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Jeremiah 16:16-18:23
New International Version
Jeremiah 16:16-18:23
New International Version
16 “But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them.(A) After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt(B) them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.(C) 17 My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden(D) from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.(E) 18 I will repay(F) them double(G) for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land(H) with the lifeless forms of their vile images(I) and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.(J)”(K)
19 Lord, my strength and my fortress,
my refuge(L) in time of distress,
to you the nations will come(M)
from the ends of the earth and say,
“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,(N)
worthless idols(O) that did them no good.(P)
20 Do people make their own gods?
Yes, but they are not gods!”(Q)
21 “Therefore I will teach them—
this time I will teach them
my power and might.
Then they will know
that my name(R) is the Lord.
17 “Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,(S)
inscribed with a flint point,
on the tablets of their hearts(T)
and on the horns(U) of their altars.
2 Even their children remember
their altars and Asherah poles[a](V)
beside the spreading trees
and on the high hills.(W)
3 My mountain in the land
and your[b] wealth and all your treasures
I will give away as plunder,(X)
together with your high places,(Y)
because of sin throughout your country.(Z)
4 Through your own fault you will lose
the inheritance(AA) I gave you.
I will enslave you to your enemies(AB)
in a land(AC) you do not know,
for you have kindled my anger,
and it will burn(AD) forever.”
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,(AE)
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord.(AF)
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(AG) of the desert,
in a salt(AH) land where no one lives.
7 “But blessed(AI) is the one who trusts(AJ) 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.(AK)
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought(AL)
and never fails to bear fruit.”(AM)
9 The heart(AN) is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart(AO)
and examine the mind,(AP)
to reward(AQ) each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”(AR)
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.(AS)
12 A glorious throne,(AT) exalted from the beginning,
is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, you are the hope(AU) of Israel;
all who forsake(AV) you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust(AW)
because they have forsaken the Lord,
the spring of living water.(AX)
14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;(AY)
save(AZ) me and I will be saved,
for you are the one I praise.(BA)
15 They keep saying to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it now be fulfilled!”(BB)
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd;
you know I have not desired the day of despair.
What passes my lips(BC) is open before you.
17 Do not be a terror(BD) to me;
you are my refuge(BE) in the day of disaster.(BF)
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.(BG)
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.(BH) 20 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem(BI) who come through these gates.(BJ) 21 This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath(BK) 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.(BL) 23 Yet they did not listen or pay attention;(BM) they were stiff-necked(BN) and would not listen or respond to discipline.(BO) 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(BP) by not doing any work on it, 25 then kings who sit on David’s throne(BQ) 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.(BR) 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,(BS) 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(BT) me to keep the Sabbath(BU) 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(BV) in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’”(BW)
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(BX) in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,(BY) Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,(BZ) torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent(CA) and not inflict on it the disaster(CB) I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built(CC) up and planted, 10 and if it does evil(CD) in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider(CE) the good I had intended to do for it.(CF)
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(CG) for you and devising a plan(CH) against you. So turn(CI) from your evil ways,(CJ) each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’(CK) 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use.(CL) We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.(CM)’”
13 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“Inquire among the nations:
Who has ever heard anything like this?(CN)
A most horrible(CO) thing has been done
by Virgin(CP) 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(CQ) me;
they burn incense(CR) to worthless idols,(CS)
which made them stumble(CT) in their ways,
in the ancient paths.(CU)
They made them walk in byways,
on roads not built up.(CV)
16 Their land will be an object of horror(CW)
and of lasting scorn;(CX)
all who pass by will be appalled(CY)
and will shake their heads.(CZ)
17 Like a wind(DA) from the east,
I will scatter them before their enemies;
I will show them my back and not my face(DB)
in the day of their disaster.”
18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans(DC) against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest(DD) will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise,(DE) nor the word from the prophets.(DF) So come, let’s attack him with our tongues(DG) and pay no attention to anything he says.”
19 Listen to me, Lord;
hear what my accusers(DH) are saying!
20 Should good be repaid with evil?(DI)
Yet they have dug a pit(DJ) for me.
Remember that I stood(DK) before you
and spoke in their behalf(DL)
to turn your wrath away from them.
21 So give their children over to famine;(DM)
hand them over to the power of the sword.(DN)
Let their wives be made childless and widows;(DO)
let their men be put to death,
their young men(DP) slain by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry(DQ) be heard from their houses
when you suddenly bring invaders against them,
for they have dug a pit(DR) to capture me
and have hidden snares(DS) for my feet.
23 But you, Lord, know
all their plots to kill(DT) me.
Do not forgive(DU) 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.(DV)
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.
Jeremiah 16:16-18:23
New King James Version
Jeremiah 16:16-18:23
New King James Version
16 “Behold, I will send for many (A)fishermen,” says the Lord, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. 17 For My (B)eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes. 18 And first I will repay (C)double for their iniquity and their sin, because (D)they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.”
19 O Lord, (E)my strength and my fortress,
(F)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 (G)unprofitable things.”
20 Will a man make gods for himself,
(H)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 (I)My name is the Lord.
Judah’s Sin and Punishment
17 “The sin of Judah is (J)written with a (K)pen of iron;
With the point of a diamond it is (L)engraved
On the tablet of their heart,
And on the horns of your altars,
2 While their children remember
Their altars and their (M)wooden[a] images
By the green trees on the high hills.
3 O My mountain in the field,
I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures,
And your high places of sin within all your borders.
4 And you, even yourself,
Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you;
And I will cause you to serve your enemies
In (N)the land which you do not know;
For (O)you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.”
5 Thus says the Lord:
(P)“Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes (Q)flesh his [b]strength,
Whose heart departs from the Lord.
6 For he shall be (R)like a shrub in the desert,
And (S)shall not see when good comes,
But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,
(T)In a salt land which is not inhabited.
7 “Blessed(U) is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord.
8 For he shall be (V)like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not [c]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 (W)heart is deceitful above all things,
And [d]desperately wicked;
Who can know it?
10 I, the Lord, (X)search the heart,
I test the [e]mind,
(Y)Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.
11 “As a partridge that [f]broods but does not hatch,
So is he who gets riches, but not by right;
It (Z)will leave him in the midst of his days,
And at his end he will be (AA)a fool.”
12 A glorious high throne from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Lord, (AB)the hope of Israel,
(AC)All who forsake You shall be ashamed.
“Those who depart from Me
Shall be (AD)written in the earth,
Because they have forsaken the Lord,
The (AE)fountain of living waters.”
Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance
14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
Save me, and I shall be saved,
For (AF)You are my praise.
15 Indeed they say to me,
(AG)“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come now!”
16 As for me, (AH)I have not hurried away from being a shepherd who follows You,
Nor have I desired the woeful day;
You know what came out of my lips;
It was right there before You.
17 Do not be a terror to me;
(AI)You are my hope in the day of doom.
18 (AJ)Let them be ashamed who persecute me,
But (AK)do not let me be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed,
But do not let me be dismayed.
Bring on them the day of doom,
And (AL)destroy[g] them with double destruction!
Hallow the Sabbath Day
19 Thus the Lord said to me: “Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Judah come in and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; 20 and say to them, (AM)‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the Lord: (AN)“Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; 22 nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as I (AO)commanded your fathers. 23 (AP)But they did not obey nor incline their ear, but [h]made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.
24 “And it shall be, (AQ)if you heed Me carefully,” says the Lord, “to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the (AR)Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it, 25 (AS)then shall enter the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, accompanied by the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever. 26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah and from (AT)the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from (AU)the [i]lowland, from the mountains and from (AV)the [j]South, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, bringing (AW)sacrifices of praise to the house of the Lord.
27 “But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then (AX)I will kindle a fire in its gates, (AY)and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be (AZ)quenched.” ’ ”
The Potter and the Clay
18 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: 2 “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the [k]wheel. 4 And the vessel that he [l]made of clay was [m]marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 6 “O house of Israel, (BA)can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, (BB)as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! 7 The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to (BC)pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, 8 (BD)if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, (BE)I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. 9 And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, 10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.
11 “Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. (BF)Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings (BG)good.” ’ ”
God’s Warning Rejected
12 And they said, (BH)“That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one [n]obey the (BI)dictates[o] of his evil heart.”
13 Therefore thus says the Lord:
(BJ)“Ask now among the Gentiles,
Who has heard such things?
The virgin of Israel has done (BK)a very horrible thing.
14 Will a man [p]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 (BL)Me,
They have burned incense to worthless idols.
And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways,
From the (BM)ancient paths,
To walk in pathways and not on a highway,
16 To make their land (BN)desolate and a perpetual (BO)hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be astonished
And shake his head.
17 (BP)I will scatter them (BQ)as with an east wind before the enemy;
(BR)I will [q]show them the back and not the face
In the day of their calamity.”
Jeremiah Persecuted
18 Then they said, (BS)“Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; (BT)for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.”
19 Give heed to me, O Lord,
And listen to the voice of those who contend with me!
20 (BU)Shall evil be repaid for good?
For they have (BV)dug a pit for my life.
Remember that I (BW)stood before You
To speak good [r]for them,
To turn away Your wrath from them.
21 Therefore (BX)deliver up their children to the famine,
And pour out their blood
By the force of the sword;
Let their wives become widows
And (BY)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.
(BZ)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 (CA)anger.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 17:2 Heb. Asherim, Canaanite deities
- Jeremiah 17:5 Lit. arm
- Jeremiah 17:8 Qr., Tg. see
- Jeremiah 17:9 Or incurably sick
- Jeremiah 17:10 Most secret parts, lit. kidneys
- Jeremiah 17:11 Sits on eggs
- Jeremiah 17:18 Lit. crush
- Jeremiah 17:23 Were stubborn
- Jeremiah 17:26 Heb. shephelah
- Jeremiah 17:26 Heb. Negev
- Jeremiah 18:3 Potter’s wheel
- Jeremiah 18:4 was making
- Jeremiah 18:4 ruined
- Jeremiah 18:12 Lit. do
- Jeremiah 18:12 stubbornness or imagination
- Jeremiah 18:14 forsake
- Jeremiah 18:17 So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT look them in
- Jeremiah 18:20 concerning
Jeremiah 16:16-18:23
New American Standard Bible
Jeremiah 16:16-18:23
New American Standard Bible
16 “Behold, I am going to send for many (A)fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will fish for them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they will (B)hunt them (C)from every mountain and every hill and from the clefts of the rocks. 17 (D)For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, (E)nor is their wrongdoing concealed from My eyes. 18 I will first repay them (F)double for their wrongdoing and their sin, because they have (G)defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their (H)detestable idols and their abominations.”
19 Lord, my (I)strength and my stronghold,
And my (J)refuge in the day of distress,
To You the (K)nations will come
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Our fathers have inherited nothing but (L)falsehood,
Futility, and [a](M)things of no benefit.”
20 Can a person make gods for himself?
But they are (N)not gods!
21 “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—
This time I will (O)make them know
My [b]power and My might;
And they will (P)know that My name is the Lord.”
The Deceitful Heart
17 The (Q)sin of Judah is written with an (R)iron stylus;
With a diamond point it is (S)engraved on the tablet of their hearts
And on the horns of [c]their altars,
2 As they remember their (T)children,
So they remember their altars and their [d](U)Asherim
By (V)green trees on the high hills.
3 (W)Mountain of Mine in the countryside,
I will (X)turn over your wealth and all your treasures as plunder,
Your high places for sin throughout your borders.
4 And you will, even of yourself, (Y)let go of your inheritance
That I gave you;
And I will make you serve your (Z)enemies
In the (AA)land which you do not know;
For you have (AB)kindled a fire in My anger
Which will burn forever.
5 This is what the Lord says:
“(AC)Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes (AD)flesh his [e]strength,
And whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 For he will be like a (AE)bush in the desert,
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will live in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A (AF)land of salt that is not inhabited.
7 (AG)Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose (AH)trust is the Lord.
8 For he will be like a (AI)tree planted by the water
That extends its roots by a stream,
And does not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of (AJ)drought,
Nor cease to yield fruit.
9 “The (AK)heart is more (AL)deceitful than all else
And is desperately (AM)sick;
Who can understand it?
10 I, the Lord, (AN)search the heart,
I test the [f]mind,
(AO)To give to each person according to his ways,
According to the [g]results of his deeds.
11 As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,
So is a person who (AP)makes a fortune, but unjustly;
In the middle of his days it will abandon him,
And in [h]the end he will be a (AQ)fool.”
12 (AR)A glorious throne on high from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, the (AS)hope of Israel,
All who (AT)abandon You will be put to shame.
Those who turn [i]away on earth will be (AU)written down,
Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, that is the Lord.
14 (AV)Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;
(AW)Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my (AX)praise.
15 Look, they keep (AY)saying to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come now!”
16 But as for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd following after You,
Nor have I longed for the disastrous day;
(AZ)You Yourself know that the utterance of my lips
Was in Your presence.
17 Do not be a (BA)terror to me;
You are my (BB)refuge in a day of disaster.
18 Let those who persecute me be (BC)put to shame, but as for me, (BD)let me not be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed.
(BE)Bring on them a day of disaster,
And crush them with double destruction!
The Sabbath Must Be Kept
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the [j]public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as at all the gates of Jerusalem; 20 and say to them, ‘(BF)Listen to the word of the Lord, you (BG)kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates. 21 This is what the Lord says: “(BH)Take care for yourselves, and (BI)do not carry any [k]load on the Sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day (BJ)nor do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, just as I (BK)commanded your [l]forefathers. 23 Yet they (BL)did not listen or incline their ears, but (BM)stiffened their necks so as not to listen or accept discipline.
24 “But it will come about, if you (BN)give your attention to Me,” declares the Lord, “to (BO)bring no load in through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, (BP)but to keep the Sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, 25 (BQ)then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and officials (BR)sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this (BS)city will be inhabited forever. 26 They will come in from the (BT)cities of Judah and from the areas surrounding Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the (BU)lowland, from the hill country, and from the (BV)Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and frankincense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the Lord. 27 But (BW)if you do not listen to Me, to keep the Sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then (BX)I will set fire to its gates, and it will (BY)devour the palaces of Jerusalem and (BZ)not go out.”’”
The Potter and the Clay
18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Arise and (CA)go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. 4 But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 6 “Am I not able, house of Israel, to deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the (CB)clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, house of Israel. 7 At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to (CC)uproot it, to tear it down, or to destroy it; 8 (CD)if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will (CE)relent of the disaster that I planned to bring on it. 9 Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to (CF)build up or to plant it; 10 if it does (CG)evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will (CH)relent of the good with which I said [m]that I would bless it. 11 So now, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am (CI)forming a disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Now (CJ)turn back, each of you from his evil way, and [n]correct your ways and your deeds!”’ 12 But (CK)they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will [o]persist in the (CL)stubbornness of his evil heart.’
13 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:
‘(CM)Just ask among the nations,
Who ever heard anything like [p]this?
The (CN)virgin of Israel
Has done a most (CO)appalling thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave the rock of the open country alone?
Or is the cold flowing water from a foreign land ever dried up?
15 For (CP)My people have forgotten Me,
(CQ)They burn incense [q]to worthless gods.
And they [r]have stumbled in their ways,
In the (CR)ancient roads,
To walk on paths,
Not on a (CS)highway,
16 To make their land a (CT)desolation,
An object of perpetual (CU)hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be astonished
And (CV)shake his head.
17 Like an (CW)east wind I will (CX)scatter them
Before the enemy;
I will [s]show them (CY)My back and not My face
(CZ)In the day of their disaster.’”
18 Then they said, “Come and let’s (DA)devise plans against Jeremiah. Certainly the (DB)Law is not going to be lost by the priest, nor (DC)advice by the wise, nor the divine (DD)word by the prophet! Come, and let’s (DE)strike at him with our tongue, and let’s (DF)pay no attention to any of his words.”
19 Give Your attention to me, Lord,
And listen to [t]what my opponents are saying!
20 (DG)Should good be repaid with evil?
For they have (DH)dug a pit for [u]me.
Remember how I (DI)stood before You
To speak good in their behalf,
So as to turn Your wrath away from them.
21 Therefore, (DJ)give their children over to famine
And turn them over to the [v]power of the sword;
And let their wives become (DK)childless and (DL)widowed.
Let their men also be slaughtered to death,
Their (DM)young men struck and killed by the sword in battle.
22 May a (DN)cry be heard from their houses
When You suddenly bring raiders upon them;
(DO)For they have dug a pit to capture me
And (DP)hidden snares for my feet.
23 But You, Lord, know
All their [w]deadly schemes against me;
(DQ)Do not [x]forgive their wrongdoing
Or wipe out their sin from Your sight.
But may they be [y](DR)overthrown before You;
Deal with them in the (DS)time of Your anger!
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 16:19 Lit there is nothing profitable in them
- Jeremiah 16:21 Lit hand
- Jeremiah 17:1 As in ancient versions; MT your
- Jeremiah 17:2 I.e., wooden symbols of a female deity (Asherah)
- Jeremiah 17:5 Lit arm
- Jeremiah 17:10 Lit kidneys
- Jeremiah 17:10 Lit fruit
- Jeremiah 17:11 Lit his
- Jeremiah 17:13 Lit away from Me
- Jeremiah 17:19 Lit gate of the sons of the people
- Jeremiah 17:21 Or burden
- Jeremiah 17:22 Lit fathers
- Jeremiah 18:10 Lit to do it good
- Jeremiah 18:11 Lit make good
- Jeremiah 18:12 Lit do the
- Jeremiah 18:13 Lit these
- Jeremiah 18:15 Lit to worthlessness
- Jeremiah 18:15 As in ancient versions; MT caused them to
- Jeremiah 18:17 As in ancient versions; MT look them in the back and not in the face
- Jeremiah 18:19 Lit the voice of my opponents
- Jeremiah 18:20 Lit my soul
- Jeremiah 18:21 Lit hands of
- Jeremiah 18:23 Lit unto death
- Jeremiah 18:23 Lit cover over, atone for
- Jeremiah 18:23 Lit ones made to stumble
Jeremiah 16:16-18:23
New Living Translation
Jeremiah 16:16-18:23
New Living Translation
16 “But now I am sending for many fishermen who will catch them,” says the Lord. “I am sending for hunters who will hunt them down in the mountains, hills, and caves. 17 I am watching them closely, and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me. 18 I will double their punishment for all their sins, because they have defiled my land with lifeless images of their detestable gods and have filled my territory with their evil deeds.”
Jeremiah’s Prayer of Confidence
19 Lord, you are my strength and fortress,
my refuge in the day of trouble!
Nations from around the world
will come to you and say,
“Our ancestors left us a foolish heritage,
for they worshiped worthless idols.
20 Can people make their own gods?
These are not real gods at all!”
21 The Lord says,
“Now I will show them my power;
now I will show them my might.
At last they will know and understand
that I am the Lord.
Judah’s Sin and Punishment
17 “The sin of Judah
is inscribed with an iron chisel—
engraved with a diamond point on their stony hearts
and on the corners of their altars.
2 Even their children go to worship
at their pagan altars and Asherah poles,
beneath every green tree
and on every high hill.
3 So I will hand over my holy mountain—
along with all your wealth and treasures
and your pagan shrines—
as plunder to your enemies,
for sin runs rampant in your land.
4 The wonderful possession I have reserved for you
will slip from your hands.
I will tell your enemies to take you
as captives to a foreign land.
For my anger blazes like a fire
that will burn forever.”
Wisdom from the Lord
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
who rely on human strength
and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
6 They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
in an uninhabited salty land.
7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
8 They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.
9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
10 But I, the Lord, search all hearts
and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
according to what their actions deserve.”
Jeremiah’s Trust in the Lord
11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs she has not laid,
so are those who get their wealth by unjust means.
At midlife they will lose their riches;
in the end, they will become poor old fools.
12 But we worship at your throne—
eternal, high, and glorious!
13 O Lord, the hope of Israel,
all who turn away from you will be disgraced.
They will be buried in the dust of the earth,
for they have abandoned the Lord, the fountain of living water.
14 O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed;
if you save me, I will be truly saved.
My praises are for you alone!
15 People scoff at me and say,
“What is this ‘message from the Lord’ you talk about?
Why don’t your predictions come true?”
16 Lord, I have not abandoned my job
as a shepherd for your people.
I have not urged you to send disaster.
You have heard everything I’ve said.
17 Lord, don’t terrorize me!
You alone are my hope in the day of disaster.
18 Bring shame and dismay on all who persecute me,
but don’t let me experience shame and dismay.
Bring a day of terror on them.
Yes, bring double destruction upon them!
Observing the Sabbath
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand in the gates of Jerusalem, first in the gate where the king goes in and out, and then in each of the other gates. 20 Say to all the people, ‘Listen to this message from the Lord, you kings of Judah and all you people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem. 21 This is what the Lord says: Listen to my warning! Stop carrying on your trade at Jerusalem’s gates on the Sabbath day. 22 Do not do your work on the Sabbath, but make it a holy day. I gave this command to your ancestors, 23 but they did not listen or obey. They stubbornly refused to pay attention or accept my discipline.
24 “‘But if you obey me, says the Lord, and do not carry on your trade at the gates or work on the Sabbath day, and if you keep it holy, 25 then kings and their officials will go in and out of these gates forever. There will always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. Kings and their officials will always ride in and out among the people of Judah in chariots and on horses, and this city will remain forever. 26 And from all around Jerusalem, from the towns of Judah and Benjamin, from the western foothills[a] and the hill country and the Negev, the people will come with their burnt offerings and sacrifices. They will bring their grain offerings, frankincense, and thanksgiving offerings to the Lord’s Temple.
27 “‘But if you do not listen to me and refuse to keep the Sabbath holy, and if on the Sabbath day you bring loads of merchandise through the gates of Jerusalem just as on other days, then I will set fire to these gates. The fire will spread to the palaces, and no one will be able to put out the roaring flames.’”
The Potter and the Clay
18 The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” 3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.
5 Then the Lord gave me this message: 6 “O Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand. 7 If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed, 8 but then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had planned. 9 And if I announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom, 10 but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it as I said I would.
11 “Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am planning disaster for you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right.’”
12 But the people replied, “Don’t waste your breath. We will continue to live as we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires.”
13 So this is what the Lord says:
“Has anyone ever heard of such a thing,
even among the pagan nations?
My virgin daughter Israel
has done something terrible!
14 Does the snow ever disappear from the mountaintops of Lebanon?
Do the cold streams flowing from those distant mountains ever run dry?
15 But my people are not so reliable, for they have deserted me;
they burn incense to worthless idols.
They have stumbled off the ancient highways
and walk in muddy paths.
16 Therefore, their land will become desolate,
a monument to their stupidity.
All who pass by will be astonished
and will shake their heads in amazement.
17 I will scatter my people before their enemies
as the east wind scatters dust.
And in all their trouble I will turn my back on them
and refuse to notice their distress.”
A Plot against Jeremiah
18 Then the people said, “Come on, let’s plot a way to stop Jeremiah. We have plenty of priests and wise men and prophets. We don’t need him to teach the word and give us advice and prophecies. Let’s spread rumors about him and ignore what he says.”
19 Lord, hear me and help me!
Listen to what my enemies are saying.
20 Should they repay evil for good?
They have dug a pit to kill me,
though I pleaded for them
and tried to protect them from your anger.
21 So let their children starve!
Let them die by the sword!
Let their wives become childless widows.
Let their old men die in a plague,
and let their young men be killed in battle!
22 Let screaming be heard from their homes
as warriors come suddenly upon them.
For they have dug a pit for me
and have hidden traps along my path.
23 Lord, you know all about their murderous plots against me.
Don’t forgive their crimes and blot out their sins.
Let them die before you.
Deal with them in your anger.
Footnotes
- 17:26 Hebrew the Shephelah.
Jeremiah 16:16-18:23
The Message
Jeremiah 16:16-18:23
The Message
16-17 “Now, watch for what comes next: I’m going to assemble a bunch of fishermen.” God’s Decree! “They’ll go fishing for my people and pull them in for judgment. Then I’ll send out a party of hunters, and they’ll hunt them out in all the mountains, hills, and caves. I’m watching their every move. I haven’t lost track of a single one of them, neither them nor their sins.
18 “They won’t get by with a thing. They’ll pay double for everything they did wrong. They’ve made a complete mess of things, littering their lives with their obscene no-gods, leaving piles of stinking god-junk all over the place.”
19-20 God, my strength, my stronghold,
my safe retreat when trouble descends:
The godless nations will come
from earth’s four corners, saying,
“Our ancestors lived on lies,
useless illusions, all smoke.”
Can mortals manufacture gods?
Their factories turn out no-gods!
21 “Watch closely now. I’m going to teach these wrongheaded people.
Starting right now, I’m going to teach them
Who I am and what I do,
teach them the meaning of my name, God—‘I Am.’”
The Heart Is Hopelessly Dark and Deceitful
17 1-2 “Judah’s sin is engraved
with a steel chisel,
A steel chisel with a diamond point—
engraved on their granite hearts,
engraved on the stone corners of their altars.
The evidence against them is plain to see:
sex-and-religion altars and sacred sex shrines
Anywhere there’s a grove of trees,
anywhere there’s an available hill.
3-4 “I’ll use your mountains as roadside stands
for giving away everything you have.
All your ‘things’ will serve as reparations
for your sins all over the country.
You’ll lose your gift of land,
The inheritance I gave you.
I’ll make you slaves of your enemies
in a far-off and strange land.
My anger is hot and blazing and fierce,
and no one will put it out.”
* * *
5-6 God’s Message:
“Cursed is the strong one
who depends on mere humans,
Who thinks he can make it on muscle alone
and sets God aside as dead weight.
He’s like a tumbleweed on the prairie,
out of touch with the good earth.
He lives rootless and aimless
in a land where nothing grows.
7-8 “But blessed is the man who trusts me, God,
the woman who sticks with God.
They’re like trees replanted in Eden,
putting down roots near the rivers—
Never a worry through the hottest of summers,
never dropping a leaf,
Serene and calm through droughts,
bearing fresh fruit every season.
* * *
9-10 “The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful,
a puzzle that no one can figure out.
But I, God, search the heart
and examine the mind.
I get to the heart of the human.
I get to the root of things.
I treat them as they really are,
not as they pretend to be.”
* * *
11 Like a cowbird that cheats by laying its eggs
in another bird’s nest
Is the person who gets rich by cheating.
When the eggs hatch, the deceit is exposed.
What a fool he’ll look like then!
* * *
12-13 From early on your Sanctuary was set high,
a throne of glory, exalted!
O God, you’re the hope of Israel.
All who leave you end up as fools,
Deserters with nothing to show for their lives,
who walk off from God, fountain of living waters—
and wind up dead!
* * *
14-18 God, pick up the pieces.
Put me back together again.
You are my praise!
Listen to how they talk about me:
“So where’s this ‘Word of God’?
We’d like to see something happen!”
But it wasn’t my idea to call for Doomsday.
I never wanted trouble.
You know what I’ve said.
It’s all out in the open before you.
Don’t add to my troubles.
Give me some relief!
Let those who harass me be harassed, not me.
Let them be disgraced, not me.
Bring down upon them the day of doom.
Lower the boom. Boom!
Keep the Sabbath Day Holy
19-20 God’s Message to me: “Go stand in the People’s Gate, the one used by Judah’s kings as they come and go, and then proceed in turn to all the gates of Jerusalem. Tell them, ‘Listen, you kings of Judah, listen to God’s Message—and all you people who go in and out of these gates, you listen!
21-23 “‘This is God’s Message. Be careful, if you care about your lives, not to desecrate the Sabbath by turning it into just another workday, lugging stuff here and there. Don’t use the Sabbath to do business as usual. Keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors. They never did it, as you know. They paid no attention to what I said and went about their own business, refusing to be guided or instructed by me.
24-26 “‘But now, take seriously what I tell you. Quit desecrating the Sabbath by busily going about your own work, and keep the Sabbath day holy by not doing business as usual. Then kings from the time of David and their officials will continue to ride through these gates on horses or in chariots. The people of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem will continue to pass through them, too. Jerusalem will always be filled with people. People will stream in from all over Judah, from the province of Benjamin, from the Jerusalem suburbs, from foothills and mountains and deserts. They’ll come to worship, bringing all kinds of offerings—animals, grains, incense, expressions of thanks—into the Sanctuary of God.
27 “‘But if you won’t listen to me, won’t keep the Sabbath holy, won’t quit using the Sabbath for doing your own work, busily going in and out of the city gates on your self-important business, then I’ll burn the gates down. In fact, I’ll burn the whole city down, palaces and all, with a fire nobody will be able to put out!’”
To Worship the Big Lie
18 1-2 God told Jeremiah, “Up on your feet! Go to the potter’s house. When you get there, I’ll tell you what I have to say.”
3-4 So I went to the potter’s house, and sure enough, the potter was there, working away at his wheel. Whenever the pot the potter was working on turned out badly, as sometimes happens when you are working with clay, the potter would simply start over and use the same clay to make another pot.
5-10 Then God’s Message came to me: “Can’t I do just as this potter does, people of Israel?” God’s Decree! “Watch this potter. In the same way that this potter works his clay, I work on you, people of Israel. At any moment I may decide to pull up a people or a country by the roots and get rid of them. But if they repent of their wicked lives, I will think twice and start over with them. At another time I might decide to plant a people or country, but if they don’t cooperate and won’t listen to me, I will think again and give up on the plans I had for them.
11 “So, tell the people of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem my Message: ‘Danger! I’m shaping doom against you, laying plans against you. Turn back from your doomed way of life. Straighten out your lives.’
12 “But they’ll just say, ‘Why should we? What’s the point? We’ll live just the way we’ve always lived, doom or no doom.’”
* * *
13-17 God’s Message:
“Ask around.
Survey the godless nations.
Has anyone heard the likes of this?
Virgin Israel has become a slut!
Does snow disappear from the Lebanon peaks?
Do alpine streams run dry?
But my people have left me
to worship the Big Lie.
They’ve gotten off the track,
the old, well-worn trail,
And now bushwhack through underbrush
in a tangle of roots and vines.
Their land’s going to end up a mess—
a fool’s memorial to be spit on.
Travelers passing through
will shake their heads in disbelief.
I’ll scatter my people before their enemies,
like autumn leaves in a high wind.
On their day of doom, they’ll stare at my back as I walk away,
catching not so much as a glimpse of my face.”
* * *
18 Some of the people said, “Come on, let’s cook up a plot against Jeremiah. We’ll still have the priests to teach us the law, wise counselors to give us advice, and prophets to tell us what God has to say. Come on, let’s discredit him so we don’t have to put up with him any longer.”
19-23 And I said to God:
“God, listen to me!
Just listen to what my enemies are saying.
Should I get paid evil for good?
That’s what they’re doing. They’ve made plans to kill me!
Remember all the times I stood up for them before you,
speaking up for them,
trying to soften your anger?
But enough! Let their children starve!
Let them be massacred in battle!
Let their wives be childless and widowed,
their friends die and their proud young men be killed.
Let cries of panic sound from their homes
as you surprise them with war parties!
They’re all set to lynch me.
The noose is practically around my neck!
But you know all this, God.
You know they’re determined to kill me.
Don’t whitewash their crimes,
don’t overlook a single sin!
Round the bunch of them up before you.
Strike while the iron of your anger is hot!”
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson