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Lamsa OT - Jeremiah
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1 ¶ THE words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, until the inhabitants of Jerusalem were carried captive in the fifth month.""
4 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5 Before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you came out of the womb I sanctified you and ordained you a prophet to the nations. 6 Then I said, I beseech thee, O LORD God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am but a child. 7 And the LORD said to me, Do not say, I am a child; for you shall go to all that I shall send you, and whatever I command you you shall speak. 8 Be not afraid of their presence; for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD. 9 Then the LORD put forth his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, and to overthrow and to destroy, to build and to plant.""
11 ¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. 12 Then the LORD said to me, You have well seen; for I will hasten my word to perform it. 13 And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, What do you see? And I said, I see a boiling caldron; and its face is toward the north. 14 Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, lo, I will send and I will call all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And I will utter my judgments against them, because of all their wickedness, for they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods and worshipped the works of their own hands. 17 Therefore gird up your loins, and arise and speak to all that I command you; be not afraid of them, lest I confound you before them. 18 For, behold, I have made you this day like a fortified city and like an iron pillar and like a brass fence against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against their princes, against their priests, against their prophets, and against all the people of the land. 19 And they shall fight with you; but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.""
2:1 ¶ MOREOVER the word of the LORD came upon me, saying, 2 Go and proclaim in the ears of the people of Jerusalem, and say, Thus says the LORD: I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your long-suffering; for you walked after me in the wilderness, in the land that was not sown. 3 Israel has sanctified to the LORD the first fruits of his crops; all those who embezzle them shall be condemned; evil shall come upon them, says the LORD. 4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: 5 Thus says the LORD: What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me and have walked after vanity and have profited nothing? 6 Neither did they say, Where is the LORD who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a waste and depressed land, through a desolate land and a land of the shadow of death, a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwells? 7 And I brought you into a land of plenty, to eat its fruit and its goodness; but when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. 8 The priests did not say, Where is the LORD? And those who handle the law did not know me; the leaders also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after things that do not profit.""
9 ¶ Therefore I will yet contend with you, says the LORD; and with your children’s children I will contend. 10 For cross over to the islands of China and see; and send to Kedar, and understand diligently, and see if there ever has been such a thing as this. 11 Have the Gentiles changed their gods, which are not gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. 12 Be astonished, O heavens, at this, and tremble and be exceedingly afraid, says the LORD. 13 For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and they went and dug for themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water.""
14 ¶ Is Israel a servant? If he is a homeborn heir, why then is he plundered? 15 The lions have roared against him, and growled, and they made his land waste; his villages have become desolate without inhabitants. 16 Also certain rulers of the inhabitants of Memphis and Tahapanes shall rule over you. 17 Behold, such shall be done unto you, because you have forsaken the LORD your God, at a time when he led you in his way. 18 And now, why is it that you go in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? And why is it that you go in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river (Euphrates)? 19 Your own evil shall chastise you, and your repentance shall reprove .you; know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, for you have forsaken the LORD your God, and you have not revered me, says the LORD God of hosts.""
20 ¶ For of old time I have broken your yoke and cut your bands; and you said, I shall never serve another god again; and behold, now upon every high hill and under every green tree you wander, playing the harlot. 21 Yet I had planted you a good vine, wholly a right seed; why then have you turned against me and have become degenerate like a plant of a strange vine? 22 For though you wash yourself with nitre and use much sulphur, yet your sins within you are marked before me, says the LORD God. 23 How can you say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baal? See your ways in the valleys, and know what you have done: you have lifted up your voice, O you perverse in her ways; 24 You are like a wild ass which is untrained in the wilderness and follows her own will; you have snuffed up the wind, who can bring you back? Whoever seeks her shall weary himself, he shall find her only by means of her footprints. 25 Your feet are weary because they are unshod, and your throat is dry from thirst; but you said, I have become strong, I am unwilling to repent because I have loved strangers, and after them I will go. 26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so the children of Israel are ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, 27 Who say to a piece of wood, You are our father; and to a stone, You have brought us forth; for they have turned their backs upon me and not their faces; but in the time of their trouble, they say, Arise and save us. 28 But where are your gods that you have made for yourself? Let them arise and save you in the time of your trouble; for according to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah.""
29 ¶ Why then do you contend with me? You all have transgressed against me, says the LORD. 30 In vain have I smitten your children; they have received no discipline; the sword has devoured your prophets like a destroying lion. 31 As for you, O generation, hear the word of the LORD. Have I been like a wilderness to Israel? Or a waste land? Wherefore then say my people, We are humiliated; we will come no more to you? 32 Can a maid forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. 33 Why do you deck yourself to induce love? For behold you have also learned evil by means of your conduct. 34 Also on your hands is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents; I have not found it by hard search, for it is under every tree. 35 Yet you say, Because I am innocent, therefore he will turn his anger from me. Behold, I will contend with you, because you have said, I have not sinned. 36 Why do you gad about so much to change your ways? You shall also be ashamed of Egypt, even as you were ashamed of Assyria. 37 Yea, you shall go forth from him humiliated; for the LORD is angry against those upon whom you have put your trust, and you shall not prosper with them.""
3:1 ¶ IF a man put away his wife, and she go from him and become another man’s wife, and he return to her again, behold, the land shall be defiled. But you have committed adultery with many rulers; return again to me, says the LORD. 2 Lift up your eyes to the highways, and see if there is a place where you have not defiled yourself. In the roads you have sat waiting for them, like an ostrich in the wilderness; and you have polluted the land with your whoredom. 3 And because of your wickedness the showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain; and you have become shameless like a whore, you have refused to be reproved. 4 Behold, now you say to me, My father, and thou art foster mother of my childhood. 5 Will God reserve his anger for ever? Or will he keep it to the end? Behold, you have spoken, and have done evil things beyond measure.""
6 ¶ The LORD said to me in the days of King Josiah, Have you seen the thing which she who dwells in Israel has done? She has gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there has played the harlot. 7 And I said after she had done all these things, Return to me, but she did not return. And her perverseness was seen by her sister Judah. 8 And she saw all Israel’s evil-doings. And because the inhabitants of Israel committed adultery, I had put her away and given a bill of divorce; yet her perverse sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. 9 And her whoredom was so excessive that she defiled the land and committed adultery with idols of stone and wood, 10 And yet, for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not returned to me with her whole heart, but only with falsehood, says the LORD. 11 And the LORD said to me, The inhabitant of Israel has justified herself more than her perverse sister Judah.""
12 ¶ Go proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Repent, O you inhabitant of Israel, says the LORD; and I will not be severe against you; for I am good, says the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. 13 Only acknowledge your iniquity, for you have sinned against the LORD your God, and have scattered your evil practices to the strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed my voice, says the LORD. 14 Repent, O backsliding children, says the LORD; for I was pleased with you; and took one person of you from every town and two from every family, and I brought you to Zion. 15 And I will give you rulers according to my own heart, who will govern you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And it shall come to pass when you have multiplied and increased in the land in those days, says the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD; neither shall it come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall that ritual be performed any more. 17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall look up to the name of the LORD; neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to their fathers. 19 And I said, I will consider you as children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations; and I said, You shall call me, My father, and shall not turn away from me.""
20 ¶ Surely as a wife lies about her lover, so has the house of Israel lied against me, says the LORD. 21 A voice was heard on the highways, the weeping and supplications of the children of Israel; for they have perverted their ways, and they have forsaken the LORD their God. 22 Repent, O you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings; and say, Behold, we are yours; for thou art the LORD our God. 23 Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills and from fortified mountains; truly, in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. 24 For shame has devoured the labor of our fathers from their childhood, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us; for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.""
4:1 ¶ IF you will repent, O Israel, says the LORD, return to me; and if you will put away your abominations from my presence, then you shall not be carried away. 2 And you shall swear, The LORD liveth in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the Gentiles shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.""
3 ¶ For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Light your lamp; and sow not among thorns. 4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath come forth like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.""
5 ¶ Declare in Judah and publish in Jerusalem, and say, Blow the trumpet in the land; cry with a loud voice and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities. 6 Set up the standard toward Zion; be strong, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. 7 A powerful king is come up like a lion from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he has gone forth from his country to make your land desolate; and your cities shall be laid waste without an inhabitant. 8 For this gird yourself with sackcloth, mourn and lament; for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from you. 9 And it shall come to pass at that day, says the LORD, that the hearts of kings shall fail, and the hearts of princes; and the priests shall be astonished and the prophets shall wonder. 10 Then I said, I beseech thee, O LORD God, surely I have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem; for I have said, You shall have peace; and behold, the sword reaches into the soul. 11 At that time it shall be said to this people and to Jerusalem, As a changing wind in the paths of the wilderness is the way of the daughter of my people, useful neither to fan, nor to cleanse, 12 But a strong wind from those places shall come to me; now also I will pronounce judgment against them. 13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! for we are plundered. 14 O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness that you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts remain in you? 15 For a voice declares from Dan and proclaims affliction from mount Ephraim. 16 Make mention to the nations and publish to Jerusalem, Behold, multitudes of Gentiles are coming from a far country, and they shall shout against the cities of Judah. 17 As keepers of the fields are they against her around about, because she has been rebellious against me, says the LORD. 18 Your ways and your doings have brought these things upon you; this is your wickedness; it is bitter, it has reached to your heart.""
19 ¶ I am in pain! I am in pain! I suffer in my heart; my heart throbs within me, and does not cease, because my soul has heard the sound of the trumpet and the shouting of war. 20 Destruction shall come upon destruction; for the whole land is plundered; suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains are fallen down. 21 How long shall I see fugitives and hear the sound of the trumpet? 22 For my people are foolish; they have not known me; they are stupid children, and they have no understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. 23 I looked on the earth, and, lo, it was without form and void; and on the heavens, and they had no light. 24 And I looked on the mountains, and, to, they trembled and all the hills were shattered. 25 I looked, and, behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled. 26 I looked, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all its towns were destroyed at the presence of the LORD and before his fierce anger. 27 For thus says the LORD God, The whole land shall be desolate; yet I will not make a full end. 28 For this the earth shall mourn and the heavens above shall be darkened; because of everything that I have spoken; I have purposed it and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. 29 Because of the noise of the horsemen and bowmen, the whole city has fled; enter into the forests and climb up upon the rocks; all towns are deserted and no man dwells therein: 30 And you that are plundered, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with crimson, though you deck yourself with ornaments of gold, though you paint your eyes with kohl, in vain shall you make yourself fair; your lovers have left you and they seek your life. 31 For I have heard a voice as of a sick woman, and the anguish as of a woman who is in travail to bring forth her child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, who is wearied and who spreads her hands, saying. Woe is me! for my soul faints because of my men who are slain.""
5:1 ¶ RUN to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now and know, and search in its broad places, if you can find a man, if there is any that executes justice, that seeks truth; and I will pardon them. 2 And though they say, The LORD lives; truly they swear falsely. 3 O LORD, thine eyes are upon the truth; thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction; they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to repent. 4 Therefore I said, It is because they are poor; they have gone astray, for they do not know the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God. 5 I will go to the princes and will speak to them; for they have known the way of the LORD and the judgment of their God; but truly they have altogether broken the yoke; they have burst the bonds. 6 Therefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them and hungry wolves of the evening shall tear them in pieces; a leopard shall lie in wait over their cities; every one that goes out thence shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are multiplied and become so strong that they will not repent. 7 How shall I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by those that are no gods; when I had fed them until they were satisfied, they then committed adultery, and they fought one another in the harlots’ houses. 8 They were wanton like stallions, every one lusting after his neighbor’s wife. 9 Shall I not punish them for these things? says the LORD; and shall I not avenge myself on such a people as this?""
10 ¶ Go up upon her walls and destroy; but make not a full end; spare her foundations, for they belong to the LORD. 11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, says the LORD. 12 They have lied against the LORD and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: 13 And the prophets shall become a whirlwind and will have nothing to say; thus shall it be done to them. 14 Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, Because you speak this word, behold, I will make my words fire in your mouth, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. 15 Lo, I will bring a nation against you, a people from afar, O house of Israel, says the LORD; it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a people whose language you do not know; neither can you understand what they say. 16 Their quiver is like an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. 17 And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread, which your sons and your daughters should eat; they shall eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; they shall impoverish with the sword your fortified cities in which you trust. 18 Nevertheless in those days, says the LORD, I will not make a full end of you. 19 And it shall come to pass, when you shall say, Why does the LORD our God do all these things to us? Then you shall say to them, Thus says the LORD. Because you have forsaken me and served strange gods in your land, so you shall serve strangers in a land that is not yours.""
20 ¶ Declare this in the house of Jacob and publish it in Judah, saying, 21 Hear now this, O foolish people who have no understanding, who have eyes and see not, who have ears and hear not: 22 Do you not revere me? says the LORD, and will you not tremble at my presence? I have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual ordinance, that it cannot overflow; though the waves roar, yet they cannot prevail; and though they toss, yet they cannot pass over it. 23 But this people has a contentious and rebellious heart; they have revolted and gone astray. 24 Neither do they say in their heart, Let us now worship the LORD our God, who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season, who preserves for us the summer crops for the winter.""
25 ¶ Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withheld good things from you. 26 For among my people are found wicked men; they have laid snares like hedges that they may catch men with them. 27 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit; 28 Therefore they have become great and rich and have perverted judgment; they do not execute justice, and they do not judge aright the cause of the orphan; and the cause of the needy they did not judge. 29 Shall I not punish for these things? says the LORD; shall I not avenge myself on such a people as this? 30 An astonishing and horrible thing is committed in the land: 31 The prophets prophesy falsely and the priests have supported them; and my people love to have it so; and what will you do at the end?""
6:1 ¶ O CHILDREN of Benjamin, flee out of the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet and set up a standard in Beth-keram; for I am bringing a calamity out of the north, and great destruction. 2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman. 3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come to her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place. 4 Prepare war against her; and say, Arise, let us go up at noon. Woe to us! for the day is spent, and the shadows of the evening are lengthened. 5 Arise, and let us go up against her by night, and let us destroy her palaces. 6 For thus says the LORD of hosts, Hew down her trees and cast a mound against Jerusalem; this is the city to be visited with destruction; all of her calumnies are in the midst of her. 7 As a cistern that gathers its water, so has she gathered her wickedness; violence and plunder are heard in her; before me continually are grief and wounds. 8 Be chastised, O Jerusalem, lest my soul abhor you; lest I make you desolate like an uninhabited land.""
9 ¶ Thus says the LORD of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine; turn back your hand as a grape gatherer when he gleans the grapes. 10 To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are dull and they cannot hear; behold, the word of the LORD is to them a reproach; they have no delight in it. 11 Therefore you are full of the fury of the LORD, and you are weary; I will measure and then I will pour it out upon the children in the streets and upon the assembly of young men together; for even the husbands and wives shall be taken, the old men with the infants. 12 Their houses shall be given to others, with their fields and wives together; for I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land, says the LORD. 13 For from the least of them even to the greatest of them every one commits treachery; and from the false prophets even to the priests every one of them deals falsely. 14 And yet they try to heal the wound of the daughter of my people mockingly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace. 15 Now they are ashamed because they had committed abomination, but the impudent are not ashamed at all, neither do they know what chastisement is; therefore they shall fall among them that fall; at the time that I visit them with punishment they shall be overthrown, says the LORD. 16 Thus says the LORD, Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths and see where is the good way, and walk in it and find rest for your souls. But you said, We will not walk therein. 17 Also I set watchmen over you, so that you might hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But you said, We will not hearken.""
18 ¶ Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, the deceit that is among them. 19 Hear, O earth! Behold, I will bring evil upon this people according to the fruits of their imaginations, because they have not hearkened to my words, and my law they have rejected. 20 To what purpose do you bring to me incense from Sheba and the cane of sweet incense from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable to me, nor do your sacrifices please me. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; and the neighbor and his friend shall perish. 22 Thus said the LORD, Behold, a people is coming from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the ends of the earth. 23 They shall be armed with bows and spears; they are cruel and have no mercy; their voices roar like the sea; and they ride upon horses set in array as men for war against you, O daughter of Zion. 24 We have heard the report of them; our hands wax feeble; anguish has taken hold of us, and pain as of a woman in travail. 25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemies is on every side. 26 O daughter of my people, gird yourself with sackcloth and wallow in ashes; make for yourself mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the plunderers shall suddenly come upon you. 27 I have set you as a seer among my great people, that you may know and understand their ways. 28 Their rulers are all rebellious, walking treacherously; like brass and iron, they are corruptible. 29 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed by their fire; the refiner purges in vain; for their evil does not come out. 30 Rejected silver, they are called, because the LORD has rejected them.""
7:1 ¶ THE word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all the house of Judah who enter in these gates to worship the LORD. 3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 Do not trust in the lying words of those who say to you, The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD. 5 For if you amend your ways and your doings, you are the temple of the LORD; if you execute justice between a man and his neighbor; 6 If you do not defraud and oppress the strangers, the fatherless, and the widows, and do not shed innocent blood in this country, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: 7 Then I will cause you to dwell in this country, in the land that I gave to your fathers for ever and ever. 8 Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. 9 Indeed you are thieves, you are murderers, and you commit adultery and swear falsely and burn incense to Baal and walk after other gods whom you know not; 10 And then you come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, Deliver us; and yet you do all these evils. 11 Is this house which is called by my name become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, says the LORD. 12 Therefore go now to my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 And now, because you have done all these works, says the LORD, and I warned you in advance and spoke to you, but you did not listen; and I called you, but you did not answer; 14 Therefore I will do to this house which is called by my name, in which you trust, and to this city which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even all the descendants of Ephraim.""
16 ¶ Therefore do not pray for this people, neither supplicate for them nor make intercession to me; for I will not hear you. 17 Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood and the fathers kindle the fire and the women knead dough to make cakes to the queen of heaven and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. 19 It is not I that they provoke, says the LORD, but they provoke themselves so that they may be ashamed. 20 Therefore thus says the LORD God, Behold, my anger and my wrath shall be poured out upon this country, upon men and upon beasts and upon the trees of the field and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn and shall not be quenched.""
21 ¶ Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat which I did not command your fathers to eat. 22 Neither did I command them concerning either burnt offerings or sacrifices in the day when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; 23 But this thing I commanded them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God and you shall be my people; and walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you. 24 But they did not listen nor incline their ear to hear, but they walked in their own counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward. 25 From the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt to this day I have sent to them all my servants the prophets, daily. 26 I sent them in advance to warn them; but they did not listen nor incline their ear toward me, but hardened their necks more than their fathers. 27 Therefore you shall speak all these words to them; but they will not hearken to you; you shall also call to them; but they will not answer you. 28 Truth is perished and is cut off from their mouth.""
29 ¶ Cut off your hair, Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high ways; for the LORD is angry and has forsaken this passing generation. 30 For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, says the LORD; they have set their abomination in the house which is called by my name and they have polluted it. 31 And they have built altars by the Taphat (stream) which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither did I think of it. 32 Therefore, behold, the days come, says the LORD, that it shall no more be called Taphat, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter; for they shall bury in the stream for the lack of ground. 33 And the corpses of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the air and for the beasts of the earth; and there will be no deliverer. 34 Then I shall cause to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for all the land shall become desolate.""
8:1 ¶ AT that time, says the LORD, they shall bring out of their graves the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of their princes and the bones of their priests, and the bones of their prophets and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 2 And they shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought and which they have worshipped; they shall not be gathered nor be buried; but they shall be like rubbish upon the face of the ground. 3 And they shall choose death rather than life, all the remnant of them that remain of this evil family, in all countries where I have driven them, says the LORD of hosts.""
4 ¶ Moreover you shall say to them, Thus says the LORD: They shall fall and not arise; and even if they would try to repent, they will not do so. 5 Why then is this people of Jerusalem perpetually backsliding? They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to repent. 6 I have given ear and heard, but they did not speak aright; no one repented of his evil, saying, What have I done? All of them walk according to their own will, as a horse that rushes into the battle. 7 Yea, the stork in the sky knows her appointed times; and the turtle-dove and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD. 8 How do you say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, surely the lying pen of the scribes has made it for falsehood. 9 The wise men are ashamed, they are defeated and caught because they have rejected the word of the LORD, and there is no wisdom in them. 10 Therefore I will give their wives to others and their fields as a spoil; for every one from the least even to the greatest deals treachery, from the prophet even unto the priest every one deals falsehood. 11 And they try to heal the wound of the daughter of my people mockingly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace. 12 Now they are ashamed because they have committed abomination, but the impudent are not at all ashamed, neither do they know what chastisement is. Therefore they fall among the fallen; in the time of their punishment they shall be overthrown, says the LORD.""
13 ¶ I will surely consume them, says the LORD; there are no grapes on the vine nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaves are fallen down; and the things that I have given them are passed away from them. 14 And they shall say, Why do we dwell here? Let us gather together and let us enter into the fortified cities and let us be silent there; for the LORD our God has silenced us and has given us bitter water to drink because we have sinned against the LORD. 15 We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and behold distress has befallen us! 16 The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan; the whole land trembled at the sound of the cry of his mighty men; for they are come and have devoured the land and all that is in it, the city, and those who dwell in it. 17 For, behold, I will send ferocious serpents among you, which cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you, says the LORD. 18 I am weary with sorrow, my heart is faint in me. 19 Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people who dwell in a far land; for they say, Is not the LORD in Zion? Is not her king in her? For they have provoked me to anger with their graven images and with strange idols. 20 The harvest is past, the grapes are gathered, and we are not saved. 21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am sorrowful, and astonishment has seized me. 22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no healer a there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people restored?""
9:1 ¶ OH that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! 2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people and go away from them! For they are all adulterers, an assembly of liars. 3 And they bend their tongues like their bow; in falsehood and not in truth they are valiant upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, says the LORD. 4 Take heed every one of his neighbor and do not trust in any brother; for every brother henceforth will defraud and every neighbor will walk deceitfully. 5 And every man will lie against his neighbor and will not speak the truth; they have taught their tongues to speak lies, they are weary and worn out. 6 Your habitation is in the midst of deceit; through their deceit they refuse to know me, says the LORD. 7 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will refine them and try them; for what else shall I do because of the daughter of my people? 8 Their tongue is a sharp pointed arrow; it speaks deceit; one speaks peacefully to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he lies in wait for him. 9 Shall I not punish them for these things? says the LORD; shall I not avenge myself on a people such as this? 10 Take up weeping and wailing for the mountains and a lamentation for the camps of the shepherds in the wilderness, because they are desolate so that none can pass through them; neither can any one hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the air and the beast have fled and they are gone. 11 And I will make Jerusalem heaps and a den of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate without an inhabitant.""
12 ¶ Who is the wise man that may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it, why is the land perished and become desolate like a wilderness so that no one passes through it? 13 And the LORD says, Because they have forsaken my law which I gave to them and to their fathers, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked according to my warnings; 14 But have followed after the imagination of their own evil heart and after the idols which their fathers taught them; 15 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood and give them bitter water to drink. 16 I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send a sword after them till I have consumed them. 17 Thus says the LORD of hosts, Call for the mourning women that they may come; and send for women versed in lamentations that they may come; 18 And let them make haste and take up lamentations for us, so that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters. 19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, saying, How are we plundered! We are greatly ashamed, because we have left the land, because our tents are dismantled. 20 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, O women, and let your ears receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters lamentations, and every one to her neighbor a melody. 21 For death is come up into our windows and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from the streets and the young men from the broad ways. 22 For thus says the LORD, The carcasses of men shall fall as rubbish upon the open field and as the grass after the reaper, and none shall gather them.""
23 ¶ Thus says the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, and let not the rich man glory in his riches; 24 But let him who glories glory in this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who executes lovingkindness, justice and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the LORD. 25 Behold, the days come, says the LORD, that I will punish all those who are circumcised together with the uncircumcised; 26 Egyptians and Jews and Edomites, and the children of Ammon and Moab, and all those who cut their beards, who dwell in the wilderness; for all these nations are uncircumcised in their flesh, and all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.""
10:1 ¶ HEAR the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel: 2 Thus says the LORD, Learn not the way of the Gentiles and be not afraid of the signs of heaven; for the Gentiles are dismayed at them. 3 For the gods of the Gentiles are nothing; they are cut from a tree in the forest, the work of the hands of a carpenter, things made with a plane. 4 They are decked with silver and with gold; men fasten them with hammers and nails, so that they may not fall apart. 5 They are set up straight as palm trees, but they do not speak; they must be carried, for they cannot walk. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither can they do good. 6 There is no one like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. 7 Who would not revere thee, O King of nations? For to thee belongs the kingdom; for among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like thee. 8 But altogether the vain doctrines of wooden image worship shall be utterly destroyed and consumed. 9 Fine silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Ophir; they are the work of the carpenter and of the hands of the silversmith; blue and purple is their clothing; they are woven by cunning men. 10 But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King; at his anger the earth trembles, and the nations shall not be able to endure his indignation. 11 Thus shall you say to them: The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens. 12 The LORD has made the earth by his power; he has established the world by his wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens by his intelligence. 13 He causes the sound of roaring of waters that are in the heavens, and he causes the clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth; he makes lightnings for the rain, and brings forth the wind out of his treasure house. 14 Every man has acted foolishly because of lack of knowledge; all those who work in gold are ashamed because of the graven images which they made; for molten images are falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 15 They are vanity, and the work of vain folly; in the time when they are visited with punishment, they shall perish. 16 The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he who has created all things is their portion; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; The LORD of hosts is his name.""
17 ¶ Gather up your disgrace from the land, O inhabitant who dwells in distress. 18 For thus says the LORD, Behold, I will perplex the inhabitants of this land at this very time, so that they may seek me and find me. 19 Woe to me for my hurt! my wound is grievous; but I said, Truly this is my grief and I must bear it. 20 My tabernacle is plundered and all its cords are cut off; my children have left me, and they are not; there is no one to pitch my tent again and to set up my curtains. 21 For the shepherds have misbehaved, and have not sought the LORD; and because they did not prosper, all of their flocks have been scattered. 22 Behold, the noise of the report is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate and a den of jackals. 23 I know that the ways of the LORD are not like the ways of men; he does not walk as a man directing his steps. 24 O LORD, correct me justly, and not in thy anger, lest thou bring me to nothing. 25 Pour out thy wrath upon the nations who do not know thee and upon the families that call not on thy name; for they have devoured Jacob, yea, they have devoured him and consumed him and have made his habitation desolate.""
11:1 ¶ THE word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3 And you shall say to them. Thus says the LORD God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not obey the words of this covenant 4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Hearken to my voice and do all that I command you; so shall you be my people, and I will be your God; 5 That I may perform the oaths which I have sworn to your fathers to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then I answered and said, So be it, O LORD. 6 Then the LORD said to me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I have solemnly testified against your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even to this day; I sent messengers in advance, warning them, saying, Obey my voice. 8 But they neither obeyed nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of his evil heart; therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to obey, but they did not. 9 And the LORD said to me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They are turned back to the iniquities of their fathers and have refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have nullified my covenant which I made with their fathers.""
11 ¶ Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring evil upon them which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry to me, I will not hearken to them. 12 Then shall the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem go and cry to the gods to whom they had offered incense; but they shall not save them at all in the time of their misfortune. 13 For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem you have set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense to Baal. 14 Therefore pray not for this people, neither offer a supplication or prayer for them; for I will not hearken to them in the time that they call to me, in the time of their misfortune. 15 Why has my beloved wrought so much lewdness in my temple? Therefore the holy meat shall pass away from you, for your evil is exceedingly increased. 16 The LORD called your name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit; but now with the noise of a great condemnation he has kindled fire upon it, and its branches are destroyed. 17 For the LORD of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense to Baal.""
18 ¶ The LORD has revealed it to me, and I know it: truly thou hast shown me their works. 19 But I was like an innocent lamb that is brought to the slaughter; and I did not know that they had conspired against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name may not be remembered. 20 But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously, who knows what is in the heart and mind, let me see thy vengeance on them; for to thee have I revealed my cause. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth who seek your life, saying, Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, that you may not die by our hands: 22 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them; their young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine: 23 And there shall be no remnant of them; for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their punishment.""
12:1 ¶ RIGHTEOUS art thou. O LORD, when I plead with thee; yet let me talk of justice before thee. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are all the treacherous men rich? 2 Thou hast planted them; yea, their roots have become strong; they grow, they bring forth fruit; thou art near in their mouth, and far from their hearts. 3 But thou, O LORD, knowest me; thou hast seen me and tried my heart before thee; prepare them like sheep for the slaughter, and invite them for the day of destruction. 4 How long shall the land mourn and all herbs of the field wither for the wickedness of those who dwell therein? The cattle and the birds are consumed because wicked men have said, We shall not see an end. 5 If you have run with footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you run with horses? And if on the level land, where you have confidence, they have wearied you, then how will you cross the raging Jordan? 6 For since your brethren and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously against you; yea, they also have gossiped about you; believe them not when they speak well of you.""
7 ¶ I have forsaken my house, I have left my heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. 8 My heritage has become to me as a lion in the forest; it cries out against me; therefore I have hated it. 9 My heritage has become to me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; go, assemble all the wild beasts of the field, bring them to devour her. 10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion as a desolate wilderness. 11 They have made it desolate and destroyed it, and now being desolate, it cries out to me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man lays the law to heart. 12 The robbers are come upon all highways in the wilderness; for the sword of the LORD devours from one end of the land even to the other: no flesh shall have peace. 13 They have sown wheat, but they shall reap thorns; they have labored hard, but they shall not profit; and they shall be ashamed of their crops because of the fierce anger of the LORD.""
14 ¶ Thus says the LORD: Against all neighboring shepherds, who touch the inheritance which I have given to my people Israel to possess; behold, I will remove them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage and every man to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently teach my ways to my people, to swear by my name, As the LORD lives (as they taught them to swear by the name of Baal), then they shall dwell in the midst of my people. 17 But if they will not obey, then I will utterly pluck up and destroy this people, says the LORD.""
13:1 ¶ THUS says the LORD unto me, Go and buy for yourself a linen girdle, and put it on your loins, and do not put it in water. 2 So I bought a girdle according to the word of the LORD and put it on my loins. 3 And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, 4 Take the girdle which you have bought, and which is upon your loins, and arise, go to the Euphrates and bury it there in a hole of the rock. 5 So I went and buried it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. 6 And it came to pass after many days that the LORD said to me, Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from thence the girdle which I commanded you to bury there. 7 Then I went to the Euphrates and dug and took the girdle from the place where I had buried it; and, behold, the girdle was rotted and was good for nothing. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: In this manner will I destroy the proud men of Judah and the proud men of Jerusalem that are many. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who walk in the imagination of their heart, and have gone after other gods to serve them and to worship them, shall be even as this girdle which is good for nothing. 11 For as the girdle cleaves to the loins of a man, so I have caused to cleave to me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, says the LORD; that they might be to me for a people and for a name and for a praise and for a glory; but they would not hearken.""
12 ¶ Therefore you shall speak to them this word: Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Every wineskin shall be filled with wine; and they shall say to you, Do we not know that every wineskin shall be filled with wine? 13 Then you shall say to them, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David’s throne and the priests and the prophets and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. 14 And I will scatter them and separate them every man from his brother, even fathers and their children together, says the LORD; I will not pity, nor have mercy, nor spare, but destroy them. 15 Hear and give ear; be not proud, for the LORD has spoken. 16 Give glory to the LORD your God before it becomes dark, and before your feet are injured upon the mountains in the darkness, and, while you look for light, he turns it into darkness and the shadows of death. 17 But if you will not hearken to him, then my soul shall weep in secret because of distress; and I will weep bitterly, and tears shall run down from my eyes because the LORD’S flock is carried away captive. 18 Say to the king and to the princes, Humble yourselves and repent, for the crown of your glory has fallen from your heads. 19 The cities of the south are shut up, and there is no one to open them; Judah is carried away captive, yea, is wholly carried away captive. 20 Lift up your eyes and see those that come from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful flock? 21 What will you say when he shall punish you? For you have taught the people a doctrine which has caused them to be trodden under foot; behold, you shall be seized with pain as a woman in travail.""
22 ¶ And if you say in your heart, Why have these things come upon me? For the greatness of your iniquity are your skirts uncovered and your heels made bare. 23 Just as a Hindu cannot change his skin or a leopard his spots, you also cannot do good because you are accustomed to do evil. 24 Therefore I will scatter them like the stubble driven by the wind in the wilderness. 25 This is your lot, the portion of your inheritance from me, says the LORD; because you have forgotten me and trusted in falsehood. 26 Therefore I also will cause your skirts to be uncovered and lifted over your face, and your shame shall be seen. 27 I have seen your adulteries and your lusts, the lewdness of your whoredom and your abominations on the hills in the wilderness. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! for you are unwilling to be cleansed. How long will it be till you repent?""
14:1 ¶ THE word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought. 2 Judah mourns and her gates are desolate; they are fallen on the ground, and the painful cry of Jerusalem is gone up. 3 And their nobles have sent their least ones for water; they came to the cistern, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads. 4 Because of the evil deeds of the land, the ground is parched, no rain has fallen upon it; the farmers are ashamed, they covered their heads. 5 Yea, the hinds also gave birth in the field, and forsook their young ones because there was no grass. 6 And the wild asses stood in the paths, they snuffed up the wind like jackals; their eyes did fail because there was no grass. 7 Though our sins testify against us, O LORD have mercy upon us for thy name’s sake; for thy lovingkindness is great; we have sinned against thee. 8 O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in the time of trouble, be thou not as a stranger in the land and as a wayfarer who turns aside to tarry for a night. 9 Be thou not as a weak man, as a man who cannot save; yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.""
10 ¶ Thus says the LORD to this people: They have loved to be unreliable, they have not restrained their feet from going after evil; therefore the LORD is not pleased with them; he will now remember their iniquity and punish their sins. 11 Then the LORD said to me, Do not pray for this people for their good. 12 For if they fast, I will not hear their prayer; and if they offer burnt offerings and an oblation, I will not accept them; but I will consume them by the sword and by famine and by pestilence. 13 Then I said, Hear me, I beseech thee, O LORD God! Behold, the prophets say to the people, You shall not see the sword, neither shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace and justice in this country. 14 Then the LORD said to me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: for I did not send them, neither have I commanded them nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you false visions, oracles and divinations and the deceit of their hearts; 15 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, and I did not send them; yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land: By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of sword and famine and pestilence; and they shall have none to bury them, neither their wives nor their sons nor their daughters; for I will pour out their wickedness upon them.""
17 ¶ Therefore you shall say this word to them: Let my eyes run down with tears night and day and let them not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has suffered a terrible defeat; she is smitten with a very grievous wound. 18 If I go forth into the desert, then behold, the slain with the sword! And if I enter into the city, then behold, those who are suffering with famine! For also both the prophets and the priests are begging in the land unrecognized. 19 Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? Hast thy soul loathed Zion? Why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold fear! 20 We acknowledge, O LORD, our sins and the sins of our fathers; for we have sinned against thee. 21 Do not be angry, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory; remember, do not nullify thy covenant with us. 22 For the gods of the Gentiles cannot bring rain nor cause the heavens to give showers, but thou art our God; therefore we will wait for thee; for thou hast made all these things.""
15:1 ¶ THEN the LORD said to me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading, yet my soul would not be pleased with this people; but I will cast them out of my sight and let them go. 2 And it shall come to pass, if they say to you, Where shall we go? Then you shall tell them, Thus says the LORD: Those numbered for death, to death; and those numbered for the sword, to the sword; and those numbered for famine, to famine; and those numbered for captivity, to captivity. 3 And I will decree against them four kinds of afflictions, says the LORD: The sword to slay, the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the air and the wild beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 And I will cause them to be a horror in all the kingdoms of the earth, because of the transgressions of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. 5 For who shall have pity upon you, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan you? or who shall go aside to inquire about your peace? 6 You have forsaken me, says the LORD, you are gone backward; therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and destroy you; and I shall not spare you again. 7 And I will fan them with a fan in the cities of the earth; I have bereaved them of their children. I have destroyed my people, and yet they did not return from their ways. 8 Their widows are increased in number more than the sand of the sea; I have brought against them, both against the mother and against the young men, robbers at noonday; I have caused terror and trembling to fall upon them suddenly. 9 She who has borne seven children languishes; her pride is gone; her sun has gone down while it was yet day; she has been ashamed and confounded; and the rest of them I will deliver to the sword before their enemies, says the LORD.""
10 ¶ Woe is me, my mother, that you have borne me a judge, a rebuker to the whole earth. I am neither a debtor, nor a creditor; yet all of them curse me. 11 The LORD said, Verily I shall not leave you at ease, but I will cause an enemy from the north to encounter you in the time of tribulation and in the time of evil; 12 For he is hard as iron and as brass. 13 Your riches, your treasures, and all your borders, I will give to the spoil, because of your sins. 14 And I shall cause you to be enslaved to your enemies in a land which you do not know; for a fire is kindled in my anger, which shall burn upon you.""
15 ¶ O LORD, thou knowest; remember me and save me and avenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering; know that for thy sake I have suffered reproach. 16 Thy commandments have I kept and carried out, thy word was to me a delight and the joy of my heart; for I am called by thy name. 17 O LORD God of hosts, I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, but I was afraid because of thy hand, and I sat alone; for thou hast filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my pain so grievous and my wound so severe that it refuses to be healed? Wilt thou be to me as a mirage that cannot be believed? 19 Therefore thus says the LORD, If you repent, then I will bring you back again, and you shall stand before me; and if you bring forth the precious words and not the vile, you shall be as my mouth, says the LORD; the people shall turn to you; but you shall not turn to them. 20 I have made you to this people as a fortified wall of brass; and they shall fight against you. but they shall not prevail; for I am with you to save you and to deliver you, says the LORD. 21 And I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked, and I will save you from the hand of the mighty.""
16:1 ¶ THE word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 You shall not take a wife for yourself, neither shall you have sons or daughters in this place. 3 For thus says the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them, and their fathers who begat them in this land; 4 They shall die the death of those who are ravaged by famine; they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as refuse upon the face of the earth; and they shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be food for the fowls of the air and for the beasts of the earth. 5 For thus says the LORD, Do not enter into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them; for I have taken away my peace from the people, says the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies. 6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land; they shall not be buried, neither shall any one mourn for them or lament for them, or shave his head for them; 7 Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their fathers or for their mothers. 8 You shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them to eat and to drink. 9 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.""
10 ¶ And it shall come to pass, when you tell this people all these words, and they shall say to you, Why has the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity, or what is our sin that we have sinned against the LORD our God? 11 That you shall say to them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, says the LORD, and have walked after other gods and have served them and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law, 12 And you have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, you walk away every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that you may not hearken to me; 13 Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land which you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; there you shall serve other gods day and night; and I will have no compassion upon you.""
14 ¶ Now, behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when it shall no more be said, The LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 15 But, the LORD lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where I had driven them; and I will bring them again into their land which I gave to their fathers. 16 Behold, I will send for many fishers, says the LORD, and they shall fish them from islands; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and from every hill and out of the holes of the rocks. 17 For my eyes are upon all their ways; they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from my eyes. 18 And first I will doubly recompense them for their iniquities and their sins; because they have defiled my land with burnt offerings of their idols and have filled my inheritance with their abominations. 19 O LORD, my strength and my helper and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come to thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely the idols of falsehood which our fathers have inherited are nothing, and there is no profit in them. 20 Behold, men make gods to themselves, and they are no gods. 21 Therefore, behold, I will show them, and at this time I will make known to them my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is the LORD.""
17:1 ¶ THE sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron and with the point of a diamond; it is engraved upon the tablets of their heart and upon the horns of their altars; 2 And their idols are under every green tree and upon every high hill and upon the mountains and in the open country. 3 I will give all your riches, all your treasures to the spoil, and that which is throughout your territory, because of your sins. 4 And I will cause you to lose the inheritance which I have given you; and I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land which you do riot know; for you have kindled a fire in my anger, which shall burn for ever.""
5 ¶ Thus says the LORD, Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes the son of the flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like a plant in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness in a salt land not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is in him. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, that spreads out its roots by the stream, and it shall not be afraid when heat comes, but its leaves shall be green; and shall not be afraid in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. 9 The heart is stubborn above all things; who can understand it? 10 I the LORD search the heart and try the reins, and give every man according to his ways and according to the fruits of his doings. 11 Like the partridge that calls to the eggs which she has not hatched, so is he who gets riches and not by right; he shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end he shall be in disgrace.""
12 ¶ A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. 13 The LORD is the hope of Israel; all who forsake thee shall be ashamed, and those who revolt against thee shall have their names written in the dust, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters. 14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved; for thou art my praise. 15 Behold, they say to me, Where is the word of the LORD? Let it come now. 16 As for me, I have not urged thee to bring evil; nor have I desired any man’s woeful day; thou knowest; that which came out of my lips was before thy face. 17 Be not a terror to me; but abide with me in the day of trouble. 18 Let them be put to shame who persecute me, but let me not be put to shame; let them be defeated, but let me not be defeated; bring upon them the day of evil, and defeat them with double defeat.""
19 ¶ Thus said the LORD to me: Go and stand at the public gate by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; 20 And say to them, Hear the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah and all the house of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the LORD: Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day nor bring it in through the gates of Jerusalem; 22 Neither carry a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, nor do any work; but hallow the sabbath day as I commanded your fathers. 23 But they did not obey, neither inclined their ear, but hardened their neck that they, might not heat nor receive instruction. 24 And it shall come to pass if you diligently listen to me, says the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day and do no work on it; 25 Then there shall enter through the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain for ever. 26 And the people shall come from the cities of Judah and from the places round about Jerusalem and from the land of Benjamin and from the plain and from the mountains and from the south, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the LORD. 27 But if you do not listen to me to hallow the sabbath day and do not refrain from carrying a burden through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.""
18:1 ¶ THE word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying. 2 Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear my words. 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, according to the word of the LORD, and, behold, he was doing work on the wheel. 4 And the vessel which he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he mixed the clay and made it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. 5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? says the LORD, Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If suddenly I should speak concerning a people and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to pull down and to destroy it; 8 And if that nation repent from its evil, I will turn away from it the evil which I thought to do to it. 9 And if at another instant I should speak concerning a people and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; 10 And if it does evil in my sight and does not obey my voice, then I will turn away from it the good which I said I would do to it.""
11 ¶ Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am bringing evil against you and I am devising a device against you; repent you now, and return every one from his evil way and make your ways and your doings good. 12 But they said, We shall become strong and we will walk after our own devices and we will every man do the imagination of his evil heart. 13 Therefore thus says the LORD: Ask among the Gentiles, Who has done such things as these? The virgin of Israel has done a very horrible thing. 14 Does the green grass vanish from the mountain or the snow leave Lebanon? Does the cold water that gushes out and runs down cease from flowing? 15 Yet my people have forsaken me and have burned incense to vanity and have stumbled in their ways, and have departed from the ancient paths to walk in a way which was not trodden. 16 They have made their land desolate and a perpetual hissing; every one who passes through it shall be astonished and shake his head. 17 I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them my back and not my face, in the day of their calamity.""
18 ¶ Then they said, Come and let us devise plots against Jeremiah; so that the law shall not perish from the priests nor counsel from the wise nor the word from the prophets. Come and let us smite him in his tongue, and let us not listen to any of his words. 19 Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the cry of my oppression. 20 Evil has been recompensed for good, for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee and spoke good for them to turn away thy wrath from them. 21 Therefore give their children to famine and deliver them to the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and become widows; and let their men be put to death and their young men be slain by the sword in battle. 22 Let wailing be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a band of raiders suddenly upon them; for they have digged a pit to take me and hid snares for my feet. 23 Yet, O LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me; forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sins from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.""
19:1 ¶ THUS said the LORD to me, Go and buy a potters earthen jug, and take with you some of the elders of the people and some of the elderly priests; 2 And go out to the valley of the son of Hinnom which is by the entrance of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell you, 3 And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, such that whosoever hears of it his ears shall tingle. 4 Because they have forsaken me and have polluted this place and have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents; 5 They have built also the high places of Baal to burn their sons with fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command; nor did I speak of it, neither came it into my mind; 6 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when this place shall no more be called Taphat, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter. 7 And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their lives; and their corpses will I give as food for the fowls of the air and for the wild beasts of the earth. 8 And I will make this city desolate and a hissing; so that every one who passes by it shall be horrified and hiss because of all its catastrophes. 9 And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his neighbors in the siege and in the affliction with which their enemies and those who seek their lives shall inflict upon them.""
10 ¶ Then you shall break a pot in the sight of the men who go with you, 11 And say to them, Thus says the LORD of hosts: Even so will I break this people and this city, as this potter’s vessel is broken, so that it cannot be mended again; and they shall bury the dead in Taphat because of the lack of burial space. 12 Thus will I do to this place and to its inhabitants, says the LORD, and even make this city like Taphat; 13 And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled like the place of Taphat; and likewise all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven and have poured out drink offerings to other gods. 14 Then Jeremiah came from Taphat, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the LORD’S house, and said to all the people, 15 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all its towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks that they might not hear my words.""
20:1 ¶ NOW Pashur the son of Amariah the priest, who was governor in charge of the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah the prophet prophesying these things. 2 Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD. 3 And it came to pass on the morrow that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah to him, The LORD has not called your name Pashur, but a stranger and a beggar. 4 For thus says the LORD: Behold, I will make you a sojourner, you and your friends; and the people shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall see it; and I shall deliver all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword. 5 Moreover I will deliver all the fortified places of this city and all the labor thereof; and all its precious things and all the treasures of the king of Judah will I deliver into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and take them and carry them to Babylon. 6 And as for you, Pashur, you and all the members of your household shall go into captivity; and you shall go to Babylon, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you, and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied lies.""
7 ¶ O LORD, thou hast comforted me, and I am comforted; thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed; I have become a laughing-stock daily, every one mocks me. 8 For at the time when I spoke and cried out, I spoke against the extortioners and against the robbers; because the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision daily. 9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word became in my heart like a burning fire kindling in my bones; and I sought to be patient, but I could not endure it. 10 For I heard the evil intentions of many, who were gathering from every side inquiring of my peace with their mouth, but hating me in their heart, saying, Point him out to us; we will stand against him; perhaps we can win him over and we shall take our revenge on him. 11