In this coming age, Jerusalem will be known as the throne of the Eternal. All the nations of the world will be drawn there to her, to honor the name of the Eternal. The days of people insisting on their own stubborn ways dictated by their own evil hearts will be gone.

Circumcise yourselves to Me; cut away the foreskin of your hearts, men of Judah and people of Jerusalem. Remove all that stands between us, and devote yourselves fully to Me, Or the heat of My anger will burn as an unquenchable fire against your wicked ways.

Eternal One: On that fearsome day, even the hearts of kings and leaders will fail. Priests will recoil in horror. Prophets will be shocked into silence.

Hear me, O Jerusalem, for even now there is time. Wash these wicked ways from your hearts So that you can be saved. How long will you cling to those wicked thoughts?

(to the people) You chose this path that led to disaster. Your plans and actions brought it on. It is your wickedness that tastes so bitter, your evil that pierces your heart.

I’ve got this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’m in agony. Every beat of my heart pounds with an awful dread. I can’t stay silent, for I know what is coming— oh my soul, there it is: the blast of the trumpet; The battle cries of the invading hoards.

Hear Me you foolish, heartless people. Even with eyes and ears you are still blind and deaf to what is happening.

But with stubborn and defiant hearts, this people ignored Me and left Me for another.

Eternal One: What use do I have of your expensive incense from Sheba or the fragrant reeds you offer Me from a faraway land? I will not accept your burnt offerings; the aroma of these empty sacrifices does not please Me.

They are armed with bows and spears. Their hearts are cruel and will show you no mercy. The sound of their massive army, riding in on their horses, is like the sound of an angry sea; They are ready for battle, marching in formation, coming to destroy you, O Jerusalem, daughter of Zion.

We heard the news, and our strength vanished—anguish and fear grip us. We twist in pain like a woman giving birth.

But they didn’t trust Me. They didn’t obey My voice. They refused to listen to Me. Instead they followed the plans of their own stubborn hearts. Each step was a step backward, not forward.

Jeremiah: There is no cure for my grief. My heart breaks for what I see and hear.

Instead, they have stubbornly followed after their own hearts. They have chosen to worship images of Baal just as their ancestors taught them.

Look, the day is coming when I will set things right with all people. I will punish all those who are circumcised in their bodies but not in their hearts—

the people of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, and Moab, and all who live in the desert and clip the corners of their hair. All these nations are really uncircumcised, and all of Israel is uncircumcised where it counts, in the heart.

This message is for all of Israel. Listen to what the Eternal is saying to you.

But You, Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, You who judge fairly, You know the heart and the mind. Let me see Your vengeance exacted against them; I am entrusting my cause, my future to You.

Still, You know me, Eternal One; You see what is deep inside me. You’ve examined my heart, So why aren’t they brought to justice? Deal with them as sheep set aside for slaughter, singled out for death.

I will ruin these haughty and wicked people who ignore My words, who follow their own stubborn hearts, who run after other gods, who bow down to lifeless idols. They will end up like this rotten undergarment in your hands—completely worthless!

When I discovered Your words, I ate them up: they were my great joy and my heart’s delight. I am Yours, and I bear the name of the Eternal God, Commander of heavenly armies.

As for you, you are even worse than your ancestors because every one of your hearts is evil and stubborn, and you continue to ignore Me as you follow your own wicked ways.

Eternal One: Judah’s sin is engraved on the tablets of their hearts, inscribed on the horns of their altars with an iron tool, tipped with a diamond point.

Cursed is the one who trusts in human strength and the abilities of mere mortals. His very heart strays from the Eternal.

The heart is most devious and incurably sick. Who can understand it?