Jeremiah 1-4
New American Standard Bible 1995
Jeremiah’s Call and Commission
1 The words of (A)Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in (B)Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of (C)Josiah the son of (D)Amon, king of Judah, in the (E)thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of (F)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of (G)Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
5 “Before I (H)formed you in the womb I knew you,
And (I)before you were born I consecrated you;
I have (J)appointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then (K)I said, “Alas, Lord [a]God!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
Because (L)I am a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
(M)Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And (N)all that I command you, you shall speak.
8 “(O)Do not be afraid of them,
For (P)I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.
9 Then the Lord stretched out His hand and (Q)touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have (R)put My words in your mouth.
10 “See, (S)I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
(T)To pluck up and to break down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
(U)To build and to plant.”
The Almond Rod and Boiling Pot
11 The word of the Lord came to me saying, “What do you see, (V)Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a rod of an [b]almond tree.” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for (W)I am [c]watching over My word to perform it.”
13 The word of the Lord came to me a second time saying, “(X)What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling (Y)pot, facing away from the north.” 14 Then the Lord said to me, “(Z)Out of the north the evil [d]will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, behold, I am calling (AA)all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the Lord; “and they will come and they will (AB)set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the (AC)cities of Judah. 16 I will [e]pronounce My judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have (AD)forsaken Me and have [f](AE)offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the (AF)works of their own hands. 17 Now, (AG)gird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. (AH)Do not be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them. 18 Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for (AI)I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.
Judah’s Apostasy
2 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Go and (AJ)proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord,
“I remember concerning you the [g](AK)devotion of your youth,
The love of your betrothals,
(AL)Your following after Me in the wilderness,
Through a land not sown.
3 “Israel was (AM)holy to the Lord,
The (AN)first of His harvest.
(AO)All who ate of it became guilty;
Evil came upon them,” declares the Lord.’”
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord,
“(AP)What injustice did your fathers find in Me,
That they went far from Me
And walked after (AQ)emptiness and became empty?
6 “They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
Who (AR)brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who (AS)led us through the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and of pits,
Through a land of drought and of [h]deep darkness,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no man dwelt?’
7 “I brought you into the (AT)fruitful land
To eat its fruit and its good things.
But you came and (AU)defiled My land,
And My inheritance you made an abomination.
8 “The (AV)priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the law (AW)did not know Me;
The [i]rulers also transgressed against Me,
And the (AX)prophets prophesied by Baal
And walked after (AY)things that did not profit.
9 “Therefore I will yet (AZ)contend with you,” declares the Lord,
“And with your sons’ sons I will contend.
10 “For (BA)cross to the coastlands of [j]Kittim and see,
And send to (BB)Kedar and observe closely
And see if there has been such a thing as this!
11 “Has a nation changed gods
When (BC)they were not gods?
But My people have (BD)changed their glory
For that which does not profit.
12 “Be appalled, (BE)O heavens, at this,
And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.
13 “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The (BF)fountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves (BG)cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That can hold no water.
14 “Is Israel (BH)a slave? Or is he a homeborn servant?
Why has he become a prey?
15 “The young (BI)lions have roared at him,
They have [k]roared loudly.
And they have (BJ)made his land a waste;
His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.
16 “Also the [l]men of (BK)Memphis and Tahpanhes
Have [m]shaved the (BL)crown of your head.
17 “Have you not (BM)done this to yourself
By your forsaking the Lord your God
When He (BN)led you in the way?
18 “But now what are you doing (BO)on the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of the [n](BP)Nile?
Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,
To drink the waters of the [o]Euphrates?
19 “(BQ)Your own wickedness will correct you,
And your (BR)apostasies will reprove you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil and (BS)bitter
For you to forsake the Lord your God,
And (BT)the dread of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord [p]God of hosts.
20 “For long ago [q](BU)I broke your yoke
And tore off your bonds;
But you said, ‘I will not serve!’
For on every (BV)high hill
And under every green tree
You have lain down as a harlot.
21 “Yet I (BW)planted you a choice vine,
A completely faithful seed.
How then have you turned yourself before Me
Into the (BX)degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?
22 “Although you (BY)wash yourself with lye
And [r]use much soap,
The (BZ)stain of your iniquity is before Me,” declares the Lord [s]God.
23 “(CA)How can you say, ‘I am not defiled,
I have not gone after the (CB)Baals’?
Look at your way in the (CC)valley!
Know what you have done!
You are a swift young camel (CD)entangling her ways,
24 A (CE)wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,
That sniffs the wind in her passion.
In the time of her [t]heat who can turn her away?
All who seek her will not become weary;
In her month they will find her.
25 “Keep your feet from being unshod
And your throat from thirst;
But you said, ‘(CF)It is [u]hopeless!
No! For I have (CG)loved strangers,
And after them I will walk.’
26 “As the (CH)thief is shamed when he is discovered,
So the house of Israel is shamed;
They, their kings, their princes
And their priests and their prophets,
27 Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their (CI)back to Me,
And not their face;
But in the (CJ)time of their [v]trouble they will say,
‘Arise and save us.’
28 “But where are your (CK)gods
Which you made for yourself?
Let them arise, if they can (CL)save you
In the time of your [w]trouble;
For (CM)according to the number of your cities
Are your gods, O Judah.
29 “Why do you contend with Me?
You have (CN)all transgressed against Me,” declares the Lord.
30 “(CO)In vain I have struck your sons;
They accepted no chastening.
Your (CP)sword has devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.
31 “O generation, heed the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a (CQ)land of thick darkness?
Why do My people say, ‘(CR)We are free to roam;
We will no longer come to You’?
32 “Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have (CS)forgotten Me
Days without number.
33 “How well you prepare your way
To seek love!
Therefore even [x]the wicked women
You have taught your ways.
34 “Also on your skirts is found
The (CT)lifeblood of the innocent poor;
You did not find them (CU)breaking in.
But in spite of all these things,
35 Yet you said, ‘I am innocent;
Surely His anger is turned away from me.’
Behold, I will (CV)enter into judgment with you
Because you (CW)say, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 “Why do you (CX)go around so much
Changing your way?
Also, (CY)you will be put to shame by Egypt
As you were put to shame by (CZ)Assyria.
37 “From this place also you will go out
With (DA)your hands on your head;
For the Lord has rejected (DB)those in whom you trust,
And you will not prosper with them.”
The Polluted Land
3 God [y]says, “(DC)If a husband divorces his wife
And she goes from him
And belongs to another man,
Will he still return to her?
Will not that land be completely [z]polluted?
But you (DD)are a harlot with many [aa]lovers;
Yet you (DE)turn to Me,” declares the Lord.
2 “Lift up your eyes to the (DF)bare heights and see;
Where have you not been violated?
By the roads you have (DG)sat for them
Like an Arab in the desert,
And you have (DH)polluted a land
With your harlotry and with your wickedness.
3 “Therefore the (DI)showers have been withheld,
And there has been no spring rain.
Yet you had a (DJ)harlot’s forehead;
You refused to be ashamed.
4 “Have you not just now called to Me,
‘(DK)My Father, You are the [ab](DL)friend of my (DM)youth?
5 ‘(DN)Will He be angry forever?
Will He [ac]be indignant to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken
And have done evil things,
And you have [ad]had your way.”
Faithless Israel
6 Then the Lord said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She (DO)went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. 7 (DP)I [ae]thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her (DQ)treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and (DR)given her a writ of divorce, yet her (DS)treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. 9 Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she (DT)polluted the land and committed adultery with (DU)stones and trees. 10 Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in (DV)deception,” declares the Lord.
God Invites Repentance
11 And the Lord said to me, “(DW)Faithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say,
‘(DX)Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord;
‘(DY)I will not [af]look upon you in anger.
For I am (DZ)gracious,’ declares the Lord;
‘I will not be angry forever.
13 ‘Only [ag](EA)acknowledge your iniquity,
That you have transgressed against the Lord your God
And have (EB)scattered your [ah]favors to the strangers (EC)under every green tree,
And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the Lord.
14 ‘Return, O faithless sons,’ declares the Lord;
‘For I am a (ED)master to you,
And I will take you one from a city and two from a family,
And (EE)I will bring you to Zion.’
15 “Then I will give you (EF)shepherds after My own heart, who will (EG)feed you on knowledge and understanding. 16 It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land,” declares the Lord, “they will (EH)no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The (EI)Throne of the Lord,’ and (EJ)all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the (EK)name of the Lord; nor will they (EL)walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18 (EM)In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together (EN)from the land of the north to the (EO)land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.
19 “Then I said,
‘How I would set you among [ai]My sons
And give you a pleasant land,
The most (EP)beautiful inheritance of the nations!’
And I said, ‘You shall call Me, (EQ)My Father,
And not turn away from following Me.’
20 “Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her [aj]lover,
So you have (ER)dealt treacherously with Me,
O house of Israel,” declares the Lord.
21 A voice is heard on the (ES)bare heights,
The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel;
Because they have perverted their way,
They have (ET)forgotten the Lord their God.
22 “Return, O faithless sons,
(EU)I will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to You;
For You are the Lord our God.
23 “Surely, (EV)the hills are a deception,
A tumult on the mountains.
Surely in the (EW)Lord our God
Is the salvation of Israel.
24 “But (EX)the shameful thing has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 Let us lie down in our (EY)shame, and let our humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, (EZ)from our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
Judah Threatened with Invasion
4 “If you will (FA)return, O Israel,” declares the Lord,
“Then you should return to Me.
And (FB)if you will put away your detested things from My presence,
And will not waver,
2 And you will (FC)swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’
(FD)In truth, in justice and in righteousness;
Then the (FE)nations will bless themselves in Him,
And (FF)in Him they will glory.”
3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,
“[ak](FG)Break up your fallow ground,
And (FH)do not sow among thorns.
4 “(FI)Circumcise yourselves to the Lord
And remove the foreskins of your heart,
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Or else My (FJ)wrath will go forth like fire
And burn with (FK)none to quench it,
Because of the evil of your deeds.”
5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,
“(FL)Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry aloud and say,
‘(FM)Assemble yourselves, and let us go
Into the fortified cities.’
6 “Lift up a (FN)standard toward Zion!
Seek refuge, do not stand still,
For I am bringing (FO)evil from the north,
And great destruction.
7 “A (FP)lion has gone up from his thicket,
And a (FQ)destroyer of nations has set out;
He has gone out from his place
To (FR)make your land a waste.
Your cities will be ruins
Without inhabitant.
8 “For this, (FS)put on sackcloth,
Lament and wail;
For the (FT)fierce anger of the Lord
Has not turned back from us.”
9 “It shall come about in that day,” declares the Lord, “that the (FU)heart of the king and the heart of the princes will fail; and the priests will be appalled and the (FV)prophets will be astounded.”
10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord [al]God! Surely You have utterly (FW)deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘(FX)You will have peace’; whereas a sword touches the [am]throat.”
11 In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A (FY)scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness in the direction of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse, 12 a wind too strong for [an]this—will come [ao]at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.
13 “Behold, he (FZ)goes up like clouds,
And his (GA)chariots like the whirlwind;
His horses are (GB)swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for (GC)we are ruined!”
14 Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem,
That you may be saved.
How long will your (GD)wicked thoughts
Lodge within you?
15 For a voice declares from (GE)Dan,
And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.
16 “Report it to the nations, now!
Proclaim over Jerusalem,
‘Besiegers come from a (GF)far country,
And (GG)lift their voices against the cities of Judah.
17 ‘Like watchmen of a field they are (GH)against her round about,
Because she has (GI)rebelled against Me,’ declares the Lord.
18 “Your (GJ)ways and your deeds
Have [ap]brought these things to you.
This is your evil. How (GK)bitter!
How it has touched your heart!”
Lament over Judah’s Devastation
19 (GL)My [aq]soul, my [ar]soul! I am in anguish! [as]Oh, my heart!
My (GM)heart is pounding in me;
I cannot be silent,
Because [at]you have heard, O my soul,
The (GN)sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.
20 (GO)Disaster on disaster is proclaimed,
For the (GP)whole land is devastated;
Suddenly my (GQ)tents are devastated,
My curtains in an instant.
21 How long must I see the standard
And hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “(GR)For My people are foolish,
They know Me not;
They are stupid children
And have no understanding.
They are shrewd to (GS)do evil,
But to do good they do not know.”
23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was [au](GT) formless and void;
And to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were (GU)quaking,
And all the hills [av]moved to and fro.
25 I looked, and behold, there was no man,
And all the (GV)birds of the heavens had fled.
26 I looked, and behold, [aw]the (GW)fruitful land was a wilderness,
And all its cities were pulled down
Before the Lord, before His fierce anger.
27 For thus says the Lord,
“The (GX)whole land shall be a desolation,
Yet I will (GY)not execute a complete destruction.
28 “For this the (GZ)earth shall mourn
And the (HA)heavens above be dark,
Because I have (HB)spoken, I have purposed,
And I will not [ax]change My mind, nor will I turn from it.”
29 At the sound of the horseman and bowman (HC)every city flees;
They (HD)go into the thickets and climb among the rocks;
(HE)Every city is forsaken,
And no man dwells in them.
30 And you, O desolate one, (HF)what will you do?
Although you dress in scarlet,
Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold,
Although you (HG)enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you make yourself beautiful.
Your [ay](HH)lovers despise you;
They seek your life.
31 For I heard a [az]cry as of a woman in labor,
The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
The [ba]cry of the daughter of Zion (HI)gasping for breath,
(HJ)Stretching out her [bb]hands, saying,
“Ah, woe is me, for [bc]I faint before murderers.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 1:6 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Jeremiah 1:11 Heb shaqed
- Jeremiah 1:12 Heb shoqed
- Jeremiah 1:14 Lit will be opened
- Jeremiah 1:16 Lit speak
- Jeremiah 1:16 Or burned incense
- Jeremiah 2:2 Or lovingkindness
- Jeremiah 2:6 Or the shadow of death
- Jeremiah 2:8 Lit shepherds
- Jeremiah 2:10 I.e. Cyprus and other islands
- Jeremiah 2:15 Lit given their voice
- Jeremiah 2:16 Or sons
- Jeremiah 2:16 Lit grazed
- Jeremiah 2:18 Heb Shihor
- Jeremiah 2:18 Lit River
- Jeremiah 2:19 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Jeremiah 2:20 Or you
- Jeremiah 2:22 Lit cause to be great to you
- Jeremiah 2:22 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Jeremiah 2:24 Lit occasion
- Jeremiah 2:25 Or desperate
- Jeremiah 2:27 Or evil
- Jeremiah 2:28 Or evil
- Jeremiah 2:33 Or in wickedness
- Jeremiah 3:1 Lit saying
- Jeremiah 3:1 Or alienated
- Jeremiah 3:1 Lit companions
- Jeremiah 3:4 Lit leader
- Jeremiah 3:5 Lit keep it
- Jeremiah 3:5 Lit been able
- Jeremiah 3:7 Lit said
- Jeremiah 3:12 Lit cause My countenance to fall
- Jeremiah 3:13 Lit know
- Jeremiah 3:13 Lit ways
- Jeremiah 3:19 Lit the
- Jeremiah 3:20 Or companion
- Jeremiah 4:3 Lit Plow for yourselves plowed ground
- Jeremiah 4:10 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Jeremiah 4:10 Or life
- Jeremiah 4:12 Lit these
- Jeremiah 4:12 Lit for Me
- Jeremiah 4:18 Lit done
- Jeremiah 4:19 Lit inward parts
- Jeremiah 4:19 Lit inward parts
- Jeremiah 4:19 Lit The walls of my heart
- Jeremiah 4:19 Or I, my soul, heard
- Jeremiah 4:23 Or a waste and emptiness
- Jeremiah 4:24 Lit moved lightly
- Jeremiah 4:26 Or Carmel
- Jeremiah 4:28 Lit be sorry
- Jeremiah 4:30 Lit paramours
- Jeremiah 4:31 Lit sound
- Jeremiah 4:31 Lit sound
- Jeremiah 4:31 Lit palms
- Jeremiah 4:31 Lit my soul faints
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
