Bible in 90 Days
19 I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put,[a] Lud (who are archers), Tubal, Javan,(A) and the islands far away—who have not heard of My fame or seen My glory. And they will proclaim My glory among the nations.(B) 20 They will bring all your brothers from all the nations as a gift to the Lord on horses and chariots, in litters, and on mules and camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,”(C) says the Lord, “just as the Israelites bring an offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord. 21 I will also take some of them as priests and Levites,”(D) says the Lord.
22 “For just as the new heavens and the new earth,(E)
which I will make,
will endure before Me”—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
“so your offspring and your name will endure.
23 All mankind will come to worship Me
from one New Moon to another
and from one Sabbath to another,”
says the Lord.
24 “As they leave, they will see the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against Me;(F) for their worm(G) will never die, their fire will never go out,(H) and they will be a horror to all mankind.”(I)
1 The words of Jeremiah,(J) the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests living in Anathoth(K) in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah(L) son of Amon, king of Judah. 3 It also came throughout the days of Jehoiakim(M) son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah(N) son of Josiah, king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the Lord came to me:
5 I chose you before I formed you in the womb;
I set you apart before you were born.(O)
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.(P)
6 But I protested, “Oh no, Lord, God! Look, I don’t know how to speak(Q) since I am only a youth.”(R)
7 Then the Lord said to me:
Do not say, “I am only a youth,”(S)
for you will go to everyone I send you to
and speak whatever I tell you.(T)
8 Do not be afraid of anyone,(U)
for I will be with you to deliver you.(V)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
9 Then the Lord reached out His hand, touched my mouth,(W) and told me:
I have now filled your mouth with My words.(X)
10 See, I have appointed you today
over nations and kingdoms
to uproot and tear down,
to destroy and demolish,(Y)
to build and plant.(Z)
Two Visions
11 Then the word of the Lord came to me, asking, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”(AA)
I replied, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”
12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I watch over My word to accomplish it.”(AB) 13 Again the word of the Lord came to me inquiring, “What do you see?”
And I replied, “I see a boiling pot,(AC) its lip tilted from the north to the south.”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “Disaster will be poured out[b] from the north(AD) on all who live in the land. 15 Indeed, I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north.”(AE)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
They will come, and each king will set up his throne
at the entrance to Jerusalem’s gates.
They will attack all her surrounding walls
and all the other cities of Judah.
16 “I will pronounce My judgments against them for all the evil they did when they abandoned Me to burn incense to other gods and to worship the works of their own hands.(AF)
17 “Now, get ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them(AG) or I will cause you to cower before them. 18 Today, I am the One who has made you a fortified city,(AH) an iron pillar, and bronze walls(AI) against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the population. 19 They will fight against you but never prevail over you,(AJ) since I am with you to rescue you.”(AK)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Israel Accused of Apostasy
2 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Go and announce directly to Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says:
I remember the loyalty of your youth,(AL)
your love as a bride—
how you followed Me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.
3 Israel was holy to the Lord,(AM)
the firstfruits of His harvest.(AN)
All who ate of it found themselves guilty;(AO)
disaster came on them.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
4 Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob
and all families of the house of Israel.
5 This is what the Lord says:
What fault did your fathers find in Me(AP)
that they went so far from Me,
followed worthless idols,(AQ)
and became worthless themselves?(AR)
6 They stopped asking, “Where is the Lord(AS)
who brought us from the land of Egypt,
who led us through the wilderness,(AT)
through a land of deserts and ravines,
through a land of drought and darkness,[c]
a land no one traveled through
and where no one lived?”
7 I brought you to a fertile land(AU)
to eat its fruit and bounty,
but after you entered, you defiled My land;(AV)
you made My inheritance(AW) detestable.
8 The priests quit asking, “Where is the Lord?”
The experts in the law no longer knew Me,(AX)
and the rulers(AY) rebelled against Me.
The prophets prophesied by[d] Baal(AZ)
and followed useless idols.(BA)
9 Therefore, I will bring a case against you again.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will bring a case against your children’s children.(BB)
10 Cross over to Cyprus[e](BC) and take a look.
Send someone to Kedar(BD) and consider carefully;
see if there has ever been anything like this:
11 Has a nation ever exchanged its gods?(BE)
(But they were not gods!(BF))
Yet My people have exchanged their[f] Glory
for useless idols.(BG)
12 Be horrified at this, heavens;(BH)
be shocked and utterly appalled.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
13 For My people have committed a double evil:
They have abandoned Me,(BI)
the fountain of living water,(BJ)
and dug cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.(BK)
Consequences of Apostasy
14 Is Israel a slave?
Was he born into slavery?[g]
Why else has he become a prey?
15 The young lions have roared at him;(BL)
they have roared loudly.
They have laid waste his land.(BM)
His cities are in ruins, without inhabitants.
16 The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes(BN)
have also broken your skull.
17 Have you not brought this on yourself(BO)
by abandoning the Lord your God
while He was leading you along the way?
18 Now what will you gain
by traveling along the way to Egypt(BP)
to drink the waters of the Nile?[h]
What will you gain
by traveling along the way to Assyria(BQ)
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?(BR)
19 Your own evil will discipline you;(BS)
your own apostasies will reprimand you.
Think it over and see how evil and bitter(BT) it is
for you to abandon the Lord your God
and to have no fear of Me.
This is the declaration
of the Lord God of Hosts.
20 For long ago I[i] broke your yoke;(BU)
I[j] tore off your chains.
You insisted, “I will not serve!”
On every high hill
and under every green tree(BV)
you lie down like a prostitute.(BW)
21 I planted you, a choice vine(BX)
from the very best seed.
How then could you turn into
a degenerate, foreign vine?(BY)
22 Even if you wash with lye
and use a great amount of soap,(BZ)
the stain of your sin is still in front of Me.(CA)
This is the Lord God’s declaration.
23 How can you protest, “I am not defiled;
I have not followed the Baals”?(CB)
Look at your behavior in the valley;
acknowledge what you have done.(CC)
You are a swift young camel
twisting and turning on her way,
24 a wild donkey(CD) at home[k] in the wilderness.
She sniffs the wind in the heat of her desire.
Who can control her passion?
All who look for her will not become tired;
they will find her in her mating season.[l]
25 Keep your feet from going bare
and your throat from thirst.
But you say, “It’s hopeless;(CE)
I love strangers,(CF)
and I will continue to follow them.”
26 Like the shame of a thief when he is caught,
so the house of Israel has been put to shame.(CG)
They, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets(CH)
27 say to a tree, “You are my father,”
and to a stone, “You gave birth to me.”
For they have turned their back to Me
and not their face,(CI)
yet in their time of disaster(CJ) they beg,
“Rise up and save us!”
28 But where are your gods you made for yourself?
Let them rise up and save you(CK)
in your time of disaster if they can,
for your gods are as numerous as your cities, Judah.
Judgment Deserved
29 Why do you bring a case against Me?(CL)
All of you have rebelled against Me.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
30 I have struck down your children in vain;
they would not accept discipline.(CM)
Your own sword has devoured your prophets(CN)
like a ravaging lion.
31 Evil generation,
pay attention to the word of the Lord!
Have I been a wilderness to Israel
or a land of dense darkness?(CO)
Why do My people claim,
“We will go where we want;[m]
we will no longer come to You”?
32 Can a young woman forget her jewelry(CP)
or a bride her wedding sash?
Yet My people have forgotten Me(CQ)
for countless days.
33 How skillfully you pursue love;
you also teach evil women your ways.
34 Moreover, your skirts are stained
with the blood of the innocent poor.(CR)
You did not catch them breaking and entering.(CS)
But in spite of all these things
35 you claim, “I am innocent.(CT)
His anger is sure to turn away from me.”
But I will certainly judge you
because you have said, “I have not sinned.”(CU)
36 How unstable you are,(CV)
constantly changing your ways!
You will be put to shame by Egypt(CW)
just as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37 Moreover, you will be led out from here
with your hands on your head(CX)
since the Lord has rejected those you trust;(CY)
you will not succeed even with their help.[n]
Wages of Apostasy
3 If[o] a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him to marry another,
can he ever return to her?(CZ)
Wouldn’t such a land[p] become totally defiled?
But you!
You have played the prostitute with many partners(DA)—
can you return to Me?(DB)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
2 Look to the barren heights(DC) and see.
Where have you not been immoral?
You sat waiting for them beside the highways(DD)
like a nomad in the desert.
You have defiled the land
with your prostitution and wickedness.(DE)
3 This is why the showers haven’t come(DF)—
why there has been no spring rain.
You have the brazen look(DG) of a prostitute[q]
and refuse to be ashamed.(DH)
4 Have you not lately called to Me, “My Father.(DI)
You were my friend in my youth.(DJ)
5 Will He bear a grudge forever?(DK)
Will He be endlessly infuriated?”
This is what you have said,
but you have done the evil things
you are capable of.
Unfaithful Israel, Treacherous Judah
6 In the days of King Josiah the Lord asked me, “Have you seen what unfaithful Israel has done? She has ascended every high hill and gone under every green tree to prostitute herself there.(DL) 7 I thought: After she has done all these things, she will return to Me.(DM) But she didn’t return, and her treacherous sister Judah(DN) saw it. 8 I[r] observed that it was because unfaithful Israel had committed adultery that I had sent her away and had given her a certificate of divorce.(DO) Nevertheless, her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid but also went and prostituted herself.(DP) 9 Indifferent to[s] her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones(DQ) and trees.(DR) 10 Yet in spite of all this, her treacherous sister Judah didn’t return to Me with all her heart(DS)—only in pretense.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
11 The Lord announced to me, “Unfaithful Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.(DT) 12 Go, proclaim these words to the north, and say:
Return, unfaithful Israel.(DU)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will not look on you with anger,[t]
for I am unfailing in My love.(DV)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will not be angry forever.(DW)
13 Only acknowledge your guilt(DX)—
you have rebelled against the Lord your God.(DY)
You have scattered your favors to strangers
under every green tree(DZ)
and have not obeyed My voice.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
14 “Return, you faithless children”(EA)—this is the Lord’s declaration—“for I am your master,(EB) and I will take you,(EC) one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. 15 I will give you shepherds who are loyal to Me,[u](ED) and they will shepherd you with knowledge and skill. 16 When you multiply and increase in the land,(EE) in those days”—the Lord’s declaration—“no one will say any longer, ‘The ark of the Lord’s covenant.’(EF) It will never come to mind, and no one will remember or miss it. It will never again be made. 17 At that time Jerusalem will be called, Yahweh’s Throne,(EG) and all the nations will be gathered to it,(EH) to the name of Yahweh in Jerusalem.(EI) They will cease to follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. 18 In those days the house of Judah will join with the house of Israel,(EJ) and they will come together from the land of the north to the land I have given your ancestors to inherit.”(EK)
True Repentance
19 I thought: How I long to make you My sons
and give you a desirable land,
the most beautiful inheritance(EL) of all the nations.
I thought: You will call Me, my Father,
and never turn away from Me.
20 However, as a woman may betray her lover,[v]
so you have betrayed(EM) Me, house of Israel.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
21 A sound is heard on the barren heights,
the children of Israel weeping and begging for mercy,
for they have perverted their way;
they have forgotten the Lord their God.(EN)
22 Return, you faithless children.
I will heal your unfaithfulness.(EO)
“Here we are, coming to You,
for You are the Lord our God.
23 Surely, falsehood comes from the hills,
commotion from the mountains,(EP)
but the salvation of Israel
is only in the Lord our God.(EQ)
24 From the time of our youth
the shameful one[w] has consumed
what our fathers have worked for—
their flocks and their herds,
their sons and their daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame;
let our disgrace cover us.(ER)
We have sinned against the Lord our God,(ES)
both we and our fathers,
from the time of our youth even to this day.(ET)
We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
Blessing or Curse
4 If you return,[x] Israel—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
you will return to Me,(EU)
if you remove your detestable idols(EV)
from My presence
and do not waver,
2 then you can swear, “As the Lord lives,”(EW)
in truth,(EX) in justice, and in righteousness,(EY)
then the nations will be blessed[y] by Him(EZ)
and will pride themselves in Him.(FA)
3 For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
Break up the unplowed ground;(FB)
do not sow among the thorns.(FC)
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;
remove the foreskin of your hearts,(FD)
men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.
Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire
and burn with no one to extinguish it(FE)
because of your evil deeds.
Judgment from the North
5 Declare in Judah, proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:
Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land.(FF)
Cry out loudly and say:
Assemble yourselves,
and let’s flee to the fortified cities.
6 Lift up a signal flag toward Zion.(FG)
Run for cover! Don’t stand still!
For I am bringing disaster from the north—
a great destruction.(FH)
7 A lion has gone up from his thicket;(FI)
a destroyer of nations has set out.
He has left his lair
to make your land a waste.
Your cities will be reduced to uninhabited ruins.(FJ)
8 Because of this, put on sackcloth;
mourn and wail,(FK)
for the Lord’s burning anger(FL)
has not turned away from us.
9 “On that day”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“the king and the officials will lose their courage. The priests will tremble in fear, and the prophets will be scared speechless.”
10 I said, “Oh no, Lord God, You have certainly deceived(FM) this people and Jerusalem, by announcing, ‘You will have peace,’(FN) while a sword is at[z] our throats.”
11 “At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, ‘A searing wind(FO) blows from the barren heights in the wilderness on the way to My dear[aa] people. It comes not to winnow or to sift; 12 a wind too strong for this comes at My call.[ab] Now I will also pronounce judgments against them.’”(FP)
13 Look, he advances like clouds;(FQ)
his chariots are like a storm.(FR)
His horses are swifter than eagles.(FS)
Woe to us, for we are ruined!(FT)
14 Wash the evil from your heart,(FU) Jerusalem,
so that you will be delivered.
How long will you harbor
malicious thoughts within you?(FV)
15 For a voice announces from Dan,
proclaiming malice from Mount Ephraim.
16 Warn the nations: Look!
Proclaim to Jerusalem:
Those who besiege are coming
from a distant land;(FW)
they raise their voices
against the cities of Judah.
17 They have her surrounded(FX)
like those who guard a field,
because she has rebelled against Me.(FY)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
18 Your way of life and your actions
have brought this on you.(FZ)
This is your punishment. It is very bitter,
because it has reached your heart!
Jeremiah’s Lament
19 My anguish, my anguish![ac] I writhe in agony!
Oh, the pain in[ad] my heart!(GA)
My heart pounds;
I cannot be silent.
For you, my soul,
have heard the sound of the ram’s horn—
the shout of battle.
20 Disaster after disaster(GB) is reported
because the whole land is destroyed.
Suddenly my tents are destroyed,
my tent curtains, in a moment.
21 How long must I see the signal flag
and hear the sound of the ram’s horn?
22 “For My people are fools;
they do not know Me.
They are foolish children,
without understanding.(GC)
They are skilled in doing what is evil,
but they do not know how to do what is good.”(GD)
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty.(GE)
I looked to the heavens,
and their light was gone.(GF)
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;(GG)
all the hills shook.
25 I looked, and no man was left;(GH)
all the birds of the sky had fled.(GI)
26 I looked, and the fertile field(GJ) was a wilderness.(GK)
All its cities were torn down
because of the Lord
and His burning anger.(GL)
27 For this is what the Lord says:
The whole land will be a desolation,(GM)
but I will not finish it off.(GN)
28 Because of this, the earth will mourn;(GO)
the skies above will grow dark.(GP)
I have spoken; I have planned,
and I will not relent or turn back from it.(GQ)
29 Every city flees(GR)
at the sound of the horseman and the archer.
They enter the thickets
and climb among the rocks.(GS)
Every city is abandoned;
no inhabitant is left.
30 And you, devastated one, what are you doing(GT)
that you dress yourself in scarlet,
that you adorn yourself with gold jewelry,
that you enlarge your eyes with paint?(GU)
You beautify yourself for nothing.
Your lovers reject you;(GV)
they want to take your life.(GW)
31 I hear a cry like a woman in labor,(GX)
a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child.
The cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,
stretching out her hands:(GY)
Woe is me, for my life is weary
because of the murderers!
The Depravity of Jerusalem
5 Roam(GZ) through the streets of Jerusalem.
Look and take note;
search in her squares.
If you find one person,(HA)
any who acts justly,
who seeks to be faithful,
then I will forgive her.(HB)
2 When they say, “As the Lord lives,”(HC)
they are swearing falsely.(HD)
3 Lord, don’t Your eyes look for faithfulness?(HE)
You have struck them, but they felt no pain.(HF)
You finished them off,
but they refused to accept discipline.(HG)
They made their faces harder than rock,(HH)
and they refused to return.(HI)
4 Then I thought:
They are just the poor;
they have played the fool.
For they don’t understand the way of the Lord,(HJ)
the justice of their God.(HK)
5 I will go to the powerful
and speak to them.
Surely they know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.(HL)
However, these also had broken the yoke
and torn off the chains.(HM)
6 Therefore, a lion from the forest will strike them down.(HN)
A wolf from an arid plain will ravage them.
A leopard(HO) keeps watch over their cities.
Anyone who leaves them will be torn to pieces
because their rebellious acts are many,(HP)
their unfaithful deeds numerous.(HQ)
7 Why should I forgive you?
Your children have abandoned Me
and sworn by those who are not gods.(HR)
I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery;(HS)
they gashed themselves(HT) at the[ae] prostitute’s house.
8 They are well-fed,[af] eager[ag] stallions,(HU)
each neighing(HV) after someone else’s wife.(HW)
9 Should I not punish them for these things?(HX)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge Myself(HY)
on such a nation as this?
10 Go up among her vineyard terraces and destroy them,(HZ)
but do not finish them off.(IA)
Prune away her shoots,
for they do not belong to the Lord.(IB)
11 They, the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
have dealt very treacherously with Me.(IC)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
12 They have contradicted the Lord
and insisted, “It won’t happen.[ah](ID)
Harm won’t come to us;
we won’t see sword or famine.”
13 The prophets become only wind,
for the Lord’s word is not in them.
This will in fact happen to them.
Coming Judgment
14 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Hosts says:
Because you have spoken this word,
I am going to make My words
become fire in your mouth.(IE)
These people are the wood,
and the fire will consume them.(IF)
15 I am about to bring a nation
from far away against you,(IG)
house of Israel.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
It is an established nation,
an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know
and whose speech you do not understand.(IH)
16 Their quiver is like an open grave;(II)
they are all mighty warriors.
17 They will consume your harvest and your food.(IJ)
They will consume your sons and your daughters.
They will consume your flocks and your herds.
They will consume your vines and your fig trees.
They will destroy with the sword
your fortified cities(IK) in which you trust.
18 “But even in those days”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“I will not finish you off.(IL) 19 When people ask, ‘For what offense has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ You will respond to them: Just as you abandoned Me(IM) and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.(IN)
20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah, saying:
21 Hear this,
you foolish and senseless[ai] people.(IO)
They have eyes, but they don’t see.
They have ears, but they don’t hear.(IP)
22 Do you not fear Me?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Do you not tremble before Me,
the One who set the sand as the boundary of the sea,
an enduring barrier that it cannot cross?(IQ)
The waves surge, but they cannot prevail.
They roar but cannot pass over it.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.(IR)
They have turned aside and have gone away.
24 They have not said to themselves,
‘Let’s fear the Lord our God,(IS)
who gives the rain,(IT) both early and late,(IU) in its season,(IV)
who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.’
25 Your guilty acts have diverted these things from you.
Your sins have withheld My bounty from you,(IW)
26 for wicked men live among My people.
They watch like fowlers lying in wait.[aj](IX)
They set a trap;(IY)
they catch men.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
so their houses are full of deceit.(IZ)
Therefore they have grown powerful and rich.
28 They have become fat(JA) and sleek.
They have also excelled in evil matters.
They have not taken up cases,
such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper,
and they have not defended the rights of the needy.(JB)
29 Should I not punish them for these things?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge Myself(JC)
on such a nation as this?
30 A horrible, terrible thing
has taken place in the land.(JD)
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,(JE)
and the priests rule by their own authority.
My people love it like this.
But what will you do at the end of it?(JF)
Threatened Siege of Jerusalem
6 “Run for cover,(JG) Benjaminites,
out of Jerusalem!
Sound the ram’s horn(JH) in Tekoa;(JI)
raise a smoke signal(JJ) over Beth-haccherem,[ak]
for disaster threatens from the north,(JK)
even great destruction.
2 Though she is beautiful and delicate,
I will destroy[al] Daughter Zion.
3 Shepherds and their flocks will come against her;
they will pitch their tents all around her.(JL)
Each will pasture his own portion.
4 Set them apart for war(JM) against her;
rise up, let’s attack at noon.
Woe to us, for the day is passing;
the evening shadows grow long.
5 Rise up, let’s attack by night.
Let us destroy her fortresses.”
6 For this is what the Lord of Hosts says:
Cut down the trees;(JN)
raise a siege ramp against Jerusalem.
This city must be punished.
There is nothing but oppression within her.(JO)
7 As a well gushes out its water,
so she pours out her evil.[am]
Violence and destruction(JP) resound in her.
Sickness and wounds keep coming to My attention.
8 Be warned, Jerusalem,
or I will turn away from you;(JQ)
I will make you a desolation,
a land without inhabitants.(JR)
Wrath on Israel
9 This is what the Lord of Hosts says:
Glean the remnant of Israel(JS)
as thoroughly as a vine.
Pass your hand once more like a grape gatherer
over the branches.
10 Who can I speak to and give such a warning[an]
that they will listen?
Look, their ear is uncircumcised,[ao](JT)
so they cannot pay attention.
See, the word of the Lord has become contemptible to them—
they find no pleasure in it.(JU)
11 But I am full of the Lord’s wrath;
I am tired of holding it back.(JV)
Pour it out on the children in the street,(JW)
on the gang of young men as well.
For both husband and wife will be captured,
the old with the very old.[ap]
12 Their houses will be turned over to others,(JX)
their fields and wives as well,
for I will stretch out My hand(JY)
against the inhabitants of the land.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
13 For from the least to the greatest of them,(JZ)
everyone is making profit dishonestly.(KA)
From prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.(KB)
14 They have treated My people’s brokenness superficially,
claiming, “Peace, peace,”(KC)
when there is no peace.
15 Were they ashamed when they acted so abhorrently?
They weren’t at all ashamed.
They can no longer feel humiliation.(KD)
Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.
When I punish them, they will collapse,(KE)
says the Lord.
Disaster because of Disobedience
16 This is what the Lord says:
Stand by the roadways and look.
Ask about the ancient paths:(KF)
Which is the way to what is good?
Then take it
and find rest for yourselves.(KG)
But they protested, “We won’t!”
17 I appointed watchmen over you(KH)
and said: Listen for the sound of the ram’s horn.
But they protested, “We won’t listen!”
18 Therefore listen, you nations
and you witnesses,
learn what the charge is against them.
19 Listen, earth!
I am about to bring disaster on these people,
the fruit of their own plotting,(KI)
for they have paid no attention to My word.
They have rejected My instruction.(KJ)
20 What use to Me is frankincense from Sheba(KK)
or sweet cane(KL) from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;
your sacrifices do not please Me.(KM)
21 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
I am going to place stumbling blocks before these people;
fathers and sons together will stumble over them;(KN)
friends and neighbors will also perish.
A Cruel Nation from the North
22 This is what the Lord says:
Look, an army is coming from a northern land;(KO)
a great nation will be awakened
from the remote regions of the earth.(KP)
23 They grasp bow and javelin.
They are cruel and show no mercy.(KQ)
Their voice roars like the sea,(KR)
and they ride on horses,
lined up like men in battle formation
against you, Daughter Zion.
24 We have heard about it,
and we are discouraged.[aq]
Distress has seized us—
pain like a woman in(KS) labor.(KT)
25 Don’t go out to the fields;
don’t walk on the road.
For the enemy has a sword;
terror is on every side.(KU)
26 My dear[ar] people, dress yourselves in sackcloth
and roll in the dust.(KV)
Mourn as you would for an only son,(KW)
a bitter lament,
for suddenly the destroyer(KX) will come on us.(KY)
Jeremiah Appointed as an Examiner
27 I have appointed you to be an assayer among My people—
a refiner[as]—
so you may know and assay their way of life.(KZ)
28 All are stubborn rebels
spreading slander.(LA)
They are bronze and iron;
all of them are corrupt.(LB)
29 The bellows blow,
blasting the lead with fire.
The refining is completely in vain;
the evil ones are not separated out.
30 They are called rejected silver,
for the Lord has rejected them.(LC)
False Trust in the Temple
7 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Stand in the gate of the house of the Lord(LD) and there call out this word: Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who enter through these gates to worship the Lord.
3 “This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Correct your ways and your deeds,(LE) and I will allow you to live in this place. 4 Do not trust deceitful words, chanting: This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord. 5 Instead, if you really change your ways and your actions, if you act justly toward one another,[at](LF) 6 if you no longer oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow(LG) and no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods, bringing harm on yourselves, 7 I will allow you to live in this place, the land I gave to your ancestors(LH) long ago and forever. 8 But look, you keep trusting in deceitful words that cannot help.
9 “Do you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known?(LI) 10 Then do you come and stand before Me in this house(LJ) called by My name and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue doing all these detestable acts’? 11 Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers(LK) in your view? Yes, I too have seen it.”(LL)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Shiloh As a Warning
12 “But return to My place that was at Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at first.(LM) See what I did to it because of the evil of My people Israel. 13 Now, because you have done all these things”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and because I have spoken to you time and time again[au] but you wouldn’t listen,(LN) and I have called to you, but you wouldn’t answer,(LO) 14 what I did to Shiloh I will do to the house that is called by My name(LP)—the house in which you trust—the place that I gave you and your ancestors. 15 I will drive you from My presence, just as I drove out all of your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.(LQ)
Do Not Pray for Judah
16 “As for you, do not pray for these people.(LR) Do not offer a cry or a prayer on their behalf, and do not beg Me,(LS) for I will not listen to you.(LT) 17 Don’t you see how they behave in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven,[av](LU) and they pour out drink offerings to other gods so that they provoke Me to anger. 19 But are they really provoking Me?”(LV) This is the Lord’s declaration. “Isn’t it they themselves being provoked to disgrace?”
20 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Look, My anger—My burning wrath—is about to be poured out on this place,(LW) on man and beast, on the tree of the field, and on the produce of the land. My wrath will burn and not be quenched.”(LX)
Obedience Over Sacrifice
21 This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices, and eat the meat yourselves,(LY) 22 for when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak with them(LZ) or command them concerning burnt offering and sacrifice. 23 However, I did give them this command: Obey Me, and then I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must follow every way I command you so that it may go well with you.(MA) 24 Yet they didn’t listen or pay attention(MB) but followed their own advice and according to their own stubborn, evil heart. They went backward and not forward.(MC) 25 Since the day your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent all My servants the prophets(MD) to you time and time again.[aw](ME) 26 However, they wouldn’t listen to Me or pay attention but became obstinate;[ax](MF) they did more evil than their ancestors.(MG)
A Lament for Disobedient Judah
27 “When you speak all these things to them, they will not listen to you. When you call to them, they will not answer you. 28 You must therefore declare to them: This is the nation that would not listen to the voice of the Lord their God and would not accept discipline. Truth[ay] has perished—it has disappeared from their mouths. 29 Cut off the hair of your sacred vow[az](MH) and throw it away. Raise up a dirge on the barren heights,(MI) for the Lord has rejected and abandoned the generation under His wrath.(MJ)
30 “For the Judeans have done what is evil in My sight.” This is the Lord’s declaration. “They have set up their detestable things(MK) in the house that is called by My name and defiled it.(ML) 31 They have built the high places of Topheth[ba](MM) in the Valley of Hinnom[bb](MN) in order to burn their sons and daughters in the fire,(MO) a thing I did not command; I never entertained the thought.[bc]
32 “Therefore, take note! Days are coming”(MP)—the Lord’s declaration—“when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.(MQ) Topheth will become a cemetery,[bd] because there will be no other burial place. 33 The corpses of these people will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land, with no one to scare them away.(MR) 34 I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sound of joy and gladness and the voices of the groom and the bride,(MS) for the land will become a desolate waste.(MT)
Death over Life
8 “At that time”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of her officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the residents of Jerusalem will be brought out of their graves. 2 They will be exposed(MU) to the sun, the moon, and the whole heavenly host,(MV) which they have loved, served, followed, consulted, and worshiped. Their bones will not be collected and buried but will become like manure on the surface of the soil.(MW) 3 Death will be chosen over life(MX) by all the survivors of this evil family, those who remain wherever I have banished them.” This is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.
4 “You are to say to them: This is what the Lord says:
Do people fall and not get up again?(MY)
If they turn away, do they not return?
5 Why have these people turned away?
Why is Jerusalem always turning away?
They take hold of deceit;(MZ)
they refuse to return.(NA)
6 I have paid careful attention.
They do not speak what is right.
No one regrets his evil,
asking, ‘What have I done?’
Everyone has stayed his course
like a horse rushing into battle.(NB)
7 Even the stork in the sky
knows her seasons.
The turtledove, swallow, and crane[be]
are aware of their migration,
but My people do not know
the requirements of the Lord.(NC)
Punishment for Judah’s Leaders
8 “How can you claim, ‘We are wise;
the law of the Lord is with us’?
In fact, the lying pen of scribes(ND)
has produced falsehood.
9 The wise will be put to shame;
they will be dismayed and snared.
They have rejected the word of the Lord,
so what wisdom do they really have?
10 Therefore, I will give(NE) their wives to other men,
their fields to new occupants,
for from the least to the greatest,
everyone is making profit dishonestly.
From prophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
11 They have treated superficially the brokenness
of My dear[bf] people,
claiming, ‘Peace, peace,’
when there is no peace.
12 Were they ashamed when they acted so abhorrently?
They weren’t at all ashamed.
They can no longer feel humiliation.
Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.
When I punish them, they will collapse,”(NF)
says the Lord.
13 I will gather them and bring them to an end.[bg](NG)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
There will be no grapes on the vine,
no figs on the fig tree,
and even the leaf will wither.
Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.
God’s People Unrepentant
14 Why are we just sitting here?
Gather together; let us enter the fortified cities
and perish there,[bh]
for the Lord our God has destroyed[bi] us.
He has given us poisoned water to drink,(NH)
because we have sinned against the Lord.
15 We hoped for peace, but there was nothing good;
for a time of healing, but there was only terror.(NI)
16 From Dan the snorting of horses is heard.
At the sound of the neighing of mighty steeds,(NJ)
the whole land quakes.
They come to devour the land and everything in it,
the city and all its residents.
17 Indeed, I am about to send snakes among you,
poisonous vipers(NK) that cannot be charmed.(NL)
They will bite you.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Lament over Judah
18 My joy has flown away;
grief has settled on me.
My heart is sick.(NM)
19 Listen—the cry of my dear[bj] people
from a far away land,
“Is the Lord no longer in Zion,(NN)
her King not within her?”
Why have they provoked me to anger
with their carved images,
with their worthless foreign idols?(NO)
20 Harvest has passed, summer has ended,
but we have not been saved.
21 I am broken by the brokenness
of my dear[bk] people.(NP)
I mourn; horror has taken hold of me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead?(NQ)
Is there no physician there?
So why has the healing of my dear[bl] people
not come about?
9 [bm]If my head were a spring of water,
my eyes a fountain of tears,
I would weep day and night(NR)
over the slain of my dear[bn] people.
2 [bo]If only I had a traveler’s lodging place
in the wilderness,
I would abandon my people
and depart from them,
for they are all adulterers,(NS)
a solemn assembly of treacherous people.(NT)
3 They bent their tongues like their bows;
lies and not faithfulness prevail in the land,
for they proceed from one evil to another,
and they do not take Me into account.(NU)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Imminent Ruin and Exile
4 Everyone has to be on guard against his friend.
Don’t trust any brother,
for every brother will certainly deceive,
and every friend spread slander.(NV)
5 Each one betrays his friend;
no one tells the truth.
They have taught their tongues to speak lies;
they wear themselves out doing wrong.
6 You live in a world of deception.[bp]
In their deception they refuse to know Me.(NW)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
7 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says:
I am about to refine them and test them,(NX)
for what else can I do
because of My dear[bq] people?[br]
8 Their tongues are deadly arrows—
they speak deception.(NY)
With his mouth
a man speaks peaceably with his friend,
but inwardly he sets up an ambush.
9 Should I not punish them for these things?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge Myself(NZ)
on such a nation as this?
10 I will raise weeping and a lament
over the mountains,
a dirge over the wilderness grazing land,
for they have been so scorched
that no one passes through.
The sound of cattle is no longer heard.
From the birds of the sky to the animals,(OA)
everything has fled—they have gone away.
11 I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble,(OB)
a jackals’ den.(OC)
I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
an uninhabited place.
12 Who is the man wise enough to understand this?(OD) Who has the Lord spoken to, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a wilderness, so no one can pass through?
13 The Lord said, “It is because they abandoned My instruction(OE) that I set in front of them and did not obey My voice or walk according to it. 14 Instead, they followed the stubbornness of their hearts(OF) and followed after the Baals as their fathers taught them.”(OG) 15 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to feed this people wormwood(OH) and give them poisonous water to drink.(OI) 16 I will scatter them among the nations(OJ) that they and their fathers have not known. I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off.”
Mourning over Judah
17 This is what the Lord of Hosts says:
Consider, and summon the women who mourn;(OK)
send for the skillful women.
18 Let them come quickly to raise a lament over us
so that our eyes may overflow with tears,
our eyelids soaked with weeping.
19 For a sound of lamentation is heard from Zion:
How devastated we are.
We are greatly ashamed,(OL)
for we have abandoned the land;
our dwellings have been torn down.
20 Now hear the word of the Lord, you women.
Pay attention to[bs] the word of His mouth.
Teach your daughters a lament
and one another a dirge,
21 for Death(OM) has climbed through our windows;
it has entered our fortresses,
cutting off children from the streets,
young men from the squares.
22 Speak as follows:
This is what the Lord says:
Human corpses will fall
like manure on the surface of the field,
like newly cut grain(ON) after the reaper
with no one to gather it.
Boast in the Lord
23 This is what the Lord says:
The wise man must not boast in his wisdom;
the strong man must not boast in his strength;
the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth.
24 But the one who boasts should boast in this,
that he understands and knows Me(OO)—
that I am Yahweh, showing faithful love,
justice, and righteousness on the earth,
for I delight in these things.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
25 “The days are coming”—the Lord’s declaration—“when I will punish all the circumcised yet uncircumcised:(OP) 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair on their temples.[bt] All these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”(OQ)
False Gods Contrasted with the Creator
10 Hear the word that the Lord has spoken to[bu] you, house of Israel. 2 This is what the Lord says:
Do not learn the way of the nations(OR)
or be terrified by signs in the heavens,
although the nations are terrified by them,
3 for the customs of the peoples are worthless.
Someone cuts down a tree from the forest;
it is worked by the hands of a craftsman with a chisel.
4 He decorates it with silver and gold.(OS)
It is fastened with hammer and nails,(OT)
so it won’t totter.
5 Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch,
their idols cannot speak.(OU)
They must be carried(OV) because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them for they can do no harm(OW)—
and they cannot do any good.(OX)
6 Yahweh, there is no one like You.(OY)
You are great;
Your name is great in power.(OZ)
7 Who should not fear You,
King of the nations?(PA)
It is what You deserve.
For among all the wise people of the nations
and among all their kingdoms,
there is no one like You.
8 They are both stupid and foolish,
instructed by worthless idols
made of wood!
9 Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,(PB)
and gold from Uphaz[bv](PC)
from the hands of a goldsmith,
the work of a craftsman.
Their clothing is blue and purple,
all the work of skilled artisans.
10 But Yahweh is the true God;(PD)
He is the living God(PE) and eternal King.(PF)
The earth quakes at His wrath,(PG)
and the nations cannot endure His rage.
11 You are to say this to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens(PH) and the earth will perish from the earth(PI) and from under these heavens.”[bw]
12 He made the earth by His power,
established the world(PJ) by His wisdom,(PK)
and spread out the heavens by His understanding.(PL)
13 When He thunders,[bx]
the waters in the heavens are in turmoil,(PM)
and He causes the clouds to rise
from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from His storehouses.(PN)
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