Bible in 90 Days
19 I will set a (A)sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: (B)Tarshish, [a]Put, (C)Lud, [b]Meshech, (D)Tubal and [c]Javan, to the distant (E)coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will (F)declare My glory among the nations. 20 Then they shall (G)bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels, to My (H)holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a (I)clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21 I will also take some of them for (J)priests and for Levites,” says the Lord.
22 “For just as the (K)new heavens and the new earth
Which I make will endure before Me,” declares the Lord,
“So your (L)offspring and your (M)name will endure.
23 “And it shall be from (N)new moon to new moon
And from sabbath to sabbath,
All [d]mankind will come to (O)bow down before Me,” says the Lord.
24 “Then they will go forth and look
On the (P)corpses of the men
Who have [e](Q)transgressed against Me.
For their (R)worm will not die
(S)And their fire will not be quenched;
And they will be an (T)abhorrence to all [f]mankind.”
Jeremiah’s Call and Commission
1 The words of (U)Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in (V)Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of (W)Josiah the son of (X)Amon, king of Judah, in the (Y)thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of (Z)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of (AA)Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
5 “Before I (AB)formed you in the womb I knew you,
And (AC)before you were born I consecrated you;
I have (AD)appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then (AE)I said, “Alas, Lord [g]God!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
Because (AF)I am a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
(AG)Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And (AH)all that I command you, you shall speak.
8 “(AI)Do not be afraid of them,
For (AJ)I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.
9 Then the Lord stretched out His hand and (AK)touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have (AL)put My words in your mouth.
10 “See, (AM)I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
(AN)To pluck up and to break down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
(AO)To build and to plant.”
The Almond Rod and Boiling Pot
11 The word of the Lord came to me saying, “What do you see, (AP)Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a rod of an [h]almond tree.” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for (AQ)I am [i]watching over My word to perform it.”
13 The word of the Lord came to me a second time saying, “(AR)What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling (AS)pot, facing away from the north.” 14 Then the Lord said to me, “(AT)Out of the north the evil [j]will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, behold, I am calling (AU)all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the Lord; “and they will come and they will (AV)set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the (AW)cities of Judah. 16 I will [k]pronounce My judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have (AX)forsaken Me and have [l](AY)offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the (AZ)works of their own hands. 17 Now, (BA)gird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. (BB)Do not be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them. 18 Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for (BC)I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.
Judah’s Apostasy
2 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Go and (BD)proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord,
“I remember concerning you the [m](BE)devotion of your youth,
The love of your betrothals,
(BF)Your following after Me in the wilderness,
Through a land not sown.
3 “Israel was (BG)holy to the Lord,
The (BH)first of His harvest.
(BI)All who ate of it became guilty;
Evil came upon them,” declares the Lord.’”
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord,
“(BJ)What injustice did your fathers find in Me,
That they went far from Me
And walked after (BK)emptiness and became empty?
6 “They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
Who (BL)brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who (BM)led us through the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and of pits,
Through a land of drought and of [n]deep darkness,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no man dwelt?’
7 “I brought you into the (BN)fruitful land
To eat its fruit and its good things.
But you came and (BO)defiled My land,
And My inheritance you made an abomination.
8 “The (BP)priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the law (BQ)did not know Me;
The [o]rulers also transgressed against Me,
And the (BR)prophets prophesied by Baal
And walked after (BS)things that did not profit.
9 “Therefore I will yet (BT)contend with you,” declares the Lord,
“And with your sons’ sons I will contend.
10 “For (BU)cross to the coastlands of [p]Kittim and see,
And send to (BV)Kedar and observe closely
And see if there has been such a thing as this!
11 “Has a nation changed gods
When (BW)they were not gods?
But My people have (BX)changed their glory
For that which does not profit.
12 “Be appalled, (BY)O heavens, at this,
And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.
13 “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The (BZ)fountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves (CA)cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That can hold no water.
14 “Is Israel (CB)a slave? Or is he a homeborn servant?
Why has he become a prey?
15 “The young (CC)lions have roared at him,
They have [q]roared loudly.
And they have (CD)made his land a waste;
His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.
16 “Also the [r]men of (CE)Memphis and Tahpanhes
Have [s]shaved the (CF)crown of your head.
17 “Have you not (CG)done this to yourself
By your forsaking the Lord your God
When He (CH)led you in the way?
18 “But now what are you doing (CI)on the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of the [t](CJ)Nile?
Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,
To drink the waters of the [u]Euphrates?
19 “(CK)Your own wickedness will correct you,
And your (CL)apostasies will reprove you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil and (CM)bitter
For you to forsake the Lord your God,
And (CN)the dread of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord [v]God of hosts.
20 “For long ago [w](CO)I broke your yoke
And tore off your bonds;
But you said, ‘I will not serve!’
For on every (CP)high hill
And under every green tree
You have lain down as a harlot.
21 “Yet I (CQ)planted you a choice vine,
A completely faithful seed.
How then have you turned yourself before Me
Into the (CR)degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?
22 “Although you (CS)wash yourself with lye
And [x]use much soap,
The (CT)stain of your iniquity is before Me,” declares the Lord [y]God.
23 “(CU)How can you say, ‘I am not defiled,
I have not gone after the (CV)Baals’?
Look at your way in the (CW)valley!
Know what you have done!
You are a swift young camel (CX)entangling her ways,
24 A (CY)wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,
That sniffs the wind in her passion.
In the time of her [z]heat who can turn her away?
All who seek her will not become weary;
In her month they will find her.
25 “Keep your feet from being unshod
And your throat from thirst;
But you said, ‘(CZ)It is [aa]hopeless!
No! For I have (DA)loved strangers,
And after them I will walk.’
26 “As the (DB)thief is shamed when he is discovered,
So the house of Israel is shamed;
They, their kings, their princes
And their priests and their prophets,
27 Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their (DC)back to Me,
And not their face;
But in the (DD)time of their [ab]trouble they will say,
‘Arise and save us.’
28 “But where are your (DE)gods
Which you made for yourself?
Let them arise, if they can (DF)save you
In the time of your [ac]trouble;
For (DG)according to the number of your cities
Are your gods, O Judah.
29 “Why do you contend with Me?
You have (DH)all transgressed against Me,” declares the Lord.
30 “(DI)In vain I have struck your sons;
They accepted no chastening.
Your (DJ)sword has devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.
31 “O generation, heed the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a (DK)land of thick darkness?
Why do My people say, ‘(DL)We are free to roam;
We will no longer come to You’?
32 “Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have (DM)forgotten Me
Days without number.
33 “How well you prepare your way
To seek love!
Therefore even [ad]the wicked women
You have taught your ways.
34 “Also on your skirts is found
The (DN)lifeblood of the innocent poor;
You did not find them (DO)breaking in.
But in spite of all these things,
35 Yet you said, ‘I am innocent;
Surely His anger is turned away from me.’
Behold, I will (DP)enter into judgment with you
Because you (DQ)say, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 “Why do you (DR)go around so much
Changing your way?
Also, (DS)you will be put to shame by Egypt
As you were put to shame by (DT)Assyria.
37 “From this place also you will go out
With (DU)your hands on your head;
For the Lord has rejected (DV)those in whom you trust,
And you will not prosper with them.”
The Polluted Land
3 God [ae]says, “(DW)If a husband divorces his wife
And she goes from him
And belongs to another man,
Will he still return to her?
Will not that land be completely [af]polluted?
But you (DX)are a harlot with many [ag]lovers;
Yet you (DY)turn to Me,” declares the Lord.
2 “Lift up your eyes to the (DZ)bare heights and see;
Where have you not been violated?
By the roads you have (EA)sat for them
Like an Arab in the desert,
And you have (EB)polluted a land
With your harlotry and with your wickedness.
3 “Therefore the (EC)showers have been withheld,
And there has been no spring rain.
Yet you had a (ED)harlot’s forehead;
You refused to be ashamed.
4 “Have you not just now called to Me,
‘(EE)My Father, You are the [ah](EF)friend of my (EG)youth?
5 ‘(EH)Will He be angry forever?
Will He [ai]be indignant to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken
And have done evil things,
And you have [aj]had your way.”
Faithless Israel
6 Then the Lord said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She (EI)went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. 7 (EJ)I [ak]thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her (EK)treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and (EL)given her a writ of divorce, yet her (EM)treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. 9 Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she (EN)polluted the land and committed adultery with (EO)stones and trees. 10 Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in (EP)deception,” declares the Lord.
God Invites Repentance
11 And the Lord said to me, “(EQ)Faithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say,
‘(ER)Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord;
‘(ES)I will not [al]look upon you in anger.
For I am (ET)gracious,’ declares the Lord;
‘I will not be angry forever.
13 ‘Only [am](EU)acknowledge your iniquity,
That you have transgressed against the Lord your God
And have (EV)scattered your [an]favors to the strangers (EW)under every green tree,
And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the Lord.
14 ‘Return, O faithless sons,’ declares the Lord;
‘For I am a (EX)master to you,
And I will take you one from a city and two from a family,
And (EY)I will bring you to Zion.’
15 “Then I will give you (EZ)shepherds after My own heart, who will (FA)feed you on knowledge and understanding. 16 It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land,” declares the Lord, “they will (FB)no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The (FC)Throne of the Lord,’ and (FD)all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the (FE)name of the Lord; nor will they (FF)walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18 (FG)In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together (FH)from the land of the north to the (FI)land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.
19 “Then I said,
‘How I would set you among [ao]My sons
And give you a pleasant land,
The most (FJ)beautiful inheritance of the nations!’
And I said, ‘You shall call Me, (FK)My Father,
And not turn away from following Me.’
20 “Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her [ap]lover,
So you have (FL)dealt treacherously with Me,
O house of Israel,” declares the Lord.
21 A voice is heard on the (FM)bare heights,
The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel;
Because they have perverted their way,
They have (FN)forgotten the Lord their God.
22 “Return, O faithless sons,
(FO)I will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to You;
For You are the Lord our God.
23 “Surely, (FP)the hills are a deception,
A tumult on the mountains.
Surely in the (FQ)Lord our God
Is the salvation of Israel.
24 “But (FR)the shameful thing has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 Let us lie down in our (FS)shame, and let our humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, (FT)from our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
Judah Threatened with Invasion
4 “If you will (FU)return, O Israel,” declares the Lord,
“Then you should return to Me.
And (FV)if you will put away your detested things from My presence,
And will not waver,
2 And you will (FW)swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’
(FX)In truth, in justice and in righteousness;
Then the (FY)nations will bless themselves in Him,
And (FZ)in Him they will glory.”
3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,
“[aq](GA)Break up your fallow ground,
And (GB)do not sow among thorns.
4 “(GC)Circumcise yourselves to the Lord
And remove the foreskins of your heart,
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Or else My (GD)wrath will go forth like fire
And burn with (GE)none to quench it,
Because of the evil of your deeds.”
5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,
“(GF)Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry aloud and say,
‘(GG)Assemble yourselves, and let us go
Into the fortified cities.’
6 “Lift up a (GH)standard toward Zion!
Seek refuge, do not stand still,
For I am bringing (GI)evil from the north,
And great destruction.
7 “A (GJ)lion has gone up from his thicket,
And a (GK)destroyer of nations has set out;
He has gone out from his place
To (GL)make your land a waste.
Your cities will be ruins
Without inhabitant.
8 “For this, (GM)put on sackcloth,
Lament and wail;
For the (GN)fierce anger of the Lord
Has not turned back from us.”
9 “It shall come about in that day,” declares the Lord, “that the (GO)heart of the king and the heart of the princes will fail; and the priests will be appalled and the (GP)prophets will be astounded.”
10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord [ar]God! Surely You have utterly (GQ)deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘(GR)You will have peace’; whereas a sword touches the [as]throat.”
11 In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A (GS)scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness in the direction of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse, 12 a wind too strong for [at]this—will come [au]at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.
13 “Behold, he (GT)goes up like clouds,
And his (GU)chariots like the whirlwind;
His horses are (GV)swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for (GW)we are ruined!”
14 Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem,
That you may be saved.
How long will your (GX)wicked thoughts
Lodge within you?
15 For a voice declares from (GY)Dan,
And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.
16 “Report it to the nations, now!
Proclaim over Jerusalem,
‘Besiegers come from a (GZ)far country,
And (HA)lift their voices against the cities of Judah.
17 ‘Like watchmen of a field they are (HB)against her round about,
Because she has (HC)rebelled against Me,’ declares the Lord.
18 “Your (HD)ways and your deeds
Have [av]brought these things to you.
This is your evil. How (HE)bitter!
How it has touched your heart!”
Lament over Judah’s Devastation
19 (HF)My [aw]soul, my [ax]soul! I am in anguish! [ay]Oh, my heart!
My (HG)heart is pounding in me;
I cannot be silent,
Because [az]you have heard, O my soul,
The (HH)sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.
20 (HI)Disaster on disaster is proclaimed,
For the (HJ)whole land is devastated;
Suddenly my (HK)tents are devastated,
My curtains in an instant.
21 How long must I see the standard
And hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “(HL)For My people are foolish,
They know Me not;
They are stupid children
And have no understanding.
They are shrewd to (HM)do evil,
But to do good they do not know.”
23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was [ba](HN) formless and void;
And to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were (HO)quaking,
And all the hills [bb]moved to and fro.
25 I looked, and behold, there was no man,
And all the (HP)birds of the heavens had fled.
26 I looked, and behold, [bc]the (HQ)fruitful land was a wilderness,
And all its cities were pulled down
Before the Lord, before His fierce anger.
27 For thus says the Lord,
“The (HR)whole land shall be a desolation,
Yet I will (HS)not execute a complete destruction.
28 “For this the (HT)earth shall mourn
And the (HU)heavens above be dark,
Because I have (HV)spoken, I have purposed,
And I will not [bd]change My mind, nor will I turn from it.”
29 At the sound of the horseman and bowman (HW)every city flees;
They (HX)go into the thickets and climb among the rocks;
(HY)Every city is forsaken,
And no man dwells in them.
30 And you, O desolate one, (HZ)what will you do?
Although you dress in scarlet,
Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold,
Although you (IA)enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you make yourself beautiful.
Your [be](IB)lovers despise you;
They seek your life.
31 For I heard a [bf]cry as of a woman in labor,
The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
The [bg]cry of the daughter of Zion (IC)gasping for breath,
(ID)Stretching out her [bh]hands, saying,
“Ah, woe is me, for [bi]I faint before murderers.”
Jerusalem’s Godlessness
5 “(IE)Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
And look now and take note.
And seek in her open squares,
If you can (IF)find a man,
(IG)If there is one who does justice, who seeks [bj]truth,
Then I will pardon her.
2 “And (IH)although they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’
Surely they swear falsely.”
3 O Lord, do not (II)Your eyes look for [bk]truth?
You have (IJ)smitten them,
But they did not [bl]weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they (IK)refused to take correction.
They have (IL)made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to repent.
4 Then I said, “They are only the poor,
They are foolish;
For they (IM)do not know the way of the Lord
Or the ordinance of their God.
5 “I will go to the great
And will speak to them,
For (IN)they know the way of the Lord
And the ordinance of their God.”
But they too, with one accord, have (IO)broken the yoke
And burst the bonds.
6 Therefore (IP)a lion from the forest will slay them,
A (IQ)wolf of the deserts will destroy them,
A (IR)leopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces,
Because their (IS)transgressions are many,
Their apostasies are numerous.
7 “Why should I pardon you?
Your sons have forsaken Me
And (IT)sworn by those who are (IU)not gods.
When I had fed them to the full,
They (IV)committed adultery
And trooped to the harlot’s house.
8 “They were well-fed lusty horses,
Each one neighing after his (IW)neighbor’s wife.
9 “Shall I not punish [bm]these people,” declares the Lord,
“And on a nation such as this
(IX)Shall I not avenge Myself?
10 “Go up through her vine rows and destroy,
But do not execute a complete destruction;
Strip away her branches,
For they are not the Lord’s.
11 “For the (IY)house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares the Lord.
12 They have (IZ)lied about the Lord
And said, “[bn](JA)Not He;
Misfortune will (JB)not come on us,
And we (JC)will not see sword or famine.
13 “The (JD)prophets are as wind,
And the word is not in them.
Thus it will be done to them!”
Judgment Proclaimed
14 Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts,
“Because you have spoken this word,
Behold, I am (JE)making My words in your mouth fire
And this people wood, and it will consume them.
15 “Behold, I am (JF)bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord.
“It is an enduring nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose (JG)language you do not know,
Nor can you understand what they say.
16 “Their (JH)quiver is like an (JI)open grave,
All of them are mighty men.
17 “They will (JJ)devour your harvest and your food;
They will devour your sons and your daughters;
They will devour your flocks and your herds;
They will devour your (JK)vines and your fig trees;
They will demolish with the sword your (JL)fortified cities in which you trust.
18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not make you a complete destruction. 19 It shall come about (JM)when [bo]they say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will (JN)serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’
20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,
21 ‘Now hear this, O foolish and [bp]senseless people,
Who have (JO)eyes but do not see;
Who have ears but do not hear.
22 ‘Do you not (JP)fear Me?’ declares the Lord.
‘Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have (JQ)placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it.
Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.
23 ‘But this people has a (JR)stubborn and rebellious heart;
They have turned aside and departed.
24 ‘They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the Lord our God,
Who (JS)gives rain in its season,
Both (JT)the autumn rain and the spring rain,
Who keeps for us
The (JU)appointed weeks of the harvest.”
25 ‘Your (JV)iniquities have turned these away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.
26 ‘For wicked men are found among My people,
They (JW)watch like fowlers [bq]lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch men.
27 ‘Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of (JX)deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.
28 ‘They are (JY)fat, they are sleek,
They also [br]excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the [bs](JZ)orphan, that they may prosper;
And they do not [bt]defend the rights of the poor.
29 ‘(KA)Shall I not punish [bu]these people?’ declares the Lord,
‘On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?’
30 “An appalling and (KB)horrible thing
Has happened in the land:
31 The (KC)prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule [bv]on their own authority;
And My people (KD)love it so!
But what will you do at the end of it?
Destruction of Jerusalem Impending
6 “Flee for safety, O sons of (KE)Benjamin,
From the midst of Jerusalem!
Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa
And raise a signal over [bw](KF)Beth-haccerem;
For evil looks down from the (KG)north,
And a great destruction.
2 “The comely and (KH)dainty one, (KI)the daughter of Zion, I will cut off.
3 “(KJ)Shepherds and their flocks will come to her,
They will (KK)pitch their tents [bx]around her,
They will pasture each in his [by]place.
4 “[bz](KL)Prepare war against her;
Arise, and let us [ca]attack at (KM)noon.
Woe to us, for the day declines,
For the shadows of the evening lengthen!
5 “Arise, and let us [cb]attack by night
And (KN)destroy her [cc]palaces!”
6 For thus says the Lord of hosts,
“(KO)Cut down her trees
And cast up a (KP)siege against Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished,
In whose midst there is only (KQ)oppression.
7 “(KR)As a well [cd]keeps its waters fresh,
So she [ce]keeps fresh her wickedness.
(KS)Violence and destruction are heard in her;
(KT)Sickness and wounds are ever before Me.
8 “(KU)Be warned, O Jerusalem,
Or [cf](KV)I shall be alienated from you,
And make you a desolation,
A land not inhabited.”
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“They will (KW)thoroughly glean as the vine the (KX)remnant of Israel;
Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer
Over the branches.”
10 To whom shall I speak and give warning
That they may hear?
Behold, their (KY)ears are [cg]closed
And they cannot listen.
Behold, (KZ)the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them;
They have no delight in it.
11 But I am (LA)full of the wrath of the Lord;
I am (LB)weary with holding it in.
“(LC)Pour it out on the children in the street
And on the [ch]gathering of young men together;
For both husband and wife shall be taken,
The aged [ci]and the very old.
12 “Their (LD)houses shall be turned over to others,
Their fields and their wives together;
For I will (LE)stretch out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord.
13 “For (LF)from the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is (LG)greedy for gain,
And from the prophet even to the priest
Everyone [cj]deals falsely.
14 “They have (LH)healed the brokenness of My people superficially,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.
15 “Were they (LI)ashamed because of the abomination they have done?
They were not even ashamed at all;
They did not even know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time that I punish them,
They shall be cast down,” says the Lord.
16 Thus says the Lord,
“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the (LJ)ancient paths,
Where the good way is, and walk in it;
And (LK)you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 “And I set (LL)watchmen over you, saying,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not listen.’
18 “Therefore hear, O nations,
And know, O congregation, what is among them.
19 “(LM)Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,
The (LN)fruit of their [ck]plans,
Because they have not listened to My words,
And as for My law, they have (LO)rejected it also.
20 “(LP)For what purpose does (LQ)frankincense come to Me from Sheba
And the [cl](LR)sweet cane from a distant land?
(LS)Your burnt offerings are not acceptable
And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”
21 Therefore, thus says the Lord,
“Behold, (LT)I am [cm]laying stumbling blocks before this people.
And they will stumble against them,
(LU)Fathers and sons together;
Neighbor and [cn]friend will perish.”
The Enemy from the North
22 Thus says the Lord,
“Behold, (LV)a people is coming from the north land,
And a great nation will be aroused from the (LW)remote parts of the earth.
23 “They seize (LX)bow and spear;
They are (LY)cruel and have no mercy;
Their voice (LZ)roars like the sea,
And they ride on horses,
Arrayed as a man for the battle
Against you, O daughter of Zion!”
24 We have (MA)heard the report of it;
Our hands are limp.
(MB)Anguish has seized us,
Pain as of a woman in childbirth.
25 (MC)Do not go out into the field
And (MD)do not walk on the road,
For the enemy has a sword,
(ME)Terror is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, (MF)put on sackcloth
And (MG)roll in ashes;
[co](MH)Mourn as for an only son,
A lamentation most bitter.
For suddenly the destroyer
Will come upon us.
27 “I have (MI)made you an assayer and a tester among My people,
That you may know and assay their way.”
28 All of them are stubbornly rebellious,
(MJ)Going about as a talebearer.
They are (MK)bronze and iron;
They, all of them, are corrupt.
29 The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
In vain the refining goes on,
But the (ML)wicked are not [cp]separated.
30 (MM)They call them rejected silver,
Because the (MN)Lord has rejected them.
Message at the Temple Gate
7 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “(MO)Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house and proclaim there this word and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the Lord!’” 3 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “(MP)Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. 4 (MQ)Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘[cq]This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’ 5 For (MR)if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly (MS)practice justice between a man and his neighbor, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the [cr](MT)orphan, or the widow, and do not shed (MU)innocent blood in this place, nor (MV)walk after other gods to your own ruin, 7 then I will let you (MW)dwell in this place, in the (MX)land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.
8 “Behold, you are trusting in (MY)deceptive words to no avail. 9 Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and [cs](MZ)offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after (NA)other gods that you have not known, 10 then (NB)come and stand before Me in (NC)this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—that you may do all these abominations? 11 Has (ND)this house, which is called by My name, become a (NE)den of robbers in your sight? Behold, (NF)I, even I, have seen it,” declares the Lord.
12 “But go now to My place which was in (NG)Shiloh, where I (NH)made My name dwell at the first, and (NI)see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. 13 And now, because you have done all these things,” declares the Lord, “and I spoke to you, (NJ)rising up early and (NK)speaking, but you did not hear, and I (NL)called you but you did not answer, 14 therefore, I will do to the (NM)house which is called by My name, (NN)in which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, as I (NO)did to Shiloh. 15 I will (NP)cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, all the [ct]offspring of (NQ)Ephraim.
16 “As for you, (NR)do not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for I do not hear you. 17 Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The [cu]children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they (NS)pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to (NT)spite Me. 19 (NU)Do they spite Me?” declares the Lord. “Is it not themselves they spite, to [cv]their own (NV)shame?” 20 Therefore thus says the Lord [cw]God, “Behold, My (NW)anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and on beast and on the (NX)trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and not be quenched.”
21 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Add your (NY)burnt offerings to your sacrifices and (NZ)eat flesh. 22 For I did not (OA)speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 But this is [cx]what I commanded them, saying, ‘(OB)Obey My voice, and (OC)I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may (OD)be well with you.’ 24 Yet they (OE)did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and [cy](OF)went backward and not forward. 25 Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have (OG)sent you all My servants the prophets, daily rising early and sending them. 26 Yet they did not listen to Me or incline their ear, but (OH)stiffened their neck; they (OI)did more evil than their fathers.
27 “You shall (OJ)speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will (OK)not answer you. 28 You shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that (OL)did not obey the voice of the Lord their God or accept correction; [cz](OM)truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.
29 ‘(ON)Cut off [da]your hair and cast it away,
And (OO)take up a lamentation on the bare heights;
For the Lord has (OP)rejected and forsaken
The generation of His wrath.’
30 For the sons of Judah have done that which is evil in My sight,” declares the Lord, “they have (OQ)set their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it. 31 They have (OR)built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to (OS)burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I (OT)did not command, and it did not come into My [db]mind.
32 “(OU)Therefore, behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of the Slaughter; for they will (OV)bury in Topheth [dc]because there is no other place. 33 The (OW)dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth; and no one will frighten them away. 34 Then I will make to (OX)cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the (OY)land will become a ruin.
The Sin and Treachery of Judah
8 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “they will (OZ)bring out the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves. 2 They will spread them out to the sun, the moon and to all the (PA)host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served, and which they have gone after and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered (PB)or buried; (PC)they will be as dung on the face of the ground. 3 And (PD)death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family, that remains in all the (PE)places to which I have driven them,” declares the Lord of hosts.
4 “You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord,
“Do men (PF)fall and not get up again?
Does one turn away and not [dd]repent?
5 “Why then has this people, Jerusalem,
(PG)Turned away in continual apostasy?
They (PH)hold fast to deceit,
They (PI)refuse to return.
6 “I (PJ)have listened and heard,
They have spoken what is not right;
(PK)No man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone turned to his course,
Like a (PL)horse charging into the battle.
7 “Even the stork in the sky
(PM)Knows her seasons;
And the (PN)turtledove and the swift and the thrush
Observe the time of their [de]migration;
But (PO)My people do not know
The ordinance of the Lord.
8 “(PP)How can you say, ‘We are wise,
And the law of the Lord is with us’?
But behold, the lying pen of the scribes
Has made it into a lie.
9 “The wise men are (PQ)put to shame,
They are dismayed and caught;
Behold, they have (PR)rejected the word of the Lord,
And what kind of wisdom do they have?
10 “Therefore I will (PS)give their wives to others,
Their fields to [df]new owners;
Because from the least even to the greatest
Everyone is (PT)greedy for gain;
From the prophet even to the priest
Everyone practices deceit.
11 “They (PU)heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.
12 “Were they (PV)ashamed because of the abomination they had done?
They certainly were not ashamed,
And they did not know how to blush;
Therefore they shall (PW)fall among those who fall;
At the (PX)time of their punishment they shall be brought down,”
Says the Lord.
13 “I will (PY)surely snatch them away,” declares the Lord;
“There will be (PZ)no grapes on the vine
And (QA)no figs on the fig tree,
And the leaf will wither;
And what I have given them will pass away.”’”
14 Why are we sitting still?
(QB)Assemble yourselves, and let us (QC)go into the fortified cities
And let us perish there,
Because the Lord our God has doomed us
And given us (QD)poisoned water to drink,
For (QE)we have sinned against the Lord.
15 We (QF)waited for peace, but no good came;
For a time of healing, but behold, terror!
16 From (QG)Dan is heard the snorting of his horses;
At the sound of the neighing of his (QH)stallions
The whole land quakes;
For they come and (QI)devour the land and its fullness,
The city and its inhabitants.
17 “For behold, I am (QJ)sending serpents against you,
Adders, for which there is (QK)no charm,
And they will bite you,” declares the Lord.
18 [dg]My (QL)sorrow is beyond healing,
My (QM)heart is faint within me!
19 Behold, listen! The cry of the daughter of my people from a (QN)distant land:
“Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not within her?”
“Why have they (QO)provoked Me with their graven images, with foreign [dh](QP)idols?”
20 “Harvest is past, summer is ended,
And we are not saved.”
21 For the (QQ)brokenness of the daughter of my people I am broken;
I (QR)mourn, dismay has taken hold of me.
22 Is there no (QS)balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
(QT)Why then has not the [di]health of the daughter of my people [dj]been restored?
A Lament over Zion
9 [dk](QU)Oh that my head were waters
And my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
For the slain of the (QV)daughter of my people!
2 [dl](QW)Oh that I had in the desert
A wayfarers’ lodging place;
That I might leave my people
And go from them!
For all of them are (QX)adulterers,
An assembly of (QY)treacherous men.
3 “They (QZ)bend their tongue like their bow;
Lies and not truth prevail in the land;
For they (RA)proceed from evil to evil,
And they (RB)do not know Me,” declares the Lord.
4 “Let everyone (RC)be on guard against his neighbor,
And (RD)do not trust any brother;
Because every (RE)brother deals [dm]craftily,
And every neighbor (RF)goes about as a slanderer.
5 “Everyone (RG)deceives his neighbor
And does not speak the truth,
They have taught their tongue to speak lies;
They (RH)weary themselves committing iniquity.
6 “Your (RI)dwelling is in the midst of deceit;
Through deceit they (RJ)refuse to know Me,” declares the Lord.
7 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts,
“Behold, I will refine them and (RK)assay them;
For (RL)what else can I do, because of the daughter of My people?
8 “Their (RM)tongue is a deadly arrow;
It speaks deceit;
With his mouth one (RN)speaks peace to his neighbor,
But inwardly he (RO)sets an ambush for him.
9 “(RP)Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares the Lord.
“On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?
10 “For the (RQ)mountains I will take up a weeping and wailing,
And for the pastures of the (RR)wilderness a dirge,
Because they are (RS)laid waste so that no one passes through,
And the lowing of the cattle is not heard;
Both the (RT)birds of the sky and the beasts have fled; they are gone.
11 “I will make Jerusalem a (RU)heap of ruins,
A haunt of (RV)jackals;
And I will make the cities of Judah a (RW)desolation, without inhabitant.”
12 Who is the (RX)wise man that may understand this? And who is he to whom (RY)the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? (RZ)Why is the land ruined, laid waste like a desert, so that no one passes through? 13 The Lord said, “Because they have (SA)forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it, 14 but have (SB)walked after the stubbornness of their heart and after the (SC)Baals, as their (SD)fathers taught them,” 15 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “behold, (SE)I will feed them, this people, with wormwood and give them (SF)poisoned water to drink. 16 I will (SG)scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the (SH)sword after them until I have annihilated them.”
17 Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“Consider and call for the (SI)mourning women, that they may come;
And send for the [dn](SJ)wailing women, that they may come!
18 “Let them make haste and take up a wailing for us,
That our (SK)eyes may shed tears
And our eyelids flow with water.
19 “For a voice of (SL)wailing is heard from Zion,
‘(SM)How are we ruined!
We are put to great shame,
For we have (SN)left the land,
Because they have cast down our dwellings.’”
20 Now hear the word of the Lord, O you (SO)women,
And let your ear receive the word of His mouth;
Teach your daughters wailing,
And everyone her neighbor a dirge.
21 For (SP)death has come up through our windows;
It has entered our palaces
To cut off the (SQ)children from the streets,
The young men from the town squares.
22 Speak, “Thus says the Lord,
‘The corpses of men will fall (SR)like dung on the open field,
And like the sheaf after the reaper,
But no one will gather them.’”
23 Thus says the Lord, “(SS)Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the (ST)mighty man boast of his might, let not a (SU)rich man boast of his riches; 24 but let him who boasts (SV)boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who (SW)exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I (SX)delight in these things,” declares the Lord.
25 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet (SY)uncircumcised— 26 Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and (SZ)all those inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are (TA)uncircumcised of heart.”
A Satire on Idolatry
10 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the Lord,
“(TB)Do not learn the way of the nations,
And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens
Although the nations are terrified by them;
3 For the customs of the peoples are [do](TC)delusion;
Because (TD)it is wood cut from the forest,
The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.
4 “They (TE)decorate it with silver and with gold;
They (TF)fasten it with nails and with hammers
So that it will not totter.
5 “Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they,
And they (TG)cannot speak;
They must be (TH)carried,
Because they cannot walk!
Do not fear them,
For they (TI)can do no harm,
Nor can they do any good.”
6 (TJ)There is none like You, O Lord;
You are (TK)great, and great is Your name in might.
7 (TL)Who would not fear You, O (TM)King of the nations?
Indeed it is Your due!
For among all the (TN)wise men of the nations
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
8 But they are altogether (TO)stupid and foolish
In their discipline of [dp]delusion—[dq]their idol is wood!
9 Beaten (TP)silver is brought from (TQ)Tarshish,
And (TR)gold from Uphaz,
The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith;
Violet and purple are their clothing;
They are all the (TS)work of skilled men.
10 But the Lord is the (TT)true God;
He is the (TU)living God and the (TV)everlasting King.
At His wrath the (TW)earth quakes,
And the nations cannot (TX)endure His indignation.
11 [dr]Thus you shall say to them, “The (TY)gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will (TZ)perish from the earth and from under the [ds]heavens.”
12 It is (UA)He who made the earth by His power,
Who (UB)established the world by His wisdom;
And by His understanding He has (UC)stretched out the heavens.
13 When He utters His (UD)voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
And He causes the (UE)clouds to ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain,
And brings out the (UF)wind from His storehouses.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.