16 (A)Wash yourselves, (B)make yourselves clean;
(C)Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight.
(D)Stop doing evil,
17 Learn to do good;
(E)Seek justice,
Rebuke the oppressor,
(F)Obtain justice for the orphan,
Plead for the widow’s case.

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16 Wash(A) and make yourselves clean.
    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;(B)
    stop doing wrong.(C)
17 Learn to do right;(D) seek justice.(E)
    Defend the oppressed.[a](F)
Take up the cause of the fatherless;(G)
    plead the case of the widow.(H)

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Footnotes

  1. Isaiah 1:17 Or justice. / Correct the oppressor

Judah Threatened with Invasion

“If you will (A)return, Israel,” declares the Lord,
Then you should return to Me.
And (B)if you will put away your detestable things from My presence,
And will not waver,

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“If you, Israel, will return,(A)
    then return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“If you put your detestable idols(B) out of my sight
    and no longer go astray,

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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 (A)forming a disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Now (B)turn back, each of you from his evil way, and [a]correct your ways and your deeds!”’

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 18:11 Lit make good

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(A) for you and devising a plan(B) against you. So turn(C) from your evil ways,(D) each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’(E)

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saying, ‘(A)Turn now, everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the land which the Lord has given to you and your forefathers (B)forever and ever; and (C)do not follow other gods to [a]serve them and to [b]worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, then I will do you no harm.’ Yet you have not listened to Me,” declares the Lord, “in order to (D)provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own harm.

“Therefore this is what the Lord of armies says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, behold, I will (E)send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, (F)My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will [c]completely destroy them and (G)make them an object of horror and [d]hissing, and an everlasting place of ruins. 10 Moreover, I will (H)eliminate from them the voice of jubilation and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the (I)sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 (J)This entire land will be a place of ruins and an object of horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for (K)seventy years.

Babylon Will Be Judged

12 ‘Then it will be (L)when seventy years are completed I will (M)punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the Lord, ‘for their wrongdoing, and the land of the Chaldeans; and (N)I will make it an everlasting desolation. 13 I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in (O)this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against (P)all the nations. 14 ([e]For (Q)many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will (R)repay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.)’”

15 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to me: “Take this (S)cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and give it to all the nations to whom I send you, to drink from it. 16 Then they will (T)drink and loudly vomit and act insanely because of the sword that I am going to send among them.”

17 So I took the cup from the Lords hand and (U)gave it to all the nations to whom the Lord sent me, to drink from it: 18 To (V)Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, and its kings and its officials, to make them places of ruins, objects of horror, [f]hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; 19 To (W)Pharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, and all his people; 20 and to all the (X)foreign [g]people, all the kings of the (Y)land of Uz, all the kings of the land of the (Z)Philistines (that is, Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of (AA)Ashdod); 21 To (AB)Edom, (AC)Moab, and the sons of (AD)Ammon; 22 and to all the kings of (AE)Tyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of (AF)the coastlands which are beyond the sea; 23 and to (AG)Dedan, Tema, (AH)Buz, and all who (AI)trim the corners of their hair; 24 and to all the kings of (AJ)Arabia and all the kings of the (AK)foreign [h]people who live in the desert; 25 and to all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of (AL)Elam, and all the kings of (AM)Media; 26 and to all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and (AN)all the kingdoms of the earth which are on the face of the ground; and the king of [i](AO)Sheshach shall drink it after them.

27 “And you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “(AP)Drink, be drunk, vomit, fall down, and do not get up, because of the (AQ)sword which I am sending among you.”’ 28 And if they (AR)refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “(AS)You shall certainly drink! 29 For behold, I am (AT)beginning to inflict disaster on this city which is (AU)called by My name, so should you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment, for (AV)I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares the Lord of armies.’

30 “Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them,

‘The (AW)Lord will (AX)roar from on high
And raise His voice from His holy dwelling;
He will roar forcefully against His [j]fold.
He will shout like those who tread the grapes,
Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31 A clamor has come to the end of the earth,
Because the Lord has (AY)a controversy with the nations.
He is entering into (AZ)judgment with [k]humanity;
As for the wicked, He has turned them over to the sword,’ declares the Lord.”

32 This is what the Lord of armies says:
“Behold, evil is going out
From (BA)nation to nation,
And a great (BB)storm is being stirred up
From the remotest parts of the earth.

33 “Those (BC)put to death by the Lord on that day will be from one end of the earth to the [l]other. They will (BD)not be mourned, gathered, or buried; they will be like (BE)dung on the face of the ground.

34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry out;
(BF)Wallow in the dust, you masters of the flock;
For the days of your (BG)slaughter and your dispersions [m]have come,
And you will fall like a precious vessel.
35 [n]There will be (BH)no sanctuary for the shepherds,
Nor escape for the masters of the flock.
36 Hear the sound of the cry of the shepherds,
And the wailing of the masters of the flock!
For the Lord is destroying their pasture,
37 And the peaceful (BI)grazing places are devastated
Because of the (BJ)fierce anger of the Lord.
38 He has left His hiding place (BK)like the lion;
For their land has become a horror
Because of the fierceness of the [o]oppressing sword
And because of His fierce anger.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 25:6 Or worship
  2. Jeremiah 25:6 Or bow down to
  3. Jeremiah 25:9 Or put them under the ban
  4. Jeremiah 25:9 Or whistling
  5. Jeremiah 25:14 Or For they have served many nations and great kings
  6. Jeremiah 25:18 Or whistling
  7. Jeremiah 25:20 Or mercenaries
  8. Jeremiah 25:24 Or mercenaries
  9. Jeremiah 25:26 Cryptic name for Babylon
  10. Jeremiah 25:30 Or pasture; i.e., a ref to His people
  11. Jeremiah 25:31 Lit all flesh
  12. Jeremiah 25:33 Lit other end of the earth
  13. Jeremiah 25:34 Lit are full
  14. Jeremiah 25:35 Lit Sanctuary will perish from
  15. Jeremiah 25:38 Or oppressor

They said, “Turn(A) now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land(B) the Lord gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. Do not follow other gods(C) to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”

“But you did not listen to me,” declares the Lord, “and you have aroused(D) my anger with what your hands have made,(E) and you have brought harm(F) to yourselves.”

Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon(G) all the peoples of the north(H) and my servant(I) Nebuchadnezzar(J) king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy[a](K) them and make them an object of horror and scorn,(L) and an everlasting ruin.(M) 10 I will banish from them the sounds(N) of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom,(O) the sound of millstones(P) and the light of the lamp.(Q) 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland,(R) and these nations will serve(S) the king of Babylon seventy years.(T)

12 “But when the seventy years(U) are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon(V) and his nation, the land of the Babylonians,[b] for their guilt,” declares the Lord, “and will make it desolate(W) forever. 13 I will bring on that land all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written(X) in this book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. 14 They themselves will be enslaved(Y) by many nations(Z) and great kings; I will repay(AA) them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

The Cup of God’s Wrath

15 This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup(AB) filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I send(AC) you drink it. 16 When they drink(AD) it, they will stagger(AE) and go mad(AF) because of the sword(AG) I will send among them.”

17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom he sent(AH) me drink it: 18 Jerusalem(AI) and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a ruin(AJ) and an object of horror and scorn,(AK) a curse[c](AL)—as they are today;(AM) 19 Pharaoh king(AN) of Egypt,(AO) his attendants, his officials and all his people, 20 and all the foreign people there; all the kings of Uz;(AP) all the kings of the Philistines(AQ) (those of Ashkelon,(AR) Gaza,(AS) Ekron, and the people left at Ashdod); 21 Edom,(AT) Moab(AU) and Ammon;(AV) 22 all the kings of Tyre(AW) and Sidon;(AX) the kings of the coastlands(AY) across the sea; 23 Dedan,(AZ) Tema,(BA) Buz(BB) and all who are in distant places[d];(BC) 24 all the kings of Arabia(BD) and all the kings of the foreign people(BE) who live in the wilderness; 25 all the kings of Zimri,(BF) Elam(BG) and Media;(BH) 26 and all the kings of the north,(BI) near and far, one after the other—all the kingdoms(BJ) on the face of the earth. And after all of them, the king of Sheshak[e](BK) will drink it too.

27 “Then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Drink, get drunk(BL) and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword(BM) I will send among you.’ 28 But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink(BN), tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: You must drink it! 29 See, I am beginning to bring disaster(BO) on the city that bears my Name,(BP) and will you indeed go unpunished?(BQ) You will not go unpunished, for I am calling down a sword(BR) on all(BS) who live on the earth,(BT) declares the Lord Almighty.’

30 “Now prophesy all these words against them and say to them:

“‘The Lord will roar(BU) from on high;
    he will thunder(BV) from his holy dwelling(BW)
    and roar mightily against his land.
He will shout like those who tread(BX) the grapes,
    shout against all who live on the earth.
31 The tumult(BY) will resound to the ends of the earth,
    for the Lord will bring charges(BZ) against the nations;
he will bring judgment(CA) on all(CB) mankind
    and put the wicked to the sword,(CC)’”
declares the Lord.

32 This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Look! Disaster(CD) is spreading
    from nation to nation;(CE)
a mighty storm(CF) is rising
    from the ends of the earth.”(CG)

33 At that time those slain(CH) by the Lord will be everywhere—from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered(CI) up or buried,(CJ) but will be like dung lying on the ground.

34 Weep and wail, you shepherds;(CK)
    roll(CL) in the dust, you leaders of the flock.
For your time to be slaughtered(CM) has come;
    you will fall like the best of the rams.[f](CN)
35 The shepherds will have nowhere to flee,
    the leaders of the flock no place to escape.(CO)
36 Hear the cry(CP) of the shepherds,(CQ)
    the wailing of the leaders of the flock,
    for the Lord is destroying their pasture.
37 The peaceful meadows will be laid waste
    because of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 Like a lion(CR) he will leave his lair,
    and their land will become desolate(CS)
because of the sword[g] of the oppressor(CT)
    and because of the Lord’s fierce anger.(CU)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 25:9 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the Lord, often by totally destroying them.
  2. Jeremiah 25:12 Or Chaldeans
  3. Jeremiah 25:18 That is, their names to be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, to be seen by others as cursed
  4. Jeremiah 25:23 Or who clip the hair by their foreheads
  5. Jeremiah 25:26 Sheshak is a cryptogram for Babylon.
  6. Jeremiah 25:34 Septuagint; Hebrew fall and be shattered like fine pottery
  7. Jeremiah 25:38 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 46:16 and 50:16); most Hebrew manuscripts anger

30 “Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord God. “(A)Repent and turn away from all your offenses, so that wrongdoing does not become a stumbling block to you. 31 (B)Hurl away from you all your offenses which you have committed and make yourselves a (C)new heart and a new spirit! For why should you die, house of Israel? 32 For I take (D)no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God. “Therefore, repent and live!”

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30 “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent!(A) Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.(B) 31 Rid(C) yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart(D) and a new spirit. Why(E) will you die, people of Israel?(F) 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent(G) and live!(H)

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20 but continually proclaimed (A)to those in Damascus first, and (B)in Jerusalem, and then all the region of Judea, and even (C)to the Gentiles, that they are to (D)repent and turn to God, performing deeds (E)consistent with repentance.

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20 First to those in Damascus,(A) then to those in Jerusalem(B) and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles,(C) I preached that they should repent(D) and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.(E)

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