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16 This word of Adonai came to me: “You are not to marry or have sons and daughters in this place. 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: ‘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.’

“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. ‘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. 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.’ And you are not to go into any house where there is celebrating to sit with them, eating and drinking. 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.
As they remember their children,
so they remember their altars
and their sacred poles by the green trees
on the high hills.
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.
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.”
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.
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.
Blessed is the man who trusts in Adonai;
Adonai will be his security.
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.

“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: “Get up, and go down to the potter’s house; there I will tell you more.” So I went down to the house of the potter; and there he was, working at the wheels. Whenever a pot he made came out imperfect, the potter took the clay and made another pot with it, in whatever shape suited him.

Then the word of Adonai came to me: “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. At one time, I may speak about uprooting, breaking down and destroying a nation or kingdom; 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. 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.

16 The Davar Hashem came also unto me, saying,

Thou shalt not take thee an isha, neither shalt thou have banim or banot in makom hazeh (this place).

For thus saith Hashem concerning the banim and concerning the banot that are born in makom hazeh, and concerning their immahot (mothers) that bore them, and concerning their avot that fathered them in ha’aretz hazot (this land);

The mot (death) they die will be of deadly diseases; they shall not be mourned; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as refuse upon the face of ha’adamah; and they shall be consumed by the cherev, and by ra’av (famine); and their nevelot (dead bodies) shall be food for the oph haShomayim, and for the behemat ha’aretz.

For thus saith Hashem, Enter not into the bais marzeach (house of mourning), neither go to lament nor mourn them; for I have withdrawn away My shalom from HaAm Hazeh, saith Hashem, even chesed and rachamim.

Both the gedolim and the ketanim shall die in ha’aretz hazot; they shall not be buried, neither shall men mourn for them, nor make [pagan] cuttings on themselves, nor make themselves [like pagan mourners] bald for them [See Dt 14:1]:

Neither shall men break bread for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the kos tanechumim (cup of consolation) to drink for their av or for their em.

Thou shalt not go into the bais mishteh (house of feasting), to sit with them to eat and to drink.

For thus saith Hashem Tzva’os Elohei Yisroel: Behold, I will cause to cease out of hamakom hazeh before your eyes, and in your days, the voice of sasson, and the voice of simcha, the voice of the choson, and the voice of the kallah.

10 And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt tell this people all these Devarim, and they shall say unto thee, Why hath Hashem pronounced all this ra’ah hagedolah against us? Or what is avonenu (our iniquity)? Or what is chattatenu (our sin) that we have committed against Hashem Eloheinu?

11 Then shalt thou say unto them, Because avoteichem have forsaken Me, saith Hashem, and have walked after acharei elohim, and have served them, and have worshiped them, and have forsaken Me, and have not been shomer over My torah;

12 And ye have done more wickedly than avoteichem; for, behold, ye walk every one after the sherirut (stubbornness) of his lev harah, that they may not pay heed unto Me:

13 Therefore will I cast you out of ha’aretz hazot into ha’aretz that ye know not, neither ye nor avoteichem; and there shall ye serve elohim acherim yomam valailah; for I will not show you [plural] chaninah (favor).

14 Therefore, hinei, the days come, saith Hashem, that it shall no more be said, Hashem liveth, that brought up the Bnei Yisroel out of Eretz Mitzrayim;

15 But, Hashem liveth, that brought up the Bnei Yisroel from the eretz tzaphon, and from kol ha’aratz where He had dispersed them; and I will bring them again into their adamah that I gave unto their avot.

16 Behold, I will send for many dayagim (fisherman), saith Hashem, and they shall fish them out; and after that will I send for many tzayadim (hunters), and they shall hunt them from every har (mountain), and from every givah (hill), and out of the crevices of the sela’im (rocks).

17 For Mine eyes are upon all their drakhim; they are not hid from My face, neither is their avon (iniquity) hid from Mine eyes.

18 And first I will recompense their avon (iniquity) and their sin mishneh (double); because they have defiled My Eretz (land), they have filled Mine nachalah with the nevelot (lifeless forms, carcasses) of their detestable and abominable idols.

19 Hashem, my strength, and my ma’oz (fortress), and my refuge in the yom tzarah, the Goyim shall come unto Thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely Avoteinu have inherited sheker, hevel, and things wherein there is no profit.

20 Shall man make elohim unto himself and they are not Elohim?

21 Therefore, Behold, I will this time cause them to know, I will cause them to know Mine yad and My gevurah; and they shall know that My Shem is Hashem.

17 The chattat Yehudah is written with an et barzel (iron pen), and with the tzipporen shamir (point of a diamond); it is engraved upon the luach (tablet) of their lev, and upon the karenot (horns) of your mizbechot (altars);

Whilst their banim remember their mizbechot and their asherim by the leafy trees upon the high hills.

O My mountain in the sadeh, I will give over thy wealth and all thy otzerot (treasures) as plunder, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy territories.

And thou, even thyself, shalt let go of thine nachalah that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine oyevim in ha’aretz which thou knowest not; for ye have kindled an eish in Mine anger, which shall burn ad-olam (forever).

Thus saith Hashem: Arur (cursed) be the gever that trusteth in adam, and maketh basar his zero’a, and whose lev turneth away from Hashem.

For he shall be like the shrub in the aravah (desert), and shall not see when tov cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the midbar, in an eretz melechah (salt land) and not inhabited.

Baruch hagever asher yivtach baHashem (Blessed is the man that trusteth in Hashem), and whose mivtach (confidence) Hashem is.

For he shall be as an etz planted by the mayim, and that spreadeth out her shorashim (roots) by the brook, and shall not fear when chom (heat) cometh, but its leaf shall be green; and shall not be anxious in the shenat batzoret (year of drought), neither shall cease from yielding p’ri (fruit).

The lev (heart, mind) akov (is deceitful) above all things, and anush (incurable [in wickedness]); who can know it?

10 I, Hashem, search the lev, I test the kelayot (kidneys, i.e., most inward parts), requiting to every ish according to his drakhim, and according to the p’ri of his deeds.

11 As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth osher (riches), and not by mishpat, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a naval (fool).

12 A glorious high kisse from the beginning is the place of Mikdasheinu (our Beis HaMikdash).

13 Hashem, the Mikveh Yisroel, all that forsake Thee shall be put to shame, and they that turn away from Me shall be written down in ha’aretz, because they have forsaken Hashem, the Makor Mayim Chayyim (Fountain of Living Waters).

14 Heal me, Hashem, and I shall be healed; hoshi’eini (save me), and I shall be saved; for Thou art my tehillah (praise).

15 Hinei, they say unto me, Where is the Devar Hashem? Let it come now.

16 As for me, I have not hastened away from being a ro’eh (shepherd) to follow Thee; neither did I lust for the woeful day; Thou knowest; that which came out of my lips was before Thee.

17 Be not a mechittah (terror) unto me; Thou art my refuge in the Yom Ra’ah (Day of Evil, Day of Disaster, Day of Doom).

18 Let them be ashamed that persecute me, but let not me be put to shame; let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed; bring upon them the Yom Ra’ah, and destroy them with mishneh (double) destruction.

19 Thus said Hashem unto me; Go and stand in the Sha’ar Bnei HaAm, whereby the melachim of Yehudah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the Sha’arei Yerushalayim;

20 And say unto them, Hear ye the Devar Hashem, ye melachim of Yehudah, and all Yehudah, and all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, that enter in by these she’arim (gates);

21 Thus saith Hashem: Be shomer over your nefashot, and bear no massa (burden) on Shabbos, nor bring through the Sha’arei Yerushalayim;

22 Neither carry forth a massa (burden) out of your batim (houses) on Shabbos, neither do ye any melachah (work), but keep Shabbos set apart as kodesh, just as I commanded Avoteichem.

23 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ozen (ear), but made their stubborn neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive musar (discipline).

24 And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently pay heed unto Me, saith Hashem, to bring in no massa (burden) through the she’arim (gates) of this city on the day of Shabbos, but keep the day of Shabbos holy, to do no melachah (work) therein;

25 Then shall there enter into the she’arim (gates) of this city melachim and sarim sitting upon the kisse Dovid, riding in chariots and on susim, they, and their sarim, the Ish Yehudah, and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim; and this city shall be inhabited l’olam (forever).

26 And they shall come from the towns of Yehudah, and from the places around Yerushalayim, and from Eretz Binyamin, and from the Shephalah (Lowlands), and from the har (hill country), and from the Negev bringing olah (burnt offering), and zevach (sacrifice), and minchah (grain offering), and levonah (frankincense), and bringing todah (thank offering), unto the Bais Hashem.

27 But if ye will not pay heed unto Me to keep the day of Shabbos holy, and not to bear a massa (burden), when entering in at the She’arim of Yerushalayim on the day of Shabbos; then will I kindle an eish in the she’arim thereof, and it shall devour the fortresses of Yerushalayim, and it shall not be quenched.

18 The Davar which came to Yirmeyah from Hashem, saying,

Arise, and go down to the bais hayotzer (the house of the potter, Creator), and there I will cause thee to hear My Devar.

Then I went down to the bais hayotzer, and, behold, he wrought a work on the [potter’s] wheel.

And the keli (vessel) that he was making of khomer (clay) was marred in the yad of the yotzer; so he made it again keli acher (another vessel, a different vessel), as seemed good to the eyes of the yotzer to make it.

Then the Devar Hashem came to me, saying,

O Bais Yisroel, cannot I do with you as this yotzer? saith Hashem. Hinei, as the khomer (clay) is in the yotzer’s yad, so are ye in Mine yad, O Bais Yisroel.

At what instant I shall speak concerning a Goy (nation), and concerning a mamlachah (kingdom), to uproot, and to pull down, and to destroy it;

If that Goy, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their ra’ah, I will relent of the ra’ah that I planned to do unto them.

And at what instant I shall speak concerning a Goy, and concerning a mamlachah, to build and to plant it;

10 If it do ra’ah in My sight, that it obey not My voice, then I will relent of the tov, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

11 Now therefore go to, speak to the Ish Yehudah, and to the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, saying, Thus saith Hashem; Hinei, I yotzer (mold as a potter) ra’ah against you, and devise a plan against you; return ye now every ish from his derech ra’ah, and make your ways and your doings good.

12 And they said, It is useless; but we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every ish do the sherirut (stubbornness) of his lev ra’ah.

13 Therefore thus saith Hashem, Ask ye now among the Goyim, Who hath heard such things? The Betulat Yisroel hath done a most horrible thing.

14 Does the sheleg (snow) of Levanon vanish from the tzur of the slope? Or shall the cold flowing mayim that come from distant sources cease?

15 Because My people hath forgotten Me, they have burned ketoret to worthless idols, and they have caused them to stumble in their drakhim from the ancient paths, to walk in bypaths, and not on the derech built up;

16 To make their eretz desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and shall shake his rosh.

17 I will scatter them as with an east ruach (wind) before the oyev; I will show them My oref (back), and not My panim (face), in the day of their calamity.

18 Then said they, Come and let us devise plans against Yirmeyah; for the torah shall not perish from the kohen, nor etzah from the chacham, nor the davar from the navi. Come, and let us attack him with the lashon, and let us not give heed to any of his devarim.

19 Give heed to me, Hashem, and take notice of the voice of them that contend with me.

20 Shall ra’ah be repaid for tovah? For they have dug a pit for my nefesh. Remember that I stood before Thee to speak tovah concerning them, and to turn away Thy wrath from them.

21 Therefore deliver up their banim to the ra’av (famine), and pour out their dahm by the force of the cherev; and let their nashim be bereaved as childless, and be almanot (widows); and let their anashim be put to death; let their bochurim be slain by the cherev in milchamah.

22 Let a cry be heard from their batim (houses), when Thou shalt bring a gedud (troop) suddenly upon them; for they have dug a pit to take me, and hid pachim (snares) for my raglayim.

23 Yet, Hashem, Thou knowest all their etzah against me to slay me; do not make kapporah for their avon, neither blot out their chattat from Thy sight, but let them be overthrown before Thee; deal thus with them in the time of Thine anger.

Day of Disaster

16 Then the word of the Lord came to me: “You must not marry(A) and have sons or daughters in this place.” 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) “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)

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. “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. 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.

“And do not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink.(O) 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.
Even their children remember
    their altars and Asherah poles[a](BC)
beside the spreading trees
    and on the high hills.(BD)
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)
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.”

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)
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.

“But blessed(BP) is the one who trusts(BQ) in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
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)

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: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 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.

Then the word of the Lord came to me. 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. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,(DG) torn down and destroyed, 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. 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

  1. Jeremiah 17:2 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
  2. Jeremiah 17:3 Or hills / and the mountains of the land. / Your
  3. Jeremiah 17:19 Or Army
  4. Jeremiah 18:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.