Beginning
I. Oracles in the Days of Josiah
Chapter 1
1 The words of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, one of the priests from Anathoth,[a] in the land of Benjamin. 2 The word of the Lord came to him in the days of Josiah, son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign,(A) 3 and again in the days of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, son of Josiah, king of Judah—down to the exile of Jerusalem, in the fifth month.(B)
Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the Lord came to me:
5 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I dedicated you,
a prophet to the nations I appointed you.[b](C)
6 “Ah, Lord God!” I said,
“I do not know how to speak. I am too young!”[c]
7 But the Lord answered me,
Do not say, “I am too young.”
To whomever I send you, you shall go;
whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8 Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you—oracle of the Lord.
9 Then the Lord extended his hand and touched my mouth, saying to me,
See, I place my words in your mouth!(D)
10 Today I appoint you
over nations and over kingdoms,
To uproot and to tear down,
to destroy and to demolish,
to build and to plant.
11 The word of the Lord came to me: What do you see, Jeremiah? “I see a branch of the almond tree,”[d] I replied. 12 Then the Lord said to me: You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to carry it out. 13 (E)A second time the word of the Lord came to me: What do you see? I replied, “I see a boiling kettle whose mouth is tipped away from the north.”[e]
14 The Lord said to me, And from the north evil will pour out over all who dwell in the land.(F)
15 Look, I am summoning
all the kingdoms of the north—oracle of the Lord—
Each king shall come and set up his throne
in the gateways of Jerusalem,
Against all its surrounding walls
and against all the cities of Judah.(G)
16 I will pronounce my sentence against them
for all their wickedness in forsaking me,
In burning incense to other gods,
in bowing down to the works of their hands.(H)
17 But you, prepare yourself;
stand up and tell them
all that I command you.
Do not be terrified on account of them,
or I will terrify you before them;
18 For I am the one who today
makes you a fortified city,
A pillar of iron, a wall of bronze,
against the whole land:
Against Judah’s kings and princes,
its priests and the people of the land.(I)
19 They will fight against you, but not prevail over you,
for I am with you to deliver you—oracle of the Lord.
Chapter 2
Infidelity of Israel.[f] 1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear!
I remember the devotion[g] of your youth,
how you loved me as a bride,
Following me in the wilderness,
in a land unsown.(J)
3 Israel was dedicated to the Lord,
the first fruits[h] of his harvest;
All who ate of it were held guilty,
evil befell them—oracle of the Lord.(K)
4 Listen to the word of the Lord, house of Jacob!
All you clans of the house of Israel,
5 thus says the Lord:
What fault did your ancestors find in me
that they withdrew from me,
Went after emptiness,
and became empty themselves?(L)
6 They did not ask, “Where is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
Who led us through the wilderness,
through a land of wastes and ravines,
A land of drought and darkness,
a land which no one crosses,
where no one dwells?”(M)
7 I brought you into the garden land
to eat its fine fruits,
But you entered and defiled my land,
you turned my heritage into an abomination.(N)
8 The priests did not ask,
“Where is the Lord?”
The experts in the law[i] did not know me:
the shepherds rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
and went after useless idols.(O)
9 Therefore I will again accuse you—oracle of the Lord—
even your children’s children I will accuse.(P)
10 Cross to the coast of Cyprus and see,
send to Kedar[j] and carefully inquire:
Where has anything like this been done?
11 Does any other nation change its gods?—
even though they are not gods at all!
But my people have changed their glory
for useless things.(Q)
12 Be horrified at this, heavens;
shudder, be appalled—oracle of the Lord.
13 Two evils my people have done:
they have forsaken me, the source of living waters;
They have dug themselves cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.(R)
14 Is Israel a slave, a house-born servant?[k]
Why then has he become plunder?
15 Against him lions roar,
they raise their voices.
They have turned his land into a waste;
his cities are charred ruins, without an inhabitant.(S)
16 Yes, the people of Memphis[l] and Tahpanhes
shave the crown of your head.
17 Has not forsaking the Lord, your God,
done this to you?(T)
18 And now, why go to Egypt,[m]
to drink the waters of the Nile?
Why go to Assyria,
to drink the waters of the River?
19 Your own wickedness chastises you,
your own infidelities punish you.
Know then, and see, how evil and bitter
is your forsaking the Lord, your God,
And your showing no fear of me,
oracle of the Lord, the God of hosts.(U)
20 Long ago you broke your yoke,(V)
you tore off your bonds.
You said, “I will not serve.”
On every high hill, under every green tree,
you sprawled and served as a prostitute.[n]
21 But I had planted you as a choice vine,
all pedigreed stock;
How could you turn out so obnoxious to me,
a spurious vine?(W)
22 Even if you scour it with lye,
and use much soap,
The stain of your guilt is still before me,
oracle of the Lord God.(X)
23 How can you say, “I am not defiled,
I have not pursued the Baals”?
Consider your conduct in the Valley,[o]
recall what you have done:
A skittish young camel,
running back and forth,
24 a wild donkey bred in the wilderness,
Sniffing the wind in her desire—
who can restrain her lust?
None seeking her need tire themselves;
in her time they will find her.
25 Stop wearing out your feet
and parching your throat!
But you say, “No use! No!
How I love these strangers,
after them I must go.”(Y)
26 As the thief is shamed when caught,
so shall the house of Israel be shamed:
They, their kings, their princes,
their priests and their prophets;(Z)
27 They say to a piece of wood, “You are my father,”
and to a stone, “You gave me birth.”
They turn their backs to me, not their faces;
yet in their time of trouble they cry out,
“Rise up and save us!”
28 Where are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them rise up!
Will they save you in your time of trouble?
For as numerous as your cities
are your gods, O Judah!
And as many as the streets of Jerusalem
are the altars you have set up for Baal.(AA)
29 Why are you arguing with me?
You have all rebelled against me—oracle of the Lord.
30 In vain I struck your children;
correction they did not take.
Your sword devoured your prophets
like a ravening lion.(AB)
31 You people of this generation,
consider the word of the Lord:
Have I become a wilderness to Israel,
a land of gloom?
Why then do my people say, “We have moved on,
we will not come to you any more”?
32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry,
a bride her sash?
Yet my people have forgotten me
days without number.(AC)
33 How well you pick your way
when seeking love!
In your wickedness,
you have gone by ways unclean!
34 On your clothing is
the life-blood of the innocent,
you did not find them committing burglary;
35 Nonetheless you say, “I am innocent;
at least, his anger is turned away from me.”
Listen! I will judge you
on that word of yours, “I have not sinned.”
36 How frivolous you have become
in changing your course!
By Egypt you will be shamed,
just as you were shamed by Assyria.(AD)
37 From there too you will go out,
your hands upon your head;
For the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,
with them you will have no success.(AE)
Chapter 3
1 If a man divorces his wife(AF)
and she leaves him
and then becomes the wife of another,
Can she return to the first?[p]
Would not this land be wholly defiled?
But you have played the prostitute with many lovers,
and yet you would return to me!—oracle of the Lord.
2 Raise your eyes to the heights, and look,
where have men not lain with you?
Along the roadways you waited for them
like an Arabian[q] in the wilderness.
You defiled the land
by your wicked prostitution.(AG)
3 Therefore the showers were withheld,
the spring rain did not fall.
But because you have a prostitute’s brow,
you refused to be ashamed.(AH)
4 Even now do you not call me, “My father,
you are the bridegroom of my youth?
5 Will he keep his wrath forever,
will he hold his grudge to the end?”
This is what you say; yet you do
all the evil you can.
Judah and Israel. 6 The Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah: Do you see what rebellious Israel has done? She has gone up every high mountain, and under every green tree she has played the prostitute.(AI) 7 And I thought: After she has done all this, she will return to me. But she did not return. Then, even though that traitor her sister Judah, saw 8 that, in response to all the adulteries rebel Israel had committed, I sent her away and gave her a bill of divorce, nevertheless Judah, the traitor, her sister, was not frightened; she too went off and played the prostitute.(AJ) 9 With her casual prostitution, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and wood.(AK) 10 In spite of all this, Judah, the traitor, her sister, did not return to me wholeheartedly, but insincerely—oracle of the Lord.
Restoration of Israel. 11 Then the Lord said to me: Rebel Israel is more just than traitor Judah.(AL) 12 Go, proclaim these words toward the north, and say:
Return, rebel Israel—oracle of the Lord—
I will not remain angry with you;
For I am merciful, oracle of the Lord,
I will not keep my anger forever.(AM)
13 Only admit your guilt:
how you have rebelled against the Lord, your God,
How you ran here and there to strangers
under every green tree
and would not listen to my voice—oracle of the Lord.(AN)
14 Return, rebellious children—oracle of the Lord—[r]
for I am your master;
I will take you, one from a city, two from a clan,
and bring you to Zion.(AO)
15 I will appoint for you shepherds after my own heart,
who will shepherd you wisely and prudently.(AP)
16 When you increase in number and are fruitful in the land—
oracle of the Lord—
They will in those days no longer say,
“The ark of the covenant of the Lord!”
They will no longer think of it, or remember it,
or miss it, or make another one.
17 At that time they will call Jerusalem “the Lord’s throne.” All nations will gather together there to honor the name of the Lord at Jerusalem, and they will no longer stubbornly follow their wicked heart.(AQ) 18 In those days the house of Judah will walk alongside the house of Israel; together they will come from the land of the north to the land which I gave your ancestors as a heritage.(AR)
Conditions for Forgiveness
19 I thought:
How I would like to make you my children!
So I gave you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful heritage among the nations!
You would call me, “My Father,” I thought,
and you would never turn away from me.(AS)
20 But like a woman faithless to her lover,
thus have you been faithless to me,
house of Israel—oracle of the Lord.(AT)
21 A cry is heard on the heights!
the plaintive weeping of Israel’s children,
Because they have perverted their way,
they have forgotten the Lord, their God.
22 Return, rebellious children!
I will heal your rebellions.
“Here we are! We belong to you,
for you are the Lord, our God.(AU)
23 Deceptive indeed are the hills,
the mountains, clamorous;
Only in the Lord our God
is Israel’s salvation.(AV)
24 The shameful thing[s] has devoured
our ancestors’ worth from our youth,
Their sheep and cattle,
their sons and daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame,
let our disgrace cover us,
for we have sinned against the Lord, our God,
We and our ancestors, from our youth to this day;
we did not listen to the voice of the Lord, our God.”(AW)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.