Chronological

10 ¶ Hear ye the word which the LORD has spoken over you, O house of Israel:

² Thus hath the LORD said, Do not learn the way of the Gentiles, and do not fear the signs of heaven, even though the Gentiles fear them.

³ For the customs of the peoples are vanity: for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

⁴ They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails, that it not move.

⁵ They compare them to the palm tree, and they do not speak: they must be carried, because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither do they have power to do good.

⁶ Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might.

⁷ Who would not fear thee, O King of the Gentiles? for unto thee does it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the Gentiles and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.

⁸ But they shall become altogether carnal and foolish. The stock is a doctrine of vanities.

⁹ Silver spread into plates shall be brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, shall the workman work and the hands of the founder: they shall dress them in blue and purple: they are all the work of cunning men.

¹⁰ But the LORD God is the Truth, he himself is Living God and Everlasting King: at his wrath the earth trembles, and the Gentiles shall not be able to abide his indignation.

¹¹ Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens or the earth, even they shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.

¹² He that makes the earth by his power, he that orders the world with his wisdom and extends the heavens with his intelligence:

¹³ at his voice, there is given a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causes the clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth; he makes the lightnings with the rain and brings forth the wind out of his treasures.

¹⁴ Every man is carnal in his knowledge: let every founder be ashamed of his graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no spirit in them.

¹⁵ They are vanity and the work of scorn: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.

¹⁶ The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the Former of all things, and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of the hosts is his name.

¹⁷ ¶ Gather up thy wares out of the lands, O inhabitant of the fortress.

¹⁸ For thus hath the LORD said, Behold, that this time I will throw out the inhabitants of the land with a sling and will afflict them, that they may find it.

¹⁹ Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous, but I said, Truly this is my sickness, and I must bear it.

²⁰ My tent is destroyed, and all my cords are broken: my sons were taken from me, and they are lost; there is no one to stretch forth my tent any more and to set up my curtains.

²¹ For the pastors are become carnal and have not sought the LORD; therefore they did not understand, and all their flocks scattered.

²² Behold, the voice of the rumour is come, and a great commotion out of the land of the north wind to make the cities of Judah desolate and a den of dragons.

²³ O LORD, I know that man is not the lord of his own way: it is not in man that walks to order his steps.

²⁴ O LORD, chastise me, but with judgment; not with thine anger lest thou bring me to nothing.

²⁵ Pour out thy fury upon the Gentiles that do not know thee and upon the nations that do not call on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob and devoured him and consumed him and have destroyed his habitation.

11 ¶ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

² Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto every man of Judah and to every inhabitant of Jerusalem;

³ and thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath the LORD God of Israel said: Cursed be the man that does not hear the words of this covenant,

⁴ which I commanded your fathers the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying unto them, hear my voice and comply with my words according to all which I command you; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God

⁵ that I may confirm the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, that I would give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then I answered, and said, Amen, O LORD.

⁶ And the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant and do them.

⁷ For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Hear my voice.

⁸ Yet they did not hear, nor did they incline their ear, but walked each one in the imagination of their evil heart; therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not.

⁹ And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁰ They have returned to the iniquities of their first fathers, who refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.

¹¹ ¶ Therefore thus hath the LORD said, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.

¹² Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense, who shall not be able to save them in the time of their trouble.

¹³ For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of thy streets, O Jerusalem, have ye set up altars of confusion, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.

¹⁴ Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me in their trouble.

¹⁵ What part has my beloved in my house, seeing she has wrought lewdness with many? The holy flesh shall pass from upon thee, for in thy evil thou didst glory.

¹⁶ The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, beautiful in fruit and in appearance. At the voice of a great word he caused fire to be kindled upon it, and they broke her branches.

¹⁷ For the LORD of the hosts, that planted thee, has pronounced evil against thee for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.

¹⁸ ¶ And the LORD gave me knowledge of it, and I experienced it: then thou didst show me their doings.

¹⁹ But I was like a ram or an ox that is brought to the slaughter; for I did not understand that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living that his name may no longer be remembered.

²⁰ But, O LORD of the hosts, that judges righteously, that tries the kidneys and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them, for unto thee I have uncovered my cause.

²¹ Therefore, thus hath the LORD said regarding the men of Anathoth that seek thy life, saying, Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD that thou not die by our hand;

²² therefore, thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, Behold, I visit: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine:

²³ and there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.

12 ¶ Righteous art thou, O LORD, even though I dispute with thee: even so, I will speak judgments with thee; Why does the way of the wicked prosper? All those that completely rebel against thee have peace.

² Thou hast planted them, and they have taken root: they grow, and they bring forth fruit; thou art near in their mouth and far from their kidneys.

³ But thou, O LORD, dost know me; thou hast seen me and tried my heart toward thee; pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and mark them for the day of slaughter.

⁴ How long shall the land be desolate, and the grass of all the field wither, for the wickedness of those that dwell therein? The cattle are lacking, and the birds, because they said, He shall not see our latter end.

⁵ If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, in which thou didst trust, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?

⁶ For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee, even they have raised their voice after thee, O congregation; do not believe them, when they speak fair words unto thee.

⁷ ¶ I have forsaken my house, I have left my heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.

⁸ My heritage was unto me as a lion in the forest; it cried out against me, therefore I have hated it.

⁹ My heritage is unto me as a speckled bird; the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour her.

¹⁰ Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard; they have trodden my heritage under foot; they have made my precious heritage a desolate wilderness.

¹¹ They have made it desolate; it cries against me, desolate; the whole land was made desolate because there was no man that would see.

¹² The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the LORD shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land; there is no peace for any flesh.

¹³ They have sown bread, but shall reap thorns; they had the heritage, but they did not profit; and they shall be ashamed because of your fruits, by the fierce anger of the LORD.

¹⁴ ¶ Thus hath the LORD said against all my evil neighbours that touch the heritage which I have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah from among them.

¹⁵ And it shall come to pass that after I have plucked them out, I will return and have mercy on them, and will cause them to return, each one to his heritage, and each one to his land.

¹⁶ And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear in my name, saying, The LORD lives; as they taught my people to swear by Baal then they shall be prospered in the midst of my people.

¹⁷ But if they will not hear, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the LORD.

13 ¶ Thus hath the LORD said unto me, Go and buy thee a linen girdle and put it upon thy loins, and thou shalt not put it in water.

² And I bought the girdle according to the word of the LORD and put it on my loins.

³ And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying,

⁴ Take the girdle that thou hast bought, which is upon thy loins, and arise; go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a hole of the rock.

⁵ So I went and hid it in the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.

⁶ And it came to pass after many days that the LORD said unto me, Arise; go to the Euphrates and take from there the girdle, which I commanded thee to hide there.

⁷ Then I went to the Euphrates and dug and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it; and, behold, the girdle was rotted, it was good for nothing.

⁸ Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

⁹ Thus hath the LORD said, After this manner I will cause the pride of Judah to rot and the great pride of Jerusalem.

¹⁰ This evil people that refuses to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart and went after other gods to serve them and to worship them shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.

¹¹ For as the girdle cleaves to the loins of a man, so I have caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people and for fame, and for a praise, and for honour; but they did not hear.

¹² ¶ Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word: Thus hath the LORD God of Israel said, Every bottle shall be filled with wine; and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?

¹³ Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus hath the LORD said, Behold, I fill all the inhabitants of this land with drunkenness, even the kings that sit upon David’s throne and the priests and the prophets and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

¹⁴ And I will break them one against another, even the fathers with the sons together, saith the LORD; I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy to not destroy them.

¹⁵ Hear ye and give ear; do not be proud: for the LORD has spoken.

¹⁶ Give glory to the LORD your God before he causes darkness and before your feet stumble in mountains of darkness, and while ye look for light, he turns it into the shadow of death and makes it gross darkness.

¹⁷ But if ye will not hear this, my soul shall weep in secret because of your pride; and weeping bitterly, my eyes shall be undone in tears because the LORD’s flock was carried away captive.

¹⁸ Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down in the dust because the crown of your glory has come down off your heads.

¹⁹ The cities of the south were shut up, and no one could open them: Judah was carried away captive; all of it, it was completely carried away captive.

²⁰ Lift up your eyes, and behold those that come from the north wind: where is the flock that was given thee, the cattle of thy beauty?

²¹ What wilt thou say when he shall visit thee? For thou hast taught them to be princes and as head over thee; shall not sorrows take thee as a woman in travail?

²² ¶ When thou shalt say in thine heart, Why do these things come upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered and thy heels made bare.

²³ Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Likewise ye also cannot do good, being taught to do evil.

²⁴ Therefore I will scatter them as the stubble that passes away by the wind of the wilderness.

²⁵ This shall be thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me said the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.

²⁶ Therefore I uncovered thy skirts before thy face, and thy shame was manifested.

²⁷ I have seen thine adulteries and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom upon the hills; in the same field I saw thine abominations. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean at last? How long then shall it be?