Bible in 90 Days
14 Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith is put to shame
by his carved image,(A)
for his cast images are a lie;(B)
there is no breath in them.(C)
15 They are worthless, a work to be mocked.
At the time of their punishment
they will be destroyed.(D)
16 Jacob’s Portion[a] is not like these
because He is the One who formed all things.(E)
Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;(F)
Yahweh of Hosts is His name.(G)
Exile After the Siege
18 For this is what the Lord says:
Look, I am slinging out(I)
the land’s residents at this time
and bringing them such distress
that they will feel it.
Jeremiah Grieves
19 Woe to me because of my brokenness—
I am severely wounded!(J)
I exclaimed, “This is my intense suffering,
but I must bear it.”
20 My tent is destroyed;(K)
all my tent cords are snapped.
My sons have departed from me and are no more.
I have no one to pitch my tent again
or to hang up my curtains.
21 For the shepherds are stupid:
they don’t seek the Lord.(L)
Therefore they have not prospered,
and their whole flock is scattered.
22 Listen! A noise—it is coming—
a great commotion(M) from the land to the north.
The cities of Judah will be made desolate,
a jackals’ den.(N)
23 I know, Lord,
that a man’s way of life is not his own;
no one who walks determines his own steps.(O)
24 Discipline me, Lord, but with justice—
not in Your anger,(P)
or You will reduce me to nothing.
25 Pour out Your wrath on the nations
that don’t recognize You
and on the families
that don’t call on Your name,
for they have consumed Jacob;
they have consumed him and finished him off
and made his homeland desolate.(Q)
Reminder of the Covenant
11 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Listen to the words of this covenant(R) and tell them to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem. 3 You must tell them: This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let a curse be on the man who does not obey the words of this covenant,(S) 4 which I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt,(T) out of the iron furnace.’(U) I declared: ‘Obey Me, and do everything that I command you, and you will be My people, and I will be your God,’(V) 5 in order to establish the oath I swore to your ancestors,(W) to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is today.”
I answered, “Amen, Lord.”(X)
6 The Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Obey the words of this covenant and carry them out. 7 For I strongly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt until today, warning them time and time again,[c](Y) ‘Obey My voice.’ 8 Yet they would not obey or pay attention; each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart.(Z) So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant, because they had not done what I commanded them to do.”
9 The Lord said to me, “A conspiracy has been discovered among the men of Judah(AA) and the residents of Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their ancestors(AB) who refused to obey My words and have followed other gods to worship them.(AC) The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke My covenant I made with their ancestors.
11 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am about to bring on them disaster that they cannot escape.(AD) They will cry out to Me, but I will not hear them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods they have been burning incense to, but they certainly will not save them in their time of disaster.(AE) 13 Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, Judah,(AF) and the altars you have set up to Shame[d](AG)—altars to burn incense to Baal—as numerous as the streets of Jerusalem.
14 “As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf,(AH) for I will not be listening when they call out to Me at the time of their disaster.
15 What right does My beloved have
to be in My house,(AI)
having carried out so many evil schemes?
Can holy meat[e](AJ) prevent your disaster[f]
so you can rejoice?
16 The Lord named you
a flourishing olive tree,(AK)
beautiful with well-formed fruit.
He has set fire to it,
and its branches are consumed[g](AL)
with a great roaring sound.(AM)
17 “The Lord of Hosts who planted you(AN) has decreed disaster against you, because of the harm the house of Israel and the house of Judah brought on themselves, provoking Me to anger by burning incense to Baal.”
18 The Lord informed me, so I knew.
Then You helped me to see their deeds,
19 for I was like a docile[h] lamb led to slaughter.(AO)
I didn’t know that they had devised plots against me:
“Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit;[i]
let’s cut him off from the land of the living(AP)
so that his name will no longer be remembered.”
20 But, Lord of Hosts, who judges righteously,
who tests(AQ) heart[j] and mind,(AR)
let me see Your vengeance on them,
for I have presented my case to You.(AS)
21 Therefore, here is what the Lord says concerning the people of Anathoth(AT) who want to take your life. They warn, “You must not prophesy in the name of Yahweh, or you will certainly die at our hand.” 22 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Hosts says: “I am about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword; their sons and daughters will die by famine.(AU) 23 They will have no remnant, for I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth(AV) in the year of their punishment.”
Jeremiah’s Complaint
12 You will be righteous, Lord,(AW)
even if I bring a case against You.
Yet, I wish to contend with You:(AX)
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?(AY)
Why do all the treacherous live at ease?
2 You planted them,(AZ) and they have taken root.
They have grown and produced fruit.
You are ever on their lips,[k]
but far from their conscience.[l](BA)
3 As for You, Lord, You know me; You see me.(BB)
You test whether my heart is with You.(BC)
Drag the wicked away like sheep to slaughter(BD)
and set them apart for the day of killing.
4 How long will the land mourn(BE)
and the grass of every field wither?
Because of the evil of its residents,
animals and birds have been swept away,
for the people have said,
“He cannot see what our end will be.”[m](BF)
The Lord’s Response
5 If you have raced with runners
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble[n] in a peaceful land,
what will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?(BG)
6 Even your brothers—your own father’s household—
even they were treacherous to you;(BH)
even they have cried out loudly after you.(BI)
Do not have confidence in them,
though they speak well of you.
7 I have abandoned My house;(BJ)
I have deserted My inheritance.
I have given the love of My life
into the hands of her enemies.
8 My inheritance has acted toward Me
like a lion in the forest.
She has roared against Me.
Therefore, I hate her.(BK)
9 Is My inheritance like a hyena[o] to Me?
Are birds of prey circling her?
Go, gather all the wild animals;(BL)
bring them to devour her.
10 Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard;
they have trampled My plot of land.(BM)
They have turned My desirable plot
into a desolate wasteland.
11 They have made it a desolation.
It mourns, desolate, before Me.
All the land is desolate,
but no one takes it to heart.(BN)
12 Over all the barren heights in the wilderness
the destroyers have come,
for the Lord has a sword that devours
from one end of the earth to the other.
No one has peace.(BO)
13 They have sown wheat but harvested thorns.(BP)
They have exhausted themselves but have no profit.(BQ)
Be put to shame by your harvests
because of the Lord’s burning anger.(BR)
14 This is what the Lord says: “Concerning all My evil neighbors who attack the inheritance that I bequeathed to My people, Israel, I am about to uproot them(BS) from their land, and I will uproot the house of Judah from them. 15 After I have uprooted them, I will once again have compassion(BT) on them and return each one to his inheritance and to his land. 16 If they will diligently learn the ways of My people(BU)—to swear by My name, ‘As Yahweh lives,’ just as they taught My people to swear by Baal—they will be built up among My people. 17 However, if they will not obey, then I will uproot and destroy that nation.”(BV)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Linen Underwear
13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen undergarment(BW) and put it on,[p] but do not put it in water.” 2 So I bought underwear as the Lord instructed me and put it on.
3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: 4 “Take the underwear that you bought and are wearing,[q] and go at once to the Euphrates[r] and hide it in a rocky crevice.”(BX) 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.
6 A long time later the Lord said to me, “Go at once to the Euphrates and get the underwear that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 So I went to the Euphrates and dug up the underwear and got it from the place where I had hidden it, but it was ruined—of no use at all.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “This is what the Lord says: Just like this I will ruin the great pride of both Judah and Jerusalem.(BY) 10 These evil people, who refuse to listen to Me, who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts,(BZ) and who have followed other gods to serve and worship—they will be like this underwear, of no use at all. 11 Just as underwear clings to one’s waist, so I fastened the whole house of Israel and of Judah to Me”(CA)—this is the Lord’s declaration—“so that they might be My people for My fame, praise, and glory,(CB) but they would not obey.
The Wine Jars
12 “Say this to them: This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every jar should be filled with wine. Then they will respond to you, ‘Don’t we know that every jar should be filled with wine?’ 13 And you will say to them: This is what the Lord says: I am about to fill all who live in this land—the kings who reign for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets and all the residents of Jerusalem—with drunkenness. 14 I will smash them against each other, fathers and sons alike”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will allow no mercy, pity, or compassion to keep Me from destroying them.”(CC)
The Lord’s Warning
15 Listen and pay attention. Do not be proud,
for the Lord has spoken.
16 Give glory to the Lord your God(CD)
before He brings darkness,
before your feet stumble
on the mountains at dusk.
You wait for light,
but He brings darkest gloom[s]
and makes thick darkness.
17 But if you will not listen,
my innermost being will weep in secret
because of your pride.
My eyes will overflow with tears,
for the Lord’s flock(CE) has been taken captive.
18 Say to the king and the queen mother:(CF)
Take a humble seat,
for your glorious crowns
have fallen from your heads.
19 The cities of the Negev are under siege;
no one can help them.
All of Judah has been taken into exile,
taken completely into exile.
20 Look up and see
those coming from the north.(CG)
Where is the flock entrusted to you,
the sheep that were your pride?
The Destiny of Jerusalem
21 What will you say when He appoints
close friends as leaders over you,
ones you yourself trained?
Won’t labor pains seize you,(CH)
as they do a woman in labor?
22 And when you ask yourself,
“Why have these things happened to me?”
It is because of your great guilt(CI)
that your skirts have been stripped off,(CJ)
your body exposed.[t]
23 Can the Cushite change his skin,
or a leopard his spots?
If so, you might be able to do what is good,(CK)
you who are instructed in evil.
24 I will scatter you[u] like drifting chaff(CL)
before the desert wind.
25 This is your lot,
what I have decreed for you—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
because you have forgotten Me
and trusted in Falsehood.[v](CM)
26 I will pull your skirts up over your face
so that your shame might be seen.(CN)
27 Your adulteries and your lustful neighing,(CO)
your heinous prostitution
on the hills, in the fields—
I have seen your detestable acts.
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
You are unclean—
for how long yet?(CP)
The Drought
14 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:(CQ)
2 Judah mourns;
her gates languish.(CR)
Her people are on the ground in mourning;
Jerusalem’s cry rises up.(CS)
3 Their nobles send their servants[w] for water.
They go to the cisterns;
they find no water;
their containers return empty.
They are ashamed and humiliated;
they cover their heads.(CT)
4 The ground is cracked
since no rain has fallen on the land.
The farmers are ashamed;(CU)
they cover their heads.
5 Even the doe in the field
gives birth and abandons her fawn
since there is no grass.
6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights(CV)
panting for air like jackals.
Their eyes fail
because there are no green plants.
7 Though our guilt testifies against us,
Yahweh, act for Your name’s sake.
Indeed, our rebellions(CW) are many;
we have sinned against You.
8 Hope of Israel,(CX)
its Savior in time of distress,
why are You like a foreigner in the land,
like a traveler stopping only for the night?
9 Why are You like a helpless man,
like a warrior unable to save?(CY)
Yet You are among us, Yahweh,(CZ)
and we are called by Your name.
Don’t leave us!
10 This is what the Lord says concerning these people:
Truly they love to wander;(DA)
they never rest their feet.
So the Lord does not accept them.
Now He will remember their guilt
and punish their sins.(DB)
False Prophets to be Punished
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of these people.(DC) 12 If they fast, I will not hear their cry of despair. If they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. Rather, I will finish them off by sword, famine, and plague.”(DD)
13 And I replied, “Oh no, Lord God! The prophets are telling them, ‘You won’t see sword or suffer famine. I will certainly give you true peace in this place.’”(DE)
14 But the Lord said to me, “These prophets are prophesying a lie in My name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, the deceit(DF) of their own minds.
15 “Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, though I did not send them, and who say, ‘There will never be sword or famine in this land.’ By sword and famine these prophets will meet their end. 16 The people they are prophesying to will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. There will be no one to bury them(DG)—they, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. I will pour out their own evil on them.”
Jeremiah’s Request
17 You are to speak this word to them:
Let my eyes overflow with tears;
day and night may they not stop,(DH)
for the virgin daughter of my people
has been destroyed by a great disaster,(DI)
an extremely severe wound.(DJ)
18 If I go out to the field,
look—those slain by the sword!
If I enter the city,
look—those ill(DK) from famine!
For both prophet and priest
travel to a land they do not know.
19 Have You completely rejected Judah?
Do You detest(DL) Zion?
Why do You strike us
with no hope of healing for us?
We hoped for peace,
but there was nothing good;
for a time of healing,
but there was only terror.(DM)
20 We acknowledge our wickedness, Lord,
the guilt of our fathers;(DN)
indeed, we have sinned against You.
21 Because of Your name, don’t despise us.
Don’t disdain Your glorious throne.(DO)
Remember Your covenant(DP) with us;
do not break it.
22 Can any of the worthless idols of the nations(DQ) bring rain?
Or can the skies alone give showers?
Are You not the Lord our God?
We therefore put our hope in You,(DR)
for You have done all these things.
The Lord’s Negative Response
15 Then the Lord said to me: “Even if(DS) Moses and(DT) Samuel should(DU) stand before Me,(DV) My compassions would not reach out to these people. Send them from My presence, and let them go. 2 If they ask you, ‘Where will we go?’ you must tell them: This is what the Lord says:
Those destined for death,(DW) to death;
those destined for the sword, to the sword.
Those destined for famine, to famine;
those destined for captivity, to captivity.
3 “I will ordain four kinds[x] of judgment for them”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away,(DX) and the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land(DY) to devour and destroy. 4 I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh(DZ) son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.
5 Who will have pity on you, Jerusalem?(EA)
Who will show sympathy toward you?(EB)
Who will turn aside
to ask about your welfare?
6 You have left Me.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
You have turned your back,
so I have stretched out My hand against you
and destroyed you.
I am tired of showing compassion.
7 I scattered them with a winnowing fork
at the gates of the land.
I made them childless; I destroyed My people.
They would not turn from their ways.(EC)
8 I made their widows more numerous
than the sand of the seas.(ED)
I brought a destroyer at noon
against the mother of young men.
I suddenly released on her
agitation and terrors.
9 The mother of seven grew faint;(EE)
she breathed her last breath.
Her sun set while it was still day;
she was ashamed and humiliated.
The rest of them I will give over to the sword
in the presence of their enemies.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Jeremiah’s Complaint
10 Woe is me, my mother,
that you gave birth to me,(EF)
a man who incites dispute and conflict
in all the land.
I did not lend or borrow,
yet everyone curses me.(EG)
The Lord’s Response
11 The Lord said:
I will certainly set you free and care for you.[y]
I will certainly intercede for you
in a time of trouble,
in your time of distress, with the enemy.
12 Can anyone smash iron,
iron from the north, or bronze?
13 I will give up your wealth
and your treasures as plunder,
without cost,(EH) for all your sins
in all your borders.
14 Then I will make you serve your enemies[z]
in a land you do not know,
for My anger will kindle a fire
that will burn against you.(EI)
Jeremiah’s Prayer for Vengeance
15 You know,(EJ) Lord;
remember me and take note of me.
Avenge me against my persecutors.(EK)
In Your patience,[aa] don’t take me away.
Know that I suffer disgrace for Your honor.(EL)
16 Your words were found, and I ate them.(EM)
Your words became a delight to me
and the joy of my heart,
for I am called by Your name,(EN)
Yahweh God of Hosts.
17 I never sat with the band of revelers,
and I did not celebrate with them.
Because Your hand was on me, I sat alone,(EO)
for You filled me with indignation.
18 Why has my pain become unending,
my wound incurable,(EP)
refusing to be healed?
You truly have become like a mirage to me—
water that is not reliable.
Jeremiah Told to Repent
19 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
If you return, I will restore you;
you will stand in My presence.
And if you speak noble words,
rather than worthless ones,
you will be My spokesman.(EQ)
It is they who must return to you;
you must not return to them.
20 Then I will make you a fortified wall of bronze
to this people.
They will fight against you
but will not overcome you,
for I am with you
to save you and deliver you.(ER)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
21 I will deliver you from the power of evil people
and redeem you from the control of the ruthless.
No Marriage for Jeremiah
16 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “You must not marry or have sons or daughters in this place. 3 For this is what the Lord says concerning sons and daughters born in this place as well as concerning the mothers who bear them and the fathers who father them in this land: 4 They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like manure on the face of the earth.(ES) They will be finished off by sword and famine. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.(ET)
5 “For this is what the Lord says: Don’t enter a house where a mourning feast is taking place.[ab] Don’t go to lament or sympathize with them, for I have removed My peace from these people”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“as well as My faithful love and compassion.(EU) 6 Both great and small will die in this land without burial. No lament will be made for them, nor will anyone cut himself or(EV) shave his head for them.[ac] 7 Food won’t be provided for the mourner(EW) to comfort him because of the dead. A cup of consolation won’t be given him because of the loss of his father or mother. 8 You must not enter the house where feasting is taking place to sit with them to eat and drink. 9 For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am about to eliminate from this place, before your very eyes and in your time, the sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the groom and the bride.(EX)
Abandoning the Lord and His Law
10 “When you tell these people all these things, they will say to you, ‘Why has the Lord declared all this great disaster against us?(EY) What is our guilt? What is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ 11 Then you will answer them: Because your fathers abandoned Me”(EZ)—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and followed other gods, served them, and worshiped them.(FA) Indeed, they abandoned Me and did not keep My instruction. 12 You did more evil than your fathers.(FB) Look, each one of you was following the stubbornness of his evil heart, not obeying Me. 13 So I will hurl you from this land into a land that you and your fathers are not familiar with.(FC) There you will worship other gods(FD) both day and night, for I will not grant you grace.[ad]
14 “However, take note! The days are coming”—the Lord’s declaration—“when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought the Israelites from the land of Egypt,’(FE) 15 but rather, ‘As the Lord lives who brought the Israelites from the land of the north(FF) and from all the other lands where He had banished them.’ For I will return them to their land that I gave to their ancestors.(FG)
Punishment of Exile
16 “I am about to send for many fishermen”(FH)—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and they will fish for them. Then I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and out of the clefts of the rocks, 17 for My gaze takes in all their ways.(FI) They are not concealed from Me, and their guilt is not hidden from My sight. 18 I will first repay them double for their guilt(FJ) and sin because they have polluted My land. They have filled My inheritance with the lifelessness of their detestable and abhorrent idols.”
19 Lord, my strength and my stronghold,
my refuge in a time of distress,(FK)
the nations will come to You
from the ends of the earth, and they will say,
“Our fathers inherited only lies,
worthless idols(FL) of no benefit at all.”
20 Can one make gods for himself?
But they are not gods.(FM)
21 “Therefore, I am about to inform them,
and this time I will make them know
My power and My might;
then they will know that My name is Yahweh.”(FN)
The Persistent Sin of Judah
17 The sin of Judah is written
with an iron stylus.(FO)
With a diamond point
it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts(FP)
and on the horns of their[ae] altars,
2 while their children remember their altars
and their Asherah poles, by the green trees
on the high hills—
3 My mountains in the countryside.
I will give up your wealth
and all your treasures as plunder
because of the sin of your high places[af]
in all your borders.(FQ)
4 You will, on your own, relinquish your inheritance
that I gave you.
I will make you serve your enemies
in a land you do not know,(FR)
for you have set My anger on fire;(FS)
it will burn forever.
Curse and Blessing
5 This is what the Lord says:
The man who trusts in mankind,(FT)
who makes human flesh his strength(FU)
and turns his heart from the Lord is cursed.
6 He will be like a juniper in the Arabah;(FV)
he cannot see when good comes
but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness,
in a salt land where no one lives.(FW)
7 The man who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence indeed is the Lord, is blessed.(FX)
8 He will be like a tree planted by water:(FY)
it sends its roots out toward a stream,
it doesn’t fear when heat comes,
and its foliage remains green.
It will not worry in a year of drought
or cease producing fruit.
The Deceitful Heart
9 The heart is more deceitful than anything else,
and incurable—who can understand it?(FZ)
10 I, Yahweh, examine the mind,
I test the heart[ag](GA)
to give to each according to his way,
according to what his actions deserve.(GB)
11 He who makes a fortune unjustly
is like a partridge that hatches eggs it didn’t lay.
In the middle of his days
his riches will abandon him,
so in the end he will be a fool.(GC)
12 A throne of glory(GD)
on high(GE) from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.(GF)
13 Lord, the hope of Israel,(GG)
all who abandon You
will be put to shame.
All who turn away from Me
will be written in the dirt,
for they have abandoned
the Lord, the fountain of living water.(GH)
Jeremiah’s Plea
14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;
save me, and I will be saved,
for You are my praise.(GI)
15 Hear how they keep challenging me,(GJ)
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come!”
16 But I have not run away from being Your shepherd,
and I have not longed for the fatal day.
You know my words were spoken in Your presence.
17 Don’t become a terror to me.
You are my refuge(GK) in the day of disaster.
18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,(GL)
but don’t let me be put to shame.
Let them be terrified, but don’t let me be terrified.
Bring on them the day of disaster;(GM)
shatter them with total[ah] destruction.
Observing the Sabbath
19 This is what the Lord said to me, “Go and stand at the People’s Gate, through which the kings of Judah enter and leave, as well as at all the gates of Jerusalem. 20 Announce to them: Hear the word of the Lord, kings of Judah, all Judah, and all the residents of Jerusalem who enter through these gates. 21 This is what the Lord says: Watch yourselves; do not pick up a load and bring it in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.(GN) 22 You must not carry a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day or do any work,(GO) but you must consecrate the Sabbath day, just as I commanded your ancestors.(GP) 23 They wouldn’t listen or pay attention but became obstinate,(GQ) not listening or accepting discipline.
24 “However, if you listen to Me, says the Lord, and do not bring loads through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day and consecrate the Sabbath day and do no work on it, 25 kings and princes will enter through the gates of this city. They will sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses(GR) with their officials, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem. This city will be inhabited forever. 26 Then people will come from the cities of Judah and from the area around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the Judean foothills, from the hill country and from the Negev(GS) bringing burnt offerings and sacrifice, grain offerings and frankincense, and thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 If you do not listen to Me to consecrate the Sabbath day by not carrying a load while entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, I will set fire to its gates,(GT) and it will consume the citadels(GU) of Jerusalem(GV) and not be extinguished.”(GW)
Parable of the Potter
18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down at once to the potter’s house;(GX) there I will reveal My words to you.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, working away at the wheel.[ai] 4 But the jar that he was making from the clay became flawed in the potter’s hand, so he made it into another jar, as it seemed right for him to do.(GY)
5 The word of the Lord came to me: 6 “House of Israel, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay?”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, house of Israel.(GZ) 7 At one moment I might announce concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will uproot, tear down, and destroy it.(HA) 8 However, if that nation I have made an announcement about turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the disaster I had planned to do to it.(HB) 9 At another time I announce that I will build and plant a nation or a kingdom.(HC) 10 However, if it does what is evil in My sight by not listening to My voice, I will relent concerning the good I had said I would do to it.(HD) 11 So now, say to the men of Judah and to the residents of Jerusalem: This is what the Lord says: I am about to bring harm to you and make plans against you. Turn now, each from your evil way, and correct your ways and your deeds.(HE) 12 But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless.(HF) We will continue to follow our plans, and each of us will continue to act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’”
Deluded Israel
13 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
Ask among the nations,
Who has heard things like these?
Virgin Israel has done a most terrible thing.(HG)
14 Does the snow of Lebanon ever leave the highland crags?
Or does cold water flowing from a distance ever fail?
15 Yet My people have forgotten Me.(HH)
They burn incense to false idols
that make them stumble in their ways
on the ancient roads(HI)
and walk on new paths, not the highway.
16 They have made their land a horror,(HJ)
a perpetual object of scorn;[aj](HK)
everyone who passes by it will be horrified(HL)
and shake his head.(HM)
17 I will scatter them before the enemy like the east wind.(HN)
I will show them[ak] My back and not My face
on the day of their calamity.
Plot against Jeremiah
18 Then certain ones said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah,(HO) for instruction will never be lost from the priest,(HP) or counsel from the wise, or an oracle from the prophet.(HQ) Come, let’s denounce him[al] and pay no attention to all his words.”
19 Pay attention to me, Lord.
Hear what my opponents are saying!(HR)
20 Should good be repaid with evil?
Yet they have dug a pit for me.(HS)
Remember how I stood before You
to speak good on their behalf,
to turn Your anger from them.
21 Therefore, hand their children over to famine,(HT)
and pour the sword’s power on them.
Let their wives become childless and widowed,
their husbands slain by deadly disease,[am]
their young men struck down by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry be heard from their houses
when You suddenly bring raiders against them,
for they have dug a pit to capture me
and have hidden snares for my feet.(HU)
23 But You, Lord, know
all their deadly plots against me.
Do not wipe out their guilt;(HV)
do not blot out their sin before You.
Let them be forced to stumble before You;
deal with them in the time of Your anger.
The Clay Jar
19 This is what the Lord says: “Go, buy a potter’s clay(HW) jar. Take[an] some of the elders of the people and some of the leading priests(HX) 2 and go out to the Valley of Hinnom(HY) near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there the words I speak to you. 3 Say: Hear the word of the Lord, kings of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.(HZ) This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on this place that everyone who hears about it will shudder[ao](IA) 4 because they have abandoned Me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in it to other gods that they, their fathers, and the kings of Judah have never known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.(IB) 5 They have built high places to Baal on which to burn their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, something I have never commanded or mentioned; I never entertained the thought.[ap](IC)
6 “Therefore, take note! The days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.(ID) 7 I will spoil the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hand of those who want to take their life. I will provide their corpses as food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.(IE) 8 I will make this city desolate, an object of scorn. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and scoff because of all its wounds.(IF) 9 I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and they will eat each other’s flesh in the siege and distress that their enemies, those who want to take their life, inflict on them.(IG)
10 “Then you are to shatter the jar in the presence of the people traveling with you, 11 and you are to proclaim to them: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: I will shatter these people and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again be mended. They will bury the dead in Topheth because there is no other place for burials.(IH) 12 I will do so to this place”—this is the declaration of the Lord—“and to its residents, making this city like Topheth. 13 The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will become impure like that place Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they have burned incense to the whole heavenly host(II) and poured out drink offerings to other gods.”
14 Jeremiah came back from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, stood in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple,(IJ) and proclaimed to all the people, 15 “This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to bring on this city—and on all its dependent villages—all the disaster that I spoke against it, for they have become obstinate, not obeying My words.’”(IK)
Jeremiah Beaten by Pashhur
20 Pashhur the priest, the son of Immer(IL) and chief official in the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 So Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put him in the stocks at the Upper Benjamin Gate in the Lord’s temple. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call you Pashhur, but Magor-missabib,[aq] 4 for this is what the Lord says, ‘I am about to make you a terror to both yourself and those you love.(IM) They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes. I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will deport them to Babylon and put them to the sword. 5 I will give away all the wealth of this city, all its products(IN) and valuables. Indeed, I will hand all the treasures of the kings of Judah over to their enemies. They will plunder them, seize them, and carry them off to Babylon. 6 As for you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, you will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon. There you will die, and there you will be buried, you and all your friends that you prophesied falsely(IO) to.’”
Jeremiah Compelled to Preach
7 You deceived me, Lord, and I was deceived.
You seized me and prevailed.
I am a laughingstock all the time;(IP)
everyone ridicules me.
8 For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I proclaim, “Violence and destruction!”(IQ)
because the word of the Lord has become for me
constant disgrace and derision.
9 If I say, “I won’t mention Him
or speak any longer in His name,”
His message becomes a fire burning in my heart,(IR)
shut up in my bones.
I become tired of holding it in,
and I cannot prevail.
10 For I have heard the gossip of many people,
“Terror is on every side
Report him; let’s report him!”
Everyone I trusted[as] watches for my fall.(IT)
“Perhaps he will be deceived
so that we might prevail against him
and take our vengeance on him.”
11 But the Lord is with me like a violent warrior.(IU)
Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly shamed,
an everlasting humiliation that will never be forgotten.
12 Lord of Hosts, testing the righteous
and seeing the heart[at] and mind,
let me see Your vengeance on them,
for I have presented my case to You.(IV)
13 Sing to the Lord!
Praise the Lord,
for He rescues the life of the needy
from the hand of evil people.
Jeremiah’s Lament
14 May the day I was born
be cursed.(IW)
May the day my mother bore me
never be blessed.
15 May the man be cursed
who brought the news to my father, saying,
“A male child is born to you,”
bringing him great joy.
16 Let that man be like the cities
the Lord demolished without compassion.(IX)
Let him hear an outcry in the morning(IY)
and a war cry at noontime
17 because he didn’t kill me in the womb(IZ)
so that my mother might have been my grave,
her womb eternally pregnant.
18 Why did I come out of the womb
to see only struggle and sorrow,(JA)
to end my life in shame?
Zedekiah’s Request Denied
21 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur(JB) son of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniah(JC) son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah, asking, 2 “Ask the Lord on our behalf, since Nebuchadnezzar[au](JD) king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will perform for us something like all His past wonderful works so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”
3 But Jeremiah answered, “This is what you are to say to Zedekiah: 4 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will repel the weapons of war in your hands,(JE) those you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans[av] who are besieging you outside the wall, and I will bring them into the center of this city.(JF) 5 I will fight against you(JG) with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm,(JH) with anger, rage, and great wrath. 6 I will strike the residents of this city, both man and beast. They will die in a great plague. 7 Afterward’”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“‘King Zedekiah of Judah, his officers, and the people—those in this city who survive the plague, the sword, and the famine—I will hand over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,(JI) to their enemies, yes, to those who want to take their lives. He will put them to the sword; he won’t spare them or show pity or compassion.’(JJ)
A Warning for the People
8 “But you must say to this people, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look, I am presenting to you the way of life and the way of death.(JK) 9 Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live and will retain his life like the spoils of war.(JL) 10 For I have turned[aw] against this city to bring disaster(JM) and not good’”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “‘It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, who will burn it down.’(JN)
11 “And to the house of the king of Judah say this: ‘Hear the word of the Lord! 12 House of David, this is what the Lord says:
Administer justice every morning,
and rescue the victim of robbery
from the hand of his oppressor,(JO)
or My anger will flare up like fire
and burn unquenchably
because of their evil deeds.
13 Beware! I am against you,(JP)
you who sit above the valley,
you atop the rocky plateau—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
you who say, “Who can come down against us?(JQ)
Who can enter our hiding places?”
14 I will punish you according to what you have done(JR)—
this is the Lord’s declaration.
I will kindle a fire in its forest(JS)
that will consume everything around it.’”(JT)
Judgment against Sinful Kings
22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and announce this word there. 2 You are to say: Hear the word of the Lord, king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David—you, your officers, and your people who enter these gates. 3 This is what the Lord says: Administer justice and righteousness.(JU) Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor.(JV) Don’t exploit or brutalize the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Don’t shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you conscientiously carry out this word, then kings sitting on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palace(JW) riding on chariots and horses—they, their officers, and their people. 5 But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“that this house will become a ruin.”(JX)
6 For this is what the Lord says concerning the house of the king of Judah:
You are like Gilead to Me,
or the summit of Lebanon,
but I will certainly turn you into a wilderness,
uninhabited cities.
7 I will appoint destroyers against you,
each with his weapons.
They will cut down the choicest of your cedars
and throw them into the fire.
8 “Many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why did the Lord do such a thing to this great city?’ 9 They will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the covenant(JY) of Yahweh their God and worshiped and served other gods.’”(JZ)
A Message Concerning Shallum
10 Do not weep for the dead;
do not mourn for him.
Weep bitterly for the one[ax] who has gone away,
for he will never return again
and see his native land.
11 For this is what the Lord says concerning Shallum(KA) son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in place of his father Josiah: “He has left this place—he will never return here again, 12 but he will die in the place where they deported him, never seeing this land again.”
A Message concerning Jehoiakim
13 Woe for the one who builds his palace
through unrighteousness,(KB)
his upper rooms through injustice,
who makes his fellow man serve without pay
and will not give him his wages,(KC)
14 who says, “I will build myself a massive palace,
with spacious upper rooms.”
He will cut windows[ay] in it,
and it will be paneled with cedar
and painted with vermilion.
15 Are you a king because you excel in cedar?
Didn’t your father eat and drink
and administer justice and righteousness?(KD)
Then it went well with him.
16 He took up the case of the poor and needy,
then it went well.
Is this not what it means to know Me?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
17 But you have eyes and a heart for nothing
except your own dishonest profit,
shedding innocent blood
and committing extortion and oppression.
18 Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim(KE) son of Josiah, king of Judah:
They will not mourn for him, saying,
“Woe, my brother!” or “Woe, my sister!”
They will not mourn for him, saying,
“Woe, lord! Woe, his majesty!”
19 He will be buried like a donkey,(KF)
dragged off and thrown
outside the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up to Lebanon and cry out;
raise your voice in Bashan;
cry out from Abarim,(KG)
for all your lovers[az] have been crushed.(KH)
21 I spoke to you when you were secure.
You said, “I will not listen.”
This has been your way since youth;(KI)
indeed, you have never listened to Me.
22 The wind will take charge of[ba] all your shepherds,
and your lovers[bb] will go into captivity.
Then you will be ashamed and humiliated(KJ)
because of all your evil.
23 You residents of Lebanon,
nestled among the cedars,
how you will groan[bc] when labor pains come on you,
agony like a woman in labor.(KK)
A Message concerning Coniah
24 “As I live,” says the Lord, “though you, Coniah[bd](KL) son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, were a signet ring(KM) on My right hand, I would tear you from it. 25 In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread,(KN) who want to take your life, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Chaldeans. 26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave birth(KO) to you into another land,(KP) where neither of you were born, and there you will both die. 27 They will never return to the land they long to return to.”
28 Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered pot,(KQ)
a jar no one wants?
Why are he and his descendants hurled out
and cast into a land they have not known?
29 Earth, earth, earth,
hear the word of the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says:
Record this man as childless,(KR)
a man who will not be successful in his lifetime.
None of his descendants will succeed
in sitting on the throne of David(KS)
or ruling again in Judah.
The Lord and His Sheep
23 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!”(KT) This is the Lord’s declaration. 2 “Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who shepherd My people: You have scattered My flock, banished them, and have not attended to them.(KU) I will attend to you because of your evil acts”—this is the Lord’s declaration. 3 “I will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands where I have banished them, and I will return them to their grazing land. They will become fruitful and numerous.(KV) 4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them.(KW) They will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any be missing.” This is the Lord’s declaration.
The Righteous Branch of David
5 “The days are coming”(KX)—this is the Lord’s declaration—
“when I will raise up a Righteous Branch of David.(KY)
He will reign wisely as king
and administer justice and righteousness in the land.(KZ)
6 In His days Judah will be saved,
and Israel will dwell securely.(LA)
This is what He will be named:
Yahweh Our Righteousness.(LB)
7 “The days are coming”—the Lord’s declaration—“when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives who brought the Israelites from the land of Egypt,’(LC) 8 but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other countries where I[be] had banished them.’ They will dwell once more in their own land.”(LD)
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