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Jeremiah 19:14-22:23
New International Version
Jeremiah 19:14-22:23
New International Version
14 Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court(A) 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(B) I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked(C) and would not listen(D) to my words.’”
Jeremiah and Pashhur
20 When the priest Pashhur son of Immer,(E) the official(F) in charge of the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, 2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten(G) and put in the stocks(H) at the Upper Gate of Benjamin(I) at the Lord’s temple. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord’s name(J) for you is not Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side.(K) 4 For this is what the Lord says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes(L) you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will give(M) all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will carry(N) them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. 5 I will deliver all the wealth(O) 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(P) as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. 6 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(Q) lies.’”
Jeremiah’s Complaint
7 You deceived[a](R) me, Lord, and I was deceived[b];
you overpowered(S) me and prevailed.
I am ridiculed(T) all day long;
everyone mocks(U) me.
8 Whenever I speak, I cry out
proclaiming violence and destruction.(V)
So the word of the Lord has brought me
insult and reproach(W) all day long.
9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word
or speak anymore in his name,”(X)
his word is in my heart like a fire,(Y)
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;(Z)
indeed, I cannot.
10 I hear many whispering,
“Terror(AA) on every side!
Denounce(AB) him! Let’s denounce him!”
All my friends(AC)
are waiting for me to slip,(AD) saying,
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
then we will prevail(AE) over him
and take our revenge(AF) on him.”
11 But the Lord(AG) is with me like a mighty warrior;
so my persecutors(AH) will stumble and not prevail.(AI)
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;(AJ)
their dishonor will never be forgotten.
12 Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous
and probe the heart and mind,(AK)
let me see your vengeance(AL) on them,
for to you I have committed(AM) my cause.
13 Sing(AN) to the Lord!
Give praise to the Lord!
He rescues(AO) the life of the needy
from the hands of the wicked.(AP)
14 Cursed be the day I was born!(AQ)
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(AR)
the Lord overthrew without pity.
May he hear wailing(AS) in the morning,
a battle cry at noon.
17 For he did not kill me in the womb,(AT)
with my mother as my grave,
her womb enlarged forever.
18 Why did I ever come out of the womb(AU)
to see trouble(AV) and sorrow
and to end my days in shame?(AW)
God Rejects Zedekiah’s Request
21 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah(AX) sent to him Pashhur(AY) son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah(AZ) son of Maaseiah. They said: 2 “Inquire(BA) now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar[c](BB) king of Babylon(BC) is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders(BD) for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”
3 But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, 4 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn(BE) against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians[d] who are outside the wall besieging(BF) you. And I will gather them inside this city. 5 I myself will fight(BG) against you with an outstretched hand(BH) and a mighty arm(BI) in furious anger and in great wrath. 6 I will strike(BJ) down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague.(BK) 7 After that, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah(BL) king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague,(BM) sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon(BN) and to their enemies(BO) who want to kill them.(BP) He will put them to the sword;(BQ) he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’(BR)
8 “Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life(BS) and the way of death. 9 Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague.(BT) But whoever goes out and surrenders(BU) to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives.(BV) 10 I have determined to do this city harm(BW) and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands(BX) of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’(BY)
11 “Moreover, say to the royal house(BZ) of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. 12 This is what the Lord says to you, house of David:
“‘Administer justice(CA) every morning;
rescue from the hand of the oppressor(CB)
the one who has been robbed,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire(CC)
because of the evil(CD) you have done—
burn with no one to quench(CE) it.
13 I am against(CF) you, Jerusalem,
you who live above this valley(CG)
on the rocky plateau, declares the Lord—
you who say, “Who can come against us?
Who can enter our refuge?”(CH)
14 I will punish you as your deeds(CI) deserve,
declares the Lord.
I will kindle a fire(CJ) in your forests(CK)
that will consume everything around you.’”
Judgment Against Wicked Kings
22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king(CL) of Judah and proclaim this message there: 2 ‘Hear(CM) the word of the Lord to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne(CN)—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates.(CO) 3 This is what the Lord says: Do what is just(CP) and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor(CQ) the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow,(CR) and do not shed innocent blood(CS) in this place. 4 For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings(CT) who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. 5 But if you do not obey(CU) these commands, declares the Lord, I swear(CV) by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”
6 For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:
“Though you are like Gilead(CW) to me,
like the summit of Lebanon,(CX)
I will surely make you like a wasteland,(CY)
like towns not inhabited.
7 I will send destroyers(CZ) against you,
each man with his weapons,
and they will cut(DA) up your fine cedar beams
and throw them into the fire.(DB)
8 “People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’(DC) 9 And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.(DD)’”
10 Do not weep for the dead(DE) king or mourn(DF) his loss;
rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,
because he will never return(DG)
nor see his native land again.
11 For this is what the Lord says about Shallum[e](DH) son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return. 12 He will die(DI) in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.”
13 “Woe(DJ) to him who builds(DK) his palace by unrighteousness,
his upper rooms by injustice,
making his own people work for nothing,
not paying(DL) them for their labor.
14 He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace(DM)
with spacious upper rooms.’
So he makes large windows in it,
panels it with cedar(DN)
and decorates it in red.(DO)
15 “Does it make you a king
to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
He did what was right and just,(DP)
so all went well(DQ) with him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,(DR)
and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know(DS) me?”
declares the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
are set only on dishonest gain,(DT)
on shedding innocent blood(DU)
and on oppression and extortion.”(DV)
18 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
“They will not mourn(DW) for him:
‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’
19 He will have the burial(DX) of a donkey—
dragged away and thrown(DY)
outside the gates of Jerusalem.”
20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry out,(DZ)
let your voice be heard in Bashan,(EA)
cry out from Abarim,(EB)
for all your allies(EC) are crushed.
21 I warned you when you felt secure,(ED)
but you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This has been your way from your youth;(EE)
you have not obeyed(EF) me.
22 The wind(EG) will drive all your shepherds(EH) away,
and your allies(EI) will go into exile.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced(EJ)
because of all your wickedness.
23 You who live in ‘Lebanon,[f](EK)’
who are nestled in cedar buildings,
how you will groan when pangs come upon you,
pain(EL) like that of a woman in labor!
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded
- Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded
- Jeremiah 21:2 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Jeremiah and Ezekiel
- Jeremiah 21:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 9
- Jeremiah 22:11 Also called Jehoahaz
- Jeremiah 22:23 That is, the palace in Jerusalem (see 1 Kings 7:2)
Jeremiah 19:14-22:23
King James Version
Jeremiah 19:14-22:23
King James Version
14 Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the Lord's house; and said to all the people,
15 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.
20 Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things.
2 Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord.
3 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The Lord hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magormissabib.
4 For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.
5 Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon.
6 And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.
7 O Lord, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived; thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
8 For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.
9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.
10 For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.
11 But the Lord is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
12 But, O Lord of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause.
13 Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.
14 Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.
15 Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad.
16 And let that man be as the cities which the Lord overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide;
17 Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.
18 Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?
21 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,
2 Enquire, I pray thee, of the Lord for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.
3 Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:
4 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.
5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.
6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.
7 And afterward, saith the Lord, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have mercy.
8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.
9 He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey.
10 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
11 And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the Lord;
12 O house of David, thus saith the Lord; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
13 Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the Lord; which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
14 But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the Lord: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.
22 Thus saith the Lord; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word,
2 And say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:
3 Thus saith the Lord; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place.
4 For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.
6 For thus saith the Lord unto the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.
7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire.
8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this great city?
9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.
11 For thus saith the Lord touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more:
12 But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
13 Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;
14 That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.
15 Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with him?
16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the Lord.
17 But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and for violence, to do it.
18 Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!
19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed.
21 I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.
22 The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.
23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
New International Version (NIV) 
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