Jeremiah 1-9
New International Reader's Version
1 These are the words Jeremiah received from the Lord. Jeremiah was the son of Hilkiah. Jeremiah was one of the priests at Anathoth. That’s a town in the territory of Benjamin. 2 A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. It came in the 13th year that Josiah was king over Judah. Josiah was the son of Amon. 3 After Josiah, his son Jehoiakim was king over Judah. The Lord’s message also came to Jeremiah during the whole time Jehoiakim ruled. The Lord continued to speak to Jeremiah while Zedekiah was king over Judah. He did this until the fifth month of the 11th year of Zedekiah’s rule. That’s when the people of Jerusalem were forced to leave their country. Zedekiah was the son of Josiah. Here is what Jeremiah said.
The Lord Appoints Jeremiah to Speak for Him
4 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said,
5 “Before I formed you in your mother’s body I chose you.
Before you were born I set you apart to serve me.
I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”
6 “You are my Lord and King,” I said. “I don’t know how to speak. I’m too young.”
7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I’m too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to. You must say everything I command you to say. 8 Do not be afraid of the people I send you to. I am with you. I will save you,” announces the Lord.
9 Then the Lord reached out his hand. He touched my mouth and spoke to me. He said, “I have put my words in your mouth. 10 Today I am appointing you to speak to nations and kingdoms. I give you authority to pull them up by the roots and tear them down. I give you authority to destroy them and crush them. I give you authority to build them up and plant them.”
11 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”
“The branch of an almond tree,” I replied.
12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly. I am watching to see that my word comes true.”
13 Another message from the Lord came to me. The Lord asked me, “What do you see?”
“A pot that has boiling water in it,” I answered. “It’s leaning toward us from the north.”
14 The Lord said to me, “Something very bad will be poured out on everyone who lives in this land. It will come from the north. 15 I am about to send for all the armies in the northern kingdoms,” announces the Lord.
“Their kings will come to Jerusalem.
They will set up their thrones at the very gates of the city.
They will attack all the walls that surround the city.
They will go to war against all the towns of Judah.
16 I will judge my people.
They have done many evil things.
They have deserted me.
They have burned incense to other gods.
They have worshiped the gods
their own hands have made.
17 “So get ready! Stand up! Tell them everything I command you to. Do not let them terrify you. If you do, I will terrify you in front of them. 18 Today I have made you like a city that has a high wall around it. I have made you like an iron pillar and a bronze wall. Now you can stand up against the whole land. You can stand against the kings and officials of Judah. You can stand against its priests and its people. 19 They will fight against you. But they will not win the battle over you. I am with you. I will save you,” announces the Lord.
Israel Deserts the Lord
2 A message from the Lord came to me. The Lord said, 2 “Go. Announce my message to the people in Jerusalem. I want everyone to hear it. Tell them,
“Here is what the Lord says.
“ ‘I remember how faithful you were to me when you were young.
You loved me as if you were my bride.
You followed me through the desert.
Nothing had been planted there.
3 Your people were holy to me.
They were the first share of my harvest.
All those who destroyed them were held guilty.
And trouble came to their enemies,’ ”
announces the Lord.
4 People of Jacob, hear the Lord’s message.
Listen, all you tribes of Israel.
5 The Lord says,
“What did your people of long ago find wrong with me?
Why did they wander so far away from me?
They worshiped worthless statues of gods.
Then they themselves became worthless.
6 They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?
He brought us up out of Egypt.
He led us through a dry and empty land.
He guided us through deserts and deep valleys.
It was a land of total darkness where there wasn’t any rain.
No one lived or traveled there.’
7 But I brought you into a land that has rich soil.
I gave you its fruit and its finest food.
In spite of that, you made my land impure.
You turned it into something I hate.
8 The priests did not ask,
‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who taught my law did not know me.
The leaders refused to obey me.
The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal.
They worshiped worthless statues of gods.
9 “So I am bringing charges against you again,”
announces the Lord.
“And I will bring charges against your children’s children.
10 Go over to the coasts of Cyprus and look.
Send people to the land of Kedar and have them look closely.
See if there has ever been anything like this.
11 Has a nation ever changed its gods?
Actually, they are not even gods at all.
But my people have traded away their glorious God.
They have traded me for worthless statues of gods.
12 Sky above, be shocked over this.
Tremble with horror,”
announces the Lord.
13 “My people have sinned twice.
They have deserted me,
even though I am the spring of water that gives life.
And they have dug their own wells.
But those wells are broken.
They can’t hold any water.
14 Are you people of Israel servants?
You were not born as slaves, were you?
Then why have you been carried off like stolen goods?
15 Lions have roared.
They have growled at you.
They have destroyed your land.
Your towns are burned and deserted.
16 The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have cracked your skulls.
17 Haven’t you brought this on yourselves?
I am the Lord your God, but you deserted me.
You left me even while I was leading you.
18 Why do you go to Egypt
to drink water from the Nile River?
Why do you go to Assyria
to drink from the Euphrates River?
19 You will be punished because you have sinned.
You will be corrected for turning away from me.
I am the Lord your God.
If you desert me, bad things will happen to you.
If you do not respect me, you will suffer bitterly.
I want you to understand that,”
announces the Lord who rules over all.
20 “Long ago you broke off the yoke I put on you.
You tore off the ropes I tied you up with.
You said, ‘I won’t serve you!’
In fact, on every high hill
you lay down like a prostitute.
You worshiped other gods under every green tree.
21 You were like a good vine when I planted you.
You were a healthy plant.
Then how did you turn against me?
How did you become a bad, wild vine?
22 You might wash yourself with soap.
You might use plenty of strong soap.
But I can still see the stains your guilt covers you with,”
announces the Lord and King.
23 “You say, ‘I am “clean.”
I haven’t followed the gods that are named Baal.’
How can you say that?
Remember how you acted in the valley.
Consider what you have done.
You are like a female camel running quickly here and there.
24 You are like a wild donkey that lives in the desert.
She smells the wind when she longs for a mate.
Who can hold her back?
The males that run after her do not need to wear themselves out.
At mating time they will easily find her.
25 Do not run after other gods
until your sandals are worn out and your throat is dry.
But you said, ‘It’s no use!
I love those gods.
I must go after them.’
26 “A thief is dishonored when he is caught.
And you people of Israel are filled with shame.
Your kings and officials are dishonored.
So are your priests and your prophets.
27 You say to a piece of wood, ‘You are my father.’
You say to a stone, ‘You are my mother.’
You have turned your backs to me.
You refuse to look at me.
But when you are in trouble, you say,
‘Come and save us!’
28 Then where are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them come when you are in trouble!
Let them save you if they can!
Judah, you have as many gods
as you have towns.
29 “Why do you bring charges against me?
All of you have refused to obey me,”
announces the Lord.
30 “I punished your people. But it did not do them any good.
They did not pay attention when they were corrected.
You have killed your prophets by swords.
You have swallowed them up like a hungry lion.
31 “You who are now living, consider my message. I am saying,
“Have I been like a desert to Israel?
Have I been like a land of deep darkness?
Why do my people say, ‘We are free to wander.
We won’t come to you anymore’?
32 Does a young woman forget all about her jewelry?
Does a bride forget her wedding jewels?
But my people have forgotten me
more days than anyone can count.
33 You are very skilled at chasing after love!
Even the worst of women can learn from how you act.
34 The blood of those you have killed is on your clothes.
You have destroyed poor people who were not guilty.
You did not catch them in the act of breaking in.
In spite of all this,
35 you say, ‘I’m not guilty of doing anything wrong.
The Lord isn’t angry with me.’
But I will judge you.
That’s because you say, ‘I haven’t sinned.’
36 Why do you keep on
changing your ways so much?
Assyria did not help you.
And Egypt will not help you either.
37 So you will also leave Egypt
with your hands tied together above your heads.
I have turned my back on those you trust.
They will not help you.
3 “Suppose a man divorces his wife.
What if she then marries another man?
Should her first husband return to her again?
If he does, won’t the land become completely ‘unclean’?
People of Israel, you have lived like a prostitute.
You have loved many other gods.
So do you think you can return to me now?”
announces the Lord.
2 “Look up at the bare hilltops.
Is there any place where you have not worshiped other gods?
You have been unfaithful to me like a wife committing adultery.
By the side of the road you sat waiting for lovers.
You sat there like someone who wanders in the desert.
You have made the land impure.
You are like a sinful prostitute.
3 So I have held back the showers.
I have kept the spring rains from falling.
But you still have the bold face of a prostitute.
You refuse to blush with shame.
4 You have just now called out to me.
You said,
‘My Father, you have been my friend
ever since I was young.
5 Will you always be angry with me?
Will your anger continue forever?’
This is how you talk.
But you do all the evil things you can.”
Israel Is Not Faithful to the Lord
6 During the time Josiah was king, the Lord spoke to me. He said, “Have you seen what the people of Israel have done? They have not been faithful to me. They have committed adultery with other gods. They worshiped them on every high hill and under every green tree. 7 I thought that after they had done all this, they would return to me. But they did not. Their sister nation Judah saw them doing this. And they were not faithful to me either. 8 I gave Israel their letter of divorce. I sent them away because they were unfaithful to me so many times. But I saw that their sister nation Judah did not have any respect for me. They were not faithful to me either. They also went out and committed adultery with other gods. 9 Israel was not faithful to me, but that did not bother them at all. They made the land ‘unclean.’ They worshiped gods that were made out of stone and wood. 10 In spite of all this, their sister nation Judah did not come back to me. They were not faithful to me either. They did not return with all their heart. They only pretended to,” announces the Lord.
11 The Lord said to me, “Israel and Judah have not been faithful to me. But Israel was not as bad as Judah was. 12 Go. Announce this message to the people in the north. Tell them,
“ ‘Israel, you have not been faithful,’ announces the Lord.
‘Return to me. Then I will do good things for you again.
That’s because I am faithful,’ announces the Lord.
‘I will not be angry with you forever.
13 Admit that you are guilty of doing what is wrong.
You have refused to obey me.
I am the Lord your God.
You have committed adultery with other gods.
You worshiped them under every green tree.
And you have not obeyed me,’ ”
announces the Lord.
14 “You people have not been faithful,” announces the Lord. “Return to me. I am your husband. I will choose one of you from each town. I will choose two from each territory. And I will bring you to the city of Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds who are dear to my heart. Their knowledge and understanding will help them lead you. 16 In those days there will be many more of you in the land,” announces the Lord. “Then people will not talk about the ark of the covenant of the Lord anymore. It will never enter their minds. They will not remember it. The ark will not be missed. And another one will not be made. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord. All the nations will gather together there. They will go there to honor me. They will no longer do what their stubborn and evil hearts want them to do. 18 In those days the people of Judah will join the people of Israel. Together they will come from a land in the north. They will come to the land I gave to your people of long ago. I wanted them to have it as their very own.
19 “I myself said,
“ ‘I would gladly treat you like my children.
I would give you a pleasant land.
It is the most beautiful land any nation could have.’
I thought you would call me ‘Father.’
I hoped you would always obey me.
20 But you people are like a woman who is not faithful to her husband.
Israel, you have not been faithful to me,”
announces the Lord.
21 A cry is heard on the bare hilltops.
The people of Israel are weeping and begging for help.
That’s because their lives are so twisted.
They’ve forgotten the Lord their God.
22 “You have not been faithful,”
says the Lord.
“Return to me. I will heal you.
Then you will not turn away from me anymore.”
“Yes,” the people say. “We will come to you.
You are the Lord our God.
23 The gods we worship on the hills
and mountains are useless.
You are the Lord our God.
You are the only one who can save us.
24 From our earliest years shameful gods have harmed us.
They have eaten up everything our people of long ago worked for.
They have eaten up our flocks and herds.
They’ve destroyed our sons and daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame.
Let our dishonor cover us.
You are the Lord our God. But we have sinned against you.
We and our people of long ago have sinned.
We haven’t obeyed you
from our earliest years until now.”
4 “If you, Israel, will return,” announces the Lord,
“then return to me.
Put the statues of your gods out of my sight.
I hate them.
Stop going astray.
2 Make all your promises in my name.
When you promise say, ‘You can be sure that the Lord is alive.’
Be truthful, fair and honest when you make these promises.
Then the nations will ask for blessings from me.
And they will boast about me.”
3 Here is what the Lord is telling the people of Judah and Jerusalem. He says,
“Your hearts are as hard as a field
that has not been plowed.
So change your ways and produce good crops.
Do not plant seeds among thorns.
4 People of Judah and you who live in Jerusalem, obey me.
Do not let your hearts be stubborn.
If you do, my anger will blaze out against you.
It will burn like fire because of the evil things you have done.
No one will be able to put it out.
Trouble Will Come From the North
5 “Announce my message in Judah.
Tell it in Jerusalem.
Say, ‘Blow trumpets all through the land!’
Give a loud shout and say,
‘Gather together!
Let’s run to cities that have high walls around them!’
6 Warn everyone to go to Zion!
Run for safety! Do not wait!
I am bringing trouble from the north.
Everything will be totally destroyed.”
7 Lions have come out of their dens.
Those who destroy nations have begun to march out.
They have left their place
to destroy your land completely.
Your towns will be broken to pieces.
No one will live in them.
8 So put on the clothes of sadness.
Mourn and weep over what has happened.
The Lord hasn’t turned
his great anger away from us.
9 “A dark day is coming,” announces the Lord.
“The king and his officials will lose hope.
The priests will be shocked.
And the prophets will be terrified.”
10 Then I said, “You are my Lord and King. You have completely tricked the people of Judah and Jerusalem! You have told them, ‘You will have peace and rest.’ But swords are pointed at our throats!”
11 At that time the people of Judah and Jerusalem will be warned. They will be told, “A hot and dry wind is coming, my people. It is blowing toward you from the bare hilltops in the desert. But it does not separate straw from grain. 12 It is much too strong for that. The wind is coming from me. I am making my decision against you.”
13 Look! Our enemies are approaching like the clouds.
Their chariots are coming like a strong wind.
Their horses are faster than eagles.
How terrible it will be for us!
We’ll be destroyed!
14 People of Jerusalem, wash your sins from your hearts and be saved.
How long will you hold on to your evil thoughts?
15 A voice is speaking all the way from the city of Dan.
From the hills of Ephraim it announces
that trouble is coming.
16 “Tell the nations.
Make an announcement concerning Jerusalem.
Say, ‘An army will attack Judah.
It is coming from a land far away.
It will shout a war cry
against the cities of Judah.
17 It will surround them like people who guard a field.
Judah has refused to obey me,’ ”
announces the Lord.
18 “The army will attack you
because of your conduct and actions.
This is how you will be punished.
It will be so bitter!
It will cut deep down into your hearts!”
19 I’m suffering! I’m really suffering!
I’m hurting badly.
My heart is suffering so much!
It’s pounding inside me.
I can’t keep silent.
I’ve heard the sound of trumpets.
I’ve heard the battle cry.
20 One trouble follows another.
The whole land is destroyed.
In an instant my tents are gone.
My home disappears in a moment.
21 How long must I look at our enemy’s battle flag?
How long must I hear the sound of the trumpets?
22 The Lord says, “My people are foolish.
They do not know me.
They are children who do not have any sense.
They have no understanding at all.
They are skilled in doing what is evil.
They do not know how to do what is good.”
23 I looked at the earth.
It didn’t have any shape. And it was empty.
I looked at the sky.
Its light was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains.
They were shaking.
All the hills were swaying.
25 I looked. And there weren’t any people.
Every bird in the sky had flown away.
26 I looked. And the fruitful land had become a desert.
All its towns were destroyed.
The Lord had done all this because of his great anger.
27 The Lord says,
“The whole land will be destroyed.
But I will not destroy it completely.
28 So the earth will be filled with sadness.
The sky above will grow dark.
I have spoken, and I will not take pity on them.
I have made my decision, and I will not change my mind.”
29 People can hear the sound of horsemen.
Men armed with bows are coming.
The people in every town run away.
Some of them go into the bushes.
Others climb up among the rocks.
All the towns are deserted.
No one is living in them.
30 What are you doing, you who are destroyed?
Why do you dress yourself in bright red clothes?
Why do you put on jewels of gold?
Why do you put makeup on your eyes?
You make yourself beautiful for no reason at all.
Your lovers hate you.
They want to kill you.
31 I hear a cry like the cry of a woman having a baby.
I hear a groan like someone having her first child.
It’s the cry of the people of Zion struggling to breathe.
They reach out their hands and say,
“Help us! We’re fainting!
Murderers are about to kill us!”
No One Is Honest
5 The Lord says, “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem.
Look around.
Think about what you see.
Search through the market.
See if you can find one honest person who tries to be truthful.
If you can, I will forgive this city.
2 They make their promises in my name.
They say, ‘You can be sure that the Lord is alive.’
But their promises can’t be trusted.”
3 Lord, don’t your eyes look for truth?
You struck down your people.
But they didn’t feel any pain.
You crushed them.
But they refused to be corrected.
They made their faces harder than stone.
They refused to turn away from their sins.
4 I thought, “The people of
Jerusalem are foolish.
They don’t know how the Lord wants them to live.
They don’t know what their God requires of them.
5 So I will go to the leaders.
I’ll speak to them.
They should know how the Lord wants them to live.
They must know what their God requires of them.”
But all of them had broken off the yoke the Lord had put on them.
They had torn off the ropes he had tied them up with.
6 So a lion from the forest will attack them.
A wolf from the desert will destroy them.
A leopard will hide and wait near their towns.
It will tear to pieces anyone who dares to go out.
Again and again they have refused to obey the Lord.
They have turned away from him many times.
7 The Lord says, “Jerusalem, why should I forgive you?
Your people have deserted me.
They have made their promises in the names of gods
that are not really gods at all.
I supplied everything they needed.
But they committed adultery.
Large crowds went to the houses of prostitutes.
8 Your people are like stallions that have plenty to eat.
Their sinful desires are out of control.
Each of them goes after another man’s wife.
9 Shouldn’t I punish them for this?”
announces the Lord.
“Shouldn’t I pay back the nation
that does these things?
10 “Armies of Babylon, go through their vineyards and destroy them.
But do not destroy them completely.
Strip off their branches.
These people do not belong to me.
11 The people of Israel and the people of Judah
have not been faithful to me at all,”
announces the Lord.
12 They have told lies about the Lord.
They said, “He won’t do anything!
No harm will come to us.
We will never see war or be hungry.
13 The prophets are nothing but wind.
Their message doesn’t come from the Lord.
So let what they say will happen be done to them.”
14 The Lord God rules over all. He says to me,
“The people have spoken these words.
So my words will be like fire in your mouth.
I will make the people like wood.
And the fire will burn them up.”
15 “People of Israel, listen to me,”
announces the Lord.
“I am bringing against you
a nation from far away.
It is an old nation. And it will last for a long time.
Its people speak a language you do not know.
You can’t understand what they are saying.
16 The bags they carry their arrows in are like an open grave.
All their soldiers are mighty.
17 They will eat up your crops and your food.
They will strike down your sons and daughters.
They will kill your sheep and cattle.
They will destroy your vines and fig trees.
You trust in your cities that have high walls around them.
But the people in them will be killed by swords.
18 “In spite of that, even in those days I will not destroy you completely,” announces the Lord. 19 “ ‘Jeremiah,’ the people will ask, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ Then you will tell them, ‘You have deserted the Lord. You have served other gods in your own land. So now you will serve another nation in a land that is not your own.’
20 “Here is what I want you to announce
to the people of Jacob.
Tell it in Judah.
Tell them I say,
21 ‘Listen to this, you foolish people,
who do not have any sense.
You have eyes, but you do not see.
You have ears, but you do not hear.
22 Shouldn’t you have respect for me?’
announces the Lord.
‘Shouldn’t you tremble with fear in front of me?
I made the sand to hold the ocean back.
It will do that forever.
The ocean can’t go past it.
The waves might roll, but they can’t sweep over it.
They might roar, but they can’t go across it.
23 But you people have stubborn hearts.
You refuse to obey me.
You have turned away from me.
You have gone astray.
24 You do not say to yourselves,
“Let us have respect for the Lord our God.
He sends rain in the fall and the spring.
He promises us that the harvest will come
at the same time each year.”
25 But the things you have done wrong
have robbed you of these gifts.
Your sins have kept these good things
far away from you.’
26 “Jeremiah, some of my people are evil.
They hide and wait just as people hide to catch birds.
They set traps for people.
27 A hunter uses tricks to fill his cage with birds.
And my people have filled their houses with a lot of goods.
They have become rich and powerful.
28 They have grown fat and heavy.
There is no limit to the evil things they do.
In court they do not seek justice.
They don’t protect the rights of children whose fathers have died.
They do not stand up for poor people.
29 Shouldn’t I punish them for this?”
announces the Lord.
“Shouldn’t I pay back the
nation that does these things?
30 “Something horrible and shocking
has happened in the land.
31 The prophets prophesy lies.
The priests rule by their own authority.
And my people love it this way.
But what will you do in the end?”
The Babylonians Will Attack Jerusalem
6 The Lord says, “People of Benjamin, run for safety!
Run away from Jerusalem!
Blow trumpets in the city of Tekoa!
Warn everyone in Beth Hakkerem!
Horrible trouble is coming from the north.
The Babylonians will destroy everything with awful power.
2 I will destroy the city of Zion,
even though it is very beautiful.
3 Shepherds will come against it with their flocks.
They will set up their tents around it.
All of them will take care of their own sheep.”
4 The Babylonians say, “Prepare for battle against Judah!
Get up! Let’s attack them at noon!
But the daylight is fading.
The shadows of evening are getting longer.
5 So get up! Let’s attack them at night!
Let’s destroy their strongest forts!”
6 The Lord who rules over all speaks to the Babylonians. He says,
“Cut down some trees.
Use the wood to build ramps against Jerusalem’s walls.
I must punish that city.
It is filled with people who treat others badly.
7 Wells keep giving fresh water.
And Jerusalem keeps on sinning.
Its people are always fighting and causing trouble.
When I look at them,
I see nothing but sickness and wounds.
8 Jerusalem, listen to my warning.
If you do not, I will turn away from you.
Your land will become a desert.
No one will be able to live there.”
9 The Lord rules over all. He says to me,
“People gather the few grapes left on a vine.
So let Israel’s enemies gather the few people left alive in the land
Look carefully at the branches again.
Do this like someone who gathers the last few grapes.”
10 Who can I speak to? Who can I warn?
Who will even listen to me?
Their ears are closed
so they can’t hear.
The Lord’s message displeases them.
They don’t take any delight in it.
11 But the Lord’s anger burns inside me.
I can no longer hold it in.
The Lord says to me, “Pour out my anger on the children in the street.
Pour it out on the young men who are gathered together.
Husband and wife alike will be caught in it.
So will those who are very old.
12 I will reach out my hand
against those who live in the land,”
announces the Lord.
“Then their houses will be turned over to others.
So will their fields and their wives.
13 Everyone wants to get richer and richer,
from the least important of them to the most important.
Prophets and priests alike
try to fool everyone they can.
14 They bandage the wounds of my people
as if they were not very deep.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say.
But there isn’t any peace.
15 Are they ashamed of their hateful actions?
No. They do not feel any shame at all.
They do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall like others who have already fallen.
They will be brought down when I punish them,”
says the Lord.
16 The Lord tells the people of Judah,
“Stand where the roads cross, and look around.
Ask where the old paths are.
Ask for the good path, and walk on it.
Then your hearts will find rest in me.
But you said, ‘We won’t walk on it.’
17 I appointed prophets to warn you. I said,
‘Listen to the sound of the trumpets!’
But you said, ‘We won’t listen.’
18 So pay attention, you nations.
You are witnesses for me.
Watch what will happen to my people.
19 Earth, pay attention.
I am going to bring trouble on them.
I will punish them because of the evil things they have done.
They have not listened to my words.
They have said no to my law.
20 What do I care about incense from the land of Sheba?
Why should I bother with sweet-smelling cane from a land far away?
I do not accept your burnt offerings.
Your sacrifices do not please me.”
21 So the Lord says,
“I will bring an army against the people of Judah.
Parents and children alike will trip and fall.
Neighbors and friends will die.”
22 The Lord says to Jerusalem,
“Look! An army is coming
from the land of the north.
I am stirring up a great nation.
Its army is coming from a land that is very far away.
23 Its soldiers are armed with bows and spears.
They are mean. They do not show any mercy at all.
They come riding in on their horses.
They sound like the roaring ocean.
They are lined up for battle.
They are marching out
to attack you, city of Zion.”
24 We have heard reports about them.
And our hands can’t help us.
We are suffering greatly.
It’s like the pain of a woman having a baby.
25 Don’t go out to the fields.
Don’t walk on the roads.
Our enemies have swords.
And there is terror on every side.
26 My people, put on the clothes of sadness.
Roll among the ashes.
Mourn with bitter weeping
just as you would mourn for an only son.
The one who is going to destroy us
will come suddenly.
27 The Lord says to me, “I have made you like one who tests metals.
My people are the ore.
I want you to watch them
and test the way they live.
28 All of them are used to disobeying me.
They go around telling lies about others.
They are like bronze mixed with iron.
All of them do very sinful things.
29 The fire is made very hot
so the lead will burn away.
But it is impossible to make these people pure.
Those who are evil are not removed.
30 They are like silver that is thrown away.
That is because I have not accepted them.”
Worshiping Other Gods Is Worthless
7 A message from the Lord came to Jeremiah. The Lord said, 2 “Stand at the gate of my house. Announce my message to the people there. Say,
“ ‘Listen to the Lord’s message, all you people of Judah. You always come through these gates to worship the Lord. 3 The God of Israel is speaking to you. He is the Lord who rules over all. He says, “Change the way you live and act. Then I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in lies. Do not say, ‘This is the temple of the Lord! This is the temple of the Lord! This is the temple of the Lord!’ 5 You must really change the way you live and act. Treat one another fairly. 6 Do not treat outsiders or widows badly in this place. Do not take advantage of children whose fathers have died. Do not kill those who are not guilty of doing anything wrong. Do not worship other gods. That will only bring harm to you. 7 If you obey me, I will let you live in this place. It is the land I gave your people of long ago. It was promised to them for ever and ever. 8 But look! You are trusting in worthless lies.
9 “ ‘ “You continue to steal and commit murder. You commit adultery. You tell lies in court. You burn incense to Baal. You worship other gods you didn’t know before. 10 Then you come and stand in front of me. You keep coming to this house where I have put my Name. You say, ‘We are safe.’ You think you are safe when you do so many things I hate. 11 My Name is in this house. But you have made it a den for robbers! I have been watching you!” announces the Lord.
12 “ ‘ “Go now to the town of Shiloh. Go to the place where I first made a home for my Name. See what I did to it because of the evil things my people Israel were doing. 13 I spoke to you again and again,” announces the Lord. “I warned you while you were doing all these things. But you did not listen. I called out to you. But you did not answer. 14 So what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house where my Name is. It is the temple you trust in. It is the place I gave to you and your people of long ago. 15 But I will throw you out of my land. That is exactly what I did to the people of Ephraim. And they are your relatives.” ’
16 “Jeremiah, do not pray for these people. Do not make any appeal or request for them. Do not beg me. I will not listen to you. 17 Don’t you see what they are doing? They are worshiping other gods in the towns of Judah. They are offering sacrifices to them in the streets of Jerusalem. 18 The children go out and gather wood. The fathers light the fire. The women mix the dough. They make flat cakes of bread to offer to the female god called the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods. That makes me very angry. 19 But am I the one they are hurting?” announces the Lord. “Aren’t they only harming themselves? They should be ashamed of it.”
20 So the Lord and King says, “I will pour out my burning anger on this place. It will strike people and animals alike. It will destroy the trees in the fields and the crops in your land. It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out.”
21 The Lord who rules over all is the God of Israel. He says, “Go ahead! Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices. Eat the meat yourselves! 22 When I brought your people out of Egypt, I spoke to them. But I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices. 23 I also gave them another command. I said, ‘Obey me. Then I will be your God. And you will be my people. Live the way I command you to live. Then things will go well with you.’ 24 But they did not listen. They refused to pay any attention to me. Instead, they did what their stubborn and evil hearts wanted them to do. They went backward and not forward. 25 Again and again I sent my servants the prophets to you. They came to you day after day. They prophesied from the time your people left Egypt until now. 26 But your people of long ago did not listen. They refused to pay any attention to me. They were stubborn. They did more evil things than their people who lived before them.
27 “Jeremiah, when you tell them all this, they will not listen to you. When you call out to them, they will not answer. 28 So say to them, ‘You are a nation that has not obeyed the Lord your God. You did not pay attention when you were corrected. Truth has died out. You do not tell the truth anymore.’ ”
29 The Lord says to the people of Jerusalem, “Cut off your hair. Throw it away. Sing a song of sadness on the bare hilltops. I am very angry with you. I have turned my back on you. I have deserted you.
The Valley of Death
30 “The people of Judah have done what is evil in my eyes,” announces the Lord. “They have set up statues of their gods. They have worshiped them in the house where my Name is. They have made my house ‘unclean.’ I hate those statues. 31 The people have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom. There they worship other gods. And there they sacrifice their children in the fire. That is something I did not command. It did not even enter my mind. 32 So watch out!” announces the Lord. “The days are coming when people will not call it Topheth anymore. And they will not call it the Valley of Ben Hinnom either. Instead, they will call it the Valley of Death. They will bury the dead bodies of some people in Topheth. But they will run out of room. 33 Then they will not be able to bury the bodies of other people there. So the bodies will become food for birds and wild animals. And no one will scare them away. 34 I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness. The voices of brides and grooms will not be heard anymore. There will be no sounds of joy in the towns of Judah. And there will be no joy in the streets of Jerusalem. The land will become a desert.
8 “At that time the tombs will be opened,” announces the Lord. “The bones of the kings and officials of Judah will be brought out. The bones of the priests and prophets will be removed. So will the bones of the people of Jerusalem. 2 They will lie outside under the sun, moon and all the stars. All these people had loved and served these things. They had followed them and worshiped them. They had asked them for advice. So the bones of these people will not be gathered up or buried again. Instead, they will be like human waste lying there on the ground. 3 Everyone left alive in this evil nation will want to die rather than live. That is what they will long for in the lands where I force them to go.” The Lord who rules over all announces this.
The Lord Punishes His Sinful People
4 “Jeremiah, tell them, ‘The Lord says,
“ ‘ “When people fall down, don’t they get up again?
When someone turns away, don’t they come back?
5 Then why have the people of Jerusalem turned away from me?
Why do they always turn away?
They keep on telling lies.
They refuse to come back to me.
6 I have listened carefully.
But they do not say what is right.
They refuse to turn away from their sins.
None of them says, ‘What have I done?’
Each of them goes their own way.
They are like horses charging into battle.
7 Storks know when to fly south.
So do doves, swifts and thrushes.
But my people do not know
what I require them to do.
8 “ ‘ “How can you people say, ‘We are wise.
We have the law of the Lord’?
Actually, the teachers of the law have told lies about it.
Their pens have not written what is true.
9 Those who think they are wise will be put to shame.
They will become terrified. They will be trapped.
They have not accepted my message.
So what kind of wisdom do they have?
10 I will give their wives to other men.
I will give their fields to new owners.
Everyone wants to get richer and richer.
Everyone is greedy, from the least important to the most important.
Prophets and priests alike
try to fool everyone they can.
11 They bandage the wounds of my people
as if they were not very deep.
‘Peace, peace,’ they say.
But there isn’t any peace.
12 Are they ashamed of their hateful actions?
No. They do not feel any shame at all.
They do not even know how to blush.
So they will fall like others who have already fallen.
They will be brought down when I punish them,”
says the Lord.
13 “ ‘ “I will take away their harvest,”
announces the Lord.
“There will not be any grapes on the vines.
The trees will not bear any figs.
The leaves on the trees will dry up.
What I have given my people
will be taken away from them.” ’ ”
14 Why are we sitting here?
Let’s gather together!
Let’s run to the cities that have high walls around them!
Let’s die there!
The Lord our God has sentenced us to death.
He has given us poisoned water to drink.
That’s because we’ve sinned against him.
15 We hoped peace would come.
But nothing good has happened to us.
We hoped we would finally be healed.
But there is only terror.
16 When our enemy’s horses snort,
the noise is heard all the way from the city of Dan.
When their stallions neigh,
the whole land trembles with fear.
They have come to destroy
the land and everything in it.
The city and everyone who lives there will be destroyed.
17 “People of Judah, I will send poisonous snakes among you.
No one will be able to charm them.
And they will bite you,”
announces the Lord.
18 Lord, my heart is weak inside me.
You comfort me when I’m sad.
19 Listen to the cries of my people
from a land far away.
They cry out, “Isn’t the Lord in Zion?
Isn’t its King there anymore?”
The Lord says, “Why have they made me so angry
by worshiping their wooden gods?
Why have they made me angry
with their worthless statues
of gods from other lands?”
20 The people say, “The harvest is over.
The summer has ended.
And we still haven’t been saved.”
21 My people are crushed, so I am crushed.
I mourn, and I am filled with horror.
22 Isn’t there any healing lotion in Gilead?
Isn’t there a doctor there?
Then why doesn’t someone heal
the wounds of my people?
9 I wish my head were a spring of water!
I wish my eyes were a fountain of tears!
I would weep day and night
for my people who have been killed.
2 I wish I had somewhere to go in the desert
where a traveler could stay!
Then I could leave my people.
I could get away from them.
All of them commit adultery by worshiping other gods.
They aren’t faithful to the Lord.
3 “They get ready to use
their tongues like bows,”
announces the Lord.
“Their mouths shoot out lies like arrows.
They tell lies to gain power in the land.
They go from one sin to another.
They do not pay any attention to me.
4 Be on guard against your friends.
Do not trust the members of your own family.
Every one of them cheats.
Every friend tells lies.
5 One friend cheats another.
No one tells the truth.
They have taught their tongues how to lie.
They wear themselves out sinning.
6 Jeremiah, you live among people who tell lies.
When they lie, they refuse to pay any attention to me,”
announces the Lord.
7 So the Lord who rules over all says,
“I will put them through the fire to test them.
What else can I do?
My people are so sinful!
8 Their tongues are like deadly arrows.
They tell lies.
With their mouths all of them speak kindly to their neighbors.
But in their hearts they set traps for them.
9 Shouldn’t I punish them for this?”
announces the Lord.
“Shouldn’t I pay back the nation
that does these things?”
10 I will cry and mourn over the mountains.
I will sing a song of sadness about the desert grasslands.
They are dry and empty. No one travels through them.
The mooing of cattle isn’t heard there.
The birds have flown away.
All the animals are gone.
11 The Lord says, “I will knock down all of Jerusalem’s buildings.
I will make it a home for wild dogs.
The towns of Judah will be completely destroyed.
No one will be able to live in them.”
12 Who is wise enough to understand these things? Who has been taught by the Lord? Who can explain them? Why has the land been destroyed so completely? Why has it become like a desert that no one can go across?
13 The Lord answered me, “Because my people have turned away from my law. I gave it to them. But they have not kept it. They have not obeyed me. 14 Instead, they have done what their stubborn hearts wanted them to do. They have worshiped the gods that are named Baal. They have done what their people have taught them to do through the years.” 15 So now the Lord who rules over all speaks. He is the God of Israel. He says, “I will make these people eat bitter food. I will make them drink poisoned water. 16 I will scatter them among the nations. They and their people before them didn’t know about these nations. With swords I will chase these people. I will hunt them down until I have destroyed them.”
17 The Lord rules over all. He says,
“Here is something I want you to think about.
Send for the women who mourn for the dead.
Send for the most skilled among them.”
18 Let them come quickly
and weep for us.
Let them cry until tears flow from our eyes.
Let them weep until water pours out of our eyes.
19 People are heard weeping in Zion.
They are saying, “We are destroyed!
We are filled with shame!
We must leave our land.
Our houses have been torn down.”
20 You women, hear the Lord’s message.
Listen to what he’s saying.
Teach your daughters how to mourn for the dead.
Teach one another a song of sadness.
21 Death has climbed in through our windows.
It has entered our forts.
Death has removed the children from the streets.
It has taken the young men out of the market.
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