Chronological
Jeremiah
1 1 In what time Jeremiah prophesied. 6 He acknowledgeth his imperfection, and is strengthened of the Lord. 11 The Lord showeth him the destruction of Jerusalem. 17 He commandeth him to preach his word without fear.
1 The [a]words of Jeremiah the son of [b]Hilkiah one of the Priests that were at [c]Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.
2 To whom the [d]word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon King of Judah in the thirteenth year of his reign:
3 And also in the days of Jehoiakim the [e]son of Josiah king of Judah unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah king of Judah, even unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth [f]month.
4 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
5 Before I [g]formed thee in the womb, I knew thee, and before thou camest out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and ordained thee to be a Prophet unto the [h]nations.
6 Then said I, [i]Oh, Lord God, behold, I cannot speak, for I am a child.
7 But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee, shalt thou speak.
8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
9 Then the Lord stretched out his hand, and [j]touched my mouth, and the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
10 Behold, this day have I set thee over the [k]nations, and over the kingdoms, to pluck up, and to root out, and to destroy, and throw down, to build, and to plant.
11 After this the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a [l]rod of almond tree.
12 Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast seen aright: for I will hasten my word to perform it.
13 Again the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething [m]pot looking out of the North.
14 Then said the Lord unto me, Out of the [n]North shall a plague be spread upon all the inhabitants of the land.
15 For lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the North, saith the Lord, and they shall come, and everyone shall set his throne in the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and on all the walls thereof round about, and in all the cities of Judah.
16 And I will declare unto them my [o]judgments touching all the wickedness of them that have forsaken me, and have burnt incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
17 Thou therefore truss up thy loins, and arise and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not afraid of their faces, lest I [p]destroy thee before them.
18 For I, behold, I this day have made thee a defenced city, and an [q]iron pillar and walls of brass against the whole land, against the Kings of Judah, and against the Princes thereof, against the Priests thereof, and against the people of the land.
19 For they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
2 2 God rehearseth his benefits done unto the Jews. 8 Against the priests and false prophets. 12 The Jews are destroyed because they forsake God.
1 Moreover, the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord, I remember thee, with the [r]kindness of thy youth and the love of thy marriage, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness [s]in a land that was not sown.
3 Israel was as a thing [t]hallowed unto the Lord, and his firstfruits: all they [u]that eat it, shall offend: evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord.
4 Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.
5 Thus saith the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone [v]far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become [w]vain?
6 For they said not, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a desert, and waste land, through a dry land, and by [x]the shadow of death, by a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?
7 And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof, and the commodities of the same: but when ye entered, ye defiled [y]my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.
8 The priests said not, [z]Where is the Lord? and they that should minister the [aa]Law, knew me not: the [ab]pastors also offended against me, and the prophets prophesied in [ac]Baal, and went after things that did not profit.
9 Wherefore I will yet [ad]plead with you, saith the Lord, and I will plead with your children’s children.
10 For go ye to the isles of [ae]Chittim, and behold, and send unto [af]Kedar, and take diligent heed, and see whether there be such things.
11 Hath any nation changed their gods, which yet are no gods? but my people have changed their [ag]glory, for that which doth not [ah]profit.
12 O ye [ai]heavens, be astonied at this: be afraid and utterly confounded, saith the Lord.
13 For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me [aj]the fountain of living waters, to dig them pits, even broken pits that can hold no water.
14 Is Israel a [ak]servant, or is he born in the house? why then is he spoiled?
15 The [al]Lions roared upon him and yelled, and they have made his land waste: his cities are burnt without [am]an inhabitant.
16 Also the children of [an]Noph and Tahapanes have [ao]broken thine head.
17 Hast not thou procured this unto thyself, because thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he [ap]led thee by the way?
18 And what hast thou now to do in the way of [aq]Egypt? to drink the water of Nilus? or what makest thou in the way of Assyria? to drink the water of the [ar]River?
19 Thine own wickedness shall [as]correct thee, and thy turnings back shall reprove thee: know therefore and behold, that it is an evil thing, and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.
20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bonds, and thou saidest, [at]I will no more transgress, but like an harlot thou runnest about upon all high hills, and under all green trees.
21 Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, whose [au]plants were all natural: how then art thou turned unto me into the plants of a strange vine?
22 Though thou wash thee with [av]nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God.
23 How canst thou say, I am not polluted, neither have I [aw]followed Baal? behold thy ways in the valley, and know what thou hast done: thou art like a swift [ax]dromedary, that runneth by his ways.
24 And as a wild [ay]ass used to the wilderness that snuffeth up the wind by occasion at her pleasure: who can turn her back? all they that seek her, will not weary themselves, but will find her in her [az]month.
25 Keep thou thy feet from [ba]bareness, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidest desperately, No, for I have loved strangers, and them will I follow.
26 As the [bb]thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed, they, their kings, their princes and their priests, and their prophets,
27 Saying to a tree, Thou art my [bc]father, and to a stone, Thou hast begotten me: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and help us.
28 But where are thy gods, that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can help thee in the time of thy trouble: for according [bd]to the number of thy cities, are thy gods, O Judah.
29 Wherefore will [be]ye plead with me? ye all have rebelled against me, saith the Lord.
30 I have smitten your children in vain, they received no correction: your own [bf]sword hath devoured your Prophets like a destroying lion.
31 O generation, take heed to the word of the Lord: have I been as a [bg]wilderness unto Israel? or a land of darkness? Wherefore saith my people then, We are lords, [bh]we will come no more unto thee?
32 Can a maid forget her ornament, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me, days without number.
33 Why dost thou prepare thy way, to [bi]seek amity? even therefore will I teach thee, that thy ways are wickedness.
34 Also in thy [bj]wings is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it in holes, but upon all these places.
35 Yet thou sayest, Because I am guiltless, surely his wrath shall turn from me: behold, I will enter with thee into judgment, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.
36 Why runnest thou about so much to change thy ways? for thou shalt be confounded of Egypt, [bk]as thou art confounded of Assyria.
37 For thou shalt go forth from thence, and thine hands upon [bl]thine head, because the Lord hath rejected thy confidence, and thou shalt not prosper thereby.
3 God calleth his people unto repentance. 14 He promiseth the restitution of his Church. 20 He reproveth Judah and Israel, comparing them to a woman disobedient to her husband.
1 They [bm]say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return again unto her? shall not this land [bn]be polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many [bo]lovers: yet [bp]turn again to me, saith the Lord.
2 Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and behold, where thou hast not played the harlot: thou hast sat waiting for them in the ways, as the [bq]Arabian in the wilderness: and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms, and with thy malice.
3 Therefore the showers have been restrained, and the [br]latter rain came not, and thou haddest a [bs]whore’s forehead: thou wouldest not be ashamed.
4 Didst thou not still cry [bt]unto me, Thou art my father, and the guide of my youth?
5 Will he keep his anger forever? will he reserve it to the end? thus hast thou spoken, but thou doest evil, even more and more.
6 The Lord said also unto me, in the days of Josiah the King, Hast thou seen what this rebel [bu]Israel hath done? for she hath gone up upon every high mountain, and under every green tree, and there played the harlot.
7 And I said, when she had done all this, Turn thou unto me: but she returned not, as her rebellious sister Judah saw.
8 When I saw, how that by all occasions rebellious Israel had played the harlot, I cast [bv]her away, and gave her a bill of divorcement: yet her rebellious sister Judah was not afraid, but she went also and played the harlot.
9 So that for the [bw]lightness of her whoredom she hath even defiled the land: for she hath committed fornication with stones and stocks.
10 Nevertheless for all this, her rebellious sister Judah hath not returned unto me with [bx]her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the Lord.
11 And the Lord said unto me, The rebellious Israel hath [by]justified herself more than the rebellious Judah.
12 Go and cry these words toward [bz]the North, and say, Thou disobedient Israel, return, saith the Lord, and I will not let my wrath fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not always keep mine anger.
13 But know thine iniquity: for thou hast rebelled against the Lord thy God, and hast [ca]scattered thy ways to the strange gods under every green tree, but ye would not obey my voice, saith the Lord.
14 O ye disobedient children, turn again, saith the Lord, for I am your Lord, and I will take you one of a city, and two of a tribe, and will bring you to Zion,
15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
16 Moreover, when ye be increased and multiplied in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The [cb]Ark of the covenant of the Lord: for it shall come no more to mind, neither shall they remember it, neither shall they visit it, for that shall be no more done.
17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem, [cc]The throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, even to the Name of the Lord in Jerusalem: and thence forth they shall follow no more the hardness of their wicked heart.
18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the [cd]North, into the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.
19 But I said, How did I take thee for children, and give thee a pleasant land, even the glorious heritage of the armies of the heathen, and say, Thou shalt call me, saying, My father, and shall not turn from me?
20 But as a woman rebelleth against her [ce]husband: so have ye rebelled against me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord.
21 [cf]A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping, and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and forgotten the Lord their God.
22 O ye disobedient children, return and I will heal your rebellions. [cg]Behold, we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God.
23 Truly the hope of the hills is but vain, nor the multitude of mountains: but in the Lord our God is the health of Israel.
24 For confusion hath devoured our [ch]father’s labor, from our youth, their sheep and their bullocks, their sons and their daughters.
25 We lie down in our confusion, and our shame covereth us: [ci]for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers from our youth, even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.
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