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Jeremiah 11-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Jeremiah 11-14
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Israel and Judah Have Broken the Covenant
11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Cursed be anyone who does not heed the words of this covenant,(A) 4 which I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron smelter, saying, ‘Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. So shall you be my people, and I will be your God,(B) 5 that I may perform the oath that I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.’ ” Then I answered, “So be it, Lord.”(C)
6 And the Lord said to me: Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your ancestors when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, “Obey my voice.”(D) 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but everyone walked in the stubbornness of an evil will. So I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.(E)
9 And the Lord said to me: Conspiracy exists among the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.(F) 10 They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors of old, who refused to heed my words; they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant that I made with their ancestors.(G) 11 Therefore, thus says the Lord, assuredly I am going to bring disaster upon them that they cannot escape; though they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.(H) 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they make offerings, but they will never save them in the time of their trouble.(I) 13 For your gods have become as many as your towns, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars to shame you have set up, altars to make offerings to Baal.
14 As for you, do not pray for this people or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble.(J) 15 What right has my beloved in my house, when she has done vile deeds? Can vows[a] and sacrificial flesh avert your doom? Can you then exult?(K) 16 The Lord once called you, “A green olive tree, fair with goodly fruit,” but with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and its branches will be consumed.(L) 17 The Lord of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.(M)
Jeremiah’s Life Threatened
18 It was the Lord who made it known to me, and I knew;
then you showed me their deeds.
19 But I was like a gentle lamb
led to the slaughter.
And I did not know it was against me
that they devised schemes, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit;
let us cut him off from the land of the living,
so that his name will no longer be remembered!”(N)
20 But you, O Lord of hosts, who judge righteously,
who try the heart and the mind,
let me see your retribution upon them,
for to you I have committed my cause.(O)
21 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the people of Anathoth who seek your life and say, “You shall not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand”(P)— 22 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: I am going to punish them; the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and not even a remnant shall be left of them. For I will bring disaster upon the people of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.(Q)
Jeremiah Complains to God
12 You will be in the right, O Lord,
when I lay charges against you,
but let me put my case to you.
Why does the way of the guilty prosper?
Why do all who are treacherous thrive?(R)
2 You plant them, and they take root;
they grow and bring forth fruit;
you are near in their mouths
yet far from their hearts.(S)
3 But you, O Lord, know me;
you see me and test me; my heart is with you.
Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
and set them apart for the day of slaughter.(T)
4 How long will the land mourn
and the grass of every field wither?
For the wickedness of those who live in it,
the animals and the birds are swept away,
and because people said, “He is blind to our ways.”[b](U)
God Replies to Jeremiah
5 If you have raced with runners and they have wearied you,
how will you compete with horses?
And if you trust in a safe land,
how will you fare in the thickets of the Jordan?(V)
6 For even your kinsfolk and your own family,
even they have dealt treacherously with you;
they are in full cry after you;
do not believe them,
though they speak friendly words to you.(W)
7 I have forsaken my house;
I have abandoned my heritage;
I have given the beloved of my heart
into the hands of her enemies.(X)
8 My heritage has become to me
like a lion in the forest;
she has lifted up her voice against me—
therefore I hate her.(Y)
9 Is the hawk hungry for my heritage?
Are the vultures all around her?
Go, assemble all the wild animals;
bring them to devour her.(Z)
10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;
they have trampled down my portion;
they have made my pleasant portion
a desolate wilderness.(AA)
11 They have made it a desolation;
desolate, it mourns to me.
The whole land is made desolate,
but no one lays it to heart.(AB)
12 Upon all the bare heights[c] in the desert,
spoilers have come,
for the sword of the Lord devours
from one end of the land to the other;
no one shall be safe.(AC)
13 They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;
they have tired themselves out but profit nothing.
They shall be ashamed of their[d] harvests
because of the fierce anger of the Lord.(AD)
14 Thus says the Lord concerning all my evil neighbors who touch the heritage that I have given my people Israel to inherit: I am about to pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them.(AE) 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, and I will bring them again to their heritage and to their land, every one of them.(AF) 16 And then, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, “As the Lord lives,” as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people.(AG) 17 But if any nation will not listen, then I will completely uproot it and destroy it, says the Lord.(AH)
The Linen Loincloth
13 Thus said the Lord to me, “Go and buy yourself a linen loincloth and put it on your loins, but do not dip it in water.”(AI) 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the Lord and put it on my loins.(AJ) 3 And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, 4 “Take the loincloth that you bought and are wearing, and go now to the Euphrates,[e] and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.”(AK) 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates,[f] as the Lord commanded me.(AL) 6 And after many days the Lord said to me, “Go now to the Euphrates,[g] and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates[h] and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. But now the loincloth was ruined; it was good for nothing.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 Thus says the Lord: Just so I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem.(AM) 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own will and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing.(AN) 11 For as the loincloth clings to one’s loins, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, says the Lord, in order that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory. But they would not listen.(AO)
Symbol of the Wine Jars
12 You shall speak to them this word: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Every wine jar should be filled with wine. And they will say to you, “Do you think we do not know that every wine jar should be filled with wine?” 13 Then you shall say to them: Thus says the Lord: I am about to fill all the inhabitants of this land—the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with drunkenness.(AP) 14 And I will dash them one against another, parents and children together, says the Lord. I will not pity or spare or have compassion when I destroy them.(AQ)
Exile Threatened
15 Hear and give ear; do not be haughty,
for the Lord has spoken.(AR)
16 Give glory to the Lord your God
before he brings darkness
and before your feet stumble
on the mountains at twilight;
while you look for light,
he turns it into gloom
and makes it deep darkness.(AS)
17 But if you will not listen,
my soul will weep in secret for your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears
because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.(AT)
18 Say to the king and the queen mother:
“Take a lowly seat,
for your beautiful crown
has come down from your head.”[i](AU)
19 The towns of the Negeb are shut up,
with no one to open them;
all Judah is taken into exile,
wholly taken into exile.(AV)
20 Lift up your eyes and see
those who come from the north.
Where is the flock that was given you,
your beautiful flock?(AW)
21 What will you say when they set as head over you
those whom you have trained
to be your allies?
Will not pangs seize you
like those of a woman in labor?(AX)
22 And if you say in your heart,
“Why have these things come upon me?”
it is for the greatness of your iniquity
that your skirts are lifted up
and you are violated.(AY)
23 Can Cushites change their skin
or leopards their spots?
Then also you can do good,
who are accustomed to do evil.(AZ)
24 I will scatter you[j] like chaff
driven by the wind from the desert.(BA)
25 This is your lot,
the portion I have measured out to you, says the Lord,
because you have forgotten me
and trusted in lies.(BB)
26 I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,
and your shame will be seen.(BC)
27 I have seen your abominations,
your adulteries and neighings, your shameless prostitutions
on the hills of the countryside.
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
How long will it be
before you are made clean?(BD)
The Great Drought
14 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:(BE)
2 Judah mourns,
and her gates languish;
they lie in gloom on the ground,
and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.(BF)
3 Her[k] nobles send their servants for water;
they come to the cisterns;
they find no water;
they return with their vessels empty.
They are ashamed and dismayed
and cover their heads,(BG)
4 because the ground is cracked.
Because there has been no rain on the land,
the farmers are dismayed;
they cover their heads.(BH)
5 Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.
6 The wild asses stand on the bare heights;[l]
they pant for air like jackals;
their eyes fail
because there is no herbage.(BI)
7 Although our iniquities testify against us,
act, O Lord, for your name’s sake;
our rebellions indeed are many,
and we have sinned against you.(BJ)
8 O hope of Israel,
its savior in time of trouble,
why should you be like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler turning aside for the night?(BK)
9 Why should you be like someone confused,
like a mighty warrior who cannot give help?
Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us,
and we are called by your name;
do not forsake us!(BL)
10 Thus says the Lord concerning this people:
Truly they have loved to wander;
they have not restrained their feet;
therefore the Lord does not accept them;
now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.(BM)
11 The Lord said to me: Do not pray for the welfare of this people.(BN) 12 Although they fast, I do not hear their cry, and although they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I do not accept them, but by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence I consume them.(BO)
Denunciation of Lying Prophets
13 Then I said: “Ah, Lord God! Here are the prophets saying to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you true peace in this place.’ ”(BP) 14 And the Lord said to me: “The prophets are prophesying lies in my name; I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.(BQ) 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name though I did not send them and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not come on this land’: By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed.(BR) 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword. There shall be no one to bury them—themselves, their wives, their sons, and their daughters—for I will pour out their wickedness upon them.”(BS)
17 You shall say to them this word:
Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,
and let them not cease,
for the virgin daughter of my people is struck down with a crushing blow,
with a very grievous wound.(BT)
18 If I go out into the field,
look—those killed by the sword!
And if I enter the city,
look—those sick with[m] famine!
For both prophet and priest ply their trade throughout the land
and have no knowledge.(BU)
The People Plead for Mercy
19 Have you completely rejected Judah?
Does your heart loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
so that there is no healing for us?
We look for peace but find no good,
for a time of healing, but there is terror instead.(BV)
20 We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,
the iniquity of our ancestors,
for we have sinned against you.(BW)
21 Do not spurn us, for your name’s sake;
do not dishonor your glorious throne;
remember and do not break your covenant with us.(BX)
22 Can any idols of the nations bring rain,
or can the heavens give showers?
Is it not you, O Lord our God?
We set our hope on you,
for it is you who do all this.(BY)
Jeremiah 11-14
New International Version
Jeremiah 11-14
New International Version
The Covenant Is Broken
11 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Listen to the terms of this covenant(A) 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(B) 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,(C) out of the iron-smelting furnace.(D)’ I said, ‘Obey(E) me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people,(F) and I will be your God. 5 Then I will fulfill the oath I swore(G) to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’(H)—the land you possess today.”
I answered, “Amen,(I) Lord.”
6 The Lord said to me, “Proclaim(J) all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow(K) them. 7 From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again,(L) saying, “Obey me.” 8 But they did not listen or pay attention;(M) instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts.(N) So I brought on them all the curses(O) of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.(P)’”
9 Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracy(Q) among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their ancestors,(R) who refused to listen to my words.(S) They have followed other gods(T) to serve them.(U) Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant(V) I made with their ancestors. 11 Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster(W) they cannot escape.(X) Although they cry(Y) out to me, I will not listen(Z) 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,(AA) but they will not help them at all when disaster(AB) strikes. 13 You, Judah, have as many gods(AC) as you have towns;(AD) and the altars you have set up to burn incense(AE) to that shameful(AF) god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’
14 “Do not pray(AG) for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen(AH) 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(AI) avert your punishment?(AJ)
When you engage in your wickedness,
then you rejoice.[a]”
16 The Lord called you a thriving olive tree(AK)
with fruit beautiful in form.
But with the roar of a mighty storm
he will set it on fire,(AL)
and its branches will be broken.(AM)
17 The Lord Almighty, who planted(AN) you, has decreed disaster(AO) for you, because the people of both Israel and Judah have done evil and aroused(AP) my anger by burning incense to Baal.(AQ)
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;(AR) I did not realize that they had plotted(AS) against me, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;
let us cut him off from the land of the living,(AT)
that his name be remembered(AU) no more.”
20 But you, Lord Almighty, who judge righteously(AV)
and test the heart(AW) and mind,(AX)
let me see your vengeance(AY) on them,
for to you I have committed my cause.
21 Therefore this is what the Lord says about the people of Anathoth(AZ) who are threatening to kill you,(BA) saying, “Do not prophesy(BB) in the name of the Lord or you will die(BC) by our hands”— 22 therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says: “I will punish them. Their young men(BD) will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. 23 Not even a remnant(BE) will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.(BF)”
Jeremiah’s Complaint
12 You are always righteous,(BG) Lord,
when I bring a case(BH) before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:(BI)
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?(BJ)
Why do all the faithless live at ease?
2 You have planted(BK) them, and they have taken root;
they grow and bear fruit.(BL)
You are always on their lips
but far from their hearts.(BM)
3 Yet you know me, Lord;
you see me and test(BN) my thoughts about you.
Drag them off like sheep(BO) to be butchered!
Set them apart for the day of slaughter!(BP)
4 How long will the land lie parched(BQ)
and the grass in every field be withered?(BR)
Because those who live in it are wicked,
the animals and birds have perished.(BS)
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(BT) 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.(BU)
Do not trust them,
though they speak well of you.(BV)
7 “I will forsake(BW) my house,
abandon(BX) my inheritance;
I will give the one I love(BY)
into the hands of her enemies.(BZ)
8 My inheritance has become to me
like a lion(CA) in the forest.
She roars at me;
therefore I hate her.(CB)
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.(CC)
10 Many shepherds(CD) will ruin my vineyard
and trample down my field;
they will turn my pleasant field
into a desolate wasteland.(CE)
11 It will be made a wasteland,(CF)
parched and desolate before me;(CG)
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(CH) of the Lord(CI) will devour(CJ)
from one end of the land to the other;(CK)
no one will be safe.(CL)
13 They will sow wheat but reap thorns;
they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.(CM)
They will bear the shame of their harvest
because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”(CN)
14 This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance(CO) I gave my people Israel, I will uproot(CP) them from their lands and I will uproot(CQ) the people of Judah from among them. 15 But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion(CR) and will bring(CS) each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. 16 And if they learn(CT) well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’(CU)—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal(CV)—then they will be established among my people.(CW) 17 But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy(CX) 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:(CY) 4 “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath[d](CZ) and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” 5 So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.(DA)
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(DB) of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen(DC) to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts(DD) and go after other gods(DE) to serve and worship them,(DF) will be like this belt—completely useless!(DG) 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(DH) and praise and honor.(DI) But they have not listened.’(DJ)
Wineskins
12 “Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And if they say to you, ‘Don’t we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ 13 then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to fill with drunkenness(DK) all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. 14 I will smash them one against the other, parents and children alike, declares the Lord. I will allow no pity(DL) or mercy or compassion(DM) to keep me from destroying(DN) them.’”
Threat of Captivity
15 Hear and pay attention,
do not be arrogant,
for the Lord has spoken.(DO)
16 Give glory(DP) to the Lord your God
before he brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble(DQ)
on the darkening hills.
You hope for light,
but he will turn it to utter darkness
and change it to deep gloom.(DR)
17 If you do not listen,(DS)
I will weep in secret
because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly,
overflowing with tears,(DT)
because the Lord’s flock(DU) will be taken captive.(DV)
18 Say to the king(DW) and to the queen mother,(DX)
“Come down from your thrones,
for your glorious crowns(DY)
will fall from your heads.”
19 The cities in the Negev will be shut up,
and there will be no one to open them.
All Judah(DZ) will be carried into exile,
carried completely away.
20 Look up and see
those who are coming from the north.(EA)
Where is the flock(EB) that was entrusted to you,
the sheep of which you boasted?
21 What will you say when the Lord sets over you
those you cultivated as your special allies?(EC)
Will not pain grip you
like that of a woman in labor?(ED)
22 And if you ask yourself,
“Why has this happened to me?”(EE)—
it is because of your many sins(EF)
that your skirts have been torn off(EG)
and your body mistreated.(EH)
23 Can an Ethiopian[e] change his skin
or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
who are accustomed to doing evil.(EI)
24 “I will scatter you like chaff(EJ)
driven by the desert wind.(EK)
25 This is your lot,
the portion(EL) I have decreed for you,”
declares the Lord,
“because you have forgotten(EM) me
and trusted in false gods.(EN)
26 I will pull up your skirts over your face
that your shame may be seen(EO)—
27 your adulteries and lustful neighings,
your shameless prostitution!(EP)
I have seen your detestable acts
on the hills and in the fields.(EQ)
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
How long will you be unclean?”(ER)
Drought, Famine, Sword
14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:(ES)
2 “Judah mourns,(ET)
her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
3 The nobles send their servants for water;
they go to the cisterns
but find no water.(EU)
They return with their jars unfilled;
dismayed and despairing,
they cover their heads.(EV)
4 The ground is cracked
because there is no rain in the land;(EW)
the farmers are dismayed
and cover their heads.
5 Even the doe in the field
deserts her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.(EX)
6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights(EY)
and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
for lack of food.”(EZ)
7 Although our sins testify(FA) against us,
do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.(FB)
For we have often rebelled;(FC)
we have sinned(FD) against you.
8 You who are the hope(FE) of Israel,
its Savior(FF) in times of distress,(FG)
why are you like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who stays only a night?
9 Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
like a warrior powerless to save?(FH)
You are among(FI) us, Lord,
and we bear your name;(FJ)
do not forsake(FK) us!
10 This is what the Lord says about this people:
“They greatly love to wander;
they do not restrain their feet.(FL)
So the Lord does not accept(FM) them;
he will now remember(FN) their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.”(FO)
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray(FP) for the well-being of this people. 12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry;(FQ) though they offer burnt offerings(FR) and grain offerings,(FS) I will not accept(FT) them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword,(FU) famine(FV) and plague.”(FW)
13 But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets(FX) keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine.(FY) Indeed, I will give you lasting peace(FZ) in this place.’”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies(GA) in my name. I have not sent(GB) them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions,(GC) divinations,(GD) idolatries[f] and the delusions of their own minds. 15 Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish(GE) by sword and famine.(GF) 16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury(GG) them, their wives, their sons and their daughters.(GH) I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.(GI)
17 “Speak this word to them:
“‘Let my eyes overflow with tears(GJ)
night and day without ceasing;
for the Virgin(GK) Daughter, my people,
has suffered a grievous wound,
a crushing blow.(GL)
18 If I go into the country,
I see those slain by the sword;
if I go into the city,
I see the ravages of famine.(GM)
Both prophet and priest
have gone to a land they know not.(GN)’”
19 Have you rejected Judah completely?(GO)
Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
so that we cannot be healed?(GP)
We hoped for peace
but no good has come,
for a time of healing
but there is only terror.(GQ)
20 We acknowledge(GR) our wickedness, Lord,
and the guilt of our ancestors;(GS)
we have indeed sinned(GT) against you.
21 For the sake of your name(GU) do not despise us;
do not dishonor your glorious throne.(GV)
Remember your covenant(GW) with us
and do not break it.
22 Do any of the worthless idols(GX) of the nations bring rain?(GY)
Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
Therefore our hope is in you,
for you are the one who does all this.(GZ)
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
- Jeremiah 13:23 Hebrew Cushite (probably a person from the upper Nile region)
- Jeremiah 14:14 Or visions, worthless divinations
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.