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Jeremiah 18-22
New King James Version
Jeremiah 18-22
New King James Version
The Potter and the Clay
18 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: 2 “Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.” 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the [a]wheel. 4 And the vessel that he [b]made of clay was [c]marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 6 “O house of Israel, (A)can I not do with you as this potter?” says the Lord. “Look, (B)as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! 7 The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to (C)pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, 8 (D)if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, (E)I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. 9 And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, 10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.
11 “Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. (F)Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings (G)good.” ’ ”
God’s Warning Rejected
12 And they said, (H)“That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one [d]obey the (I)dictates[e] of his evil heart.”
13 Therefore thus says the Lord:
(J)“Ask now among the Gentiles,
Who has heard such things?
The virgin of Israel has done (K)a very horrible thing.
14 Will a man [f]leave the snow water of Lebanon,
Which comes from the rock of the field?
Will the cold flowing waters be forsaken for strange waters?
15 “Because My people have forgotten (L)Me,
They have burned incense to worthless idols.
And they have caused themselves to stumble in their ways,
From the (M)ancient paths,
To walk in pathways and not on a highway,
16 To make their land (N)desolate and a perpetual (O)hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be astonished
And shake his head.
17 (P)I will scatter them (Q)as with an east wind before the enemy;
(R)I will [g]show them the back and not the face
In the day of their calamity.”
Jeremiah Persecuted
18 Then they said, (S)“Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah; (T)for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come and let us attack him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.”
19 Give heed to me, O Lord,
And listen to the voice of those who contend with me!
20 (U)Shall evil be repaid for good?
For they have (V)dug a pit for my life.
Remember that I (W)stood before You
To speak good [h]for them,
To turn away Your wrath from them.
21 Therefore (X)deliver up their children to the famine,
And pour out their blood
By the force of the sword;
Let their wives become widows
And (Y)bereaved of their children.
Let their men be put to death,
Their young men be slain
By the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry be heard from their houses,
When You bring a troop suddenly upon them;
For they have dug a pit to take me,
And hidden snares for my feet.
23 Yet, Lord, You know all their counsel
Which is against me, to slay me.
(Z)Provide no atonement for their iniquity,
Nor blot out their sin from Your sight;
But let them be overthrown before You.
Deal thus with them
In the time of Your (AA)anger.
The Sign of the Broken Flask
19 Thus says the Lord: “Go and get a potter’s earthen flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests. 2 And go out to (AB)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the Potsherd Gate; and proclaim there the words that I will tell you, 3 (AC)and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will (AD)tingle.
4 “Because they (AE)have forsaken Me and made this an alien place, because they have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they, their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, and have filled this place with (AF)the blood of the innocents 5 (AG)(they have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, (AH)which I did not command or speak, nor did it come into My mind), 6 therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that this place shall no more be called Tophet or (AI)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, (AJ)and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hands of those who seek their lives; their (AK)corpses I will give as meat for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. 8 I will make this city (AL)desolate and a hissing; everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues. 9 And I will cause them to eat the (AM)flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and in the desperation with which their enemies and those who seek their lives shall drive them to despair.” ’
10 (AN)“Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, 11 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: (AO)“Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot be [i]made whole again; and they shall (AP)bury them in Tophet till there is no place to bury. 12 Thus I will do to this place,” says the Lord, “and to its inhabitants, and make this city like Tophet. 13 And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled (AQ)like the place of Tophet, because of all the houses on whose (AR)roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, and (AS)poured out drink offerings to other gods.” ’ ”
14 Then Jeremiah came from Tophet, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in (AT)the court of the Lord’s house and said to all the people, 15 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on this city and on all her towns all the doom that I have pronounced against it, because (AU)they have stiffened their necks that they might not hear My words.’ ”
The Word of God to Pashhur
20 Now (AV)Pashhur the son of (AW)Immer, the priest who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. 2 Then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high (AX)gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord.
3 And it happened on the next day that Pashhur brought Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord has not called your name Pashhur, but [j]Magor-Missabib. 4 For thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall see it. I will (AY)give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive to Babylon and slay them with the sword. 5 Moreover I (AZ)will deliver all the wealth of this city, all its produce, and all its precious things; all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give into the hand of their enemies, who will plunder them, seize them, and (BA)carry them to Babylon. 6 And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. You shall go to Babylon, and there you shall die, and be buried there, you and all your friends, to whom you have (BB)prophesied lies.’ ”
Jeremiah’s Unpopular Ministry
7 O Lord, You [k]induced me, and I was persuaded;
(BC)You are stronger than I, and have prevailed.
(BD)I am [l]in derision daily;
Everyone mocks me.
8 For when I spoke, I cried out;
(BE)I shouted, “Violence and plunder!”
Because the word of the Lord was made to me
A reproach and a derision daily.
9 Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him,
Nor speak anymore in His name.”
But His word was in my heart like a (BF)burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
I was weary of holding it back,
And (BG)I could not.
10 (BH)For I heard many [m]mocking:
“Fear on every side!”
“Report,” they say, “and we will report it!”
(BI)All my acquaintances watched for my stumbling, saying,
“Perhaps he can be induced;
Then we will prevail against him,
And we will take our revenge on him.”
11 But the Lord is (BJ)with me as a mighty, awesome One.
Therefore my persecutors will stumble, and will not (BK)prevail.
They will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper.
Their (BL)everlasting confusion will never be forgotten.
12 But, O Lord of hosts,
You who (BM)test the righteous,
And see the [n]mind and heart,
(BN)Let me see Your vengeance on them;
For I have pleaded my cause before You.
13 Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord!
For (BO)He has delivered the life of the poor
From the hand of evildoers.
14 (BP)Cursed be the day in which I was born!
Let the day not be blessed in which my mother bore me!
15 Let the man be cursed
Who brought news to my father, saying,
“A male child has been born to you!”
Making him very glad.
16 And let that man be like the cities
Which the Lord (BQ)overthrew, and did not relent;
Let him (BR)hear the cry in the morning
And the shouting at noon,
17 (BS)Because he did not kill me from the womb,
That my mother might have been my grave,
And her womb always enlarged with me.
18 (BT)Why did I come forth from the womb to (BU)see [o]labor and sorrow,
That my days should be consumed with shame?
Jerusalem’s Doom Is Sealed
21 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when (BV)King Zedekiah sent to him (BW)Pashhur the son of Melchiah, and (BX)Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying, 2 (BY)“Please inquire of the Lord for us, for [p]Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon makes war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all His wonderful works, that the king may go away from us.”
3 Then Jeremiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon and the [q]Chaldeans who besiege you outside the walls; and (BZ)I will assemble them in the midst of this city. 5 I (CA)Myself will fight against you with an (CB)outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger and fury and great wrath. 6 I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they shall die of a great pestilence. 7 And afterward,” says the Lord, (CC)“I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence and the sword and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life; and he shall strike them with the edge of the sword. (CD)He shall not spare them, or have pity or mercy.” ’
8 “Now you shall say to this people, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, (CE)I set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who (CF)remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes out and [r]defects to the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall (CG)live, and his life shall be as a prize to him. 10 For I have (CH)set My face against this city for adversity and not for good,” says the Lord. (CI)“It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall (CJ)burn it with fire.” ’
Message to the House of David
11 “And concerning the house of the king of Judah, say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, 12 O house of David! Thus says the Lord:
(CK)“Execute[s] judgment (CL)in the morning;
And deliver him who is plundered
Out of the hand of the oppressor,
Lest My fury go forth like fire
And burn so that no one can quench it,
Because of the evil of your doings.
13 “Behold, (CM)I am against you, O [t]inhabitant of the valley,
And rock of the plain,” says the Lord,
“Who say, (CN)‘Who shall come down against us?
Or who shall enter our dwellings?’
14 But I will punish you according to the (CO)fruit of your [u]doings,” says the Lord;
“I will kindle a fire in its forest,
And (CP)it shall devour all things around it.” ’ ”
Prophecies Against the Kings of Judah
22 Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word, 2 and say, (CQ)‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates! 3 Thus says the Lord: (CR)“Execute[v] judgment and righteousness, and deliver the plundered out of the hand of the oppressor. Do no wrong and do no violence to the stranger, the (CS)fatherless, or the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you indeed do this thing, (CT)then shall enter the gates of this house, riding on horses and in chariots, accompanied by servants and people, kings who sit on the throne of David. 5 But if you will not [w]hear these words, (CU)I swear by Myself,” says the Lord, “that this house shall become a desolation.” ’ ”
6 For thus says the Lord to the house of the king of Judah:
“You are (CV)Gilead to Me,
The head of Lebanon;
Yet I surely will make you a wilderness,
Cities which are not inhabited.
7 I will prepare destroyers against you,
Everyone with his weapons;
They shall cut down (CW)your choice cedars
(CX)And cast them into the fire.
8 And many nations will pass by this city; and everyone will say to his neighbor, (CY)‘Why has the Lord done so to this great city?’ 9 Then they will answer, (CZ)‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshiped other gods and served them.’ ”
10 Weep not for (DA)the dead, nor bemoan him;
Weep bitterly for him (DB)who goes away,
For he shall return no more,
Nor see his native country.
Message to the Sons of Josiah
11 For thus says the Lord concerning (DC)Shallum[x] the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, (DD)who went from this place: “He shall not return here anymore, 12 but he shall die in the place where they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
13 “Woe(DE) to him who builds his house by unrighteousness
And his [y]chambers by injustice,
(DF)Who uses his neighbor’s service without wages
And gives him nothing for his work,
14 Who says, ‘I will build myself a wide house with spacious [z]chambers,
And cut out windows for it,
Paneling it with cedar
And painting it with vermilion.’
15 “Shall you reign because you enclose yourself in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink,
And do justice and righteousness?
Then (DG)it was well with him.
16 He [aa]judged the cause of the poor and needy;
Then it was well.
Was not this knowing Me?” says the Lord.
17 “Yet(DH) your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your covetousness,
For shedding innocent blood,
And practicing oppression and violence.”
18 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
(DI)“They shall not lament for him,
Saying, (DJ)‘Alas, my brother!’ or ‘Alas, my sister!’
They shall not lament for him,
Saying, ‘Alas, master!’ or ‘Alas, his glory!’
19 (DK)He shall be buried with the burial of a donkey,
Dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 “Go up to Lebanon, and cry out,
And lift up your voice in Bashan;
Cry from Abarim,
For all your lovers are destroyed.
21 I spoke to you in your prosperity,
But you said, ‘I will not hear.’
(DL)This has been your manner from your youth,
That you did not obey My voice.
22 The wind shall eat up all (DM)your [ab]rulers,
And your lovers shall go into captivity;
Surely then you will be ashamed and humiliated
For all your wickedness.
23 O inhabitant of Lebanon,
Making your nest in the cedars,
How gracious will you be when pangs come upon you,
Like (DN)the pain of a woman in [ac]labor?
Message to Coniah
24 “As I live,” says the Lord, (DO)“though [ad]Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, (DP)were the [ae]signet on My right hand, yet I would pluck you off; 25 (DQ)and I will give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those whose face you fear—the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the hand of the [af]Chaldeans. 26 (DR)So I will cast you out, and your mother who bore you, into another country where you were not born; and there you shall die. 27 But to the land to which they desire to return, there they shall not return.
28 “Is this man [ag]Coniah a despised, broken idol—
(DS)A vessel in which is no pleasure?
Why are they cast out, he and his descendants,
And cast into a land which they do not know?
29 (DT)O earth, earth, earth,
Hear the word of the Lord!
30 Thus says the Lord:
‘Write this man down as (DU)childless,
A man who shall not prosper in his days;
For (DV)none of his descendants shall prosper,
Sitting on the throne of David,
And ruling anymore in Judah.’ ”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 18:3 Potter’s wheel
- Jeremiah 18:4 was making
- Jeremiah 18:4 ruined
- Jeremiah 18:12 Lit. do
- Jeremiah 18:12 stubbornness or imagination
- Jeremiah 18:14 forsake
- Jeremiah 18:17 So with LXX, Syr., Tg., Vg.; MT look them in
- Jeremiah 18:20 concerning
- Jeremiah 19:11 restored
- Jeremiah 20:3 Lit. Fear on Every Side
- Jeremiah 20:7 enticed or persuaded
- Jeremiah 20:7 Lit. a laughingstock all the day
- Jeremiah 20:10 slandering
- Jeremiah 20:12 Most secret parts, lit. kidneys
- Jeremiah 20:18 toil
- Jeremiah 21:2 Heb. Nebuchadrezzar, and so elsewhere in the book
- Jeremiah 21:4 Or Babylonians, and so elsewhere in the book
- Jeremiah 21:9 Lit. falls away to
- Jeremiah 21:12 Dispense justice
- Jeremiah 21:13 dweller
- Jeremiah 21:14 deeds
- Jeremiah 22:3 Dispense justice
- Jeremiah 22:5 Obey
- Jeremiah 22:11 Or Jehoahaz
- Jeremiah 22:13 Lit. roof chambers, upper chambers
- Jeremiah 22:14 Lit. roof chambers, upper chambers
- Jeremiah 22:16 Defended
- Jeremiah 22:22 Lit. shepherds
- Jeremiah 22:23 childbirth
- Jeremiah 22:24 Or Jeconiah or Jehoiachin
- Jeremiah 22:24 signet ring
- Jeremiah 22:25 Or Babylonians
- Jeremiah 22:28 See note at v. 24
Jeremiah 18-22
New International Version
Jeremiah 18-22
New International Version
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(A) in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,(B) Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,(C) torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent(D) and not inflict on it the disaster(E) I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built(F) up and planted, 10 and if it does evil(G) in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider(H) the good I had intended to do for it.(I)
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(J) for you and devising a plan(K) against you. So turn(L) from your evil ways,(M) each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’(N) 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use.(O) We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.(P)’”
13 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“Inquire among the nations:
Who has ever heard anything like this?(Q)
A most horrible(R) thing has been done
by Virgin(S) Israel.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon
ever vanish from its rocky slopes?
Do its cool waters from distant sources
ever stop flowing?[a]
15 Yet my people have forgotten(T) me;
they burn incense(U) to worthless idols,(V)
which made them stumble(W) in their ways,
in the ancient paths.(X)
They made them walk in byways,
on roads not built up.(Y)
16 Their land will be an object of horror(Z)
and of lasting scorn;(AA)
all who pass by will be appalled(AB)
and will shake their heads.(AC)
17 Like a wind(AD) from the east,
I will scatter them before their enemies;
I will show them my back and not my face(AE)
in the day of their disaster.”
18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans(AF) against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest(AG) will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise,(AH) nor the word from the prophets.(AI) So come, let’s attack him with our tongues(AJ) and pay no attention to anything he says.”
19 Listen to me, Lord;
hear what my accusers(AK) are saying!
20 Should good be repaid with evil?(AL)
Yet they have dug a pit(AM) for me.
Remember that I stood(AN) before you
and spoke in their behalf(AO)
to turn your wrath away from them.
21 So give their children over to famine;(AP)
hand them over to the power of the sword.(AQ)
Let their wives be made childless and widows;(AR)
let their men be put to death,
their young men(AS) slain by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry(AT) be heard from their houses
when you suddenly bring invaders against them,
for they have dug a pit(AU) to capture me
and have hidden snares(AV) for my feet.
23 But you, Lord, know
all their plots to kill(AW) me.
Do not forgive(AX) 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.(AY)
19 This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter.(AZ) Take along some of the elders(BA) of the people and of the priests 2 and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom,(BB) near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, 3 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings(BC) of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster(BD) on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.(BE) 4 For they have forsaken(BF) me and made this a place of foreign gods(BG); they have burned incense(BH) in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.(BI) 5 They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children(BJ) in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.(BK) 6 So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this place Topheth(BL) or the Valley of Ben Hinnom,(BM) but the Valley of Slaughter.(BN)
7 “‘In this place I will ruin[b] the plans(BO) of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies,(BP) at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses(BQ) as food(BR) to the birds and the wild animals. 8 I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn;(BS) all who pass by will be appalled(BT) and will scoff because of all its wounds.(BU) 9 I will make them eat(BV) the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies(BW) will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them.’
10 “Then break the jar(BX) while those who go with you are watching, 11 and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash(BY) this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury(BZ) the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 12 This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth. 13 The houses(CA) in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled(CB) like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs(CC) to all the starry hosts(CD) and poured out drink offerings(CE) to other gods.’”
14 Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court(CF) of the Lord’s temple and said to all the people, 15 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster(CG) I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked(CH) and would not listen(CI) to my words.’”
Jeremiah and Pashhur
20 When the priest Pashhur son of Immer,(CJ) the official(CK) in charge of the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, 2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten(CL) and put in the stocks(CM) at the Upper Gate of Benjamin(CN) at the Lord’s temple. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord’s name(CO) for you is not Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side.(CP) 4 For this is what the Lord says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes(CQ) you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will give(CR) all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will carry(CS) them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. 5 I will deliver all the wealth(CT) of this city into the hands of their enemies—all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away(CU) as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. 6 And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied(CV) lies.’”
Jeremiah’s Complaint
7 You deceived[c](CW) me, Lord, and I was deceived[d];
you overpowered(CX) me and prevailed.
I am ridiculed(CY) all day long;
everyone mocks(CZ) me.
8 Whenever I speak, I cry out
proclaiming violence and destruction.(DA)
So the word of the Lord has brought me
insult and reproach(DB) all day long.
9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word
or speak anymore in his name,”(DC)
his word is in my heart like a fire,(DD)
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;(DE)
indeed, I cannot.
10 I hear many whispering,
“Terror(DF) on every side!
Denounce(DG) him! Let’s denounce him!”
All my friends(DH)
are waiting for me to slip,(DI) saying,
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
then we will prevail(DJ) over him
and take our revenge(DK) on him.”
11 But the Lord(DL) is with me like a mighty warrior;
so my persecutors(DM) will stumble and not prevail.(DN)
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;(DO)
their dishonor will never be forgotten.
12 Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous
and probe the heart and mind,(DP)
let me see your vengeance(DQ) on them,
for to you I have committed(DR) my cause.
13 Sing(DS) to the Lord!
Give praise to the Lord!
He rescues(DT) the life of the needy
from the hands of the wicked.(DU)
14 Cursed be the day I was born!(DV)
May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news,
who made him very glad, saying,
“A child is born to you—a son!”
16 May that man be like the towns(DW)
the Lord overthrew without pity.
May he hear wailing(DX) in the morning,
a battle cry at noon.
17 For he did not kill me in the womb,(DY)
with my mother as my grave,
her womb enlarged forever.
18 Why did I ever come out of the womb(DZ)
to see trouble(EA) and sorrow
and to end my days in shame?(EB)
God Rejects Zedekiah’s Request
21 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah(EC) sent to him Pashhur(ED) son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah(EE) son of Maaseiah. They said: 2 “Inquire(EF) now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar[e](EG) king of Babylon(EH) is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders(EI) for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”
3 But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, 4 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn(EJ) against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians[f] who are outside the wall besieging(EK) you. And I will gather them inside this city. 5 I myself will fight(EL) against you with an outstretched hand(EM) and a mighty arm(EN) in furious anger and in great wrath. 6 I will strike(EO) down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague.(EP) 7 After that, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah(EQ) king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague,(ER) sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon(ES) and to their enemies(ET) who want to kill them.(EU) He will put them to the sword;(EV) he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’(EW)
8 “Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life(EX) and the way of death. 9 Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague.(EY) But whoever goes out and surrenders(EZ) to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives.(FA) 10 I have determined to do this city harm(FB) and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands(FC) of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’(FD)
11 “Moreover, say to the royal house(FE) of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. 12 This is what the Lord says to you, house of David:
“‘Administer justice(FF) every morning;
rescue from the hand of the oppressor(FG)
the one who has been robbed,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire(FH)
because of the evil(FI) you have done—
burn with no one to quench(FJ) it.
13 I am against(FK) you, Jerusalem,
you who live above this valley(FL)
on the rocky plateau, declares the Lord—
you who say, “Who can come against us?
Who can enter our refuge?”(FM)
14 I will punish you as your deeds(FN) deserve,
declares the Lord.
I will kindle a fire(FO) in your forests(FP)
that will consume everything around you.’”
Judgment Against Wicked Kings
22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king(FQ) of Judah and proclaim this message there: 2 ‘Hear(FR) the word of the Lord to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne(FS)—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates.(FT) 3 This is what the Lord says: Do what is just(FU) and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor(FV) the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow,(FW) and do not shed innocent blood(FX) in this place. 4 For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings(FY) who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. 5 But if you do not obey(FZ) these commands, declares the Lord, I swear(GA) by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”
6 For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:
“Though you are like Gilead(GB) to me,
like the summit of Lebanon,(GC)
I will surely make you like a wasteland,(GD)
like towns not inhabited.
7 I will send destroyers(GE) against you,
each man with his weapons,
and they will cut(GF) up your fine cedar beams
and throw them into the fire.(GG)
8 “People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’(GH) 9 And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.(GI)’”
10 Do not weep for the dead(GJ) king or mourn(GK) his loss;
rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,
because he will never return(GL)
nor see his native land again.
11 For this is what the Lord says about Shallum[g](GM) son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return. 12 He will die(GN) in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.”
13 “Woe(GO) to him who builds(GP) his palace by unrighteousness,
his upper rooms by injustice,
making his own people work for nothing,
not paying(GQ) them for their labor.
14 He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace(GR)
with spacious upper rooms.’
So he makes large windows in it,
panels it with cedar(GS)
and decorates it in red.(GT)
15 “Does it make you a king
to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
He did what was right and just,(GU)
so all went well(GV) with him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,(GW)
and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know(GX) me?”
declares the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
are set only on dishonest gain,(GY)
on shedding innocent blood(GZ)
and on oppression and extortion.”(HA)
18 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
“They will not mourn(HB) for him:
‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’
19 He will have the burial(HC) of a donkey—
dragged away and thrown(HD)
outside the gates of Jerusalem.”
20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry out,(HE)
let your voice be heard in Bashan,(HF)
cry out from Abarim,(HG)
for all your allies(HH) are crushed.
21 I warned you when you felt secure,(HI)
but you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This has been your way from your youth;(HJ)
you have not obeyed(HK) me.
22 The wind(HL) will drive all your shepherds(HM) away,
and your allies(HN) will go into exile.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced(HO)
because of all your wickedness.
23 You who live in ‘Lebanon,[h](HP)’
who are nestled in cedar buildings,
how you will groan when pangs come upon you,
pain(HQ) like that of a woman in labor!
24 “As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “even if you, Jehoiachin[i](HR) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring(HS) on my right hand, I would still pull you off. 25 I will deliver(HT) you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians.[j] 26 I will hurl(HU) you and the mother(HV) who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. 27 You will never come back to the land you long to return(HW) to.”
28 Is this man Jehoiachin(HX) a despised, broken pot,(HY)
an object no one wants?
Why will he and his children be hurled(HZ) out,
cast into a land(IA) they do not know?
29 O land,(IB) land, land,
hear the word of the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says:
“Record this man as if childless,(IC)
a man who will not prosper(ID) in his lifetime,
for none of his offspring(IE) will prosper,
none will sit on the throne(IF) of David
or rule anymore in Judah.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 18:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
- Jeremiah 19:7 The Hebrew for ruin sounds like the Hebrew for jar (see verses 1 and 10).
- Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded
- Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded
- Jeremiah 21:2 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Jeremiah and Ezekiel
- Jeremiah 21:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 9
- Jeremiah 22:11 Also called Jehoahaz
- Jeremiah 22:23 That is, the palace in Jerusalem (see 1 Kings 7:2)
- Jeremiah 22:24 Hebrew Koniah, a variant of Jehoiachin; also in verse 28
- Jeremiah 22:25 Or Chaldeans
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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