1The
words of Jeremiah
the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth
in the land of Benjamin, 2to
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. 3It
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 exile of Jerusalem in the fifth
month. 4Now
the word of the LORD came to me saying,
5"Before I formed
you in the womb I knew you,
And before
you were born I consecrated you;
I have appointed
you a prophet to the nations."
6Then I
said, "Alas, Lord GOD!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
Because I
am a youth."
7But the LORD said to me,
"Do not say, 'I am a youth,'
Because
everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And all
that I command you, you shall speak.
8"Do
not be afraid of them,
For I
am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD.
9Then
the LORD stretched out 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 appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To
pluck up and to break down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
To
build and to plant."
11The word of the LORD came to me saying, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" And I said, "I see a rod of an almond tree." 12Then the LORD said to me, "You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it." 13The word of the LORD came to me a second time saying, "What do you see?" And I said, "I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north." 14Then the LORD said to me, "Out of the north the evil will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land. 15"For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north," declares the LORD; "and they will come and they will set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah. 16"I will pronounce My judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. 17"Now, gird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all which I command you Do not be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them. 18"Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land. 19"They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD.
1Now the word of the LORD came to me saying,
2"Go
and proclaim
in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the LORD,
"I remember concerning you the devotion
of your youth,
The love of your betrothals,
Your
following after Me in the wilderness,
Through a land not sown.
3"Israel was holy
to the LORD,
The first
of His harvest
All
who ate of it became guilty;
Evil came upon them," declares the LORD.'"
4Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.
5Thus
says the LORD,
"What
injustice did your fathers find in Me,
That they went far from Me
And walked after
emptiness
and became empty?
6"They did not say, 'Where is
the LORD
Who brought
us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who led
us through the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and of pits,
Through a land of drought and of deep darkness,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no man dwelt?'
7"I brought you into the
fruitful
land
To eat its fruit and its good things
But you came and
defiled
My land,
And My inheritance you made an abomination.
8"The
priests
did not say, 'Where is the LORD?'
And those who handle the law
did
not know Me;
The rulers also transgressed against Me,
And the prophets
prophesied by Baal
And walked after
things
that did not profit.
9"Therefore I will yet
contend
with you," declares the LORD,
"And with your sons' sons I will contend.
10"For
cross
to the coastlands of Kittim and see,
And send to Kedar
and observe closely
And see if there has been such a thing as this!
11"Has a nation changed gods
When they
were not gods?
But My people have
changed
their glory
For that which does not profit.
12"Be appalled,
O
Heavens, at this,
And shudder, be very desolate," declares the LORD.
13"For My people have committed
two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The fountain
of living waters,
To hew for themselves
cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That can hold no water.
14"Is Israel
a
slave? Or is he a homeborn servant?
Why has he become a prey?
15"The young
lions
have roared at him,
They have roared loudly
And they have made
his land a waste;
His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.
16"Also the men of
Memphis
and Tahpanhes
Have shaved the crown
of your head.
17"Have you not
done
this to yourself
By your forsaking the LORD your God
When He led
you in the way?
18"But now what are you doing
on
the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of the
Nile?
Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,
To drink the waters of the Euphrates?
19"Your
own wickedness will correct you,
And your apostasies
will reprove you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil and
bitter
For you to forsake the LORD your God,
And the
dread of Me is not in you," declares the Lord GOD of hosts.
20"For long ago
I
broke your yoke
And tore off your bonds;
But you said, 'I will not serve!'
For on every high
hill
And under every green tree
You have lain down as a harlot.
21"Yet I
planted
you a choice vine,
A completely faithful seed
How then have you turned yourself before Me
Into the degenerate
shoots of a foreign vine?
22"Although you
wash
yourself with lye
And use much soap,
The stain
of your iniquity is before Me," declares the Lord GOD.
23"How
can you say, 'I am not defiled,
I have not gone after the
Baals'?
Look at your way in the
valley!
Know what you have done!
You are a swift young camel
entangling
her ways,
24A
wild
donkey accustomed to the wilderness,
That sniffs the wind in her passion.
In the time of her heat who can turn her away?
All who seek her will not become weary;
In her month they will find her.
25"Keep your feet from being
unshod
And your throat from thirst;
But you said, 'It
is hopeless!
No! For I have loved
strangers,
And after them I will walk.'
26"As the
thief
is shamed when he is discovered,
So the house of Israel is shamed;
They, their kings, their princes
And their priests and their prophets,
27Who say to a tree, 'You are my
father,'
And to a stone, 'You gave me birth.'
For they have turned their
back
to Me,
And not their face;
But in the time
of their trouble they will say,
'Arise and save us.'
28"But where are your
gods
Which you made for yourself?
Let them arise, if they can
save
you
In the time of your trouble;
For according
to the number of your cities
Are your gods, O Judah.
29"Why do you contend with Me?
You have all
transgressed against Me," declares the LORD.
30"In
vain I have struck your sons;
They accepted no chastening
Your sword
has devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.
31"O generation, heed the word
of the LORD.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a land
of thick darkness?
Why do My people say, 'We
are free to roam;
We will no longer come to You'?
32"Can a virgin forget her
ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have
forgotten
Me
Days without number.
33"How well you prepare your way
To seek love!
Therefore even the wicked women
You have taught your ways.
34"Also on your skirts is found
The lifeblood
of the innocent poor;
You did not find them
breaking
in.
But in spite of all these things,
35Yet you said, 'I am innocent;
Surely His anger is turned away from me.'
Behold, I will enter
into judgment with you
Because you say,
'I have not sinned.'
36"Why do you
go
around so much
Changing your way?
Also, you
will be put to shame by Egypt
As you were put to shame by
Assyria.
37"From this place also you will
go out
With your
hands on your head;
For the LORD has rejected
those
in whom you trust,
And you will not prosper with them."
1God
says, "If
a husband divorces his wife
And she goes from him
And belongs to another man,
Will he still return to her?
Will not that land be completely polluted?
But you are
a harlot with many lovers;
Yet you turn
to Me," declares the LORD.
2"Lift up your eyes to the
bare
heights and see;
Where have you not been violated?
By the roads you have
sat
for them
Like an Arab in the desert,
And you have polluted
a land
With your harlotry and with your wickedness.
3"Therefore the
showers
have been withheld,
And there has been no spring rain
Yet you had a harlot's
forehead;
You refused to be ashamed.
4"Have you not just now called
to Me,
'My
Father, You are the friend
of my youth?
5'Will
He be angry forever?
Will He be indignant to the end?'
Behold, you have spoken
And have done evil things,
And you have had your way."
6Then the LORD said to me in the days of Josiah the king, "Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. 7"I thought, 'After she has done all these things she will return to Me'; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8"And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. 9"Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. 10"Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception," declares the LORD.
11And the LORD said to me, "Faithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.
12"Go
and proclaim these words toward the north and say,
'Return,
faithless Israel,' declares the LORD;
'I
will not look upon you in anger
For I am gracious,'
declares the LORD;
'I will not be angry forever.
13'Only
acknowledge
your iniquity,
That you have transgressed against the LORD your God
And have scattered
your favors to the strangers under
every green tree,
And you have not obeyed My voice,' declares the LORD.
14'Return, O faithless sons,'
declares the LORD;
'For I am a master
to you,
And I will take you one from a city and two from a family,
And I
will bring you to Zion.'
15"Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. 16"It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land," declares the LORD, "they will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. 17"At that time they will call Jerusalem 'The Throne of the LORD,' and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the LORD; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18"In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.
19"Then
I said,
'How I would set you among My sons
And give you a pleasant land,
The most beautiful
inheritance of the nations!'
And I said, 'You shall call Me,
My
Father,
And not turn away from following Me.'
20"Surely, as a woman
treacherously departs from her lover,
So you have dealt
treacherously with Me,
O house of Israel," declares the LORD.
21A voice is heard on the
bare
heights,
The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel;
Because they have perverted their way,
They have forgotten
the LORD their God.
22"Return, O faithless sons,
I
will heal your faithlessness."
"Behold, we come to You;
For You are the LORD our God.
23"Surely,
the
hills are a deception,
A tumult on the mountains
Surely in the LORD
our God
Is the salvation of Israel.
24"But the shameful thing has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25"Let us lie down in our shame, and let our humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God."
1"If
you will return,
O Israel," declares the LORD,
"Then you should return to Me
And if
you will put away your detested things from My presence,
And will not waver,
2And you will
swear,
'As the LORD lives,'
In
truth, in justice and in righteousness;
Then the nations
will bless themselves in Him,
And in
Him they will glory."
3For
thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,
"Break
up your fallow ground,
And do
not sow among thorns.
4"Circumcise
yourselves to the LORD
And remove the foreskins of your heart,
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Or else My wrath
will go forth like fire
And burn with none
to quench it,
Because of the evil of your deeds."
5Declare in Judah and proclaim
in Jerusalem, and say,
"Blow
the trumpet in the land;
Cry aloud and say,
'Assemble
yourselves, and let us go
Into the fortified cities.'
6"Lift up a
standard
toward Zion!
Seek refuge, do not stand still,
For I am bringing
evil
from the north,
And great destruction.
7"A
lion
has gone up from his thicket,
And a destroyer
of nations has set out;
He has gone out from his place
To make
your land a waste.
Your cities will be ruins
Without inhabitant.
8"For this,
put
on sackcloth,
Lament and wail;
For the fierce
anger of the LORD
Has not turned back from us."
9"It
shall come about in that day," declares the LORD, "that the heart
of the king and the heart of the princes will fail; and the priests will be
appalled and the prophets
will be astounded." 10Then
I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Surely You have utterly deceived
this people and Jerusalem, saying, 'You
will have peace'; whereas a sword touches the throat." 11In
that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, "A scorching
wind from the bare heights in the wilderness in the direction of the daughter of
My people, not to winnow and not to cleanse, 12a
wind too strong for this, will come at My command; now I will also pronounce
judgments against them.
13"Behold, he
goes
up like clouds,
And his chariots
like the whirlwind;
His horses are swifter
than eagles
Woe to us, for we
are ruined!"
14Wash your heart from evil, O
Jerusalem,
That you may be saved.
How long will your
wicked
thoughts
Lodge within you?
15For a voice declares from
Dan,
And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.
16"Report it to the nations,
now!
Proclaim over Jerusalem,
'Besiegers come from a
far
country,
And lift
their voices against the cities of Judah.
17'Like watchmen of a field they
are against
her round about,
Because she has rebelled
against Me,' declares the LORD.
18"Your
ways
and your deeds
Have brought these things to you
This is your evil How
bitter!
How it has touched your heart!"
19My
soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart!
My heart
is pounding in me;
I cannot be silent,
Because you have heard, O my soul,
The sound
of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.
20Disaster
on disaster is proclaimed,
For the whole
land is devastated;
Suddenly my tents
are devastated,
My curtains in an instant.
21How long must I see the
standard
And hear the sound of the trumpet?
22"For
My people are foolish,
They know Me not;
They are stupid children
And have no understanding
They are shrewd to
do
evil,
But to do good they do not know."
23I looked on the earth, and
behold, it was formless and void;
And to the Heavens, and they had no light.
24I looked on the mountains, and
behold, they were quaking,
And all the hills moved to and fro.
25I looked, and behold, there
was no man,
And all the birds
of the Heavens had fled.
26I looked, and behold, the
fruitful
land was a wilderness,
And all its cities were pulled down
Before the LORD, before His fierce anger.
27For thus says the LORD,
"The whole
land shall be a desolation,
Yet I will not
execute a complete destruction.
28"For this the
earth
shall mourn
And the Heavens
above be dark,
Because I have spoken,
I have purposed,
And I will not change My mind, nor will I turn from it."
29At the sound of the horseman
and bowman every
city flees;
They go
into the thickets and climb among the rocks;
Every
city is forsaken,
And no man dwells in them.
30And you, O desolate one,
what
will you do?
Although you dress in scarlet,
Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold,
Although you enlarge
your eyes with paint,
In vain you make yourself beautiful
Your lovers
despise you;
They seek your life.
31For I heard a cry as of a
woman in labor,
The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
The cry of the daughter of Zion
gasping
for breath,
Stretching
out her hands, saying,
"Ah, woe is me, for I faint before murderers."
1"Roam
to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
And look now and take note
And seek in her open squares,
If you can find
a man,
If
there is one who does justice, who seeks truth,
Then I will pardon her.
2"And
although
they say, 'As the LORD lives,'
Surely they swear falsely."
3O LORD, do not
Your
eyes look for truth?
You have smitten
them,
But they did not weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they refused
to take correction
They have made
their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to repent.
4Then I said, "They are only the
poor,
They are foolish;
For they do
not know the way of the LORD
Or the ordinance of their God.
5"I will go to the great
And will speak to them,
For they
know the way of the LORD
And the ordinance of their God "
But they too, with one accord, have
broken
the yoke
And burst the bonds.
6Therefore
a
lion from the forest will slay them,
A wolf
of the deserts will destroy them,
A leopard
is watching their cities
Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions
are many,
Their apostasies are numerous.
7"Why should I pardon you?
Your sons have forsaken Me
And sworn
by those who are not
gods
When I had fed them to the full,
They committed
adultery
And trooped to the harlot's house.
8"They were well-fed lusty
horses,
Each one neighing after his
neighbor's
wife.
9"Shall I not punish these
people," declares the LORD,
"And on a nation such as this
Shall
I not avenge Myself?
10"Go up through her vine rows
and destroy,
But do not execute a complete destruction;
Strip away her branches,
For they are not the LORD'S.
11"For the
house
of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me," declares the LORD.
12They have
lied
about the LORD
And said, "Not
He;
Misfortune will not
come on us,
And we will
not see sword or famine.
13"The
prophets
are as wind,
And the word is not in them.
Thus it will be done to them!"
14Therefore,
thus says the LORD, the God of hosts,
"Because you have spoken this word,
Behold, I am making
My words in your mouth fire
And this people wood, and it will consume them.
15"Behold, I am
bringing
a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel," declares the LORD
"It is an enduring nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose language
you do not know,
Nor can you understand what they say.
16"Their
quiver
is like an open
grave,
All of them are mighty men.
17"They will
devour
your harvest and your food;
They will devour your sons and your daughters;
They will devour your flocks and your herds;
They will devour your
vines
and your fig trees;
They will demolish with the sword your
fortified
cities in which you trust.
18"Yet
even in those days," declares the LORD, "I will not make you a complete
destruction. 19"It
shall come about when
they say, 'Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?' then you shall
say to them, 'As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so
you will serve
strangers in a land that is not yours.'
20"Declare this in the house of
Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21'Now hear this, O foolish and
senseless people,
Who have eyes
but do not see;
Who have ears but do not hear.
22'Do you not
fear
Me?' declares the LORD
'Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have placed
the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it.
Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.
23'But this people has a
stubborn
and rebellious heart;
They have turned aside and departed.
24'They do not say in their
heart,
"Let us now fear the LORD our God,
Who gives
rain in its season,
Both the
autumn rain and the spring rain,
Who keeps for us
The appointed
weeks of the harvest."
25'Your
iniquities
have turned these away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.
26'For wicked men are found
among My people,
They watch
like fowlers lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch men.
27'Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of
deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.
28'They are
fat,
they are sleek,
They also excel
in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the
orphan,
that they may prosper;
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
29'Shall
I not punish these people?' declares the LORD,
'On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?'
30"An appalling and
horrible
thing
Has happened in the land:
31The
prophets
prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule on their own authority;
And My people love
it so!
But what will you do at the end of it?
1"Flee
for safety, O sons of Benjamin,
From the midst of Jerusalem!
Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa
And raise a signal over
Beth-haccerem;
For evil looks down from the
north,
And a great destruction.
2"The comely and
dainty
one, the
daughter of Zion, I will cut off.
3"Shepherds
and their flocks will come to her,
They will pitch
their tents around her,
They will pasture each in his place.
4"Prepare
war against her;
Arise, and let us attack at
noon.
Woe to us, for the day declines,
For the shadows of the evening lengthen!
5"Arise, and let us attack by
night
And destroy
her palaces!"
6For
thus says the LORD of hosts,
"Cut
down her trees
And cast up a siege
against Jerusalem
This is the city to be punished,
In whose midst there is only
oppression.
7"As
a well keeps its waters fresh,
So she keeps fresh her wickedness
Violence
and destruction are heard in her;
Sickness
and wounds are ever before Me.
8"Be
warned, O Jerusalem,
Or I
shall be alienated from you,
And make you a desolation,
A land not inhabited."
9Thus says the LORD of hosts,
"They will thoroughly
glean as the vine the remnant
of Israel;
Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer
Over the branches."
10To whom shall I speak and give
warning
That they may hear?
Behold, their ears
are closed
And they cannot listen
Behold, the
word of the LORD has become a reproach to them;
They have no delight in it.
11But I am
full
of the wrath of the LORD;
I am weary
with holding it in
"Pour
it out on the children in the street
And on the gathering of young men together;
For both husband and wife shall be taken,
The aged and the very old.
12"Their
houses
shall be turned over to others,
Their fields and their wives together;
For I will stretch
out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land," declares the LORD.
13"For
from
the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is greedy
for gain,
And from the prophet even to the priest
Everyone deals falsely.
14"They have
healed
the brokenness of My people superficially,
Saying, 'Peace, peace,'
But there is no peace.
15"Were they
ashamed
because of the abomination they have done?
They were not even ashamed at all;
They did not even know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time that I punish them,
They shall be cast down," says the LORD.
16Thus says the LORD,
"Stand by the ways and see and ask for the
ancient
paths,
Where the good way is, and walk in it;
And you
will find rest for your souls.
But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'
17"And I set
watchmen
over you, saying,
'Listen to the sound of the trumpet!'
But they said, 'We will not listen.'
18"Therefore hear, O nations,
And know, O congregation, what is among them.
19"Hear,
O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,
The fruit
of their plans,
Because they have not listened to My words,
And as for My law, they have
rejected
it also.
20"For
what purpose does frankincense
come to Me from Sheba
And the sweet
cane from a distant land?
Your
burnt offerings are not acceptable
And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me."
21Therefore,
thus says the LORD,
"Behold, I
am laying stumbling blocks before this people
And they will stumble against them,
Fathers
and sons together;
Neighbor and friend will perish."
22Thus
says the LORD,
"Behold, a
people is coming from the north land,
And a great nation will be aroused from the
remote
parts of the earth.
23"They seize
bow
and spear;
They are cruel
and have no mercy;
Their voice roars
like the sea,
And they ride on horses,
Arrayed as a man for the battle
Against you, O daughter of Zion!"
24We have
heard
the report of it;
Our hands are limp
Anguish
has seized us,
Pain as of a woman in childbirth.
25Do
not go out into the field
And do
not walk on the road,
For the enemy has a sword,
Terror
is on every side.
26O daughter of my people,
put on
sackcloth
And roll
in ashes;
Mourn
as for an only son,
A lamentation most bitter.
For suddenly the destroyer
Will come upon us.
27"I have
made
you an assayer and a tester among My people,
That you may know and assay their way."
28All of them are stubbornly
rebellious,
Going
about as a talebearer
They are bronze
and iron;
They, all of them, are corrupt.
29The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
In vain the refining goes on,
But the wicked
are not separated.
30They
call them rejected silver,
Because the LORD
has rejected them.
1The
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 you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the
LORD!'" 3Thus
says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Amend
your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. 4"Do
not trust in deceptive words, saying, 'This is the temple of the LORD, the
temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.' 5"For
if
you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice
justice between a man and his neighbor, 6if
you do not oppress the alien, the orphan,
or the widow, and do not shed innocent
blood in this place, nor walk
after other gods to your own ruin, 7then
I will let you dwell
in this place, in the land
that I gave to your fathers forever and ever. 8"Behold,
you are trusting in deceptive
words to no avail. 9"Will
you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer
sacrifices to Baal and walk after other
gods that you have not known, 10then
come
and stand before Me in this
house, which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered!', that you may do
all these abominations? 11"Has
this
house, which is called by My name, become a den
of robbers in your sight? Behold, I,
even I, have seen it," declares the LORD. 12"But
go now to My place which was in Shiloh,
where I made
My name dwell at the first, and see
what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. 13"And
now, because you have done all these things," declares the LORD, "and I spoke to
you, rising
up early and speaking,
but you did not hear, and I called
you but you did not answer, 14therefore,
I will do to the house
which is called by My name, in
which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, as I
did
to Shiloh. 15"I
will cast
you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, all the offspring of
Ephraim. 16"As
for you, do
not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not
intercede with Me; for I do not hear you. 17"Do
you not see what they are doing 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 for the queen of Heaven; and they pour
out drink offerings to other gods in order to spite
Me. 19"Do
they spite Me?" declares the LORD "Is it not themselves they spite, to their own
shame?" 20Therefore
thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, My anger
and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and on beast and on the
trees
of the field and on the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and not be
quenched." 21Thus
says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Add your burnt
offerings to your sacrifices and eat
flesh. 22"For
I did not speak
to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land
of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23"But
this is what I commanded them, saying, 'Obey
My voice, and I
will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way
which I command you, that it may be
well with you.' 24"Yet
they did
not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the
stubbornness of their evil heart, and went
backward and not forward. 25"Since
the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have
sent
you all My servants the prophets, daily rising early and sending them. 26"Yet
they did not listen to Me or incline their ear, but stiffened
their neck; they did
more evil than their fathers. 27"You
shall speak
all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to
them, but they will not
answer you. 28"You
shall say to them, 'This is the nation that did
not obey the voice of the LORD their God or accept correction; truth
has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.
29'Cut
off your hair and cast it away,
And take
up a lamentation on the bare heights;
For the LORD has
rejected
and forsaken
The generation of His wrath.'
30"For the sons of Judah have done that which is evil in My sight," declares the LORD, "they have set their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. 31"They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, and it did not come into My mind. 32"Therefore, behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when it will no longer be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of the Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place. 33"The dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth; and no one will frighten them away. 34"Then I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land will become a ruin.
1"At that time," declares the LORD, "they will bring out the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves. 2"They will spread them out to the sun, the moon and to all the host of Heaven, which they have loved and which they have served, and which they have gone after and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped They will not be gathered or buried; they will be as dung on the face of the ground. 3"And death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family, that remains in all the places to which I have driven them," declares the LORD of hosts.
4"You
shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD,
"Do men fall
and not get up again?
Does one turn away and not repent?
5"Why then has this people,
Jerusalem,
Turned
away in continual apostasy?
They hold
fast to deceit,
They refuse
to return.
6"I
have
listened and heard,
They have spoken what is not right;
No
man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, 'What have I done?'
Everyone turned to his course,
Like a horse
charging into the battle.
7"Even the stork in the sky
Knows
her seasons;
And the turtledove
and the swift and the thrush
Observe the time of their migration;
But My
people do not know
The ordinance of the LORD.
8"How
can you say, 'We are wise,
And the law of the LORD is with us'?
But behold, the lying pen of the scribes
Has made it into a lie.
9"The wise men are
put
to shame,
They are dismayed and caught;
Behold, they have
rejected
the word of the LORD,
And what kind of wisdom do they have?
10"Therefore I will
give
their wives to others,
Their fields to new owners;
Because from the least even to the greatest
Everyone is greedy
for gain;
From the prophet even to the priest
Everyone practices deceit.
11"They
heal
the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially,
Saying, 'Peace, peace,'
But there is no peace.
12"Were they
ashamed
because of the abomination they had done?
They certainly were not ashamed,
And they did not know how to blush;
Therefore they shall
fall
among those who fall;
At the time
of their punishment they shall be brought down,"
Says the LORD.
13"I will
surely
snatch them away," declares the LORD;
"There will be
no
grapes on the vine
And no
figs on the fig tree,
And the leaf will wither;
And what I have given them will pass away."'"
14Why are we sitting still?
Assemble
yourselves, and let us go
into the fortified cities
And let us perish there,
Because the LORD our God has doomed us
And given us poisoned
water to drink,
For we
have sinned against the LORD.
15We
waited
for peace, but no good came;
For a time of healing, but behold, terror!
16From
Dan
is heard the snorting of his horses;
At the sound of the neighing of his
stallions
The whole land quakes;
For they come and
devour
the land and its fullness,
The city and its inhabitants.
17"For behold, I am
sending
serpents against you,
Adders, for which there is
no
charm,
And they will bite you," declares the LORD.
18My
sorrow
is beyond healing,
My heart
is faint within me!
19Behold, listen! The cry of the
daughter of my people from a distant
land:
"Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King not within her?"
"Why have they
provoked
Me with their graven images, with foreign idols?"
20"Harvest is past, summer is
ended,
And we are not saved."
21For the
brokenness
of the daughter of my people I am broken;
I mourn,
dismay has taken hold of me.
22Is there no
balm
in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why
then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored?
1Oh
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!
2Oh
that I had in the desert
A wayfarers' lodging place;
That I might leave my people
And go from them!
For all of them are
adulterers,
An assembly of treacherous
men.
3"They
bend
their tongue like their bow;
Lies and not truth prevail in the land;
For they proceed
from evil to evil,
And they do
not know Me," declares the LORD.
4"Let everyone
be
on guard against his neighbor,
And do
not trust any brother;
Because every brother
deals craftily,
And every neighbor
goes
about as a slanderer.
5"Everyone
deceives
his neighbor
And does not speak the truth,
They have taught their tongue to speak lies;
They weary
themselves committing iniquity.
6"Your
dwelling
is in the midst of deceit;
Through deceit they
refuse
to know Me," declares the LORD.
7Therefore
thus says the LORD of hosts,
"Behold, I will refine them and
assay
them;
For what
else can I do, because of the daughter of My people?
8"Their
tongue
is a deadly arrow;
It speaks deceit;
With his mouth one
speaks
peace to his neighbor,
But inwardly he sets
an ambush for him.
9"Shall
I not punish them for these things?" declares the LORD.
"On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?
10"For the
mountains
I will take up a weeping and wailing,
And for the pastures of the
wilderness
a dirge,
Because they are
laid
waste so that no one passes through,
And the lowing of the cattle is not heard;
Both the birds
of the sky and the beasts have fled; they are gone.
11"I will make Jerusalem a
heap of
ruins,
A haunt of jackals;
And I will make the cities of Judah a
desolation,
without inhabitant."
12Who 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 ruined, laid waste like a desert, so that no one passes through? 13The LORD said, "Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it, 14but have walked after the stubbornness of their heart and after the Baals, as their fathers taught them," 15therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink. 16"I will scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them until I have annihilated them."
17Thus
says the LORD of hosts,
"Consider and call for the
mourning
women, that they may come;
And send for the
wailing
women, that they may come!
18"Let them make haste and take
up a wailing for us,
That our eyes
may shed tears
And our eyelids flow with water.
19"For a voice of
wailing
is heard from Zion,
'How
are we ruined!
We are put to great shame,
For we have left
the land,
Because they have cast down our dwellings.'"
20Now hear the word of the LORD,
O you women,
And let your ear receive the word of His mouth;
Teach your daughters wailing,
And everyone her neighbor a dirge.
21For
death
has come up through our windows;
It has entered our palaces
To cut off the children
from the streets,
The young men from the town squares.
22Speak, "Thus says the LORD,
'The corpses of men will fall
like
dung on the open field,
And like the sheaf after the reaper,
But no one will gather them.'"
23Thus says the LORD, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; 24but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises loving kindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD. 25"Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised, 26Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart."
1Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.
2Thus
says the LORD,
"Do
not learn the way of the nations,
And do not be terrified by the signs of the Heavens
Although the nations are terrified by them;
3For the customs of the peoples
are delusion;
Because it
is wood cut from the forest,
The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.
4"They
decorate
it with silver and with gold;
They fasten
it with nails and with hammers
So that it will not totter.
5"Like a scarecrow in a cucumber
field are they,
And they cannot
speak;
They must be carried,
Because they cannot walk!
Do not fear them,
For they can
do no harm,
Nor can they do any good."
6There
is none like You, O LORD;
You are great,
and great is Your name in might.
7Who
would not fear You, O King
of the nations?
Indeed it is Your due!
For among all the
wise
men of the nations
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
8But they are altogether
stupid
and foolish
In their discipline of delusion--their idol is wood!
9Beaten
silver
is brought from Tarshish,
And gold
from Uphaz,
The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith;
Violet and purple are their clothing;
They are all the
work
of skilled men.
10But the LORD is the
true
God;
He is the living
God and the everlasting
King
At His wrath the
earth
quakes,
And the nations cannot
endure
His indignation.
11Thus
you shall say to them, "The gods
that did not make the Heavens and the earth will perish
from the earth and from under the Heavens."
12It is
He
who made the earth by His power,
Who established
the world by His wisdom;
And by His understanding He has
stretched
out the Heavens.
13When He utters His
voice,
there is a tumult of waters in the Heavens,
And He causes the
clouds
to ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain,
And brings out the
wind
from His storehouses.
14Every man is
stupid,
devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols;
For his molten images are deceitful,
And there is no breath in them.
15They are
worthless,
a work of mockery;
In the time
of their punishment they will perish.
16The
portion
of Jacob is not like these;
For the Maker
of all is He,
And Israel
is the tribe of His inheritance;
The LORD
of hosts is His name.
17Pick
up your bundle from the ground,
You who dwell under siege!
18For
thus says the LORD,
"Behold, I am
slinging
out the inhabitants of the land
At this time,
And will cause them distress,
That they may be found."
19Woe
is me, because of my injury!
My wound
is incurable
But I said, "Truly this is a sickness,
And I must
bear it."
20My
tent
is destroyed,
And all my ropes are broken;
My sons
have gone from me and are no more
There is no
one to stretch out my tent again
Or to set up my curtains.
21For the shepherds have become
stupid
And have
not sought the LORD;
Therefore they have not prospered,
And all
their flock is scattered.
22The sound of a
report!
Behold, it comes--
A great commotion
out
of the land of the north--
To make
the cities of Judah
A desolation, a haunt of jackals.
23I know, O LORD, that
a
man's way is not in himself,
Nor
is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.
24Correct
me, O LORD, but with justice;
Not with Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.
25Pour
out Your wrath on the nations that do
not know You
And on the families that
do
not call Your name;
For they have devoured Jacob;
They have devoured
him and consumed him
And have laid waste his habitation.
1The word which 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; 3and say to them, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, "Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant 4which I commanded your forefathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, 'Listen to My voice, and do according to all which I command you; so you shall be My people, and I will be your God,' 5in order to confirm the oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day "'" Then I said, "Amen, O LORD." 6And 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 solemnly warned your fathers in the day that I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, warning persistently, saying, "Listen to My voice." 8'Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked, each one, in the stubbornness of his evil heart; therefore I brought on them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.'" 9Then the LORD said to me, "A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10"They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers." 11Therefore thus says the LORD, "Behold I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape; though they will cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them. 12"Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they surely will not save them in the time of their disaster. 13"For your gods are as many as your cities, O Judah; and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal.
14"Therefore
do
not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will
not
listen when they call to Me because of their disaster.
15"What right has My
beloved
in My house
When she
has done many vile deeds?
Can the sacrificial flesh take away from you your disaster,
So that you can rejoice?"
16The LORD called your name,
"A green
olive tree, beautiful in fruit and form";
With the noise
of a great tumult
He has kindled
fire on it,
And its branches are worthless.
17The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me by offering up sacrifices to Baal.
18Moreover,
the LORD made
it known to me and I knew it;
Then You showed me their deeds.
19But I was like a gentle
lamb
led to the slaughter;
And I did not know that they had
devised
plots against me, saying,
"Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
And let
us cut him off from the land
of the living,
That his name
be remembered no more."
20But, O LORD of hosts, who
judges
righteously,
Who tries
the feelings and the heart,
Let me see Your vengeance on them,
For to You have I committed my cause.
21Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, "Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, so that you will not die at our hand"; 22therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine; 23and a remnant will not be left to them, for I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment."
1Righteous
are You, O LORD, that I would plead my case with You;
Indeed I would discuss
matters of justice with You:
Why has the way
of the wicked prospered?
Why are all those who
deal
in treachery at ease?
2You have
planted
them, they have also taken root;
They grow, they have even produced fruit
You are near
to their lips
But far from their mind.
3But You
know
me, O LORD;
You see me;
And You examine
my heart's attitude toward You
Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter
And set them apart for a
day
of carnage!
4How long is the
land
to mourn
And the vegetation
of the countryside to wither?
For the wickedness
of those who dwell in it,
Animals
and birds have been snatched away,
Because men have said, "He will not see our latter
ending."
5"If you have run with footmen
and they have tired you out,
Then how can you compete with horses?
If you fall down in a land of peace,
How will you do in the
thicket
of the Jordan?
6"For even your
brothers
and the household of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously with you,
Even they have cried aloud after you
Do not believe them, although they may say
nice
things to you."
7"I
have forsaken
My house,
I have abandoned My inheritance;
I have given the
beloved
of My soul
Into the hand of her enemies.
8"My inheritance has become to
Me
Like a lion in the forest;
She has roared
against Me;
Therefore I have come to
hate
her.
9"Is My inheritance like a
speckled bird of prey to Me?
Are the birds
of prey against her on every side?
Go, gather all the
beasts
of the field,
Bring them to devour!
10"Many
shepherds
have ruined My vineyard,
They have trampled
down My field;
They have made My
pleasant
field
A desolate wilderness.
11"It has been made a
desolation,
Desolate, it mourns
before Me;
The whole
land has been made desolate,
Because no man lays
it to heart.
12"On all the
bare
heights in the wilderness
Destroyers have come,
For a sword
of the LORD is devouring
From one end of the land even to the other;
There is no
peace for anyone.
13"They have
sown
wheat and have reaped thorns,
They have strained
themselves to no profit
But be ashamed of your
harvest
Because of the fierce
anger of the LORD."
14Thus says the LORD concerning all My wicked neighbors who strike at the inheritance with which I have endowed My people Israel, "Behold I am about to uproot them from their land and will uproot the house of Judah from among them. 15"And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will again have compassion on them; and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. 16"Then if they will really learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, 'As the LORD lives,' even as they taught My people to swear by Baal, they will be built up in the midst of My people. 17"But if they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it," declares the LORD.
1Thus the LORD said to me, "Go and buy yourself a linen waistband and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water." 2So I bought the waistband in accordance with the word of the LORD and put it around my waist. 3Then the word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, 4"Take the waistband that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice of the rock." 5So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD had commanded me. 6After many days the LORD said to me, "Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from there the waistband which I commanded you to hide there." 7Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the waistband from the place where I had hidden it; and lo, the waistband was ruined, it was totally worthless. 8Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9"Thus says the LORD, 'Just so will I destroy the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10'This wicked people, who refuse to listen to My words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this waistband which is totally worthless. 11'For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah cling to Me,' declares the LORD, 'that they might be for Me a people, for renown, for praise and for glory; but they did not listen.'
12"Therefore
you are to speak this word to them, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
"Every jug is to be filled with wine."' And when they say to you, 'Do we not
very well know that every jug is to be filled with wine?' 13then
say to them, 'Thus says the LORD, "Behold I am about to fill all the inhabitants
of this land--the kings that sit for David on his throne, the priests, the
prophets and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness! 14"I
will dash
them against each other, both the fathers
and the sons together," declares the LORD "I will not
show pity nor be sorry nor have compassion so as not to destroy them."'"
15Listen and give heed, do not
be haughty,
For the LORD has spoken.
16Give
glory to the LORD your God,
Before He brings
darkness
And before your feet
stumble
On the dusky mountains,
And while you are hoping for light
He makes it into
deep
darkness,
And turns it into gloom.
17But
if
you will not listen to it,
My soul will sob
in secret for such pride;
And my eyes will bitterly weep
And flow down with tears,
Because the flock
of the LORD has been taken captive.
18Say to the
king
and the queen mother,
"Take
a lowly seat,
For your beautiful
crown
Has come down from your head."
19The
cities
of the Negev have been locked up,
And there is no one to open them;
All Judah
has been carried into exile,
Wholly carried into exile.
20"Lift up your eyes and see
Those coming from
the north
Where is the flock
that was given you,
Your beautiful sheep?
21"What will you say when He
appoints over you--
And you yourself had taught them--
Former companions
to be head over you?
Will not pangs
take hold of you
Like a woman in childbirth?
22"If you
say
in your heart,
'Why
have these things happened to me?'
Because of the magnitude
of your iniquity
Your
skirts have been removed
And your heels have been exposed.
23"Can
the Ethiopian change his skin
Or the leopard his spots?
Then you also can
do
good
Who are accustomed to doing evil.
24"Therefore I will
scatter
them like drifting straw
To the desert wind.
25"This is your
lot,
the portion measured to you
From Me," declares the LORD,
"Because you have
forgotten
Me
And trusted in falsehood.
26"So I Myself have also
stripped
your skirts off over your face,
That your shame may be seen.
27"As for your
adulteries
and your lustful neighings,
The lewdness
of your prostitution
On the hills
in the field,
I have seen your abominations
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
How
long will you remain unclean?"
1That
which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah in regard to the drought:
2"Judah mourns
And her
gates languish;
They sit on the ground
in
mourning,
And the cry
of Jerusalem has ascended.
3"Their nobles have
sent
their servants for water;
They have come to the
cisterns
and found no water
They have returned with their vessels empty;
They have been put
to shame and humiliated,
And they cover
their heads.
4"Because the
ground
is cracked,
For there has been
no
rain on the land;
The farmers
have been put to shame,
They have covered their heads.
5"For even the doe in the field
has given birth only to abandon her young,
Because there is
no
grass.
6"The
wild
donkeys stand on the bare heights;
They pant for air like jackals,
Their eyes fail
For there is no
vegetation.
7"Although our
iniquities
testify against us,
O LORD, act for
Your name's sake!
Truly our apostasies
have been many,
We have sinned
against You.
8"O
Hope
of Israel,
Its Savior
in time
of distress,
Why are You like a stranger in the land
Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night?
9"Why are You like a man
dismayed,
Like a mighty man who
cannot
save?
Yet You
are in our midst, O LORD,
And we are called
by Your name;
Do not forsake us!"
10Thus says the LORD to this people, "Even so they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check Therefore the LORD does not accept them; now He will remember their iniquity and call their sins to account." 11So the LORD said to me, "Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12"When they fast, I am not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them Rather I am going to make an end of them by the sword, famine and pestilence."
13But,
"Ah, Lord GOD!" I said, "Look, the prophets are telling them, 'You
will
not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you lasting peace
in this place.'" 14Then
the LORD said to me, "The prophets
are prophesying falsehood in My name I
have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are
prophesying to you a false
vision, divination, futility and the deception of their own minds. 15"Therefore
thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name,
although it was not I who sent them, yet they keep saying, 'There will be no
sword or famine in this land', by
sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end! 16"The
people also to whom they are prophesying will be thrown
out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and there
will be no one to bury
them--neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters, for I
will pour
out their own wickedness on them.
17"You will say this word to
them,
'Let
my eyes flow down with tears night and day,
And let them not cease;
For the virgin daughter
of my people has been crushed with a mighty blow,
With a sorely infected
wound.
18'If I
go
out to the country,
Behold, those slain with the sword!
Or if I enter the city,
Behold, diseases of famine!
For both
prophet and priest
Have gone roving about in the land that they do not know.'"
19Have You completely
rejected
Judah?
Or have You loathed Zion?
Why have You stricken us so that we
are
beyond healing?
We waited
for peace, but nothing good came;
And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!
20We
know
our wickedness, O LORD,
The iniquity of our fathers, for
we
have sinned against You.
21Do not despise us,
for
Your own name's sake;
Do not disgrace the
throne
of Your glory;
Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us.
22Are there any among the
idols
of the nations who give
rain?
Or can the Heavens grant showers?
Is it not You, O LORD our God?
Therefore we hope
in You,
For You are the one who has done all these things.
1Then
the LORD said to me, "Even though Moses
and Samuel
were to stand
before Me, My heart would not be with this people; send
them away from My presence and let them go! 2"And
it shall be that when they say to you, 'Where should we go?' then you are to
tell them, 'Thus says the LORD:
"Those destined
for
death, to death;
And those destined for the sword, to the sword;
And those destined for famine, to famine;
And those destined for captivity, to captivity."'
3"I
will appoint
over them four kinds of doom," declares the LORD: "the sword to slay, the
dogs
to drag off, and the birds
of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4"I
will make
them an object of horror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of
Manasseh,
the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.
5"Indeed, who will have
pity
on you, O Jerusalem,
Or who will mourn
for you,
Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?
6"You who have
forsaken
Me," declares the LORD,
"You keep going
backward
So I will stretch
out My hand against you and destroy you;
I am tired
of relenting!
7"I will
winnow
them with a winnowing fork
At the gates of the land;
I will bereave
them of children, I will destroy My people;
They
did not repent of their ways.
8"Their
widows
will be more numerous before Me
Than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man,
A destroyer
at noonday;
I will suddenly bring down on her
Anguish and dismay.
9"She who
bore
seven sons pines away;
Her breathing is labored
Her sun
has set while it was yet day;
She has been shamed
and humiliated
So I will give
over their survivors to the sword
Before their enemies," declares the LORD.
10Woe
to me, my mother, that you have borne me
As a man
of strife and a man of contention to all the land!
I have not lent,
nor have men lent money to me,
Yet everyone curses me.
11The LORD said, "Surely I will
set
you free for purposes of good;
Surely I will cause the
enemy
to make supplication to you
In a time of disaster and a time of distress.
12"Can anyone smash iron,
Iron
from the north, or bronze?
13"Your
wealth
and your treasures
I will give for booty
without
cost,
Even for all your sins
And within all your borders.
14"Then I will cause your
enemies to bring it
Into a land
you do not know;
For a fire
has been kindled in My anger,
It will burn upon you."
15You
who know, O LORD,
Remember me, take notice of me,
And take
vengeance for me on my persecutors
Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away;
Know that for
Your sake I endure reproach.
16Your words were found and I
ate
them,
And Your words
became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;
For I have been called
by Your name,
O LORD God of hosts.
17I
did
not sit in the circle of merrymakers,
Nor did I exult
Because of Your hand upon me I sat
alone,
For You filled
me with indignation.
18Why has my pain been perpetual
And my wound
incurable, refusing to be healed?
Will You indeed be to me
like
a deceptive stream
With water that is unreliable?
19Therefore, thus says the LORD,
"If
you return, then I will restore you--
Before
Me you will stand;
And if
you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become My spokesman.
They for their part may turn to you,
But as for you, you must not turn to them.
20"Then I will
make
you to this people
A fortified wall of bronze;
And though they fight against you,
They will not prevail over you;
For I
am with you to save you
And deliver you," declares the LORD.
21"So I will
deliver
you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem
you from the grasp of the violent."
1The word of the LORD also came to me saying, 2"You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place." 3For thus says the LORD concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bear them, and their fathers who beget them in this land: 4"They will die of deadly diseases, they will not be lamented or buried; they will be as dung on the surface of the ground and come to an end by sword and famine, and their carcasses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth." 5For thus says the LORD, "Do not enter a house of mourning, or go to lament or to console them; for I have withdrawn My peace from this people," declares the LORD, "My loving kindness and compassion. 6"Both great men and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, they will not be lamented, nor will anyone gash himself or shave his head for them. 7"Men will not break bread in mourning for them, to comfort anyone for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone's father or mother. 8"Moreover you shall not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink." 9For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Behold, I am going to eliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your time, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride. 10"Now when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, 'For what reason has the LORD declared all this great calamity against us? And what is our iniquity, or what is our sin which we have committed against the LORD our God?' 11"Then you are to say to them, 'It is because your forefathers have forsaken Me,' declares the LORD, 'and have followed other gods and served them and bowed down to them; but Me they have forsaken and have not kept My law. 12'You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me. 13'So I will hurl you out of this land into the land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will grant you no favor.'
14"Therefore
behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when it will no longer be said,
'As the LORD lives, who brought
up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' 15but,
'As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land
of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.' For I will
restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers. 16"Behold,
I am going to send for many fishermen,"
declares the LORD, "and they will fish for them; and afterwards I will send for
many hunters, and they will hunt
them from
every mountain and every hill and from the clefts of the rocks. 17"For
My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor
is their iniquity concealed from My eyes. 18"I
will first doubly
repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted
My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable
idols and with their abominations."
19O LORD, my
strength
and my stronghold,
And my refuge
in the day of distress,
To You the nations
will come
From the ends of the earth and say,
"Our fathers have inherited nothing but
falsehood,
Futility and things
of no profit."
20Can man make gods for himself?
Yet they are not
gods!
21"Therefore behold, I am going
to make them know,
This time I will
make
them know
My power and My might;
And they shall know
that My name is the LORD."
1The
sin
of Judah is written down with an iron
stylus;
With a diamond point it is
engraved
upon the tablet of their heart
And on the horns of their altars,
2As they remember their
children,
So they remember their altars and their
Asherim
By green
trees on the high hills.
3O
mountain
of Mine in the countryside,
I will give
over your wealth and all your treasures for booty,
Your high places for sin throughout your borders.
4And you will, even of yourself,
let
go of your inheritance
That I gave you;
And I will make you serve your
enemies
In the land
which you do not know;
For you have kindled
a fire in My anger
Which will burn forever.
5Thus says the LORD,
"Cursed
is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes flesh
his strength,
And whose heart turns away from the LORD.
6"For he will be like a
bush
in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A land
of salt without inhabitant.
7"Blessed
is the man who trusts in the LORD
And whose trust
is the LORD.
8"For he will be like a
tree
planted by the water,
That extends its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of
drought
Nor cease to yield fruit.
9"The
heart
is more deceitful
than all else
And is desperately
sick;
Who can understand it?
10"I, the LORD,
search
the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to
give to each man according to his ways,
According to the results of his deeds.
11"As a partridge that hatches
eggs which it has not laid,
So is he who makes
a fortune, but unjustly;
In the midst of his days it will forsake him,
And in the end he will be a
fool."
12A
glorious throne on high from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
13O LORD, the
hope
of Israel,
All who forsake
You will be put to shame
Those who turn away on earth will be
written
down,
Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even the LORD.
14Heal
me, O LORD, and I will be healed;
Save
me and I will be saved,
For You are my praise.
15Look, they keep
saying
to me,
"Where is the word of the LORD?
Let it come now!"
16But as for me, I have not
hurried away from being a shepherd after You,
Nor have I longed for the woeful day;
You
Yourself know that the utterance of my lips
Was in Your presence.
17Do not be a
terror
to me;
You are my refuge
in the day of disaster.
18Let those who persecute me be
put
to shame, but as for me, let
me not be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed
Bring
on them a day of disaster,
And crush them with twofold destruction!
19Thus the LORD said to me, "Go and stand in the public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as in all the gates of Jerusalem; 20and say to them, 'Listen to the word of the LORD, kings of Judah, and all Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates: 21'Thus says the LORD, "Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the Sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. 22"You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers. 23"Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks in order not to listen or take correction. 24"But it will come about, if you listen attentively to Me," declares the LORD, "to bring no load in through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but to keep the Sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, 25then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting 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 will be inhabited forever. 26"They will come in from the cities of Judah and from the environs of Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowland, from the hill country and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the LORD. 27"But if you do not listen to Me to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched."'"
1The
word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD saying, 2"Arise
and go
down to the potter's house, and there I will announce My words to you." 3Then
I went down to the potter's house, and there he was, making something on the
wheel. 4But
the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so
he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make. 5Then
the word of the LORD came to me saying, 6"Can
I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD.
"Behold, like the clay
in the potter's hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. 7"At
one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to
uproot,
to pull down, or to destroy it; 8if
that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent
concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. 9"Or
at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to
build
up or to plant it; 10if
it does evil
in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think
better of the good with which I had promised to bless it. 11"So
now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem
saying, 'Thus says the LORD, "Behold, I am fashioning
calamity against you and devising a plan against you Oh turn
back, each of you from his evil way, and reform your ways and your deeds."' 12"But
they
will say, 'It's hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of
us will act according to the stubbornness
of his evil heart.'
13"Therefore thus says the LORD,
'Ask
now among the nations,
Who ever heard the like of this?
The virgin
of Israel
Has done a most appalling
thing.
14'Does the snow of Lebanon
forsake the rock of the open country?
Or is the cold flowing water from a foreign land ever snatched away?
15'For
My
people have forgotten Me,
They
burn incense to worthless gods
And they have stumbled from their ways,
From the ancient
paths,
To walk in bypaths,
Not on a highway,
16To make their land a
desolation,
An object of perpetual
hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be astonished
And shake
his head.
17'Like an
east
wind I will scatter
them
Before the enemy;
I will show them
My
back and not My face
In
the day of their calamity.'"
18Then
they said, "Come and let us devise
plans against Jeremiah Surely the law
is not going to be lost to the priest, nor counsel
to the sage, nor the divine word
to the prophet! Come on and let us strike
at him with our tongue, and let us give
no heed to any of his words."
19Do give heed to me, O LORD,
And listen to what my opponents are saying!
20Should
good be repaid with evil?
For they have dug
a pit for me
Remember how I stood
before You
To speak good on their behalf,
So as to turn away Your wrath from them.
21Therefore,
give
their children over to famine
And deliver them up to the power of the sword;
And let their wives become
childless
and widowed
Let their men also be smitten to death,
Their young
men struck down by the sword in battle.
22May an
outcry
be heard from their houses,
When You suddenly bring raiders upon them;
For
they have dug a pit to capture me
And hidden
snares for my feet.
23Yet You, O LORD, know
All their deadly designs against me;
Do
not forgive their iniquity
Or blot out their sin from Your sight
But may they be overthrown
before You;
Deal with them in the
time
of Your anger!
1Thus says the LORD, "Go and buy a potter's earthenware jar, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the senior priests. 2"Then go out to the valley of Ben-hinnom, which is by the entrance of the potsherd gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you, 3and 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 am about to bring a calamity upon this place, at which the ears of everyone that hears of it will tingle. 4"Because they have forsaken Me and have made this an alien place and have burned sacrifices in it to other gods, that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent 5and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind; 6therefore, behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the valley of Slaughter. 7"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 life; and I will give over their carcasses as food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. 8"I will also make this city a desolation and an object of hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its disasters. 9"I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they will eat one another's flesh in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies and those who seek their life will distress them."' 10"Then you are to break the jar in the sight of the men who accompany you 11and say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Just so will I break this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter's vessel, which cannot again be repaired; and they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place for burial. 12"This is how I will treat this place and its inhabitants," declares the LORD, "so as to make this city like Topheth. 13"The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like the place Topheth, because of all the houses on whose rooftops they burned sacrifices to all the Heavenly host and poured out drink offerings to other gods."'" 14Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, 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 am about to bring on this city and all its towns the entire calamity that I have declared against it, because they have stiffened their necks so as not to heed My words.'"
1When Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer, who was chief officer in the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, 2Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put him in the stocks that were at the upper Benjamin Gate, which was by the house of the LORD. 3On the next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, "Pashhur is not the name the LORD has called you, but rather Magor-missabib. 4"For thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I am going to make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; and while your eyes look on, they will fall by the sword of their enemies So I will give over all Judah to the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will carry them away as exiles to Babylon and will slay them with the sword. 5'I will also give over all the wealth of this city, all its produce and all its costly things; even all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give over to the hand of their enemies, and they will plunder them, take them away and bring them to Babylon. 6'And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into captivity; and you will enter Babylon, and there you will die and there you will be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have falsely prophesied.'"
7O
LORD, You have deceived me and I was deceived;
You have overcome
me and prevailed
I have become a laughingstock
all day long;
Everyone mocks
me.
8For each time I speak, I cry
aloud;
I proclaim
violence and destruction,
Because for me the
word
of the LORD has resulted
In reproach and derision all day long.
9But if I say, "I will not
remember
Him
Or speak anymore in His name,"
Then in my
heart it becomes like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
And I am weary of holding it in,
And I
cannot endure it.
10For
I
have heard the whispering of many,
"Terror
on every side!
Denounce
him; yes, let us denounce him!"
All my trusted
friends,
Watching for my fall, say:
"Perhaps he will be deceived, so that we may
prevail
against him
And take our revenge on him."
11But the
LORD
is with me like a dread champion;
Therefore my persecutors
will stumble and not prevail
They will be utterly ashamed, because they have failed,
With an everlasting
disgrace that will not be forgotten.
12Yet, O LORD of hosts, You who
test
the righteous,
Who see the mind and the heart;
Let me see
Your vengeance on them;
For to
You I have set forth my cause.
13Sing
to the LORD, praise the LORD!
For He has delivered
the soul of the needy one
From the hand of evildoers.
14Cursed be the
day
when I was born;
Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me!
15Cursed be the man who brought
the news
To my father, saying,
"A baby
boy has been born to you!"
And made him very happy.
16But let that man be like the
cities
Which the LORD overthrew
without relenting,
And let him hear an
outcry
in the morning
And a shout of alarm at noon;
17Because he did not
kill
me before birth,
So that my mother would have been my grave,
And her womb ever pregnant.
18Why did I ever come forth from
the womb
To look
on trouble and sorrow,
So that my days
have been spent in shame?
1The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, 2"Please inquire of the LORD on our behalf, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is warring against us; perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all His wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us." 3Then Jeremiah said to them, "You shall say to Zedekiah as follows: 4'Thus says the LORD God of Israel, "Behold, I am about to turn back the weapons of war which are in your hands, with which you are warring against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will gather them into the center of this city. 5"I Myself will war against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm, even in anger and wrath and great indignation. 6"I will also strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great pestilence. 7"Then afterwards," declares the LORD, "I will give over Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people, even those who survive in this city from the pestilence, the sword and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their foes and into the hand of those who seek their lives; and he will strike them down with the edge of the sword He will not spare them nor have pity nor compassion."' 8"You shall also say to this people, 'Thus says the LORD, "Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9"He who dwells in this city will die by the sword and by famine and by pestilence; but he who goes out and falls away to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as booty. 10"For I have set My face against this city for harm and not for good," declares the LORD "It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon and he will burn it with fire."' 11"Then say to the household of the king of Judah, 'Hear the word of the LORD,
12O
house
of David, thus says the LORD:
"Administer
justice every morning;
And deliver the person who has been robbed from the power of his
oppressor,
That
My wrath may not go forth like fire
And burn
with none to extinguish it,
Because of the evil of their deeds.
13"Behold,
I
am against you, O valley
dweller,
O rocky plain," declares the LORD,
"You men who say,
'Who
will come down against us?
Or who will enter into our habitations?'
14"But I will punish you
according
to the results of your deeds," declares the LORD,
"And I will
kindle
a fire in its forest
That it may devour all its environs."'"
1Thus says the LORD, "Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word 2and say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on David's throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates. 3'Thus says the LORD, "Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place. 4"For if you men will indeed perform this thing, then kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting in David's place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people. 5"But if you will not obey these words, I swear by Myself," declares the LORD, "that this house will become a desolation."'"
6For
thus says the LORD concerning the house of the king of Judah:
"You are like
Gilead
to Me,
Like the summit of Lebanon;
Yet most assuredly I will make you like a
wilderness,
Like cities which are not inhabited.
7"For I will set apart
destroyers
against you,
Each with his weapons;
And they will cut
down your choicest cedars
And throw
them on the fire.
8"Many
nations will pass by this city; and they will say
to one another, 'Why has the LORD done thus to this great city?' 9"Then
they will answer, 'Because they forsook
the covenant of the LORD their God and bowed down to other gods and served
them.'"
10Do
not weep for the dead or mourn for him,
But weep continually for the one who goes away;
For he
will never return
Or see his native land.
11For thus says the LORD in regard to Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of Josiah his father, who went forth from this place, "He will never return there; 12but in the place where they led him captive, there he will die and not see this land again.
13"Woe
to him who builds his house without
righteousness
And his upper rooms without justice,
Who uses his neighbor's services without pay
And does
not give him his wages,
14Who says, 'I will
build
myself a roomy house
With spacious upper rooms,
And cut out its windows,
Paneling it with
cedar
and painting it bright red.'
15"Do you become a king because
you are competing in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
And do
justice and righteousness?
Then it was well
with him.
16"He pled the cause of the
afflicted
and needy;
Then it was well
Is
not that what it means to know Me?"
Declares the LORD.
17"But your eyes and your heart
Are intent only upon your own
dishonest
gain,
And on shedding
innocent blood
And on practicing oppression and extortion."
18Therefore
thus says the LORD in regard to Jehoiakim
the son of Josiah, king of Judah,
"They will not
lament
for him:
'Alas,
my brother!' or, 'Alas, sister!'
They will not lament for him:
'Alas for the master!' or, 'Alas for his splendor!'
19"He will be
buried
with a donkey's burial,
Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20"Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
And lift up your voice in Bashan;
Cry out also from
Abarim,
For all your lovers
have been crushed.
21"I spoke to you in your
prosperity;
But you
said, 'I will not listen!'
This
has been your practice from
your youth,
That you have not obeyed My voice.
22"The wind will sweep away all
your shepherds,
And your lovers
will go into captivity;
Then you will surely be
ashamed
and humiliated
Because of all your wickedness.
23"You who dwell in Lebanon,
Nested in the cedars,
How you will groan when pangs come upon you,
Pain
like a woman in childbirth!
24"As
I live," declares the LORD, "even though Coniah
the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a signet
ring on My right hand, yet I would pull you off; 25and
I will give
you over into the hand of those who are seeking your life, yes, into the hand of
those whom you dread, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and
into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26"I
will hurl
you and your mother
who bore you into another country where you were not born, and there you will
die. 27"But
as for the land to which they desire to return, they will not return to it.
28"Is this man Coniah a
despised, shattered jar?
Or is he an undesirable
vessel?
Why have he and his descendants been
hurled
out
And cast into a land
that they had not known?
29"O
land, land, land,
Hear the word of the LORD!
30"Thus
says the LORD,
'Write this man down
childless,
A man who will not
prosper in his days;
For no man of his
descendants
will prosper
Sitting on the throne of David
Or ruling again in Judah.'"
1"Woe
to the shepherds who are destroying
and scattering the sheep
of My pasture!" declares the LORD. 2Therefore
thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My
people: "You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended
to them; behold, I am about to attend
to you for the evil
of your deeds," declares the LORD. 3"Then
I Myself will gather
the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and
bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. 4"I
will also raise up shepherds
over them and they will tend them; and they will not
be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor
will any be missing," declares the LORD.
5"Behold, the
days
are coming," declares the LORD,
"When I will raise up for David a righteous
Branch;
And He will reign
as king and act wisely
And do
justice and righteousness in the land.
6"In His days Judah will be
saved,
And Israel
will dwell securely;
And this is His name
by which He will be called,
'The LORD
our righteousness.'
7"Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when they will no longer say, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,' 8but, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up and led back the descendants of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the countries where I had driven them.' Then they will live on their own soil."
9As
for the prophets:
My heart
is broken within me,
All my bones tremble;
I have become like a drunken man,
Even like a man overcome with wine,
Because of the LORD
And because of His holy words.
10For the land is full of
adulterers;
For the land mourns
because of the curse
The pastures
of the wilderness have dried up.
Their course also is evil
And their might is not right.
11"For
both
prophet and priest are polluted;
Even in My house I have found their wickedness," declares the LORD.
12"Therefore their way will be
like slippery
paths to them,
They will be driven away into the
gloom
and fall down in it;
For I will bring
calamity
upon them,
The year of their punishment," declares the LORD.
13"Moreover, among the prophets
of Samaria I saw an offensive
thing:
They prophesied
by Baal and led
My people Israel astray.
14"Also among the prophets of
Jerusalem I have seen a horrible
thing:
The committing of
adultery
and walking in falsehood;
And they strengthen the hands of
evildoers,
So that no one has turned back from his wickedness
All of them have become to Me like
Sodom,
And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.
15"Therefore
thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets,
'Behold, I am going to
feed
them wormwood
And make them drink poisonous water,
For from the prophets of Jerusalem
Pollution has gone forth into all the land.'"
16Thus says the LORD of hosts,
"Do
not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you
They are leading
you into futility;
They speak a vision
of their own imagination,
Not from
the mouth of the LORD.
17"They keep saying to those who
despise
Me,
'The LORD has said, "You
will have peace"';
And as for everyone who walks in the
stubbornness
of his own heart,
They say, 'Calamity
will not come upon you.'
18"But
who
has stood in the council of the LORD,
That he should see and hear His word?
Who has given heed
to His word and listened?
19"Behold, the
storm
of the LORD has gone forth in wrath,
Even a whirling tempest;
It will swirl down on the head of the wicked.
20"The
anger
of the LORD will not turn back
Until He has performed
and carried out the purposes of His heart;
In
the last days you will clearly understand it.
21"I
did not send these prophets,
But they ran.
I did not speak to them,
But they prophesied.
22"But if they had
stood
in My council,
Then they would have
announced
My words to My people,
And would have turned them back from their evil way
And from the evil of their deeds.
23"Am I a God who is
near,"
declares the LORD,
"And not a God far off?
24"Can a man
hide
himself in hiding places
So I do not see him?" declares the LORD
"Do
I not fill the Heavens and the earth?" declares the LORD.
25"I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy falsely in My name, saying, 'I had a dream, I had a dream!' 26"How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart, 27who intend to make My people forget My name by their dreams which they relate to one another, just as their fathers forgot My name because of Baal? 28"The prophet who has a dream may relate his dream, but let him who has My word speak My word in truth What does straw have in common with grain?" declares the LORD. 29"Is not My word like fire?" declares the LORD, "and like a hammer which shatters a rock? 30"Therefore behold, I am against the prophets," declares the LORD, "who steal My words from each other. 31"Behold, I am against the prophets," declares the LORD, "who use their tongues and declare, 'The Lord declares.' 32"Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams," declares the LORD, "and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit," declares the LORD. 33"Now when this people or the prophet or a priest asks you saying, 'What is the oracle of the LORD?' then you shall say to them, 'What oracle?' The LORD declares, 'I will abandon you.' 34"Then as for the prophet or the priest or the people who say, 'The oracle of the LORD,' I will bring punishment upon that man and his household. 35"Thus will each of you say to his neighbor and to his brother, 'What has the LORD answered?' or, 'What has the LORD spoken?' 36"For you will no longer remember the oracle of the LORD, because every man's own word will become the oracle, and you have perverted the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God. 37"Thus you will say to that prophet, 'What has the LORD answered you?' and, 'What has the LORD spoken?' 38"For if you say, 'The oracle of the LORD!' surely thus says the LORD, 'Because you said this word, "The oracle of the LORD!" I have also sent to you, saying, "You shall not say, 'The oracle of the LORD!'"' 39"Therefore behold, I will surely forget you and cast you away from My presence, along with the city which I gave you and your fathers. 40"I will put an everlasting reproach on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten."
1After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me: behold, two baskets of figs set before the temple of the LORD! 2One basket had very good figs, like first ripe figs, and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten due to rottenness. 3Then the LORD said to me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" And I said, "Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad figs, very bad, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness." 4Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5"Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. 6'For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them up and not overthrow them, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. 7'I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart. 8'But like the bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness, indeed, thus says the LORD, so I will abandon Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and the ones who dwell in the land of Egypt. 9'I will make them a terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse in all places where I will scatter them. 10'I will send the sword, the famine and the pestilence upon them until they are destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their forefathers.'"
1The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, 3"From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, these twenty-three years the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. 4"And the LORD has sent to you all His servants the prophets again and again, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear, 5saying, 'Turn now everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and dwell on the land which the LORD has given to you and your forefathers forever and ever; 6and do not go after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, and I will do you no harm.' 7"Yet you have not listened to Me," declares the LORD, "in order that you might provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm. 8"Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Because you have not obeyed My words, 9behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,' declares the LORD, 'and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. 10'Moreover, I will take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11'This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
12'Then
it will be when
seventy years are completed I will punish
the king of Babylon and that nation,' declares the LORD, 'for their iniquity,
and the land of the Chaldeans; and I
will make it an everlasting desolation. 13'I
will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all
that is written in this
book which Jeremiah has prophesied against all
the nations. 14'(For
many
nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will
recompense
them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.)'" 15For
thus the LORD, the God of Israel, says to me, "Take this cup
of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you
to drink it. 16"They
will drink
and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them." 17Then
I took the cup from the LORD'S hand and made
all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it: 18Jerusalem
and the cities of Judah and its kings and its princes, to make them a ruin, a
horror, a hissing and a curse, as it is this day; 19Pharaoh
king of Egypt, his servants, his princes and all his people; 20and
all the foreign
people, all the kings of the land
of Uz, all the kings of the land of the Philistines
(even Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and the remnant of Ashdod); 21Edom,
Moab
and the sons of Ammon; 22and
all the kings of Tyre,
all the kings of Sidon and the kings of the
coastlands which are beyond the sea; 23and
Dedan,
Tema, Buz
and all who cut
the corners of their hair; 24and
all the kings of Arabia
and all the kings of the foreign
people who dwell in the desert; 25and
all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam
and all the kings of Media; 26and
all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and all
the kingdoms of the earth which are upon the face of the ground, and the king of
Sheshach
shall drink after them. 27"You
shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Drink,
be drunk, vomit, fall and rise no more because of the sword
which I will send among you."' 28"And
it will be, if they refuse
to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you will say to them, 'Thus says
the LORD of hosts: "You
shall surely drink! 29"For
behold, I am beginning
to work calamity in this city which is called
by My name, and shall you be completely free from punishment? You will not be
free from punishment; for I
am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth," declares the
LORD of hosts.' 30"Therefore
you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them,
'The LORD
will roar
from on high
And utter His voice from His holy habitation;
He will roar mightily against His fold.
He will shout like those who tread the grapes,
Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31'A clamor has come to the end
of the earth,
Because the LORD has
a
controversy with the nations
He is entering into
judgment
with all flesh;
As for the wicked, He has given them to the sword,' declares the LORD."
32Thus says the LORD of hosts,
"Behold, evil is going forth
From nation
to nation,
And a great storm
is being stirred up
From the remotest parts of the earth.
33"Those
slain
by the LORD on that day will be from one end of the earth to the other They will
not
be lamented, gathered or buried; they will be like dung
on the face of the ground.
34"Wail, you shepherds, and cry;
And wallow
in ashes, you masters of the flock;
For the days of your
slaughter
and your dispersions have come,
And you will fall like a choice vessel.
35"Flight
will perish from the shepherds,
And escape from the masters of the flock.
36"Hear the sound of the cry of
the shepherds,
And the wailing of the masters of the flock!
For the LORD is destroying their pasture,
37"And the peaceful
folds
are made silent
Because of the fierce
anger of the LORD.
38"He has left His hiding place
like
the lion;
For their land has become a horror
Because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword
And because of His fierce anger."
1In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from the LORD, saying, 2"Thus says the LORD, 'Stand in the court of the LORD'S house, and speak to all the cities of Judah who have come to worship in the LORD'S house all the words that I have commanded you to speak to them Do not omit a word! 3'Perhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, that I may repent of the calamity which I am planning to do to them because of the evil of their deeds.' 4"And you will say to them, 'Thus says the LORD, "If you will not listen to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you, 5to listen to the words of My servants the prophets, whom I have been sending to you again and again, but you have not listened; 6then I will make this house like Shiloh, and this city I will make a curse to all the nations of the earth."'"
7The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD. 8When Jeremiah finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, "You must die! 9"Why have you prophesied in the name of the LORD saying, 'This house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate, without inhabitant'?" And all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. 10When the officials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king's house to the house of the LORD and sat in the entrance of the New Gate of the LORD'S house. 11Then the priests and the prophets spoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, "A death sentence for this man! For he has prophesied against this city as you have heard in your hearing." 12Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people, saying, "The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. 13"Now therefore amend your ways and your deeds and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will change His mind about the misfortune which He has pronounced against you. 14"But as for me, behold, I am in your hands; do with me as is good and right in your sight. 15"Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, and on this city and on its inhabitants; for truly the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing."
16Then
the officials and all the people said
to the priests and to the prophets, "No death
sentence for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God." 17Then
some
of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people,
saying, 18"Micah
of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to
all the people of Judah, saying, 'Thus the LORD of hosts has said,
"Zion
will be plowed as a field,
And Jerusalem will become ruins,
And the mountain
of the house as the high places of a forest."'
19"Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the LORD and entreat the favor of the LORD, and the LORD changed His mind about the misfortune which He had pronounced against them? But we are committing a great evil against ourselves." 20Indeed, there was also a man who prophesied in the name of the LORD, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land words similar to all those of Jeremiah. 21When King Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and all the officials heard his words, then the king sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard it, and he was afraid and fled and went to Egypt. 22Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: Elnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him went into Egypt. 23And they brought Uriah from Egypt and led him to King Jehoiakim, who slew him with a sword and cast his dead body into the burial place of the common people. 24But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was not given into the hands of the people to put him to death.
1In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2thus says the LORD to me, "Make for yourself bonds and yokes and put them on your neck, 3and send word to the king of Edom, to the king of Moab, to the king of the sons of Ammon, to the king of Tyre and to the king of Sidon by the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4"Command them to go to their masters, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, thus you shall say to your masters, 5"I have made the earth, the men and the beasts which are on the face of the earth by My great power and by My outstretched arm, and I will give it to the one who is pleasing in My sight. 6"Now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and I have given him also the wild animals of the field to serve him. 7"All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings will make him their servant. 8"It will be, that the nation or the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and which will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine and with pestilence," declares the LORD, "until I have destroyed it by his hand. 9"But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers or your sorcerers who speak to you, saying, 'You will not serve the king of Babylon.' 10"For they prophesy a lie to you in order to remove you far from your land; and I will drive you out and you will perish. 11"But the nation which will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will let remain on its land," declares the LORD, "and they will till it and dwell in it."'" 12I spoke words like all these to Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, "Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people, and live! 13"Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, famine and pestilence, as the LORD has spoken to that nation which will not serve the king of Babylon? 14"So do not listen to the words of the prophets who speak to you, saying, 'You will not serve the king of Babylon,' for they prophesy a lie to you; 15for I have not sent them," declares the LORD, "but they prophesy falsely in My name, in order that I may drive you out and that you may perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you." 16Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, "Thus says the LORD: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, 'Behold, the vessels of the LORD'S house will now shortly be brought again from Babylon'; for they are prophesying a lie to you. 17"Do not listen to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city become a ruin? 18"But if they are prophets, and if the word of the LORD is with them, let them now entreat the LORD of hosts that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD, in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. 19"For thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the stands and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. 21"Yes, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the LORD and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem, 22'They will be carried to Babylon and they will be there until the day I visit them,' declares the LORD 'Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.'"
1Now in the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah the son of Azzur, the prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the LORD in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, 2"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3'Within two years I am going to bring back to this place all the vessels of the LORD'S house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4'I am also going to bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,' declares the LORD, 'for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.'" 5Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD, 6and the prophet Jeremiah said, "Amen! May the LORD do so; may the LORD confirm your words which you have prophesied to bring back the vessels of the LORD'S house and all the exiles, from Babylon to this place. 7"Yet hear now this word which I am about to speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people! 8"The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms, of war and of calamity and of pestilence. 9"The prophet who prophesies of peace, when the word of the prophet comes to pass, then that prophet will be known as one whom the LORD has truly sent." 10Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke it. 11Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, "Thus says the LORD, 'Even so will I break within two full years the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.'" Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way. 12The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah after Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 13"Go and speak to Hananiah, saying, 'Thus says the LORD, "You have broken the yokes of wood, but you have made instead of them yokes of iron." 14'For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they will serve him And I have also given him the beasts of the field."'" 15Then Jeremiah the prophet said to Hananiah the prophet, "Listen now, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you, and you have made this people trust in a lie. 16"Therefore thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I am about to remove you from the face of the earth This year you are going to die, because you have counseled rebellion against the LORD.'" 17So Hananiah the prophet died in the same year in the seventh month.
1Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the rest of the elders of the exile, the priests, the prophets and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2(This was after King Jeconiah and the queen mother, the court officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem.) 3The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, 4"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 5'Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce. 6'Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do not decrease. 7'Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.' 8"For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. 9'For they prophesy falsely to you in My name; I have not sent them,' declares the LORD. 10"For thus says the LORD, 'When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. 11'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. 12'Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. 14'I will be found by you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,' declares the LORD, 'and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.' 15"Because you have said, 'The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon', 16for thus says the LORD concerning the king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile, 17thus says the LORD of hosts, 'Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, famine and pestilence, and I will make them like split open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness. 18'I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with pestilence; and I will make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and a horror and a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them, 19because they have not listened to My words,' declares the LORD, 'which I sent to them again and again by My servants the prophets; but you did not listen,' declares the LORD. 20"You, therefore, hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles, whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you falsely in My name, 'Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will slay them before your eyes. 22'Because of them a curse will be used by all the exiles from Judah who are in Babylon, saying, "May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire, 23because they have acted foolishly in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives and have spoken words in My name falsely, which I did not command them; and I am He who knows and am a witness," declares the LORD.'" 24To Shemaiah the Nehelamite you shall speak, saying, 25"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Because you have sent letters in your own name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26"The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to be the overseer in the house of the LORD over every madman who prophesies, to put him in the stocks and in the iron collar, 27now then, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth who prophesies to you? 28"For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, 'The exile will be long; build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their produce.'"'" 29Zephaniah the priest read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet. 30Then came the word of the LORD to Jeremiah, saying, 31"Send to all the exiles, saying, 'Thus says the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite, "Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, although I did not send him, and he has made you trust in a lie," 32therefore thus says the LORD, "Behold, I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants; he will not have anyone living among this people, and he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people," declares the LORD, "because he has preached rebellion against the LORD."'"
1The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2"Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Write all the words which I have spoken to you in a book. 3'For behold, days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah ' The LORD says, 'I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it.'" 4Now these are the words which the LORD spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah:
5"For
thus says the LORD,
'I have heard a sound of
terror,
Of dread, and there is no peace.
6'Ask now, and see
If a male can give birth.
Why do I see every man
With his hands on his loins,
as
a woman in childbirth?
And why have all faces turned pale?
7'Alas! for that
day
is great,
There is none
like it;
And it is the time of Jacob's
distress,
But he will be saved
from it.
8'It
shall come about on that day,' declares the LORD of hosts, 'that I will
break
his yoke from off their neck and will tear off their bonds;
and strangers will no longer make
them their slaves. 9'But
they shall serve the LORD their God and David
their king, whom I will raise up for them.
10'Fear
not, O Jacob My servant,' declares the LORD,
'And do not be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you
from
afar
And your offspring from the land of their captivity
And Jacob will return and will be
quiet
and at ease,
And no
one will make him afraid.
11'For
I
am with you,' declares the LORD, 'to save you;
For I will destroy
completely all the nations where I have scattered you,
Only I will not
destroy you completely
But I will chasten
you justly
And will by no means leave you unpunished.'
12"For thus says the LORD,
'Your wound is incurable
And your injury
is serious.
13'There is no one to plead your
cause;
No healing for your sore,
No
recovery for you.
14'All your
lovers
have forgotten you,
They do not seek you;
For I have wounded
you with the wound of an enemy,
With the punishment
of a cruel
one,
Because your iniquity
is great
And your sins
are numerous.
15'Why do you cry out over your
injury?
Your pain is incurable.
Because your iniquity is great
And your sins are numerous,
I have done these things to you.
16'Therefore all who
devour
you will be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them,
will
go into captivity;
And those who plunder you will be for plunder,
And all who prey upon you I will give for prey.
17'For I will restore you to
health
And I will heal you of your wounds,' declares the LORD,
'Because they have called you an
outcast,
saying:
"It is Zion; no one cares for her."'
18"Thus
says the LORD,
'Behold, I will restore
the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
And have
compassion on his dwelling places;
And the city
will be rebuilt on its ruin,
And the palace
will stand on its rightful place.
19'From them will proceed
thanksgiving
And the voice of those who
celebrate;
And I will multiply
them and they will not be diminished;
I will also honor
them and they will not be insignificant.
20'Their children also will be
as formerly,
And their congregation shall be
established
before Me;
And I will punish all their oppressors.
21'Their
leader
shall be one of them,
And their ruler shall come forth from their midst;
And I will bring
him near and he shall approach Me;
For who would dare to risk his life to
approach
Me?' declares the LORD.
22'You shall be
My
people,
And I will be your God.'"
23Behold, the
tempest
of the LORD!
Wrath has gone forth,
A sweeping tempest;
It will burst on the head of the wicked.
24The
fierce
anger of the LORD will not turn back
Until He has performed and until He has accomplished
The intent of His heart;
In the latter
days you will understand this.
1"At
that time," declares the LORD, "I will be the God
of all the families
of Israel, and they shall be My people."
2Thus says the LORD,
"The people who survived the sword
Found
grace in the wilderness--
Israel, when it went to
find
its rest."
3The LORD appeared to him from
afar, saying,
"I have loved
you with an everlasting love;
Therefore I have drawn you with
loving kindness.
4"Again
I will build you and you will be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
Again you will take up your
tambourines,
And go forth to the dances of the
merrymakers.
5"Again you will
plant
vineyards
On the hills of Samaria;
The planters will plant
And will enjoy them.
6"For there will be a day when
watchmen
On the hills of Ephraim call out,
'Arise, and let
us go up to Zion,
To the LORD our God.'"
7For thus says the LORD,
"Sing
aloud with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among the
chief
of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise and say,
'O LORD, save
Your people,
The remnant
of Israel.'
8"Behold, I am
bringing
them from the north country,
And I will gather
them from the remote parts of the earth,
Among them the blind
and the lame,
The woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together;
A great company, they will return here.
9"With
weeping they will come,
And by supplication I will lead them;
I will make them walk by
streams
of waters,
On a straight path in which they will
not
stumble;
For I am a father
to Israel,
And Ephraim is My
firstborn."
10Hear the word of the LORD, O
nations,
And declare in the
coastlands
afar off,
And say, "He who scattered Israel will
gather
him
And keep him as a
shepherd
keeps his flock."
11For the LORD has
ransomed
Jacob
And redeemed him from the hand of him who was
stronger
than he.
12"They will
come
and shout for joy on the height
of Zion,
And they will be
radiant
over the bounty of the LORD--
Over the grain
and the new wine and the oil,
And over the young of the
flock
and the herd;
And their life will be like a
watered
garden,
And they will never
languish again.
13"Then the virgin will rejoice
in the dance,
And the young men and the old, together,
For I will turn
their mourning into joy
And will comfort them and give them
joy
for their sorrow.
14"I will fill the soul of the
priests with abundance,
And My people will be
satisfied
with My goodness," declares the LORD.
15Thus says the LORD,
"A
voice is heard in Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter weeping
Rachel is weeping for her children;
She refuses
to be comforted for her children,
Because they
are no more."
16Thus
says the LORD,
"Restrain
your voice from weeping
And your eyes from tears;
For your work
will be rewarded," declares the LORD,
"And they will
return
from the land of the enemy.
17"There is
hope
for your future," declares the LORD,
"And your children will return to their own territory.
18"I have surely heard Ephraim
grieving,
'You have chastised
me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained
calf;
Bring
me back that I may be restored,
For You are the LORD my God.
19'For after I turned back, I
repented;
And after I was instructed, I
smote
on my thigh;
I was ashamed
and also humiliated
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.'
20"Is
Ephraim
My dear son?
Is he a delightful child?
Indeed, as often as I have spoken against him,
I certainly still remember him;
Therefore My heart
yearns for him;
I will surely have
mercy on him," declares the LORD.
21"Set up for yourself roadmarks,
Place for yourself guideposts;
Direct
your mind to the highway,
The way by which you went
Return,
O virgin of Israel,
Return to these your cities.
22"How long will you go here and
there,
O faithless
daughter?
For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth--
A woman will encompass a man."
23Thus
says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Once again they will speak this word
in the land of Judah and in its cities when I restore
their fortunes,
'The LORD bless you, O
abode
of righteousness,
O holy
hill!'
24"Judah and all its cities will dwell together in it, the farmer and they who go about with flocks. 25"For I satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone who languishes." 26At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me.
27"Behold,
days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will sow
the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the
seed of beast. 28"As
I have watched
over them to pluck
up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy and to bring disaster, so I will
watch over them to build
and to plant," declares the LORD.
29"In those days they will not
say again,
'The
fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children's teeth are set on edge.'
30"But
everyone
will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will
be set on edge. 31"Behold,
days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, 32not
like the covenant
which I made with their fathers in the day I took
them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant
which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. 33"But
this
is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,"
declares the LORD, "I
will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I
will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34"They
will not
teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, 'Know the
LORD,' for they will all know
Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the LORD, "for I
will forgive
their iniquity, and their sin
I will remember no more."
35Thus says the LORD,
Who gives
the sun for light by day
And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night,
Who stirs
up the sea so that its waves roar;
The
LORD of hosts is His name:
36"If
this fixed order departs
From before Me," declares the LORD,
"Then the offspring of Israel also will
cease
From being a nation before Me forever."
37Thus
says the LORD,
"If
the Heavens above can be measured
And the foundations of the earth searched out below,
Then I will also
cast
off all the offspring of Israel
For all that they have done," declares the LORD.
38"Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the city will be rebuilt for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39"The measuring line will go out farther straight ahead to the hill Gareb; then it will turn to Goah. 40"And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the LORD; it will not be plucked up or overthrown anymore forever."
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2Now at that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the house of the king of Judah, 3because Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, "Why do you prophesy, saying, 'Thus says the LORD, "Behold, I am about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will take it; 4and Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but he will surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye; 5and he will take Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him," declares the LORD "If you fight against the Chaldeans, you will not succeed?" 6And Jeremiah said, "The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 7'Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, "Buy for yourself my field which is at Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it."' 8"Then Hanamel my uncle's son came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of the LORD and said to me, 'Buy my field, please, that is at Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for you have the right of possession and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself ' Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. 9"I bought the field which was at Anathoth from Hanamel my uncle's son, and I weighed out the silver for him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10"I signed and sealed the deed, and called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales. 11"Then I took the deeds of purchase, both the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions and the open copy; 12and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of Hanamel my uncle's son and in the sight of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, before all the Jews who were sitting in the court of the guard. 13"And I commanded Baruch in their presence, saying, 14'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Take these deeds, this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, that they may last a long time." 15'For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Houses and fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land."'
16"After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, then I prayed to the LORD, saying, 17'Ah Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the Heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You, 18who shows loving kindness to thousands, but repays the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children after them, O great and mighty God The LORD of hosts is His name; 19great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, giving to everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds; 20who has set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and even to this day both in Israel and among mankind; and You have made a name for Yourself, as at this day. 21'You brought Your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm and with great terror; 22and gave them this land, which You swore to their forefathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey. 23'They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey Your voice or walk in Your law; they have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have made all this calamity come upon them. 24'Behold, the siege ramps have reached the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, the famine and the pestilence; and what You have spoken has come to pass; and behold, You see it. 25'You have said to me, O Lord GOD, "Buy for yourself the field with money and call in witnesses", although the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.'" 26Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 27"Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?" 28Therefore thus says the LORD, "Behold, I am about to give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it. 29"The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city will enter and set this city on fire and burn it, with the houses where people have offered incense to Baal on their roofs and poured out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger. 30"Indeed the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah have been doing only evil in My sight from their youth; for the sons of Israel have been only provoking Me to anger by the work of their hands," declares the LORD. 31"Indeed this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My wrath from the day that they built it, even to this day, so that it should be removed from before My face, 32because of all the evil of the sons of Israel and the sons of Judah which they have done to provoke Me to anger, they, their kings, their leaders, their priests, their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33"They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, teaching again and again, they would not listen and receive instruction. 34"But they put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. 35"They built the high places of Baal that are in the valley of Ben-hinnom to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I had not commanded them nor had it entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. 36"Now therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning this city of which you say, 'It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine and by pestilence.' 37"Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety. 38"They shall be My people, and I will be their God; 39and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them. 40"I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; and I will put the fear of Me in their hearts so that they will not turn away from Me. 41"I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul. 42"For thus says the LORD, 'Just as I brought all this great disaster on this people, so I am going to bring on them all the good that I am promising them. 43'Fields will be bought in this land of which you say, "It is a desolation, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans." 44'Men will buy fields for money, sign and seal deeds, and call in witnesses in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem, in the cities of Judah, in the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland and in the cities of the Negev; for I will restore their fortunes,' declares the LORD."
1Then
the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still
confined
in the court of the guard, saying, 2"Thus
says the
LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it, the LORD
is His name, 3'Call
to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great
and mighty things, which
you do not know.' 4"For
thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the houses
of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah which are broken
down to make a defense against the siege
ramps and against the sword, 5'While
they are coming to fight
with the Chaldeans and to fill them with the corpses of men whom I have slain in
My anger and in My wrath, and I have hidden
My face from this city because of all their wickedness: 6'Behold,
I will bring to it health
and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance
of peace and truth. 7'I
will restore
the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel and will rebuild
them as they were at first. 8'I
will cleanse
them from all their iniquity by which they have sinned against Me, and I will
pardon all their iniquities by which they have sinned against Me and by which
they have transgressed against Me. 9'It
will be to Me a name
of joy, praise and glory before all
the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good
that I do for them, and they will fear
and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.' 10"Thus
says the LORD, 'Yet again there will be heard in this place, of which you say,
"It is a waste,
without man and without beast," that is, in the cities of Judah and in the
streets of Jerusalem that are desolate,
without man and without inhabitant and without beast, 11the
voice of joy
and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the
bride, the voice of those who say,
"Give
thanks to the LORD of hosts,
For the LORD is good,
For His loving kindness is everlasting";
and of those who bring a
thank
offering into the house of the LORD. For I will restore the fortunes of the land
as they were at first,' says the LORD.
12"Thus says the LORD of hosts, 'There will again be in this place which is waste, without man or beast, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds who rest their flocks. 13'In the cities of the hill country, in the cities of the lowland, in the cities of the Negev, in the land of Benjamin, in the environs of Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah, the flocks will again pass under the hands of the one who numbers them,' says the LORD.
14'Behold, days are coming,' declares the LORD, 'when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah. 15'In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. 16'In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in safety; and this is the name by which she will be called: the LORD is our righteousness.' 17"For thus says the LORD, 'David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 18and the Levitical priests shall never lack a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings and to prepare sacrifices continually.'" 19The word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 20"Thus says the LORD, 'If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night will not be at their appointed time, 21then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant so that he will not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levitical priests, My ministers. 22'As the host of Heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.'" 23And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 24"Have you not observed what this people have spoken, saying, 'The two families which the LORD chose, He has rejected them'? Thus they despise My people, no longer are they as a nation in their sight. 25"Thus says the LORD, 'If My covenant for day and night stand not, and the fixed patterns of Heaven and earth I have not established, 26then I would reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob But I will restore their fortunes and will have mercy on them.'"
1The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army, with all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem and against all its cities, saying, 2"Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him: "Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire. 3'You will not escape from his hand, for you will surely be captured and delivered into his hand; and you will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you face to face, and you will go to Babylon.'"' 4"Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah! Thus says the LORD concerning you, 'You will not die by the sword. 5'You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so they will burn spices for you; and they will lament for you, "Alas, lord!"' For I have spoken the word," declares the LORD. 6Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem 7when the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the remaining cities of Judah, that is, Lachish and Azekah, for they alone remained as fortified cities among the cities of Judah. 8The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to proclaim release to them: 9that each man should set free his male servant and each man his female servant, a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman; so that no one should keep them, a Jew his brother, in bondage. 10And all the officials and all the people obeyed who had entered into the covenant that each man should set free his male servant and each man his female servant, so that no one should keep them any longer in bondage; they obeyed, and set them free. 11But afterward they turned around and took back the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free, and brought them into subjection for male servants and for female servants. 12Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 13"Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'I made a covenant with your forefathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, saying, 14"At the end of seven years each of you shall set free his Hebrew brother who has been sold to you and has served you six years, you shall send him out free from you; but your forefathers did not obey Me or incline their ear to Me. 15"Although recently you had turned and done what is right in My sight, each man proclaiming release to his neighbor, and you had made a covenant before Me in the house which is called by My name. 16"Yet you turned and profaned My name, and each man took back his male servant and each man his female servant whom you had set free according to their desire, and you brought them into subjection to be your male servants and female servants."' 17"Therefore thus says the LORD, 'You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming release each man to his brother and each man to his neighbor. Behold, I am proclaiming a release to you,' declares the LORD, 'to the sword, to the pestilence and to the famine; and I will make you a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18'I will give the men who have transgressed My covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they made before Me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts, 19the officials of Judah and the officials of Jerusalem, the court officers and the priests and all the people of the land who passed between the parts of the calf, 20I will give them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life And their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. 21'Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials I will give into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon which has gone away from you. 22'Behold, I am going to command,' declares the LORD, 'and I will bring them back to this city; and they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.'"
1The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2"Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink." 3Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites, 4and I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the doorkeeper. 5Then I set before the men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine and cups; and I said to them, "Drink wine!" 6But they said, "We will not drink wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, 'You shall not drink wine, you or your sons, forever. 7'You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed and you shall not plant a vineyard or own one; but in tents you shall dwell all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.' 8"We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons or our daughters, 9nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; and we do not have vineyard or field or seed. 10"We have only dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 11"But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, 'Come and let us go to Jerusalem before the army of the Chaldeans and before the army of the Arameans.' So we have dwelt in Jerusalem."
12Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 13"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Go and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, "Will you not receive instruction by listening to My words?" declares the LORD. 14"The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are observed So they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command But I have spoken to you again and again; yet you have not listened to Me. 15"Also I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, sending them again and again, saying: 'Turn now every man from his evil way and amend your deeds, and do not go after other Gods to worship them Then you will dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me. 16'Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have observed the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.'"' 17"Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.'" 18Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father, kept all his commands and done according to all that he commanded you; 19therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me always."'"
1In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2"Take a scroll and write on it all the words which I have spoken to you concerning Israel and concerning Judah, and concerning all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day. 3"Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the calamity which I plan to bring on them, in order that every man will turn from his evil way; then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin." 4Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD which He had spoken to him. 5Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, "I am restricted; I cannot go into the house of the LORD. 6"So you go and read from the scroll which you have written at my dictation the words of the LORD to the people in the LORD'S house on a fast day. And also you shall read them to all the people of Judah who come from their cities. 7"Perhaps their supplication will come before the LORD, and everyone will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and the wrath that the LORD has pronounced against this people." 8Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of the LORD in the LORD'S house. 9Now in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the LORD. 10Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the LORD'S house, to all the people. 11Now when Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the LORD from the book, 12he went down to the king's house, into the scribe's chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there, Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13Micaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book to the people. 14Then all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, "Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read to the people and come " So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and went to them. 15They said to him, "Sit down, please, and read it to us." So Baruch read it to them. 16When they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one to another and said to Baruch, "We will surely report all these words to the king." 17And they asked Baruch, saying, "Tell us, please, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?" 18Then Baruch said to them, "He dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book." 19Then the officials said to Baruch, "Go, hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are."
20So they went to the king in the court, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and they reported all the words to the king. 21Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it to the king as well as to all the officials who stood beside the king. 22Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him. 23When Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe's knife and threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. 24Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words were not afraid, nor did they rend their garments. 25Even though Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the LORD hid them.
27Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll and the words which Baruch had written at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, 28"Take again another scroll and write on it all the former words that were on the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned. 29"And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, 'Thus says the LORD, "You have burned this scroll, saying, 'Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make man and beast to cease from it?'" 30'Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, "He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31"I will also punish him and his descendants and his servants for their iniquity, and I will bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah all the calamity that I have declared to them, but they did not listen."'" 32Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the son of Neriah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many similar words were added to them.
1Now Zedekiah the son of Josiah whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had made king in the land of Judah, reigned as king in place of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim. 2But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. 3Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "Please pray to the LORD our God on our behalf." 4Now Jeremiah was still coming in and going out among the people, for they had not yet put him in the prison. 5Meanwhile, Pharaoh's army had set out from Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who had been besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they lifted the siege from Jerusalem. 6Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 7"Thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'Thus you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: "Behold, Pharaoh's army which has come out for your assistance is going to return to its own land of Egypt. 8"The Chaldeans will also return and fight against this city, and they will capture it and burn it with fire."' 9"Thus says the LORD, 'Do not deceive yourselves, saying, "The Chaldeans will surely go away from us," for they will not go. 10'For even if you had defeated the entire army of Chaldeans who were fighting against you, and there were only wounded men left among them, each man in his tent, they would rise up and burn this city with fire.'"
11Now it happened when the army of the Chaldeans had lifted the siege from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh's army, 12that Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to take possession of some property there among the people. 13While he was at the Gate of Benjamin, a captain of the guard whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah the son of Hananiah was there; and he arrested Jeremiah the prophet, saying, "You are going over to the Chaldeans!" 14But Jeremiah said, "A lie! I am not going over to the Chaldeans"; yet he would not listen to him. So Irijah arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15Then the officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him, and they put him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, which they had made into the prison. 16For Jeremiah had come into the dungeon, that is, the vaulted cell; and Jeremiah stayed there many days. 17Now King Zedekiah sent and took him out; and in his palace the king secretly asked him and said, "Is there a word from the LORD?" And Jeremiah said, "There is!" Then he said, "You will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon!" 18Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "In what way have I sinned against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison? 19"Where then are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, 'The king of Babylon will not come against you or against this land'? 20"But now, please listen, O my lord the king; please let my petition come before you and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I may not die there." 21Then King Zedekiah gave commandment, and they committed Jeremiah to the court of the guardhouse and gave him a loaf of bread daily from the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the court of the guardhouse.
1Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying, 2"Thus says the LORD, 'He who stays in this city will die by the sword and by famine and by pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live and have his own life as booty and stay alive.' 3"Thus says the LORD, 'This city will certainly be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon and he will capture it.'" 4Then the officials said to the king, "Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and all the people, by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking the well-being of this people but rather their harm." 5So King Zedekiah said, "Behold, he is in your hands; for the king can do nothing against you." 6Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchijah the king's son, which was in the court of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes Now in the cistern there was no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud. 7But Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, while he was in the king's palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern Now the king was sitting in the Gate of Benjamin; 8and Ebed-melech went out from the king's palace and spoke to the king, saying, 9"My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have cast into the cistern; and he will die right where he is because of the famine, for there is no more bread in the city." 10Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, "Take thirty men from here under your authority and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he dies." 11So Ebed-melech took the men under his authority and went into the king's palace to a place beneath the storeroom and took from there worn-out clothes and worn-out rags and let them down by ropes into the cistern to Jeremiah. 12Then Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, "Now put these worn-out clothes and rags under your armpits under the ropes"; and Jeremiah did so. 13So they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guardhouse. 14Then King Zedekiah sent and had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the LORD; and the king said to Jeremiah, "I am going to ask you something; do not hide anything from me." 15Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me." 16But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret saying, "As the LORD lives, who made this life for us, surely I will not put you to death nor will I give you over to the hand of these men who are seeking your life."
17Then
Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, "Thus says the LORD God
of hosts, the God
of Israel, 'If you will indeed go
out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you will live, this city will
not be burned with fire, and you and your household will survive. 18'But
if you will not
go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will
be given over to the hand of the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and
you
yourself will not escape from their hand.'" 19Then
King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I dread
the Jews who have gone
over to the Chaldeans, for they may give me over into their hand and they will
abuse
me." 20But
Jeremiah said, "They will not give you over. Please obey
the LORD in what I am saying to you, that it may go well
with you and you
may live. 21"But
if you keep refusing to go out, this is the word which the LORD has shown me: 22'Then
behold, all of the women
who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought
out to the officers of the king of Babylon; and those women will say,
"Your close friends
Have misled and overpowered you;
While your feet were sunk in the mire,
They turned back."
23'They will also bring out all your wives and your sons to the Chaldeans, and you yourself will not escape from their hand, but will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned with fire.'" 24Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no man know about these words and you will not die. 25"But if the officials hear that I have talked with you and come to you and say to you, 'Tell us now what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us and we will not put you to death,' 26then you are to say to them, 'I was presenting my petition before the king, not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.'" 27Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. So he reported to them in accordance with all these words which the king had commanded; and they ceased speaking with him, since the conversation had not been overheard. 28So Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guardhouse until the day that Jerusalem was captured.
1Now when Jerusalem was captured in the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army came to Jerusalem and laid siege to it; 2in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the city wall was breached. 3Then all the officials of the king of Babylon came in and sat down at the Middle Gate: Nergal-sar-ezer, Samgar-nebu, Sar-sekim the Rab-saris, Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon. 4When Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they fled and went out of the city at night by way of the king's garden through the gate between the two walls; and he went out toward the Arabah. 5But the army of the Chaldeans pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and they seized him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him. 6Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes at Riblah; the king of Babylon also slew all the nobles of Judah. 7He then blinded Zedekiah's eyes and bound him in fetters of bronze to bring him to Babylon. 8The Chaldeans also burned with fire the king's palace and the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 9As for the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had gone over to him and the rest of the people who remained, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard carried them into exile in Babylon. 10But some of the poorest people who had nothing, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard left behind in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at that time.
11Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders about Jeremiah through Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, saying, 12"Take him and look after him, and do nothing harmful to him, but rather deal with him just as he tells you." 13So Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard sent word, along with Nebushazban the Rab-saris, and Nergal-sar-ezer the Rab-mag, and all the leading officers of the king of Babylon; 14they even sent and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guardhouse and entrusted him to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he stayed among the people. 15Now the word of the LORD had come to Jeremiah while he was confined in the court of the guardhouse, saying, 16"Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Behold, I am about to bring My words on this city for disaster and not for prosperity; and they will take place before you on that day. 17"But I will deliver you on that day," declares the LORD, "and you will not be given into the hand of the men whom you dread. 18"For I will certainly rescue you, and you will not fall by the sword; but you will have your own life as booty, because you have trusted in Me," declares the LORD.'"
1The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD after Nebuzaradan captain of the bodyguard had released him from Ramah, when he had taken him bound in chains among all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon. 2Now the captain of the bodyguard had taken Jeremiah and said to him, "The LORD your God promised this calamity against this place; 3and the LORD has brought it on and done just as He promised. Because you people sinned against the LORD and did not listen to His voice, therefore this thing has happened to you. 4"But now, behold, I am freeing you today from the chains which are on your hands If you would prefer to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will look after you; but if you would prefer not to come with me to Babylon, never mind Look, the whole land is before you; go wherever it seems good and right for you to go." 5As Jeremiah was still not going back, he said, "Go on back then to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people; or else go anywhere it seems right for you to go " So the captain of the bodyguard gave him a ration and a gift and let him go. 6Then Jeremiah went to Mizpah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land. 7Now all the commanders of the forces that were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam over the land and that he had put him in charge of the men, women and children, those of the poorest of the land who had not been exiled to Babylon. 8So they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, along with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of the Maacathite, both they and their men. 9Then Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and to their men, saying, "Do not be afraid of serving the Chaldeans; stay in the land and serve the king of Babylon, that it may go well with you. 10"Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay at Mizpah to stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, gather in wine and summer fruit and oil and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your cities that you have taken over." 11Likewise, also all the Jews who were in Moab and among the sons of Ammon and in Edom and who were in all the other countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant for Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan. 12Then all the Jews returned from all the places to which they had been driven away and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah at Mizpah, and gathered in wine and summer fruit in great abundance. 13Now Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were in the field came to Gedaliah at Mizpah 14and said to him, "Are you well aware that Baalis the king of the sons of Ammon has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to take your life?" But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them. 15Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah in Mizpah, saying, "Let me go and kill Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and not a man will know! Why should he take your life, so that all the Jews who are gathered to you would be scattered and the remnant of Judah would perish?" 16But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, "Do not do this thing, for you are telling a lie about Ishmael."
1In the seventh month Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the royal family and one of the chief officers of the king, along with ten men, came to Mizpah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam While they were eating bread together there in Mizpah, 2Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him arose and struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword and put to death the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land. 3Ishmael also struck down all the Jews who were with him, that is with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans who were found there, the men of war. 4Now it happened on the next day after the killing of Gedaliah, when no one knew about it, 5that eighty men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria with their beards shaved off and their clothes torn and their bodies gashed, having grain offerings and incense in their hands to bring to the house of the LORD. 6Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went; and as he met them, he said to them, "Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam!" 7Yet it turned out that as soon as they came inside the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men that were with him slaughtered them and cast them into the cistern. 8But ten men who were found among them said to Ishmael, "Do not put us to death; for we have stores of wheat, barley, oil and honey hidden in the field." So he refrained and did not put them to death along with their companions. 9Now as for the cistern where Ishmael had cast all the corpses of the men whom he had struck down because of Gedaliah, it was the one that King Asa had made on account of Baasha, king of Israel; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with the slain. 10Then Ishmael took captive all the remnant of the people who were in Mizpah, the king's daughters and all the people who were left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had put under the charge of Gedaliah the son of Ahikam; thus Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and proceeded to cross over to the sons of Ammon.
11But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done. 12So they took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and they found him by the great pool that is in Gibeon. 13Now as soon as all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and the commanders of the forces that were with him, they were glad. 14So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah. 15But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the sons of Ammon. 16Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him took from Mizpah all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, that is, the men who were soldiers, the women, the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon. 17And they went and stayed in Geruth Chimham, which is beside Bethlehem, in order to proceed into Egypt 18because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them, since Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the land.
1Then all the commanders of the forces, Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people both small and great approached 2and said to Jeremiah the prophet, "Please let our petition come before you, and pray for us to the LORD your God, that is for all this remnant; because we are left but a few out of many, as your own eyes now see us, 3that the LORD your God may tell us the way in which we should walk and the thing that we should do." 4Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, "I have heard you. Behold, I am going to pray to the LORD your God in accordance with your words; and I will tell you the whole message which the LORD will answer you I will not keep back a word from you." 5Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with the whole message with which the LORD your God will send you to us. 6"Whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, we will listen to the voice of the LORD our God to whom we are sending you, so that it may go well with us when we listen to the voice of the LORD our God." 7Now at the end of ten days the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah. 8Then he called for Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, and for all the people both small and great, 9and said to them, "Thus says the LORD the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your petition before Him: 10'If you will indeed stay in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I will relent concerning the calamity that I have inflicted on you. 11'Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you are now fearing; do not be afraid of him,' declares the LORD, 'for I am with you to save you and deliver you from his hand. 12'I will also show you compassion, so that he will have compassion on you and restore you to your own soil. 13'But if you are going to say, "We will not stay in this land," so as not to listen to the voice of the LORD your God, 14saying, "No, but we will go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the sound of a trumpet or hunger for bread, and we will stay there"; 15then in that case listen to the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "If you really set your mind to enter Egypt and go in to reside there, 16then the sword, which you are afraid of, will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are anxious, will follow closely after you there in Egypt, and you will die there. 17"So all the men who set their mind to go to Egypt to reside there will die by the sword, by famine and by pestilence; and they will have no survivors or refugees from the calamity that I am going to bring on them."'" 18For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "As My anger and wrath have been poured out on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so My wrath will be poured out on you when you enter Egypt And you will become a curse, an object of horror, an imprecation and a reproach; and you will see this place no more." 19The LORD has spoken to you, O remnant of Judah, "Do not go into Egypt!" You should clearly understand that today I have testified against you. 20For you have only deceived yourselves; for it is you who sent me to the LORD your God, saying, "Pray for us to the LORD our God; and whatever the LORD our God says, tell us so, and we will do it." 21So I have told you today, but you have not obeyed the LORD your God, even in whatever He has sent me to tell you. 22Therefore you should now clearly understand that you will die by the sword, by famine and by pestilence, in the place where you wish to go to reside.
1But as soon as Jeremiah, whom the LORD their God had sent, had finished telling all the people all the words of the LORD their God, that is, all these words, 2Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, "You are telling a lie! The LORD our God has not sent you to say, 'You are not to enter Egypt to reside there'; 3but Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us to give us over into the hand of the Chaldeans, so they will put us to death or exile us to Babylon." 4So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of the LORD to stay in the land of Judah. 5But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been driven away, in order to reside in the land of Judah, 6the men, the women, the children, the king's daughters and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and grandson of Shaphan, together with Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah, 7and they entered the land of Egypt (for they did not obey the voice of the LORD) and went in as far as Tahpanhes. 8Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, 9"Take some large stones in your hands and hide them in the mortar in the brick terrace which is at the entrance of Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes, in the sight of some of the Jews; 10and say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "Behold, I am going to send and get Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and I am going to set his throne right over these stones that I have hidden; and he will spread his canopy over them. 11"He will also come and strike the land of Egypt; those who are meant for death will be given over to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and those for the sword to the sword. 12"And I shall set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them captive So he will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself with his garment, and he will depart from there safely. 13"He will also shatter the obelisks of Heliopolis, which is in the land of Egypt; and the temples of the gods of Egypt he will burn with fire."'"
1The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews living in the land of Egypt, those who were living in Migdol, Tahpanhes, Memphis, and the land of Pathros, saying, 2"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'You yourselves have seen all the calamity that I have brought on Jerusalem and all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are in ruins and no one lives in them, 3because of their wickedness which they committed so as to provoke Me to anger by continuing to burn sacrifices and to serve other gods whom they had not known, neither they, you, nor your fathers. 4'Yet I sent you all My servants the prophets, again and again, saying, "Oh, do not do this abominable thing which I hate." 5'But they did not listen or incline their ears to turn from their wickedness, so as not to burn sacrifices to other gods. 6'Therefore My wrath and My anger were poured out and burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, so they have become a ruin and a desolation as it is this day. 7'Now then thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, "Why are you doing great harm to yourselves, so as to cut off from you man and woman, child and infant, from among Judah, leaving yourselves without remnant, 8provoking Me to anger with the works of your hands, burning sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you are entering to reside, so that you might be cut off and become a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? 9"Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10"But they have not become contrite even to this day, nor have they feared nor walked in My law or My statutes, which I have set before you and before your fathers."' 11"Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, 'Behold, I am going to set My face against you for woe, even to cut off all Judah. 12'And I will take away the remnant of Judah who have set their mind on entering the land of Egypt to reside there, and they will all meet their end in the land of Egypt; they will fall by the sword and meet their end by famine Both small and great will die by the sword and famine; and they will become a curse, an object of horror, an imprecation and a reproach. 13'And I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with famine and with pestilence. 14'So there will be no refugees or survivors for the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to reside there and then to return to the land of Judah, to which they are longing to return and live; for none will return except a few refugees.'" 15Then all the men who were aware that their wives were burning sacrifices to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying, 16"As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we are not going to listen to you! 17"But rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were well off and saw no misfortune. 18"But since we stopped burning sacrifices to the queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have lacked everything and have met our end by the sword and by famine." 19"And," said the women, "when we were burning sacrifices to the queen of Heaven and were pouring out drink offerings to her, was it without our husbands that we made for her sacrificial cakes in her image and poured out drink offerings to her?"
20Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and women, even to all the people who were giving him such an answer, saying, 21"As for the smoking sacrifices that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your forefathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the LORD remember them and did not all this come into His mind? 22"So the LORD was no longer able to endure it, because of the evil of your deeds, because of the abominations which you have committed; thus your land has become a ruin, an object of horror and a curse, without an inhabitant, as it is this day. 23"Because you have burned sacrifices and have sinned against the LORD and not obeyed the voice of the LORD or walked in His law, His statutes or His testimonies, therefore this calamity has befallen you, as it has this day." 24Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, "Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt, 25thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, as follows: 'As for you and your wives, you have spoken with your mouths and fulfilled it with your hands, saying, "We will certainly perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn sacrifices to the queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings to her " Go ahead and confirm your vows, and certainly perform your vows!' 26"Nevertheless hear the word of the LORD, all Judah who are living in the land of Egypt, 'Behold, I have sworn by My great name,' says the LORD, 'never shall My name be invoked again by the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, "As the Lord GOD lives." 27'Behold, I am watching over them for harm and not for good, and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt will meet their end by the sword and by famine until they are completely gone. 28'Those who escape the sword will return out of the land of Egypt to the land of Judah few in number Then all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know whose word will stand, Mine or theirs. 29'This will be the sign to you,' declares the LORD, 'that I am going to punish you in this place, so that you may know that My words will surely stand against you for harm.' 30"Thus says the LORD, 'Behold, I am going to give over Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt to the hand of his enemies, to the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave over Zedekiah king of Judah to the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life.'"
1This is the message which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written down these words in a book at Jeremiah's dictation, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying: 2"Thus says the LORD the God of Israel to you, O Baruch: 3'You said, "Ah, woe is me! For the LORD has added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning and have found no rest."' 4"Thus you are to say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, "Behold, what I have built I am about to tear down, and what I have planted I am about to uproot, that is, the whole land." 5'But you, are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I am going to bring disaster on all flesh,' declares the LORD, 'but I will give your life to you as booty in all the places where you may go.'"
1That
which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet concerning
the nations. 2To
Egypt,
concerning the army of Pharaoh
Neco king of Egypt, which was by the Euphrates River at Carchemish,
which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated in the fourth
year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
3"Line
up the shield and buckler,
And draw near for the battle!
4"Harness the horses,
And mount the steeds,
And take your stand with helmets on!
Polish
the spears,
Put on the scale-armor!
5"Why have I seen it?
They are terrified,
They are drawing
back,
And their mighty
men are defeated
And have taken refuge in flight,
Without facing back;
Terror
is on every side!"
Declares the LORD.
6Let not the
swift
man flee,
Nor the mighty man escape;
In the north beside the river Euphrates
They have stumbled
and fallen.
7Who is this that
rises
like the Nile,
Like the rivers whose waters surge about?
8Egypt rises like the Nile,
Even like the rivers whose waters surge about;
And He has said, "I will
rise
and cover that land;
I will surely destroy
the city and its inhabitants."
9Go up, you horses, and
drive
madly, you chariots,
That the mighty men may march forward:
Ethiopia and Put,
that handle the shield,
And the Lydians,
that handle and bend the bow.
10For
that
day belongs to the Lord GOD of hosts,
A day of vengeance,
so as to avenge Himself on His foes;
And the sword
will devour and be satiated
And drink its fill of their blood;
For there will be a
slaughter
for the Lord GOD of hosts,
In the land of the north by the river Euphrates.
11Go
up
to Gilead and obtain balm,
O
virgin daughter of Egypt!
In vain have you multiplied remedies;
There is no
healing for you.
12The nations have heard of your
shame,
And the earth is full of your
cry
of distress;
For one warrior
has stumbled over another,
And both of them have fallen down together.
13This
is the message which the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming
of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to smite
the land of Egypt:
14"Declare in Egypt and proclaim
in Migdol,
Proclaim also in Memphis and
Tahpanhes;
Say, 'Take your stand and get yourself ready,
For the sword
has devoured those around you.'
15"Why have your
mighty
ones become prostrate?
They do not stand because the LORD has
thrust
them down.
16"They have repeatedly
stumbled;
Indeed, they have fallen one against another
Then they said, 'Get up! And
let
us go back
To our own people and our native land
Away from the sword
of the oppressor.'
17"They cried there, 'Pharaoh
king of Egypt is but a
big noise;
He has let the appointed time pass by!'
18"As I live," declares the
King
Whose name is the LORD of hosts,
"Surely one shall come who looms up like
Tabor
among the mountains,
Or like Carmel
by the sea.
19"Make your baggage ready for
exile,
O daughter
dwelling in Egypt,
For Memphis
will become a desolation;
It will even be burned down and bereft of inhabitants.
20"Egypt is a pretty
heifer,
But a horsefly is coming
from
the north--it is coming!
21"Also her
mercenaries
in her midst
Are like fattened
calves,
For even they too have turned back and have fled away together;
They did not stand their ground
For the day of their calamity has come upon them,
The time of their
punishment.
22"Its sound moves along like a
serpent;
For they move on like an army
And come to her as woodcutters with axes.
23"They have cut down her
forest,"
declares the LORD;
"Surely it will no more be found,
Even though they are now more numerous than
locusts
And are without number.
24"The daughter of Egypt has
been put to shame,
Given over to the power of the
people
of the north."
25The
LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, says, "Behold, I am going to punish Amon of
Thebes,
and Pharaoh,
and Egypt along with her gods
and her kings, even Pharaoh and those who trust
in him. 26"I
shall give them over to the power of those who are seeking
their lives, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the
hand of his officers Afterwards,
however, it will be inhabited as in the days of old," declares the LORD.
27"But as for you, O Jacob My
servant, do
not fear,
Nor be dismayed, O Israel!
For, see, I am going to
save
you from afar,
And your descendants from the land of their captivity;
And Jacob will return and be
undisturbed
And secure, with no one making him tremble.
28"O Jacob My servant, do not
fear," declares the LORD,
"For I
am with you
For I will make a full end of all the nations
Where I have driven you,
Yet I will not
make a full end of you;
But I will correct
you properly
And by no means leave you unpunished."
1That which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh conquered Gaza.
2Thus
says the LORD:
"Behold, waters are going to rise from
the
north
And become an overflowing torrent,
And overflow
the land and all its fullness,
The city and those who live in it;
And the men will
cry
out,
And every inhabitant of the land will wail.
3"Because of the noise of the
galloping
hoofs of his stallions,
The tumult of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels,
The fathers have not turned back for their children,
Because of the limpness of their hands,
4On account of the day that is
coming
To destroy
all the Philistines,
To cut off from Tyre
and Sidon
Every ally that is left;
For the LORD is going to destroy the Philistines,
The remnant of the coastland of
Caphtor.
5"Baldness
has come upon Gaza;
Ashkelon
has been ruined
O remnant of their valley,
How long will you
gash
yourself?
6"Ah,
sword
of the LORD,
How long will you not be quiet?
Withdraw into your sheath;
Be at rest and stay still.
7"How can it be quiet,
When the LORD has
given
it an order?
Against Ashkelon and against the seacoast--
There He has assigned
it."
1Concerning
Moab
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel,
"Woe to Nebo,
for it has been destroyed;
Kiriathaim
has been put to shame, it has been captured;
The lofty stronghold has been put to shame and shattered.
2"There is praise for Moab no
longer;
In Heshbon
they have devised calamity against her:
'Come and let us cut her off from being a nation!'
You too, Madmen,
will be silenced;
The sword will follow after you.
3"The sound of an outcry from
Horonaim,
'Devastation and great destruction!'
4"Moab is broken,
Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress.
5"For by the ascent of
Luhith
They will ascend with continual weeping;
For at the descent of Horonaim
They have heard the anguished cry of destruction.
6"Flee,
save your lives,
That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.
7"For because of your
trust
in your own achievements and treasures,
Even you yourself will be captured;
And Chemosh
will go off into exile
Together with his priests and his princes.
8"A destroyer will come to every
city,
So that no city will escape;
The valley also will be ruined
And the plateau
will be destroyed,
As the LORD has said.
9"Give
wings
to Moab,
For she will flee away;
And her cities will become a
desolation,
Without inhabitants in them.
10"Cursed
be the one who does the LORD'S work negligently,
And cursed be the one who restrains his
sword
from blood.
11"Moab has been
at
ease since his youth;
He has also been
undisturbed,
like wine on its dregs,
And he has not been
emptied
from vessel to vessel,
Nor has he gone into exile.
Therefore he retains his flavor,
And his aroma has not changed.
12"Therefore
behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will send to him those
who tip vessels, and they will tip him over, and they will empty his vessels and
shatter his jars. 13"And
Moab will be ashamed
of Chemosh,
as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel,
their confidence.
14"How can you say, 'We are
mighty
warriors,
And men valiant for battle'?
15"Moab has been destroyed and
men have gone up to his cities;
His choicest young
men have also gone down to the slaughter,"
Declares the King,
whose name is the LORD of hosts.
16"The disaster of Moab will
soon
come,
And his calamity has swiftly hastened.
17"Mourn for him, all you who
live around him,
Even all of you who know his name;
Say, 'How has the mighty
scepter
been broken,
A staff of splendor!'
18"Come
down from your glory
And sit on the parched ground,
O daughter
dwelling in Dibon,
For the destroyer of Moab has come up against you,
He has ruined your strongholds.
19"Stand by the road and keep
watch,
O inhabitant of Aroer;
Ask
him who flees and her who escapes
And say, 'What has happened?'
20"Moab has been put to shame,
for it has been shattered.
Wail and cry out;
Declare by the Arnon
That Moab has been destroyed.
21"Judgment
has also come upon the plain, upon Holon, Jahzah
and against Mephaath, 22against
Dibon, Nebo and Beth-diblathaim, 23against
Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul and Beth-meon, 24against
Kerioth,
Bozrah and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25"The
horn
of Moab has been cut off and his arm
broken," declares the LORD. 26"Make
him drunk, for he has become arrogant
toward the LORD; so Moab will wallow in his vomit, and he also will become a
laughingstock. 27"Now
was not Israel a laughingstock
to you? Or was he caught
among thieves? For each time you speak about him you shake
your head in scorn.
28"Leave the cities and dwell
among the crags,
O inhabitants of Moab,
And be like a dove
that nests
Beyond the mouth of the chasm.
29"We
have heard of the pride of Moab--he is very proud--
Of his haughtiness, his
pride,
his arrogance and his self-exaltation.
30"I know his
fury,"
declares the LORD,
"But it is futile;
His idle boasts have accomplished nothing.
31"Therefore I will
wail
for Moab,
Even for all Moab will I cry out;
I will moan for the men of
Kir-heres.
32"More than the
weeping
for Jazer
I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah!
Your tendrils stretched across the sea,
They reached to the sea of Jazer;
Upon your summer fruits and your grape harvest
The destroyer has fallen.
33"So
gladness
and joy are taken away
From the fruitful field, even from the land of Moab
And I have made the wine to
cease
from the wine presses;
No one will tread them with shouting,
The shouting will not be shouts of joy.
34"From the outcry at Heshbon even to Elealeh, even to Jahaz they have raised their voice, from Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim will become desolate. 35"I will make an end of Moab," declares the LORD, "the one who offers sacrifice on the high place and the one who burns incense to his gods. 36"Therefore My heart wails for Moab like flutes; My heart also wails like flutes for the men of Kir-heres Therefore they have lost the abundance it produced. 37"For every head is bald and every beard cut short; there are gashes on all the hands and sackcloth on the loins. 38"On all the housetops of Moab and in its streets there is lamentation everywhere; for I have broken Moab like an undesirable vessel," declares the LORD. 39"How shattered it is! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back--he is ashamed! So Moab will become a laughingstock and an object of terror to all around him."
40For
thus says the LORD:
"Behold, one will
fly
swiftly like an eagle
And spread
out his wings against Moab.
41"Kerioth has been captured
And the strongholds have been seized,
So the hearts
of the mighty men of Moab in that day
Will be like the heart of a
woman
in labor.
42"Moab will be
destroyed
from being a people
Because he has become
arrogant
toward the LORD.
43"Terror,
pit and snare are coming upon you,
O inhabitant of Moab," declares the LORD.
44"The one who
flees
from the terror
Will fall into the pit,
And the one who climbs up out of the pit
Will be caught in the snare;
For I shall bring upon her, even upon Moab,
The year of their
punishment,"
declares the LORD.
45"In the shadow of Heshbon
The fugitives stand without strength;
For a fire has gone forth from Heshbon
And a flame
from the midst of Sihon,
And it has devoured the
forehead
of Moab
And the scalps of the riotous revelers.
46"Woe
to you, Moab!
The people of Chemosh
have perished;
For your sons have been taken away captive
And your daughters into captivity.
47"Yet I will
restore
the fortunes of Moab
In the latter days," declares the LORD. Thus far the judgment on Moab.
1Concerning
the sons of Ammon.
Thus says the LORD:
"Does Israel have no sons?
Or has he no heirs?
Why then has Malcam taken possession of Gad
And his people settled in its cities?
2"Therefore behold, the days are
coming," declares the LORD,
"That I will cause a
trumpet
blast of war to be heard
Against Rabbah
of the sons of Ammon;
And it will become a desolate heap,
And her towns
will be set on fire
Then Israel will take
possession
of his possessors,"
Says the LORD.
3"Wail, O
Heshbon,
for Ai
has been destroyed!
Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah,
Gird
yourselves with sackcloth and lament,
And rush back and forth inside the walls;
For Malcam will go
into exile
Together with his priests and his princes.
4"How
boastful
you are about the valleys!
Your valley is flowing away,
O backsliding
daughter
Who trusts in her
treasures,
saying,
'Who
will come against me?'
5"Behold, I am going to bring
terror
upon you,"
Declares the Lord GOD of hosts,
"From all directions around you;
And each of you will be
driven
out headlong,
With no one to gather the
fugitives
together.
6"But afterward I will
restore
The fortunes of the sons of Ammon,"
Declares the LORD.
7Concerning
Edom
Thus says the LORD of hosts,
"Is there no longer any
wisdom
in Teman?
Has good counsel been lost to the prudent?
Has their wisdom decayed?
8"Flee away, turn back, dwell in
the depths,
O inhabitants of
Dedan,
For I will bring the
disaster
of Esau upon him
At the time I punish him.
9"If
grape gatherers came to you,
Would they not leave gleanings?
If thieves came by night,
They would destroy only until they had enough.
10"But I have
stripped
Esau bare,
I have uncovered his hiding places
So that he will not be able to conceal himself;
His offspring has been destroyed along with his relatives
And his neighbors, and
he
is no more.
11"Leave your
orphans
behind, I will keep them alive;
And let your widows
trust in Me."
12For
thus says the LORD, "Behold, those who were not sentenced to drink the
cup
will certainly drink it, and are you the one who will be completely
acquitted? You will not be acquitted, but you will certainly drink it. 13"For
I have sworn
by Myself," declares the LORD, "that Bozrah
will become an object
of horror, a reproach, a ruin and a curse; and all its cities will become
perpetual ruins."
14I have
heard
a message from the LORD,
And an envoy
is sent among the nations, saying,
"Gather
yourselves together and come against her,
And rise up for battle!"
15"For behold, I have made you
small among the nations,
Despised among men.
16"As for the terror of you,
The arrogance of your heart has deceived you,
O you who live in the clefts of the
rock,
Who occupy the height of the hill
Though you make your nest as
high
as an eagle's,
I will bring
you down from there," declares the LORD.
17"Edom will become an object of horror; everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss at all its wounds. 18"Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah with its neighbors," says the LORD, "no one will live there, nor will a son of man reside in it. 19"Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan against a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will make him run away from it, and whoever is chosen I shall appoint over it For who is like Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can stand against Me?" 20Therefore hear the plan of the LORD which He has planned against Edom, and His purposes which He has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: surely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their pasture desolate because of them. 21The earth has quaked at the noise of their downfall. There is an outcry! The noise of it has been heard at the Red Sea. 22Behold, He will mount up and swoop like an eagle and spread out His wings against Bozrah; and the hearts of the mighty men of Edom in that day will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
23Concerning
Damascus
"Hamath
and Arpad
are put to shame,
For they have heard bad news;
They are disheartened
There is anxiety by the sea,
It cannot
be calmed.
24"Damascus has become helpless;
She has turned away to flee,
And panic has gripped her;
Distress
and pangs have taken hold of her
Like a woman in childbirth.
25"How the
city
of praise has not been deserted,
The town of My joy!
26"Therefore, her
young
men will fall in her streets,
And all the men of war will be silenced in that day," declares the LORD
of hosts.
27"I will
set
fire to the wall of Damascus,
And it will devour the fortified towers of
Ben-hadad."
28Concerning
Kedar
and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated Thus
says the LORD,
"Arise, go up to Kedar
And devastate the
men
of the east.
29"They will take away their
tents and their flocks;
They will carry off for themselves
Their tent curtains,
all their goods and their camels,
And they will call out to one another,
'Terror
on every side!'
30"Run away, flee! Dwell in the
depths,
O inhabitants of Hazor," declares the LORD;
"For Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon has formed a plan against you
And devised a scheme against you.
31"Arise, go up against a nation
which is at
ease,
Which lives securely," declares the LORD
"It has no
gates or bars;
They dwell
alone.
32"Their camels will become
plunder,
And their many cattle for booty,
And I will scatter
to all the winds those who cut
the corners of their hair;
And I will bring their disaster from every side," declares the LORD.
33"Hazor will become a
haunt
of jackals,
A desolation forever;
No one will live there,
Nor will a son of man reside in it."
34That
which came as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam,
at
the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying:
35"Thus says the LORD of hosts,
'Behold, I am going to
break
the bow of Elam,
The finest of their might.
36'I will bring upon Elam the
four
winds
From the four ends of Heaven,
And will scatter
them to all these winds;
And there will be no nation
To which the outcasts of Elam will not go.
37'So I will shatter Elam before
their enemies
And before those who seek their lives;
And I will bring
calamity upon them,
Even My fierce
anger,' declares the LORD,
'And I will send
out the sword after them
Until I have consumed them.
38'Then I will set My throne in
Elam
And destroy out of it king and princes,'
Declares the LORD.
39'But it will come about in the
last days
That I will restore
the fortunes of Elam,'"
Declares the LORD.
1The
word which the LORD spoke concerning Babylon,
the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet:
2"Declare
and proclaim among the nations
Proclaim it and lift
up a standard
Do not conceal it but say,
'Babylon
has been captured,
Bel
has been put to shame, Marduk has been shattered;
Her images
have been put to shame, her idols have been shattered.'
3"For
a nation has come up against her out of the north;
it will make her land an
object of horror, and there will be no
inhabitant in it. Both man and beast have wandered off, they have gone away! 4"In
those days and at that time," declares the LORD, "the sons of Israel will come,
both they and the sons of Judah as
well; they will go along weeping
as they go, and it will be the
LORD their God they will seek. 5"They
will ask
for the way to Zion, turning their faces in its direction; they will come that
they may join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting
covenant that will not be forgotten.
6"My people have become
lost
sheep;
Their
shepherds have led them astray
They have made them turn aside on the
mountains;
They have gone along from mountain to hill
And have forgotten their
resting
place.
7"All who came upon them have
devoured them;
And their adversaries have said,
'We
are not guilty,
Inasmuch as they have sinned against the LORD who is the
habitation
of righteousness,
Even the LORD, the
hope
of their fathers.'
8"Wander away from the
midst
of Babylon
And go forth from the land of the Chaldeans;
Be also like male goats at the head of the flock.
9"For behold, I am going to
arouse and
bring up against Babylon
A horde of great nations from the land of the north,
And they will draw up their battle lines against her;
From there she will be taken captive.
Their arrows will be like an expert warrior
Who does not return empty-handed.
10"Chaldea
will become plunder;
All who plunder her will have enough," declares the LORD.
11"Because you are glad, because
you are jubilant,
O you who pillage
My heritage,
Because you skip about like a threshing
heifer
And neigh like stallions,
12Your
mother
will be greatly ashamed,
She who gave you birth will be humiliated
Behold, she will be the least of the nations,
A wilderness,
a parched land and a desert.
13"Because of the indignation of
the LORD she will not
be inhabited,
But she will be completely
desolate;
Everyone who passes by Babylon
will
be horrified
And will hiss because of all her wounds.
14"Draw up your battle lines
against Babylon on every side,
All you who bend the bow;
Shoot at her, do not be sparing with your arrows,
For she has sinned
against the LORD.
15"Raise your battle cry against
her on every side!
She has given
herself up, her pillars have fallen,
Her walls
have been torn down
For this is the vengeance
of the LORD:
Take vengeance on her;
As
she has done to others, so do to her.
16"Cut off the
sower
from Babylon
And the one who wields the sickle at the time of harvest;
From before the sword
of the oppressor
They
will each turn back to his own people
And they will each flee to his own land.
17"Israel
is a scattered
flock, the lions
have driven them away The first one who devoured him was the king
of Assyria, and this last one who has broken his bones is Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon. 18"Therefore
thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: 'Behold, I am going to punish
the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished
the king of Assyria. 19'And
I will bring
Israel back to his pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan, and his
desire will be satisfied in the hill
country of Ephraim and Gilead. 20'In
those days and at that time,' declares the LORD, 'search will be made for the
iniquity of Israel, but there
will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will
pardon those whom
I leave as a remnant.'
21"Against the land of
Merathaim,
go up against it,
And against the inhabitants of
Pekod.
Slay and utterly destroy them," declares the LORD,
"And do according to all that I have commanded you.
22"The
noise
of battle is in the land,
And great destruction.
23"How the
hammer
of the whole earth
Has been cut off and broken!
How Babylon has become
An object of horror among the nations!
24"I
set
a snare for you and you were also caught,
O Babylon,
While you yourself were not aware;
You have been found and also seized
Because you have engaged in
conflict
with the LORD."
25The LORD has opened His armory
And has brought forth the
weapons
of His indignation,
For it is a work
of the Lord GOD of hosts
In the land of the Chaldeans.
26Come to her from the farthest
border;
Open
up her barns,
Pile her up like heaps
And utterly
destroy her,
Let nothing be left to her.
27Put
all her young bulls to the sword;
Let them go
down to the slaughter!
Woe be upon them, for their
day
has come,
The time of their punishment.
28There is a
sound
of fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon,
To declare in Zion the
vengeance
of the LORD our God,
Vengeance for His
temple.
29"Summon many
against Babylon,
All those who bend the bow:
Encamp against her on every side,
Let there be no escape.
Repay her according to her work;
According
to all that she has done, so do to her;
For she has become
arrogant
against the LORD,
Against the Holy One of Israel.
30"Therefore her
young
men will fall in her streets,
And all her men of war will be
silenced
in that day," declares the LORD.
31"Behold,
I
am against you, O arrogant one,"
Declares the Lord GOD of hosts,
"For your day has come,
The time when I will punish you.
32"The
arrogant
one will stumble and fall
With no one to raise him up;
And I will set
fire to his cities
And it will devour all his environs."
33Thus says the LORD of hosts,
"The sons of Israel are oppressed,
And the sons of Judah as well;
And all
who took them captive have held them fast,
They have refused to let them go.
34"Their
Redeemer
is strong, the
LORD of hosts is His name;
He will vigorously
plead
their case
So that He may bring
rest to the earth,
But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.
35"A
sword
against the Chaldeans," declares the LORD,
"And against the inhabitants of Babylon
And against her officials
and her wise
men!
36"A sword against the
oracle
priests, and they will become fools!
A sword against her
mighty
men, and they will be shattered!
37"A sword against their
horses
and against their chariots
And against all the
foreigners
who are in the midst of her,
And they will become
women!
A sword against her treasures, and they will be plundered!
38"A
drought
on her waters, and they will be dried up!
For it is a land of
idols,
And they are mad over fearsome idols.
39"Therefore the
desert
creatures will live there along with the jackals;
The ostriches also will live in it,
And it will never
again be inhabited
Or dwelt in from generation to generation.
40"As when God overthrew
Sodom
And Gomorrah with its neighbors," declares the LORD,
"No man will live there,
Nor will any son of man reside in it.
41"Behold, a people is coming
from
the north,
And a great nation and many kings
Will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.
42"They
seize
their bow and javelin;
They are cruel
and have no mercy
Their voice
roars like the sea;
And they ride on
horses,
Marshalled
like a man for the battle
Against you, O daughter of Babylon.
43"The
king
of Babylon has heard the report about them,
And his hands hang limp;
Distress
has gripped him,
Agony like a woman in childbirth.
44"Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan to a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will make them run away from it, and whoever is chosen I will appoint over it For who is like Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can stand before Me?" 45Therefore hear the plan of the LORD which He has planned against Babylon, and His purposes which He has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: surely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their pasture desolate because of them. 46At the shout, "Babylon has been seized!" the earth is shaken, and an outcry is heard among the nations.
1Thus
says the LORD:
"Behold, I am going to arouse against Babylon
And against the inhabitants of
Leb-kamai
The spirit
of a destroyer.
2"I will dispatch foreigners to
Babylon that they may winnow
her
And may devastate her land;
For on every side they will be opposed to her
In the day of her calamity.
3"Let not him who
bends
his bow bend it,
Nor let him rise up in his
scale-armor;
So do not spare her young men;
Devote all her army to destruction.
4"They will fall down slain in
the land of the Chaldeans,
And pierced
through in their streets."
5For
neither
Israel nor Judah has been forsaken
By his God, the LORD of hosts,
Although their land is
full
of guilt
Before the Holy One of Israel.
6Flee
from the midst of Babylon,
And each of you save his life!
Do not be destroyed
in her punishment,
For this is the LORD'S
time of vengeance;
He is going to render
recompense to her.
7Babylon has been a golden
cup in the
hand of the LORD,
Intoxicating all the earth
The nations
have drunk of her wine;
Therefore the nations are
going
mad.
8Suddenly
Babylon
has fallen and been broken;
Wail
over her!
Bring
balm for her pain;
Perhaps she may be healed.
9We applied healing to Babylon,
but she was not healed;
Forsake her and let
us each go to his own country,
For her judgment has
reached
to Heaven
And towers up to the very skies.
10The LORD has
brought
about our vindication;
Come and let us recount
in Zion
The work of the LORD our God!
11Sharpen
the arrows, fill the quivers!
The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes,
Because His purpose is against Babylon to destroy it;
For it is the vengeance
of the LORD, vengeance for His temple.
12Lift
up a signal against the walls of Babylon;
Post a strong guard,
Station sentries,
Place men in ambush!
For the LORD has both
purposed
and performed
What He spoke concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
13O you who
dwell
by many waters,
Abundant in treasures,
Your end has come,
The measure of your
end.
14The
LORD
of hosts has sworn by Himself:
"Surely I will fill you with a population like
locusts,
And they will cry out with shouts of victory over you."
15It is
He
who made the earth by His power,
Who established the world by His wisdom,
And by His understanding He
stretched
out the Heavens.
16When He utters His
voice,
there is a tumult of waters in the Heavens,
And He causes the
clouds
to ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain
And brings forth the
wind
from His storehouses.
17All
mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
For his molten images are
deceitful,
And there is no breath in them.
18They are
worthless,
a work of mockery;
In the time of their punishment they will perish.
19The
portion
of Jacob is not like these;
For the Maker of all is He,
And of the tribe of His inheritance;
The LORD
of hosts is His name.
20He says, "You are My
war-club,
My weapon of war;
And with you I shatter
nations,
And with you I destroy kingdoms.
21"With you I
shatter
the horse and his rider,
And with you I shatter the
chariot
and its rider,
22And with you I shatter
man
and woman,
And with you I shatter old man and
youth,
And with you I shatter young man and virgin,
23And with you I shatter the
shepherd and his flock,
And with you I shatter the farmer and his team,
And with you I shatter governors and prefects.
24"But
I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea
for all
their evil that they have done in Zion before your eyes," declares the LORD.
25"Behold,
I
am against you, O
destroying mountain,
Who destroys the whole earth," declares the LORD,
"And I will stretch out My hand against you,
And roll you down from the crags,
And I will make you a
burnt
out mountain.
26"They will not take from you
even a stone for a corner
Nor a stone for foundations,
But you will be desolate
forever," declares the LORD.
27Lift
up a signal in the land,
Blow a trumpet among the nations!
Consecrate the nations against her,
Summon against her the
kingdoms
of Ararat,
Minni and Ashkenaz;
Appoint a marshal against her,
Bring up the horses
like bristly locusts.
28Consecrate the nations against
her,
The kings of the Medes,
Their governors and all their prefects,
And every land of their dominion.
29So the
land
quakes and writhes,
For the purposes of the LORD against Babylon stand,
To make the land of Babylon
A desolation
without inhabitants.
30The
mighty
men of Babylon have ceased fighting,
They stay in the strongholds;
Their
strength is exhausted,
They are becoming
like
women;
Their dwelling places are set on fire,
The bars
of her gates are broken.
31One
courier
runs to meet another,
And one messenger
to meet another,
To tell the king of Babylon
That his city has been captured from end to end;
32The fords also have been
seized,
And they have burned the marshes with fire,
And the men of war are terrified.
33For
thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
"The daughter of Babylon is like a
threshing
floor
At the time it is stamped firm;
Yet in a little while the time of
harvest
will come for her."
34"Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon has devoured
me and crushed me,
He has set me down like an
empty
vessel;
He has swallowed
me like a monster,
He has filled his stomach with my delicacies;
He has washed me away.
35"May the
violence
done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,"
The inhabitant of Zion will say;
And, "May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,"
Jerusalem will say.
36Therefore
thus says the LORD,
"Behold, I am going to
plead
your case
And exact
full vengeance for you;
And I
will dry up her sea
And make her fountain dry.
37"Babylon
will become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals,
An object
of horror and hissing, without inhabitants.
38"They will roar together like
young
lions,
They will growl like lions' cubs.
39"When they become heated up, I
will serve them their banquet
And make
them drunk, that they may become jubilant
And may sleep
a perpetual sleep
And not wake up," declares the LORD.
40"I will bring them down like
lambs to
the slaughter,
Like rams together with male goats.
41"How Sheshak
has been captured,
And the
praise of the whole earth been seized!
How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!
42"The
sea
has come up over Babylon;
She has been engulfed with its tumultuous waves.
43"Her cities have become an
object
of horror,
A parched land and a desert,
A land in which no
man lives
And through which no son of man passes.
44"I
will punish Bel in Babylon,
And I will make what he has swallowed
come
out of his mouth;
And the nations will no longer
stream
to him
Even the wall
of Babylon has fallen down!
45"Come
forth from her midst, My people,
And each of you save
yourselves
From the fierce anger of the LORD.
46"Now
so
that your heart does not grow faint,
And you are not afraid at the
report
that will be heard in the land--
For the report will come one year,
And after that another report in another year,
And violence will be in the land
With ruler
against ruler,
47Therefore behold, days are
coming
When I will punish the
idols
of Babylon;
And her whole land will be
put
to shame
And all her slain will fall in her midst.
48"Then
Heaven
and earth and all that is in them
Will shout for joy over Babylon,
For the
destroyers will come to her from the north,"
Declares the LORD.
49Indeed
Babylon is to fall for the slain of Israel,
As also for Babylon
the
slain of all the earth have fallen.
50You
who
have escaped the sword,
Depart! Do not stay!
Remember
the LORD from afar,
And let Jerusalem come to your mind.
51We
are ashamed because we have heard reproach;
Disgrace has covered our faces,
For aliens
have entered
The holy places of the LORD'S house.
52"Therefore behold, the days
are coming," declares the LORD,
"When I will punish her
idols,
And the mortally wounded will groan throughout her land.
53"Though Babylon should
ascend
to the Heavens,
And though she should fortify her lofty stronghold,
From Me
destroyers will come to her," declares the LORD.
54The
sound
of an outcry from Babylon,
And of great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans!
55For the LORD is going to
destroy Babylon,
And He will make her loud noise vanish from her.
And their waves
will roar like many waters;
The tumult of their voices sounds forth.
56For the
destroyer
is coming against her, against Babylon,
And her mighty men will be captured,
Their bows
are shattered;
For the LORD is a God of
recompense,
He will fully repay.
57"I will
make
her princes and her wise men drunk,
Her governors, her prefects and her mighty men,
That they may sleep a
perpetual
sleep and not wake up,"
Declares
the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
58Thus
says the LORD of hosts,
"The broad wall
of Babylon will be completely razed
And her high gates
will be set on fire;
So the peoples will
toil
for nothing,
And the nations become
exhausted
only for fire."
59The message which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the grandson of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. (Now Seraiah was quartermaster.) 60So Jeremiah wrote in a single scroll all the calamity which would come upon Babylon, that is, all these words which have been written concerning Babylon. 61Then Jeremiah said to Seraiah, "As soon as you come to Babylon, then see that you read all these words aloud, 62and say, 'You, O LORD, have promised concerning this place to cut it off, so that there will be nothing dwelling in it, whether man or beast, but it will be a perpetual desolation.' 63"And as soon as you finish reading this scroll, you will tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates, 64and say, 'Just so shall Babylon sink down and not rise again because of the calamity that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become exhausted '" Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
1Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2He did evil in the sight of the LORD like all that Jehoiakim had done. 3For through the anger of the LORD this came about in Jerusalem and Judah until He cast them out from His presence And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4Now it came about in the ninth year of his reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, camped against it and built a siege wall all around it. 5So the city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 7Then the city was broken into, and all the men of war fled and went forth from the city at night by way of the gate between the two walls which was by the king's garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. And they went by way of the Arabah. 8But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 9Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, and he passed sentence on him. 10The king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and he also slaughtered all the princes of Judah in Riblah. 11Then he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of Babylon bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon and put him in prison until the day of his death. 12Now on the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard, who was in the service of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13He burned the house of the LORD, the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; even every large house he burned with fire. 14So all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the artisans. 16But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen. 17Now the bronze pillars which belonged to the house of the LORD and the stands and the bronze sea, which were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried all their bronze to Babylon. 18They also took away the pots, the shovels, the snuffers, the basins, the pans and all the bronze vessels which were used in temple service. 19The captain of the guard also took away the bowls, the firepans, the basins, the pots, the lampstands, the pans and the drink offering bowls, what was fine gold and what was fine silver. 20The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve bronze bulls that were under the sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 21As for the pillars, the height of each pillar was eighteen cubits, and it was twelve cubits in circumference and four fingers in thickness, and hollow. 22Now a capital of bronze was on it; and the height of each capital was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capital all around, all of bronze. And the second pillar was like these, including pomegranates. 23There were ninety-six exposed pomegranates; all the pomegranates numbered a hundred on the network all around. 24Then the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest, with the three officers of the temple. 25He also took from the city one official who was overseer of the men of war, and seven of the king's advisers who were found in the city, and the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city. 26Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27Then the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath So Judah was led away into exile from its land. 28These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away into exile: in the seventh year 3,023 Jews; 29in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 persons from Jerusalem; 30in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4,600 persons in all. 31Now it came about in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth of the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, showed favor to Jehoiachin king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32Then he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 33So Jehoiachin changed his prison clothes, and had his meals in the king's presence regularly all the days of his life. 34For his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king of Babylon, a daily portion all the days of his life until the day of his death.
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