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Jeremiah 10:17-13:11
English Standard Version
Jeremiah 10:17-13:11
English Standard Version
17 (A)Gather up your bundle from the ground,
O you who dwell under siege!
18 For thus says the Lord:
(B)“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land
at this time,
(C)and I will bring distress on them,
that they may feel it.”
19 Woe is me because of my hurt!
(D)My wound is grievous.
But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,
and I must bear it.”
20 (E)My tent is destroyed,
and all my cords are broken;
my children have gone from me,
(F)and they are not;
there is no one to spread my tent again
and (G)to set up my curtains.
21 (H)For the shepherds (I)are stupid
and do not inquire of the Lord;
therefore they have not prospered,
(J)and all their flock is scattered.
22 A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—
(K)a great commotion out of the north country
to make (L)the cities of Judah a desolation,
(M)a lair of jackals.
23 (N)I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself,
that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
24 (O)Correct me, O Lord, but in justice;
not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.
25 (P)Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,
and on the peoples that call not on your name,
(Q)for they have devoured Jacob;
they have devoured him and consumed him,
and have laid waste his habitation.
The Broken Covenant
11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 (R)“Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: (S)Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, (T)from the iron furnace, saying, (U)Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. (V)So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 (W)that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, (X)to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, Lord.”
6 And the Lord said to me, (Y)“Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: (Z)Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, (AA)warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, (AB)Obey my voice. 8 (AC)Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, (AD)but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all (AE)the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”
9 Again the Lord said to me, (AF)“A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to (AG)the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. (AH)They have gone after other gods to serve them. (AI)The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the Lord, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. (AJ)Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem (AK)will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, (AL)but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 (AM)For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, (AN)altars to make offerings to Baal.
14 “Therefore (AO)do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, (AP)for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 (AQ)What right has my beloved in my house, (AR)when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? (AS)Can you then exult? 16 The Lord once called you (AT)‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.’ But (AU)with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and (AV)its branches will be consumed. 17 The Lord of hosts, (AW)who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, (AX)provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.”
18 The Lord made it known to me and I knew;
then you showed me their deeds.
19 But I was (AY)like a gentle lamb
led to the slaughter.
I did not know (AZ)it was against me
they devised schemes, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
(BA)let us cut him off from (BB)the land of the living,
that his name be remembered no more.”
20 But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously,
who (BC)tests (BD)the heart and the mind,
(BE)let me see your vengeance upon them,
for to you have I committed my cause.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of (BF)Anathoth, (BG)who seek your life, and say, (BH)“Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand”— 22 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of (BI)Anathoth, (BJ)the year of their punishment.”
Jeremiah's Complaint
12 (BK)Righteous are you, O Lord,
when I complain to you;
yet I would plead my case before you.
(BL)Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all (BM)who are treacherous thrive?
2 You plant them, and they take root;
they grow and produce fruit;
(BN)you are near in their mouth
and far from their heart.
3 (BO)But you, O Lord, know me;
(BP)you see me, and test my heart toward you.
(BQ)Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
and set them apart for (BR)the day of slaughter.
4 (BS)How long will the land mourn
and the grass of every field wither?
(BT)For the evil of those who dwell in it
(BU)the beasts and the birds are swept away,
because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”
The Lord Answers Jeremiah
5 “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,
how will you compete with horses?
And if in a safe land you are so trusting,
what will you do in (BV)the thicket of the Jordan?
6 For (BW)even your brothers and the house of your father,
(BX)even they have dealt treacherously with you;
they are in full cry after you;
(BY)do not believe them,
though they speak friendly words to you.”
7 “I have forsaken my house;
I have abandoned (BZ)my heritage;
I have given (CA)the beloved of my soul
into the hands of her enemies.
8 (CB)My heritage has become to me
like a lion in the forest;
she has lifted up her voice against me;
therefore I hate her.
9 Is (CC)my heritage to me like (CD)a hyena's lair?
Are the (CE)birds of prey against her all around?
Go, (CF)assemble all the wild beasts;
bring them to devour.
10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;
(CG)they have trampled down my portion;
they have made my pleasant portion
a desolate wilderness.
11 They have made it a desolation;
desolate, (CH)it mourns to me.
The whole land is made desolate,
(CI)but no man lays it to heart.
12 Upon all the bare heights in the desert
destroyers have come,
for the sword of the Lord devours
from one end of the land to the other;
no flesh has peace.
13 (CJ)They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;
(CK)they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.
They shall be ashamed of their[a] harvests
(CL)because of the fierce anger of the Lord.”
14 Thus says the Lord concerning all (CM)my evil neighbors (CN)who touch the heritage that (CO)I have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, (CP)and I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, (CQ)to swear by my name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, (CR)then they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 (CS)But if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the Lord.”
The Ruined Loincloth
13 Thus says the Lord to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and (CT)put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my waist. 3 And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, 4 “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, (CU)go to the Euphrates and hide it there in (CV)a cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. 6 And after many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there (CW)the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took (CX)the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was (CY)spoiled; it was (CZ)good for nothing.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “Thus says the Lord: (DA)Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great (DB)pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, (DC)who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is (DD)good for nothing. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, (DE)that they might be for me a people, (DF)a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 12:13 Hebrew your
Jeremiah 10:17-13:11
New International Version
Jeremiah 10:17-13:11
New International Version
Coming Destruction
17 Gather up your belongings(A) to leave the land,
you who live under siege.
18 For this is what the Lord says:
“At this time I will hurl(B) out
those who live in this land;
I will bring distress(C) on them
so that they may be captured.”
19 Woe to me because of my injury!
My wound(D) is incurable!
Yet I said to myself,
“This is my sickness, and I must endure(E) it.”
20 My tent(F) is destroyed;
all its ropes are snapped.
My children are gone from me and are no more;(G)
no one is left now to pitch my tent
or to set up my shelter.
21 The shepherds(H) are senseless(I)
and do not inquire of the Lord;(J)
so they do not prosper(K)
and all their flock is scattered.(L)
22 Listen! The report is coming—
a great commotion from the land of the north!(M)
It will make the towns of Judah desolate,(N)
a haunt of jackals.(O)
Jeremiah’s Prayer
23 Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own;
it is not for them to direct their steps.(P)
24 Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measure—
not in your anger,(Q)
or you will reduce me to nothing.(R)
25 Pour out your wrath on the nations(S)
that do not acknowledge you,
on the peoples who do not call on your name.(T)
For they have devoured(U) Jacob;
they have devoured him completely
and destroyed his homeland.(V)
The Covenant Is Broken
11 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Listen to the terms of this covenant(W) and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. 3 Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed(X) is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant— 4 the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt,(Y) out of the iron-smelting furnace.(Z)’ I said, ‘Obey(AA) me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people,(AB) and I will be your God. 5 Then I will fulfill the oath I swore(AC) to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’(AD)—the land you possess today.”
I answered, “Amen,(AE) Lord.”
6 The Lord said to me, “Proclaim(AF) all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow(AG) them. 7 From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again,(AH) saying, “Obey me.” 8 But they did not listen or pay attention;(AI) instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.(AJ) So I brought on them all the curses(AK) of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.(AL)’”
9 Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracy(AM) among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their ancestors,(AN) who refused to listen to my words.(AO) They have followed other gods(AP) to serve them.(AQ) Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant(AR) I made with their ancestors. 11 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster(AS) they cannot escape.(AT) Although they cry(AU) out to me, I will not listen(AV) to them. 12 The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense,(AW) but they will not help them at all when disaster(AX) strikes. 13 You, Judah, have as many gods(AY) as you have towns;(AZ) and the altars you have set up to burn incense(BA) to that shameful(BB) god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’
14 “Do not pray(BC) for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen(BD) when they call to me in the time of their distress.
15 “What is my beloved doing in my temple
as she, with many others, works out her evil schemes?
Can consecrated meat(BE) avert your punishment?(BF)
When you engage in your wickedness,
then you rejoice.[a]”
16 The Lord called you a thriving olive tree(BG)
with fruit beautiful in form.
But with the roar of a mighty storm
he will set it on fire,(BH)
and its branches will be broken.(BI)
17 The Lord Almighty, who planted(BJ) you, has decreed disaster(BK) for you, because the people of both Israel and Judah have done evil and aroused(BL) my anger by burning incense to Baal.(BM)
Plot Against Jeremiah
18 Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. 19 I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter;(BN) I did not realize that they had plotted(BO) against me, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;
let us cut him off from the land of the living,(BP)
that his name be remembered(BQ) no more.”
20 But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously(BR)
and test the heart(BS) and mind,(BT)
let me see your vengeance(BU) on them,
for to you I have committed my cause.
21 Therefore this is what the Lord says about the people of Anathoth(BV) who are threatening to kill you,(BW) saying, “Do not prophesy(BX) in the name of the Lord or you will die(BY) by our hands”— 22 therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish them. Their young men(BZ) will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. 23 Not even a remnant(CA) will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.(CB)”
Jeremiah’s Complaint
12 You are always righteous,(CC) Lord,
when I bring a case(CD) before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:(CE)
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?(CF)
Why do all the faithless live at ease?
2 You have planted(CG) them, and they have taken root;
they grow and bear fruit.(CH)
You are always on their lips
but far from their hearts.(CI)
3 Yet you know me, Lord;
you see me and test(CJ) my thoughts about you.
Drag them off like sheep(CK) to be butchered!
Set them apart for the day of slaughter!(CL)
4 How long will the land lie parched(CM)
and the grass in every field be withered?(CN)
Because those who live in it are wicked,
the animals and birds have perished.(CO)
Moreover, the people are saying,
“He will not see what happens to us.”
God’s Answer
5 “If you have raced with men on foot
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble[b] in safe country,
how will you manage in the thickets(CP) by[c] the Jordan?
6 Your relatives, members of your own family—
even they have betrayed you;
they have raised a loud cry against you.(CQ)
Do not trust them,
though they speak well of you.(CR)
7 “I will forsake(CS) my house,
abandon(CT) my inheritance;
I will give the one I love(CU)
into the hands of her enemies.(CV)
8 My inheritance has become to me
like a lion(CW) in the forest.
She roars at me;
therefore I hate her.(CX)
9 Has not my inheritance become to me
like a speckled bird of prey
that other birds of prey surround and attack?
Go and gather all the wild beasts;
bring them to devour.(CY)
10 Many shepherds(CZ) will ruin my vineyard
and trample down my field;
they will turn my pleasant field
into a desolate wasteland.(DA)
11 It will be made a wasteland,(DB)
parched and desolate before me;(DC)
the whole land will be laid waste
because there is no one who cares.
12 Over all the barren heights in the desert
destroyers will swarm,
for the sword(DD) of the Lord(DE) will devour(DF)
from one end of the land to the other;(DG)
no one will be safe.(DH)
13 They will sow wheat but reap thorns;
they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.(DI)
They will bear the shame of their harvest
because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”(DJ)
14 This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance(DK) I gave my people Israel, I will uproot(DL) them from their lands and I will uproot(DM) the people of Judah from among them. 15 But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion(DN) and will bring(DO) each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. 16 And if they learn(DP) well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’(DQ)—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal(DR)—then they will be established among my people.(DS) 17 But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy(DT) it,” declares the Lord.
A Linen Belt
13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” 2 So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.
3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time:(DU) 4 “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath[d](DV) and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” 5 So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.(DW)
6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” 7 So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride(DX) of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen(DY) to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts(DZ) and go after other gods(EA) to serve and worship them,(EB) will be like this belt—completely useless!(EC) 11 For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown(ED) and praise and honor.(EE) But they have not listened.’(EF)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 11:15 Or Could consecrated meat avert your punishment? / Then you would rejoice
- Jeremiah 12:5 Or you feel secure only
- Jeremiah 12:5 Or the flooding of
- Jeremiah 13:4 Or possibly to the Euphrates; similarly in verses 5-7
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.