The words of Jeremiah,(A) the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests living in Anathoth(B) in the territory of Benjamin. The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah(C) son of Amon, king of Judah. It also came throughout the days of Jehoiakim(D) son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah(E) son of Josiah, king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.

The Call of Jeremiah

The word of the Lord came to me:

I chose you before I formed you in the womb;
I set you apart before you were born.(F)
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.(G)

But I protested, “Oh no, Lord God! Look, I don’t know how to speak(H) since I am only a youth.”(I)

Then the Lord said to me:

Do not say, “I am only a youth,”(J)
for you will go to everyone I send you to
and speak whatever I tell you.(K)
Do not be afraid of anyone,(L)
for I will be with you to rescue you.(M)
This is the Lord’s declaration.

Then the Lord reached out his hand, touched my mouth,(N) and told me:

I have now filled your mouth with my words.(O)
10 See, I have appointed you today
over nations and kingdoms
to uproot and tear down,
to destroy and demolish,(P)
to build and plant.(Q)

Two Visions

11 Then the word of the Lord came to me, asking, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” (R)

I replied, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”

12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I watch over[a] my word to accomplish it.”(S) 13 Again the word of the Lord came to me asking, “What do you see?”

And I replied, “I see a boiling pot,(T) its lip tilted from the north to the south.”

14 Then the Lord said to me, “Disaster will be poured out[b] from the north(U) on all who live in the land. 15 Indeed, I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north.”(V)

This is the Lord’s declaration.

They will come, and each king will set up his throne
at the entrance to Jerusalem’s gates.
They will attack all her surrounding walls
and all the other cities of Judah.

16 “I will pronounce my judgments against them for all the evil they did when they abandoned me to burn incense to other gods and to worship the works of their own hands.(W)

17 “Now, get ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them(X) or I will cause you to cower before them. 18 Today, I am the one who has made you a fortified city,(Y) an iron pillar, and bronze walls(Z) against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the population. 19 They will fight against you but never prevail over you,(AA) since I am with you to rescue you.”(AB)

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Israel Accused of Apostasy

The word of the Lord came to me: “Go and announce directly to Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says:

I remember the loyalty of your youth,(AC)
your love as a bride—
how you followed me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.
Israel was holy to the Lord,(AD)
the firstfruits of his harvest.(AE)
All who ate of it found themselves guilty;(AF)
disaster came on them.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.

Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob
and all families of the house of Israel.
This is what the Lord says:
What fault did your ancestors find in me(AG)
that they went so far from me,
followed worthless idols,(AH)
and became worthless themselves?(AI)
They stopped asking, “Where is the Lord(AJ)
who brought us from the land of Egypt,
who led us through the wilderness,(AK)
through a land of deserts and ravines,
through a land of drought and darkness,[c]
a land no one traveled through
and where no one lived?”
I brought you to a fertile land(AL)
to eat its fruit and bounty,
but after you entered, you defiled my land;(AM)
you made my inheritance(AN) detestable.
The priests quit asking, “Where is the Lord?”
The experts in the law no longer knew me,(AO)
and the rulers(AP) rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by[d] Baal(AQ)
and followed useless idols.(AR)

Therefore, I will bring a case against you again.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will bring a case against your children’s children.(AS)
10 Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus[e](AT) and take a look.
Send someone to Kedar(AU) and consider carefully;
see if there has ever been anything like this:
11 Has a nation ever exchanged its gods?(AV)
(But they were not gods!(AW))
Yet my people have exchanged their[f] Glory
for useless idols.(AX)
12 Be appalled at this, heavens;(AY)
be shocked and utterly desolated!
This is the Lord’s declaration.

13 For my people have committed a double evil:
They have abandoned me,(AZ)
the fountain of living water,(BA)
and dug cisterns for themselves—
cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.(BB)

Consequences of Apostasy

14 Is Israel a slave?
Was he born into slavery?[g]
Why else has he become a prey?
15 The young lions have roared at him;(BC)
they have roared loudly.
They have laid waste his land.(BD)
His cities are in ruins, without inhabitants.
16 The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes(BE)
have also broken your skull.
17 Have you not brought this on yourself(BF)
by abandoning the Lord your God
while he was leading you along the way?
18 Now what will you gain
by traveling along the way to Egypt(BG)
to drink the water of the Nile?[h]
What will you gain
by traveling along the way to Assyria(BH)
to drink the water of the Euphrates?(BI)
19 Your own evil will discipline you;(BJ)
your own apostasies will reprimand you.
Recognize[i] how evil and bitter(BK) it is
for you to abandon the Lord your God
and to have no fear of me.
This is the declaration of the Lord God of Armies.

20 For long ago I[j] broke your yoke;(BL)
I[k] tore off your chains.
You insisted, “I will not serve!”
On every high hill
and under every green tree(BM)
you lay down like a prostitute.(BN)

21 I planted you, a choice vine(BO)
from the very best seed.
How then could you turn into
a degenerate, foreign vine?(BP)

22 Even if you wash with lye
and use a great amount of bleach,[l](BQ)
the stain of your iniquity is still in front of me.(BR)
This is the Lord God’s declaration.
23 How can you protest, “I am not defiled;
I have not followed the Baals”?(BS)
Look at your behavior in the valley;
acknowledge what you have done.(BT)
You are a swift young camel
twisting and turning on her way,
24 a wild donkey(BU) at home[m] in the wilderness.
She sniffs the wind in the heat of her desire.
Who can control her passion?
All who look for her will not become weary;
they will find her in her mating season.[n]
25 Keep your feet from going bare
and your throat from thirst.
But you say, “It’s hopeless;(BV)
I love strangers,(BW)
and I will continue to follow them.”

26 Like the shame of a thief when he is caught,
so the house of Israel has been put to shame.(BX)
They, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets(BY)
27 say to a tree, “You are my father,”
and to a stone, “You gave birth to me.”
For they have turned their back to me
and not their face,(BZ)
yet in their time of disaster(CA) they beg,
“Rise up and save us!”
28 But where are your gods you made for yourself?
Let them rise up and save you(CB)
in your time of disaster if they can,
for your gods are as numerous as your cities, Judah.

Judgment Deserved

29 Why do you bring a case against me?(CC)
All of you have rebelled against me.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
30 I have struck down your children in vain;
they would not accept discipline.(CD)
Your own sword has devoured your prophets(CE)
like a ravaging lion.
31 Evil generation,(CF)
pay attention to the word of the Lord!
Have I been a wilderness to Israel
or a land of dense darkness?(CG)
Why do my people claim,
“We will go where we want;[o]
we will no longer come to you”?
32 Can a young woman forget her jewelry(CH)
or a bride her wedding sash?
Yet my people have forgotten me(CI)
for countless days.
33 How skillfully you pursue love;
you also teach evil women your ways.
34 Moreover, your skirts are stained
with the blood of the innocent poor.(CJ)
You did not catch them breaking and entering.(CK)
But in spite of all these things
35 you claim, “I am innocent.(CL)
His anger is sure to turn away from me.”
But I will certainly judge you
because you have said, “I have not sinned.”(CM)
36 How unstable you are,(CN)
constantly changing your ways!
You will be put to shame by Egypt(CO)
just as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37 Moreover, you will be led out from here
with your hands on your head(CP)
since the Lord has rejected those you trust;(CQ)
you will not succeed even with their help.[p]

Footnotes

  1. 1:12 In Hb, the word for almond tree sounds like the word for watch over
  2. 1:14 LXX reads will boil
  3. 2:6 Or shadow of death
  4. 2:8 = in the name of
  5. 2:10 Lit to the islands of Kittim
  6. 2:11 Alt Hb tradition reads my
  7. 2:14 Lit born of a house
  8. 2:18 Lit of Shihor
  9. 2:19 Lit Know and see
  10. 2:20 LXX reads you
  11. 2:20 LXX reads you
  12. 2:22 Lit cleansing agent
  13. 2:24 Lit donkey taught
  14. 2:24 Lit her month
  15. 2:31 Or “We have taken control, or “We can roam
  16. 2:37 Lit with them

The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth(A) in the territory of Benjamin. The word of the Lord came(B) to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah(C) son of Amon king of Judah, and through the reign of Jehoiakim(D) son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah(E) son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.(F)

The Call of Jeremiah

The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb(G) I knew[a](H) you,
    before you were born(I) I set you apart;(J)
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.(K)

“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak;(L) I am too young.”(M)

But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid(N) of them, for I am with you(O) and will rescue(P) you,” declares the Lord.(Q)

Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched(R) my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth.(S) 10 See, today I appoint you over nations(T) and kingdoms to uproot(U) and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”(V)

11 The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”(W)

“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.

12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching[b](X) to see that my word is fulfilled.”

13 The word of the Lord came to me again: “What do you see?”(Y)

“I see a pot that is boiling,” I answered. “It is tilting toward us from the north.”

14 The Lord said to me, “From the north(Z) disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15 I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the Lord.

“Their kings will come and set up their thrones
    in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
they will come against all her surrounding walls
    and against all the towns of Judah.(AA)
16 I will pronounce my judgments(AB) on my people
    because of their wickedness(AC) in forsaking me,(AD)
in burning incense to other gods(AE)
    and in worshiping(AF) what their hands have made.(AG)

17 “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say(AH) to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified(AI) by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18 Today I have made you(AJ) a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you but will not overcome(AK) you, for I am with you(AL) and will rescue(AM) you,” declares the Lord.

Israel Forsakes God

The word(AN) of the Lord came to me: “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:

“This is what the Lord says:

“‘I remember the devotion of your youth,(AO)
    how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,(AP)
    through a land not sown.
Israel was holy(AQ) to the Lord,(AR)
    the firstfruits(AS) of his harvest;
all who devoured(AT) her were held guilty,(AU)
    and disaster overtook them,’”
declares the Lord.

Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob,
    all you clans of Israel.

This is what the Lord says:

“What fault did your ancestors find in me,
    that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols(AV)
    and became worthless(AW) themselves.
They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord,
    who brought us up out of Egypt(AX)
and led us through the barren wilderness,
    through a land of deserts(AY) and ravines,(AZ)
a land of drought and utter darkness,
    a land where no one travels(BA) and no one lives?’
I brought you into a fertile land
    to eat its fruit and rich produce.(BB)
But you came and defiled my land
    and made my inheritance detestable.(BC)
The priests did not ask,
    ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who deal with the law did not know me;(BD)
    the leaders(BE) rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,(BF)
    following worthless idols.(BG)

“Therefore I bring charges(BH) against you again,”
declares the Lord.
    “And I will bring charges against your children’s children.
10 Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus(BI) and look,
    send to Kedar[c](BJ) and observe closely;
    see if there has ever been anything like this:
11 Has a nation ever changed its gods?
    (Yet they are not gods(BK) at all.)
But my people have exchanged their glorious(BL) God
    for worthless idols.
12 Be appalled at this, you heavens,
    and shudder with great horror,”
declares the Lord.
13 “My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken(BM) me,
    the spring of living water,(BN)
and have dug their own cisterns,
    broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
14 Is Israel a servant, a slave(BO) by birth?
    Why then has he become plunder?
15 Lions(BP) have roared;
    they have growled at him.
They have laid waste(BQ) his land;
    his towns are burned(BR) and deserted.(BS)
16 Also, the men of Memphis(BT) and Tahpanhes(BU)
    have cracked your skull.
17 Have you not brought this on yourselves(BV)
    by forsaking(BW) the Lord your God
    when he led you in the way?
18 Now why go to Egypt(BX)
    to drink water from the Nile[d]?(BY)
And why go to Assyria(BZ)
    to drink water from the Euphrates?(CA)
19 Your wickedness will punish you;
    your backsliding(CB) will rebuke(CC) you.
Consider then and realize
    how evil and bitter(CD) it is for you
when you forsake(CE) the Lord your God
    and have no awe(CF) of me,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

20 “Long ago you broke off your yoke(CG)
    and tore off your bonds;(CH)
    you said, ‘I will not serve you!’(CI)
Indeed, on every high hill(CJ)
    and under every spreading tree(CK)
    you lay down as a prostitute.(CL)
21 I had planted(CM) you like a choice vine(CN)
    of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me
    into a corrupt,(CO) wild vine?
22 Although you wash(CP) yourself with soap(CQ)
    and use an abundance of cleansing powder,
    the stain of your guilt is still before me,”
declares the Sovereign Lord.(CR)
23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled;(CS)
    I have not run after the Baals’?(CT)
See how you behaved in the valley;(CU)
    consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
    running(CV) here and there,
24 a wild donkey(CW) accustomed to the desert,(CX)
    sniffing the wind in her craving—
    in her heat who can restrain her?
Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
    at mating time they will find her.
25 Do not run until your feet are bare
    and your throat is dry.
But you said, ‘It’s no use!(CY)
    I love foreign gods,(CZ)
    and I must go after them.’(DA)

26 “As a thief is disgraced(DB) when he is caught,
    so the people of Israel are disgraced—
they, their kings and their officials,
    their priests(DC) and their prophets.(DD)
27 They say to wood,(DE) ‘You are my father,’
    and to stone,(DF) ‘You gave me birth.’
They have turned their backs(DG) to me
    and not their faces;(DH)
yet when they are in trouble,(DI) they say,
    ‘Come and save(DJ) us!’
28 Where then are the gods(DK) you made for yourselves?
    Let them come if they can save you
    when you are in trouble!(DL)
For you, Judah, have as many gods
    as you have towns.(DM)

29 “Why do you bring charges against me?
    You have all(DN) rebelled against me,”
declares the Lord.
30 “In vain I punished your people;
    they did not respond to correction.(DO)
Your sword has devoured your prophets(DP)
    like a ravenous lion.

31 “You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord:

“Have I been a desert to Israel
    or a land of great darkness?(DQ)
Why do my people say, ‘We are free to roam;
    we will come to you no more’?(DR)
32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry,
    a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten(DS) me,
    days without number.
33 How skilled you are at pursuing(DT) love!
    Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.
34 On your clothes is found
    the lifeblood(DU) of the innocent poor,
    though you did not catch them breaking in.(DV)
Yet in spite of all this
35     you say, ‘I am innocent;(DW)
    he is not angry with me.’
But I will pass judgment(DX) on you
    because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’(DY)
36 Why do you go about so much,
    changing(DZ) your ways?
You will be disappointed by Egypt(EA)
    as you were by Assyria.
37 You will also leave that place
    with your hands on your head,(EB)
for the Lord has rejected those you trust;
    you will not be helped(EC) by them.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 1:5 Or chose
  2. Jeremiah 1:12 The Hebrew for watching sounds like the Hebrew for almond tree.
  3. Jeremiah 2:10 In the Syro-Arabian desert
  4. Jeremiah 2:18 Hebrew Shihor; that is, a branch of the Nile

Greeting

Paul,(A) an apostle—not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father(B) who raised him from the dead(C) and all the brothers who are with me:

To the churches of Galatia.(D)

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord[a] Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins(E) to rescue us from this present evil age,(F) according to the will of our God and Father.(G) To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

No Other Gospel

I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called(H) you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another gospel,(I) but there are some(J) who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel(K) from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you,(L) a curse be on him![b] As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received,(M) a curse be on him!

10 For am I now trying to persuade people,[c] or God?(N) Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

The Origin of Paul’s Gospel

11 For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. 12 For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation(O) of Jesus Christ.(P)

13 For you have heard about my former way of life(Q) in Judaism:(R) I intensely persecuted(S) God’s church and tried to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.(T) 15 But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called(U) me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son(V) in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone.[d] 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem(W) to those who had become apostles(X) before me; instead I went to Arabia(Y) and came back to Damascus.(Z)

18 Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem(AA) to get to know Cephas,[e](AB) and I stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James,(AC) the Lord’s brother. 20 I declare in the sight of God: I am not lying in what I write to you.

21 Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria(AD) and Cilicia.(AE) 22 I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches that are in Christ. 23 They simply kept hearing, “He who formerly persecuted(AF) us now preaches the faith(AG) he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.[f]

Footnotes

  1. 1:3 Other mss read God our Father and the Lord
  2. 1:8 Or you, let him be condemned, or you, let him be condemned to hell; Gk anathema
  3. 1:10 Or win the approval of people
  4. 1:16 Lit flesh and blood
  5. 1:18 Other mss read Peter
  6. 1:24 Or in me

Paul, an apostle(A)—sent not from men nor by a man,(B) but by Jesus Christ(C) and God the Father,(D) who raised him from the dead(E) and all the brothers and sisters[a] with me,(F)

To the churches in Galatia:(G)

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,(H) who gave himself for our sins(I) to rescue us from the present evil age,(J) according to the will of our God and Father,(K) to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.(L)

No Other Gospel

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called(M) you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel(N) which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion(O) and are trying to pervert(P) the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you,(Q) let them be under God’s curse!(R) As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted,(S) let them be under God’s curse!

10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people?(T) If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Paul Called by God

11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters,(U) that the gospel I preached(V) is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man,(W) nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation(X) from Jesus Christ.(Y)

13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism,(Z) how intensely I persecuted the church of God(AA) and tried to destroy it.(AB) 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous(AC) for the traditions of my fathers.(AD) 15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb(AE) and called me(AF) by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles,(AG) my immediate response was not to consult any human being.(AH) 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.(AI)

18 Then after three years,(AJ) I went up to Jerusalem(AK) to get acquainted with Cephas[b] and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles—only James,(AL) the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God(AM) that what I am writing you is no lie.(AN)

21 Then I went to Syria(AO) and Cilicia.(AP) 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea(AQ) that are in Christ.(AR) 23 They only heard the report: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith(AS) he once tried to destroy.”(AT) 24 And they praised God(AU) because of me.

Footnotes

  1. Galatians 1:2 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in verse 11; and in 3:15; 4:12, 28, 31; 5:11, 13; 6:1, 18.
  2. Galatians 1:18 That is, Peter

Set a wicked person over him;
let an accuser[a] stand at his right hand.(A)
When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
and let his prayer be counted as sin.(B)
Let his days be few;
let another take over his position.(C)
Let his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.(D)
10 Let his children wander as beggars,
searching for food far[b] from their demolished homes.(E)
11 Let a creditor seize all he has;
let strangers plunder what he has worked for.(F)
12 Let no one show him kindness,
and let no one be gracious to his fatherless children.(G)

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Footnotes

  1. 109:6 Or adversary
  2. 109:10 LXX reads beggars, driven far

Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
    let an accuser(A) stand at his right hand.
When he is tried, let him be found guilty,(B)
    and may his prayers condemn(C) him.
May his days be few;(D)
    may another take his place(E) of leadership.
May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow.(F)
10 May his children be wandering beggars;(G)
    may they be driven[a] from their ruined homes.
11 May a creditor(H) seize all he has;
    may strangers plunder(I) the fruits of his labor.(J)
12 May no one extend kindness to him
    or take pity(K) on his fatherless children.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 109:10 Septuagint; Hebrew sought

24 Don’t envy the evil(A)
or desire to be with them,(B)
for their hearts plan violence,
and their words stir up trouble.(C)

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Saying 20

24 Do not envy(A) the wicked,
    do not desire their company;
for their hearts plot violence,(B)
    and their lips talk about making trouble.(C)

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