9 If only my head were a well of water, and my eyes a well of tears, that I might cry day and night for my people who have been killed! ² If only I had a place in the desert for travelers to stay, that I might leave my people, and go away from them! For none of them are faithful. They are a gathering of men who cannot be trusted. ³ “They use their tongue like their bow. Lies, and not truth, rule the land. For they go from sin to sin, and they do not know Me,” says the Lord. ⁴ “Let every one watch his neighbor. Do not trust any brother. Because every brother sets traps, and every neighbor goes about hurting people with his talk. ⁵ Every one fools his neighbor, and does not tell the truth. They have taught their tongue to tell lies. They become tired doing so many sins. ⁶ You live in the center of false ways. In their false ways they are not willing to know Me,” says the Lord.

⁷ So the Lord of All says, “See, I will make them pure and test them. For what else can I do with My people? ⁸ Their tongue is an arrow that kills. It lies. A man speaks peace to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he plans to trap him. ⁹ Should I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord. “Should I not make a nation such as this pay for its sins?

¹⁰ “I will cry with a loud voice for the mountains. I will cry out in sorrow for the fields, because they are laid waste. No one passes through them. The sound of the cattle is not heard. The birds of the sky and the wild animals have run away. They are gone. ¹¹ I will break down Jerusalem into pieces, a place where wild dogs live. And I will lay waste the cities of Judah. No people will live there.”

¹² Who is the man wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, that he may make it known? Why is the land destroyed and laid waste like a desert, so that no one passes through? ¹³ And the Lord said, “They have turned away from My Law that I have given them. They have not obeyed My voice and would not be led by it. ¹⁴ But they have followed the strongwill of their own hearts, and have gone after the false gods of Baal, as their fathers taught them.” ¹⁵ So the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, “See, I will feed these people with wormwood and put poison in their drinking water. ¹⁶ I will spread them out among the nations whom they and their fathers have not known. And I will go after them with the sword until I have put an end to them.”

Jerusalem Cries for Help

¹⁷ The Lord of All says, “Take thought and call for the women who are filled with sorrow, that they may come. Call for the women who cry for the dead, that they may come. ¹⁸ Let them hurry and cry in a loud voice for us, that tears may come from our eyes, and that our eyes will flow with water. ¹⁹ For a sound of loud crying is heard from Zion: ‘How we are destroyed! We are filled with shame, for we have left the land because they have broken down our houses.’” ²⁰ Now hear the Word of the Lord, O you women. Let your ear receive the Word of His mouth. Teach your daughters a song of sorrow. Every one teach her neighbor a song for the dead. ²¹ For death has come in through our windows. It has come into our beautiful houses of kings. It has cut off the children from the streets, and the young men from the open spaces of the city. ²² Say, “This is what the Lord says: ‘The dead bodies of men will fall like animal waste on the open field, and like grain after the gatherer. But no one will gather them.’”

²³ The Lord says, “Let not a wise man speak with pride about his wisdom. Let not the strong man speak with pride about his strength. And let not a rich man speak with pride about his riches. ²⁴ But let him who speaks with pride speak about this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who shows loving-kindness and does what is fair and right and good on earth. For I find joy in these things,” says the Lord.

²⁵ “See, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will punish all who have gone through the religious act of the Jews, but have not had the sin cut from their heart. ²⁶ I will punish Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all those who live in the desert. For none of these nations have had their flesh cut. And none of the people of Israel have had the sin cut from their heart.”

True Worship and False Gods

10 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O people of Israel. ² The Lord says, “Do not learn the way of the nations. And do not be afraid of the things seen in the heavens, even if the nations are afraid of them. ³ For the ways of the people are of no use. They cut wood from the trees. A workman cuts it with an ax. ⁴ They make it beautiful with silver and gold. They put it together with nails so that it cannot fall apart. ⁵ Their false gods are like a wooden man set up in a vegetable field to make birds be afraid and stay away. They cannot speak. They must be carried, because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot hurt you. And they cannot help you.”

⁶ There is no one like You, O Lord. You are great, and Your name is great in power. ⁷ Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For You should be honored with fear. Among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their lands, there is no one like You. ⁸ They are all poor thinkers and foolish. What can they learn from a false god of wood? ⁹ Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. They are the work of an able workman and of one who works with gold. Their clothing is blue and purple. They are all the work of able workmen. ¹⁰ But the Lord is the true God. He is the living God and the King Who lives forever. The earth shakes at His anger. And the nations cannot last when He is angry.

¹¹ This is what you should say to them: “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will be destroyed from the earth and from under the heavens.”

A Song of Praise

¹² It is He Who made the earth by His power, and the world by His wisdom. By His understanding He has spread out the heavens. ¹³ When He speaks, there is a storm of waters in the heavens. He makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and brings out the wind from His store-houses. ¹⁴ Every man is a poor thinker and without learning. Every one who works with gold is put to shame by his false gods. For his objects of worship fool people. There is no breath in them. ¹⁵ They are without worth, and make fun of the truth. In the time of their punishment, they will be destroyed. ¹⁶ He Who is the God of Jacob is not like these, for He has made all things. And Israel is His chosen family. The Lord of All is His name.

People of Jerusalem Will Be Taken Away

¹⁷ Pick up your load from the ground, you who are shut in by armies! ¹⁸ For the Lord says, “See, I am throwing out the people of the land at this time. And I will trouble them, that they may feel it.”

¹⁹ It is bad for me because I am hurt! My sore cannot be healed. But I said, “For sure this sickness is mine, and I must suffer with it.” ²⁰ My tent is destroyed and all my ropes are broken. My sons have gone from me and are no more. There is no one to put up my tent again or to set up my curtains. ²¹ For the shepherds are poor thinkers and have not asked for the Lord’s help. So they have not done well, and all their flock is sent different places. ²² Listen, the sound of news! See, it comes! Much noise of moving is coming out of the land of the north to destroy the cities of Judah, and to make it a place where wild dogs live.

Jeremiah’s Prayer

²³ O Lord, I know that a man’s way is not known by himself. It is not in man to lead his own steps. ²⁴ Punish me when I need it, O Lord, but be fair. Do not punish me in Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing. ²⁵ Pour out Your anger on the nations that do not know You, and on the families that do not call on Your name. For they have destroyed Jacob. They have destroyed him and have laid waste his land.

The Agreement Is Broken

11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, ² “Hear the words of this agreement, and speak to the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. ³ Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Cursed is the man who does not listen to the words of this agreement ⁴ which I told to your fathers before you when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I brought them from the land that was like an iron stove. I said to them, ‘Listen to My voice, and do all that I tell you. Then you will be My people and I will be your God.’ ⁵ And so I will keep the promise I made to your fathers before you, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.”’” Then I answered and said, “Let it be so, O Lord.”

⁶ The Lord said to me, “Make these words known in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Hear the words of this agreement and do them. ⁷ For by My strong words I told your fathers of the danger when I brought them up from the land of Egypt. I kept telling them even to this day, saying, “Listen to My voice.” ⁸ Yet they did not obey or listen. Every one walked in his own strong-will because of his sinful heart. So I brought upon them all the words of this agreement, which I told them to do, but they did not.’”

⁹ Then the Lord said to me, “Sinful plans have been made by the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ They have returned to the sins of their fathers before them who would not listen to My words. And they have gone to serve other gods. The people of Israel and Judah have broken the agreement I made with their fathers.” ¹¹ So the Lord says, “See, I am bringing much trouble on them. They will not be able to get away from it. Even when they cry to Me, I will not listen to them. ¹² Then the cities of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they burn special perfume. But they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. ¹³ For your gods are as many as your cities, O Judah. And your altars you have set up to burn special perfume to the false god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.

¹⁴ “So do not pray for these people. Do not lift up a cry or prayer for them. For I will not listen when they call to Me because of their trouble. ¹⁵ What right has My loved one to be in My house when she has done many sinful acts? Can animals killed on My altar take your trouble away from you? Can you then find joy?” ¹⁶ The Lord called you, “A green olive tree, beautiful and with good fruit.” But with a noise like thunder He set fire to it, and its branches were destroyed. ¹⁷ The Lord of All, Who planted you, has said that bad will come to you because of the sin of the people of Israel and of the people of Judah. They have done wrong to make Me angry by burning special perfume to the false god Baal.

Men of Anathoth Want to Kill Jeremiah

¹⁸ The Lord made it known to me and I knew it. You showed me the sinful things they did. ¹⁹ But I was like a gentle lamb led to be killed. I did not know that they had made plans against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit. Let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.” ²⁰ But, O Lord of All, Who is right as He judges, Who tests the heart and the mind, let me see You punish them. For I have put my cause before You.

²¹ So the Lord speaks about the men of Anathoth who want to kill you. These men say, “Do not speak in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand.” ²² So the Lord of All says, “See, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword. And their sons and daughters will die from hunger. ²³ None of them will be left. For I will bring much trouble to the men of Anathoth, in the year of their punishment.”

Jeremiah’s Question

12 You are right and good, O Lord, when I complain to You about my trouble. Yet I would like to talk with You about what is fair. Why does the way of the sinful go well? Why do all those who cannot be trusted have it so easy? ² You have planted them, and they have taken root. They grow and have given fruit. You are near on their lips but far from their heart. ³ But You know me, O Lord. You see me. And You test how my heart is with You. Take them off like sheep to be killed. Set them apart for the day of killing. ⁴ How long will the land be filled with sorrow? How long will the grass of every field dry up? For the sin of those who live in it, animals and birds have been taken away, because men have said, “He will not see what happens to us.”

God’s Answer

⁵ “If you have run with men on foot and they have made you tired, then how can you run as fast as horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, how will you do among all the trees beside the Jordan? ⁶ For even your brothers and those of your father’s house have not been faithful to you. They have cried to you in a loud voice. Do not believe them, even if they say pleasing things to you.”

The Lord’s Sorrow for Israel

⁷ “I have left My house. I have left My chosen nation. I have given the loved one of My soul into the hand of those who hate her. ⁸ My chosen nation has become to Me like a lion among the trees. She has raised her voice against Me, so I hate her. ⁹ Is My chosen nation like a spot-covered, flesh-eating bird to Me? Are the flesh-eating birds against her on every side? Go, gather all the wild animals of the field, and bring them to eat. ¹⁰ Many shepherds have destroyed My grape-field. They have crushed My field under foot. They have turned My good field to an empty desert. ¹¹ It has been laid waste. Destroyed and empty, it cries with sorrow before Me. The whole land has been laid waste, because no one cares. ¹² On all the open hill-tops in the desert, destroyers have come. For the sword of the Lord destroys from one end of the land to the other. There is no peace for anyone. ¹³ They have planted grain and have gathered thorns. They have worked hard, but have nothing. Be ashamed of what you gather because of the burning anger of the Lord.”

Israel’s Neighbors

¹⁴ This is what the Lord says about all My sinful neighbors who take the gift I have given to My people Israel: “See, I am about to pull them up by the roots from their land. And I will pull up the people of Judah by the roots from among them. ¹⁵ But after I have pulled them up by the roots, I will have loving-pity on them again, and will bring them back. I will return each one to what he has been given and to his land. ¹⁶ Then if they will for sure learn the ways of My people, and promise by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught My people to promise by Baal, then they will be built up among My people. ¹⁷ But if they will not listen, then I will pull that nation up by the roots and destroy it,” says the Lord.