Bible in 90 Days
19 And I will set a sign among them,
and I will send survivors from them to the nations:
Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow;
Tubal and Javan, the faraway coastlands
that have not heard of my fame,
and have not seen my glory.
And they shall declare my glory among the nations, 20 and bring all your countrymen[a] from all the nations as an offering to Yahweh on horses and chariots[b] and in litters and on mules and camels, to[c] my holy mountain,[d] Jerusalem,” says Yahweh, “just as the sons of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of Yahweh. 21 And indeed, I will take some of them as priests and the Levites,” says Yahweh. 22 “For just as the new heavens and earth that I am about to make shall stand before me,” declares[e] Yahweh, “so shall your descendants[f] and your name stand.
23 And this shall happen: From new moon to new moon[g] and from Sabbath to Sabbath[h] all flesh shall come to bow in worship before me,” says Yahweh. 24 “And they shall go out and look at the corpses of the people[i] who have rebelled[j] against me,
for their worm shall not die,
and their fire shall not be quenched,
and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
Yahweh Appoints Jeremiah as a Prophet to the Nations
1 The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, among the priests who were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of Yahweh came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, the king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
4 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,[k]
5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you came out from the womb I consecrated you;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Look, I do not know how to speak, for I am a youth.”[l] 7 But Yahweh said to me, “You must not say, ‘I am a youth,’[m] for to whomever[n] I send you, you will go, and whatever[o] I command you, you will speak. 8 Do not be afraid of them,[p] for I am with you to deliver you,” declares[q] Yahweh. 9 Then Yahweh stretched out his hand and he touched my mouth, and Yahweh said to me,
“Look, I have put my words in your mouth.
10 See, I appoint you this day over the nations
and over the kingdoms,
to pluck up and to pull down,
and to destroy and to tear down,
to build and to plant.”
Yahweh Confirms Jeremiah’s Call
11 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,[r] “What are you seeing, Jeremiah?” And I said, “I am seeing a branch of an almond tree.” 12 Then Yahweh said to me, “You did well to see, for I am watching over my word to perform it.” 13 And the word of Yahweh came to me a second time, saying,[s] “What are you seeing?” And I said, “I am seeing a boiling[t] pot, and its face is from the face of the north.” 14 Then Yahweh said to me, “From the north disaster will be unleashed[u] on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, look, I am calling to all the clans[v] of the kingdoms of the north,” declares[w] Yahweh, “and they will come and set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its surrounding walls, and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And I will pass[x] my judgments on them because of all their wickedness in that they have forsaken me, and they made sacrifices to other gods, and they bowed in worship to the works of their hands. 17 But you, you must gird your loins, and stand, and speak to them all that I command you. Do not be afraid of them,[y] or I will shatter you before[z] them. 18 Now look, I have made you today[aa] as a fortified city and as an iron pillar and a bronze wall[ab] against all the land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land. 19 And they will fight against you but they will not prevail against you, for I am with you,” declares[ac] Yahweh, “to deliver you.”
Yahweh Remembers Israel’s Faithfulness
2 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,[ad] 2 “Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying,[ae] ‘Thus says Yahweh,
“I remember concerning you the loyal love of your childhood,[af]
the love of your betrothal-time,
your going[ag] after me in the desert,[ah]
in the land not sown.
3 Israel was holy to Yahweh,
the first fruit of his produce.
All those who ate it were held guilty;
disaster came to them,” declares[ai] Yahweh.’”
The Unfaithfulness of Israel’s Ancestors
4 Hear the word of Yahweh, O house of Jacob, and all the clans[aj] of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says Yahweh:
“What injustice did your ancestors[ak] find in me
that they were far from me,
and they went after the vanity,
and they became vain?
6 And they did not say,
‘Where is Yahweh,
the one who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
the one who led us in the desert,[al]
in a land of desert plains and gorges,[am]
in a land of dryness and deep darkness,
in a land that no one passes through,[an]
and no human lives there?’
7 And I brought you to the land of the orchard,
to eat its fruit, and its good things.[ao]
But you entered and defiled my land,
and my inheritance you made a detestable thing.[ap]
8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is Yahweh?’
and those who handle the law did not know me,
and the shepherds have rebelled against me,[aq]
and the prophets prophesied by Baal,
and they went after things which do not profit.
The Unfaithfulness of Contemporary Israel
9 Therefore[ar] I again bring a lawsuit against you,” declares[as] Yahweh,
“and with your children[at] I bring a lawsuit.
10 For go over to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
and send to Kedar and consider very closely,
and see if there has been a thing like this:
11 Has a nation exchanged gods? And they are not gods!
But my people have exchanged their glory for that which does not profit.
12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this, and shudder;
be utterly desolate,” declares[au] Yahweh.
13 “For my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me, the source[av] of living water,
to hew out for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
14 Is Israel a slave? Or a slave born in a house?[aw]
Why has he become plunder?
15 The young lions have roared against him,
they have raised[ax] their voices.[ay]
And they have made his land as horror;
his cities are destroyed, without[az] an inhabitant.
16 Moreover, people of Memphis and Tahpanhes
will shave[ba] your skull.[bb]
17 Did you not do this to yourself,
by forsaking Yahweh, your God,
at the time of your leading in the way?
18 And now why do you go[bc] the way of Egypt
to drink the waters of the Shihor?
And why do you go[bd] the way of Assyria
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?[be]
19 Your wickedness will chastise you,
and your apostasies will reprove you.
Therefore know and see that it is evil and bitter,
your forsaking of Yahweh, your God,
and fear of me is not in you,”
declares[bf] the Lord, Yahweh of hosts.
20 “For from long ago you have broken your yoke,
you tore to pieces your bonds.
And you said, ‘I will not serve!’
But on every high hill and under every leafy tree
you were lying down as a prostitute.
21 Yet I planted you as a choice vine,
all of it a seed of trustworthiness.
How then have you altered before me
into something that is degenerate, the foreign vine?
22 For if you wash with natron,
and you use much soap,[bg]
your guilt is sticking as a stain before[bh] me,”
declares[bi] the Lord Yahweh.
23 “How can you say, ‘I have not defiled myself,
I have not gone after the Baals?’
Look at your way in the valley,
know what you have done.
You are a young she-camel,
interweaving her ways.
24 A wild ass accustomed to the desert,[bj]
in the desire of her soul.
She gasps for wind in her rutting time.
Who can quell[bk] her lust?
All those who seek her will not grow weary,
in her month they will find her.
25 Restrain your foot from being barefoot,
and your throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless.
No! For I have loved strangers,
and after them I will go.’[bl]
26 As the shame of a thief when he is caught in the act,
so the house of Israel will be ashamed.
They, their kings, their officials,
and their priests, and their prophets.
27 Those who say to the tree, ‘You are my father,’
and to the stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
For they have turned their backs[bm] to me, and not their faces.
But in the time of their trouble they say, ‘Arise and save us.’
28 But where are your gods that you made for yourself?
Let them arise if they can save you in the time of your trouble.
For according to the number of your towns
are your gods, O Judah.
29 Why do you complain to me?
All of you have rebelled against me,”[bn] declares[bo] Yahweh.
30 “For in vain[bp] I have struck your children.
They accepted no discipline.
Your sword devoured your prophets,
like a ravening[bq] lion.
31 O generation, you see the word of Yahweh.
Have I been a desert[br] to Israel? Or a land of great darkness?
Why do my people say, ‘We roam about freely,
we will not come again to you’?
32 Can a young woman forget her ornaments?[bs] Or a bride her sashes?
Yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
33 How well you do on your way to seek love!
Therefore[bt] even to the wicked woman you can teach your ways.
34 Also on your skirts is found
the blood of the life of the innocent, the poor.
You did not find them in the act of breaking into a house.
But in spite of all these things,
35 yet you say, ‘But I am innocent,
surely his anger has turned away from me.’
Look, I am entering into judgment with you
because of your saying, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 How you go about so much changing your way!
Also by Egypt you will be put to shame,
just as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37 Also from there you will come out
with your hands on your head,
for Yahweh has rejected those in whom you trust,[bu]
and you will not prosper through them.
3 A saying:[bv] ‘Look, if a man divorces his wife,
and she goes from him and she becomes another man’s wife,[bw]
will he return to her again?’
Will not that land be greatly defiled?
And you have prostituted yourself with many lovers,
would you now return to me?” declares[bx] Yahweh.
2 “Lift up your eyes at the barren heights,
and see where you have not been ravished.
Beside the roads you sat for them like an Arab in the desert,[by]
and you have defiled the land
with your fornication
and with your wickedness.
3 Therefore rain showers have been withheld,
and the spring rain has not come.
Yet you have[bz] the forehead of a woman prostitute,
you refuse to be ashamed.
4 Have you not just now called to me,
‘My father, you are the close friend of my youth?
5 Will he be angry forever?[ca]
Will he maintain it always’?[cb]
Look, you have spoken,
but you have done all the evil that you could.”[cc]
Yahweh Gives Israel a Letter of Divorce
6 Then Yahweh said to me in the days of Josiah, the king, “Have you seen what apostate[cd] Israel has done? She has gone on every high hill and under every leafy tree and she has prostituted herself there. 7 And I thought, ‘After her doing all these things to me she will return,’ but she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.[ce] 8 And I saw that for this very reason, that[cf] on account of apostate[cg] Israel committing adultery I divorced her and gave the letter of divorce to her. Yet her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid and she went and prostituted herself also. 9 And it was because of the frivolity of her fornication that she defiled the land and committed adultery with the stone and with the tree. 10 Yet even in all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only[ch] in pretense,”[ci] declares[cj] Yahweh.
A Call for Repentance
11 Then Yahweh said to me, “Apostate[ck] Israel has proved herself more upright[cl] than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say,
‘Return, apostate[cm] Israel,’ declares[cn] Yahweh.
‘I will not cause my anger[co] to fall on you.
For I am loyal,’ declares[cp] Yahweh.
‘I will not be angry forever.[cq]
13 Only acknowledge your guilt,
that against Yahweh your God you have rebelled,
and have scattered your ways to the strangers under every leafy tree,
and you have not obeyed my voice,’ declares[cr] Yahweh.”
14 “Return, apostate[cs] children,” declares[ct] Yahweh. “For I am your master,[cu] and I will take you one from a city and two from a clan,[cv] and I will bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart and they will feed you knowledge and insight. 16 And it will be when you have multiplied and become fruitful in the land in those days,” declares[cw] Yahweh, “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of Yahweh.’ And it will not come to mind,[cx] nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it,[cy] nor will it be made again. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of Yahweh,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh, to Jerusalem, and they will no longer go after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah will walk along with the house of Israel and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave as an inheritance to your ancestors.[cz]
19 Then I thought, ‘How I would set you among the children,
and I would give you a land of desire,
an inheritance of the glory of the hosts of nations.’
And I thought, ‘You would call me, “My father,”
and you would not turn back from behind[da] me.’
20 However, as a wife departs treacherously from her lover,
so you have dealt treacherously with me,
O house of Israel,” declares[db] Yahweh.
21 “A voice is heard on the barren heights,
the weeping of the pleas for mercy of the children of Israel,
because they have perverted their way,
they have forgotten Yahweh their God.
22 Return, O apostate[dc] children,
I will heal your backsliding.
‘Look, we come to you,
for you are Yahweh our God.
23 Surely, an illusion comes from the hills,
the turmoil on the mountains.
Surely, in Yahweh our God
is the salvation of Israel.
24 But the shameful thing has devoured
the labor of our ancestors[dd] from our youth,
their flocks, and their cattle,
their sons and their daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame,
and let our disgrace cover us.
For against Yahweh our God we have sinned,
we and our ancestors,[de]
from our youth and until this day.
and we have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh our God.’
4 If you return, O Israel,” declares[df] Yahweh,
“you return to me.
And if you remove your abominations from my presence,[dg]
and you do not wander,
2 and you swear, ‘As Yahweh lives,’[dh]
in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
then nations will be blessed by him,
and in him they will boast.”
3 For thus says Yahweh
to the men[di] of Judah and to Jerusalem,
“Break up for yourselves prepared virgin soil,
and you must not sow among thornbushes.
4 Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh,
and remove the foreskins of your hearts,[dj]
men[dk] of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
lest my wrath goes forth like the fire and burns,
and there is no one who extinguishes it,[dl]
because of the evil of your deeds.”
An Invasion from the North
5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say,
“Blow a horn through the land,
call with a loud voice[dm] and say,
‘Be gathered and let us go into the fortified cities.’
6 Lift up a signal toward Zion,
bring yourselves to safety; you must not remain standing,
for I am bringing evil from the north,
and a great destruction.
7 A lion has gone up from his thicket,
and a destroyer of nations has set out.
He has gone out from his place to make your land as a horror,
your cities will go to ruin without[dn] inhabitant.
8 Because of this gird yourselves with sackcloth,[do] lament and wail,
for the burning anger[dp] of Yahweh has not turned back from us.
9 And then on that day,” declares[dq] Yahweh,
“the heart of the king and the heart of the officials will be destroyed,
and the priests will be appalled,
and the prophets will be astonished.”
10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh, surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It will be peace for you,’ while the sword reaches up to the throat.”
11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem,
“A hot wind from the barren heights[dr] in the desert,[ds]
in the direction of[dt] the daughter of my people,
not to winnow and not to cleanse,
12 a wind too strong for[du] these will come for me,
now also I speak judgments against them.”
13 Look, he comes up like the clouds,
and his chariots are like the whirlwind,
his horses are swifter than eagles,
woe to us, for we are devastated.
14 Cleanse your heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem,
so that you may be saved.
How long[dv] will your thoughts of mischief
dwell in your inner part?
15 For a voice is declaring from Dan,
and is proclaiming disaster from the mountain of Ephraim.
16 “Report to the nations, ‘Here they are!’
Proclaim against Jerusalem,
‘Besiegers are coming from a distant land,[dw]
and they raise their voice against the cities of Judah.’
17 Like watchers of a field they were against her from all around,
because she has rebelled against me,” declares[dx] Yahweh.
18 “You obtained this for yourself
because of your way and your deeds.
This is your doom, for it is bitter,
yes, it has reached up to your heart.”
19 My bowels, my bowels! I writhe!
The walls of my heart!
My heart is restless within me, I cannot keep silent,
for I hear in my inner self the sound of a horn, the alarm of war.
20 Destruction on destruction is proclaimed,
for all of the land is devastated.
Suddenly my tents are devastated,
my tent curtains in a moment.
21 How long must I see the banner,
and hear the sound of a horn?
22 “For my people are foolish,
they have not known me.
They are foolish children,
and they do not have insight.
They are skillful at doing evil,
and they do not know how to do good.”
23 I looked at the earth, and behold, it was wasteland and emptiness,
and to the heavens, and they were without their light.
24 I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
and all of the hills were jolted to and fro.
25 I looked and behold, there was no person,
and all of the birds[dy] of the sky had fled.
26 I looked and behold, the fruitful land was a desert,[dz]
and all of its cities were ruined before Yahweh,
before the face of his burning anger.[ea]
27 For thus says Yahweh, “All of the land will be a desolation,
yet I will not make a complete desolation.
28 Because of this the earth will mourn,
and the heavens above will become dark.
Because I have spoken, I have planned,
and I have not relented, and I will not turn back from it.”
29 From the sound of a horseman and an archer[eb] every town flees,
they enter in the thickets and among the rocks they climb.
Every town is forsaken,
and there is no person who lives in them.
30 And you, O devastated one, what do you do,
that you put on crimson,
that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
that you make your eyes look bigger with the eye make-up?
In vain you beautify yourself.
Your lovers reject you;
they seek your life.
31 For I heard a voice like an ill woman,
anxiety like a woman who bears her first child,
the voice of the daughter of Zion.
She is gasping for breath,
she is spreading out her hands:
“Woe is me, for I am becoming tired[ec] before killers.”
5 “Roam about through the streets of Jerusalem,
and look please, and take note,
and search at its public squares,
if you can find a person who does justice,
who seeks honesty,
so that I may forgive it.
2 And though they say, ‘As Yahweh lives,’[ed]
therefore[ee] they swear falsely.”
3 O Yahweh, do not your eyes look for honesty?
You have struck them, but they felt no pain,
you have destroyed them, they refused to take discipline.
They have hardened their faces more than rock,
they have refused to turn back.
4 Then I said, “They are just simple people,
they are foolish,
for they know not the way of Yahweh,
the law[ef] of their God.
5 Let me go to the great,
and let me speak with them,
for they know the way of Yahweh,
the law[eg] of their God.”
However, they together have broken the yoke,
they have torn to pieces the bonds.
6 Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them,
A wolf from the desert plains[eh] will devastate them.
A leopard is watching their cities,
everyone who goes out from there will be torn,
because their transgressions are many,
their apostasies are numerous.
7 “How[ei] can I forgive you?
Your children have forsaken me,
and they have sworn by those who are not gods.
But I fed them to the full,
and they committed adultery,
and flocked to the house of a prostitute.
8 They were well-fed lusty horses,
they neighed each to the wife of his neighbor.
9 Because of these things shall I not punish?” declares[ej] Yahweh,
“and on a nation who is like this, shall I not take revenge?
10 Go up through her vineyards and destroy,
but you must not make complete destruction.
Remove her branches,
for they are not to Yahweh.
11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
have dealt utterly treacherously with me,” declares[ek] Yahweh.
12 “They have denied Yahweh, and have said,
‘Not he, for[el] evil will not come on us,
we will see neither sword nor famine.
13 And the prophets are like wind,
and the word is not in them.’
Thus it will be done to them.”
14 Therefore[em] thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts,
“Because you have spoken this word,
look, I am making my words in your mouth like a fire,
and this people wood, and it will devour them.
15 Look, I am about to bring on you a nation from afar,
O house of Israel,” declares[en] Yahweh.
“It is an enduring nation, it is an ancient nation.[eo]
A nation whose language you do not know,
and you cannot understand what they speak.
16 Their quiver is like an open tomb,
all of them are warriors.
17 And they will eat your harvest and your food,
they will eat your sons and your daughters,
they will eat your flock and your herd,
they will eat your vine and your fig tree,
they will smash with the sword your fortified cities,[ep]
in which you trust.
18 “But even in those days,” declares[eq] Yahweh, “I will not make you a complete destruction. 19 And then,[er] when you people say, ‘Why has Yahweh our God done all of these things to us?’ Then you will say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and have served gods of a foreign land in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that does not belong to you.’[es]
20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob,
and proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21 ‘Hear this please, O foolish and senseless[et] people,
who have eyes[eu] but do not see,
who have ears[ev] but do not hear.’
22 Do you not revere me?” declares[ew] Yahweh,
“Do you not tremble before me?[ex]
For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
as an everlasting limit,[ey] and it cannot pass over it,
and they rise and fall loudly, but they cannot prevail,
and its waves roar, but they cannot pass over it.
23 But for this people is a stubborn and rebellious heart,
they have turned aside and have gone away.
24 And they do not say in their hearts,
‘Let us fear please Yahweh our God,
the one who gives the autumn rain[ez] and the spring rain[fa] in its season,
the set times of the harvest[fb] he keeps for us.’
25 Your iniquities have disturbed these,
and your sins have kept away the good from you.
26 For wicked people are found among my people,
they lie in wait like the hiding of fowlers,
they set up a trap,
they catch humans.
27 Like a cage full of birds,[fc]
so their houses are full of fraud.
Therefore[fd] they have become great,
and they have become rich.
28 They have grown fat,
they have grown sleek,
also, their evil deeds have no limit.[fe]
They do not judge with justice,
the legal cause of the orphan,
or allow it to succeed,
and the legal case of the poor,
they do not defend.
29 Because of these things shall I not punish?” declares[ff] Yahweh,
“and on a nation who is like this, shall I not take revenge?
30 A horrific event and something horrible has happened in the land.
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,[fg]
and the priests rule by their own authority,[fh]
and my people love it[fi] so much.
But what will you do when the end comes?[fj]
6 Flee for safety, O children of Benjamin,
from the midst of Jerusalem.
And in Tekoa blow a horn,
and on Beth-haccherem lift up a signal,
for evil looks down from the north,
and a great destruction.
2 The lovely and the delicate,
the daughter of Jerusalem, I will destroy.
3 Shepherds and their flocks will come against her,
they will pitch their tents against her all around,
they will pasture, each his portion.[fk]
4 Sanctify[fl] war against her.
Arise, and let us attack at noon.
Woe to us, for the day turns,
for the shadows of evening are lengthened.
5 Arise, and let us attack by night,
and let us destroy her citadel fortresses.”
6 For thus says Yahweh of hosts,
“Cut down trees and heap up a siege ramp against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be punished,
its oppression is in its midst.
7 As a water well keeps its water cool,
so she keeps cool her wickedness.
Violence and destruction are heard within her,
sickness and wounds[fm] are continually before me.[fn]
8 Be warned, O Jerusalem,
lest I turn away from you in disgust,
lest I make you a desolation,
a land that is not inhabited.”
9 Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
“They will thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine,
turn back your hand over the branches like a grape-gatherer.
10 To whom shall I speak and admonish,
that they may hear?
Look, their ears are closed,[fo]
and they are not able to listen attentively.
Look, the word of Yahweh is to them an object of scorn,
they do not delight in it.
11 But I am full with the wrath of Yahweh,
I struggle to hold it[fp] in.
Pour it out on the children[fq] in the street,
and on the assemblies[fr] of young men at the same time.
For even husband with wife will get trapped,
the old with him who is full of days.
12 And their houses will be turned over to others,
their fields and their wives together.
For I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land,” declares[fs] Yahweh.
13 “For from the smallest of them to the greatest of them,
everyone[ft] makes profit for unlawful gain.
And from the prophet to the priest,
everyone[fu] practices deceit.
14 And they have treated the wound of my people lightly,
saying,[fv] ‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace.
15 Have they acted ashamed, for they have committed a detestable thing?
Not at all, nor were they ashamed; they did not know to feel humiliated.
Therefore[fw] they will fall among those who fall at the time I punish them,
they will stumble,” says Yahweh.
16 Thus says Yahweh: “Stand at the roads and look,
and ask for the ancient paths, where the way of the good is,
and walk in it, and find rest for your inner selves.[fx]
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’[fy]
17 And I raised up watchmen over you:
‘Listen attentively to the sound of a horn.’
But they said, ‘We will not listen attentively.’
18 Therefore[fz] hear, O nations, and know, O community,
what will happen to them.[ga]
19 Hear, O earth,
look, I am about to bring disaster to this people,
the fruit of their plans,
because they have not listened attentively to my words,
and my teaching, they have rejected it also.
20 What is this to me?
Frankincense comes from Sheba,
and the precious spice reed from a distant land.
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,[gb]
your sacrifices are not pleasing to me.”
21 Therefore[gc] thus says Yahweh:
“Look, I am about to put before this people stumbling blocks,
and they will stumble against them,
fathers and children together,
neighbor and his friend will perish.”
22 Thus says Yahweh:
“Look, a people is coming from the land of the north,
a great nation is woken up from the farthest part of the earth.
23 The bow and the short sword they grasp are cruel,
and they show no mercy.
Their sound roars like the sea, and on horses they ride,
drawn up like a man for battle against you, O daughter of Zion.”
24 We have heard news of it,
our hands grow slack,
anxiety has grasped us,
pain as a woman who gives birth.
25 You must not go out into the field,
and you must not walk on the road,
for the enemy has a sword,[gd]
terror is all around.
26 O daughter of my people,
gird yourself with sackcloth,
and roll about in the ashes in mourning,
a mourning ceremony as for an only child.
Make for yourself wailing of bitterness,
for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
27 “I have made you an assayer among my people, a fortification,
so that you may know and put to the test their ways.[ge]
28 All of them are stubborn rebels,
going about talking slander.
They are bronze and iron,
they are all behaving corruptly.
29 The bellows[gf] are burned up,
lead is consumed by fire.
In vain[gg] he keeps on refining,[gh]
but the wicked are not torn apart.
30 They are called[gi] rejected silver,
For Yahweh has rejected them.”
Jeremiah’s Proclamation at the Gate of the House of Yahweh
7 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying,[gj] 2 “Stand in the gate of the house of Yahweh and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, all of Judah, those who enter through these gates to bow in worship to Yahweh. 3 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Make your ways and your deeds good and let me dwell with you in this place. 4 Do not trust in the deceitful words,[gk] saying,[gl] ‘The temple of Yahweh, the temple of Yahweh, they are the temple of Yahweh.’ 5 For if you truly make your ways and your deeds good, if you truly do justice between a man and his neighbor, 6 you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, you do not shed innocent blood in this place, and you do not go after other gods to your harm,[gm] 7 then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your ancestors[gn] forever and ever.[go]
8 Look, you are relying for yourselves on deceitful words[gp] without benefiting. 9 Will you steal? Will you murder? And will you commit adultery? And will you swear falsely?[gq] And will you make a smoke offering to the Baal? And will you go after other gods whom you have not known? 10 And then you come and you stand before[gr] me in this house, which is called by my name,[gs] and you say, ‘we are safe to go on doing[gt] all of these detestable things.’ 11 Has this house, which is called by my name,[gu] become a cave of robbers in your eyes? Look, I, even I, have seen it,” [gv] declares[gw] Yahweh.
12 “For go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell in the beginning, and see what I did to it because of[gx] the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 And now, because of your doing all these things,” declares[gy] Yahweh, “and I have spoken to you over and over again,[gz] and you have not listened, and I called you, and you have not answered, 14 therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name,[ha] in which you are trusting, and to the place that I gave to you and to your ancestors[hb] what[hc] I did to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you out of my sight[hd] just as I cast out all of your blood relatives,[he] all of the offspring of Ephraim.”’
16 “And you, you must not pray for this people, and you must not lift up for them a cry of entreaty or a prayer, and you must not plead with me, for I will not hear you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children are gathering wood, and the fathers are kindling the fire, and the women are kneading dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out libations to other gods for the sake of provoking me to anger. 19 Are they provoking me to anger? ” declares[hf] Yahweh, “Is it not themselves they hurt, for the sake of the shame of their faces?” 20 Therefore[hg] thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Look, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, on the humankind, and on the animal, and on the tree of the field, and on the fruit of the ground, and it will not be extinguished.”
21 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. 22 For I did not speak with your ancestors,[hh] nor did I command them in the day of bringing them out from the land of Egypt, concerning the matter of burnt offering and sacrifice. 23 But I only commanded them this word, saying,[hi] ‘Obey my voice, and I will be to you God, and you will be to me people, and you must walk in all of the way that I command you, so that it goes well with you.’ 24 Yet they did not obey, and they did not incline their ear, but they walked in their own plans, in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and they became worse instead of better.[hj] 25 From the day that your ancestors[hk] came out from the land of Egypt until this day I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, day after day, sending again and again.[hl] 26 Yet they have not listened to me and they have not inclined their ear, but they have hardened their neck, they did more evil than their ancestors.[hm] 27 So you shall speak to them all these words, but they will not listen to you, and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you.
The Valley of the Slaughter
28 “And you shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the voice of Yahweh their God, and they have not accepted discipline. The truth has perished, and it is cut off from their mouths.[hn] 29 Shear your hair and throw it[ho] away, and lift up a lament on the barren heights, for Yahweh has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.’ 30 For the people [hp] of Judah have done evil in my eyes,” declares[hq] Yahweh, “They have set their abominations in the house that is called by my name,[hr] to defile it. 31 And they built the high place of Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I have not commanded, and it did not come into my mind.[hs] 32 Therefore look, days are about to come,” declares[ht] Yahweh, “and it will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of the Slaughter, and they will bury in Topheth until there is no more place.[hu] 33 And the dead bodies[hv] of this people will be as food for the birds[hw] of the heavens,[hx] and for the animals[hy] of the earth, without anyone to scare them[hz] away. 34 And I will cause to disappear from the towns of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the sound of jubilation, and the sound of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, for the land will become a site of ruins.
8 “At that time,” declares[ia] Yahweh, “they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its officials, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Judah from their graves. 2 And they shall spread them out before the sun, and before the moon, and before all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and which they have gone after, and which they have inquired about, and to which they have bowed in worship. They shall not be gathered, and they shall not be buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground. 3 And death will be preferred to life by all the remaining of this evil clan[ib] in all the remaining places where I have driven them away,” declares[ic] Yahweh.
Yahweh Questions His People
4 “And you shall say to them, ‘Thus asks[id] Yahweh:
“Do men fall and not stand up?
If one turns away does he not return?
5 Why has this people, Jerusalem, turned away in enduring apostasy?
They have kept hold of deceit, they have refused to return.[ie]
6 I have listened attentively,
and I have listened.
They do not speak honestly,
there is no man who regrets his wickedness, saying, ‘What have I done?’
All of them are turning to their ways of running,
like a horse plunging into battle.
7 Even the stork in heaven knows its appointed time,
and the turtledove, and the swallow, and the song bird,
they observe the time of their coming.
But my people do not know the ordinance[if] of Yahweh.
8 How can you say, ‘We are wise and the law of Yahweh is with us’?
Look, surely the lying stylus of the scribes[ig] has made it a lie.
9 The wise will be put to shame,
they will be dismayed,
and they will get taken.
Look, they have rejected the word of Yahweh,
and what is wisdom to them?
10 Therefore I will give their wives to others,
their fields to conquerors,
because from the smallest to the greatest,
all of them make profit for unlawful gain,
from prophet to priest,
all of them practice deceit.
11 And they have treated the wound of the daughter of my people lightly,
saying,[ih] ‘Peace, peace,’ but there is no peace.
12 Were they ashamed, for they had committed a detestable thing?
What’s worse,[ii] they were not ashamed at all,
and they did not know to feel humiliated.
Therefore[ij] they will fall among those who fall;
at the time of their punishment they will stumble,” says Yahweh.
13 “I will take away their harvest,”[ik] declares[il] Yahweh.
“There are no grapes on the vine,
and there are no figs on the fig tree,
and the leaves wither,
and what I gave to them passed over them.”’”
The Nation Longs for Yahweh’s Help
14 Why are we sitting?
Gather, and let us go into the fortified cities,
and let us perish there,
for Yahweh our God has caused us to perish,
and has provided drink for us, water of poison,
because we have sinned against Yahweh.
15 We hope for peace,
but there is no good,
for a time of healing,
but there is terror.
16 “From Dan is heard the snorting of their horses,
from the sound of the neighing of their stallions all the land quakes,
for they come and devour the land,
and that which fills the city,
and those who live in it.
17 For look, I am letting loose among you snakes,
adders for which there is no incantation,
and they will bite you,” declares[im] Yahweh.
18 “My comfort is gone from me,
sorrow is on me,
my heart is sick.
19 Look, the sound of the cry for help of the daughter of my people
from a distant land,
‘Is Yahweh not in Zion?
Is her king not in her?’
Why have they provoked me to anger with their images,
with idols of a foreign land?”
20 The harvest has passed,
the summer has come to an end,
and we have not received help.[in]
Yahweh’s Lament
21 “Because of the wound of the daughter of my people I am broken down,
I mourn, horror has seized me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no healer there?
Why, then, has the healing of the daughter of my people not been restored?
9 [io] Oh that my head were waters,[ip]
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
so that I might weep day and night,
for the slain of the daughter of my people.
2 Oh that I had[iq] in the desert a place of overnight lodging for travelers,
that I may leave my people and go from them,
for all of them are adulterers,
a band of traitors.
3 And they bend their tongue like their bow,
for falsehood and not truth is superior in the land,
for they go forth[ir] from evil to evil,
and they do not know me,” declares[is] Yahweh.
A Nation Characterized by Deceit
4 “Let everyone be on your guard against his neighbor,
and you must not trust in any brother,
for everyone surely betrays,
and every neighbor goes about with slander.
5 And everyone deceives his neighbor,
and they do not speak the truth,
they have taught their tongues[it] to speak lies,[iu]
they are tired from going astray.
6 Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit,
upon[iv] deceit they refuse to know me,” declares[iw] Yahweh.
7 Therefore, thus says Yahweh of hosts:
“Look, I am about to refine them,
and I will test them,
for what else can I do,
because of the presence[ix] of the daughter of my people?
8 Their tongue is a murderous arrow,
it speaks deceit.
With his mouth he speaks peace with his neighbor,
but in his inner parts he sets up his ambush.
9 Because of these things shall I not punish them?” declares[iy] Yahweh,
“On a nation that is like this shall I not take revenge?
10 For the mountains I lift up weeping and wailing,
and for the pastures of the desert a lament,
because they are laid waste so that no man passes through.
And the sounds[iz] of cattle are not heard,
from the birds[ja] of heaven to the animals[jb]
they have fled, they are gone.
11 And I will make Jerusalem as heaps of ruins, a lair of jackals,
and the towns of Judah I will make a desolation, without inhabitants.[jc]
12 Who is the wise man that can understand this?
And to whom has the mouth of Yahweh spoken, so that he may declare it?
Why is the land destroyed?
It is laid waste like the desert[jd] so that no one passes through.”
The Nation is Judged by Yahweh
13 And Yahweh said, “Because of their forsaking my law that I set before[je] them, and they have not obeyed my voice, and have not walked in it, 14 but they went after the stubbornness of their heart, and after the Baals, which their ancestors[jf] taught them.” 15 Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Look, I am feeding this people wormwood, and providing drink for them, water of poison, 16 and I will scatter them among the nations that they have not known, they and their ancestors,[jg] and I will send the sword after them until I bring them to an end.”
17 Thus says Yahweh of hosts:
“Consider closely, and call for the wailing women, so that they come,
and for the skillful women, so that they come.
18 And let them hasten,
and let them lift up wailing over us,
so that our eyes may melt with tears,
and our eyelids may flow with water.
19 For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion,
‘How we are devastated!
We are very ashamed because we have left the land,
because they have overthrown our dwelling places.’
20 For hear, O women, the word of Yahweh,
and let your ear receive the word of his mouth,
and teach your daughters a lamentation,
and each woman her neighbor a lament.
21 For death has come into our windows,
it has entered into our fortresses,
to cut off the children[jh] from the streets,[ji]
the young men from the public squares.
22 Speak, ‘thus declares[jj] Yahweh:
“The dead body of the human will fall
like dung upon the surface of the field,
and like cut grain behind the reaper,
and there is no one who gathers.”’”
The Things in Which Yahweh Delights
23 Thus says Yahweh,
“The wise man must not boast in his wisdom,
and the warrior must not boast in his might,
the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth.
24 But only[jk] in this must the one who boasts boast,
that he has insight,
and that he knows me,
that I am Yahweh,
showing loyal love, justice, and righteousness on the earth,
for in these things I delight,” declares[jl] Yahweh.
The Way of the Nations
25 “Look, days are coming,” declares[jm] Yahweh, “and I will call into account all those who are circumcised in the foreskin: 26 Egypt, Judah, and Edom, and the Ammonites,[jn] and Moab, and all those who are trimmed to the side, those who live in the desert,[jo] for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.”
10 Hear the word that Yahweh speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says Yahweh:
“You must not learn the way of the nations,
and you must not be dismayed by the signs of the heavens,
for the nations are dismayed by them.
3 For the statutes of the peoples are vanity,
for it is a tree cut down from the forest,
the work of the hands of a craftsman with the tool.
4 He decorates it with silver and gold,
they strengthen it with nails and hammers,
so that it does not stagger.
5 They are like scarecrows[jp] in a cucumber field,
they cannot speak.
Indeed, they must be carried,
for they cannot march.
You must not be afraid of them,
for they cannot do evil;
furthermore, to do good is not in them.”
6 There is none like you, O Yahweh,
you are great and your name is great in might.
7 Who would not revere you, O king of the nations?
For you it is fitting.
For among all the wise men of the nations,
and in all their kingdoms,[jq]
there is none like you.
8 At the same time[jr] they are stupid and foolish,
in the instruction of idols, it is wood.
9 Silver beaten from Tarshish is brought,
and gold from Uphaz,
the work of the craftsman and the hands of the goldsmith.
Blue and purple are their clothing,
all of them are the work of skillful people.
10 But Yahweh is the true God,
he is the living God,
and an everlasting king.[js]
Because of his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his anger.
11 “Thus[jt] you shall say to them,
‘Gods who did not make the heavens and the earth
will perish from the earth and from under these heavens.
12 He is the maker of the earth by his power,
who created the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding he stretched out heaven.
13 When he utters his voice[ju] there is a noise of water in the heavens,
and he causes the mist to rise from the ends[jv] of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he causes the wind to go out from his storehouses.
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