Bible in a Year.

On day 252, we accompany the people in situations of disobedience and resistance. Jeremiah 43-44 shows the impact of disobedience to divine instructions. Judith 15-16 exemplifies courage and faithfulness to God in the face of the enemy. Proverbs 17:17-20 highlights the value of true friendship and justice, offering timeless principles for our conduct.

Chapter 43

1. And it came to pass, that when Jeremias had made an end of speaking to the people all the words of the Lord their God, for which the Lord their God had sent him to them, all these words:

2. Azarias the son of Osaias, and Johanan the son of Caree, and all the proud men, made answer, saying to Jeremias: Thou tellest a lie: the Lord our God hath not sent thee, saying: Go not into Egypt, to dwell there.

3. But Baruch the son of Nerias setteth thee on against us, to deliver us into the hands of the Chaldeans, to kill us, and to cause us to be carried away captives to Babylon.

4. So Johanan the son of Caree, and all the captains of the soldiers, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Juda.

5. But Johanan the son of Caree, and all the captains of the soldiers took all the remnant of Juda, that were returned out of all nations, to which they had before been scattered, to dwell in the land of Juda:

6. Men, and women, and children, and the king's daughters, and every soul, which Nabuzardan the general had left with Godolias the son of Ahicam the son of Saphan, and Jeremias the prophet, and Baruch the son of Nerias.

7. And they went Into the land of Egypt, for they obeyed not the voice of the Lord: and they came as far as Taphnis.

8. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias in Taphnis, saying:

9. Take great stones in thy hand, and thou shalt hide them in the vault that is under the brick wall at the gate of Pharao's house in Taphnis: in the sight of the men of Juda.

10. And thou shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Behold I will send, and take Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon my servant: and I will set his throne over these stones which I have hid, and he shall set his throne over them.

11. And he shall come and strike the land of Egypt: such as are for death, to death: and such as are for captivity, to captivity: and such as are for the sword, to the sword.

12. And he shall kindle a fire in the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them, and he shall carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth on his garment: and he shall go forth from thence in peace.

13. And he shall break the statues of the house of the sun, that are in the land of Egypt; and the temples of the gods of Egypt he shall burn with fire.

Chapter 44

1. The word that came to Jeremias, concerning all the Jews that dwelt in the land of Egypt, dwelling in Magdal, and in Taphnis, and in Memphis, and in the land of Phatures, saying:

2. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: You have seen all this evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Juda: and behold they are desolate this day, and there is not an inhabitant in them:

3. Because of the wickedness which they have committed, to provoke me to wrath, and to go and offer sacrifice, and worship other gods, which neither they, nor you, nor your fathers knew.

4. And I sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising early, and sending, and saying: Do not commit this abominable thing, which I hate.

5. But they heard not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their evil ways, and not to sacrifice to strange gods.

6. Wherefore my indignation and my fury was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem: and they are turned to desolation and waste, as at this day.

7. And now thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against your own souls, that there should die of you man and woman, child and suckling out of the midst of Juda, and no remnant should be left you:

8. In that you provoke me to wrath with the works of your hands, by sacrificing to other gods in the land of Egypt, into which you are come to dwell there: and that you should perish, and be a curse, and a reproach to all the nations of the earth?

9. Have you forgotten the evils of your fathers, and the evils of the kings of Juda, and the evils of their wives, and your evils, and the evils of your wives, that they have done in the land of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem?

10. They are not cleansed even to this day: neither have they feared, nor walked in the law of the Lord, nor in my commandments, which I set before you and your fathers.

11. Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Behold I will set my face upon you for evil: and I will destroy all Juda.

12. And I will take the remnant of Juda that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt, and to dwell there: and they shall be all consumed in the land of Egypt: they shall fall by the sword, and by the famine: and they shall be consumed from the least even to the greatest, by the sword, and by the famine shall they die: and they shall be for an execration, and for a wonder, and for a curse, and for a reproach.

13. And I will visit them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have visited Jerusalem by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence.

14. And there shall be none that shall escape, and remain of the remnant of the Jews that are gone to sojourn in the land of Egypt: and that shall return into the land of Juda, to which they have a desire to return to dwell there: there shall none return but they that shall flee.

15. Then all the men that knew that their wives sacrificed to other gods: and all the women of whom there stood by a great multitude, and all the people of them that dwelt in the land of Egypt in Phatures, answered Jeremias, saying:

16. As for the word which thou hast spoken to us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken to thee:

17. But we will certainly do every word that shall proceed out of our own mouth, to sacrifice to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to her, as we and our fathers have done, our kings, and our princes in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem: and we were filled with bread, and it was well with us, and we saw no evil.

18. But since we left off to offer sacrifice to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword, and by famine.

19. And if we offer sacrifice to the queen of heaven, and pour out drink offerings to her: did we make cakes to worship her, to pour out drink offerings to her, without our husbands?

20. And Jeremias spoke to all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people which had given him that answer, saying:

21. Was it not the sacrifice that you offered in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and Sour fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, which the Lord hath remembered, and hath it not entered into his heart?

22. So that the Lord could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which you have committed: therefore your land is become a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.

23. Because you have sacrificed to idols, and have sinned against the Lord: and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, and have not walked in his law, and in his commandments, and in his testimonies: therefore are these evils come upon you, as at this day.

24. And Jeremias said to all the people, and to all the women : Hear ye the word of the Lord, all Juda, you that dwell in the land of Egypt:

25. Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, saying: You and your wives have spoken with your mouth, and fulfilled with your hands, saying: Let us perform our vows which we have made, to offer sacrifice to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings to her: you have fulfilled your vows, and have performed them indeed.

26. Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Juda, you that dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord: that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Juda, in the land of Egypt, saying: The Lord God liveth.

27. Behold I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Juda that are in the land of Egypt, shall be consumed, by the sword, and by famine, till there be an end of them.

28. And a few men that shall flee from the sword, shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Juda: and all the remnant of Juda that are gone into the land of Egypt to dwell there, shall know whose word shall stand, mine, or theirs.

29. And this shall be a sign to you, saith the Lord, that I will punish you in this place: that you may know that my words shall be accomplished indeed against you for evil.

30. Thus saith the Lord: Behold I will deliver Pharao Ephree king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life: as I delivered Sedecias king of Juda into the hand of Nabuchodonosor the king of Babylon his enemy, and that sought his life.

Chapter 15

1. And when all the army heard that Holofernes was beheaded, courage and counsel fled from them, and being seized with trembling and fear they thought only to save themselves by flight:

2. So that no one spoke to his neighbor, but hanging down the head, leaving all things behind, they made haste to escape from the Hebrews, who, as they heard, were coming armed upon them, and fled by the ways of the fields, and the paths of the hills.

3. So the children of Israel seeing them fleeing, followed after them. And they went down sounding with trumpets and shouting after them.

4. And because the Assyrians were not united together, they went without order in their flight ; but the children of Israel pursuing in one body, defeated all that they could find.

5. And Ozias sent messengers through all the cities and countries of Israel.

6. And every country, and every city, sent their chosen young men armed after them, and they pursued them with the edge of the sword until they came to the extremities of their confines.

7. And the rest that were in Bethulia went into the camp of the Assyrians, and took away the spoils, which the Assyrians in their flight had left behind them, and they were laden exceedingly.

8. But they that returned conquerors to Bethulia, brought with them all things that were theirs, so that there was no numbering of their cattle, and beasts, and all their moveables, insomuch that from the least to the greatest all were made rich by their spoils.

9. And Joachim the high priest came from Jerusalem to Bethulia with all his ancients to see Judith.

10. And when she was come out to him, they all blessed her with one voice, saying: Thou art the glory of Jerusalem, thou art the joy of Israel, thou art the honour of our people:

11. For thou hast done manfully, and thy heart has been strengthened, because thou hast loved chastity, and after thy husband hast not known any other: therefore also the hand of the Lord hath strengthened thee, and therefore thou shalt be blessed for ever.

12. And all the people said: So be it, so be it

13. And thirty days were scarce sufficient for the people of Israel to gather up the spoils of the Assyrians.

14. But all those things that were proved to be the peculiar goods of Holofernes, they gave to Judith in gold, and silver, and garments and precious stones, and all household stuff, and they all were delivered to her by the people.

15. And all the people rejoiced, with the women, and virgins, and young men, playing on instruments and harps.

Chapter 16

1. Then Judith sung this canticle to the Lord, saying:

2. Begin ye to the Lord with timbrels, sing ye to the Lord with cymbals, tune unto him a new psalm, extol and call upon his name.

3. The Lord putteth an end to wars, the Lord is his name.

4. He hath set his camp in the midst of his people, to deliver us from the hand of all our enemies.

5. The Assyrians came out of the mountains from the north in the multitude of his strength: his multitude stopped up the torrents, and their horses covered the valleys.

6. He bragged that he would set my borders on fire, and kill my young men with the sword, to make my infants a prey, and my virgins captives.

7. But the almighty Lord hath struck him, and hath delivered him into the hands of a woman, and hath slain him.

8. For their mighty one did not fall by young men, neither did the sons of Titan strike him, nor tall giants oppose themselves to him, but Judith the daughter of Merari weakened him with the beauty of her face.

9. For she put off her the garments of widowhood, and put on her the garments of joy, to give joy to the children of Israel.

10. She anointed her face with ointment, and bound up her locks with a crown, she took a new robe to deceive him.

11. Her sandals ravished his eyes, her beauty made his soul her captive, with a sword she cut off his head.

12. The Persians quaked at her constancy, and the Medes at her boldness.

13. Then the camp of the Assyrians howled, when my lowly ones appeared, parched with thirst.

14. The sons of the damsels have pierced them through, and they have killed them like children fleeing away: they perished in battle before the face of the Lord my God.

15. Let us sing a hymn to the Lord, let us sing a new hymn to our God.

16. O Adonai, Lord, great art thou, and glorious in thy power, and no one can overcome thee.

17. Let all thy creatures serve thee: because thou hast spoken, and they were made: thou didst send forth thy spirit, and they were created, and there is no one that can resist thy voice.

18. The mountains shall be moved from the foundations with the waters: the rooks shall melt as wax before thy face.

19. But they that fear thee, shall be great with thee in all things.

20. Woe be to the nation that riseth up against my people: for the Lord almighty will take revenge on them, in the day of judgment he will visit them.

21. For he will give fire, and worms into their flesh, that they may burn, and may feel for ever.

22. And it came to pass after these things, that all the people, after the victory, came to Jerusalem to adore the Lord: and as soon as they were purified, they all offered holocausts, and vows, and their promises.

23. And Judith offered for an anathema of oblivion all the arms of Holofernes, which the people gave her, and the canopy that she had taken away out of his chamber.

24. And the people were joyful in the sight of the sanctuary, and for three months the joy of this victory was celebrated with Judith.

25. And after those days every man returned to his house, and Judith was made great in Bethulia, and she was most renowned in all the land of Israel.

26. And chastity was joined to her virtue, so that she knew no man all the days of her life, after the death of Manasses her husband.

27. And on festival days she came forth with great glory.

28. And she abode in her husband's house a hundred and five years, and made her handmaid free, and she died, and was buried with her husband in Bethulia.

29. And all the people mourned for seven days.

30. And all the time of her life there was none that troubled Israel, nor many years after her death.

31. But the day of the festivity of this victory is received by the Hebrews in the number of holy days, and is religiously observed by the Jews from that time until this day.

17. He that is a friend loveth at all times: and a brother is proved in distress.

18. A foolish man will clap hands, when he is surety for his friend.

19. He that studieth discords, loveth quarrels: and he that exalteth his door, seeketh ruin.

20. He that is of a perverse heart, shall not find good: and he that perverteth his tongue, shall fall into evil.