Jeremiah 1-21

New King James Version

⁵ “Before I ^(H)formed you in the womb ^(I)I knew you;
Before you were born I ^(J)sanctified^[a] you;
I ^[b]ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

^(K)“Ah, Lord God!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And ^(L)whatever I command you, you shall speak.
^8 (M)Do not be afraid of their faces,
For ^(N)I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

“Behold, I have ^(P)put My words in your mouth.
^10 (Q)See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To ^(R)root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.”

“Out of the ^(T)north calamity shall break forth
On all the inhabitants of the land.
¹⁵ For behold, I am ^(U)calling
All the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord;
“They shall come and ^(V)each one set his throne
At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,
Against all its walls all around,
And against all the cities of Judah.
¹⁶ I will utter My judgments
Against them concerning all their wickedness,
Because ^(W)they have forsaken Me,
Burned ^(X)incense to other gods,
And worshiped the works of their own ^(Y)hands.

¹⁷ “Therefore ^(Z)prepare yourself and arise,
And speak to them all that I command you.
^(AA)Do not be dismayed before their faces,
Lest I dismay you before them.
¹⁸ For behold, I have made you this day
^(AB)A fortified city and an iron pillar,
And bronze walls against the whole land—
Against the kings of Judah,
Against its princes,
Against its priests,
And against the people of the land.
¹⁹ They will fight against you,
But they shall not prevail against you.
For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”

“I remember you,
The kindness of your ^(AC)youth,
The love of your betrothal,
^(AD)When you ^[e]went after Me in the wilderness,
In a land not sown.
^3 (AE)Israel was holiness to the Lord,
^(AF)The firstfruits of His increase.
^(AG)All that devour him will offend;
Disaster will ^(AH)come upon them,” says the Lord.’ ”

^(AI)“What injustice have your fathers found in Me,
That they have gone far from Me,
^(AJ)Have followed ^[f]idols,
And have become idolaters?
⁶ Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord,
Who ^(AK)brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who led us through ^(AL)the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and pits,
Through a land of drought and the shadow of death,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no one dwelt?’
⁷ I brought you into ^(AM)a bountiful country,
To eat its fruit and its goodness.
But when you entered, you ^(AN)defiled My land
And made My heritage an abomination.
⁸ The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the ^(AO)law did not know Me;
The rulers also transgressed against Me;
^(AP)The prophets prophesied by Baal,
And walked after things that do not profit.

⁹ “Therefore ^(AQ)I will yet ^[g]bring charges against you,” says the Lord,
“And against your children’s children I will bring charges.
¹⁰ For pass beyond the coasts of ^[h]Cyprus and see,
Send to ^[i]Kedar and consider diligently,
And see if there has been such a ^(AR)thing.
^11 (AS)Has a nation changed its gods,
Which are ^(AT)not gods?
^(AU)But My people have changed their Glory
For what does not profit.
¹² Be astonished, O heavens, at this,
And be horribly afraid;
Be very desolate,” says the Lord.
¹³ “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the ^(AV)fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.

¹⁴ “Is Israel ^(AW)a servant?
Is he a homeborn slave?
Why is he plundered?
^15 (AX)The young lions roared at him, and growled;
They made his land waste;
His cities are burned, without inhabitant.
¹⁶ Also the people of ^[j]Noph and ^(AY)Tahpanhes
Have ^[k]broken the crown of your head.
^17 (AZ)Have you not brought this on yourself,
In that you have forsaken the Lord your God
When ^(BA)He led you in the way?
¹⁸ And now why take ^(BB)the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of ^(BC)Sihor?
Or why take the road to ^(BD)Assyria,
To drink the waters of ^[l]the River?
¹⁹ Your own wickedness will ^(BE)correct you,
And your backslidings will rebuke you.
Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing
That you have forsaken the Lord your God,
And the ^[m]fear of Me is not in you,”
Says the Lord God of hosts.

²⁰ “For of old I have ^(BF)broken your yoke and burst your bonds;
And ^(BG)you said, ‘I will not ^[n]transgress,’
When ^(BH)on every high hill and under every green tree
You lay down, ^(BI)playing the harlot.
²¹ Yet I had ^(BJ)planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality.
How then have you turned before Me
Into ^(BK)the degenerate plant of an alien vine?
²² For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap,
Yet your iniquity is ^(BL)marked^[o] before Me,” says the Lord God.

²³ “How^(BM) can you say, ‘I am not ^[p]polluted,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
See your way in the valley;
Know what you have done:
You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways,
²⁴ A wild donkey used to the wilderness,
That sniffs at the wind in her desire;
In her time of mating, who can turn her away?
All those who seek her will not weary themselves;
In her month they will find her.
²⁵ Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst.
But you said, ^(BN)‘There is no hope.
No! For I have loved ^(BO)aliens, and after them I will go.’

²⁶ “As the thief is ashamed when he is found out,
So is the house of Israel ashamed;
They and their kings and their princes, and their priests and their ^(BP)prophets,
²⁷ Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
And to a ^(BQ)stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face.
But in the time of their ^(BR)trouble
They will say, ‘Arise and save us.’
²⁸ But ^(BS)where are your gods that you have made for yourselves?
Let them arise,
If they ^(BT)can save you in the time of your ^[q]trouble;
For ^(BU)according to the number of your cities
Are your gods, O Judah.

²⁹ “Why will you plead with Me?
You all have transgressed against Me,” says the Lord.
³⁰ “In vain I have ^(BV)chastened your children;
They ^(BW)received no correction.
Your sword has ^(BX)devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.

³¹ “O generation, see the word of the Lord!
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a land of darkness?
Why do My people say, ‘We ^[r]are lords;
^(BY)We will come no more to You’?
³² Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people ^(BZ)have forgotten Me days without number.

³³ “Why do you beautify your way to seek love?
Therefore you have also taught
The wicked women your ways.
³⁴ Also on your skirts is found
^(CA)The blood of the lives of the poor innocents.
I have not found it by ^[s]secret search,
But plainly on all these things.
^35 (CB)Yet you say, ‘Because I am innocent,
Surely His anger shall turn from me.’
Behold, ^(CC)I will plead My case against you,
^(CD)Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
^36 (CE)Why do you gad about so much to change your way?
Also ^(CF)you shall be ashamed of Egypt ^(CG)as you were ashamed of Assyria.
³⁷ Indeed you will go forth from him
With your hands on ^(CH)your head;
For the Lord has rejected your trusted allies,
And you will ^(CI)not prosper by them.

² “Lift up your eyes to ^(CN)the desolate heights and see:
Where have you not ^[t]lain with men?
^(CO)By the road you have sat for them
Like an Arabian in the wilderness;
^(CP)And you have polluted the land
With your harlotries and your wickedness.
³ Therefore the ^(CQ)showers have been withheld,
And there has been no latter rain.
You have had a ^(CR)harlot’s forehead;
You refuse to be ashamed.
⁴ Will you not from this time cry to Me,
‘My Father, You are ^(CS)the guide of ^(CT)my youth?
^5 (CU)Will He remain angry forever?
Will He keep it to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken and done evil things,
As you were able.”

‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord;
‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you.
For I am ^(DH)merciful,’ says the Lord;
‘I will not remain angry forever.
^13 (DI)Only acknowledge your iniquity,
That you have transgressed against the Lord your God,
And have ^(DJ)scattered your ^[u]charms
To ^(DK)alien deities ^(DL)under every green tree,
And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the Lord.

‘How can I put you among the children
And give you ^(DY)a pleasant land,
A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’

‘You shall call Me, ^(DZ)“My Father,”
And not turn away from Me.’
²⁰ Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her ^[w]husband,
So ^(EA)have you dealt treacherously with Me,
O house of Israel,” says the Lord.

²¹ A voice was heard on ^(EB)the desolate heights,
Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel.
For they have perverted their way;
They have forgotten the Lord their God.

²² “Return, you backsliding children,
And I will ^(EC)heal your backslidings.”

“Indeed we do come to You,
For You are the Lord our God.
^23 (ED)Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills,
And from the multitude of mountains;
^(EE)Truly, in the Lord our God
Is the salvation of Israel.
^24 (EF)For shame has devoured
The labor of our fathers from our youth—
Their flocks and their herds,
Their sons and their daughters.
²⁵ We lie down in our shame,
And our ^[x]reproach covers us.
^(EG)For we have sinned against the Lord our God,
We and our fathers,
From our youth even to this day,
And ^(EH)have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”

^(EN)“Break up your ^[z]fallow ground,
And ^(EO)do not sow among thorns.
^4 (EP)Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
And take away the foreskins of your hearts,
You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Lest My fury come forth like fire,
And burn so that no one can quench it,
Because of the evil of your doings.”

^(EQ)“Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry, ‘Gather together,’
And say, ^(ER)‘Assemble yourselves,
And let us go into the fortified cities.’
⁶ Set up the ^[aa]standard toward Zion.
Take refuge! Do not delay!
For I will bring disaster from the ^(ES)north,
And great destruction.”

^7 (ET)The lion has come up from his thicket,
And ^(EU)the destroyer of nations is on his way.
He has gone forth from his place
^(EV)To make your land desolate.
Your cities will be laid waste,
Without inhabitant.
⁸ For this, ^(EW)clothe yourself with sackcloth,
Lament and wail.
For the fierce anger of the Lord
Has not turned back from us.

⁹ “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord,
“That the heart of the king shall perish,
And the heart of the princes;
The priests shall be astonished,
And the prophets shall wonder.”

¹⁰ Then I said, “Ah, Lord God!
^(EX)Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem,
^(EY)Saying, ‘You shall have peace,’
Whereas the sword reaches to the ^[ab]heart.”

¹¹ At that time it will be said
To this people and to Jerusalem,
^(EZ)“A dry wind of the desolate heights blows in the wilderness
Toward the daughter of My people—
Not to fan or to cleanse—
¹² A wind too strong for these will come for Me;
Now ^(FA)I will also speak judgment against them.”

¹³ “Behold, he shall come up like clouds,
And ^(FB)his chariots like a whirlwind.
^(FC)His horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for we are plundered!”

¹⁴ O Jerusalem, ^(FD)wash your heart from wickedness,
That you may be saved.
How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?
¹⁵ For a voice declares ^(FE)from Dan
And proclaims ^[ac]affliction from Mount Ephraim:
¹⁶ “Make mention to the nations,
Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem,
That watchers come from a ^(FF)far country
And raise their voice against the cities of Judah.
^17 (FG)Like keepers of a field they are against her all around,
Because she has been rebellious against Me,” says the Lord.
¹⁸ “Your^(FH) ways and your doings
Have procured these things for you.
This is your wickedness,
Because it is bitter,
Because it reaches to your heart.”

²² “For My people are foolish,
They have not known Me.
They are ^[ae]silly children,
And they have no understanding.
^(FL)They are wise to do evil,
But to do good they have no knowledge.”

^23 (FM)I beheld the earth, and indeed it was ^(FN)without form, and void;
And the heavens, they had no light.
^24 (FO)I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
And all the hills moved back and forth.
²⁵ I beheld, and indeed there was no man,
And ^(FP)all the birds of the heavens had fled.
²⁶ I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a ^(FQ)wilderness,
And all its cities were broken down
At the presence of the Lord,
By His fierce anger.

“The whole land shall be desolate;
^(FR)Yet I will not make a full end.
²⁸ For this ^(FS)shall the earth mourn,
And ^(FT)the heavens above be black,
Because I have spoken.
I have ^(FU)purposed and ^(FV)will not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it.
²⁹ The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen.
They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks.
Every city shall be forsaken,
And not a man shall dwell in it.

³⁰ “And when you are plundered,
What will you do?
Though you clothe yourself with crimson,
Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
^(FW)Though you enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you will make yourself fair;
^(FX)Your lovers will despise you;
They will seek your life.

³¹ “For I have heard a voice as of a woman in ^[af]labor,
The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child,
The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself;
She ^(FY)spreads her hands, saying,
‘Woe is me now, for my soul is ^[ag]weary
Because of murderers!’

³ O Lord, are not ^(GF)Your eyes on the truth?
You have ^(GG)stricken them,
But they have not grieved;
You have consumed them,
But ^(GH)they have refused to receive correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to return.

⁴ Therefore I said, “Surely these are poor.
They are foolish;
For ^(GI)they do not know the way of the Lord,
The judgment of their God.
⁵ I will go to the great men and speak to them,
For ^(GJ)they have known the way of the Lord,
The judgment of their God.”

But these have altogether ^(GK)broken the yoke
And burst the bonds.
⁶ Therefore ^(GL)a lion from the forest shall slay them,
^(GM)A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them;
^(GN)A leopard will watch over their cities.
Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions are many;
Their backslidings have increased.

⁷ “How shall I pardon you for this?
Your children have forsaken Me
And ^(GO)sworn by those ^(GP)that are not gods.
^(GQ)When I had fed them to the full,
Then they committed adultery
And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.
^8 (GR)They were like well-fed lusty stallions;
Every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife.
⁹ Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord.
“And shall I not ^(GS)avenge Myself on such a nation as this?

¹⁰ “Go up on her walls and destroy,
But do not ^[ai]make a ^(GT)complete end.
Take away her branches,
For they are not the Lord’s.
¹¹ For ^(GU)the house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” says the Lord.

^12 (GV)They have lied about the Lord,
And said, ^(GW)“It is not He.
^(GX)Neither will ^[aj]evil come upon us,
Nor shall we see sword or famine.
¹³ And the prophets become wind,
For the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done to them.”

“Because you speak this word,
^(GY)Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire,
And this people wood,
And it shall devour them.
¹⁵ Behold, I will bring a ^(GZ)nation against you ^(HA)from afar,
O house of Israel,” says the Lord.
“It is a mighty 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 tomb;
They are all mighty men.
¹⁷ And they shall eat up your ^(HB)harvest and your bread,
Which your sons and daughters should eat.
They shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
They shall destroy your fortified cities,
In which you trust, with the sword.

²⁰ “Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
²¹ ‘Hear this now, O ^(HG)foolish people,
Without ^[al]understanding,
Who have eyes and see not,
And who have ears and hear not:
^22 (HH)Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord.
‘Will you not tremble at My presence,
Who have placed the sand as the ^(HI)bound of the sea,
By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?
And though its waves toss to and fro,
Yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.
²³ But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart;
They have revolted and departed.
²⁴ They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the Lord our God,
^(HJ)Who gives rain, both the ^(HK)former and the latter, in its season.
^(HL)He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”
^25 (HM)Your iniquities have turned these things away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.

²⁶ ‘For among My people are found wicked men;
They ^(HN)lie in wait as one who sets snares;
They set a trap;
They catch men.
²⁷ As a cage is full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit.
Therefore they have become great and grown rich.
²⁸ They have grown ^(HO)fat, they are sleek;
Yes, they ^[am]surpass the deeds of the wicked;
They do not plead ^(HP)the cause,
The cause of the fatherless;
^(HQ)Yet they prosper,
And the right of the needy they do not defend.
^29 (HR)Shall I not punish them for these things?’ says the Lord.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’

³⁰ “An astonishing and ^(HS)horrible thing
Has been committed in the land:
³¹ The prophets prophesy ^(HT)falsely,
And the priests rule by their own power;
And My people ^(HU)love to have it so.
But what will you do in the end?

⁴ “Prepare^(HY) war against her;
Arise, and let us go up ^(HZ)at noon.
Woe to us, for the day goes away,
For the shadows of the evening are lengthening.
⁵ Arise, and let us go by night,
And let us destroy her palaces.”

“Cut down trees,
And build a mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished.
She is full of oppression in her midst.
^7 (IA)As a fountain ^[an]wells up with water,
So she wells up with her wickedness.
^(IB)Violence and plundering are heard in her.
Before Me continually are ^[ao]grief and wounds.
⁸ Be instructed, O Jerusalem,
Lest ^(IC)My soul depart from you;
Lest I make you desolate,
A land not inhabited.”

“They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel;
As a grape-gatherer, put your hand back into the branches.”

¹⁰ To whom shall I speak and give warning,
That they may hear?
Indeed their ^(ID)ear is uncircumcised,
And they cannot give heed.
Behold, ^(IE)the word of the Lord is a reproach to them;
They have no delight in it.
¹¹ Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord.
^(IF)I am weary of holding it in.
“I will pour it out ^(IG)on the children outside,
And on the assembly of young men together;
For even the husband shall be taken with the wife,
The aged with him who is full of days.
¹² And ^(IH)their houses shall be turned over to others,
Fields and wives together;
For I will stretch out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord.
¹³ “Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is given to ^(II)covetousness;
And from the prophet even to the ^(IJ)priest,
Everyone deals falsely.
¹⁴ They have also ^(IK)healed the ^[ap]hurt of My people ^[aq]slightly,
^(IL)Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’
When there is no peace.
¹⁵ Were they ^(IM)ashamed when they had committed abomination?
No! They were not at all ashamed;
Nor did they know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time I punish them,
They shall be cast down,” says the Lord.

“Stand in the ways and see,
And ask for the ^(IN)old paths, where the good way is,
And walk in it;
Then you will find ^(IO)rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
¹⁷ Also, I set ^(IP)watchmen over you, saying,
^(IQ)‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
¹⁸ Therefore hear, you nations,
And know, O congregation, what is among them.
^19 (IR)Hear, O earth!
Behold, I will certainly bring ^(IS)calamity on this people—
^(IT)The fruit of their thoughts,
Because they have not heeded My words
Nor My law, but rejected it.
^20 (IU)For what purpose to Me
Comes frankincense ^(IV)from Sheba,
And ^(IW)sweet cane from a far country?
^(IX)Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.”

“Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people,
And the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them.
The neighbor and his friend shall perish.”

“Behold, a people comes from the ^(IY)north country,
And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth.
²³ They will lay hold on bow and spear;
They are cruel and have no mercy;
Their voice ^(IZ)roars like the sea;
And they ride on horses,
As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion.”

²⁴ We have heard the report of it;
Our hands grow feeble.
^(JA)Anguish has taken hold of us,
Pain as of a woman in ^[ar]labor.
²⁵ Do not go out into the field,
Nor walk by the way.
Because of the sword of the enemy,
Fear is on every side.
²⁶ O daughter of my people,
^(JB)Dress in sackcloth
^(JC)And roll about in ashes!
^(JD)Make mourning as for an only son, most bitter lamentation;
For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us.

²⁷ “I have set you as an assayer and ^(JE)a fortress among My people,
That you may know and test their way.
^28 (JF)They are all stubborn rebels, ^(JG)walking as slanderers.
They are ^(JH)bronze and iron,
They are all corrupters;
²⁹ The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
The smelter refines in vain,
For the wicked are not drawn off.
³⁰ People will call them ^(JI)rejected silver,
Because the Lord has rejected them.”

“Will they fall and not rise?
Will one turn away and not return?
⁵ Why has this people ^(LM)slidden back,
Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding?
^(LN)They hold fast to deceit,
^(LO)They refuse to return.
^6 (LP)I listened and heard,
But they do not speak aright.
^(LQ)No man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turned to his own course,
As the horse rushes into the battle.

⁷ “Even ^(LR)the stork in the heavens
Knows her appointed times;
And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow
Observe the time of their coming.
But ^(LS)My people do not know the judgment of the Lord.

⁸ “How can you say, ‘We are wise,
^(LT)And the law of the Lord is with us’?
Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood.
^9 (LU)The wise men are ashamed,
They are dismayed and taken.
Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord;
So ^(LV)what wisdom do they have?
¹⁰ Therefore ^(LW)I will give their wives to others,
And their fields to those who will inherit them;
Because from the least even to the greatest
Everyone is given to ^(LX)covetousness;
From the prophet even to the priest
Everyone deals falsely.
¹¹ For they have ^(LY)healed the hurt of the daughter of My people ^[ay]slightly,
Saying, ^(LZ)‘Peace, peace!’
When there is no peace.
¹² Were they ^(MA)ashamed when they had committed abomination?
No! They were not at all ashamed,
Nor did they know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
In the time of their punishment
They shall be cast down,” says the Lord.

¹³ “I will surely ^[az]consume them,” says the Lord.
“No grapes shall be ^(MB)on the vine,
Nor figs on the ^(MC)fig tree,
And the leaf shall fade;
And the things I have given them shall ^(MD)pass away from them.” ’ ”

¹⁴ “Why do we sit still?
^(ME)Assemble yourselves,
And let us enter the fortified cities,
And let us be silent there.
For the Lord our God has put us to silence
And given us ^(MF)water^[ba] of gall to drink,
Because we have sinned against the Lord.

¹⁵ “We ^(MG)looked for peace, but no good came;
And for a time of health, and there was trouble!
¹⁶ The snorting of His horses was heard from ^(MH)Dan.
The whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of His ^(MI)strong ones;
For they have come and devoured the land and all that is in it,
The city and those who dwell in it.”

¹⁷ “For behold, I will send serpents among you,
Vipers which cannot be ^(MJ)charmed,
And they shall bite you,” says the Lord.

“Why have they provoked Me to anger
With their carved images—
With foreign idols?”

²⁰ “The harvest is past,
The summer is ended,
And we are not saved!”

^21 (ML)For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt.
I am ^(MM)mourning;
Astonishment has taken hold of me.
²² Is there no ^(MN)balm in Gilead,
Is there no physician there?
Why then is there no recovery
For the health of the daughter of my people?

³ “And like their bow ^(MQ)they have bent their tongues for lies.
They are not valiant for the truth on the earth.
For they proceed from ^(MR)evil to evil,
And they ^(MS)do not know Me,” says the Lord.
⁴ “Everyone^(MT) take heed to his ^[bb]neighbor,
And do not trust any brother;
For every brother will utterly supplant,
And every neighbor will ^(MU)walk with slanderers.
⁵ Everyone will ^(MV)deceive his neighbor,
And will not speak the truth;
They have taught their tongue to speak lies;
They weary themselves to commit iniquity.
⁶ Your dwelling place is in the midst of deceit;
Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” says the Lord.

“Behold, ^(MW)I will refine them and ^[bc]try them;
^(MX)For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people?
⁸ Their tongue is an arrow shot out;
It speaks ^(MY)deceit;
One speaks ^(MZ)peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth,
But ^[bd]in his heart he ^[be]lies in wait.
^9 (NA)Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord.
“Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”

¹⁰ I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains,
And ^(NB)for the ^[bf]dwelling places of the wilderness a lamentation,
Because they are burned up,
So that no one can pass through;
Nor can men hear the voice of the cattle.
^(NC)Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled;
They are gone.

¹¹ “I will make Jerusalem ^(ND)a heap of ruins, ^(NE)a den of jackals.
I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.”

“Consider and call for ^(NN)the mourning women,
That they may come;
And send for skillful wailing women,
That they may come.
¹⁸ Let them make haste
And take up a wailing for us,
That ^(NO)our eyes may run with tears,
And our eyelids gush with water.
¹⁹ For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion:
‘How we are plundered!
We are greatly ashamed,
Because we have forsaken the land,
Because we have been cast out of ^(NP)our dwellings.’ ”

²⁰ Yet hear the word of the Lord, O women,
And let your ear receive the word of His mouth;
Teach your daughters wailing,
And everyone her neighbor a lamentation.
²¹ For death has come through our windows,
Has entered our palaces,
To kill off ^(NQ)the children—^[bi]no longer to be outside!
And the young men—^[bj]no longer on the streets!

‘Even the carcasses of men shall fall ^(NR)as refuse on the open field,
Like cuttings after the harvester,
And no one shall gather them.’ ”

^(NS)“Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
Let not the mighty man glory in his ^(NT)might,
Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;
²⁴ But ^(NU)let him who glories glory in this,
That he understands and knows Me,
That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, ^[bk]judgment, and righteousness in the earth.
^(NV)For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

^(NZ)“Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;
Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,
For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
³ For the customs of the peoples are ^[bl]futile;
For ^(OA)one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
⁴ They decorate it with silver and gold;
They ^(OB)fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple.
⁵ They are upright, like a palm tree,
And ^(OC)they cannot speak;
They must be ^(OD)carried,
Because they cannot go by themselves.
Do not be afraid of them,
For ^(OE)they cannot do evil,
Nor can they do any good.”

⁶ Inasmuch as there is none ^(OF)like You, O Lord
(You are great, and Your name is great in might),
^7 (OG)Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?
For this is Your rightful due.
For ^(OH)among all the wise men of the nations,
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
⁸ But they are altogether ^(OI)dull-hearted and foolish;
A wooden idol is a ^[bm]worthless doctrine.
⁹ Silver is beaten into plates;
It is brought from Tarshish,
And ^(OJ)gold from Uphaz,
The work of the craftsman
And of the hands of the metalsmith;
Blue and purple are their clothing;
They are all ^(OK)the work of skillful men.
¹⁰ But the Lord is the true God;
He is ^(OL)the living God and the ^(OM)everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth will tremble,
And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.

¹² He ^(OP)has made the earth by His power,
He has ^(OQ)established the world by His wisdom,
And ^(OR)has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.
^13 (OS)When He utters His voice,
There is a ^[bn]multitude of waters in the heavens:
^(OT)“And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”

^14 (OU)Everyone is ^(OV)dull-hearted, without knowledge;
^(OW)Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image;
^(OX)For his molded image is falsehood,
And there is no breath in them.
¹⁵ They are futile, a work of errors;
In the time of their punishment they shall perish.
^16 (OY)The Portion of Jacob is not like them,
For He is the Maker of all things,
And ^(OZ)Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;
^(PA)The Lord of hosts is His name.

“Behold, I will ^(PC)throw out at this time
The inhabitants of the land,
And will distress them,
^(PD)That they may find it so.”

^19 (PE)Woe is me for my hurt!
My wound is severe.
But I say, ^(PF)“Truly this is an infirmity,
And ^(PG)I must bear it.”
^20 (PH)My tent is plundered,
And all my cords are broken;
My children have gone from me,
And they are ^(PI)no more.
There is no one to pitch my tent anymore,
Or set up my curtains.

²¹ For the shepherds have become dull-hearted,
And have not sought the Lord;
Therefore they shall not prosper,
And all their flocks shall be ^(PJ)scattered.
²² Behold, the noise of the report has come,
And a great commotion out of the ^(PK)north country,
To make the cities of Judah desolate, a ^(PL)den of jackals.

²³ O Lord, I know the ^(PM)way of man is not in himself;
It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
²⁴ O Lord, ^(PN)correct me, but with justice;
Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.
^25 (PO)Pour out Your fury on the Gentiles, ^(PP)who do not know You,
And on the families who do not call on Your name;
For they have eaten up Jacob,
^(PQ)Devoured him and consumed him,
And made his dwelling place desolate.

¹⁵ “What^(QG) has My beloved to do in My house,
Having ^(QH)done lewd deeds with many?
And ^(QI)the holy flesh has passed from you.
When you do evil, then you ^(QJ)rejoice.
¹⁶ The Lord called your name,
^(QK)Green Olive Tree, Lovely and of Good Fruit.
With the noise of a great tumult
He has kindled fire on it,
And its branches are broken.

²⁰ But, O Lord of hosts,
You who judge righteously,
^(QO)Testing the ^[bs]mind and the heart,
Let me see Your ^(QP)vengeance on them,
For to You I have revealed my cause.

³ But You, O Lord, ^(QX)know me;
You have seen me,
And You have ^(QY)tested my heart toward You.
Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
And prepare them for ^(QZ)the day of slaughter.
⁴ How long will ^(RA)the land mourn,
And the herbs of every field wither?
^(RB)The beasts and birds are consumed,
^(RC)For the wickedness of those who dwell there,
Because they said, “He will not see our final end.”

⁷ “I have forsaken My house, I have left My heritage;
I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies.
⁸ My heritage is to Me like a lion in the forest;
It cries out against Me;
Therefore I have ^(RG)hated it.
⁹ My ^[bx]heritage is to Me like a speckled vulture;
The vultures all around are against her.
Come, assemble all the beasts of the field,
^(RH)Bring them to devour!

¹⁰ “Many ^(RI)rulers^[by] have destroyed ^(RJ)My vineyard,
They have ^(RK)trodden My portion underfoot;
They have made My ^[bz]pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
¹¹ They have made it ^(RL)desolate;
Desolate, it mourns to Me;
The whole land is made desolate,
Because ^(RM)no one takes it to heart.
¹² The plunderers have come
On all the desolate heights in the wilderness,
For the sword of the Lord shall devour
From one end of the land to the other end of the land;
No flesh shall have peace.
^13 (RN)They have sown wheat but reaped thorns;
They have ^[ca]put themselves to pain but do not profit.
But be ashamed of your harvest
Because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”

¹⁸ Say to ^(SK)the king and to the queen mother,
“Humble yourselves;
Sit down,
For your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory.”
¹⁹ The cities of the South shall be shut up,
And no one shall open them;
Judah shall be carried away captive, all of it;
It shall be wholly carried away captive.

²⁰ Lift up your eyes and see
Those who come from the ^(SL)north.
Where is the flock that was given to you,
Your beautiful sheep?
²¹ What will you say when He punishes you?
For you have taught them
To be chieftains, to be head over you.
Will not ^(SM)pangs seize you,
Like a woman in ^[cj]labor?
²² And if you say in your heart,
^(SN)“Why have these things come upon me?”
For the greatness of your iniquity
^(SO)Your skirts have been uncovered,
Your heels ^[ck]made bare.
²³ Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots?
Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.

²⁴ “Therefore I will ^(SP)scatter them ^(SQ)like stubble
That passes away by the wind of the wilderness.
^25 (SR)This is your lot,
The portion of your measures from Me,” says the Lord,
“Because you have forgotten Me
And trusted in ^(SS)falsehood.
²⁶ Therefore ^(ST)I will uncover your skirts over your face,
That your shame may appear.
²⁷ I have seen your adulteries
And your lustful ^(SU)neighings,
The lewdness of your harlotry,
Your abominations ^(SV)on the hills in the fields.
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
Will you still not be made clean?”

² “Judah mourns,
And ^(SW)her gates languish;
They ^(SX)mourn for the land,
And ^(SY)the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
³ Their nobles have sent their lads for water;
They went to the cisterns and found no water.
They returned with their vessels empty;
They were ^(SZ)ashamed and confounded
^(TA)And covered their heads.
⁴ Because the ground is parched,
For there was ^(TB)no rain in the land,
The plowmen were ashamed;
They covered their heads.
⁵ Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field,
But ^[cl]left because there was no grass.
⁶ And ^(TC)the wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights;
They sniffed at the wind like jackals;
Their eyes failed because there was no grass.”

⁷ O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us,
Do it ^(TD)for Your name’s sake;
For our backslidings are many,
We have sinned against You.
^8 (TE)O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble,
Why should You be like a stranger in the land,
And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
⁹ Why should You be like a man astonished,
Like a mighty one ^(TF)who cannot save?
Yet You, O Lord, ^(TG)are in our midst,
And we are called by Your name;
Do not leave us!

^(TH)“Thus they have loved to wander;
They have not restrained their feet.
Therefore the Lord does not accept them;
^(TI)He will remember their iniquity now,
And punish their sins.”

^(TU)‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day,
And let them not cease;
^(TV)For the virgin daughter of my people
Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.
¹⁸ If I go out to ^(TW)the field,
Then behold, those slain with the sword!
And if I enter the city,
Then behold, those sick from famine!
Yes, both prophet and ^(TX)priest go about in a land they do not know.’ ”

^(UL)“Such as are for death, to death;
And such as are for the sword, to the sword;
And such as are for the famine, to the famine;
And such as are for the ^(UM)captivity, to the captivity.” ’

⁵ “For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem?
Or who will bemoan you?
Or who will turn aside to ask how you are doing?
^6 (UR)You have forsaken Me,” says the Lord,
“You have ^(US)gone backward.
Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;
^(UT)I am ^[cp]weary of relenting!
⁷ And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land;
I will ^(UU)bereave them of children;
I will destroy My people,
Since they ^(UV)do not return from their ways.
⁸ Their widows will be increased to Me more than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them,
Against the mother of the young men,
A plunderer at noonday;
I will cause anguish and terror to fall on them ^(UW)suddenly.

⁹ “She^(UX) languishes who has borne seven;
She has breathed her last;
^(UY)Her sun has gone down
While it was yet day;
She has been ashamed and confounded.
And the remnant of them I will deliver to the sword
Before their enemies,” says the Lord.

“Surely it will be well with your remnant;
Surely I will cause ^(VA)the enemy to intercede with you
In the time of adversity and in the time of affliction.
¹² Can anyone break iron,
The northern iron and the bronze?
¹³ Your wealth and your treasures
I will give as ^(VB)plunder without price,
Because of all your sins,
Throughout your territories.
¹⁴ And I will ^[cr]make you cross over with your enemies
^(VC)Into a land which you do not know;
For a ^(VD)fire is kindled in My anger,
Which shall burn upon you.”

¹⁵ O Lord, ^(VE)You know;
Remember me and ^[cs]visit me,
And ^(VF)take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.
Know that ^(VG)for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
¹⁶ Your words were found, and I ^(VH)ate them,
And ^(VI)Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.
^17 (VJ)I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,
Nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because of Your hand,
For You have filled me with indignation.
¹⁸ Why is my ^(VK)pain perpetual
And my wound incurable,
Which refuses to be healed?
Will You surely be to me ^(VL)like an unreliable stream,
As waters that ^[ct]fail?

^(VM)“If you return,
Then I will bring you back;
You shall ^(VN)stand before Me;
If you ^(VO)take out the precious from the vile,
You shall be as My mouth.
Let them return to you,
But you must not return to them.
²⁰ And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze ^(VP)wall;
And they will fight against you,
But ^(VQ)they shall not prevail against you;
For I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” says the Lord.
²¹ “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”

¹⁹ O Lord, ^(WQ)my strength and my fortress,
^(WR)My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and ^(WS)unprofitable things.”
²⁰ Will a man make gods for himself,
^(WT)Which are not gods?

²¹ “Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know,
I will cause them to know
My hand and My might;
And they shall know that ^(WU)My name is the Lord.

^(XB)“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes ^(XC)flesh his ^[cx]strength,
Whose heart departs from the Lord.
⁶ For he shall be ^(XD)like a shrub in the desert,
And ^(XE)shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
^(XF)In a salt land which is not inhabited.

⁷ “Blessed^(XG) is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
⁸ For he shall be ^(XH)like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not ^[cy]fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

⁹ “The ^(XI)heart is deceitful above all things,
And ^[cz]desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
¹⁰ I, the Lord, ^(XJ)search the heart,
I test the ^[da]mind,
^(XK)Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.

¹¹ “As a partridge that ^[db]broods but does not hatch,
So is he who gets riches, but not by right;
It ^(XL)will leave him in the midst of his days,
And at his end he will be ^(XM)a fool.”

¹² A glorious high throne from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
¹³ O Lord, ^(XN)the hope of Israel,
^(XO)All who forsake You shall be ashamed.

“Those who depart from Me
Shall be ^(XP)written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the Lord,
The ^(XQ)fountain of living waters.”

^(YV)“Ask now among the Gentiles,
Who has heard such things?
The virgin of Israel has done ^(YW)a very horrible thing.
¹⁴ Will a man ^[dl]leave the snow water of Lebanon,
Which comes from the rock of the field?
Will the cold flowing waters be forsaken for strange waters?

¹⁵ “Because My people have forgotten ^(YX)Me,
They have burned incense to worthless idols.
And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways,
From the ^(YY)ancient paths,
To walk in pathways and not on a highway,
¹⁶ To make their land ^(YZ)desolate and a perpetual ^(ZA)hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be astonished
And shake his head.
^17 (ZB)I will scatter them ^(ZC)as with an east wind before the enemy;
^(ZD)I will ^[dm]show them the back and not the face
In the day of their calamity.”

¹⁹ Give heed to me, O Lord,
And listen to the voice of those who contend with me!
^20 (ZG)Shall evil be repaid for good?
For they have ^(ZH)dug a pit for my life.
Remember that I ^(ZI)stood before You
To speak good ^[dn]for them,
To turn away Your wrath from them.
²¹ Therefore ^(ZJ)deliver up their children to the famine,
And pour out their blood
By the force of the sword;
Let their wives become widows
And ^(ZK)bereaved of their children.
Let their men be put to death,
Their young men be slain
By the sword in battle.
²² Let a cry be heard from their houses,
When You bring a troop suddenly upon them;
For they have dug a pit to take me,
And hidden snares for my feet.
²³ Yet, Lord, You know all their counsel
Which is against me, to slay me.
^(ZL)Provide no atonement for their iniquity,
Nor blot out their sin from Your sight;
But let them be overthrown before You.
Deal thus with them
In the time of Your ^(ZM)anger.

¹¹ But the Lord is ^(AAV)with me as a mighty, awesome One.
Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not ^(AAW)prevail.
They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper.
Their ^(AAX)everlasting confusion will never be forgotten.
¹² But, O Lord of hosts,
You who ^(AAY)test the righteous,
And see the ^[dt]mind and heart,
^(AAZ)Let me see Your vengeance on them;
For I have pleaded my cause before You.

¹³ Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord!
For ^(ABA)He has delivered the life of the poor
From the hand of evildoers.

^14 (ABB)Cursed be the day in which I was born!
Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me!
¹⁵ Let the man be cursed
Who brought news to my father, saying,
“A male child has been born to you!”
Making him very glad.
¹⁶ And let that man be like the cities
Which the Lord ^(ABC)overthrew, and did not relent;
Let him ^(ABD)hear the cry in the morning
And the shouting at noon,
^17 (ABE)Because he did not kill me from the womb,
That my mother might have been my grave,
And her womb always enlarged with me.
^18 (ABF)Why did I come forth from the womb to ^(ABG)see ^[du]labor and sorrow,
That my days should be consumed with shame?

^(ABW)“Execute^[dy] judgment ^(ABX)in the morning;
And deliver him who is plundered
Out of the hand of the oppressor,
Lest My fury go forth like fire
And burn so that no one can quench it,
Because of the evil of your doings.

¹³ “Behold, ^(ABY)I am against you, O ^[dz]inhabitant of the valley,
And rock of the plain,” says the Lord,
“Who say, ^(ABZ)‘Who shall come down against us?
Or who shall enter our dwellings?’
¹⁴ But I will punish you according to the ^(ACA)fruit of your ^[ea]doings,” says the Lord;
“I will kindle a fire in its forest,
And ^(ACB)it shall devour all things around it.” ’ ”