Beginning
14 1 Of the death that should come. 7 The prayer of the people asking mercy of the Lord. 10 The unfaithful people are not heard. 12 Of prayer, fasting, and of false prophets that seduce the people.
1 The word of the Lord that came unto Jeremiah, concerning the [a][b]dearth.
2 Judah hath mourned, and the gates thereof are desolate, they have been [c]brought to heaviness unto the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goeth up.
3 And their nobles have sent their inferiors to the water, who came to the wells, and found no water: they returned with their vessels empty: they were ashamed and confounded: and [d]covered their heads.
4 For the ground was destroyed, because there was no rain in the earth: the plowmen were ashamed, and covered their heads.
5 Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook [e]it, because there was no grass.
6 And the wild asses did stand in the high places, and drew in their wind like [f]dragons: their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.
7 [g]O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, deal with us according to thy Name: for our rebellions are many, we sinned against thee.
8 O thou hope of Israel, the savior thereof in the time of trouble, why art thou as a [h]stranger in the land, as one that passeth by, to tarry for a night?
9 Why art thou as a man astonied, and as [i]a strong man that cannot help? yet thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and thy name is called upon us: forsake us not.
10 Thus saith the Lord unto this people, Thus have they delighted to wander: they have not refrained their feet, therefore the Lord hath no delight in them: but he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.
11 Then said the Lord unto me, [j]Thou shalt not pray to do this people good.
12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry, and when they offer burnt offering, and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
13 Then answered I, Ah Lord God, behold, the [k]prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall famine come upon you, but I will give you assured peace in this place.
14 Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: (A)I have not sent them, neither did I command them, neither spake I unto them, but they prophesy unto you a false vision, and divination, and vanity, and deceitfulness of their own heart.
15 Therefore thus saith the Lord, Concerning the prophets that prophesy in my Name, whom I have not sent, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land, by sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
16 And the people to whom these prophets do prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, because of the famine, and the sword, and there shall be none to bury them: both they and their wives, and their sons, and their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.
17 Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them, Let mine eyes drop down [l]tears night and day without ceasing: for the virgin daughter of my people is destroyed with a great destruction, and with a sore grievous plague.
18 For if I go into the field, behold the slain with the sword: and if I enter into the city, behold them that are sick for hunger also: moreover, the Prophet also and the Priest go a wandering [m]into a land that they know not.
19 Hast thou utterly rejected [n]Judah, or hath thy soul abhorred Zion? why hast thou smitten us, that we cannot be healed? We looked for peace, and there is no good, and for the time of health, and behold trouble.
20 We [o]acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.
21 Do not abhor us: for thy Name’s sake cast not down the throne of thy glory: remember and break not thy covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the [p]vanities of the Gentiles, that can give rain? or can the heavens give showers? Is it not thou, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.
15 1 The Lord would hear no prayer for the Jews, 3 but threateneth to destroy them with four plagues.
1 Then said the Lord unto me, [q]Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet mine affection could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them depart.
2 And if they say unto thee, Whither shall we depart? then tell them, Thus saith the Lord, (B)Such as are appointed to death, unto death: and such as are for the sword, to the sword: and such as are for the famine, to the famine: and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.
3 And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the Lord, the sword to slay, and the [r]dogs to tear in pieces, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth to devour, and to destroy.
4 I will [s]scatter them also in all kingdoms of the earth, [t]because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah King of Judah for that which he did in Jerusalem.
5 Who shall then have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall be sorry for thee? or who shall go to pray for thy peace?
6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord, and gone backward: therefore will I stretch out mine hand against thee, and destroy thee: for I [u]am weary with repenting.
7 And I will scatter them with the fan [v]in the gates of the earth: I have wasted, and destroyed my people, yet they would not return from their ways.
8 Their widows [w]are increased by me above the sand of the sea: I have brought upon them, and against the [x]assembly of the young men, a destroyer at noon day: I have caused him to fall upon them, and the city, suddenly and [y]speedily.
9 She that hath borne [z]seven, hath been made weak: her heart hath failed: the sun hath failed [aa]her, while it was day, she hath been confounded, and ashamed, and the residue of them will I deliver unto the sword before their enemies, saith the Lord.
10 ¶ [ab]Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me, a contentious man, and a man that striveth with the whole earth: I have neither [ac]lent on usury, nor men have lent unto me on usury: yet everyone doth curse me.
11 The Lord said, [ad]Surely thy remnant shall have wealth: surely I will cause thine enemy to entreat thee in the time of trouble, and in the time of affliction.
12 Shall the [ae]iron break the iron, and the brass that cometh from the North?
13 Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to be spoiled without [af]gain, and that for all thy sins even in all thy borders.
14 And I will make thee to go with thine enemies into a land that thou knowest not, for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn you.
15 O Lord, thou knowest, remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my [ag]persecutors: take me not away in the continuance of thine anger: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke.
16 Thy words were found by me, and I did [ah]eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for thy Name is called upon me, O Lord God of hosts.
17 I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, neither did I rejoice, but sat alone [ai]because of thy plague: for thou hast filled me with indignation.
18 Why is mine heaviness continual? and my plague desperate and cannot be healed, why art thou unto me [aj]as a liar, and as waters that fail?
19 Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou [ak]return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take away the [al]precious from the vile, thou shalt be [am]according to my word: let them return [an]unto thee, but return not thou unto them.
20 And I will make thee unto this people a strong brazen wall, and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not [ao]prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee, and to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
21 And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the tyrants.
16 2 The Lord forbidding Jeremiah to marry, showeth him what should be the afflictions upon Judah. 13 The captivity of Babylon. 15 Their deliverance. 19 The calling of the Gentiles.
1 The word of the Lord came also unto me, saying,
2 Thou shalt not take [ap]thee a wife, nor have sons nor daughters in this place.
3 For thus saith the Lord concerning the sons, and concerning the daughters, that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bear them, and concerning their fathers that beget them in this land,
4 They shall die of deaths and diseases: they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried, but they shall be as dung upon the earth, and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine, and their carcasses shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.
5 For thus saith the Lord, [aq]Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament, nor be moved for them: for I have taken my peace from this people, saith the Lord, even mercy and compassion.
6 Both the great, and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, [ar]nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.
7 They shall not stretch out the hands for them in the mourning to comfort them for the dead, neither shall they give them the [as]cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.
8 Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink.
9 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, even in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.
10 And when thou shalt show this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, (C)Wherefore hath the Lord pronounced all this great plague against us? or what is [at]our iniquity? and what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?
11 Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the Lord, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my Law,
12 ((D)And ye have done worse than your fathers: for behold, you walk everyone after the stubbornness of his wicked heart, and will not hear me.)
13 Therefore will I drive you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither you nor your fathers, and there ye shall serve other gods day and night: for I will show you no grace.
14 (E)Behold therefore saith the Lord, the days come that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt,
15 But, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel [au]from the land of the North, and from all the lands where he had scattered them, and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.
16 Behold, saith the Lord, I will send out many [av]fishers, and they shall fish them, and after will I send out many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the caves of the rocks.
17 For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.
18 And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double, because they have defiled my land, and have filled mine inheritance with their filthy [aw]carrions and their abominations.
19 O Lord, thou art my [ax]fortress, and my strength and my refuge in the day of affliction: the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the world, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited [ay]lies, and vanity, wherein there was no profit.
20 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?
21 Behold, therefore I will this once [az]teach them: I will show them mine hand and my power, and they shall know that my Name is the Lord.
17 1 The frowardness of the Jews. 5 Cursed be those that put their confidence in man. 9 Man’s heart is wicked. 10 God is the searcher of the heart. 13 The living waters are forsaken. 21 The right keeping of the Sabbath commanded.
1 The sin of Judah is [ba]written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond, and graven upon the [bb]table of their heart, and upon the horns of your [bc]altars.
2 [bd]They remember their altars as their children, with their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.
3 [be]O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance, and all thy treasures to be spoiled, for the sin of thy high places throughout all thy borders.
4 And thou shalt rest, [bf]and in thee shall be a rest from thine heritage that I gave thee, and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land, which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn forever.
5 ¶ Thus saith the Lord, [bg]Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and withdraweth his heart from the Lord.
6 For he shall be like the heath in the wilderness, and shall not see when any good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land, and not inhabited.
7 Blessed be the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
8 [bh]For he shall be as a tree that is planted by the water, which spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not feel when the heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green, and shall not care for the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
9 [bi]The heart is deceitful and wicked above all things, who can know it?
10 I the Lord search the heart, and try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his works.
11 [bj]As the partridge gathereth the young, which she hath not brought forth: so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.
12 As a glorious throne [bk]exalted from the beginning, so is the place of our Sanctuary.
13 O Lord, the hope of Israel, that forsake thee, shall be confounded: they that depart from thee, shall be written [bl]in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.
14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be whole: [bm]save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
15 Behold, [bn]they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now.
16 But [bo]I have not thrust in myself for a pastor after thee, neither have I desired the day of misery, thou knowest that which came out of my lips was right before thee.
17 Be not [bp]terrible unto me: thou art mine hope in the day of adversity.
18 Let them be confounded, that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be afraid, but let not me be afraid: bring upon them the day of adversity, [bq]and, destroy them with double destruction.
19 Thus hath the Lord said unto me, Go and stand in the [br]gate of the children of the people, whereby the Kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem,
20 And say unto them, Hear the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates.
21 Thus saith the Lord, Take heed to your souls, and bear no burden in the [bs]Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem.
22 Neither carry forth burdens out of your houses in the Sabbath day: neither do ye any work, but sanctify the Sabbath, as I commanded your fathers.
23 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ears, but made their necks stiff, and would not hear, nor receive correction.
24 Nevertheless, if ye will hear me, saith the Lord, and bear no burden through the gates of the city in the Sabbath day, but sanctify the Sabbath day, so that ye do no work therein,
25 Then shall the Kings and the Princes enter in at the gates of this city, and shall sit (F)upon the throne of David, and shall ride upon chariots and upon horses, both they and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain forever.
26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the South, which shall bring burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and shall bring sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord.
27 But if ye will not hear me to sanctify the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, nor to go through the gates of Jerusalem in the Sabbath day, then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.