Beginning
A Warning About Captivity
1 These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah. He belonged to the family of priests who lived in the town of Anathoth. That town is in the land that belongs to the tribe of Benjamin. 2 The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. This happened during the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah. 3 The Lord also spoke to Jeremiah while Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah. And the Lord spoke to Jeremiah during the 11 years and 5 months Zedekiah son of Josiah was king of Judah. After that, the people who lived in Jerusalem were taken away as captives out of their country.
God Calls Jeremiah
4 The Lord spoke these words to me:
5 “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you.
Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work.
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “But Lord God, I don’t know how to speak. I am only a boy.”
7 But the Lord said to me, “Don’t say, ‘I am only a boy.’ You must go everywhere that I send you. You must say everything I tell you to say. 8 Don’t be afraid of anyone, because I am with you. I will protect you,” says the Lord.
9 Then the Lord reached out with his hand and touched my mouth. He said to me, “See, I am putting my words in your mouth. 10 Today I have put you in charge of nations and kingdoms. You will pull up and tear down, destroy and overthrow. You will build up and plant.”
Two Visions
11 The Lord spoke this word to me: “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
I answered the Lord and said, “I see a stick of almond wood.”
12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly! And I am watching to make sure my words come true.”
13 The Lord spoke his word to me again: “Jeremiah, what do you see?”
I answered the Lord and said, “I see a pot of boiling water. It is tipping over from the north!”
14 The Lord said to me, “Disaster will come from the north. It will happen to all the people who live in this country. 15 In a short time I will call all of the people in the northern kingdoms,” said the Lord.
“Those kings will come and set up their thrones
near the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem.
They will attack the city walls around Jerusalem.
They will attack all the cities in Judah.
16 And I will announce my judgments against my people.
I will do this because of their evil in turning away from me.
They offered sacrifices to other gods.
And they worshiped idols they had made with their own hands.
17 “Jeremiah, get ready. Stand up and speak to the people. Tell them everything I tell you to say. Don’t be afraid of the people. If you are afraid of them, I will give you good reason to be afraid of them. 18 Today I am going to make you a strong city, an iron pillar, a bronze wall. You will be able to stand against everyone in the land: Judah’s kings, officers, priests and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you. But they will not defeat you. This is because I am with you, and I will save you!” says the Lord.
Israel Turns from God
2 The Lord spoke this word to me: 2 “Go and speak to the people of Jerusalem. Say to them: This is what the Lord says:
‘When you were a young nation, you were faithful to me.
You loved me like a young bride.
You followed me through the desert.
It was a land that had never been planted.
3 The people of Israel were holy to the Lord.
They were like the first fruits from his harvest.
Those who tried to hurt Israel were judged guilty.
Disasters happened to them,’” says the Lord.
4 Hear the word of the Lord, family of Jacob.
Hear the message, all you family groups of Israel.
5 This is what the Lord says:
“I was fair to your ancestors.
Why did they turn away from me?
Your ancestors worshiped useless idols.
And they became useless themselves.
6 Your ancestors didn’t say,
‘The Lord brought us out of Egypt.
He led us through the desert.
He led us through a dry and rocky land.
He led us through a dark and dangerous land.
He led us where no one travels or lives.
But where is he now?’
7 I brought you into a fertile land.
I did this so you could eat its fruit and produce.
But you came and made my land unclean.
You made it a hated place.
8 The priests didn’t ask,
‘Where is the Lord?’
The people who know the teachings didn’t know me.
The leaders turned against me.
The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal.
They worshiped useless idols.
9 “So now I will again tell what I have against you,” says the Lord.
“And I will tell what I have against your grandchildren.
10 Go across the sea to the island of Cyprus and see.
Send someone to the land of Kedar to look closely.
See if there has ever been anything like this!
11 Has a nation ever exchanged their old gods for new ones?
(Of course, their gods are not really gods at all.)
But my people have exchanged their glorious God
for idols worth nothing!
12 Skies, be shocked at the things that have happened.
Shake with great fear!” says the Lord.
13 “My people have done two sins.
They have turned away from me.
And I am the spring of living water.
And they have dug their own wells.
But they are broken wells that cannot hold water.
14 Have the people of Israel become slaves?
Have they become like someone who was born a slave?
Why was their wealth stolen?
15 Enemies roar like lions at Israel.
They growl at Israel.
They have destroyed the land of Israel.
The cities of Israel have been burned,
and all the people have left.
16 The men from the Egyptian cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have disgraced you by shaving the top of your head.
17 You have brought this on yourselves.
You turned away from me, the Lord your God,
when I led you in the way.
18 It did not help to go to Egypt
and drink from the Shihor River.
It did not help to go to Assyria
and drink from the Euphrates River.
19 Your evil will bring punishment to you.
The wrong you have done will teach you a lesson.
Think about it and understand.
It is a terrible evil to turn away from the Lord your God.
It is wrong not to fear me,”
says the Lord, the Lord of heaven’s armies.
20 “A long time ago you refused to obey me as an ox breaks its yoke.
You broke the ropes I used to hold you to me.
You said to me, ‘I will not serve you!’
In fact, on every high hill
and under every green tree
you lay down as a prostitute.
21 I planted you as a special vine.
You were like very good seed.
How then did you turn
into a wild vine that grows bad fruit?
22 You might wash yourself with cleanser.
And you might use much soap.
But I can still see the stain of your guilt,” says the Lord God.
23 “How can you say to me, ‘I am not guilty.
I have not worshiped the Baal idols’?
Think about the things you did in the valley.
Think about what you have done.
You are like a she-camel in mating season
that runs from place to place.
24 You are like a wild donkey that lives in the desert.
At mating time she sniffs the wind.
At that time no one can hold her back.
Any male who chases her will easily catch her.
At mating time, it is easy to find her.
25 Don’t run until your feet are bare
or until your throat is dry.
But you say, ‘It’s no use!
I love those other gods.
I must worship them!’
26 “A thief is ashamed when someone catches him stealing.
In the same way the family of Israel is ashamed.
The kings and the officers,
the priests and the prophets are ashamed.
27 They say to things of wood, ‘You are my father.’
They say to idols of stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
Those people won’t look at me.
They have turned their backs to me.
But when they get into trouble, they say,
‘Come and save us!’
28 Where are the idols you have made for yourselves?
Let them come and save you
when you are in trouble!
People of Judah, you have as many idols
as you have towns!
29 “Why do you accuse me?
All of you have turned against me,” says the Lord.
30 “I punished your people, but it did not help.
They didn’t come back when they were punished.
You killed with your swords the prophets who came to you.
You were like a dangerous lion.
31 “People of Judah, pay attention to the word of the Lord:
Have I been like a desert to the people of Israel?
Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to them?
Why do my people say, ‘We are free to wander.
We won’t come to you anymore’?
32 A young woman does not forget her jewelry.
A bride does not forget the decorations for her dress.
But my people have forgotten me
for more days than can be counted!
33 You really know how to chase after love.
Even the worst women can learn evil ways from you.
34 You have blood on your clothes.
It is the blood of the poor and innocent people.
You killed them,
but they weren’t thieves you had caught breaking in.
You do all these things,
35 but you say, ‘I am innocent.
God is not angry with me.’
But I will judge you guilty of lying.
It is because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 It is so easy for you to change your mind.
Assyria let you down.
And Egypt will let you down, too.
37 You will eventually leave that place.
And, like captives, your hands will be on your head.
You trusted those countries.
But you will not be helped by them.
This is because the Lord has rejected them.
Judah Is Unfaithful
3 “Now a man might divorce his wife.
And she might leave him and marry another man.
Should her first husband come back to her again?
If he went back to her, the land would become completely unclean.
But you have acted like a prostitute with many lovers.
And now you want to come back to me?” says the Lord.
2 “Look up to the bare hilltops, Judah.
Is there any place where you have not been a prostitute?
You have sat by the road waiting for lovers.
You sat there like an Arab in the desert.
You made the land unclean.
This was because you did evil and were like a prostitute.
3 So the rain has not come.
There have not been any spring rains.
But your face still looks like the face of a prostitute.
You refuse even to be ashamed of what you did.
4 But now you are calling to me.
You say, ‘My father, you have been my friend since I was young.
5 Will you always be angry at me?
Will your anger last forever?’
Judah, you say this,
but you do as much evil as you can!”
Judah and Israel Are like Sisters
6 When King Josiah was ruling Judah, the Lord spoke to me. He said: “Jeremiah, you saw what unfaithful Israel did. She was guilty of adultery. She had idols on every hill and under every green tree. 7 I said to myself, ‘Israel will come back to me after she does this evil.’ But she didn’t come back to me. And Israel’s wicked sister Judah saw what Israel did. 8 Unfaithful Israel knew that I divorced her because of her adultery. But that didn’t make her wicked sister Judah afraid. She also went out and acted like a prostitute! 9 And she didn’t care that she was acting like a prostitute. So she made her country unclean. She was guilty of adultery. This was because she worshiped idols made of stone and wood. 10 Israel’s wicked sister didn’t come back to me with her whole heart. She only pretended to come back to me,” says the Lord.
11 The Lord said to me, “Unfaithful Israel had a better excuse than wicked Judah. 12 Go and speak this message toward the north:
‘Come back, unfaithful people of Israel,’ says the Lord.
‘I will stop frowning at you.
I am full of mercy,’ says the Lord.
‘I will not be angry with you forever.
13 All you have to do is admit your sin.
You turned against the Lord your God.
You worshiped the false gods of other nations.
You worshiped them under every green tree.
You didn’t obey me,’” says the Lord.
14 “Come back to me, you unfaithful people,” says the Lord. “I am your husband. I will take one person from every city. And I will take two people from every family group. And I will bring you to Jerusalem. 15 Then I will give you new rulers. They will be faithful to me. They will lead you with knowledge and understanding. 16 In those days there will be many of you in the land,” says the Lord. “At that time people will no longer say, ‘I remember the Ark of the Covenant.’ They won’t even think about the Ark of the Covenant anymore. They won’t even remember or miss it or make another one. 17 At that time Jerusalem will be called The Throne of the Lord. All nations will come together in Jerusalem to show respect to the Lord. They will not follow their stubborn, evil hearts anymore. 18 In those days the family of Judah will join the family of Israel. They will come together from a land in the north. They will come to the land I gave to their ancestors.
19 “I, the Lord, said,
‘How happy I would be to treat you as sons!
I would be glad to give you a pleasant land.
It’s a land more beautiful than that of any other nation.’
I thought you would call me ‘Father’
and not turn away from me.
20 But like a woman who is unfaithful to her husband,
family of Israel, you have been unfaithful to me,” says the Lord.
21 You can hear crying on the bare hilltops.
The people of Israel are crying and praying for mercy.
They have become very evil.
They have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 “Come back to me, you unfaithful people of Israel.
Come back, and I will forgive you for being unfaithful.”
“Yes, we will come to you.
You are the Lord our God.
23 It was foolish to worship idols on the hills.
All the loud noises on the mountains were a lie.
Surely the salvation of Israel
comes from the Lord our God.
24 Since we were young, shameful gods have eaten up in sacrifice
everything our fathers worked for.
The shameful gods have taken our fathers’ sheep and cattle.
They have taken our fathers’ sons and daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame.
And let our shame cover us like a blanket.
We have sinned against the Lord our God.
Both we and our fathers have sinned.
Since we were children and until now,
we have not obeyed the Lord our God.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.