Beginning
The Prophet Jeremiah
1 These are the words of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah. He was one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2 Yahweh spoke his word to Jeremiah when King Josiah, son of Amon, was in his thirteenth year as king of Judah. 3 Yahweh also spoke when Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, was king of Judah and during the 11 years that Zedekiah, another son of Josiah, was king of Judah. Yahweh continued to speak to Jeremiah until the people of Jerusalem were taken away into captivity in the fifth month of the year.
The Lord Gives Jeremiah a Message for His People
4 Yahweh spoke his word to me,
5 “Before I formed you in the womb,
I knew you.
Before you were born,
I set you apart for my holy purpose.
I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”
6 I, Jeremiah, said, “Adonay Yahweh, I do not know how to speak. I am only a boy!”
7 But Yahweh said to me, “Don’t say that you are only a boy. You will go wherever I send you. You will say whatever I command you to say. 8 Don’t be afraid of people. I am with you, and I will rescue you,” declares Yahweh.
9 Then Yahweh stretched out his hand and touched my mouth. Yahweh said to me,
“Now I have put my words in your mouth.
10 Today I have put you in charge of nations and kingdoms.
You will uproot and tear down.
You will destroy and overthrow.
You will build and plant.”
11 Again Yahweh spoke his word to me and asked, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
I answered, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”
12 Then Yahweh said to me, “Right. I am watching to make sure that my words come true.”[a]
13 Again Yahweh spoke his word to me and asked, “What do you see?”
I answered, “I see a boiling pot, and its top is tilted away from the north.”
14 Then Yahweh said to me,
“Disaster will be poured out from the north
on all those who live in the land.
15 I am going to call every family and kingdom from the north,”
declares Yahweh.
“They will come, and they will set up their thrones
at the entrance of Jerusalem’s gates.
They will attack all the walls around the city
and all the cities of Judah.
16 I will pass sentence on my people because of all their wickedness.
They abandoned me,
burned incense to other gods,
and worshiped what their hands have made.
17 Brace yourself, Jeremiah!
Stand up, and say to them whatever I tell you to say.
Don’t be terrified in their presence,
or I will make you even more terrified in their presence.
18 Today I have made you like a fortified city,
an iron pillar, and a bronze wall.
You will be able to stand up to the whole land.
You will be able to stand up to Judah’s kings,
its officials, its priests, and all the common people.
19 They will fight you, but they will not defeat you.
I am with you, and I will rescue you,” declares Yahweh.
The People Continue to Reject the Lord’s Love for Them
2 Yahweh spoke his word to me,
2 “Go and announce to Jerusalem,
‘This is what Yahweh says:
I remember the unfailing loyalty of your youth,
the love you had for me as a bride.
I remember how you followed me into the desert,
into a land that couldn’t be farmed.
3 Israel was set apart for Yahweh.
It was the best part of the harvest.
All who devoured it became guilty,
and disaster struck them,’” declares Yahweh.
4 Listen to the word of Yahweh, descendants of Jacob,
all the families in the nation of Israel.
5 This is what Yahweh says:
What did your ancestors find wrong with me
that they went so far away from me?
They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.
6 They didn’t ask, “Where is Yahweh,
who brought us from Egypt?
He led us through the desert,
through a wasteland and its pits,
a land of drought and the shadow of death.
No one lives there or travels there.”
7 I brought them into a fertile land
to eat its fruit and its produce.
They came and made my land unclean.[b]
They made my property disgusting.
8 The priests didn’t ask, “Where is Yahweh?”
Those who deal with my teachings didn’t know me.
The rulers rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal
and followed statues that couldn’t help them.
9 “That is why I am bringing charges against you,” declares Yahweh,
“and I am bringing charges against your grandchildren.
10 Go over to the coasts of Cyprus, and see.
Send someone to Kedar, and observe closely.
See if there has ever been anything like this.
11 Has any nation ever exchanged gods?
(Their gods aren’t really gods.)
Yet, my people have exchanged their Glory
for something that doesn’t help them.
12 Be horrified over this, heaven.
Be terribly afraid,” declares Yahweh.
13 “My people have done two things wrong.
They have abandoned me,
the fountain of life-giving water.
They have also dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that can’t hold water.
14 “Are the people of Israel slaves?
Were they born into slavery?
Why, then, have they become someone’s property?
15 Young lions have roared very loudly at them.
Young lions have turned the land into a wasteland.
The cities have been burned down, and everyone has left.
16 People from Noph and Tahpanhes have cracked your skulls, Israel.
17 You have brought this on yourself
by abandoning Yahweh your Elohim
when he led you on his way.
18 You won’t gain anything by going to Egypt
to drink water from the Nile River.
You won’t gain anything by going to Assyria
to drink water from the Euphrates River.
19 Your own wickedness will correct you,
and your unfaithful ways will punish you.
You should know and see how evil and bitter it is for you
if you abandon Yahweh your Elohim and do not fear me,”
declares Adonay Yahweh Tsebaoth.
20 “Long ago you broke off your yoke,[c] tore off your chains,
and said that you wouldn’t be a slave.
You lay down and acted like a prostitute
on every high hill and under every large tree.
21 I planted you like a choice grapevine from the very best seed.
Now you have turned against me and have become a wild vine.
22 Even if you wash with detergent and use a lot of soap,
I would still see the stains from your wickedness,”
declares Adonay Yahweh.
23 “How can you say that you haven’t dishonored yourselves
and haven’t followed other gods—the Baals?
Look how you’ve behaved in the valley.
Acknowledge what you’ve done.
You are like a young camel that swiftly runs here and there.
24 You are like a wild donkey that is used to the desert,
sniffing the wind while in heat.
All who look for you won’t get tired.
They will find you during your monthly period.
25 Don’t run until your feet are bare and your throats are dry.
But you say that it’s useless.
You love foreign gods and follow them.
26 “As a thief feels ashamed when he’s caught,
so the nation of Israel will feel ashamed.
Their kings, princes, priests,
and prophets will also feel ashamed.
27 You call wood your father.
You call stone your mother.
You’ve turned your backs, not your faces, to me.
But when you’re in trouble, you ask me to come and rescue you.
28 Where are the gods that you made for yourselves?
Let them come and rescue you when you’re in trouble.
You have as many gods as you have cities, Judah!
29 “Why do you complain about me?
All of you have rebelled against me,” declares Yahweh.
30 “I have punished your children without results.
They didn’t respond to correction.
You killed my prophets like a raging lion.
31 “Consider the word of Yahweh, people of this generation.
Haven’t I been a desert, a land of thick darkness, for Israel?
Why do my people say that they are free to wander around
and no longer come to me?
32 A young woman can’t forget her jewelry or a bride her veils.
Yet, my people have forgotten me for countless days.
33 You carefully planned ways to look for love.
You taught your ways to wicked women.
34 You have the blood from poor and innocent people
on your clothes.
You didn’t kill them for breaking into your home.
35 In spite of all this you say, ‘I’m innocent.
Yahweh will turn his anger from me,
because I haven’t sinned.’
36 You change your mind so easily.
You will be put to shame by Egypt
as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37 You will also leave this place with your hands over your head,
because Yahweh has rejected those you trust.
You will not be helped by them.”
3 A saying:
If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and marries another man,
her first husband shouldn’t go back to her again.
The land would become thoroughly polluted.
“You have acted like a prostitute who has many lovers.
And now you want to come back to me!” declares Yahweh.
2 “Look at the bare hills, and see.
You have had sex with men in every place.
You sat by the roadside waiting for them like a nomad in the desert.
You have polluted the land with your prostitution and wickedness.
3 So the rain has been withheld, and there have been no spring showers.
Yet, you have the shameless look of a prostitute,
and you refuse to blush.
4 But now you are calling to me.
You say, ‘Ab! You have been my companion
ever since I was young.
5 He won’t hold a grudge forever.
He won’t always be angry.’
You have said and done all the evil things that you could.”
The Lord Offers to Forgive the Ten Tribes of Israel Despite Their Idolatry
6 When Josiah was king, Yahweh asked me, “Did you see what unfaithful Israel did? She went up every high mountain and under every large tree, and she acted like a prostitute there. 7 I thought that after she had done all this that she would come back to me. But she didn’t come back, and her treacherous sister Judah saw her. 8 Judah saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away because of her adultery and that I gave Israel her divorce papers. But treacherous Judah, her sister, wasn’t afraid. She also acted like a prostitute. 9 Because she wasn’t concerned about acting like a prostitute, she polluted the land and committed adultery with standing stones and wood pillars. 10 Even after all this, Israel’s treacherous sister Judah didn’t wholeheartedly come back to me. She was deceitful,” declares Yahweh.
11 Then Yahweh said to me, “Unfaithful Israel was less guilty than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these things to the north:
“‘Come back, unfaithful Israel.
It is Yahweh speaking.
I will no longer frown on you
because I’m merciful,’ declares Yahweh.
‘I will no longer be angry with you.
13 Admit that you’ve done wrong!
You have rebelled against Yahweh your Elohim.
You have given yourself to strangers under every large tree.
You have not obeyed me,’ declares Yahweh.
14 “Come back, you rebellious people,” declares Yahweh. “I’m your husband. I will take you, one from every city and two from every family, and bring you to Zion. 15 I will give you shepherds after my own heart. They will be shepherds who feed you with knowledge and insight. 16 In those days you will be fertile, and your population will increase in the land,” declares Yahweh. “People will no longer talk about the ark of Yahweh’s promise. It will no longer come to mind. They won’t remember it, miss it, or make another one. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of Yahweh. All nations will gather in Jerusalem because the name of Yahweh will be found there. They will no longer follow their own stubborn, evil ways. 18 In those days the nation of Judah will live with the nation of Israel. They will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave their ancestors as their own property.
19 “I wanted to treat you like children
and give you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful property among the nations.
I thought that you would call me Ab and wouldn’t turn away from me.
20 But like a wife who betrays her husband,
so you, nation of Israel, betrayed me,” declares Yahweh.
21 The sound of crying is heard on the hills.
It is the crying and the pleading of the people of Israel.
They have become crooked
and have forgotten Yahweh their Elohim.
22 “Come back, you rebellious people,
and I will forgive you for being unfaithful.”
Here we are!
We have come to you because you are Yahweh our Elohim.
23 Truly, the noise from the hills, from the mountains,
is the noise of false worship.
Truly, Yahweh our Elohim will rescue us.
24 Ever since we were young,
the shameful worship of Baal
has taken everything our ancestors worked for,
their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.
25 We must lie down in our shame
and be covered by our disgrace.
Ever since we were young, we and our ancestors have sinned
against Yahweh our Elohim.
We haven’t obeyed Yahweh our Elohim.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.