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Jeremiah 13-16
New King James Version
Jeremiah 13-16
New King James Version
Symbol of the Linen Sash
13 Thus the Lord said to me: “Go and get yourself a linen sash, and put it [a]around your waist, but do not put it in water.” 2 So I got a [b]sash according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my waist.
3 And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, 4 “Take the [c]sash that you acquired, which is [d]around your waist, and arise, go to the [e]Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole in the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.
6 Now it came to pass after many days that the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the sash which I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the [f]sash from the place where I had hidden it; and there was the sash, ruined. It was profitable for nothing.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “Thus says the Lord: ‘In this manner (A)I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great (B)pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who (C)refuse to hear My words, who (D)follow[g] the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing. 11 For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the Lord, ‘that (E)they may become My people, (F)for renown, for praise, and for (G)glory; but they would (H)not hear.’
Symbol of the Wine Bottles
12 “Therefore you shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel: “Every bottle shall be filled with wine.” ’
“And they will say to you, ‘Do we not certainly know that every bottle will be filled with wine?’
13 “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land—even the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—(I)with drunkenness! 14 And (J)I will dash them [h]one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,” says the Lord. “I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy, but will destroy them.” ’ ”
Pride Precedes Captivity
15 Hear and give ear:
Do not be proud,
For the Lord has spoken.
16 (K)Give glory to the Lord your God
Before He causes (L)darkness,
And before your feet stumble
On the dark mountains,
And while you are (M)looking for light,
He turns it into (N)the shadow of death
And makes it dense darkness.
17 But if you will not hear it,
My soul will (O)weep in secret for your pride;
My eyes will weep bitterly
And run down with tears,
Because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.
18 Say to (P)the king and to the queen mother,
“Humble yourselves;
Sit down,
For your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory.”
19 The cities of the South shall be shut up,
And no one shall open them;
Judah shall be carried away captive, all of it;
It shall be wholly carried away captive.
20 Lift up your eyes and see
Those who come from the (Q)north.
Where is the flock that was given to you,
Your beautiful sheep?
21 What will you say when He punishes you?
For you have taught them
To be chieftains, to be head over you.
Will not (R)pangs seize you,
Like a woman in [i]labor?
22 And if you say in your heart,
(S)“Why have these things come upon me?”
For the greatness of your iniquity
(T)Your skirts have been uncovered,
Your heels [j]made bare.
23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots?
Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.
24 “Therefore I will (U)scatter them (V)like stubble
That passes away by the wind of the wilderness.
25 (W)This is your lot,
The portion of your measures from Me,” says the Lord,
“Because you have forgotten Me
And trusted in (X)falsehood.
26 Therefore (Y)I will uncover your skirts over your face,
That your shame may appear.
27 I have seen your adulteries
And your lustful (Z)neighings,
The lewdness of your harlotry,
Your abominations (AA)on the hills in the fields.
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
Will you still not be made clean?”
Sword, Famine, and Pestilence
14 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts.
2 “Judah mourns,
And (AB)her gates languish;
They (AC)mourn for the land,
And (AD)the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
3 Their nobles have sent their lads for water;
They went to the cisterns and found no water.
They returned with their vessels empty;
They were (AE)ashamed and confounded
(AF)And covered their heads.
4 Because the ground is parched,
For there was (AG)no rain in the land,
The plowmen were ashamed;
They covered their heads.
5 Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field,
But [k]left because there was no grass.
6 And (AH)the wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights;
They sniffed at the wind like jackals;
Their eyes failed because there was no grass.”
7 O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us,
Do it (AI)for Your name’s sake;
For our backslidings are many,
We have sinned against You.
8 (AJ)O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble,
Why should You be like a stranger in the land,
And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
9 Why should You be like a man astonished,
Like a mighty one (AK)who cannot save?
Yet You, O Lord, (AL)are in our midst,
And we are called by Your name;
Do not leave us!
10 Thus says the Lord to this people:
(AM)“Thus they have loved to wander;
They have not restrained their feet.
Therefore the Lord does not accept them;
(AN)He will remember their iniquity now,
And punish their sins.”
11 Then the Lord said to me, (AO)“Do not pray for this people, for their good. 12 (AP)When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and (AQ)when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But (AR)I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.”
13 (AS)Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you [l]assured (AT)peace in this place.’ ”
14 And the Lord said to me, (AU)“The prophets prophesy lies in My name. (AV)I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, [m]divination, a worthless thing, and the (AW)deceit of their heart. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, (AX)and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land’—‘By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed! 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; (AY)they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.’
17 “Therefore you shall say this word to them:
(AZ)‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day,
And let them not cease;
(BA)For the virgin daughter of my people
Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.
18 If I go out to (BB)the field,
Then behold, those slain with the sword!
And if I enter the city,
Then behold, those sick from famine!
Yes, both prophet and (BC)priest go about in a land they do not know.’ ”
The People Plead for Mercy
19 (BD)Have You utterly rejected Judah?
Has Your soul loathed Zion?
Why have You stricken us so that (BE)there is no healing for us?
(BF)We looked for peace, but there was no good;
And for the time of healing, and there was trouble.
20 We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness
And the iniquity of our (BG)fathers,
For (BH)we have sinned against You.
21 Do not abhor us, for Your name’s sake;
Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory.
(BI)Remember, do not break Your covenant with us.
22 (BJ)Are there any among (BK)the idols of the nations that can cause (BL)rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
(BM)Are You not He, O Lord our God?
Therefore we will wait for You,
Since You have made all these.
The Lord Will Not Relent
15 Then the Lord said to me, (BN)“Even if (BO)Moses and (BP)Samuel stood before Me, My [n]mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth. 2 And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord:
(BQ)“Such as are for death, to death;
And such as are for the sword, to the sword;
And such as are for the famine, to the famine;
And such as are for the (BR)captivity, to the captivity.” ’
3 “And I will (BS)appoint over them four forms of destruction,” says the Lord: “the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, (BT)the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 I will hand them over to (BU)trouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of (BV)Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.
5 “For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem?
Or who will bemoan you?
Or who will turn aside to ask how you are doing?
6 (BW)You have forsaken Me,” says the Lord,
“You have (BX)gone backward.
Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;
(BY)I am [o]weary of relenting!
7 And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land;
I will (BZ)bereave them of children;
I will destroy My people,
Since they (CA)do not return from their ways.
8 Their widows will be increased to Me more than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them,
Against the mother of the young men,
A plunderer at noonday;
I will cause anguish and terror to fall on them (CB)suddenly.
9 “She(CC) languishes who has borne seven;
She has breathed her last;
(CD)Her sun has gone down
While it was yet day;
She has been ashamed and confounded.
And the remnant of them I will deliver to the sword
Before their enemies,” says the Lord.
Jeremiah’s Dejection
10 (CE)Woe is me, my mother,
That you have borne me,
A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole [p]earth!
I have neither lent for interest,
Nor have men lent to me for interest.
Every one of them curses me.
11 The Lord said:
“Surely it will be well with your remnant;
Surely I will cause (CF)the enemy to intercede with you
In the time of adversity and in the time of affliction.
12 Can anyone break iron,
The northern iron and the bronze?
13 Your wealth and your treasures
I will give as (CG)plunder without price,
Because of all your sins,
Throughout your territories.
14 And I will [q]make you cross over with your enemies
(CH)Into a land which you do not know;
For a (CI)fire is kindled in My anger,
Which shall burn upon you.”
15 O Lord, (CJ)You know;
Remember me and [r]visit me,
And (CK)take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.
Know that (CL)for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
16 Your words were found, and I (CM)ate them,
And (CN)Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;
For I am called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.
17 (CO)I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,
Nor did I rejoice;
I sat alone because of Your hand,
For You have filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my (CP)pain perpetual
And my wound incurable,
Which refuses to be healed?
Will You surely be to me (CQ)like an unreliable stream,
As waters that [s]fail?
The Lord Reassures Jeremiah
19 Therefore thus says the Lord:
(CR)“If you return,
Then I will bring you back;
You shall (CS)stand before Me;
If you (CT)take out the precious from the vile,
You shall be as My mouth.
Let them return to you,
But you must not return to them.
20 And I will make you to this people a fortified bronze (CU)wall;
And they will fight against you,
But (CV)they shall not prevail against you;
For I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” says the Lord.
21 “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”
Jeremiah’s Lifestyle and Message
16 The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, 2 “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.” 3 For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land: 4 “They shall die (CW)gruesome deaths; they shall not be (CX)lamented nor shall they be (CY)buried, but they shall be (CZ)like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their (DA)corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.”
5 For thus says the Lord: (DB)“Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people,” says the Lord, “lovingkindness and mercies. 6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried; (DC)neither shall men lament for them, (DD)cut themselves, nor (DE)make themselves bald for them. 7 Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to (DF)drink for their father or their mother. 8 Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.”
9 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, (DG)I will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of [t]mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.
10 “And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, (DH)‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ 11 then you shall say to them, (DI)‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says the Lord; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. 12 And you have done (DJ)worse than your fathers, for behold, (DK)each one [u]follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me. 13 (DL)Therefore I will cast you out of this land (DM)into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.’
God Will Restore Israel(DN)
14 “Therefore behold, the (DO)days are coming,” says the Lord, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 15 but, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the (DP)north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For (DQ)I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.
16 “Behold, I will send for many (DR)fishermen,” says the Lord, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. 17 For My (DS)eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes. 18 And first I will repay (DT)double for their iniquity and their sin, because (DU)they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.”
19 O Lord, (DV)my strength and my fortress,
(DW)My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and (DX)unprofitable things.”
20 Will a man make gods for himself,
(DY)Which are not gods?
21 “Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know,
I will cause them to know
My hand and My might;
And they shall know that (DZ)My name is the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 13:1 Lit. upon your loins
- Jeremiah 13:2 waistband
- Jeremiah 13:4 waistband
- Jeremiah 13:4 Lit. upon your loins
- Jeremiah 13:4 Heb. Perath
- Jeremiah 13:7 waistband
- Jeremiah 13:10 walk in the stubbornness or imagination
- Jeremiah 13:14 Lit. a man against his brother
- Jeremiah 13:21 childbirth
- Jeremiah 13:22 Lit. suffer violence
- Jeremiah 14:5 abandoned her young
- Jeremiah 14:13 true
- Jeremiah 14:14 Telling the future by signs and omens
- Jeremiah 15:1 Lit. soul was not toward
- Jeremiah 15:6 tired
- Jeremiah 15:10 Or land
- Jeremiah 15:14 So with MT, Vg.; LXX, Syr., Tg. cause you to serve (cf. 17:4)
- Jeremiah 15:15 attend to
- Jeremiah 15:18 Or cannot be trusted
- Jeremiah 16:9 rejoicing
- Jeremiah 16:12 walks after the stubbornness or imagination
Jeremiah 13-16
New International Version
Jeremiah 13-16
New International Version
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.” 2 So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.
3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time:(A) 4 “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath[a](B) and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” 5 So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.(C)
6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” 7 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.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride(D) of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen(E) to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts(F) and go after other gods(G) to serve and worship them,(H) will be like this belt—completely useless!(I) 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(J) and praise and honor.(K) But they have not listened.’(L)
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(M) 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(N) or mercy or compassion(O) to keep me from destroying(P) them.’”
Threat of Captivity
15 Hear and pay attention,
do not be arrogant,
for the Lord has spoken.(Q)
16 Give glory(R) to the Lord your God
before he brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble(S)
on the darkening hills.
You hope for light,
but he will turn it to utter darkness
and change it to deep gloom.(T)
17 If you do not listen,(U)
I will weep in secret
because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly,
overflowing with tears,(V)
because the Lord’s flock(W) will be taken captive.(X)
18 Say to the king(Y) and to the queen mother,(Z)
“Come down from your thrones,
for your glorious crowns(AA)
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(AB) will be carried into exile,
carried completely away.
20 Look up and see
those who are coming from the north.(AC)
Where is the flock(AD) 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?(AE)
Will not pain grip you
like that of a woman in labor?(AF)
22 And if you ask yourself,
“Why has this happened to me?”(AG)—
it is because of your many sins(AH)
that your skirts have been torn off(AI)
and your body mistreated.(AJ)
23 Can an Ethiopian[b] change his skin
or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
who are accustomed to doing evil.(AK)
24 “I will scatter you like chaff(AL)
driven by the desert wind.(AM)
25 This is your lot,
the portion(AN) I have decreed for you,”
declares the Lord,
“because you have forgotten(AO) me
and trusted in false gods.(AP)
26 I will pull up your skirts over your face
that your shame may be seen(AQ)—
27 your adulteries and lustful neighings,
your shameless prostitution!(AR)
I have seen your detestable acts
on the hills and in the fields.(AS)
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
How long will you be unclean?”(AT)
Drought, Famine, Sword
14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:(AU)
2 “Judah mourns,(AV)
her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
3 The nobles send their servants for water;
they go to the cisterns
but find no water.(AW)
They return with their jars unfilled;
dismayed and despairing,
they cover their heads.(AX)
4 The ground is cracked
because there is no rain in the land;(AY)
the farmers are dismayed
and cover their heads.
5 Even the doe in the field
deserts her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.(AZ)
6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights(BA)
and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
for lack of food.”(BB)
7 Although our sins testify(BC) against us,
do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.(BD)
For we have often rebelled;(BE)
we have sinned(BF) against you.
8 You who are the hope(BG) of Israel,
its Savior(BH) in times of distress,(BI)
why are you like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who stays only a night?
9 Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
like a warrior powerless to save?(BJ)
You are among(BK) us, Lord,
and we bear your name;(BL)
do not forsake(BM) us!
10 This is what the Lord says about this people:
“They greatly love to wander;
they do not restrain their feet.(BN)
So the Lord does not accept(BO) them;
he will now remember(BP) their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.”(BQ)
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray(BR) for the well-being of this people. 12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry;(BS) though they offer burnt offerings(BT) and grain offerings,(BU) I will not accept(BV) them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword,(BW) famine(BX) and plague.”(BY)
13 But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets(BZ) keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine.(CA) Indeed, I will give you lasting peace(CB) in this place.’”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies(CC) in my name. I have not sent(CD) them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions,(CE) divinations,(CF) idolatries[c] 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(CG) by sword and famine.(CH) 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(CI) them, their wives, their sons and their daughters.(CJ) I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.(CK)
17 “Speak this word to them:
“‘Let my eyes overflow with tears(CL)
night and day without ceasing;
for the Virgin(CM) Daughter, my people,
has suffered a grievous wound,
a crushing blow.(CN)
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.(CO)
Both prophet and priest
have gone to a land they know not.(CP)’”
19 Have you rejected Judah completely?(CQ)
Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
so that we cannot be healed?(CR)
We hoped for peace
but no good has come,
for a time of healing
but there is only terror.(CS)
20 We acknowledge(CT) our wickedness, Lord,
and the guilt of our ancestors;(CU)
we have indeed sinned(CV) against you.
21 For the sake of your name(CW) do not despise us;
do not dishonor your glorious throne.(CX)
Remember your covenant(CY) with us
and do not break it.
22 Do any of the worthless idols(CZ) of the nations bring rain?(DA)
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.(DB)
15 Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses(DC) and Samuel(DD) were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people.(DE) Send them away from my presence!(DF) Let them go! 2 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;(DG)
those for starvation, to starvation;(DH)
those for captivity, to captivity.’(DI)
3 “I will send four kinds of destroyers(DJ) against them,” declares the Lord, “the sword(DK) to kill and the dogs(DL) to drag away and the birds(DM) and the wild animals to devour and destroy.(DN) 4 I will make them abhorrent(DO) to all the kingdoms of the earth(DP) because of what Manasseh(DQ) son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.
5 “Who will have pity(DR) on you, Jerusalem?
Who will mourn for you?
Who will stop to ask how you are?
6 You have rejected(DS) me,” declares the Lord.
“You keep on backsliding.
So I will reach out(DT) and destroy you;
I am tired of holding back.(DU)
7 I will winnow(DV) them with a winnowing fork
at the city gates of the land.
I will bring bereavement(DW) and destruction on my people,(DX)
for they have not changed their ways.(DY)
8 I will make their widows(DZ) more numerous
than the sand of the sea.
At midday I will bring a destroyer(EA)
against the mothers of their young men;
suddenly I will bring down on them
anguish and terror.(EB)
9 The mother of seven will grow faint(EC)
and breathe her last.(ED)
Her sun will set while it is still day;
she will be disgraced(EE) and humiliated.
I will put the survivors to the sword(EF)
before their enemies,”(EG)
declares the Lord.
10 Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth,(EH)
a man with whom the whole land strives and contends!(EI)
I have neither lent(EJ) nor borrowed,
yet everyone curses(EK) me.
11 The Lord said,
“Surely I will deliver you(EL) for a good purpose;
surely I will make your enemies plead(EM) with you
in times of disaster and times of distress.
12 “Can a man break iron—
iron from the north(EN)—or bronze?
13 “Your wealth(EO) and your treasures
I will give as plunder,(EP) without charge,(EQ)
because of all your sins
throughout your country.(ER)
14 I will enslave you to your enemies
in[d] a land you do not know,(ES)
for my anger will kindle a fire(ET)
that will burn against you.”
15 Lord, you understand;
remember me and care for me.
Avenge me on my persecutors.(EU)
You are long-suffering(EV)—do not take me away;
think of how I suffer reproach for your sake.(EW)
16 When your words came, I ate(EX) them;
they were my joy and my heart’s delight,(EY)
for I bear your name,(EZ)
Lord God Almighty.
17 I never sat(FA) in the company of revelers,
never made merry with them;
I sat alone because your hand(FB) was on me
and you had filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unending
and my wound grievous and incurable?(FC)
You are to me like a deceptive brook,
like a spring that fails.(FD)
19 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“If you repent, I will restore you
that you may serve(FE) me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
you will be my spokesman.(FF)
Let this people turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.
20 I will make you a wall(FG) to this people,
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you
but will not overcome(FH) you,
for I am with you
to rescue and save you,”(FI)
declares the Lord.
21 “I will save(FJ) you from the hands of the wicked(FK)
and deliver(FL) you from the grasp of the cruel.”(FM)
Day of Disaster
16 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “You must not marry(FN) and have sons or daughters in this place.” 3 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:(FO) 4 “They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried(FP) but will be like dung lying on the ground.(FQ) They will perish by sword and famine,(FR) and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.”(FS)
5 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(FT) from this people,” declares the Lord. 6 “Both high and low will die in this land.(FU) They will not be buried or mourned,(FV) and no one will cut(FW) themselves or shave(FX) their head for the dead. 7 No one will offer food(FY) to comfort those who mourn(FZ) for the dead—not even for a father or a mother—nor will anyone give them a drink to console(GA) them.
8 “And do not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink.(GB) 9 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(GC) of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride(GD) and bridegroom in this place.(GE)
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?’(GF) 11 then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors forsook me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped(GG) them. They forsook me and did not keep my law.(GH) 12 But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors.(GI) See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts(GJ) instead of obeying me. 13 So I will throw you out of this land(GK) into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known,(GL) and there you will serve other gods(GM) day and night, for I will show you no favor.’(GN)
14 “However, the days are coming,”(GO) declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’(GP) 15 but it will be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north(GQ) and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’(GR) For I will restore(GS) them to the land I gave their ancestors.(GT)
16 “But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them.(GU) After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt(GV) them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.(GW) 17 My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden(GX) from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.(GY) 18 I will repay(GZ) them double(HA) for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land(HB) with the lifeless forms of their vile images(HC) and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.(HD)”(HE)
19 Lord, my strength and my fortress,
my refuge(HF) in time of distress,
to you the nations will come(HG)
from the ends of the earth and say,
“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,(HH)
worthless idols(HI) that did them no good.(HJ)
20 Do people make their own gods?
Yes, but they are not gods!”(HK)
21 “Therefore I will teach them—
this time I will teach them
my power and might.
Then they will know
that my name(HL) is the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 13:4 Or possibly to the Euphrates; similarly in verses 5-7
- Jeremiah 13:23 Hebrew Cushite (probably a person from the upper Nile region)
- Jeremiah 14:14 Or visions, worthless divinations
- 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
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.