Historical
Yahweh Will Not Listen to Their Cry
14 That which came as the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah in regard to the (A)drought:
2 “Judah mourns,
And (B)her gates languish;
They sit on the ground (C)in mourning,
And the (D)outcry of Jerusalem has gone up.
3 Their mighty ones have (E)sent their [a]underlings for water;
They have come to the (F)trenches and found no water.
They have returned with their vessels empty;
They have been (G)put to shame and dishonored,
And they (H)cover their heads.
4 Because the (I)ground is [b]dismayed,
For there has been (J)no rain on the land,
The (K)farmers have been put to shame;
They have covered their heads.
5 For even the doe in the field has given birth only to forsake her young
Because there is (L)no grass.
6 The (M)wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;
They pant for air like jackals;
Their eyes fail
For there is (N)no vegetation.
7 Although our (O)iniquities answer against us,
O Yahweh, act (P)for Your name’s sake!
Truly our (Q)acts of faithlessness have been many;
We have (R)sinned against You.
8 O (S)Hope of Israel,
Its (T)Savior in (U)time of distress,
Why are You like a sojourner in the land
Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent to lodge for the night?
9 Why are You like a man confused,
Like a mighty man who (V)cannot save?
Yet (W)You are in our midst, O Yahweh,
And we are (X)called by Your name;
Do not leave us!”
10 Thus says Yahweh to this people, “Even so they have (Y)loved to wander; they have not (Z)kept their feet in check. Therefore Yahweh does (AA)not accept them; now He will (AB)remember their iniquity and punish their sins.” 11 So Yahweh said to me, “(AC)Do not pray for the good of this people. 12 When they fast, I am (AD)not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer (AE)burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them. Rather I am going to (AF)make an end of them by the (AG)sword, famine, and pestilence.”
Lying Prophets
13 But, “Ah, Lord Yahweh!” I said, “Behold, the prophets are saying to them, ‘You (AH)will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I will give you true (AI)peace in this place.’” 14 Then Yahweh said to me, “The (AJ)prophets are prophesying lies in My name. (AK)I have neither sent them nor commanded them nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a (AL)vision of lies, divination, futility, and the deception of their own hearts. 15 Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them—yet they keep saying, ‘There will be no sword or famine in this land’—(AM)by that sword and famine those prophets shall [c]meet their end! 16 The people also to whom they are prophesying will be (AN)thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and there will be no one to (AO)bury them—neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters—for I will (AP)pour out their own evil on them.
17 And you will say this word to them,
‘(AQ)Let my eyes flow down with tears night and day,
And let them not cease,
For the virgin (AR)daughter of my people has been shattered with a mighty shattering,
With a sorely (AS)sick wound.
18 If I (AT)go out to the field,
Behold, those [d]slain with the sword!
Or if I enter the city,
Behold, diseases of famine!
For (AU)both prophet and priest
Have gone around as merchants in the land that they do not know.’”
19 Have You completely (AV)rejected Judah?
Or [e]have You loathed Zion?
Why have You stricken us so that (AW)there is no healing for us?
We (AX)hoped for peace, but there was no good;
And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!
20 We (AY)know our wickedness, O Yahweh,
The iniquity of our fathers, for (AZ)we have sinned against You.
21 Do not [f]despise us, (BA)for Your own name’s sake;
Do not disgrace the (BB)throne of Your glory;
Remember and do not break Your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the [g](BC)idols of the nations who (BD)give rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Is it not You, O Yahweh our God?
Therefore we [h](BE)hope in You,
For You are the one who has done all these things.
Yahweh Appoints Four Kinds of Doom
15 Then Yahweh said to me, “Even (BF)though (BG)Moses and (BH)Samuel were to (BI)stand before Me, My soul would not be [i]with this people; (BJ)send them away from My presence and let them go! 2 And it will be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘Thus says Yahweh:
“Those destined (BK)for death, to death;
And those destined for the sword, to the sword;
And those destined for famine, to famine;
And those destined for captivity, to captivity.”’
3 I will (BL)appoint over them four kinds of doom,” declares Yahweh: “the sword to kill, the (BM)dogs to drag off, and the (BN)birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and bring to ruin. 4 I will (BO)give them over to be an example of terror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of (BP)Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.
5 “Indeed, who will (BQ)spare you, O Jerusalem,
Or who will (BR)console you,
Or who will turn aside to ask about your well-being?
6 You who have (BS)abandoned Me,” declares Yahweh,
“You keep (BT)going backward.
So I will (BU)stretch out My hand against you and bring you to ruin;
I am (BV)tired of [j]relenting!
7 And I will (BW)winnow them with a winnowing fork
At the gates of the land;
I will (BX)bereave them of children; I will make My people perish;
(BY)They did not [k]repent of their ways.
8 Their (BZ)widows will be more numerous before Me
Than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them, against the mother of a choice man,
A (CA)destroyer at noonday;
I will suddenly bring down on her
Anguish and terror.
9 She who (CB)bore seven sons languishes;
[l]Her breathing is labored.
Her (CC)sun has set while it was yet day;
She has been (CD)shamed and humiliated.
So I will (CE)give over their survivors to the sword
Before their enemies,” declares Yahweh.
Jeremiah Pleads for Vengeance
10 (CF)Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me
As a (CG)man of strife and a man of contention to all the land!
I have not (CH)lent, nor have men lent money to me,
Yet everyone curses me.
11 Yahweh said, “Surely I will (CI)set you free for purposes of good;
Surely I will cause the (CJ)enemy to intercede with you
In a time of disaster and a time of distress.
12 “Can anyone smash iron,
(CK)Iron from the north, or bronze?
13 Your (CL)wealth and your treasures
I will give for plunder (CM)without cost,
Even for all your sins
And within all your borders.
14 Then I will cause your enemies to pass [m]it over
Into a (CN)land you do not know,
For a (CO)fire has been kindled in My anger;
It will burn upon you.”
15 (CP)You who know, O Yahweh,
Remember me, take notice of me,
And (CQ)take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away;
Know that (CR)for Your sake I endure reproach.
16 Your words were found, and I (CS)ate them,
And Your (CT)words became for me joy and gladness in my heart,
For I have been (CU)called by Your name,
O Yahweh God of hosts.
17 I (CV)did not sit in the circle of merrymakers,
Nor did I exult.
Because of Your hand upon me I sat (CW)alone,
For You (CX)filled me with indignation.
18 Why has my pain been perpetual
And my (CY)wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Will You indeed be to me (CZ)like a deceptive stream
With water that is unreliable?
Yahweh’s Answer
19 Therefore thus says Yahweh,
“(DA)If you return, then I will cause you to return—
(DB)Before Me you will stand;
And (DC)if you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become [n]My mouthpiece.
They for their part may turn to you,
But as for you, you must not turn to them.
20 Then I will (DD)make you to this people
A fortified wall of bronze;
And they will fight against you,
But they will not prevail against you,
For (DE)I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” declares Yahweh.
21 “So I will (DF)deliver you from the hand of the evil ones,
And I will (DG)redeem you from the [o]grasp of the ruthless ones.”
Yahweh Withdraws His Favor
16 The word of Yahweh also came to me saying, 2 “You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.” 3 For thus says Yahweh concerning the sons and daughters born in this place and concerning their (DH)mothers who bear them and their (DI)fathers who beget them in this land: 4 “They will (DJ)die of deadly diseases; they (DK)will not be lamented or buried; they will be as (DL)dung on the surface of the ground and come to an end by sword and famine, and their carcasses will become food for the (DM)birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth.”
5 For thus says Yahweh, “Do not enter the house of the (DN)funeral meal, or go to lament or to console them; for I have (DO)withdrawn My peace from this people,” declares Yahweh, “My (DP)lovingkindness and compassion. 6 Both (DQ)great men and small will die in this land; they will not be buried; they will not be lamented, nor will anyone (DR)gash himself or (DS)shave his head for them. 7 Men will not (DT)break bread in mourning for them, to comfort anyone for the dead, nor give them a cup of comforting to drink for anyone’s father or mother. 8 Moreover you shall (DU)not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.” 9 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I am going to (DV)cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.
10 “Now when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, ‘(DW)For what reason has Yahweh declared all this great calamity against us? And what is our iniquity, or what is our sin which we have committed against Yahweh our God?’ 11 Then you are to say to them, ‘It is (DX)because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and have walked after (DY)other gods and served them and worshiped them; but Me they have forsaken and have not kept My law. 12 You too have done evil, even (DZ)more than your fathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the (EA)stubbornness of his own (EB)evil heart, without listening to Me. 13 So I will (EC)hurl you out of this land into the (ED)land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will (EE)serve other gods day and night, for I will grant you no favor.’
They Shall Know My Name Is Yahweh
14 “(EF)Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As Yahweh lives, who (EG)brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15 but, ‘As Yahweh lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the (EH)land of the north and from all the lands where He had banished them.’ For I will return them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.
16 “Behold, I am going to send for many (EI)fishermen,” declares Yahweh, “and they will fish for them; and afterwards I will send for many hunters, and they will (EJ)hunt them (EK)from every mountain and every hill and from the crevices of the rocks. 17 (EL)For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, (EM)nor is their iniquity concealed from My eyes. 18 I will first (EN)doubly repay their iniquity and their sin because they have (EO)profaned My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their (EP)detestable idols and with their abominations.”
19 O Yahweh, my (EQ)strength and my strong defense,
And my (ER)refuge in the day of distress,
To You the (ES)nations will come
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Our fathers have inherited nothing but (ET)lies,
Futility and [p](EU)things of no profit.”
20 Can man make gods for himself?
Yet they are (EV)not gods!
21 “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—
This time I will (EW)make them know
My [q]power and My might;
And they shall (EX)know that My name is Yahweh.”
The Deceitful Heart
17 The (EY)sin of Judah is written down with an (EZ)iron stylus;
With a diamond point it is (FA)engraved upon the tablet of their heart
And on the horns of [r]their altars,
2 As they remember their (FB)children,
So they remember their altars and their [s](FC)Asherim
By (FD)green trees on the high hills.
3 O (FE)mountain of Mine in the countryside,
I will (FF)give over your wealth and all your treasures for plunder,
Your high places for sin throughout your borders.
4 And you will, even of yourself, (FG)let go of your inheritance
That I gave you;
And I will make you serve your (FH)enemies
In the (FI)land which you do not know,
For you have (FJ)kindled a fire in My anger
Which will burn forever.
5 Thus says Yahweh,
“(FK)Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind
And makes (FL)flesh his [t]strength,
And whose heart turns away from Yahweh.
6 And he will be like a (FM)juniper in the desert
And will not see when prosperity comes,
But will dwell in stony wastes in the wilderness,
A (FN)land of salt [u]which is not inhabited.
7 (FO)Blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh
And whose (FP)trust is Yahweh.
8 And he will be like a (FQ)tree planted by the water,
That sends forth its roots by a stream
And will not fear when the heat comes;
But its leaves will be green,
And it will not be anxious in a year of (FR)drought
Nor refrain from yielding fruit.
9 “The (FS)heart is more (FT)deceitful than all else
And is [v]desperately (FU)sick;
Who can know it?
10 I, Yahweh, (FV)search the heart;
I test the [w]inmost being,
Even (FW)to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his deeds.
11 As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid,
So is he who (FX)makes a fortune, but unjustly;
In the midst of his days it will forsake him,
And in [x]the end he will be a (FY)wicked fool.”
12 (FZ)A glorious throne on high from the beginning
Is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Yahweh, the (GA)hope of Israel,
All who (GB)forsake You will be put to shame.
Those who turn [y]away on earth will be (GC)written down
Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, even Yahweh.
14 (GD)Heal me, O Yahweh, and I will be healed;
(GE)Save me and I will be saved,
For You are my (GF)praise.
15 Behold, they keep (GG)saying to me,
“Where is the word of Yahweh?
Let it come now!”
16 But as for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd after You,
Nor have I longed for the [z]sickening day;
(GH)You Yourself know that the utterance of my lips
Was in Your presence.
17 Do not be a (GI)terror to me;
You are my (GJ)refuge in the day of calamity.
18 Let those who pursue me be (GK)put to shame, but as for me, (GL)let me not be put to shame;
Let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed.
(GM)Bring on them a day of calamity,
And [aa]crush them with twofold [ab]crushing!
Keep the Sabbath Day Holy
19 Thus Yahweh said to me, “Go and stand in the [ac]public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say to them, ‘(GN)Listen to the word of Yahweh, (GO)kings of Judah and all Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates: 21 Thus says Yahweh, “(GP)Take care of yourselves, and (GQ)do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day (GR)nor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I (GS)commanded your fathers. 23 Yet they (GT)did not listen or incline their ears, but (GU)stiffened their necks in order not to listen or receive discipline.
24 “But it will be, if you (GV)listen carefully to Me,” declares Yahweh, “to (GW)bring no load in through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, (GX)but to keep the sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, 25 (GY)then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and princes [ad](GZ)sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this (HA)city will be inhabited forever. 26 And they will come in from the (HB)cities of Judah and from all around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the [ae](HC)Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the (HD)Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and frankincense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of Yahweh. 27 But (HE)if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then (HF)I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it will (HG)devour the palaces of Jerusalem and (HH)not be quenched.”’”
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