“Jeremiah, go and speak to the people of Jerusalem. Tell them that this is what the Lord says: “‘At the time you were a young nation, you were faithful to me. You followed me like a young bride. You followed me through the desert, through a land that had never been used for farmland.

This is what the Lord says: “Do you think that I was not fair to your ancestors? Is that why they turned away from me? Your ancestors worshiped worthless idols, and they became worthless themselves.

The Lord says, “So now I will accuse you again, and I will also accuse your grandchildren.

Jeremiah, look toward the north and speak this message: “‘Come back, you faithless people of Israel.’ This message is from the Lord. ‘I will stop frowning at you. I am full of mercy.’ The Lord says, ‘I will not be angry with you forever.

The Lord says, “You people are unfaithful, but come back to me because I am your master. I will take one person from every city and two people from every family and bring you to Zion.

This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: “Your fields have not been plowed. Plow those fields! Don’t plant seeds among the thorns.

The Lord says, “When this happens, the king and his officers will lose their courage. The priests will be filled with fear, and the prophets will be shocked.”

This is what the Lord says: “The whole country will be ruined, but I will not completely destroy the land.

The Evil of the People of Judah

The Lord says, “Walk the streets of Jerusalem. Look around and think about these things. Search the public squares of the city. See if you can find one good person, one who does honest things and who searches for the truth. If you find one good person, I will forgive Jerusalem.

This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “Cut down the trees around Jerusalem, and build a siege mound against it. This city should be punished because inside there is no justice—only slavery.

This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “Gather the people of Israel who were left on their land. Gather them the way you would gather the last grapes on a grapevine. Check each vine, like the workers check each vine when they pick the grapes.”

This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask where the old road is. Ask where the good road is, and walk on that road. If you do, you will find rest for yourselves. But you people have said, ‘We will not walk on the good road.’

So this is what the Lord says: “I will give the people of Judah problems. They will be like stones that make people fall. Fathers and sons will stumble over them. Friends and neighbors will die.”

This is what the Lord says: “An army is coming from the north. A great nation is coming from faraway places on earth.

The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: Change your lives and do good things. If you do this, I will let you live in this place.

So this is what the Lord God says: “I will show my anger against this place. I will punish people and animals. I will punish the trees in the field and the crops that grow in the ground. My anger will be like a hot fire—no one will be able to stop it.”

Obedience Is Better Than Sacrifice

This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: “Go and offer as many burnt offerings and sacrifices as you want. Eat the meat of those sacrifices yourselves.

So I warn you. The days are coming,” says the Lord, “when people will not call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom anymore. No, they will call it the Valley of Slaughter. They will give it this name because they will bury the dead people in Topheth until there is no more room to bury anyone else.

Sin and Punishment

“Jeremiah, say this to the people of Judah: ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘You know if a man falls down, he gets up again. And if a man goes the wrong way, he turns around and comes back.

“‘I will take away their fruit and crops so that there will be no harvest, says the Lord. There will be no grapes on the vine and no figs on the fig tree. Even the leaves will become dry and die. I will take away the things I gave them.’”

Listen to my people. Everywhere in this country, people are crying for help. They say, “Is the Lord still at Zion? Is Zion’s King still there?” But God says, “The people of Judah worshiped their worthless foreign idols. That made me very angry! Why did they do that?”

So the Lord All-Powerful says, “A worker heats metal in a fire to test it and see if it is pure. I will test the people of Judah like that. I have no other choice. My people have sinned.

The Lord says, “I will make the city of Jerusalem a pile of garbage. It will be a home for jackals. I will destroy the cities in the land of Judah, so no one will live there.”

So the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says, “I will soon make the people of Judah eat bitter food and drink poisoned water.

This is what the Lord All-Powerful says: “Now think about these things! Call for the women who get paid to cry at funerals. Send for the people who are good at that job.