Jeremiah’s Complaint

12 You are always righteous,(A) Lord,
    when I bring a case(B) before you.
Yet I would speak with you about your justice:(C)
    Why does the way of the wicked prosper?(D)
    Why do all the faithless live at ease?
You have planted(E) them, and they have taken root;
    they grow and bear fruit.(F)
You are always on their lips
    but far from their hearts.(G)
Yet you know me, Lord;
    you see me and test(H) my thoughts about you.
Drag them off like sheep(I) to be butchered!
    Set them apart for the day of slaughter!(J)
How long will the land lie parched(K)
    and the grass in every field be withered?(L)
Because those who live in it are wicked,
    the animals and birds have perished.(M)
Moreover, the people are saying,
    “He will not see what happens to us.”

God’s Answer

“If you have raced with men on foot
    and they have worn you out,
    how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble[a] in safe country,
    how will you manage in the thickets(N) by[b] the Jordan?
Your relatives, members of your own family—
    even they have betrayed you;
    they have raised a loud cry against you.(O)
Do not trust them,
    though they speak well of you.(P)

“I will forsake(Q) my house,
    abandon(R) my inheritance;
I will give the one I love(S)
    into the hands of her enemies.(T)
My inheritance has become to me
    like a lion(U) in the forest.
She roars at me;
    therefore I hate her.(V)
Has not my inheritance become to me
    like a speckled bird of prey
    that other birds of prey surround and attack?
Go and gather all the wild beasts;
    bring them to devour.(W)
10 Many shepherds(X) will ruin my vineyard
    and trample down my field;
they will turn my pleasant field
    into a desolate wasteland.(Y)
11 It will be made a wasteland,(Z)
    parched and desolate before me;(AA)
the whole land will be laid waste
    because there is no one who cares.
12 Over all the barren heights in the desert
    destroyers will swarm,
for the sword(AB) of the Lord(AC) will devour(AD)
    from one end of the land to the other;(AE)
    no one will be safe.(AF)
13 They will sow wheat but reap thorns;
    they will wear themselves out but gain nothing.(AG)
They will bear the shame of their harvest
    because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”(AH)

14 This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance(AI) I gave my people Israel, I will uproot(AJ) them from their lands and I will uproot(AK) the people of Judah from among them. 15 But after I uproot them, I will again have compassion(AL) and will bring(AM) each of them back to their own inheritance and their own country. 16 And if they learn(AN) well the ways of my people and swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives’(AO)—even as they once taught my people to swear by Baal(AP)—then they will be established among my people.(AQ) 17 But if any nation does not listen, I will completely uproot and destroy(AR) it,” declares the Lord.

A Linen Belt

13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.

Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time:(AS) “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath[c](AT) and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.(AU)

Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.

Then the word of the Lord came to me: “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride(AV) of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen(AW) to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts(AX) and go after other gods(AY) to serve and worship them,(AZ) will be like this belt—completely useless!(BA) 11 For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown(BB) and praise and honor.(BC) But they have not listened.’(BD)

Wineskins

12 “Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And if they say to you, ‘Don’t we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ 13 then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to fill with drunkenness(BE) all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. 14 I will smash them one against the other, parents and children alike, declares the Lord. I will allow no pity(BF) or mercy or compassion(BG) to keep me from destroying(BH) them.’”

Threat of Captivity

15 Hear and pay attention,
    do not be arrogant,
    for the Lord has spoken.(BI)
16 Give glory(BJ) to the Lord your God
    before he brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble(BK)
    on the darkening hills.
You hope for light,
    but he will turn it to utter darkness
    and change it to deep gloom.(BL)
17 If you do not listen,(BM)
    I will weep in secret
    because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly,
    overflowing with tears,(BN)
    because the Lord’s flock(BO) will be taken captive.(BP)

18 Say to the king(BQ) and to the queen mother,(BR)
    “Come down from your thrones,
for your glorious crowns(BS)
    will fall from your heads.”
19 The cities in the Negev will be shut up,
    and there will be no one to open them.
All Judah(BT) will be carried into exile,
    carried completely away.

20 Look up and see
    those who are coming from the north.(BU)
Where is the flock(BV) that was entrusted to you,
    the sheep of which you boasted?
21 What will you say when the Lord sets over you
    those you cultivated as your special allies?(BW)
Will not pain grip you
    like that of a woman in labor?(BX)
22 And if you ask yourself,
    “Why has this happened to me?”(BY)
it is because of your many sins(BZ)
    that your skirts have been torn off(CA)
    and your body mistreated.(CB)
23 Can an Ethiopian[d] change his skin
    or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
    who are accustomed to doing evil.(CC)

24 “I will scatter you like chaff(CD)
    driven by the desert wind.(CE)
25 This is your lot,
    the portion(CF) I have decreed for you,”
declares the Lord,
“because you have forgotten(CG) me
    and trusted in false gods.(CH)
26 I will pull up your skirts over your face
    that your shame may be seen(CI)
27 your adulteries and lustful neighings,
    your shameless prostitution!(CJ)
I have seen your detestable acts
    on the hills and in the fields.(CK)
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
    How long will you be unclean?”(CL)

Drought, Famine, Sword

14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:(CM)

“Judah mourns,(CN)
    her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
    and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
The nobles send their servants for water;
    they go to the cisterns
    but find no water.(CO)
They return with their jars unfilled;
    dismayed and despairing,
    they cover their heads.(CP)
The ground is cracked
    because there is no rain in the land;(CQ)
the farmers are dismayed
    and cover their heads.
Even the doe in the field
    deserts her newborn fawn
    because there is no grass.(CR)
Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights(CS)
    and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
    for lack of food.”(CT)

Although our sins testify(CU) against us,
    do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.(CV)
For we have often rebelled;(CW)
    we have sinned(CX) against you.
You who are the hope(CY) of Israel,
    its Savior(CZ) in times of distress,(DA)
why are you like a stranger in the land,
    like a traveler who stays only a night?
Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
    like a warrior powerless to save?(DB)
You are among(DC) us, Lord,
    and we bear your name;(DD)
    do not forsake(DE) us!

10 This is what the Lord says about this people:

“They greatly love to wander;
    they do not restrain their feet.(DF)
So the Lord does not accept(DG) them;
    he will now remember(DH) their wickedness
    and punish them for their sins.”(DI)

11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray(DJ) for the well-being of this people. 12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry;(DK) though they offer burnt offerings(DL) and grain offerings,(DM) I will not accept(DN) them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword,(DO) famine(DP) and plague.”(DQ)

13 But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets(DR) keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine.(DS) Indeed, I will give you lasting peace(DT) in this place.’”

14 Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies(DU) in my name. I have not sent(DV) them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions,(DW) divinations,(DX) idolatries[e] and the delusions of their own minds. 15 Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish(DY) by sword and famine.(DZ) 16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury(EA) them, their wives, their sons and their daughters.(EB) I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.(EC)

17 “Speak this word to them:

“‘Let my eyes overflow with tears(ED)
    night and day without ceasing;
for the Virgin(EE) Daughter, my people,
    has suffered a grievous wound,
    a crushing blow.(EF)
18 If I go into the country,
    I see those slain by the sword;
if I go into the city,
    I see the ravages of famine.(EG)
Both prophet and priest
    have gone to a land they know not.(EH)’”

19 Have you rejected Judah completely?(EI)
    Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
    so that we cannot be healed?(EJ)
We hoped for peace
    but no good has come,
for a time of healing
    but there is only terror.(EK)
20 We acknowledge(EL) our wickedness, Lord,
    and the guilt of our ancestors;(EM)
    we have indeed sinned(EN) against you.
21 For the sake of your name(EO) do not despise us;
    do not dishonor your glorious throne.(EP)
Remember your covenant(EQ) with us
    and do not break it.
22 Do any of the worthless idols(ER) of the nations bring rain?(ES)
    Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
    Therefore our hope is in you,
    for you are the one who does all this.(ET)

15 Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses(EU) and Samuel(EV) were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people.(EW) Send them away from my presence!(EX) Let them go! And if they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘Those destined for death, to death;
those for the sword, to the sword;(EY)
those for starvation, to starvation;(EZ)
those for captivity, to captivity.’(FA)

“I will send four kinds of destroyers(FB) against them,” declares the Lord, “the sword(FC) to kill and the dogs(FD) to drag away and the birds(FE) and the wild animals to devour and destroy.(FF) I will make them abhorrent(FG) to all the kingdoms of the earth(FH) because of what Manasseh(FI) son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.

“Who will have pity(FJ) on you, Jerusalem?
    Who will mourn for you?
    Who will stop to ask how you are?
You have rejected(FK) me,” declares the Lord.
    “You keep on backsliding.
So I will reach out(FL) and destroy you;
    I am tired of holding back.(FM)
I will winnow(FN) them with a winnowing fork
    at the city gates of the land.
I will bring bereavement(FO) and destruction on my people,(FP)
    for they have not changed their ways.(FQ)
I will make their widows(FR) more numerous
    than the sand of the sea.
At midday I will bring a destroyer(FS)
    against the mothers of their young men;
suddenly I will bring down on them
    anguish and terror.(FT)
The mother of seven will grow faint(FU)
    and breathe her last.(FV)
Her sun will set while it is still day;
    she will be disgraced(FW) and humiliated.
I will put the survivors to the sword(FX)
    before their enemies,”(FY)
declares the Lord.

10 Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth,(FZ)
    a man with whom the whole land strives and contends!(GA)
I have neither lent(GB) nor borrowed,
    yet everyone curses(GC) me.

11 The Lord said,

“Surely I will deliver you(GD) for a good purpose;
    surely I will make your enemies plead(GE) with you
    in times of disaster and times of distress.

12 “Can a man break iron—
    iron from the north(GF)—or bronze?

13 “Your wealth(GG) and your treasures
    I will give as plunder,(GH) without charge,(GI)
because of all your sins
    throughout your country.(GJ)
14 I will enslave you to your enemies
    in[f] a land you do not know,(GK)
for my anger will kindle a fire(GL)
    that will burn against you.”

15 Lord, you understand;
    remember me and care for me.
    Avenge me on my persecutors.(GM)
You are long-suffering(GN)—do not take me away;
    think of how I suffer reproach for your sake.(GO)
16 When your words came, I ate(GP) them;
    they were my joy and my heart’s delight,(GQ)
for I bear your name,(GR)
    Lord God Almighty.
17 I never sat(GS) in the company of revelers,
    never made merry with them;
I sat alone because your hand(GT) was on me
    and you had filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unending
    and my wound grievous and incurable?(GU)
You are to me like a deceptive brook,
    like a spring that fails.(GV)

19 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“If you repent, I will restore you
    that you may serve(GW) me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
    you will be my spokesman.(GX)
Let this people turn to you,
    but you must not turn to them.
20 I will make you a wall(GY) to this people,
    a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you
    but will not overcome(GZ) you,
for I am with you
    to rescue and save you,”(HA)
declares the Lord.
21 “I will save(HB) you from the hands of the wicked(HC)
    and deliver(HD) you from the grasp of the cruel.”(HE)

Day of Disaster

16 Then the word of the Lord came to me: “You must not marry(HF) and have sons or daughters in this place.” For this is what the Lord says about the sons and daughters born in this land and about the women who are their mothers and the men who are their fathers:(HG) “They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried(HH) but will be like dung lying on the ground.(HI) They will perish by sword and famine,(HJ) and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.”(HK)

For this is what the Lord says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal; do not go to mourn or show sympathy, because I have withdrawn my blessing, my love and my pity(HL) from this people,” declares the Lord. “Both high and low will die in this land.(HM) They will not be buried or mourned,(HN) and no one will cut(HO) themselves or shave(HP) their head for the dead. No one will offer food(HQ) to comfort those who mourn(HR) for the dead—not even for a father or a mother—nor will anyone give them a drink to console(HS) them.

“And do not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink.(HT) For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Before your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds(HU) of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride(HV) and bridegroom in this place.(HW)

10 “When you tell these people all this and they ask you, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the Lord our God?’(HX) 11 then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors forsook me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped(HY) them. They forsook me and did not keep my law.(HZ) 12 But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors.(IA) See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts(IB) instead of obeying me. 13 So I will throw you out of this land(IC) into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known,(ID) and there you will serve other gods(IE) day and night, for I will show you no favor.’(IF)

14 “However, the days are coming,”(IG) declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’(IH) 15 but it will be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north(II) and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’(IJ) For I will restore(IK) them to the land I gave their ancestors.(IL)

16 “But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them.(IM) After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt(IN) them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.(IO) 17 My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden(IP) from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.(IQ) 18 I will repay(IR) them double(IS) for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land(IT) with the lifeless forms of their vile images(IU) and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.(IV)(IW)

19 Lord, my strength and my fortress,
    my refuge(IX) in time of distress,
to you the nations will come(IY)
    from the ends of the earth and say,
“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,(IZ)
    worthless idols(JA) that did them no good.(JB)
20 Do people make their own gods?
    Yes, but they are not gods!”(JC)

21 “Therefore I will teach them—
    this time I will teach them
    my power and might.
Then they will know
    that my name(JD) is the Lord.

17 “Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,(JE)
    inscribed with a flint point,
on the tablets of their hearts(JF)
    and on the horns(JG) of their altars.
Even their children remember
    their altars and Asherah poles[g](JH)
beside the spreading trees
    and on the high hills.(JI)
My mountain in the land
    and your[h] wealth and all your treasures
I will give away as plunder,(JJ)
    together with your high places,(JK)
    because of sin throughout your country.(JL)
Through your own fault you will lose
    the inheritance(JM) I gave you.
I will enslave you to your enemies(JN)
    in a land(JO) you do not know,
for you have kindled my anger,
    and it will burn(JP) forever.”

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,(JQ)
    who draws strength from mere flesh
    and whose heart turns away from the Lord.(JR)
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
    they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places(JS) of the desert,
    in a salt(JT) land where no one lives.

“But blessed(JU) is the one who trusts(JV) in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.(JW)
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought(JX)
    and never fails to bear fruit.”(JY)

The heart(JZ) is deceitful above all things
    and beyond cure.
    Who can understand it?

10 “I the Lord search the heart(KA)
    and examine the mind,(KB)
to reward(KC) each person according to their conduct,
    according to what their deeds deserve.”(KD)

11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
    are those who gain riches by unjust means.
When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,
    and in the end they will prove to be fools.(KE)

12 A glorious throne,(KF) exalted from the beginning,
    is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, you are the hope(KG) of Israel;
    all who forsake(KH) you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust(KI)
    because they have forsaken the Lord,
    the spring of living water.(KJ)

14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;(KK)
    save(KL) me and I will be saved,
    for you are the one I praise.(KM)
15 They keep saying to me,
    “Where is the word of the Lord?
    Let it now be fulfilled!”(KN)
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd;
    you know I have not desired the day of despair.
    What passes my lips(KO) is open before you.
17 Do not be a terror(KP) to me;
    you are my refuge(KQ) in the day of disaster.(KR)
18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,
    but keep me from shame;
let them be terrified,
    but keep me from terror.
Bring on them the day of disaster;
    destroy them with double destruction.(KS)

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People,[i] through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem.(KT) 20 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem(KU) who come through these gates.(KV) 21 This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath(KW) day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.(KX) 23 Yet they did not listen or pay attention;(KY) they were stiff-necked(KZ) and would not listen or respond to discipline.(LA) 24 But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy(LB) by not doing any work on it, 25 then kings who sit on David’s throne(LC) will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.(LD) 26 People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev,(LE) bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not obey(LF) me to keep the Sabbath(LG) day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire(LH) in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’”(LI)

At the Potter’s House

18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

Then the word of the Lord came to me. He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay(LJ) in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,(LK) Israel. If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,(LL) torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent(LM) and not inflict on it the disaster(LN) I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built(LO) up and planted, 10 and if it does evil(LP) in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider(LQ) the good I had intended to do for it.(LR)

11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster(LS) for you and devising a plan(LT) against you. So turn(LU) from your evil ways,(LV) each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’(LW) 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use.(LX) We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.(LY)’”

13 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“Inquire among the nations:
    Who has ever heard anything like this?(LZ)
A most horrible(MA) thing has been done
    by Virgin(MB) Israel.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon
    ever vanish from its rocky slopes?
Do its cool waters from distant sources
    ever stop flowing?[j]
15 Yet my people have forgotten(MC) me;
    they burn incense(MD) to worthless idols,(ME)
which made them stumble(MF) in their ways,
    in the ancient paths.(MG)
They made them walk in byways,
    on roads not built up.(MH)
16 Their land will be an object of horror(MI)
    and of lasting scorn;(MJ)
all who pass by will be appalled(MK)
    and will shake their heads.(ML)
17 Like a wind(MM) from the east,
    I will scatter them before their enemies;
I will show them my back and not my face(MN)
    in the day of their disaster.”

18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans(MO) against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest(MP) will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise,(MQ) nor the word from the prophets.(MR) So come, let’s attack him with our tongues(MS) and pay no attention to anything he says.”

19 Listen to me, Lord;
    hear what my accusers(MT) are saying!
20 Should good be repaid with evil?(MU)
    Yet they have dug a pit(MV) for me.
Remember that I stood(MW) before you
    and spoke in their behalf(MX)
    to turn your wrath away from them.
21 So give their children over to famine;(MY)
    hand them over to the power of the sword.(MZ)
Let their wives be made childless and widows;(NA)
    let their men be put to death,
    their young men(NB) slain by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry(NC) be heard from their houses
    when you suddenly bring invaders against them,
for they have dug a pit(ND) to capture me
    and have hidden snares(NE) for my feet.
23 But you, Lord, know
    all their plots to kill(NF) me.
Do not forgive(NG) their crimes
    or blot out their sins from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
    deal with them in the time of your anger.(NH)

19 This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter.(NI) Take along some of the elders(NJ) of the people and of the priests and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom,(NK) near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings(NL) of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster(NM) on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.(NN) For they have forsaken(NO) me and made this a place of foreign gods(NP); they have burned incense(NQ) in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.(NR) They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children(NS) in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.(NT) So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this place Topheth(NU) or the Valley of Ben Hinnom,(NV) but the Valley of Slaughter.(NW)

“‘In this place I will ruin[k] the plans(NX) of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies,(NY) at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses(NZ) as food(OA) to the birds and the wild animals. I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn;(OB) all who pass by will be appalled(OC) and will scoff because of all its wounds.(OD) I will make them eat(OE) the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies(OF) will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them.’

10 “Then break the jar(OG) while those who go with you are watching, 11 and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash(OH) this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury(OI) the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 12 This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth. 13 The houses(OJ) in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled(OK) like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs(OL) to all the starry hosts(OM) and poured out drink offerings(ON) to other gods.’”

14 Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court(OO) of the Lord’s temple and said to all the people, 15 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster(OP) I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked(OQ) and would not listen(OR) to my words.’”

Jeremiah and Pashhur

20 When the priest Pashhur son of Immer,(OS) the official(OT) in charge of the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten(OU) and put in the stocks(OV) at the Upper Gate of Benjamin(OW) at the Lord’s temple. The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord’s name(OX) for you is not Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side.(OY) For this is what the Lord says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes(OZ) you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will give(PA) all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will carry(PB) them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. I will deliver all the wealth(PC) of this city into the hands of their enemies—all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away(PD) as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied(PE) lies.’”

Jeremiah’s Complaint

You deceived[l](PF) me, Lord, and I was deceived[m];
    you overpowered(PG) me and prevailed.
I am ridiculed(PH) all day long;
    everyone mocks(PI) me.
Whenever I speak, I cry out
    proclaiming violence and destruction.(PJ)
So the word of the Lord has brought me
    insult and reproach(PK) all day long.
But if I say, “I will not mention his word
    or speak anymore in his name,”(PL)
his word is in my heart like a fire,(PM)
    a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;(PN)
    indeed, I cannot.
10 I hear many whispering,
    “Terror(PO) on every side!
    Denounce(PP) him! Let’s denounce him!”
All my friends(PQ)
    are waiting for me to slip,(PR) saying,
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
    then we will prevail(PS) over him
    and take our revenge(PT) on him.”

11 But the Lord(PU) is with me like a mighty warrior;
    so my persecutors(PV) will stumble and not prevail.(PW)
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;(PX)
    their dishonor will never be forgotten.
12 Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous
    and probe the heart and mind,(PY)
let me see your vengeance(PZ) on them,
    for to you I have committed(QA) my cause.

13 Sing(QB) to the Lord!
    Give praise to the Lord!
He rescues(QC) the life of the needy
    from the hands of the wicked.(QD)

14 Cursed be the day I was born!(QE)
    May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news,
    who made him very glad, saying,
    “A child is born to you—a son!”
16 May that man be like the towns(QF)
    the Lord overthrew without pity.
May he hear wailing(QG) in the morning,
    a battle cry at noon.
17 For he did not kill me in the womb,(QH)
    with my mother as my grave,
    her womb enlarged forever.
18 Why did I ever come out of the womb(QI)
    to see trouble(QJ) and sorrow
    and to end my days in shame?(QK)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 12:5 Or you feel secure only
  2. Jeremiah 12:5 Or the flooding of
  3. Jeremiah 13:4 Or possibly to the Euphrates; similarly in verses 5-7
  4. Jeremiah 13:23 Hebrew Cushite (probably a person from the upper Nile region)
  5. Jeremiah 14:14 Or visions, worthless divinations
  6. Jeremiah 15:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac (see also 17:4); most Hebrew manuscripts I will cause your enemies to bring you / into
  7. Jeremiah 17:2 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
  8. Jeremiah 17:3 Or hills / and the mountains of the land. / Your
  9. Jeremiah 17:19 Or Army
  10. Jeremiah 18:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
  11. Jeremiah 19:7 The Hebrew for ruin sounds like the Hebrew for jar (see verses 1 and 10).
  12. Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded
  13. Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded

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