Beginning

1 The words of Jeremy, son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin. (The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin.)

² For the word of the Lord was made to him in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his realm. (For the word of the Lord was made to him in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, the king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.)

³ And it was done in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, unto the ending of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, son of Josiah, king of Judah, till to the passing over, either (the taking into) captivity, of Jerusalem, in the fifth month. (And it was done in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, until the taking into captivity, or the exile, of the people of Jerusalem, in the fifth month.)

⁴ And the word of the Lord was made to me, and said,

⁵ Before that I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee; and before that thou wentest out of the womb, I hallowed thee; and I gave thee to be a prophet among folks. (Before that I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee; and before that thou wentest out of the womb, I consecrated, or dedicated, thee; and I gave thee to be a prophet among the nations.)

⁶ And I said, A! A! A! Lord God, lo! I cannot speak, for I am a child. (And I said, O! O! O! Lord God, lo! I cannot speak, for I am but a child.)

⁷ And the Lord said to me, Do not thou say, that I am a child; for thou shalt go to all things, to which I shall send thee, and thou shalt speak all things, whatever things I shall command to thee. (And the Lord said to me, Do not thou say, that I am but a child; for thou shalt go to whatever people I shall send thee, and thou shalt say whatever words I shall command thee.)

⁸ Dread thou not of the face of them; for I am with thee, to deliver thee, saith the Lord. (Fear thou not them; for I am with thee, to keep thee safe, saith the Lord./Do not thou fear them, for I am with thee, to protect thee, saith the Lord.)

⁹ And the Lord sent his hand, and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, Lo! I have given my words in thy mouth; (And the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me, Lo! I have put my words in thy mouth;)

¹⁰ lo! I have ordained thee today on folks, and on realms (lo! today I have ordained thee over nations, and over kingdoms), that thou draw up, and destroy, and lose, and scatter, and build, and plant.

¹¹ And the word of the Lord was made to me, and said, What seest thou, Jeremy? And I said, I see a rod wakening. (And the word of the Lord was made to me, and said, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, I see a branch, or a shoot, of an almond tree.)

¹² And the Lord said to me, Thou hast seen well, for I shall wake^[a] on my word, to do it. (And the Lord said to me, Thou hast seen well, for I am on watch, to carry out my word.)

¹³ And the word of the Lord was made the second time to me, and said, What seest thou? [And I said,] I see a pot boiling, and the face thereof from the face of the north (And I said, I see a boiling pot, and its face is towards the north).

¹⁴ And the Lord said to me, From the north shall be showed all evil on all the dwellers of the land. (And the Lord said to me, From the north shall come all evil for all the inhabitants of this land.)

¹⁵ For lo! I shall call together all the nations of [the] realms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and set each man his seat in the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and on all the walls thereof in compass, and on all the cities of Judah. (For lo! I shall call together all the nations of the kingdoms of the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and each king shall set up his throne before the gates of Jerusalem, and against the walls all around it, and in all the cities of Judah.)

¹⁶ And I shall speak my dooms with them on all the malice of them, that forsook me, and made sacrifice to alien gods, and worshipped the work of their hands. (And I shall tell out my judgement of them, for all the malice of those who have deserted me, and made sacrifice to strange, or foreign, gods, and who worshipped the work of their own hands.)

¹⁷ Therefore gird [up] thou thy loins, and rise thou (up), and speak to them all things which I command to thee; dread thou not of the face of them, for I shall not make thee for to dread the cheer of them. (And so gird thou up thy loins, and rise thou up, and say to them all the things which I command thee; fear thou not to go before them, or else I shall truly make thee afraid when thou art before them.)

¹⁸ For I gave thee today into a strong city, and into an iron pillar, and into a brazen wall, on all the land, to the kings of Judah, and to the princes thereof, and to the priests thereof, and to all the people of the land. (For I have made thee this day like a strong city, and like an iron pillar, and like a bronze wall, to stand against all the land, yea, against the kings of Judah, and its princes, or its leaders, and its priests, and all the people of the land.)

¹⁹ And they shall fight against thee, and they shall not have the mastery; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, that I deliver thee. (And they shall fight against thee, but they shall not have the mastery; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, and I shall keep thee safe.)

2 And the word of the Lord was made to me, and said,

² Go thou, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, and say, The Lord saith these things, I had mind on thee, and I had mercy on thee in thy young waxing age, and on the charity of thy espousing, when thou followedest me in desert, in the land which is not sown. (Go thou, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, and say, The Lord saith these things, I remembered thee, and I had mercy on thee in thy youth, and at the time of thy love in thy espousing, when thou followedest me in the wilderness, in the land which is not sown.)

³ Israel was holy to the Lord, the first of fruits of him; men that devour that Israel, trespass; evils shall come on them, saith the Lord. (Israel was holy to the Lord, his first fruits; all who devour that Israel, trespass, or greatly sin; evils shall come upon them, saith the Lord.)

⁴ The house of Jacob, and all the lineages of the house of Israel (and all the tribes of the house of Israel), hear ye the word of the Lord.

⁵ The Lord saith these things, What of wickedness found your fathers in me, for they went far away from me, and went after vanity, and were made vain? (The Lord saith these things, What wickedness did your forefathers find in me? for they went far away from me, and went after what was empty and futile.)

⁶ And they said not, Where is the Lord, that made us to go up from the land of Egypt, that led us over through desert, by the land unhabitable and without (a) way, by the land of thirst, and by the image of death, by the land in which a man went not, neither a man dwelled. (And they did not ask, Where is the Lord, who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us over through the wilderness, by the land that was uninhabited and without a way, by the land of thirst, and with portents of death, by the land in which no one went, nor in which anyone lived?)

⁷ And I brought you into the land of Carmel, that ye should eat the fruit thereof, and the goods thereof; and ye entered, and defouled my land, and setted mine heritage into abomination. (And I brought you into a plentiful land, so that ye could enjoy its fruit, and its goodness; and ye entered, and defiled my land, and made my inheritance into an abomination.)

⁸ Priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that held the law, knew not me; and shepherds trespassed against me, and prophets prophesied in Baal, and followed idols. (The priests did not ask, Where is the Lord? yea, they who handled the Law, did not know me; and the shepherds of the people trespassed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and followed idols.)

⁹ Therefore yet I shall strive with you in doom, saith the Lord, and I shall dispute with your sons. (And so I shall contend, or argue, with you in judgement, saith the Lord, and I shall dispute with your sons.)

¹⁰ Go ye to the isles of Chittim, and see ye; and send ye into Kedar, and behold ye greatly (and send ye to Kedar, and greatly consider ye); and see ye, if such a thing is (ever) done,

¹¹ if a folk changed his gods; and certainly they be no gods; but my people changed his glory into an idol. (if a nation ever changed their gods? and certainly they be no gods; but my people exchanged their glory for an idol.)

¹² Heavens, be ye astonied on this thing, and, ye gates of heaven, be ye desolate greatly, saith the Lord. (Ye heavens, be ye astonished by this, and, ye gates of heaven, be ye greatly desolate, or in great despair, saith the Lord.)

¹³ For why my people hath done twain evils; they have forsaken me, the well of quick water, and have digged to them cisterns, that were destroyed, that may not hold waters. (For my people have done two evils; they have deserted me, the well of living water, and they have dug for themselves cisterns, that were destroyed, or cracked, and so cannot hold any water.)

¹⁴ Whether Israel is a bondman, either is born bond? Why therefore is he made into prey? (Is Israel a slave, or was he born into slavery? And so why is he made into prey, or into spoils?)

¹⁵ Lions roared on him, and gave their voice; they have set the land of him into wilderness, the cities of him be burnt [up], and none there is that dwelleth in those. (The lions roared at him, and gave out their voice; they have turned his land into a wilderness, his cities be burned down, and there is no one who liveth in them.)

¹⁶ Also the sons of Memphis and Tahpanhes have defouled thee, unto the top of the head.

¹⁷ Whether this is not done to thee, for thou forsookest thy Lord God, in that time in which he led thee by the way? (Is this not done to thee, because thou hast deserted the Lord thy God, at that time when he led thee by the way?)

¹⁸ And now what wilt thou to thee in the way of Egypt, that thou drink troubled water? And what is to thee with the way of Assyrians, that thou drink water of the flood? (And now what wilt thou do if thou go back to Egypt, shalt thou drink there the waters of Sihor, that is, of the Nile River? And what is for thee if thou go to Assyria, shalt thou drink there the waters of the Euphrates River?)

¹⁹ Thy malice shall reprove thee, and thy turning away shall blame thee; know thou and see, that it is (an) evil and bitter (thing), that thou hast forsaken thy Lord God, and that his dread is not at thee, saith the Lord God of hosts. (Thy malice shall reproach thee, and thy turning away shall rebuke thee; know thou and see, that it is an evil and a bitter thing, that thou hast deserted the Lord thy God, and that the fear of me is not in thee/and that reverence for me is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.)

²⁰ From the world thou hast broken my yoke, thou hast broken my bonds, and saidest, I shall not serve. For thou whore didest whoredom in each high little hill, and under each tree full of boughs. (Long ago thou hast broken thy yoke, and thou hast broken thy bonds, and saidest, I shall not serve thee. For thou whore didest whoredom on each high little hill, and under each tree full of branches.)

²¹ Forsooth I planted thee a chosen vinery, all true seed; how therefore art thou, an alien vinery, turned to me into a shrewd thing? (Yet I planted thee like a choice vine, all of you the best seed; and so how art thou turned into such a depraved thing, yea, a strange vine, to me?)

²² Though thou wash thee with fuller’s clay (Even if thou shalt wash thyself with fuller’s clay), and multipliest to thee the [cleansing] herb boreth, thou art (still) defouled in thy wickedness before me, saith the Lord God.

²³ How sayest thou, I am not defouled, I went not after Baalim? (How sayest thou, I am not defiled, and I did not go after the Baalim?) See thy ways in the great valley, know thou what thou hast done; a swift runner ordaining his ways.

²⁴ A wild ass accustomable in wilderness, drew the wind of his love in the desire of his soul; no man shall turn away it. All that seek it, shall not fail; they shall find it in the flux of unclean blood thereof. (Like a wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness, that drew up the scent of the lust that her soul desired; not one shall turn away from her. All that seek her, shall not fail to find her; they shall find her in the flowing of her unclean blood.)

²⁵ Forbid thy foot from nakedness, and thy throat from thirst; and thou saidest, I despaired, (for) I shall not do (that); for I loved burningly alien gods, and I shall go after them (for I have burningly loved these strange, or these foreign, gods, and I shall go after them).

²⁶ As a thief is shamed, when he is taken, so the house of Israel be shamed; they, and [the] kings of them, the princes, and priests, and the prophets of them, (Like a thief is shamed, when he is caught, so let the house of Israel be shamed; they, and their kings, and the princes, or the leaders, and the priests, and their prophets,)

²⁷ that say to a tree, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast engendered me. They turned to me the back, and not the face; and in the time of their torment they shall say, Rise thou, and deliver us. (who say to a piece of wood, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast begat me. They turned their backs on me/They turned their backs to me, and not their faces; yet in the time of their torment they shall say, Rise thou up, and save us!)

²⁸ Where be thy gods, which thou madest to thee? Rise they, and deliver thee in the time of thy torment; for after the number of thy cities were thy gods, thou Judah. (And then I shall say to them, Where be thy gods, which thou madest for thyselves? Let them rise up, and save thee in the time of thy torment; for the number of thy gods, O Judah, were as many as the number of thy cities.)

²⁹ What, will ye strive with me in doom? All ye have forsaken me, saith the Lord. (What, will ye contend, or will ye argue, with me in judgement? All of ye have deserted me, saith the Lord.)

³⁰ In vain I smote your sons, they received not chastising; your sword devoured your prophets, your generation is destroyed as a lion. (In vain I struck down your sons and daughters, for they would not receive their discipline, or their correction; your own sword devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.)

³¹ See ye the word of the Lord, whether I am made a wilderness to Israel, either a land late bringing forth fruit? Why therefore said my people, We have gone away, we shall no more come to thee? (See ye the word of the Lord, am I made like a wilderness to Israel, or like a land bringing forth late fruit? And so why did my people say, We have gone away, we shall no longer come to thee?)

³² Whether a virgin shall forget her ornament? and a spousess her breast girdle? But my people hath forgotten me by days without number.

³³ What enforcest thou to show thy way good to seek love, which furthermore both hast taught thy malices thy ways, (How well thou endeavourest to find thy lovers, even the worst women can learn from thy ways!)

³⁴ and the blood of poor men and innocents is found in thy wings? I found not them in ditches, but in all things which I remembered before. (and the blood of the poor and the innocent is found on thy wings. Yea, it got there not from breaking into houses, but from sacrifices made under every tree.)

³⁵ And thou saidest, I am without sin and innocent; and therefore thy strong vengeance be turned away from me. Lo! I shall strive with thee in doom; for thou saidest, I sinned not. (And still thou saidest, I am without sin and innocent; and so let thy strong vengeance be turned away from me, O Lord. Lo! I shall contend, or shall argue, with thee in judgement; for thou saidest, I did not sin.)

³⁶ How vile art thou made, rehearsing thy ways? and thou shalt be shamed of Egypt, as thou were shamed of Assur. (How vile thou art made, changing thy ways! and thou shalt be shamed by Egypt, as thou were shamed by Assyria.)

³⁷ For why and thou shalt go out of this land, and thine hands shall be on thine head; for why the Lord hath all-broken thy trust, and thou shalt have nothing to prosperity. (And so thou shalt go out of this land, and thy hands shall be upon thy head; for the Lord hath all-broken those in whom thou trusted, and thou shalt get, or gain, nothing from them.)

3 It is said commonly, If a man forsaketh his wife, and she go away from him, and be wedded to another husband, whether he shall turn again [any] more to her? whether that woman shall not be defouled, and made unclean? (shall he return to her again? shall that woman not be defiled, and made unclean?) Forsooth thou hast done fornication with many lovers; nevertheless turn thou again to me, saith the Lord, and I shall receive thee.

² Raise thine eyes into straight, and see, where thou art not cast down. Thou hast sat in ways, abiding them as a thief in wilderness, and thou hast defouled the earth in thy fornications and in thy malices. (Raise up thine eyes into the high places, and see, if there is any place where thou hast not laid down. Thou hast sat in ways, waiting for them like a thief in the wilderness, and thou hast defiled the earth with thy fornications and thy malices.)

³ Wherefore the drops of rains were forbidden, and no late rain was. The forehead of a woman whore is made to thee; thou wouldest not be ashamed. (And so the drops of rain were forbidden, and there was no late rain for thee. Thou haddest the forehead, or the face, of a whorewoman, but thou wouldest not be ashamed.)

⁴ Namely from this time forth call thou me, Thou art my father, the leader of my virginity. (Yet now thou sayest to me, Thou art my father, my guide in my younger years.)

⁵ (And,) Whether thou shalt be wroth without end, either shalt continue (to feel so) into the end? Lo! thou hast spoken, and hast done evils, and thou were mighty (in them). And for words of penance thou blasphemedest by words of pride; and thou filledest thine evil thought(s), and showedest thy strength against thy husband, (so) that thou mayest do that thing that thou treatedest by word.

⁶ And the Lord said to me, in the days of Josiah, the king, Whether thou hast seen what thing the adversary, Israel, hath done? She went [away] to herself on each high hill, and under each tree full of boughs, and did fornication there. (And the Lord said to me, in the days of King Josiah, Hast thou seen what my adversary, Israel, hath done? She went upon each high hill, and under each tree full of branches, and she did fornication there.)

⁷ And I said, when she had done all these things, Turn thou again to me; and she turned not again. And her sister, Judah, breaker of the law, saw, (And I said to her, when she had done all these things, Return thou again to me; but she did not return. And her sister, Judah, the law-breaker, saw,)

⁸ that for the adversary, Israel, did adultery, I had let go her, and I had given to her a libel, (or a little book,) of forsaking; and Judah, her sister, breaker of the law, dreaded not, but also she went, and did fornication. (that my adversary, Israel, had done adultery, and that I had let her go, and that I had given her a note of divorce; and her sister Judah, the law-breaker, did not fear, but she also went, and did fornication.)

⁹ And by lightness of her fornication she defouled the earth, and did adultery with a stone, and with a tree. (And with the indifference of her fornication she defiled the land, and did idolatry with a stone, and with a piece of wood.)

¹⁰ And in all these things her sister, Judah, breaker of the law, turned not again to me, in all her heart, but in a leasing, saith the Lord God. (And in all these things her sister, Judah, the law-breaker, did not return to me, with all her heart, but in a lie, or falsely, saith the Lord God.)

¹¹ And the Lord said to me, The adversary, Israel, hath justified her soul, in comparison of Judah, breaker of the law. (And the Lord said to me, My adversary, Israel, hath justified her soul, in comparison to Judah, the law-breaker.)

¹² Go thou, and cry these words against the north; and thou shalt say, Thou adversary, Israel, turn again, saith the Lord, and I shall not turn away my face from you; for I am holy, saith the Lord, and I shall not be wroth without end. (Go thou, and cry out these words against the north; and thou shalt say, O my adversary, Israel, return to me, saith the Lord, and I shall not turn away my face from you; for I am holy, saith the Lord, and I shall not be angry forever.)

¹³ Nevertheless know thou thy wickedness; for thou hast trespassed against thy Lord God, and thou hast spread abroad thy ways to aliens under each tree full of boughs; and thou heardest not my voice, saith the Lord. (Nevertheless know thou thy wickedness; for thou hast trespassed against the Lord thy God, and thou hast spread abroad thy ways to strangers, or to foreigners, under each tree full of branches; and thou hast not listened to, or obeyed, my voice, saith the Lord.)

¹⁴ Be ye converted, sons, turning again, saith the Lord, for I am your husband; and I shall take you, one of a city, and twain of a kindred, and I shall lead you into Zion; (Come back to me/Return to me, ye people who be turned away, saith the Lord, for I am your husband; and I shall take you, one from a city, and two from a tribe, and I shall lead you unto Mount Zion;)

¹⁵ and I shall give to you shepherds after mine heart, and they shall feed you with knowing and teaching.

¹⁶ And when ye shall be multiplied, and increase(d) in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall no more say, The ark of [the] testament of the Lord (they shall no more speak of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord); neither it shall ascend on the heart, neither they shall think on it, neither it shall be visited, neither it shall be further (needed).

¹⁷ In that time they shall call Jerusalem The seat of the Lord, and all heathen men shall be gathered together to it, in the name of the Lord, in Jerusalem; and they shall not go after the shrewdness of their worst heart. (At that time they shall call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all the heathen shall be gathered together to it, in the name of the Lord, in Jerusalem; and they shall not go after the depravity of the worst desires of their hearts.)

¹⁸ In those days the house of Judah shall go to the house of Israel; and they shall come together from the land of the north to the land which I gave to your fathers.

¹⁹ Forsooth I said, How shall I set thee among (my) sons, and shall give to thee a desirable land, a full clear heritage of the hosts of heathen men? And I said, Thou shalt call me, Father, and thou shalt not cease to enter after me. (And I said, Yea, I shall put thee among my sons and daughters, and I shall give thee a desirable land, an inheritance better than anything of the heathen! And I said, Thou shalt call me Father, and thou shalt not cease to follow me.)

²⁰ But as if a woman despiseth her lover (But like a woman can despise her lover), so the house of Israel despised me, saith the Lord.

²¹ A voice is heard in (the) ways, the weeping and yelling of the sons of Israel; for they made wicked their way, they forgat their Lord God. (A sound is heard on the way, the weeping and yelling of the Israelites; for they made their way wicked, they forgot the Lord their God.)

²² Be ye converted, sons, turning again, and I shall heal your turnings away. Lo! we come to thee; for thou art our Lord God. (Come back to me/Return to me, ye people who be turned away, and I shall heal your turnings away. And ye shall say, Lo! we come to thee; for thou art the Lord our God.)

²³ Verily the little hills were liars, the multitude of mountains was false; verily in our Lord God is the health of Israel. (Truly there was no help from our worship on the little hills, or on the mountains; truly in the Lord our God is Israel’s only salvation, or deliverance.)

²⁴ Shame ate the travail of our fathers, from our youth; shame ate the flocks of them, and the droves of them, the sons of them, and the daughters of them. (From our early days, Baal, the god of shame ate the fruits of our forefathers’ labours; yea, the god of shame ate their flocks, and their herds, and their sons, and their daughters.)

²⁵ We shall sleep in our shame, and our shame shall cover us; for we sinned to our Lord God, both we and our fathers, from our youth unto this day; and we have not heard the voice of our Lord God. (We shall sleep in our shame, and our shame shall cover us; for we have sinned against the Lord our God, both we and our forefathers, from our early days until this day; and we have not heard the voice of the Lord our God.)