⁵ “Before I ^(H)formed you in the womb ^(I)I knew you;
Before you were born I ^(J)sanctified^[a] you;
I ^[b]ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

^(K)“Ah, Lord God!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And ^(L)whatever I command you, you shall speak.
^8 (M)Do not be afraid of their faces,
For ^(N)I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.

“Behold, I have ^(P)put My words in your mouth.
^10 (Q)See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,
To ^(R)root out and to pull down,
To destroy and to throw down,
To build and to plant.”

“Out of the ^(T)north calamity shall break forth
On all the inhabitants of the land.
¹⁵ For behold, I am ^(U)calling
All the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord;
“They shall come and ^(V)each one set his throne
At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,
Against all its walls all around,
And against all the cities of Judah.
¹⁶ I will utter My judgments
Against them concerning all their wickedness,
Because ^(W)they have forsaken Me,
Burned ^(X)incense to other gods,
And worshiped the works of their own ^(Y)hands.

¹⁷ “Therefore ^(Z)prepare yourself and arise,
And speak to them all that I command you.
^(AA)Do not be dismayed before their faces,
Lest I dismay you before them.
¹⁸ For behold, I have made you this day
^(AB)A fortified city and an iron pillar,
And bronze walls against the whole land—
Against the kings of Judah,
Against its princes,
Against its priests,
And against the people of the land.
¹⁹ They will fight against you,
But they shall not prevail against you.
For I am with you,” says the Lord, “to deliver you.”

“I remember you,
The kindness of your ^(AC)youth,
The love of your betrothal,
^(AD)When you ^[e]went after Me in the wilderness,
In a land not sown.
^3 (AE)Israel was holiness to the Lord,
^(AF)The firstfruits of His increase.
^(AG)All that devour him will offend;
Disaster will ^(AH)come upon them,” says the Lord.’ ”

^(AI)“What injustice have your fathers found in Me,
That they have gone far from Me,
^(AJ)Have followed ^[f]idols,
And have become idolaters?
⁶ Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord,
Who ^(AK)brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who led us through ^(AL)the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and pits,
Through a land of drought and the shadow of death,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no one dwelt?’
⁷ I brought you into ^(AM)a bountiful country,
To eat its fruit and its goodness.
But when you entered, you ^(AN)defiled My land
And made My heritage an abomination.
⁸ The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the ^(AO)law did not know Me;
The rulers also transgressed against Me;
^(AP)The prophets prophesied by Baal,
And walked after things that do not profit.

⁹ “Therefore ^(AQ)I will yet ^[g]bring charges against you,” says the Lord,
“And against your children’s children I will bring charges.
¹⁰ For pass beyond the coasts of ^[h]Cyprus and see,
Send to ^[i]Kedar and consider diligently,
And see if there has been such a ^(AR)thing.
^11 (AS)Has a nation changed its gods,
Which are ^(AT)not gods?
^(AU)But My people have changed their Glory
For what does not profit.
¹² Be astonished, O heavens, at this,
And be horribly afraid;
Be very desolate,” says the Lord.
¹³ “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the ^(AV)fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.

¹⁴ “Is Israel ^(AW)a servant?
Is he a homeborn slave?
Why is he plundered?
^15 (AX)The young lions roared at him, and growled;
They made his land waste;
His cities are burned, without inhabitant.
¹⁶ Also the people of ^[j]Noph and ^(AY)Tahpanhes
Have ^[k]broken the crown of your head.
^17 (AZ)Have you not brought this on yourself,
In that you have forsaken the Lord your God
When ^(BA)He led you in the way?
¹⁸ And now why take ^(BB)the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of ^(BC)Sihor?
Or why take the road to ^(BD)Assyria,
To drink the waters of ^[l]the River?
¹⁹ Your own wickedness will ^(BE)correct you,
And your backslidings will rebuke you.
Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing
That you have forsaken the Lord your God,
And the ^[m]fear of Me is not in you,”
Says the Lord God of hosts.

²⁰ “For of old I have ^(BF)broken your yoke and burst your bonds;
And ^(BG)you said, ‘I will not ^[n]transgress,’
When ^(BH)on every high hill and under every green tree
You lay down, ^(BI)playing the harlot.
²¹ Yet I had ^(BJ)planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality.
How then have you turned before Me
Into ^(BK)the degenerate plant of an alien vine?
²² For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap,
Yet your iniquity is ^(BL)marked^[o] before Me,” says the Lord God.

²³ “How^(BM) can you say, ‘I am not ^[p]polluted,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
See your way in the valley;
Know what you have done:
You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways,
²⁴ A wild donkey used to the wilderness,
That sniffs at the wind in her desire;
In her time of mating, who can turn her away?
All those who seek her will not weary themselves;
In her month they will find her.
²⁵ Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst.
But you said, ^(BN)‘There is no hope.
No! For I have loved ^(BO)aliens, and after them I will go.’

²⁶ “As the thief is ashamed when he is found out,
So is the house of Israel ashamed;
They and their kings and their princes, and their priests and their ^(BP)prophets,
²⁷ Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
And to a ^(BQ)stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face.
But in the time of their ^(BR)trouble
They will say, ‘Arise and save us.’
²⁸ But ^(BS)where are your gods that you have made for yourselves?
Let them arise,
If they ^(BT)can save you in the time of your ^[q]trouble;
For ^(BU)according to the number of your cities
Are your gods, O Judah.

²⁹ “Why will you plead with Me?
You all have transgressed against Me,” says the Lord.
³⁰ “In vain I have ^(BV)chastened your children;
They ^(BW)received no correction.
Your sword has ^(BX)devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.

² “When I choose the ^[b]proper time,
I will judge uprightly.
³ The earth and all its inhabitants are dissolved;
I set up its pillars firmly. Selah

⁴ “I said to the boastful, ‘Do not deal boastfully,’
And to the wicked, ^(B)‘Do not ^[c]lift up the horn.
⁵ Do not lift up your horn on high;
Do not speak with ^[d]a stiff neck.’ ”

⁶ For exaltation comes neither from the east
Nor from the west nor from the south.
⁷ But ^(C)God is the Judge:
^(D)He puts down one,
And exalts another.
⁸ For ^(E)in the hand of the Lord there is a cup,
And the wine is red;
It is fully mixed, and He pours it out;
Surely its dregs shall all the wicked of the earth
Drain and drink down.

⁹ But I will declare forever,
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

¹⁰ “All^(F) the ^[e]horns of the wicked I will also cut off,
But ^(G)the horns of the righteous shall be ^(H)exalted.”

^17 (A)Do not rejoice when your enemy falls,
And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
¹⁸ Lest the Lord see it, and ^[a]it displease Him,
And He turn away His wrath from him.

^19 (B)Do not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the wicked;
²⁰ For there will be no prospect for the evil man;
The lamp of the wicked will be put out.