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Jeremiah 16-18
Complete Jewish Bible
Jeremiah 16-18
Complete Jewish Bible
16 This word of Adonai came to me: 2 “You are not to marry or have sons and daughters in this place. 3 For this is what Adonai says concerning the sons and daughters born here, as well as their mothers who gave birth to them and their fathers who conceived them in this land: 4 ‘They will die terrible deaths without being mourned or buried; they will be left on the ground like dung. They will die by the sword and by famine, and their corpses will be food for the birds in the air and the wild animals.’
5 “For here is what Adonai says: ‘Do not enter any house where there is mourning; don’t lament them, and don’t grieve for them; for I have removed my shalom from this people, as well as my grace and compassion,’ says Adonai. 6 ‘Great and small alike will die in this land; they will not be buried, people will not lament them; nor will they cut their flesh or shave their heads for them. 7 No one will prepare a meal for those in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; and no one will give them a cup to drink, to console them for their father or mother.’ 8 And you are not to go into any house where there is celebrating to sit with them, eating and drinking. 9 For here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot, the God of Isra’el, says: ‘In this place, while you are still alive, before your very eyes, I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bridegroom and bride.’
10 “When you tell this people all that I have said, and they ask you, ‘Why has Adonai decreed all this terrible disaster against us? What is our iniquity, what is our sin, that we have committed against Adonai our God?’ 11 then you are to say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors abandoned me, says Adonai, and went after other gods, serving and worshipping them, but abandoned me and did not keep my Torah. 12 And you have done worse than your ancestors, for — look! — each of you lives according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, so that you don’t listen to me. 13 Therefore I am thrusting you out of this land into a land you have not known, neither you nor your ancestors; and there you will serve other gods day and night; for I will show you no favor.’
14 “‘Therefore,’ says Adonai, ‘the day will come when people will no longer swear, “As Adonai lives, who brought the people of Isra’el out of the land of Egypt,” 15 but, “As Adonai lives, who brought the people of Isra’el out of the land to the north and out of all the countries where he drove them”; for I will bring them back to their own land, which I gave to their ancestors.
16 “‘Look,’ says Adonai, ‘I will send for many fishermen, and they will fish for them. Afterwards, I will send for many hunters; and they will hunt them from every mountain and hill and out of caves in the rocks. 17 For I see all their ways; they are not hidden from me; their crimes are not concealed from my eyes. 18 First, I will pay them back double for their crimes and sins; because they have defiled the land which is mine; they have filled my heritage with the corpses of their horrors and abominations.’”
19 Adonai, my strength, my fortress,
my refuge in time of trouble,
the nations will come to you
from the ends of the earth, saying,
“Our ancestors inherited nothing but lies,
futile idols, completely useless.”
20 Can a person make himself gods?
(In fact they aren’t gods at all.)
21 “Therefore, I will make them know,
once and for all, I will make them know
my power and my might.
Then they will know that my name is Adonai.
17 “Y’hudah’s sin is written with an iron pen;
with a diamond point it is engraved
on the tablet of their hearts
and on the horns of your altars.
2 As they remember their children,
so they remember their altars
and their sacred poles by the green trees
on the high hills.
3 My mountain in the field, your wealth
and all your treasures will be plundered;
because of the sin of your high places
throughout your territory.
4 You will relinquish your hold
on your heritage which I gave you.
I will make you serve your enemies
in a land you do not know.
For you have kindled my fiery anger,
and it will burn forever.”
5 Here is what Adonai says:
“A curse on the person who trusts in humans,
who relies on merely human strength,
whose heart turns away from Adonai.
6 He will be like a tamarisk in the ‘Aravah —
when relief comes, it is unaffected;
for it lives in the sun-baked desert,
in salty, uninhabited land.
7 Blessed is the man who trusts in Adonai;
Adonai will be his security.
8 He will be like a tree planted near water;
it spreads out its roots by the river;
it does not notice when heat comes;
and its foliage is luxuriant;
it is not anxious in a year of drought
but keeps on yielding fruit.
9 “The heart is more deceitful than anything else
and mortally sick. Who can fathom it?
10 I, Adonai, search the heart;
I test inner motivations;
in order to give to everyone
what his actions and conduct deserve.”
11 A partridge hatches eggs it did not lay;
like this are those who get rich unjustly:
in the prime of life their wealth will desert them;
in the end they will prove to be fools.
12 Throne of Glory,
exalted from the beginning!
Our Holy Sanctuary,
13 Hope of Isra’el, Adonai!
All who abandon you will be ashamed,
those who leave you will be inscribed in the dust,
because they have abandoned Adonai,
the source of living water.
14 Heal me, Adonai, and I will be healed;
save me, and I will be saved,
for you are my praise.
15 They keep asking me,
“Where is the word of Adonai?
Let it come now.”
16 As for me, I have not run away
from being a shepherd who follows you;
you know I didn’t want this fatal day;
what came from my lips has been clear to you.
17 So do not be my ruin,
you, my refuge on the day of disaster.
18 Let my persecutors be ashamed, not me;
let them be terrified, not me.
Bring on them the day of disaster,
destroy them with double destruction.
19 Then Adonai said this to me: “Go, and stand at the People’s Gate, where the kings of Y’hudah go in and out, and at all the gates of Yerushalayim; 20 and say to them: ‘Kings of Y’hudah, all Y’hudah and all living in Yerushalayim who enter through these gates, hear the word of Adonai! 21 Here is what Adonai says: “If you value your lives, don’t carry anything on Shabbat or bring it in through the gates of Yerushalayim; 22 don’t carry anything out of your houses on Shabbat; and don’t do any work. Instead, make Shabbat a holy day. I ordered your ancestors to do this, 23 but they neither listened nor paid attention; rather, they stiffened their necks, so that they wouldn’t have to hear or receive instruction. 24 However, if you will pay careful heed to me,” says Adonai “and carry nothing through the gates of this city on Shabbat, but instead make Shabbat a day which is holy and not for doing work; 25 then kings and princes occupying the throne of David will enter through the gates of this city, riding in chariots and on horses. They, their princes, the people of Y’hudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim will enter; and this city will be inhabited forever. 26 They will come from the cities of Y’hudah, from the places surrounding Yerushalayim, from the land of Binyamin, from the Sh’felah, from the hills and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, frankincense and thanksgiving sacrifices to the house of Adonai. 27 But if you will not obey me and make Shabbat a holy day and not carry loads through the gates of Yerushalayim on Shabbat, then I will set its gates on fire; it will burn up the palaces of Yerushalayim and not be quenched.”’”
18 This word came to Yirmeyahu from Adonai: 2 “Get up, and go down to the potter’s house; there I will tell you more.” 3 So I went down to the house of the potter; and there he was, working at the wheels. 4 Whenever a pot he made came out imperfect, the potter took the clay and made another pot with it, in whatever shape suited him.
5 Then the word of Adonai came to me: 6 “House of Isra’el, can’t I deal with you as the potter deals with his clay? — says Adonai. Look! You, house of Isra’el, are the same in my hand as the clay in the potter’s hand. 7 At one time, I may speak about uprooting, breaking down and destroying a nation or kingdom; 8 but if that nation turns from their evil, which prompted me to speak against it, then I relent concerning the disaster I had planned to inflict on it. 9 Similarly, at another time, I may speak about building and planting a nation or kingdom; 10 but if it behaves wickedly from my perspective and doesn’t listen to what I say, then I change my mind and don’t do the good I said I would do that would have helped it.
11 “So now, tell the people of Y’hudah and those living in Yerushalayim that this is what Adonai says:
‘I am designing disaster for you,
working out my plan against you.
Turn, each of you, from his evil ways;
improve your conduct and actions.’
12 “But they will answer, ‘It’s hopeless!
We will stick to our own plans;
each of us will stubbornly follow
his own evil desires!’
13 “Therefore, Adonai says this:
‘Ask among the nations
who has heard anything like this.
The virgin Isra’el has done
a most horrible thing.
14 Does the snow of the L’vanon
disappear from the mountain crags?
Do the cold waters of foreign lands
ever run dry?
15 No, but my people have forgotten me
and offer incense to nothings.
This causes them to stumble
as they walk the ancient paths;
they leave the highway
to walk on side-trails.
16 Thus they make their land an object of horror
and ongoing ridicule.
Passers-by shake their heads,
appalled, every one.
17 Like a strong east wind, I will scatter them
before the enemy.
I will see their back, not their face,
on their day of disaster.’”
18 Then they said, “Let’s develop a plan for dealing with Yirmeyahu. Torah won’t be lost from the cohanim, or counsel from the wise, or words from the prophets. So come, let’s destroy him with slander; and meanwhile, we won’t pay attention to anything he says.”
19 Pay attention to me, Adonai!
Listen to what my opponents are saying!
20 Is good to be repaid with evil?
For they have dug a pit [to trap] me.
Remember how I stood before you
and spoke well of them,
in order to turn your anger
away from them?
21 Therefore, hand their sons over to famine,
hurl them into the power of the sword,
let their wives be made childless and widows,
let their husbands be slain by disease,
let their young men be slain by the sword in battle,
22 let screams be heard from their houses
when you bring raiders on them without warning.
For they have dug a pit to catch me
and have laid snares for my feet.
23 Nevertheless, Adonai, you know
all their plans against me to stop me.
Do not forgive their crime,
do not blot out their sin from your sight;
but let them be made to stumble before you;
deal with them when you are angry.
Jeremiah 16-18
New International Version
Jeremiah 16-18
New International Version
Day of Disaster
16 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “You must not marry(A) and have sons or daughters in this place.” 3 For this is what the Lord says about the sons and daughters born in this land and about the women who are their mothers and the men who are their fathers:(B) 4 “They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried(C) but will be like dung lying on the ground.(D) They will perish by sword and famine,(E) and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.”(F)
5 For this is what the Lord says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal; do not go to mourn or show sympathy, because I have withdrawn my blessing, my love and my pity(G) from this people,” declares the Lord. 6 “Both high and low will die in this land.(H) They will not be buried or mourned,(I) and no one will cut(J) themselves or shave(K) their head for the dead. 7 No one will offer food(L) to comfort those who mourn(M) for the dead—not even for a father or a mother—nor will anyone give them a drink to console(N) them.
8 “And do not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink.(O) 9 For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Before your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds(P) of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride(Q) and bridegroom in this place.(R)
10 “When you tell these people all this and they ask you, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the Lord our God?’(S) 11 then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors forsook me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped(T) them. They forsook me and did not keep my law.(U) 12 But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors.(V) See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts(W) instead of obeying me. 13 So I will throw you out of this land(X) into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known,(Y) and there you will serve other gods(Z) day and night, for I will show you no favor.’(AA)
14 “However, the days are coming,”(AB) declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’(AC) 15 but it will be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north(AD) and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’(AE) For I will restore(AF) them to the land I gave their ancestors.(AG)
16 “But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them.(AH) After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt(AI) them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.(AJ) 17 My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden(AK) from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.(AL) 18 I will repay(AM) them double(AN) for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land(AO) with the lifeless forms of their vile images(AP) and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.(AQ)”(AR)
19 Lord, my strength and my fortress,
my refuge(AS) in time of distress,
to you the nations will come(AT)
from the ends of the earth and say,
“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,(AU)
worthless idols(AV) that did them no good.(AW)
20 Do people make their own gods?
Yes, but they are not gods!”(AX)
21 “Therefore I will teach them—
this time I will teach them
my power and might.
Then they will know
that my name(AY) is the Lord.
17 “Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,(AZ)
inscribed with a flint point,
on the tablets of their hearts(BA)
and on the horns(BB) of their altars.
2 Even their children remember
their altars and Asherah poles[a](BC)
beside the spreading trees
and on the high hills.(BD)
3 My mountain in the land
and your[b] wealth and all your treasures
I will give away as plunder,(BE)
together with your high places,(BF)
because of sin throughout your country.(BG)
4 Through your own fault you will lose
the inheritance(BH) I gave you.
I will enslave you to your enemies(BI)
in a land(BJ) you do not know,
for you have kindled my anger,
and it will burn(BK) forever.”
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,(BL)
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord.(BM)
6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places(BN) of the desert,
in a salt(BO) land where no one lives.
7 “But blessed(BP) is the one who trusts(BQ) in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.(BR)
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought(BS)
and never fails to bear fruit.”(BT)
9 The heart(BU) is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart(BV)
and examine the mind,(BW)
to reward(BX) each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”(BY)
11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
are those who gain riches by unjust means.
When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,
and in the end they will prove to be fools.(BZ)
12 A glorious throne,(CA) exalted from the beginning,
is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, you are the hope(CB) of Israel;
all who forsake(CC) you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust(CD)
because they have forsaken the Lord,
the spring of living water.(CE)
14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;(CF)
save(CG) me and I will be saved,
for you are the one I praise.(CH)
15 They keep saying to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it now be fulfilled!”(CI)
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd;
you know I have not desired the day of despair.
What passes my lips(CJ) is open before you.
17 Do not be a terror(CK) to me;
you are my refuge(CL) in the day of disaster.(CM)
18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,
but keep me from shame;
let them be terrified,
but keep me from terror.
Bring on them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction.(CN)
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People,[c] through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem.(CO) 20 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem(CP) who come through these gates.(CQ) 21 This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath(CR) day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.(CS) 23 Yet they did not listen or pay attention;(CT) they were stiff-necked(CU) and would not listen or respond to discipline.(CV) 24 But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy(CW) by not doing any work on it, 25 then kings who sit on David’s throne(CX) will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.(CY) 26 People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev,(CZ) bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not obey(DA) me to keep the Sabbath(DB) day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire(DC) in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’”(DD)
At the Potter’s House
18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay(DE) in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,(DF) Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,(DG) torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent(DH) and not inflict on it the disaster(DI) I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built(DJ) up and planted, 10 and if it does evil(DK) in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider(DL) the good I had intended to do for it.(DM)
11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster(DN) for you and devising a plan(DO) against you. So turn(DP) from your evil ways,(DQ) each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’(DR) 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use.(DS) We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.(DT)’”
13 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“Inquire among the nations:
Who has ever heard anything like this?(DU)
A most horrible(DV) thing has been done
by Virgin(DW) Israel.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon
ever vanish from its rocky slopes?
Do its cool waters from distant sources
ever stop flowing?[d]
15 Yet my people have forgotten(DX) me;
they burn incense(DY) to worthless idols,(DZ)
which made them stumble(EA) in their ways,
in the ancient paths.(EB)
They made them walk in byways,
on roads not built up.(EC)
16 Their land will be an object of horror(ED)
and of lasting scorn;(EE)
all who pass by will be appalled(EF)
and will shake their heads.(EG)
17 Like a wind(EH) from the east,
I will scatter them before their enemies;
I will show them my back and not my face(EI)
in the day of their disaster.”
18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans(EJ) against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest(EK) will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise,(EL) nor the word from the prophets.(EM) So come, let’s attack him with our tongues(EN) and pay no attention to anything he says.”
19 Listen to me, Lord;
hear what my accusers(EO) are saying!
20 Should good be repaid with evil?(EP)
Yet they have dug a pit(EQ) for me.
Remember that I stood(ER) before you
and spoke in their behalf(ES)
to turn your wrath away from them.
21 So give their children over to famine;(ET)
hand them over to the power of the sword.(EU)
Let their wives be made childless and widows;(EV)
let their men be put to death,
their young men(EW) slain by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry(EX) be heard from their houses
when you suddenly bring invaders against them,
for they have dug a pit(EY) to capture me
and have hidden snares(EZ) for my feet.
23 But you, Lord, know
all their plots to kill(FA) me.
Do not forgive(FB) their crimes
or blot out their sins from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.(FC)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 17:2 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
- Jeremiah 17:3 Or hills / 3 and the mountains of the land. / Your
- Jeremiah 17:19 Or Army
- Jeremiah 18:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
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