and say to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction by listening to My words? declares Jehovah.

The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, by which he commanded his sons to drink no wine, have been established, and they have drunk no wine unto this day, for they have obeyed the command of their father. But I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking, yet you have not listened to Me.

I have also sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Turn now every one from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them; and you will dwell in the land which I gave to you and to your fathers; but you did not incline your ear or listen to Me.

But the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have established the commandment of their father, which he commanded them, yet this people have not listened to Me.

Therefore thus says Jehovah the God of hosts, the God of Israel: I am about to bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil which I have spoken against them; because I spoke to them, but they did not listen; and I called to them, but they did not answer.

But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, Thus says Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Because you have listened to the commandment of Jonadab your father and have kept all his commandments and have done according to all that he commanded you;

Therefore thus says Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Jonadab the son of Rechab will never lack a man to stand before Me forever.