This is what the Lord Almighty says:

‘Let them glean the remnant of Israel
    as thoroughly as a vine;
pass your hand over the branches again,
    like one gathering grapes.’

10 To whom can I speak and give warning?
    Who will listen to me?
Their ears are closed[a]
    so that they cannot hear.
The word of the Lord is offensive to them;
    they find no pleasure in it.
11 But I am full of the wrath of the Lord,
    and I cannot hold it in.

‘Pour it out on the children in the street
    and on the young men gathered together;
both husband and wife will be caught in it,
    and the old, those weighed down with years.
12 Their houses will be turned over to others,
    together with their fields and their wives,
when I stretch out my hand
    against those who live in the land,’
declares the Lord.
13 ‘From the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain;
prophets and priests alike,
    all practise deceit.
14 They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
“Peace, peace,” they say,
    when there is no peace.
15 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
    No, they have no shame at all;
    they do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall among the fallen;
    they will be brought down when I punish them,’
says the Lord.

16 This is what the Lord says:

‘Stand at the crossroads and look;
    ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
    and you will find rest for your souls.
    But you said, “We will not walk in it.”
17 I appointed watchmen over you and said,
    “Listen to the sound of the trumpet!”
    But you said, “We will not listen.”
18 Therefore hear, you nations;
    you who are witnesses,
    observe what will happen to them.
19 Hear, you earth:
    I am bringing disaster on this people,
    the fruit of their schemes,
because they have not listened to my words
    and have rejected my law.
20 What do I care about incense from Sheba
    or sweet calamus from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;
    your sacrifices do not please me.’

21 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

‘I will put obstacles before this people.
    Parents and children alike will stumble over them;
    neighbours and friends will perish.’

22 This is what the Lord says:

‘Look, an army is coming
    from the land of the north;
a great nation is being stirred up
    from the ends of the earth.
23 They are armed with bow and spear;
    they are cruel and show no mercy.
They sound like the roaring sea
    as they ride on their horses;
they come like men in battle formation
    to attack you, Daughter Zion.’

24 We have heard reports about them,
    and our hands hang limp.
Anguish has gripped us,
    pain like that of a woman in labour.
25 Do not go out to the fields
    or walk on the roads,
for the enemy has a sword,
    and there is terror on every side.
26 Put on sackcloth, my people,
    and roll in ashes;
mourn with bitter wailing
    as for an only son,
for suddenly the destroyer
    will come upon us.

27 ‘I have made you a tester of metals
    and my people the ore,
that you may observe
    and test their ways.
28 They are all hardened rebels,
    going about to slander.
They are bronze and iron;
    they all act corruptly.
29 The bellows blow fiercely
    to burn away the lead with fire,
but the refining goes on in vain;
    the wicked are not purged out.
30 They are called rejected silver,
    because the Lord has rejected them.’

False religion worthless

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:

‘“Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!’ If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave to your ancestors for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.

‘“Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury,[b] burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, ‘We are safe’– safe to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.

12 ‘“Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. 14 Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. 15 I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.”

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 6:10 Hebrew uncircumcised
  2. Jeremiah 7:9 Or and swear by false gods

This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Let them glean the remnant(A) of Israel
    as thoroughly as a vine;
pass your hand over the branches again,
    like one gathering grapes.”

10 To whom can I speak and give warning?
    Who will listen(B) to me?
Their ears are closed[a](C)
    so they cannot hear.(D)
The word(E) of the Lord is offensive to them;
    they find no pleasure in it.
11 But I am full of the wrath(F) of the Lord,
    and I cannot hold it in.(G)

“Pour it out on the children in the street
    and on the young men(H) gathered together;
both husband and wife will be caught in it,
    and the old, those weighed down with years.(I)
12 Their houses will be turned over to others,(J)
    together with their fields and their wives,(K)
when I stretch out my hand(L)
    against those who live in the land,”
declares the Lord.
13 “From the least to the greatest,
    all(M) are greedy for gain;(N)
prophets and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.(O)
14 They dress the wound of my people
    as though it were not serious.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say,
    when there is no peace.(P)
15 Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?
    No, they have no shame at all;
    they do not even know how to blush.(Q)
So they will fall among the fallen;
    they will be brought down when I punish(R) them,”
says the Lord.

16 This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;
    ask for the ancient paths,(S)
ask where the good way(T) is, and walk in it,
    and you will find rest(U) for your souls.
    But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 I appointed watchmen(V) over you and said,
    ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’(W)
    But you said, ‘We will not listen.’(X)
18 Therefore hear, you nations;
    you who are witnesses,
    observe what will happen to them.
19 Hear, you earth:(Y)
    I am bringing disaster(Z) on this people,
    the fruit of their schemes,(AA)
because they have not listened to my words(AB)
    and have rejected my law.(AC)
20 What do I care about incense from Sheba(AD)
    or sweet calamus(AE) from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;(AF)
    your sacrifices(AG) do not please me.”(AH)

21 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“I will put obstacles before this people.
    Parents and children alike will stumble(AI) over them;
    neighbors and friends will perish.”

22 This is what the Lord says:

“Look, an army is coming
    from the land of the north;(AJ)
a great nation is being stirred up
    from the ends of the earth.(AK)
23 They are armed with bow and spear;
    they are cruel and show no mercy.(AL)
They sound like the roaring sea(AM)
    as they ride on their horses;(AN)
they come like men in battle formation
    to attack you, Daughter Zion.(AO)

24 We have heard reports about them,
    and our hands hang limp.(AP)
Anguish(AQ) has gripped us,
    pain like that of a woman in labor.(AR)
25 Do not go out to the fields
    or walk on the roads,
for the enemy has a sword,
    and there is terror on every side.(AS)
26 Put on sackcloth,(AT) my people,
    and roll in ashes;(AU)
mourn with bitter wailing(AV)
    as for an only son,(AW)
for suddenly the destroyer(AX)
    will come upon us.

27 “I have made you a tester(AY) of metals
    and my people the ore,
that you may observe
    and test their ways.
28 They are all hardened rebels,(AZ)
    going about to slander.(BA)
They are bronze and iron;(BB)
    they all act corruptly.
29 The bellows blow fiercely
    to burn away the lead with fire,
but the refining(BC) goes on in vain;
    the wicked are not purged out.
30 They are called rejected silver,(BD)
    because the Lord has rejected them.”(BE)

False Religion Worthless

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Stand(BF) at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:

“‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways(BG) and your actions, and I will let you live(BH) in this place. Do not trust(BI) in deceptive(BJ) words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” If you really change(BK) your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly,(BL) if you do not oppress(BM) the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood(BN) in this place, and if you do not follow other gods(BO) to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land(BP) I gave your ancestors(BQ) for ever and ever. But look, you are trusting(BR) in deceptive(BS) words that are worthless.

“‘Will you steal(BT) and murder,(BU) commit adultery(BV) and perjury,[b](BW) burn incense to Baal(BX) and follow other gods(BY) you have not known, 10 and then come and stand(BZ) before me in this house,(CA) which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things?(CB) 11 Has this house,(CC) which bears my Name, become a den of robbers(CD) to you? But I have been watching!(CE) declares the Lord.

12 “‘Go now to the place in Shiloh(CF) where I first made a dwelling(CG) for my Name,(CH) and see what I did(CI) to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke(CJ) to you again and again,(CK) but you did not listen;(CL) I called(CM) you, but you did not answer.(CN) 14 Therefore, what I did to Shiloh(CO) I will now do to the house that bears my Name,(CP) the temple(CQ) you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. 15 I will thrust you from my presence,(CR) just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’(CS)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 6:10 Hebrew uncircumcised
  2. Jeremiah 7:9 Or and swear by false gods

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets.

10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.

11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.

12 And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord.

13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.

14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the Lord.

16 Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.

18 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.

19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.

20 To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.

21 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.

22 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.

23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.

24 We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.

25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.

26 O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.

27 I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.

28 They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.

29 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.

30 Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

Stand in the gate of the Lord's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these.

For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;

If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:

Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.

Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.

Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;

10 And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?

11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord.

12 But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.

13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;

14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.

15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.