The Call of Jeremiah

1 These are the words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the religious leaders at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. ² The Word of the Lord came to Jeremiah in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his rule. ³ It came also in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem were taken away.

⁴ Now the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ⁵ “Before I started to put you together in your mother, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart as holy. I chose you to speak to the nations for Me.” ⁶ Then I said, “O, Lord God! I do not know how to speak. I am only a boy.” ⁷ But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a boy.’ You must go everywhere I send you. And you must say whatever I tell you. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them. For I am with you to take you out of trouble,” says the Lord. ⁹ Then the Lord put out His hand and touched my mouth, and said to me, “See, I have put My words in your mouth. ¹⁰ I have chosen you this day to be over the nations and the kings, to dig up and to pull down, to destroy and to throw down, to build and to plant.”

¹¹ And the Word of the Lord came to me saying, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.” ¹² Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching to see that My Word is completed.”

¹³ The Word of the Lord came to me a second time saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, with its face turned away from the north.” ¹⁴ Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north trouble will come upon all the people of the land. ¹⁵ For, see, I am calling all the families of the nations of the north,” says the Lord. “And they will come. Then every one will set up his throne at the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls around it, and against all the cities of Judah. ¹⁶ And I will tell how they are to be punished for all their sin. For they have turned away from Me and have given gifts to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. ¹⁷ Now get ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I tell you. Do not be afraid of them, or I will make trouble for you in front of them. ¹⁸ Today I have made you as a strong city ready for war, as a pillar of iron and as walls of brass against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, the rulers, its religious leaders, and the people of the land. ¹⁹ And they will fight against you. But they will not have power over you, for I am with you to take you out of trouble,” says the Lord.

Israel Turns Away from God

2 The Word of the Lord came to me saying, ² “Go and speak so those in Jerusalem will hear, ‘This is what the Lord says: “I remember how you loved Me when you were young. Your love was as a bride. I remember how you followed Me in the desert, through a land that had not been planted. ³ Israel was holy to the Lord, the first-fruits of His gathering. All who ate of it (Israel) were guilty, and trouble came upon them,” says the Lord.’”

The Sin of Israel’s Early Families

⁴ Hear the Word of the Lord, O family of Jacob, and all the families of the people of Israel. ⁵ The Lord says, “What wrong did your fathers find in Me, that they turned so far from Me and followed false gods? ⁶ They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord Who brought us up from the land of Egypt? Where is He Who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and deep holes, through a land without water and with much trouble, through a land that no one traveled and where no man lived?’ ⁷ And I brought you into a rich land to eat its fruit and its good things. But you came and made My land unclean. You made the land I gave you sinful and hated. ⁸ The religious leaders did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ And those who worked with the Law did not know Me. The rulers sinned against Me. And the men of God spoke by the false god of Baal, and went after things that did not help.

The Lord Speaks against His People

⁹ “So I will still fight with you,” says the Lord. “And I will fight your children’s children. ¹⁰ Go over to the land of Cyprus and see. Or send men to Kedar to watch with care. And see if there has been such a thing as this! ¹¹ Has a nation changed its gods, even when they are not gods? But My people have changed their greatness for that which does not help them. ¹² Be full of wonder at this, O heavens. Shake with fear and waste away,” says the Lord. ¹³ “For My people have done two sinful things: They have turned away from Me, the well of living waters. And they have cut out of the rock wells for water for themselves. They are broken wells that cannot hold water.

What Happens When Israel Is Not Faithful

¹⁴ “Is Israel a servant? Is he born as a servant? Why can he be taken away? ¹⁵ The young lions have made noise against him. They have made a loud noise. And they have made his land a waste. His cities have been destroyed, and have no people. ¹⁶ The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of your head. ¹⁷ Have you not brought this upon yourself, by turning away from the Lord your God, when He led you in the way? ¹⁸ Now why are you going to Egypt to drink water from the Nile? Or why are you going to Assyria to drink water from the Euphrates? ¹⁹ Your own sin will punish you. Your turning away from the Lord will punish you. So know and see that it is sinful and bitter for you to leave the Lord your God. You have no fear of Me,” says the Lord God of All.

Israel Turns Its Back on God

²⁰ “Long ago I broke the load from your neck and tore off your chains. But you said, ‘I will not serve!’ For on every high hill and under every green tree you have lain down as a woman who sells the use of her body. ²¹ Yet I planted you as a vine of much worth, in every way a true seed. How then have you turned away from Me and become a wild vine? ²² Even when you wash yourself with much strong soap, the mark of your sin is still before Me,” says the Lord God. ²³ “How can you say, ‘I am clean. I have not gone after the false gods of Baal’? Look at what you did in the valley! Know what you have done! You are like a wild young camel wanting to mate. ²⁴ You are a wild donkey used to the desert, that smells the wind in her desire. In the time of her mating who can turn her away? All who look for her will not become tired. In her month of mating they will find her. ²⁵ Do not run until your shoes wear out or until your mouth is dry. But you said, ‘It is of no use, for I love strange gods, and I will go after them.’

Israel Should Be Punished

²⁶ “As a robber is put to shame when he is caught, so the family of Israel is put to shame: they, their kings, their rulers, their religious leaders, and their men of God. ²⁷ They say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Rise up and save us.’ ²⁸ But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble. For you have as many gods as cities, O Judah.

²⁹ “Why do you complain against Me? You have all sinned against Me,” says the Lord. ³⁰ “I have punished your children for nothing, for they would not learn from it. Your sword has destroyed your men of God like a destroying lion. ³¹ O people of this day, listen to the Word of the Lord. Have I been a desert to Israel, or a land of much darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are free to go, and we will come to You no more’? ³² Can a young woman forget the beautiful objects she wears? Can a bride forget her clothing? Yet My people have forgotten Me too many days to number. ³³ How you dress yourself and go after lovers! You have taught your ways even to the sinful women. ³⁴ On your clothing is found the blood of the poor who could not be blamed. You did not find them breaking in. But even with all these things, ³⁵ you say, ‘I am not guilty. For sure He has turned His anger away from me.’ See, I will punish you because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’ ³⁶ Why do you go around so much changing your way? You will be put to shame by Egypt as you were put to shame by Assyria. ³⁷ From Egypt also you will go out with your hands on your head. For the Lord has turned against those in whom you trust, and as you are with them, it will not go well for you.”

Some People Will Believe a Lie

2 Our Lord Jesus Christ is coming again. We will be gathered together to meet Him. But we ask you, Christian brothers, ² do not be troubled in mind or worried by the talk you hear. Some say that the Lord has already come. People may say that I wrote this in a letter or that a spirit told them. ³ Do not let anyone fool you. For the Lord will not come again until many people turn away from God. Then the leader of those who break the law will come. He is the man of sin. ⁴ He works against and puts himself above every kind of god that is worshiped. He will take his seat in the house of God and say that he himself is God. ⁵ Do you not remember that while I was with you, I told you this? ⁶ You know the power that is keeping the man of sin back now. The man of sin will come only when his time is ready. ⁷ For the secret power of breaking the law is already at work in the world. But that secret power can only do so much until the One Who keeps back the man of sin is taken out of the way. ⁸ Then this man of sin will come. The Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of His mouth. The coming of Christ will put an end to him. ⁹ Satan will use this man of sin. He will have Satan’s power. He will do strange things and many powerful works that will be false. ¹⁰ Those who are lost in sin will be fooled by the things he can do. They are lost in sin because they did not love the truth that would save them. ¹¹ For this reason, God will allow them to follow false teaching so they will believe a lie. ¹² They will all be guilty as they stand before God because they wanted to do what was wrong.

You Belong to Those Who Believe the Truth

¹³ Christian brothers, the Lord loves you. We always thank God for you. It is because God has chosen you from the beginning to save you from the punishment of sin. He chose to make you holy by the Holy Spirit and to give you faith to believe the truth. ¹⁴ It was by our preaching the Good News that you were chosen. He chose you to share the shining-greatness of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ So then, Christian brothers, keep a strong hold on what we have taught you by what we have said and by what we have written.

¹⁶ Our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father loves us. Through His loving-favor He gives us comfort and hope that lasts forever. ¹⁷ May He give your hearts comfort and strength to say and do every good thing.