Font Size
Jeremiah 16:16-18:23
Contemporary English Version
Jeremiah 16:16-18:23
Contemporary English Version
16 But for now, I am sending enemies who will catch you like fish and hunt you down like wild animals in the hills and the caves.
17 I can see everything you are doing, even if you try to hide your sins from me. 18 I will punish you double for your sins, because you have polluted my own land. You have filled it with lifeless idols that remind me of dead bodies.
The Lord Gives Strength
I prayed to the Lord:
19 Our Lord, you are the one
who gives me strength
and protects me like a fortress
when I am in trouble.
People will come to you
from distant nations and say,
“Our ancestors worshiped
false and useless gods,
20 worthless idols
made by human hands.”
21 Then the Lord replied,
“That's why I will teach them
about my power,
and they will know that I
truly am the Lord.”
The Lord Will Punish Judah
The Lord said:
17 People of Judah,
your sins cannot be erased.
They are written on your hearts
like words chiseled in stone
or carved on the corners
of your altars.[a]
* 2 One generation after another
has set up pagan altars
and worshiped the goddess Asherah
everywhere in your country—
on hills and mountains,
and under large trees.
3 So I'll take everything you own,
including your altars,
and give it all
to your enemies.[b]
4 You will lose[c] the land
that I gave you,
and I will make you slaves
in a foreign country,
because you have made my anger
blaze up like a fire
that won't stop burning.
Trust the Lord
5 I, the Lord, have put a curse
on those who turn from me
and trust in human strength.
6 They will dry up like a bush
in salty desert soil,
where nothing can grow.
7 But I will bless those
who trust me, the Lord.
8 (A) They will be like trees
growing beside a stream—
trees with roots that reach
down to the water,
and with leaves
that are always green.
They bear fruit every year
and are never worried
by a lack of rain.
9 You people of Judah
are so deceitful
that you even fool yourselves,
and you can't change.
10 (B) But I know your deeds
and your thoughts,
and I will make sure
you get what you deserve.
11 You cheated others,
but everything you gained
will fly away, like birds
hatched from stolen eggs.
Then you will discover
what fools you are.
Jeremiah Prays to the Lord
12 Our Lord, your temple
is a glorious throne
that has stood on a mountain
from the beginning.
13 You are a spring of water
giving Israel life and hope.
But if the people reject
what you have told me,
they will be swept away
like words written in dust.[d]
14 You, Lord, are the one I praise.
So heal me and rescue me!
Then I will be completely well
and perfectly safe.
15 The people of Judah say to me,
“Jeremiah, you claimed to tell us
what the Lord has said.
So why hasn't it come true?”
16 Our Lord, you chose me
to care for your people,
and that's what I have done.
You know everything I have said,
and I have never once
asked you to punish them.[e]
17 I trust you for protection
in times of trouble,
so don't frighten me.
18 Keep me from failure
and disgrace,
but make my enemies fail
and be disgraced.
Send destruction to make
their worst fears come true.
Resting on the Sabbath
19-20 The Lord said:
Jeremiah, stand at each city gate in Jerusalem, including the one the king uses, and speak to him and everyone else. Tell them I have said:
I am the Lord, so pay attention. 21-24 (C) If you value your lives, don't do any work on the Sabbath. Don't carry anything through the city gates or through the door of your house, or anywhere else. Keep the Sabbath day sacred!
I gave this command to your ancestors, but they were stubborn and refused to obey or to be corrected. But if you obey, 25 then Judah and Jerusalem will always be ruled by kings from David's family. The king and his officials will ride through these gates on horses or in chariots, and the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be with them. There will always be people living in Jerusalem, 26 and others will come here from the nearby villages, from the towns of Judah and Benjamin,[f] from the hill country and the foothills to the west, and from the Southern Desert. They will bring sacrifices to please me and to give me thanks,[g] as well as offerings of grain and incense.
27 But if you keep on carrying things through the city gates on the Sabbath and keep treating it as any other day, I will set fire to these gates and burn down the whole city, including the fortresses.
Jeremiah Goes to the Pottery Shop
18 The Lord told me, 2 “Jeremiah, go to the pottery shop, and when you get there, I will tell you what to say to the people.”
3 I went there and saw the potter making clay pots on his pottery wheel. 4 And whenever the clay would not take the shape he wanted, he would change his mind and form it into some other shape.
5 Then the Lord told me to say:
6 People of Israel, I, the Lord, have power over you, just as a potter has power over clay. 7 If I threaten to uproot and shatter an evil nation, 8 and that nation turns from its evil, I will change my mind.
9 If I promise to make a nation strong, 10 but its people start disobeying me and doing evil, then I will change my mind and not help them at all.
11 So listen to me, people of Judah and Jerusalem! I have decided to strike you with disaster, and I won't change my mind unless you stop sinning and start living right.
12 But I know you won't listen. You might as well answer, “We don't care what you say. We have made plans to sin, and we are going to be stubborn and do as we please!”
13 So I, the Lord, command you to ask the nations, and find out if they have ever heard of such a horrible sin as what you have done.
14 The snow
on Lebanon's mountains
never melts away,
and the streams there
never run dry.[h]
15 But you, my people,
have turned from me
to burn incense
to worthless idols.
You have left the ancient road
to follow an unknown path
where you stumble over idols.
16 Your land will be ruined,
and every passerby
will look at it with horror
and make insulting remarks.
17 When your enemies attack,
I will scatter you like dust
blown by an eastern wind.
Then, on that day of disaster,
I will turn my back on you.
The Plot against Jeremiah
18 Some of the people said, “Let's get rid of Jeremiah! We will always have priests to teach us God's laws, as well as wise people to give us advice, and prophets to speak the Lord's messages. So, instead of listening to Jeremiah any longer, let's accuse him of a crime.”
Jeremiah Prays about His Enemies
19 Please, Lord, answer my prayer.
Make my enemies stop
accusing me of evil.
20 I tried to help them,
but they are paying me back
by digging a pit to trap me.
I even begged you
not to punish them.
21 But now I am asking you
to let their children starve
or be killed in war.
Let women lose
their husbands and sons
to disease and violence.
22 These people have dug pits
and set traps for me, Lord.
Make them scream in fear
when you send enemy troops
to attack their homes.
23 You know they plan to kill me.
So get angry and punish them!
Don't ever forgive
their terrible crimes.
Footnotes
- 17.1 carved on the corners of your altars: When sacrifices were offered to the Lord to ask him to forgive sins, some of the blood was smeared on the corners of the altar (see Leviticus 4.7,18-20,25, 26,30, 31,34, 35; 16.18). But now the Lord refuses to accept these sacrifices.
- 17.3 enemies: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verses 2,3.
- 17.4 You will lose: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 17.13 reject … dust: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 17.16 you chose … punish them: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 17.26 Judah and Benjamin: These two tribes made up the southern kingdom of Judah.
- 17.26 sacrifices to please me and to give me thanks: See the notes at 14.12.
- 18.14 dry: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 14.
Jeremiah 16:16-18:23
New International Version
Jeremiah 16:16-18:23
New International Version
16 “But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them.(A) After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt(B) them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.(C) 17 My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden(D) from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.(E) 18 I will repay(F) them double(G) for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land(H) with the lifeless forms of their vile images(I) and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.(J)”(K)
19 Lord, my strength and my fortress,
my refuge(L) in time of distress,
to you the nations will come(M)
from the ends of the earth and say,
“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,(N)
worthless idols(O) that did them no good.(P)
20 Do people make their own gods?
Yes, but they are not gods!”(Q)
21 “Therefore I will teach them—
this time I will teach them
my power and might.
Then they will know
that my name(R) is the Lord.
17 “Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,(S)
inscribed with a flint point,
on the tablets of their hearts(T)
and on the horns(U) of their altars.
2 Even their children remember
their altars and Asherah poles[a](V)
beside the spreading trees
and on the high hills.(W)
3 My mountain in the land
and your[b] wealth and all your treasures
I will give away as plunder,(X)
together with your high places,(Y)
because of sin throughout your country.(Z)
4 Through your own fault you will lose
the inheritance(AA) I gave you.
I will enslave you to your enemies(AB)
in a land(AC) you do not know,
for you have kindled my anger,
and it will burn(AD) forever.”
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,(AE)
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord.(AF)
6 That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places(AG) of the desert,
in a salt(AH) land where no one lives.
7 “But blessed(AI) is the one who trusts(AJ) in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
8 They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.(AK)
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought(AL)
and never fails to bear fruit.”(AM)
9 The heart(AN) is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
10 “I the Lord search the heart(AO)
and examine the mind,(AP)
to reward(AQ) each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.”(AR)
11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
are those who gain riches by unjust means.
When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,
and in the end they will prove to be fools.(AS)
12 A glorious throne,(AT) exalted from the beginning,
is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, you are the hope(AU) of Israel;
all who forsake(AV) you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust(AW)
because they have forsaken the Lord,
the spring of living water.(AX)
14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;(AY)
save(AZ) me and I will be saved,
for you are the one I praise.(BA)
15 They keep saying to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it now be fulfilled!”(BB)
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd;
you know I have not desired the day of despair.
What passes my lips(BC) is open before you.
17 Do not be a terror(BD) to me;
you are my refuge(BE) in the day of disaster.(BF)
18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,
but keep me from shame;
let them be terrified,
but keep me from terror.
Bring on them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction.(BG)
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People,[c] through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem.(BH) 20 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem(BI) who come through these gates.(BJ) 21 This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath(BK) day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.(BL) 23 Yet they did not listen or pay attention;(BM) they were stiff-necked(BN) and would not listen or respond to discipline.(BO) 24 But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy(BP) by not doing any work on it, 25 then kings who sit on David’s throne(BQ) will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.(BR) 26 People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev,(BS) bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not obey(BT) me to keep the Sabbath(BU) day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire(BV) in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’”(BW)
At the Potter’s House
18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay(BX) in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,(BY) Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,(BZ) torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent(CA) and not inflict on it the disaster(CB) I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built(CC) up and planted, 10 and if it does evil(CD) in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider(CE) the good I had intended to do for it.(CF)
11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster(CG) for you and devising a plan(CH) against you. So turn(CI) from your evil ways,(CJ) each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’(CK) 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use.(CL) We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.(CM)’”
13 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“Inquire among the nations:
Who has ever heard anything like this?(CN)
A most horrible(CO) thing has been done
by Virgin(CP) Israel.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon
ever vanish from its rocky slopes?
Do its cool waters from distant sources
ever stop flowing?[d]
15 Yet my people have forgotten(CQ) me;
they burn incense(CR) to worthless idols,(CS)
which made them stumble(CT) in their ways,
in the ancient paths.(CU)
They made them walk in byways,
on roads not built up.(CV)
16 Their land will be an object of horror(CW)
and of lasting scorn;(CX)
all who pass by will be appalled(CY)
and will shake their heads.(CZ)
17 Like a wind(DA) from the east,
I will scatter them before their enemies;
I will show them my back and not my face(DB)
in the day of their disaster.”
18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans(DC) against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest(DD) will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise,(DE) nor the word from the prophets.(DF) So come, let’s attack him with our tongues(DG) and pay no attention to anything he says.”
19 Listen to me, Lord;
hear what my accusers(DH) are saying!
20 Should good be repaid with evil?(DI)
Yet they have dug a pit(DJ) for me.
Remember that I stood(DK) before you
and spoke in their behalf(DL)
to turn your wrath away from them.
21 So give their children over to famine;(DM)
hand them over to the power of the sword.(DN)
Let their wives be made childless and widows;(DO)
let their men be put to death,
their young men(DP) slain by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry(DQ) be heard from their houses
when you suddenly bring invaders against them,
for they have dug a pit(DR) to capture me
and have hidden snares(DS) for my feet.
23 But you, Lord, know
all their plots to kill(DT) me.
Do not forgive(DU) their crimes
or blot out their sins from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.(DV)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 17:2 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
- Jeremiah 17:3 Or hills / 3 and the mountains of the land. / Your
- Jeremiah 17:19 Or Army
- Jeremiah 18:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
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.