Distresses Foretold

16 The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, ² “You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.” ³ For this is what the Lord says concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and concerning their ^(A)mothers who give birth to them, and their ^(B)fathers who father them in this land: ⁴ “They will ^(C)die of deadly diseases, they ^(D)will not be mourned or buried; they will be like ^(E)dung on the surface of the ground. And they will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the ^(F)birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth.”

⁵ For this is what the Lord says: “Do not enter a house of ^(G)mourning, or go to mourn or to console them; for I have ^(H)withdrawn My peace from this people,” declares the Lord, “and My ^(I)favor and compassion. ⁶ Both ^(J)great people and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, people will not mourn for them, nor will anyone ^(K)make cuts on himself or have his head ^(L)shaved for them. ⁷ People will not ^(M)break bread in mourning for them, to comfort anyone for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone’s father or mother. ⁸ Moreover, you shall ^(N)not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.” ⁹ For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to ^(O)eliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your time, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.

¹⁰ “Now it will happen that, when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, ‘^(P)For what reason has the Lord declared all this great disaster against us? And what is our wrongdoing, or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ ¹¹ Then you are to say to them, ‘It is ^(Q)because your forefathers have abandoned Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and have followed ^(R)other gods, and served and worshiped them; but they have abandoned Me and have not kept My Law. ¹² You too have done evil, even ^(S)more than your forefathers; for behold, each one of you is following the ^(T)stubbornness of his own ^(U)evil heart, without listening to Me. ¹³ So I will ^(V)hurl you off this land to the ^(W)land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will ^(X)serve other gods day and night, because I will show you no compassion.’

God Will Restore Them

¹⁴ “^(Y)Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives, who ^(Z)brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ ¹⁵ but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the ^(AA)land of the north and from all the lands where He had banished them.’ For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.

¹⁶ “Behold, I am going to send for many ^(AB)fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will fish for them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they will ^(AC)hunt them ^(AD)from every mountain and every hill and from the clefts of the rocks. ^17 (AE)For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, ^(AF)nor is their wrongdoing concealed from My eyes. ¹⁸ I will first repay them ^(AG)double for their wrongdoing and their sin, because they have ^(AH)defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their ^(AI)detestable idols and their abominations.”

The Deceitful Heart

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, ‘^(CG)Listen to the word of the Lord, you ^(CH)kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates. ²¹ This is what the Lord says: “^(CI)Take care for yourselves, and ^(CJ)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 ^(CK)nor do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, just as I ^(CL)commanded your ^[l]forefathers. ²³ Yet they ^(CM)did not listen or incline their ears, but ^(CN)stiffened their necks so as not to listen or accept discipline.

²⁴ “But it will come about, if you ^(CO)give your attention to Me,” declares the Lord, “to ^(CP)bring no load in through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, ^(CQ)but to keep the Sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, ^25 (CR)then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and officials ^(CS)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 ^(CT)city will be inhabited forever. ²⁶ They will come in from the ^(CU)cities of Judah and from the areas surrounding Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the ^(CV)lowland, from the hill country, and from the ^(CW)Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and frankincense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the Lord. ²⁷ But ^(CX)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 ^(CY)I will set fire to its gates, and it will ^(CZ)devour the palaces of Jerusalem and ^(DA)not go out.”’”

The Potter and the Clay

18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ² “Arise and ^(DB)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 ^(DC)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 ^(DD)uproot it, to tear it down, or to destroy it; ^8 (DE)if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will ^(DF)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 ^(DG)build up or to plant it; ¹⁰ if it does ^(DH)evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will ^(DI)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 ^(DJ)forming a disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Now ^(DK)turn back, each of you from his evil way, and ^[n]correct your ways and your deeds!”’ ¹² But ^(DL)they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will ^[o]persist in the ^(DM)stubbornness of his evil heart.’

¹⁸ Then they said, “Come and let’s ^(EB)devise plans against Jeremiah. Certainly the ^(EC)Law is not going to be lost by the priest, nor ^(ED)advice by the wise, nor the divine ^(EE)word by the prophet! Come, and let’s ^(EF)strike at him with our tongue, and let’s ^(EG)pay no attention to any of his words.”

The Rechabites’ Obedience

35 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of ^(A)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, ² “Go to the house of the ^(B)Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the ^(C)chambers, and give them wine to drink.” ³ So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons, and all the household of the Rechabites, ⁴ and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the ^(D)man of God, which was next to the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, ^(E)the doorkeeper. ⁵ Then I set before the ^[a]men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “^(F)Drink wine!” ⁶ But they said, “We will not drink wine, for ^(G)Jonadab the son of ^(H)Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall ^(I)not drink wine, you or your sons, forever. ⁷ You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed nor plant a vineyard, nor ^[b]own one; but you shall live in ^(J)tents all your days, so that you may live ^(K)many days ^[c]in the land where you ^(L)live as strangers.’ ⁸ And we have ^(M)obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, ⁹ nor to build ourselves houses to live in; and we ^(N)do not have a vineyard, a field, or seed. ¹⁰ But we have ^(O)lived only in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that our father ^(P)Jonadab commanded us. ¹¹ However, when ^(Q)Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let’s ^(R)go to Jerusalem away from the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Arameans.’ So we have lived in Jerusalem.”

Judah Rebuked

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying, ¹³ “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “^(S)Will you not accept instruction by listening to My words?” declares the Lord. ¹⁴ “The ^(T)words of Jonadab the son of Rechab have been followed, which he commanded his sons: not to drink wine. And they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. But I have spoken to you ^(U)again and again, yet you have ^(V)not listened to Me. ¹⁵ Also I have sent to you all My ^(W)servants the prophets, sending them again and again, saying: ‘^(X)Turn now every person from his evil way and amend your deeds, and ^(Y)do not follow other gods to worship them. Then you will ^(Z)live in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not ^(AA)inclined your ear or listened to Me. ¹⁶ Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have ^(AB)followed the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.’”’ ¹⁷ Therefore this is what the Lord says, the God of armies, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, ^(AC)I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I ^(AD)spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.’”

¹⁸ Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Because you have ^(AE)obeyed the command of Jonadab your father, kept all his commands, and done according to all that he commanded you, ¹⁹ therefore this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Jonadab the son of Rechab ^(AF)will not lack a man to ^(AG)stand before Me ^[d]always.”’”