Beginning
The Severe Drought
14 That which came as the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah concerning the matter[a] of the severe drought.
2 “Judah mourns, and her gates languish,
they are in mourning on the ground,
and the cry of lament of Jerusalem goes up.
3 And their nobles send their servants for water.
They come to the pits, they find no water.
They return with their vessels empty.[b]
They are ashamed, and they are confounded,
and they cover their heads.[c]
4 Because of the ground, which is cracked
because there was no rain on the ground.
The farmers are ashamed,
they cover their heads.[d]
5 For even the doe in the field gives birth and forsakes her young,[e]
because there is no green growth.
6 And wild asses stand on the barren heights,
they gasp for breath like the jackals.
Their eyes fail
because there is no vegetation.”
7 Although our iniquities testify against us, O Yahweh,
act for the sake of your name.
Yes, our apostasies are many;
we have sinned against you.
8 You are the hope of Israel,
its savior in time of distress.
Why should you be like an alien in the land,
or like a traveler who spreads out his tent [f] to spend the night?
9 Why should you be like a confused man,
like a warrior who is not able to help?
Yet you are in our midst, O Yahweh,
and your name is called upon us.
You must not leave us!
10 Thus says Yahweh concerning this people:
“They have loved so much to wander,
they have not spared their feet.
Therefore Yahweh is not favorable to them,
now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.”
Lying Prophets
11 So Yahweh said to me, “You must not pray for this people, for their happiness.[g] 12 Although they fast, I am not listening to their cry of entreaty. And although they present burnt offering and grain offering, I am not favorable to them. But by the sword, and by the famine, and by the plague, I am about to destroy them.” 13 Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh, look, the prophets are saying to them, ‘You will not see the sword, and famine will not be yours, but reliable peace I will give to you in this place.’” 14 And Yahweh said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies[h] in my name. I have not sent them, and I have not commanded them, and I have not spoken to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, and a divination, worthless, and the deceitfulness of their minds.”[i] 15 Therefore[j] thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets who prophecy in my name though I have not sent them, yet they are saying, “Sword and famine will not be in this land.” “By the sword and by the famine those prophets will perish. 16 And the people to whom they are prophesying will be cast out into the streets of Jerusalem because of[k] the famine and the sword. And there will be no one who buries them, their wives, or their sons, or their daughters. And I will pour out on them their wickedness.
The Nation Hopes in Yahweh
17 “And you shall say to them this word,
‘Let my eyes melt with tears night and day,
and let them not cease,
for with a great wound the virgin daughter of my people is broken,
with a very incurable wound.
18 If I go out into the field,
then look, those slain by the sword.
And if I enter the city,
then look, the sickness of the famine.
For both prophet and priest wander around through the land,
they do not know what is going on.’”[l]
19 Have you completely rejected Judah?
Or has your soul[m] loathed Zion?
Why have you struck us
so that there is no healing for us?
We hope for peace, but there is no good,
and for a time of healing, but look, there is terror.
20 We know, O Yahweh, our wickedness,
the iniquity of our ancestors,[n]
for we have sinned against you.
21 You must not spurn us[o] for the sake of your name,
you must not dishonor your glorious throne.[p]
Remember us![q]
You must not break your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the idols of the nation who cause rain to pour?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Is it not you, O Yahweh our God?
Therefore, we hope in you, for you do all these things.
Four Types of Calamity
15 Then Yahweh said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me,[r] my heart would not be to this people. Send them away from my sight,[s] and let them go out. 2 And then[t] if they say to you, ‘Where shall we go?’ Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh,
“Those who are destined for the plague, to the plague,
and those who are destined for the sword, to the sword,
and those who are destined for the famine, to the famine,
and those who are destined for the captivity, to the captivity.”’
3 “And I will summon[u] over them four types of calamity,” declares[v] Yahweh, “the sword to kill, and the dogs to drag away, and the birds[w] of the air and the wild animals[x] of the earth to devour and to destroy. 4 And I will make them a terror to all of the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, because of what he did in Jerusalem.
5 “For who will have compassion on you, O Jerusalem,
or who will show sympathy to you,
or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?[y]
6 You have forsaken me,” declares[z] Yahweh.
“You go backward, so I have stretched my hand against you,
and I have destroyed you.
I am tired of becoming remorseful.
7 And I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork in the gates of the land.
I am bereaved.
I have destroyed my people.
They did not turn back from their ways.
8 Their widows[aa] will be more numerous before me than the sand of the seas.
I have brought to them, against the mothers[ab] of young men,[ac]
a destroyer at noon.
I will suddenly drop on her anguish and horror.[ad]
9 She who gave birth to seven has withered away.
She gasps her breath.
Her sun set[ae] while still day.
She has been put to shame and disgraced.
And the remainder of them I will give to the sword
before[af] their enemies,” declares[ag] Yahweh.
Jeremiah’s Lament and Yahweh’s Response
10 Woe to me, O my mother, that you gave birth to me,
a man of contention and quarreling to the whole land.[ah]
I have not lent out and I have not borrowed.[ai]
All of them are cursing me.
11 Yahweh said,
“Surely[aj] I will set you free to be good[ak] for you,
surely[al] I will cause the enemy to intercede with you
in a time of trouble,
and in a time of distress.
12 Can anyone break iron,
iron from the north, or bronze?
13 I will give your wealth and your treasures
as plunder without price,
even because of all your sins,
and throughout all your territories.
14 And I will make you serve your enemies
in a land that you do not know,
for a fire will kindle in my anger.
Upon you it will be kindled.”
15 You who know, O Yahweh, remember me, and attend to me,
and take revenge for me against my persecutors in your forbearance.[am]
You must take me away.
Know that I am carrying disgrace because of you.
16 Your words were found and I ate them,
and your words became to me as jubilation,
even as the joy of my heart,
for your name is called on me, O Yahweh God of hosts.
17 I sat not in the assembly of jokers,
nor did I exult.
Because of the presence[an] of your hand I sat alone,
for you filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain endless, and my wound incurable?
It refuses to become healed.
Truly you are to me like a deceitful brook,
waters that are not trustworthy.
19 Therefore thus says Yahweh,
“If you turn back, then I will take you back.
You will stand before me.[ao]
And if you utter what is precious and not what is worthless,
you will be as my mouth.
They will turn back to you,
and you will not turn back to them.
20 And I will make you to this people
a wall of fortified bronze,
and they will fight against you,
but they will not prevail over you,
for I am with you, to save you,
and to deliver you,” declares[ap] Yahweh.
21 “And I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
and I will redeem you from the hand of the tyrant.”
Jeremiah is Commanded Not to Marry
16 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,[aq] 2 “You shall not take for yourself a wife, there shall not be for you sons and daughters in this place.” 3 For thus says Yahweh concerning the sons and concerning the daughters born in this place, and concerning their mothers who gave birth to them, and concerning their fathers who fathered them in this land: 4 “They will die by diseases, they will not be mourned, and they will not be buried. They will be as dung on the face of the earth. And they will perish by the sword and they will perish by the famine. And their dead bodies[ar] will become food for the birds[as] of the air, and for the wild animals[at] of the earth.”
5 For thus says Yahweh, “You must not enter the house of the funeral meal, and you must not go to lament, and you must not show sympathy for them, for I have taken away my peace from this people,” declares[au] Yahweh, “the loyal love and the compassion. 6 Both the great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried, and they will not mourn for them, and no one will cut himself with a blade, and no one will shave himself for them. 7 And they will not break bread for the mourning ceremony for them, to comfort him because of the dead. And they will not give drink to them, the cup of desolation, for their fathers,[av] or for their mothers.[aw] 8 And you shall not enter the house of the banquet, to sit with them, to eat and drink.”
9 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Look, I am about to cause to disappear from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of jubilation, and the voice of joy, and the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride. 10 And then[ax] when you tell this people all these words and they ask you, ‘Why[ay] has Yahweh pronounced against us all this great evil, and what is our iniquity, and what is our sin that we have sinned against Yahweh our God?’ 11 Then you shall say to them, ‘Because[az] your ancestors[ba] have forsaken me,’ declares[bb] Yahweh, ‘and they have gone after other gods, and they have served them, and they have bowed down in worship to them, and they have forsaken me, and they have not kept my laws. 12 And you have behaved badly[bc] more than your ancestors,[bd] and look, you are going each one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, without listening to me. 13 So I will throw you from this land to the land that you have not known, you or your ancestors,[be] and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will not show you favor.
The Nation’s Return to the Land
14 Therefore[bf] look, days are coming,’ declares[bg] Yahweh, ‘and it will no longer be said, “As Yahweh lives,[bh] who led up the Israelites[bi] from the land of Egypt,” 15 but only[bj] “As Yahweh lives,[bk] who led up the Israelites[bl] from the land of the north, and from all the lands where he had driven them,” for I will bring them back to their ground that I gave to their ancestors.[bm] 16 Look, I am sending for many fishermen,’ declares[bn] Yahweh, ‘and they will fish them out, and afterward[bo] I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and from the clefts of the cliffs. 17 For my eyes are on all their ways, they are not hidden from before me,[bp] and their iniquity is not concealed from before my eyes. 18 And I will first doubly repay[bq] their iniquity and their sin because of their profaning my land with the dead bodies[br] of their abhorrences, and with their abominations they have filled up my inheritance.’”
19 O Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold,
and my refuge in the day of distress,
to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth,
and they will say, “Our ancestors[bs] have inherited only lies,[bt]
vanity, and there is no profit in them.
20 Can a human make for himself gods?
Yet they are not gods!”
21 “Therefore[bu] look, I am about to let them know,
this time I am going to let them know
my power[bv] and my might,
and they will know that my name is Yahweh.”
The Sin of Judah
17 “The sin of Judah is written with an iron stylus,
with a point of diamond it is engraved
on the tablet of their heart,
and on the horns of their altars.
2 As the remembering of their children,
so is the remembering of their altars
and their poles of Asherah worship
beside the leafy trees[bw] on the high hills.
3 O my mountain in the open country,
I will give your wealth, all your treasures, for spoil,
your high places, because of your sin,
throughout all your territories.
4 And you will let go your hand from your inheritance[bx]
that I gave to you,
and I will make you serve your enemies
in the land that you do not know,
for you kindled a fire in my anger,
until eternity it will be kindled.”
The One Who Trusts in Humankind Contrasted With the One Who Trusts in Yahweh
5 Thus says Yahweh,
“Cursed is the person who trusts in humankind
and makes flesh his strength,[by]
and turns aside his heart from Yahweh.
6 And he will be like a juniper in the wilderness,[bz]
and he will not see when good comes,
and he will dwell in the parched places in the desert,[ca]
in a land of salt flats,[cb] where no one lives.
7 Blessed be the person who trusts in Yahweh,
and Yahweh is his trust.
8 For he will be like a tree planted by water,
and to the stream it sends its roots,
and it will not fear when heat comes,
and its leaves[cc] will be luxuriant,
and in the year of drought it will not be anxious,
and it will not cease from the bearing of fruit.
9 The heart is deceitful more than anything else,
and it is disastrous. Who can understand it?
10 I, Yahweh, examine the mind,[cd]
I test the heart,[ce]
and give to each one according to his way,
according to the fruit of his deeds.
11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
is one who amasses wealth without justice.
In the middle of his days it will leave him,
and at his end he will prove to be a fool.”
The Fountain of Living Water
12 A lofty throne of glory from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Yahweh, the hope of Israel,
all those who forsake you will be put to shame,
and those who turn aside from you in the earth will be recorded,
for they have forsaken the fountain of living water, Yahweh.
14 Heal me, O Yahweh, and I will be healed,
save me, and I will be saved,
for you are my praise.
15 Look, they are saying to me,
“Where is the word of Yahweh?
Please let it come.”
16 But I, I have not run away from being a shepherd who follows you,[cf]
and I have not desired the disastrous day.
You, you know the pronouncement of my lips,
it was before your face.
17 You must not become to me a terror,
you are my refuge in the day of disaster.
18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,
but as for me,[cg] do not let me be put to shame.
Let them be dismayed,
but as for me,[ch] do not let me be dismayed.
Bring on them the day of disaster,
and with double destruction, destroy them.
The Sabbath Day
19 Thus said Yahweh to me, “Go, and you must stand in the People’s Gate[ci] through which the kings of Judah enter, and through which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem. 20 And you must say to them, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter through these gates. 21 Thus says Yahweh, “Be on your guard for the sake of yourselves, that you must not carry a burden on the day of the Sabbath, and you must not bring it[cj] through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 And you must not carry a burden from your houses on the day of the Sabbath, and you must not do any work. But you must declare holy the day of Sabbath, just as I commanded your ancestors.[ck] 23 Yet they did not listen, and they did not incline their ear, and they hardened their neck so as to not hear, nor to receive discipline.
24 “And it will happen, if you carefully listen to me,” declares[cl] Yahweh, “to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the day of the Sabbath, but to declare holy the day of Sabbath, not to do on it any work, 25 then kings and officials who sit on the throne of David will enter through the gates of this city riding in chariots[cm] and on horses, they, and their officials, the people of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.[cn] 26 And they will come from the towns of Judah, and from all around Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the Shephelah, and from the hill country, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings,[co] and sacrifices,[cp] and grain offerings,[cq] and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings[cr] to the house of Yahweh. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to declare holy the day of the Sabbath, and to not carry a burden and enter through the gates of Jerusalem on the day of the Sabbath, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it will not be quenched.”’”
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