1

1 These are the words of Jeremiah, Hilkiah's son, who was one of the priests from Anathoth in the land of Benjamin.

2 The LORD's word came to Jeremiah in the thirteenth year of Judah's King Josiah, Amon's son,

3 and throughout the rule of Judah's King Jehoiakim, Josiah's son, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of King Zedekiah, Josiah's son, when the people of Jerusalem were taken into exile. Call of Jeremiah

4 The LORD's word came to me:

5 "Before I created you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I set you apart; I made you a prophet to the nations."

6 "Ah, LORD God," I said, "I don't know how to speak because I'm only a child."

7 The LORD responded, "Don't say, 'I'm only a child.' Where I send you, you must go; what I tell you, you must say.

8 Don't be afraid of them, because I'm with you to rescue you," declares the LORD.

9 Then the LORD stretched out his hand, touched my mouth, and said to me, "I'm putting my words in your mouth.

10 This very day I appoint you over nations and empires, to dig up and pull down, to destroy and demolish, to build and plant." Jeremiah's mission confirmed

11 The LORD asked me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I said, "A branch of an almond tree."

12 The LORD then said, "You are right, for I'm watching over my word until it is fulfilled."

13 The LORD asked me again, "What do you see?" I said, "A pot boiling over from the north."

14 The LORD said to me, "Trouble will erupt from the north against the people of this land."

15 I'm calling for all the tribes of great nations from the north, says the LORD, and they will set up their rulers by the entrances of Jerusalem, on its walls, and in every city of Judah.

16 I will declare my judgment against them for doing evil: for abandoning me, worshipping other gods, and trusting in the works of their hands.

17 But you must prepare for battle and be ready to utter every word I command you. Don't be frightened before them, or I will frighten you before them.

18 Today I have made you an armed city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall against the entire land--the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and all its people.

19 They will attack you, but they won't defeat you, because I am with you and will rescue you, declares the LORD. God's people abandon their God

2

1 The LORD's word came to me:

2 Go and proclaim to the people of Jerusalem, The LORD proclaims: I remember your first love, your devotion as a young bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in an unplanted land.

3 Israel was devoted to the LORD, the early produce of the harvest. Whoever ate from it became guilty; disaster overtook them, declares the LORD.

4 Listen to the LORD's word, people of Judah, all you families of the Israelite household.

5 This is what the LORD says: ,What wrong did your ancestors find in me that made them wander so far? They pursued what was worthless and became worthless.

6 They didn't ask, "Where's the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, in a land of deserts and ravines, in a land of drought and darkness, in a land of no return, where no one survives?"

7 I brought you into a land of plenty, to enjoy its gifts and goodness, but you ruined my land; you disgraced my heritage.

8 The priests didn't ask, "Where's the LORD?" Those responsible for the Instruction didn't know me; the leaders rebelled against me; the prophets spoke in the name of Baal, going after what has no value.

9 That is why I will take you to court and charge even your descendants, declares the LORD.

10 Look to the west as far as the shores of Cyprus and to the east as far as the land of Kedar. Ask anyone there: Has anything this odd ever taken place?

11 Has a nation switched gods, though they aren't really gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glory for what has no value.

12 Be stunned at such a thing, you heavens; shudder and quake, declares the LORD.

13 My people have committed two crimes: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water. And they have dug wells, broken wells that can't hold water.

14 Is Israel a slave, a servant by birth? If not, why then has he become prey?

15 Lions roar at him; they growl. They destroy his land and make his towns desolate until nothing is left.

16 As well, the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes lay open your scalp.

17 Haven't you brought this on yourself by abandoning the LORD your God, who has directed your paths?

18 So why take the path to Egypt to drink water from the Nile? Why travel the path to Assyria to drink water from the Euphrates?

19 Your wrongdoing will punish you. Your acts of unfaithfulness will find you out. Don't you understand how terribly bitter it is to abandon the LORD your God and not fear me? declares the LORD of heavenly forces.

20 Long ago I broke your yoke; I shattered your chains. But even then you said, "I won't serve you." On every high hill and under every lush tree, you have acted like a prostitute.

21 Yet it was I who planted you, a precious vine of fine quality; how could you turn into a wild vine and become good for nothing?

22 Even though you scrub yourself with soap or strong powder, the stain of your sin is still before me, declares the LORD God.

23 How can you say, "I'm not dirty; I haven't gone after Baals." Look what you have done in the valley; consider what you have done there. You are like a frenzied young camel, racing around,

24 a wild donkey in the wilderness, lustfully sniffing the wind. Who can restrain such passion? Those who desire her need not give up; with little effort they will find her in heat.

25 Don't run about until your feet are blistered and your throat is parched. But you say, "What's the use? I have fallen in love with foreign gods, and I must pursue them."

26 As a thief is ashamed when caught in his tracks, so the people of Israel are ashamed-- their kings, officials, priests, and prophets--

27 when they say to a piece of wood, "You are my father," and to a stone, "You gave me birth." They have turned their backs to me and not their faces. Yet in their time of trouble they say, "Arise and save us!"

28 Where are the gods you have made for yourselves? Let's see if they will come through for you in your time of trouble. You have as many gods, Judah, as you have towns.

29 Why would you bring charges against me? You have all rebelled against me, declares the LORD.

30 I have disciplined your children in vain; they have rejected my correction. You have devoured your prophets like a hungry lion.

31 People of this generation, listen closely to the LORD's word: Have I been a wasteland to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why then do my people say, "We have wandered far away; we'll come to you no longer"?

32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding dress? Yet you have forgotten me days without end!

33 So skilled are you at pursuing lovers that you instruct even the most wicked.

34 Your garments are stained with the blood of the innocent poor, even though you didn't catch them breaking and entering. Yet, despite all this,

35 you still insist, "I'm innocent; as a result he will turn his anger away from me." Because you claim not to have sinned, I will pass judgment against you.

36 You change sides so casually! But Egypt will shame you no less than Assyria.

37 From there you will go out with your hands on your heads, because the LORD has rejected those you rely on; they won't help you. Jeremiah's summons to change

3

1 If a man divorces his wife, and after she leaves him marries another, can he return to her again? Wouldn't such an act completely corrupt the land? Yet you have prostituted yourself with many lovers. Would you return to me? declares the LORD.

2 Look to the well-traveled paths and see! Where haven't you committed adultery? On the roadsides you sit in wait for lovers, like a nomad in the wilderness. You have corrupted the land with your cheap and reckless behavior.

3 That's why the showers have failed and the spring rains have ceased. Still you act like a brazen prostitute who refuses to blush.

4 At the same time you say to me, "My father, my friend since youth,

5 will you stay angry forever? Will you continue to be furious?" This is what you say while you do as much evil as you possibly can.

6 During the rule of King Josiah, the LORD said to me: Have you noticed what unfaithful Israel has done? She's gone about looking for lovers on top of every high hill and under every lush tree.

7 I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me, but she didn't. Her disloyal sister Judah saw this.

8 She also saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away with divorce papers because of all her acts of unfaithfulness; yet disloyal sister Judah was not afraid but kept on playing the prostitute.

9 She didn't think twice about corrupting the land and committing adultery with stone and tree.

10 Yet even after all this, disloyal sister Judah didn't return to me with all her heart but only insincerely, declares the LORD.

11 Then the LORD said to me: Unfaithful Israel is less guilty than disloyal Judah.

12 Go proclaim these words to the north and say: ,Return, unfaithful Israel, declares the LORD. I won't reject you, for I'm faithful, declares the LORD; I won't stay angry forever.

13 Only acknowledge your wrongdoing: how you have rebelled against the LORD your God, and given yourself to strangers under every lush tree and haven't obeyed me, declares the LORD.

14 Return, rebellious children, declares the LORD, for I'm your husband. I'll gather you-- one from a city and two from a tribe-- and bring you back to Zion.

15 I will appoint shepherds with whom I'm pleased, and they will lead you with knowledge and understanding.

16 And in those days, when your numbers have greatly increased in the land, declares the LORD, people will no longer talk about the LORD's covenant chest; they won't recall or remember it; they won't even miss it or try to build another one.

17 At that time, they will call Jerusalem the LORD's throne, and all nations will gather there to honor the LORD's name. No longer will they follow their own willful and evil hearts.

18 In those days the people of Judah and Israel will leave the north together for the land that I gave their ancestors as an inheritance.

19 I thought to myself, How wonderful it would be to treat you like children and give you a beautiful land, an inheritance unrivaled among the nations. And I thought, You will call me father, and you won't turn away from me.

20 But as a woman betrays her lover, so you, people of Israel, have betrayed me, declares the LORD.

21 A voice is heard on the well-traveled paths; it's the crying and pleading of the people of Israel, who have lost their way and forgotten the LORD their God.

22 Return, rebellious children, and I will heal your rebellion. "Here we are; we come to you, for you are the LORD our God.

23 Surely what happens on the hills is a waste, as is the uproar on the mountains. Only in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.

24 From our youth, shame has devoured the fruit of our parents' labor-- their flocks and herds, as well as their sons and daughters.

25 Let's lie down in our shame. Let our dishonor cover us, for we have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our ancestors, from our youth to this very day. We have disobeyed the voice of the LORD our God."n

4

1 If you return, Israel, return to me, declares the LORD. If you get rid of your disgusting idols from my presence and wander no more,

2 and if you swear by the living God in truth, justice, and righteousness, then the nations will enjoy God's blessings; they will boast about him.

3 This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and to the residents of Jerusalem: ,Break up your hard rocky soil; don't plant among the thorns.

4 Dedicate yourselves to the LORD; don't be thick-skinned, people of Judah and residents of Jerusalem, or else my anger will spread like a wildfire. It will burn, with no one to put it out, because of your evil deeds. Disaster approaches

5 Announce in Judah, in Jerusalem proclaim, sound the alarm throughout the land, cry out and say, "Gather together! Let's flee to the fortified towns!"

6 Set up a flag to Zion; take cover, don't just stand there! I'm bringing disaster from the north, massive devastation.

7 A lion bursts out of the thicket; a destroyer of nations advances. He's gone forth from his place to ravage your land, to wipe out your towns, until no one is left.

8 So put on funeral clothing. Weep and wail, for the LORD's fierce anger hasn't turned away from us.

9 On that day, declares the LORD, the courage of the king and his princes will fail, the priests will be stunned, and the prophets will be shocked.

10 Then I said, "LORD God, no! You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem by promising them peace even though the sword is at their throats."

11 At that time, this people and Jerusalem will be told: A blistering wind from the bare heights; it rages in the desert toward my people, not merely to winnow or cleanse.

12 This wind is too devastating for that. Now I, even I, will pronounce my sentence against them.

13 Look! He approaches like the clouds; his chariots advance like a tempest, his horses swifter than eagles. How horrible! We're doomed!

14 Cleanse your heart of evil, Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long will you entertain your destructive ideas?

15 A voice declares from Dan; someone proclaims disaster from the highlands of Ephraim.

16 Warn the nations, proclaim it to Jerusalem! Armies are approaching from a far-away country, raising their war cries against the towns of Judah.

17 They hem her in like those guarding a field, because she has rebelled against me, declares the LORD.

18 Your own conduct, your own deeds have done this to you. This is your payment and how bitter it is, piercing into the depths of your heart. Anguish over looming disaster

19 Oh, my suffering, my suffering! My pain is unbearable; my heart is in turmoil; it throbs nonstop. I can't be silent, because I hear the blast of the trumpet and the roar of the battle cry!

20 Disaster follows disaster; the whole land is ruined. Suddenly, my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment.

21 How long must I see the battle flags and hear the blast of the trumpet?

22 My people are foolish. They don't even know me! They are thoughtless children without understanding; they are skilled at doing wrong, inept at doing right.

23 I looked at the earth, and it was without shape or form; at the heavens and there was no light.

24 I looked at the mountains and they were quaking; all the hills were rocking back and forth.

25 I looked and there was no one left; every bird in the sky had taken flight.

26 I looked and the fertile land was a desert; all its towns were in ruins before the LORD, before his fury.

27 The LORD proclaims: The whole earth will become a desolation, but I will not destroy it completely.

28 Therefore, the earth will grieve and the heavens grow dark because I have declared my plan and will neither change my mind nor cancel the plan.

29 As the horsemen and archers approach, the people take flight. They hide in the bushes and escape to the cliffs. Every city is deserted; no one remains.

30 And you, devastated one, why dress up in scarlet, deck yourself in gold jewelry, and color your eyes with paint? In vain you get all decked out; your lovers have rejected you and now seek your life.

31 I hear the cry of a woman in labor, the distress of one delivering her first child. It is the cry of Daughter Zion, gasping for breath, her arms stretched out, and moaning, "I'm about to fall into the hands of murderers! "Futile search for a good person

5

1 Search every street in Jerusalem, comb the squares, look far and wide for one person, even one who acts justly and seeks truth that I may pardon her!

2 Even when making a pledge--"As the LORD lives"-- they swear falsely.

3 LORD, don't you look for integrity? You have struck them down, but they didn't even cringe. You have crushed them, but they have ignored your discipline. They make their faces harder than rock and refuse to return.

4 Then I thought to myself, These are the poor who don't know better! They don't understand the LORD's way or the justice of their God.

5 Let me go and speak to the powerful people, for they will surely know the LORD's way and the justice of their God. But they too have broken their yoke and shattered the chains.

6 Therefore, a lion from the forest will attack them; a wolf from the desert will destroy them; a leopard prowling around their towns will tear to pieces anyone venturing out-- because of their many crimes and countless acts of unfaithfulness.

7 How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me and swear by gods that are not gods. Although I could have satisfied them, they committed adultery, dashing off to the prostitution house.

8 They are lusty stallions roving about, snorting for another's wife.

9 The LORD declares: Shouldn't I confront these acts? Shouldn't I take revenge on such a nation? Contempt for God

10 Climb through her vineyards and ravage them, although not completely. Prune back her branches, because they aren't the LORD's.

11 The people of Israel and Judah have been utterly faithless to me, declares the LORD.

12 They have lied about the LORD and said, "He'll do nothing! Disaster won't come upon us; we won't see war or famine."

13 The prophets are so much wind; the word isn't in them. Thus and so may it be done to them.

14 Therefore, the LORD God of heavenly forces proclaims: ,Because you have spoken this way, I will put my words in your mouth as a fire; it will consume the people, who are but kindling.

15 I am about to bring a distant nation against you, people of Israel, declares the LORD. It is an established nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you don't know, whose speech you won't understand.

16 Its weapons are deadly; its warriors are many.

17 It will devour your harvest and food; it will devour your sons and daughters; it will devour your flocks and herds; it will devour your vines and fig trees; it will shatter your fortified towns in which you trust-- with the sword!

18 Yet even in those days, declares the LORD, I won't completely destroy you.

19 And when they ask, "Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?" you must reply, "Just as you have abandoned me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land not your own." Shouldn't you fear me?

20 Declare this to the people of Jacob, announce it in Judah:

21 Listen, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but don't see and ears but don't hear.

22 Shouldn't you fear me, declares the LORD, and tremble before me, the one who set the shoreline for the sea, an ancient boundary that it can't pass? Though its waves may rise and roar, they can't pass the limits I have set.

23 And yet the people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they turn and go their own way.

24 They don't say in their hearts, Let's fear the LORD our God, who provides rain in autumn and spring and who assures us of a harvest in its season.

25 Your wrongdoing has turned these blessings away. Your sin has robbed you of good.

26 Criminals are found among my people; they set traps to catch people, like hunters lying in wait.

27 Like a cage full of birds, so their houses are full of loot. No wonder they are rich and powerful

28 and have grown fat and sleek! To be sure, their evil deeds exceed all limits, and yet they prosper. They are indifferent to the plight of the orphan, reluctant to defend the rights of the poor.

29 Shouldn't I punish such acts? declares the LORD. Shouldn't I repay that nation for its deeds?

30 An awful, a terrible thing has happened in the land:

31 The prophets prophesy falsely, the priests rule at their sides, and my people love it this way! But what will you do when the end comes? Prepare for war

6

1 Escape, people of Benjamin, get out of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, sound the alarm in Beth-haccherem; for disaster looms from the north, massive devastation.

2 You are like a lovely pasture, Daughter Zion.

3 Shepherds come to her with their flocks. They pitch their tents around her and graze in their place.

4 "Prepare for battle against her; get ready; let's attack by noon! Oh, no! Daylight is fading, and the evening shadows lengthen.

5 Get ready, let's attack by night and destroy her fortresses!"

6 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Cut down her trees, and build siege ramps against Jerusalem. This city must be held accountable, for there's nothing but oppression in her midst.

7 As a well brings forth fresh water, she brings forth evil. Violence and destruction are heard within her; injury and wounds are ever before me.

8 Hear me out, Jerusalem, or else I'll turn away from you and reduce you to ruins, a land unfit to live in. Unresponsive people

9 This is what the LORD of heavenly forces says: From top to bottom, let them harvest the remaining few in Israel. Pick clean every last grape on the vine!

10 To whom can I speak and warn? How can I get someone's attention? Their ears are shut tight, so they won't hear. They are ashamed of the LORD's word and take no pleasure in it.

11 But I'm filled with the LORD's rage and am tired of holding it in. Pour it out on the children in the streets and on the youths gathered together; husband with wife will be trapped, as will those old and gray.

12 Their homes will be turned over to others, their fields and wives as well. I will stretch out my hand against the people of this land, declares the LORD.

13 From the least to the greatest, each is eager to profit; from prophet to priest, each trades in dishonesty.

14 They treat the wound of my people as if it were nothing: "All is well, all is well," they insist, when in fact nothing is well.

15 They should be ashamed of their detestable practices, but they have no shame; they don't even blush! Therefore, they will fall among the fallen and stumble when I bring disaster, declares the LORD.

16 The LORD proclaims: Stop at the crossroads and look around; ask for the ancient paths. Where is the good way? Then walk in it and find a resting place for yourselves. But you said, "We won't go!"

17 Still, I have appointed watchmen to warn you. But you said, "We won't listen!"

18 Therefore, pay attention, nations; take notice, assembly, what is ahead of them.

19 Pay attention, earth: I'm bringing disaster upon my people, the fruit of their own devices, because they have ignored my words and they have rejected my teaching.

20 What use to me is incense from Sheba or sweet cane from a faraway land? Your entirely burned offerings won't buy your pardon; your sacrifices won't appease me.

21 Therefore, the LORD proclaims: I'm putting obstacles before this people, and both parents and children will stumble over them; neighbor and friend alike will perish. Panic-stricken Zion

22 The LORD proclaims: An army is on the move from the northern regions; a great nation is roused from the ends of the earth.

23 Equipped with bow and spear, they are cruel; they show no mercy. Their horsemen sound like the roaring sea, arrayed in battle formation against you, Daughter Zion.

24 We have heard reports of them and are panic-stricken; distress overwhelms us, pain like that of a woman in labor.

25 Don't go out into the field! Don't walk on the road! The enemies' sword terrorizes at every turn.

26 My people, put on funeral clothes and roll in ashes; weep and wail as for an only child, because the destroyer will suddenly descend upon us. Prophet as tester

27 I have made you a tester of metals, to examine my people to know and prove their ways.

28 They are tin and iron; they are headstrong and rebellious. They live to slander. They act corruptly--every last one!

29 The bellows roar; the lead is consumed. Yet the refining fails; the impurities remain.

30 They are called "rejected silver," for the LORD has rejected them. The LORD's temple

7

1 Jeremiah received the LORD's word:

2 Stand near the gate of the LORD's temple and proclaim there this message: Listen to the LORD's word, all you of Judah who enter these gates to worship the LORD.

3 This is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, says: Improve your conduct and your actions, and I will dwell with you in this place.

4 Don't trust in lies: "This is the LORD's temple! The LORD's temple! The LORD's temple!"

5 No, if you truly reform your ways and your actions; if you treat each other justly;

6 if you stop taking advantage of the immigrant, orphan, or widow; if you don't shed the blood of the innocent in this place, or go after other gods to your own ruin,

7 only then will I dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave long ago to your ancestors for all time.

8 And yet you trust in lies that will only hurt you.

9 Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, sacrifice to Baal and go after other gods that you don't know,

10 and then come and stand before me in this temple that bears my name, and say, "We are safe," only to keep on doing all these detestable things?

11 Do you regard this temple, which bears my name, as a hiding place for criminals? I can see what's going on here, declares the LORD.

12 Just go to my sanctuary in Shiloh, where I let my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel.

13 And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, because you haven't listened when I spoke to you again and again or responded when I called you,

14 I will do to this temple that bears my name and on which you rely, the place that I gave to you and your ancestors, just as I did to Shiloh.

15 I will cast you out of my sight, just as I cast out the rest of your family, all the people of Ephraim.

16 As for you, don't pray for these people, don't cry out or plead for them, and don't intercede with me, for I won't listen to you.

17 Can't you see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

18 The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven. And to offend me all the more, they pour out drink offerings to foreign gods.

19 But am I the one they are really offending? declares the LORD. Aren't they in fact humiliating themselves?

20 Therefore, this is what the LORD God says: I'm going to pour out my fierce anger on this place, on humans and beasts, on the trees of the field and the crops of the fertile land. It will burn and not go out.

21 This is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, says: Add your entirely burned offerings to your sacrifices and eat them yourselves!

22 On the day I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I didn't say a thing--I gave no instructions--about entirely burned offerings or sacrifices.

23 Rather, this is what I required of them: Obey me so that I may become your God and you may become my people. Follow the path I mark out for you so that it may go well with you.

24 But they didn't listen or pay attention. They followed their willful and evil hearts and went backward rather than forward.

25 From the moment your ancestors left the land of Egypt to this day, I have sent you all my servants the prophets--day after day.

26 But they didn't listen to me or pay attention; they were stubborn and did more harm than their ancestors.

27 When you tell them all this, they won't listen to you. When you call to them, they won't respond.

28 Therefore, say to them: This nation neither obeys the LORD its God nor accepts correction; truth has disappeared; it has vanished from their lips.

29 Cut off your hair and cast it away; grieve on the well-traveled paths. The LORD has rejected you and has cast off a generation that provokes his anger.

30 The people of Judah have done what displeases me, declares the LORD. They have corrupted the temple that bears my name by setting up their disgusting idols.

31 They have built shrines at Topheth in the Ben-hinnom Valley to burn their sons and daughters in the fire, although I never commanded such a thing, nor did it ever cross my mind.

32 So now the time is coming, declares the LORD, when people will no longer speak of Topheth or the Ben-hinnom Valley, but the Carnage Valley. They will bury in Topheth until no space is left.

33 The corpses of this people will be food for birds and wild animals, with no one to drive them off.

34 I will silence the sound of joy and delight as well as the voice of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, for the country will be reduced to a wasteland.n

8

1 At that time, declares the LORD, the bones of the kings of Judah and its officers, the bones of the priests and the prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be taken from their graves

2 and exposed to the sun, the moon, and the whole heavenly forces, which they have loved and served and which they have followed, consulted, and worshipped. Their bones won't be gathered for reburial but will become like refuse lying on the ground.

3 The survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, wherever I have scattered them, declares the LORD of heavenly forces. Depth of Judah's wrongdoing

4 Say to them, The LORD proclaims: When people fall down, don't they get up? When they turn aside, don't they turn back?

5 Why then does this people, rebellious Jerusalem, persistently turn away from me? They cling to deceit and refuse to return.

6 I have listened carefully but haven't heard a word of truth from them. No one regrets their wrongdoing; no one says, "What have I done?" Everyone turns to their own course, like a stallion dashing into the thick of battle.

7 Even the stork in the sky knows the seasons, and the dove, swallow, and crane return in due time. But my people don't know the LORD's ways.

8 How can you say, "We are wise; we possess the LORD's Instruction," when the lying pen of the scribes has surely distorted it?

9 The wise will be shamed and shocked when they are caught. Look, they have rejected the LORD's word; what kind of wisdom is that?

10 Therefore, I will give their wives to others and their fields to their captors. From the least to the greatest, all are eager to profit. From prophet to priest, all trade in falsehood.

11 They treat the wound of my people as if it were nothing: "All is well, all is well," they insist, when in fact nothing is well.

12 They should be ashamed of their detestable practices, but they have no shame; they don't even blush! Therefore, they will fall among the fallen and stumble when disaster arrives, declares the LORD.

13 I will put an end to them, declares the LORD; there are no grapes on the vine, no figs on the tree, only withered leaves. They have squandered what I have given them! A lament for God's people

14 Why are we sitting here? Come, let's go to the fortified towns and meet our doom there. The LORD our God has doomed us by giving us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD!

15 We longed for relief, but received none; for a time of healing, but found only terror.

16 The snorting of their horses can be heard as far as Dan; the neighing of their stallions makes the whole land tremble. They come to devour the land and everything in it, towns and people alike.

17 See, I'm sending serpents against you, vipers that you can't charm, and they will bite you, declares the LORD.

18 No healing, only grief; my heart is broken.

19 Listen to the weeping of my people all across the land: "Isn't the LORD in Zion? Is her king no longer there?" Why then did they anger me with their images, with pointless foreign gods?

20 "The harvest is past, the summer has ended, yet we aren't saved."

21 Because my people are crushed, I am crushed; darkness and despair overwhelm me. What to do with God's people

22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then have my people not been restored to health?

9

1 If only my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night for the wounds of my people.

2 If only I could flee for shelter in the desert, to leave my people and forget them-- for they are all adulterers, a bunch of crooks.

3 They bend their tongues like bows to spew out lies; they are renowned in the land, but not for truth. They go from bad to worse. They don't know me! declares the LORD.

4 Be wary of your friends! Don't trust your sibling! Every sibling is a cheater, and every friend traffics in slander.

5 One cheats the other; no one tells the truth; they train themselves to lie; they wear themselves out by doing wrong.

6 You live in a world of deceit, and in their deceit they refuse to know me, declares the LORD.

7 Therefore, the LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: I'm going to refine and test them, for what else can I do with my people?

8 Their tongue is a lethal arrow; their words are deceitful. They wish their neighbors well, but in their hearts plot their ruin.

9 Shouldn't I punish them for this? declares the LORD; shouldn't I avenge such a nation?

10 I will weep and wail for the mountains, and lament for the grazing lands in the wilderness. They are dried up and deserted; no sound of the flocks is heard; no sign of birds or animals is seen; all have vanished.

11 I will reduce Jerusalem to ruins, a den for wild dogs. I will make the towns of Judah a wasteland, without inhabitant.

12 Who is wise enough to understand this? Who has been taught by the LORD and can therefore explain it? Why has the land been reduced to rubble and laid waste like a desert, with no one passing through?

13 The LORD says: It is because they have abandoned my Instruction that I gave them, and haven't obeyed or followed it.

14 Instead, they have followed their own willful hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.

15 Therefore, this is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, says: I'm going to feed this people bitter food and give them poison to drink.

16 I will scatter them among nations about whom neither they nor their ancestors have ever heard. I will pursue them with the sword until all are gone.

17 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Pay attention! Summon the women who mourn, let them come; send for those best trained, let them come.

18 Hurry! Let them weep for us so that our eyes fill up with tears and water streams down.

19 The sound of sobbing is heard from Zion: "We're devastated! We're so ashamed! We have to leave the land and abandon our homes!"

20 Women, hear the LORD's word. Listen closely to the word from his mouth: teach your daughters to mourn; teach each other to grieve.

21 Death has climbed through our windows; it has entered our fortresses to eliminate children from the streets, the youth from the squares.

22 Declare what the LORD says: Dead bodies will lie like dung on the fields, like bundles of grain after the harvest, with no one to pick them up.

23 The LORD proclaims: the learned should not boast of their knowledge, nor warriors boast of their might, nor the rich boast of their wealth.

24 No, those who boast should boast in this: that they understand and know me. I am the LORD who acts with kindness, justice, and righteousness in the world, and I delight in these things, declares the LORD.

25 The time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will deal with everyone who is physically circumcised:

26 whether they are Egyptians or Judeans, Edomites or Ammonites, Moabites or the desert dwellers who cut the hair on their foreheads. All these nations are really uncircumcised; even the people of Israel are uncircumcised in heart. Living God or human handiwork

10

1 Listen to the word that the LORD has spoken to you, people of Israel!

2 The LORD proclaims: Don't follow the ways of the nations or be troubled by signs in the sky, even though the nations are troubled by them.

3 The rituals of the nations are hollow: a tree from the forest is chopped down and shaped by the craftsman's tools.

4 It's overlaid with silver and gold, and fastened securely with hammer and nails so it won't fall over.

5 They are no different than a scarecrow in a cucumber patch: they can't speak; they must be carried because they can't walk. Don't be afraid of them, because they can't do harm or good.

6 LORD, no one is like you! You are great, and great is your mighty name.

7 Who wouldn't fear you, king of the nations? That is your due; among all the wise of the nations and in all their countries, there is no one like you!

8 But they are both foolish and silly; they offer nothing because they are mere wood.

9 Covered with silver from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz, they are the work of a craftsman and the hands of a goldsmith. Clothed in blue and purple, all of them nothing more than the work of artisans.

10 But the LORD is the true God! He's the living God and the everlasting king! When he's angry, the earth quakes; the nations can't endure his rage.

11 Tell them this: The gods who didn't make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.

12 But God made the earth by his might; he shaped the world by his wisdom, crafted the skies by his knowledge.

13 At the sound of his voice, the heavenly waters roar. He raises the clouds from the ends of the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain, the wind from his treasuries.

14 Everyone is too foolish to understand; every goldsmith is dishonored by his idols, for their images are shams; they aren't alive.

15 They are a delusion, a charade; at the appointed time they will vanish!

16 Jacob's portion is utterly different because God has formed all things, including Israel, his very own people-- the LORD of heavenly forces is his name! Get ready for exile!

17 Pack your bags and get ready to leave, you who live under siege.

18 The LORD proclaims: I'm going to eject those who live in the land at this time; I will badger them until they leave.

19 How terrible for me, due to my injury; my wound is terrible. Yet I said to myself: This is my sickness, and I must bear it.

20 But now my tent is destroyed; all its ropes are cut, and my children are gone for good. There's no one left to set up my tent frame and to attach the fabric.

21 The shepherd kings have lost their senses and don't seek answers from the LORD. That is why they have failed and their flock is scattered.

22 Listen! The sound is getting louder, a mighty uproar from the land of the north; it will reduce the towns of Judah to ruins, a den for wild dogs.

23 I know, LORD, that our lives are not our own, that we're not able to direct our paths.

24 So correct me, LORD, but with justice, not in your anger, or else you will reduce me to nothing.

25 Pour out your wrath on the nations that ignore you and on the people who don't call on you, since they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him completely and ruined his country. Judah's broken covenant with God

11

1 Jeremiah received the LORD's word:

2 Listen to the terms of this covenant and proclaim them to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem.

3 Say to them: This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Cursed are those who don't heed the terms of this covenant

4 that I commanded your ancestors when I bought them out of the land of Egypt, that iron crucible, saying, Obey me and observe all that I instruct you. Then you will be my people and I, even I, will be your God.

5 I will fulfill my solemn pledge that I made to your ancestors to give them a land full of milk and honey, as is the case today. And I replied, "As you say, LORD!"

6 The LORD said to me: Announce all these words in the towns of Judah and on the streets of Jerusalem: Obey the terms of this covenant and perform them.

7 I repeatedly and tirelessly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt to this very day, saying, Obey me.

8 But they didn't listen or pay attention; they followed their own willful ambitions. So I brought upon them all the punishments I prescribed for violating this covenant--for refusing to obey.

9 The LORD said to me: A conspiracy is taking place among the people of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.

10 They have returned to the sins of their ancestors who refused to obey my words. They too are following other gods and serving them. The people of Israel and the people of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their ancestors.

11 Therefore, the LORD proclaims: I will bring upon them a disaster from which they won't be able to escape. They will cry out to me, but I won't listen to them.

12 Then the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem will call upon the gods they worship, but they won't save them when disaster strikes.

13 You have as many gods as you have towns, Judah, and you have as many shameful altars for worshipping Baal as you have streets in Jerusalem.

14 As for you, don't pray for these people, don't cry out or plead for them, for I won't listen when they cry out to me on account of their distress.

15 What are my loved ones doing in my temple while working out their many evil schemes? Can sacred offerings cancel your sin so that you revel in your evil deeds?

16 The LORD named you, "A blossoming olive tree, fair and fruitful"; but with the blast of a powerful storm he will set it ablaze, until its branches are completely consumed.

17 The LORD of heavenly forces who planted you has announced disaster for you, because the people of Israel and Judah have done evil and made me angry by worshipping Baal. Jeremiah's lament

18 The LORD informed me and I knew. Then he helped me see what they were up to.

19 I was like a young lamb led to the slaughter; I didn't realize that they were planning their schemes against me: "Let's destroy the tree with its fruit; let's cut him off from the land of the living so that even any knowledge of him will be wiped out."

20 LORD of heavenly forces, righteous judge, who tests the heart and mind, let me see your revenge upon them, because I have committed my case to you.

21 This is what the LORD says concerning the men from Anathoth who seek your life and say, "Don't prophesy in the LORD's name or else you will die at our hands."

22 Therefore, the LORD of heavenly forces proclaims, I'm going to punish them. Their young men will die in war, and their sons and daughters will die by famine.

23 No one will be left because I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth when their time comes.n

12

1 If I took you to court, LORD, you would win. But I still have questions about your justice. Why do guilty persons enjoy success? Why are evildoers so happy?

2 You plant them, and they take root; they flourish and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.

3 Yet you, LORD, you know me. You see me. You can tell that I love you. So drag them away and butcher them like sheep. Prepare them for the slaughterhouse.

4 How long will the land mourn and the grass in the fields dry up? The animals and birds are swept away due to the evil of those in the land. The people say, "God doesn't see what we're up to!"

5 If you have raced with people and are worn out, how will you compete with horses? If you fall down in an open field, how will you survive in the forest along the Jordan?

6 Even your relatives, your very family, are planning to trap you. They are out to get you. So don't trust them, even if they appear to be on your side. God's lament over Judah's destruction

7 I have abandoned my house; I have deserted my inheritance. I have given the one I love into the power of her enemies.

8 My inheritance has turned against me like a lion in the forest; she growls at me; therefore, I have rejected her.

9 My inheritance has become like a bird of prey, surrounded and attacked. Go, gather all the wild animals for the feast.

10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard; they have trampled down my field; they have reduced my treasured field to a desolate wilderness.

11 They have devastated her; desolate, she cries out to me in distress: "The whole land is desolate, and no one seems to care."

12 Over all the desert roads destroyers march; for the sword of the LORD devours from one end of the land to the other; no one is safe.

13 They have sown wheat and reaped weeds; they have worn themselves out for nothing. They will be ashamed of their harvest on account of the LORD's fierce anger.

14 The LORD proclaims: The evil nations have seized the land that I gave my people Israel. I'm going to dig them up from their own lands, and I will dig up the people of Judah from among them.

15 And after I have dug them up, I will again have compassion on them and restore their inheritance and their land.

16 And then, if they will learn the ways of my people, to make a solemn pledge in my name, "As the LORD lives," just as they once taught my people to swear to Baal, then they will be built up in the midst of my people.

17 But if they don't listen, I will dig up that nation; yes, I will dig up and destroy, declares the LORD.

13

1 The LORD proclaimed to me: Go and buy a linen undergarment. Wear it for a while without washing it.

2 So I bought a linen undergarment, as the LORD told me, and I put it on.

3 The LORD spoke to me again:

4 Take the undergarment that you are wearing and go at once to the Euphrates and put it under a rock.

5 So I went and buried it at the Euphrates, as the LORD instructed.

6 After a long time, the LORD said to me: Return to the Euphrates and dig up the undergarment that I commanded you to bury there.

7 So I went to the Euphrates and I dug up the linen undergarment from the place I had buried it. But it was ruined and good for nothing.

8 Then the LORD's word came to me:

9 The LORD proclaims: In the same way I will ruin the brazen pride of Judah and Jerusalem!

10 Instead of listening to me, this wicked people follow their own willful hearts and pursue other gods, worshipping and serving them. They will become like this linen garment--good for nothing!

11 Just as a linen undergarment clings to the body, so I created the people of Israel and Judah to cling to me, declares the LORD, to be my people for my honor, praise, and grandeur. But they wouldn't obey.

12 So deliver this word to them: The LORD the God of Israel proclaims: Every wine jug should be filled with wine. And they will answer you, "Don't we already know that? Obviously every wine jug should be filled with wine!"

13 Then you should say to them: The LORD proclaims: I'm going to fill everyone who lives in this country with wine that makes them drunk, including the kings on David's throne, the priests, the prophets, and all those living in Jerusalem.

14 And I will shatter every one of them, even parents and children, declares the LORD. I won't take pity; I won't have compassion; I will show no mercy when I destroy them.

15 Listen closely, don't be arrogant, for the LORD has spoken.

16 Honor the LORD your God, before it's too late, before you stumble on the mountain paths in the evening shadows. Then you will hope for light, only to find darkness and gloom.

17 If you are too proud to listen, I will go off alone and cry my eyes out. I will weep uncontrollably because the LORD's flock will be dragged off into exile.

18 Tell the king and the queen mother: Come down from your lofty place, because your glorious crowns will soon be removed from your heads.

19 The towns of the arid southern plain will be surrounded; no one will get in or out; all Judah will be taken into exile; everyone will be led away.

20 Lift up your eyes and see who is approaching from the north. Where is the flock entrusted to you, your beautiful flock?

21 What will you say when he appoints someone as head over you your defenders, your trusted allies? Won't pain grip you like that of a woman in labor?

22 And when you ask yourself, Why have all these things happened to me? it is because of your many sins that you have been stripped and violated.

23 Can a Cushite change his skin or a leopard its spots? Neither can you do good when doing evil comes so naturally.

24 So I will scatter you like straw that is blown away by the desert winds.

25 This is the future that I have prepared for you, declares the LORD, because you have forgotten me and trusted in lies.

26 I myself will pull up your skirt over your face and expose your shame.

27 I have seen your adultery and lust, your disgusting idols and shameless prostitution on the hills and in the fields. How terrible for you, Jerusalem! How long will you remain dirty? Destruction on the horizon

14

1 The LORD's word to Jeremiah concerning the droughts:

2 Judah mourns; her gates wither away. The people fall to the ground in sorrow, as sobs of Jerusalem ascend.

3 The rich send their servants for water, but the wells run dry. They return with empty jars, ashamed, bewildered, and in despair.

4 Because the ground is cracked due to lack of rain, the farmers too are ashamed; they cover their heads.

5 Even the doe in the field abandons her newborn, for there's no grass.

6 The wild donkeys stand on the well-traveled paths, panting like thirsty dogs; they go blind since there's nothing to eat.

7 Even though our sins testify against us, help us, LORD, for your name's sake. We have turned away from you and sinned against you time and again.

8 You are the hope of Israel, its savior in times of trouble. Why are you like a stranger in the land, like a tourist spending only the night?

9 Why are you like one taken by surprise, like a warrior unable to act? Yet you are in our midst, LORD; we are called by your name. Don't give up on us.

10 This is what the LORD proclaims about this people: Since they have loved to wander off and haven't restrained themselves, I won't accept them. Now I will recall their wrongdoing and punish their sin.

11 The LORD said to me: Don't pray for the safety of these people.

12 When they fast, I won't pay attention to their pleas, and when they offer entirely burned offerings and grain offerings, I won't accept them. Instead, I will devour them with war, famine, and disease.

13 I replied, "LORD God, the prophets are telling them: 'You won't see war or famine, for I will give you lasting peace in this place.'"

14 Then the LORD said to me: The prophets are telling lies in my name. I haven't sent them. I haven't commanded them. I haven't spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, worthless predictions, and deceit they have made up on their own.

15 Therefore, this is what the LORD proclaims concerning the prophets who are speaking in my name when I didn't send them, and who are telling you that war or famine will never come to this land: Those very prophets will die in war and by famine!

16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and war. There will be no one to bury them or their wives and children. I will pour out on them their own wickedness.

17 So deliver this word to them: My eyes well up with tears; I can't stop weeping--day and night, because my virgin daughter, my people, has suffered a crushing blow and is mortally wounded.

18 If I go into the fields, I see only the slain in battle. If I enter the city, I see only those suffering from famine. Even both prophet and priest wander about aimlessly in ignorance.

19 Have you completely rejected Judah? Do you hate Zion? Why then have you mortally wounded us? We look for peace, but nothing good comes of it; for a time of healing, only to be terrorized.

20 We acknowledge our sin, LORD, the wrongdoing of our ancestors, because we have sinned against you.

21 For your name's sake, don't reject us, don't scorn your glorious throne. Remember your covenant with us; don't break it.

22 Can any of the false gods of the nations make it rain? Can the sky by itself bring showers? Aren't you the LORD, our God? You are our hope, since only you can do such things. Lamenting Jerusalem's dire circumstances

15

1 The LORD said to me: Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me, I wouldn't change my mind about these people. Send them away from me. Let them go!

2 And if they say, "Go where?" tell them, This is what the LORD proclaims: ,Those marked for death--to death, those marked for war--to war, those marked for famine--to famine, and those marked for exile--to exile.

3 I will appoint over them four agents of death, declares the LORD: soldiers to kill, dogs to drag off, and vultures and wild animals to devour and destroy.

4 Because of what Judah's King Manasseh, Hezekiah's son, has done in Jerusalem, I will make them an object of horror to all nations on earth.

5 Who will pity you, Jerusalem? Who will shed tears over you? Who will stop and ask how you're doing?

6 You have deserted me, declares the LORD. You have turned your back on me. So I will turn my hand against you and destroy you. I'm tired of holding back.

7 I will winnow them with a winnowing fork at the gates of their country. I will bereave and destroy my people because they haven't changed their ways.

8 Their widows will outnumber the sand on the shore. I will bring a destroyer in broad daylight against the mothers of young men. Suddenly I will bring distress and terror upon them.

9 The mother of seven will grow weak and gasp for air; her sun will set while it is yet day; she will be ashamed and disgraced. I will deliver the survivors to the sword, to the power of their enemies, declares the LORD.

10 I wish I had never been born! I have become a source of conflict and dissension in my own country. Even though I haven't lent or borrowed, still everyone curses me.

11 The LORD said: Haven't I taken care of you? Haven't I helped you with your enemies in time of trouble and distress?

12 Can a person shatter iron, iron from the north, or bronze?

13 Your wealth and belongings I will deliver as plunder, without a fee, because of all your sins throughout your territory.

14 I will make you serve your enemies in a land you don't know, for my anger blazes like a fire that won't go out.

15 You understand, LORD! Remember me and act on my behalf. Bring judgment on those who torment me. In your mercy, spare my life. Consider how I'm insulted on your account.

16 When your words turned up, I feasted on them; and they became my joy, the delight of my heart, because I belong to you, LORD God of heavenly forces.

17 I didn't join the festive occasions; I took no delight in them. I sat alone because your hand was upon me and you had filled me with curses.

18 Why am I always in pain? Why is my wound incurable, so far beyond healing? You have become for me as unreliable as a spring gone dry!

19 Therefore, the LORD proclaims: If you return to me, I will take you back and let you stand before me. If you utter what is worthwhile, not what is worthless, you will be my spokesman. They will turn to you, not you to them!

20 I will make you a sturdy bronze wall against these people. They will attack you, but they won't triumph, because I am with you to protect and rescue you, declares the LORD.

21 I will rescue you from the hand of the wicked; I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent. Loss of hope

16

1 The LORD's word came to me:

2 Don't marry or have children in this place.

3 This is what the LORD proclaims concerning children who are born in this place and their mothers and fathers who give birth to them in this place:

4 They will die of horrible diseases. No one will mourn for them or bury them. They will be like refuse lying on the ground. They will die from the sword and by famine, and their corpses will be food for birds and wild animals.

5 This is what the LORD says: Don't enter a house where there is mourning; don't grieve or lament for them, for I have taken away my blessing, kindness, and mercy from this people, declares the LORD.

6 From the least to the greatest, all will die in this land, and there will be no funerals or time of mourning. No one will gash themselves in grief or shave their heads in sorrow.

7 No one will bring food for the mourner as comfort for the dead. No one will offer a cup of consolation for the loss of father or mother.

8 Don't enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink.

9 This is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Before your very eyes and in your own lifetime, I will silence in this place the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bridegroom and the bride.

10 When you proclaim all these things to the people, and they ask you, "Why has the LORD pronounced such massive devastation against us? What have we done wrong? How have we sinned against the LORD our God?"

11 then you should tell them: It's because your ancestors have deserted me and followed other gods, declares the LORD. They have served and worshipped them, while abandoning me and refusing to keep my Instruction.

12 And you, you have acted worse than your ancestors, each of you following your own willful, evil hearts and paying no attention to me.

13 So I will banish you from this land to a place that neither you nor your ancestors have known, and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no mercy.

14 But the time is coming, declares the LORD, when no one will say, "As the LORD lives who brought up the Israelites from the land of Egypt";

15 instead, they will say, "As the LORD lives who brought up the Israelites from the land of the north and from all the lands where he has banished them." I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors.

16 I'm going to send hordes of fishermen to catch them, declares the LORD. Afterward I will send a party of hunters to hunt them down on every mountain, hill, and cave.

17 I am watching their every move; not one is hidden from me. Nor is their sin concealed from my sight.

18 I will initially pay them back double for their evil and sin, because they have corrupted my land with their disgusting, lifeless idols and have filled my inheritance with their detestable practices.

19 LORD, you are my strength and my stronghold; you are my refuge in time of trouble. The nations will flock to you from the ends of the earth, and they will say: "Our ancestors have inherited utter lies, things that are hollow and useless."

20 Can humans make their own gods? If so, they are not gods at all!

21 Therefore, I will teach them; this time I will teach them my power and my might. They will understand that I am the LORD.

17

1 Judah's sin is engraved with an iron pen. It's etched with a diamond point on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars.

2 Their children remember their altars and sacred poles by the lush trees and high hills.

3 Because you have committed such sins throughout your country, I will give to your enemies my mountain in the land, as well as your wealth and all that you treasure.

4 You will lose the inheritance that I gave you. I will make you slaves of your enemies in a land you don't know, for my anger blazes like a fire that won't go out.

5 The LORD proclaims: Cursed are those who trust in mere humans, who depend on human strength and turn their hearts from the LORD.

6 They will be like a desert shrub that doesn't know when relief comes. They will live in the parched places of the wilderness, in a barren land where no one survives.

7 Happy are those who trust in the LORD, who rely on the LORD.

8 They will be like trees planted by the streams, whose roots reach down to the water. They won't fear drought when it comes; their leaves will remain green. They won't be stressed in the time of drought or fail to bear fruit.

9 The most cunning heart-- it's beyond help. Who can figure it out?

10 I, the LORD, probe the heart and discern hidden motives, to give everyone what they deserve, the consequences of their deeds.

11 Like a partridge gathering a brood that is not its own, so are those who acquire their wealth corruptly. By midlife it will be gone; afterward they will look like fools.

12 Splendid and exalted throne, the place of our sanctuary from the beginning!

13 LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you will suffer disgrace; those who turn away from you in the land will be written off, for they have abandoned the LORD, the fountain of living water.

14 Heal me, LORD, and I'll be healed. Save me and I'll be saved, for you are my heart's desire.

15 See how they harass me: "Where's the LORD's word? Let it come now!"

16 Yet I didn't urge you to bring disaster; I didn't want the calamity to happen. You know what comes out of my mouth; it's always before you.

17 Don't terrorize me; you are my refuge in time of disaster.

18 Let my tormentors be disgraced, but not me; let them be terrorized, but not me. Bring on them the time of disaster, as they deserve; destroy them repeatedly.

19 The LORD proclaimed to me: Go and stand by the People's Gate where Judah's kings go in and out, and then by all the gates of Jerusalem,

20 and say to them: Listen to the LORD's word, you kings of Judah, all you people of Judah, and anyone living in Jerusalem who passes through these gates.

21 The LORD says: Be on guard not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or conduct business at the gates of Jerusalem.

22 Don't carry a load from your houses or do any kind of work on the Sabbath day. Rather, keep the Sabbath day holy as I commanded your ancestors,

23 although they didn't listen or pay attention. They were stubborn and wouldn't obey or accept correction.

24 If you are careful to obey me, declares the LORD, and don't conduct business at the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, if you keep the Sabbath day holy by not working,

25 then through the gates of this city will come kings who occupy the throne of David and their officers, all riding on chariots and horses. They will be accompanied by the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. And this city will always be inhabited.

26 Others will come from the towns of Judah and Benjamin, from all around Jerusalem, and from the western foothills, the highlands, and the arid southern plain--they will come bringing entirely burned offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, incense, and thanksgiving offerings to the LORD's temple.

27 But if you don't obey me by keeping the Sabbath day holy, if you carry your loads and conduct your business at the gates of Jerusalem as usual, then I will set fire to those gates that will completely engulf the fortresses of Jerusalem; it will not be put out. God the potter

18

1 Jeremiah received the LORD's word:

2 Go down to the potter's house, and I'll give you instructions about what to do there.

3 So I went down to the potter's house; he was working on the potter's wheel.

4 But the piece he was making was flawed while still in his hands, so the potter started on another, as seemed best to him.

5 Then the LORD's word came to me:

6 House of Israel, can't I deal with you like this potter, declares the LORD? Like clay in the potter's hand, so are you in mine, house of Israel!

7 At any time I may announce that I will dig up, pull down, and destroy a nation or kingdom;

8 but if that nation I warned turns from its evil, then I'll relent and not carry out the harm I intended for it.

9 At the same time, I may announce that I will build and plant a nation or kingdom;

10 but if that nation displeases and disobeys me, then I'll relent and not carry out the good I intended for it.

11 Now say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem: This is what the LORD says: I am a potter preparing a disaster for you; I'm working out a plan against you. So each one of you, turn from your evil ways; reform your ways and your actions.

12 But they said, "What's the use! We will follow our own plans and act according to our own willful, evil hearts."

13 Therefore, the LORD proclaims: Ask among the nations: Have you ever heard anything like this? Virgin Israel has done the most horrible thing.

14 Does the snow on the mountains of Lebanon ever melt entirely off their rocky cliffs? Do the cool mountain streams ever dry up?

15 Yet my people have forgotten me; they have offered sacrifices to a lie. And so they have stumbled along the way, even along the ancient paths. They have taken side roads, not the main roads.

16 They have ruined their country and brought utter shame on it. All who pass by are shocked and shake their heads.

17 Like a strong east wind, I will scatter them before their enemy. When disaster strikes them, I will show them my back, not my face.

18 Then they said, "Come, let's unite against Jeremiah, for the priest's instruction won't fail, nor will the sage's counsel, nor the prophet's word. Come, let's silence him and pay no attention to his words."

19 Pay attention to me, LORD; listen to what my enemies are saying.

20 Should evil be returned for good? Yet they have set traps for me. Remember that I stood before you, begging you to be merciful and not to punish them.

21 Enough! Let their children starve; let them die by the sword. Let their wives be barren widows; let their men be slaughtered and their youth struck down in battle.

22 Let screams be heard from their homes when you suddenly bring armies against them. They have dug a pit to capture me, set traps for my feet.

23 But you, LORD, you know all their sinister plots to kill me. Don't overlook their wrongdoing; don't cleanse their sin from before you. May they stumble before you; when you become angry, do something about them. Broken beyond repair

19

1 The LORD proclaims: Go buy a clay jar from a potter in the presence of the elders of the people and the priests.

2 Then go out to the Ben-hinnom Valley at the entrance of the gate called Broken Pots and proclaim there the words I will tell you.

3 Listen to the LORD's word, you kings of Judah and those of you living in Jerusalem: This is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, says: I'm going to bring such disaster upon this place that it will shock all who hear of it.

4 They have deserted me and degraded this place into a shrine for other gods, which neither they nor their ancestors nor Judah's kings have ever known. And they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.

5 Yes, they have built shrines to Baal, to burn their sons and daughters in the fire, although I never commanded or ordered such a thing, nor did it ever cross my mind.

6 So now the time is coming, declares the LORD, when people will no longer call this place Topheth or Ben-hinnom Valley but Carnage Valley.

7 I will foil the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place and will have them fall in battle before their enemies, before those who seek their lives. I will give their corpses as food to the birds and the wild animals.

8 I will make this city something that sounds horrible; all who pass by it will be shocked at its pain.

9 And when their enemies lay siege to the city, seeking their lives, they will resort in desperation to eating the flesh of their sons and daughters, and to devouring the flesh of their neighbors.

10 Then you should shatter the clay jar in the sight of the people who are with you,

11 and you should say to them: This is what the LORD of heavenly forces says: Just as one smashes the potter's piece beyond repair, so I will smash this people and this city. And they will bury the dead in Topheth until there's no room left.

12 That is what I will do to this place and its residents, declares the LORD: I will make this city like Topheth.

13 The houses of Jerusalem and those of Judah's kings will become as foul as Topheth--all the houses on whose roofs they made offerings to the heavenly force and poured out drink offerings to other gods.

14 When Jeremiah returned from Topheth where the LORD had sent him to prophesy, he stood in the court of the LORD's temple and said to all the people:

15 The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: I am about to bring upon this city and its surrounding towns every disaster that I have pronounced against them, because they have been stubborn and wouldn't obey my words.

20

1 When the priest Pashhur, Immer's son, the officer in charge of the LORD's temple, heard Jeremiah prophesying these words,

2 he beat the prophet and detained him in confinement at the upper Benjamin Gate in the LORD's temple.

3 The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from confinement, Jeremiah said to him, "The LORD has changed your name from Pashhur to Panic Lurks Everywhere.

4 The LORD proclaims: I'm going to strike panic into your heart and into the hearts of your friends. You will watch as they fall in battle to their enemies. I will hand over all Judah to the king of Babylon, who will exile some to Babylon and slaughter others.

5 I will hand over all the wealth of this city, all its goods and valuables, including the treasures of the kings of Judah, to their enemies, who will ransack and pillage and carry it all off to Babylon.

6 And you, Pashhur, and all those in your household, will go into captivity. You will be deported to Babylon where you will die. There you will be buried with all your friends to whom you prophesied falsely." Total despair

7 LORD, you enticed me, and I was taken in. You were too strong for me, and you prevailed. Now I'm laughed at all the time; everyone mocks me.

8 Every time I open my mouth, I cry out and say, "Violence and destruction!" The LORD's word has brought me nothing but insult and injury, constantly.

9 I thought, I'll forget him; I'll no longer speak in his name. But there's an intense fire in my heart, trapped in my bones. I'm drained trying to contain it; I'm unable to do it.

10 I hear many whispering-- "Panic Lurks Everywhere!-- proclaim, yes, let's proclaim it ourselves!" All my friends are waiting for me to stumble: "Perhaps he can be enticed. Then we'll prevail against him and get our revenge on him!"

11 But the LORD is with me like a strong defender. Therefore, my oppressors will stumble and not prevail. They will be disgraced by their own failures. Their dishonor will never be forgotten.

12 The LORD of heavenly forces tests the righteous and discerns the heart and the mind. Let me see your retribution upon them, for I have committed my case to you.

13 Sing to the LORD, praise the LORD, for he has rescued the needy from the clutches of evildoers.

14 Cursed be the day that I was born. May the day my mother gave birth to me not be blessed.

15 Cursed be the one who delivered the news to my father, "You have a son!"-- filling him with joy.

16 May the bearer of that news be like the cities that the LORD destroyed without mercy. May he hear screams in the morning, and the battle cries at noon,

17 because he didn't kill me in the womb and let my mother become my grave, her womb pregnant forever.

18 Why was I ever born when all I see is suffering and misery, and my days are filled with shame? Verdict against king and city

21

1 Jeremiah received the LORD's word when King Zedekiah sent Pashhur, Malchiah's son, and the priest Zephaniah, Maaseiah's son, to him with an appeal:

2 "Speak to the LORD on our behalf because Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar is attacking us. Perhaps the LORD will perform one of his mighty deeds and force him to withdraw from us."

3 Jeremiah answered them: This is what you should tell Zedekiah:

4 The LORD, the God of Israel, says: I'm going to turn your own weapons against you, yes, the weapons you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who have surrounded you! I will round them up in the center of the city.

5 Then I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and strong arm in fierce anger and rage.

6 I will strike down those within this city--both people and animals--and they will die of a terrible plague.

7 Afterward, declares the LORD, I will deliver Judah's King Zedekiah, his servants, and those in this city who have survived plague, war, and famine to Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar and to their enemies who seek to do them harm. He will put them to the sword without pity, mercy, or compassion.

8 This is what you should tell this people: The LORD says: I'm setting before you the way of life and the way of death.

9 Whoever stays in the city will die by the sword, famine, and disease. But whoever leaves the city and surrenders to the Babylonians will live; yes, their lives will be spared.

10 I have set my face against this city for harm and not for good, declares the LORD; it will be delivered to the king of Babylon, who will set it on fire. Judah: Hear the LORD's word

11 House of Judah! This is what the LORD says:

12 House of David! The LORD proclaims: Begin each morning by administering justice, rescue those who have been robbed from their oppressor, or else my anger will spread like a wildfire, with no one to put it out, because of your evil deeds.

13 I am against you, you who live in the valley, like a rock of the plain, declares the LORD, and who say, "Who will come down to attack us? Who will breach our fortresses?"

14 I will punish you based on what you have done, declares the LORD. I will set your forests on fire; the flames will engulf everything around you. Oracles against the kings

22

1 The LORD proclaims: Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and declare this message:

2 Listen to the LORD's word, king of Judah, you who sit on David's throne--you and your attendants, and all those who go through these gates.

3 The LORD proclaims: Do what is just and right; rescue the oppressed from the power of the oppressor. Don't exploit or mistreat the refugee, the orphan, and the widow. Don't spill the blood of the innocent in this place.

4 If you obey this command, then through the gates of this palace will come kings who occupy the throne of David, riding on chariots and horses along with their entourage and subjects.

5 But if you ignore these words, I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that this palace will become a ruin.

6 The LORD proclaims concerning the palace of the king of Judah: ,Though you are like Gilead to me, like the summit of Lebanon, I will turn you into a desert--uninhabited cities.

7 I will summon destroyers against you, who will use their weapons to cut down your finest cedars and hurl them into the fire.

8 People from many nations will pass by this city and ask each other: "Why has the LORD treated that great city like this?"

9 And the answer will be, "Because they abandoned the covenant with the LORD their God and worshipped and served other gods."

10 Don't weep or lament for the dead king. Weep instead for the one who has gone away, for he will never return to see his native soil.

11 This is what the LORD says about Shallum son of Judah's King Josiah, who succeeded his father Josiah as king but who is now gone from this place: He will never return!

12 He will die where he's been exiled and never see this land again.

13 How terrible for Jehoiakim, who builds his house with corruption and his upper chambers with injustice, working his countrymen for nothing, refusing to give them their wages.

14 He says, "I'll build myself a grand palace, with huge upper chambers, ornate windows, cedar paneling, and rich red decor."

15 Is this what makes you a king, having more cedar than anyone else? Didn't your father eat and drink and still do what was just and right? Then it went well for him!

16 He defended the rights of the poor and needy; then it went well. Isn't that what it means to know me? declares the LORD.

17 But you set your eyes and heart on nothing but unjust gain; you spill the blood of the innocent; you practice cruelty; you oppress your subjects.

18 Therefore, this is what the LORD says to Jehoiakim son of Judah's King Josiah: ,They won't grieve for him, saying, "My brother, my sister!" They won't grieve for him, saying, "My master, my majesty!"

19 They will give him a donkey's burial, dragging him outside the gates of Jerusalem and dumping him there.

20 Go up to Lebanon and cry out, lift up your voice in Bashan, cry out from Abarim, because all your lovers have been ravished.

21 I spoke to you when you felt safe and secure, but you said, "I won't listen." You have been that way since your youth: not listening to a word I say.

22 Your shepherds will be tossed to the wind, your lovers taken off to exile. Then you will be embarrassed and humiliated by all your wickedness.

23 You who live in Lebanon, nestled in cedar, who will pity you when you are overcome in pain, like that of childbirth?

24 As surely as I live, declares the LORD, even if Coniah, King Jehoiakim's son from Judah were a signet ring on my right hand, I would still remove you from there.

25 I would hand you over to those who seek to kill you, those you dread, even Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar and his army.

26 I will banish you and your mother who bore you to a land far from your native soil, and there the two of you will die.

27 You will never return to the land you long to go back to.

28 Is this man Coniah merely a defiled and broken pottery jar that no one wants? Why then have he and his children been hurled out and cast into an unfamiliar land?

29 Land, land, land, hear the LORD's word:

30 The LORD proclaims: Mark this man as childless; he will not prosper during his lifetime. None of his children will sit on David's throne and rule again in Judah. Promise of restoration

23

1 Watch out, you shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, declares the LORD.

2 This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, proclaims about the shepherds who "tend to" my people: You are the ones who have scattered my flock and driven them away. You haven't attended to their needs, so I will take revenge on you for the terrible things you have done to them, declares the LORD.

3 I myself will gather the few remaining sheep from all the countries where I have driven them. I will bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply.

4 I will place over them shepherds who care for them. Then they will no longer be afraid or dread harm, nor will any be missing, declares the LORD. Promise of a righteous and just king

5 The time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up a righteous descendant from David's line, and he will rule as a wise king. He will do what is just and right in the land.

6 During his lifetime, Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. And his name will be The LORD Is Our Righteousness.

7 So the time is coming, declares the LORD, when no one will say, "As the LORD lives who brought up the Israelites from the land of Egypt."

8 Instead, they will say, "As the LORD lives who brought up the descendants of the people of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where he has banished them so that they can live in their own land." Oracles against the prophets

9 As for the prophets: My heart inside me is broken; my body aches. I stagger like a drunk who has had too much wine to drink, because of the LORD and because of God's holy words.

10 Because the country teems with adulterers, because of them, yes, because their might isn't right and their way is evil, the land dries up, and the grazing areas in the wilderness wither.

11 Both prophet and priest are godless; I even find their evil in my temple, declares the LORD.

12 Therefore, they will find themselves on slippery ground and will be thrust into darkness, where they will collapse. I will bring disaster upon them, when their time comes, declares the LORD.

13 In the prophets of Samaria I saw something shocking: They prophesied by Baal and led astray my people Israel.

14 In the prophets of Jerusalem I saw something horrible: They commit adultery and tell lies. They encourage evildoers so that no one turns from their wickedness. In my eyes, they are no better than Sodom; its people are like Gomorrah.

15 Therefore, this is what the LORD of heavenly forces proclaims concerning the prophets: I'm going to feed them bitter food and give them poison to drink. Wickedness has spread from the prophets of Jerusalem throughout the land.

16 The LORD proclaims: Don't listen to the prophets who are speaking to you; they are deceiving you. Their visions come from their own hearts, not from the LORD's mouth.

17 They keep saying to those who scorn God's message, "All will go well for you," and to those who follow their own willful hearts, "Nothing bad will happen to you."

18 But who has stood in the LORD's council to listen to God's word? Who has paid attention to his word and announced it?

19 Look! The LORD's angry storm breaks out; it whirls around the heads of the wicked.

20 The LORD's fierce anger won't turn back until it accomplishes all that he has planned. In the days to come, you will understand what this means.

21 I didn't send the prophets, yet they ran anyway. I didn't speak to them, yet they prophesied anyway.

22 If they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people; they would have turned them from their evil ways and deeds.

23 The LORD declares, Am I a God who is only nearby and not far off?

24 Can people hide themselves in secret places so I might not see them? Don't I fill heaven and earth?

25 I have heard the prophets prophesying lies in my name. They claim, "I've had a dream; I've had a dream!"

26 How long will deceitful prophecies dominate the minds of the prophets? Those prophets are treacherous.

27 They scheme to make my people forget me by their dreams that people tell each other, just as their ancestors forgot me because of Baal.

28 Let the prophet who has a dream declare it, but let the one who has my word proclaim it faithfully. ,What a difference between straw and wheat! declares the LORD.

29 Isn't my word like fire and like a hammer that shatters rock? declares the LORD.

30 Therefore, I'm against the prophets who steal my words from each other, declares the LORD.

31 I'm against the prophets who carelessly deliver oracles, declares the LORD.

32 I'm against the prophets who dream up lies and then proclaim them, declares the LORD. With their reckless lies, they lead my people astray. I didn't send them; I didn't commission them. They are completely useless to these people, declares the LORD.

33 When these people or a prophet or a priest asks you, "What is the LORD's message?" say to them, "What message? I will cast you off, declares the LORD."

34 I will punish anyone, including prophet or priest, who says, "This is the LORD's message."

35 This is what you should ask each other: "What has the LORD said?""What has the LORD declared?"

36 But you are no longer to mention the LORD's message, because everyone thinks they have received a message from the LORD. You destroy the very word of the living God, the LORD of heavenly forces, our God.

37 So this is what you should say to the prophet: "What has the LORD said to you?""What has the LORD declared?"

38 But if you insist on saying, "This is the LORD's message," the LORD says to you: Because you have made this claim--this is the LORD's message--when I told you not to proclaim the LORD's message,

39 I will lift you up and cast you out of my presence, together with the city that I gave to your ancestors.

40 I will make you an object of disgrace and enduring shame that no one will ever forget. Good and bad figs

24

1 After Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar had deported Judah's King Jeconiah, King Jehoiakim's son, and the Judean officials, as well as the craftsmen and metalworkers from Jerusalem to Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs set in front of the LORD's temple.

2 One basket was filled with fresh and ripe figs; the other basket was filled with rotten figs--too rotten to eat.

3 And the LORD asked me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I replied: "Figs! Some good ones and others very bad--so bad that they can't be eaten."

4 Then the LORD said to me:

5 The LORD, the God of Israel, proclaims: Just as with these good figs, I will treat kindly the Judean exiles that I have sent from this place to Babylon.

6 I regard them as good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not pull them down; I will plant them and not dig them up.

7 I will give them a heart to know me, for I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

8 And just like the rotten figs that are so bad that they can't be eaten, the LORD says, I will do to Judah's King Zedekiah and his officials, as well as the remaining few in Jerusalem and those who are living in Egypt.

9 I will make them an object of horror and evil to all the kingdoms of the earth. Wherever I scatter them, they will be disgraced and insulted, mocked and cursed.

10 I will send the sword, famine, and disease against them until they vanish from the fertile land that I gave to their ancestors. A summary of Jeremiah's message

25

1 Jeremiah received the LORD's word concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Judah's King Jehoiakim, Josiah's son. This was the first year of Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar.

2 The prophet Jeremiah addressed all the people of Judah and all those living in Jerusalem.

3 From the thirteenth year of Judah's King Josiah, Amon's son, to this very day--twenty-three years--the LORD's word has come to me. I have delivered it to you repeatedly, although you wouldn't listen.

4 In fact, the LORD has tirelessly sent you all his servants, the prophets, but you wouldn't listen or pay attention.

5 They said, "Each one of you, turn from your evil ways and deeds and live in the fertile land that the LORD gave you and your ancestors for all time.

6 Don't follow or worship other gods and don't anger me by what you make with your hands. Then I won't bring disaster upon you."

7 But you wouldn't listen to me, making me angry by what you do and bringing disaster upon yourselves, declares the LORD.

8 Therefore, this is what the LORD of heavenly forces says: Because you haven't listened to my words,

9 I am going to muster all the tribes of the north and my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, declares the LORD, and I will bring them against this country and its residents as well as against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and will make them an object of horror, shock, and ruins for all time.

10 I will silence the sounds of joy and laughter and the voices of the bride and the bridegroom. Yes, I will silence the millstones and snuff out the lamplight.

11 This whole country will be reduced to a wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.

12 When the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation for their wrongdoing, declares the LORD. I will reduce the land of the Babylonians to a wasteland for all time.

13 I will unleash upon that land everything I decreed, all that is written in this scroll, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations.

14 Yes, many great nations and powerful kings will enslave them, and I will pay them back in full for what they have done and made with their hands.

15 This is what the LORD, God of Israel, said to me: Take this seething cup of wine from my hand and make all the nations gulp it down where I'm sending you.

16 They will drink and stagger about half-crazed because of the sword that I am sending against them.

17 So I took the cup from the LORD's hand, and I made all the nations drink from it where the LORD had sent me:

18 Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, its kings and officials. This was to make them a wasteland, an object of horror, shock, and cursing, as it is today;

19 Pharaoh, Egypt's king, his attendants and officials, and all his people,

20 including the foreigners living there; all the kings of the land of Uz; all the kings of the land of the Philistines--Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and what's left of Ashdod;

21 Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites;

22 all the kings of Tyre and Sidon, and the kings of the coastlands across the sea;

23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all those who cut the hair of their foreheads;

24 all the kings of Arabia and the nomadic tribes,

25 all the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media;

26 all the kings of the north, those nearby and those faraway, one after another, all the empires on the earth will drink from this cup. And after them the king of Sheshach will drink from it.

27 Then say to them: The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Drink this seething cup of wine and get drunk. Vomit and collapse and don't get up again because of the sword that I'm thrusting into you.

28 If they refuse to take the cup in your hand and drink from it, tell them: This is what the LORD of heavenly forces says: You must drink!

29 Look! I'm bringing disaster upon the city that bears my name; how then will you escape unpunished? You will not! I'm summoning the sword against everyone on earth, declares the LORD of heavenly forces.

30 Now prophesy all these things and say to them: The LORD roars on high; from his holy place he thunders. He roars fiercely against his flock, like the shouting of those who tread on grapes, against everyone on earth.

31 The uproar is heard far and wide, because the LORD is bringing a lawsuit against the nations. He's entering into judgment with all people, sentencing the guilty to death, declares the LORD.

32 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Look! Disaster travels from nation to nation. A terrible storm comes from the far ends of the earth.

33 At that time, those struck down by the LORD will fill the earth. And no one will mourn for them or prepare their bodies for burial. They will become like refuse lying on the ground.

34 Wail, you shepherds, cry out. Roll in the dust, you masters of the flock! The day of your slaughter has arrived. You will fall and shatter like a fragile vase.

35 The shepherds have no place to hide; the masters of the flock can't escape.

36 Hear the cry of the shepherds and the sobbing of the masters of the flock, because the LORD is ravaging their pasture.

37 There's an eerie silence in the peaceful meadows, because of the LORD's fierce anger.

38 The lion is on the prowl, and the land is reduced to nothing, because of the fierce sword, because of his fierce anger. Jeremiah arrested and sentenced to death

26

1 Early in the rule of Judah's King Jehoiakim, Josiah's son, this word came from the LORD:

2 The LORD proclaims: Stand in the temple courtyard and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who have come to the temple to worship. Tell them everything I command you; leave nothing out.

3 Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from their evil ways. If they do, I will relent and not carry out the harm I have in mind for them because of the wrong they have done.

4 So tell them, The LORD proclaims: If you don't listen to me or follow the Instruction I have set before you--

5 if you don't listen to the words of the prophets that I have sent to you time and again, though you haven't listened,

6 then I will make this temple a ruin like Shiloh, and this city I will make a curse before all nations on earth.

7 The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard Jeremiah declare these words in the LORD's temple.

8 And when Jeremiah finished saying everything the LORD told him to say, the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him and said, "You must die!

9 Why do you prophesy in the LORD's name that 'this temple will become a ruin like Shiloh, and this city will be destroyed and left without inhabitant'?" Then all the people joined ranks against Jeremiah in the LORD's temple.

10 When the officials of Judah heard these things, they went up from the royal palace to the LORD's temple and took their places at the entrance of the New Gate of the LORD's temple.

11 The priests and the prophets said to the officials and all the people: "This man deserves to die for prophesying against this city as you have all heard firsthand."

12 Jeremiah said to all the officials and to all the people, "The LORD sent me to prophesy to this temple and this city everything you have heard.

13 So now transform your ways and actions. Obey the LORD your God, and the LORD may relent and not carry out the harm that he's pronounced against you.

14 But me? I'm in your hands. Do whatever you would like to me.

15 Only know for certain that if you sentence me to death, you and the people of this city will be guilty of killing an innocent man. The LORD has in fact sent me to speak everything I have said to you."

16 Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets, "This man doesn't deserve to die, for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God."

17 A few of the community elders got up and addressed the whole crowd:

18 "Micah of Moresheth, who prophesied during the rule of Judah's Hezekiah, said to all the people of Judah, 'The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: ,Zion will be plowed down like a field, Jerusalem will become piles of rubble, and the temple mount will become an overgrown mound.'

19 "Did King Hezekiah or anyone else in Judah execute him? Didn't he instead fear the LORD and plead for his mercy? Then the LORD relented of the harm that he had pronounced against them. We are about to commit a huge mistake that will cost us our lives."

20 There was another man who prophesied in the LORD's name: Uriah, Shemaiah's son from Kiriath-jearim. He prophesied the same things that Jeremiah did about this city and against this land.

21 When King Jehoiakim and all his warriors and officials heard his words, the king sought to kill him. Uriah heard of this and fled in fear to Egypt.

22 But King Jehoiakim dispatched Elnathan, Achbor's son, and others to Egypt.

23 They brought Uriah back from Egypt to the king who had him killed, and his body was thrown into the common burial ground.

24 But Ahikam, Shaphan's son, protected Jeremiah and wouldn't let the people execute him. Submit to the king of Babylon and live

27

1 Early in the rule of Judah's King Zedekiah, Josiah's son, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

2 This is what the LORD said to me: Make a yoke of straps and bars and wear it on your neck.

3 Then send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through their representatives who have come to Jerusalem to Judah's King Zedekiah.

4 Tell them to say to their masters: The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Say this to your masters:

5 By my great power and outstretched arm, I have made the earth and the people and animals that are on it. I can give it to anyone I please.

6 Now I hand over all these countries to my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I even give him the wild animals as subjects.

7 All nations will serve him, his son and grandson, until the time for his land arrives; then many nations and great kings will conquer him.

8 As for the nation or country that won't serve Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar and won't put its neck under his yoke, I will punish it with sword, famine, and disease until I have destroyed it by his hand, declares the LORD.

9 As for you, don't listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, mediums, or your sorcerers who say to you, "Don't serve the king of Babylon."

10 They are lying to you, and their lies will lead to banishment from your land. I will drive you out, and you will perish.

11 But any nation that puts its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him, I will let stay in its land to till it and live on it, declares the LORD.

12 I delivered the same message to Judah's King Zedekiah: If you want to live, put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him and his people.

13 Why should you and your people die by sword, famine, and disease, as the LORD pronounced against any nation that won't serve the king of Babylon?

14 Pay no attention to the words of the prophets who encourage you not to serve the king of Babylon, for they are lying to you.

15 I haven't sent these prophets, declares the LORD; they are prophesying falsely in my name. If you listen to them, I will drive you out, and you will perish, both you and your prophets!

16 Then I spoke to the priests and all this people: This is what the LORD says: Don't listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you, "In a short while, the temple equipment will be brought back from Babylon." They are prophesying a lie to you.

17 Don't listen to them; serve the king of Babylon and live. Otherwise, this city will be reduced to ruin.

18 If they are really prophets and have the LORD's word, let them intercede with the LORD of heavenly forces not to let the equipment left in the LORD's temple and in the royal palace of Judah and Jerusalem be carted off to Babylon.

19 This is what the LORD of heavenly forces proclaims about the pillars, the Sea, the stands, and the rest of the equipment left in this city,

20 which Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar didn't plunder when he deported Jeconiah the son of Judah's King Jehoiakim from Jerusalem to Babylon, along with all the officials of Judah and Jerusalem.

21 Yes, this is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims about the equipment that is left in the LORD's temple and in the royal palace in Judah, and in Jerusalem:

22 They will be carted off to Babylon where they will remain until the day I come looking for them, declares the LORD; then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.

28

1 That same year, early in the rule of Judah's King Zedekiah, in the fifth month of his fourth year, the prophet Hananiah, Azzur's son from Gibeon, spoke to me in the LORD's temple before the priests and all the people.

2 He said: "The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

3 In two years I will restore to this place all of the temple equipment that Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar carted off to Babylon.

4 I will also restore to this place Judah's King Jeconiah, Jehoiakim's son, along with all the exiles from Judah who were deported to Babylon, for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon, declares the LORD."

5 Then the prophet Jeremiah responded to Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the LORD's temple.

6 The prophet Jeremiah said: "Indeed. May the LORD do just as you have said! May the LORD fulfill the words that you have prophesied and bring back from Babylon the equipment of the LORD's temple and all the exiles to this place.

7 However, listen closely to what I have to say to you and all the people:

8 The prophets who came before you and me long ago prophesied war, disaster, and disease against many lands and great kingdoms.

9 So the prophet who prophesies peace is recognized as one who is actually sent by the LORD only when that prophet's message is fulfilled."

10 Then the prophet Hananiah took hold of the yoke that was on the prophet Jeremiah's neck and broke it.

11 He said before all the people, "This is what the LORD says: Just as this yoke has been broken, I will break the yoke of Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar from the neck of all the nations within two years." Then the prophet Jeremiah walked away.

12 Sometime after Hananiah had broken the yoke that was on Jeremiah's neck, the LORD told him:

13 Go, say to Hananiah, The LORD proclaims: You have broken a wooden yoke, but I will replace it with an iron one.

14 The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: I will put iron yokes on the necks of all these nations, and they will serve Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar; even the wild animals will be subject to him!

15 Then the prophet Jeremiah said to the prophet Hananiah: "Listen, Hananiah! The LORD hasn't sent you. All you are doing is persuading these people to believe a lie.

16 Therefore, the LORD proclaims: I'm going to send you somewhere--right off the face of the earth! Before the year ends, you will die since you have incited rebellion against the LORD."

17 The prophet Hananiah died in the seventh month of that year. Disturbing hope: Settle down in Babylon

29

1 The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter from Jerusalem to the few surviving elders among the exiles, to the priests and the prophets, and to all the people Nebuchadnezzar had taken to Babylon from Jerusalem.

2 The letter was sent after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the government leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen and smiths had left Jerusalem.

3 It was delivered to Babylon by Elasah, Shaphan's son, and Gemariah, Hilkiah's son--two men dispatched to Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar by King Zedekiah.

4 The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims to all the exiles I have carried off from Jerusalem to Babylon:

5 Build houses and settle down; cultivate gardens and eat what they produce.

6 Get married and have children; then help your sons find wives and your daughters find husbands in order that they too may have children. Increase in number there so that you don't dwindle away.

7 Promote the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because your future depends on its welfare.

8 The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Don't let the prophets and diviners in your midst mislead you. Don't pay attention to your dreams.

9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I didn't send them, declares the LORD.

10 The LORD proclaims: When Babylon's seventy years are up, I will come and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.

11 I know the plans I have in mind for you, declares the LORD; they are plans for peace, not disaster, to give you a future filled with hope.

12 When you call me and come and pray to me, I will listen to you.

13 When you search for me, yes, search for me with all your heart, you will find me.

14 I will be present for you, declares the LORD, and I will end your captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have scattered you, and I will bring you home after your long exile, declares the LORD.

15 Yet you say, The LORD has raised up prophets for us in Babylon:

16 This is what the LORD proclaims concerning the king sitting on David's throne and all the people who live in this city, that is, those among you who didn't go into exile:

17 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: I'm going to send the sword, famine, and disease against them. I will make them like rotten figs that are too spoiled to eat.

18 I will pursue them with the sword, famine, and disease; and I will make them an object of horror to all nations on earth and an object of cursing, scorn, shock, and disgrace among all the countries where I have scattered them,

19 because they wouldn't listen to my words, declares the LORD, which I sent them time and again through my servants the prophets. They wouldn't listen, declares the LORD.

20 But now, all you exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon, listen to the LORD's word.

21 This is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims concerning Ahab, Kolaiah's son, and Zedekiah, Maaseiah's son, who are prophesying lies to you in my name: I will hand them over to Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar, and he will slay them before your very eyes.

22 Because of them, all the Judean exiles in Babylon will use this curse: "The LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, who were burned alive by the king of Babylon."

23 They committed a horrible scandal in Israel--adultery with their neighbors' wives and deceit spoken in my name, with which I had nothing to do. Yet I'm still aware of it and am witness to it, declares the LORD.

24 Tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite,

25 This is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: You sent letters on your own accord to all the people in Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah, Maaseiah's son, and to the rest of the priests.

26 You said to Zephaniah: The LORD has appointed you priest in charge of the LORD's temple instead of Jehoiada. You are responsible for putting every madman who prophesies into stocks and neck irons.

27 So why haven't you threatened Jeremiah of Anathoth, who pretends to be a prophet among you?

28 He has sent a letter telling those of us in Babylon: "You are going to be there a long time, so build houses and settle down, plant gardens and eat what they produce."

29 The priest Zephaniah read this letter to the prophet Jeremiah.

30 Then the LORD's word came to Jeremiah:

31 Send word to all the exiles: The LORD proclaims concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah prophesied to you when I didn't send him, and because he convinced you to believe a lie,

32 I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants, declares the LORD. Not one member of this people will be around to see the good that I have in store for my people, declares the LORD, for he incited rebellion against me. , SCROLL OF COMFORT Healing and restoration for my people

30

1 Jeremiah received the LORD's word:

2 The LORD, the God of Israel, proclaims: Write down in a scroll all the words I have spoken to you.

3 The time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will bring back my people Israel and Judah from captivity, says the LORD. I will bring them home to the land that I gave to their ancestors, and they will possess it.

4 Here are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and Judah:

5 The LORD proclaims: I hear screams of panic and terror; no one is safe.

6 Ask and see: Can men bear children? Then why do I see every man bent over in pain, as if he's in labor? Why have all turned pale?

7 That day is awful, beyond words. A time of unspeakable pain for my people Jacob. But they will be delivered from it.

8 At that time, I will break the yoke off their necks and remove their shackles. Foreigners will no longer enslave them, declares the LORD of heavenly forces.

9 They will serve the LORD their God and the king whom I will raise up for them from David's family.

10 So don't be afraid, my servant Jacob, declares the LORD, Don't lose hope, Israel. I will deliver you from faraway places and your children from the land of their exile. My people Jacob will again be safe and sound, with no one harassing them.

11 I am with you and will rescue you, declares the LORD. I will put an end to all the nations where I have scattered you. But I won't put an end to you. I won't let you remain unpunished: I will discipline you as you deserve.

12 This is what the LORD says: Your injury is incurable; your illness is grave.

13 No one comes to your aid; no one attends to your wound; your disease is incurable.

14 All your lovers disregard you; they write you off as a lost cause, because I have dealt harshly with you as an enemy would, because your guilt is great and your sins are many.

15 Why cry out for relief from your pain? Your wound is incurable. I have done these things to you, because your guilt is great and your sins are many.

16 Yet all who ravage you will be ravaged; all who oppress you will go into exile. Those who rob you will be robbed, and all who plunder you will be plundered.

17 I will restore your health, and I will heal your wounds, declares the LORD, because you were labeled an outcast, "Zion, the lost cause."

18 The LORD proclaims: I will restore Jacob's tents and have pity on their birthplace. Their city will be rebuilt on its ruins and the palace in its rightful place.

19 There will be laughter and songs of thanks. I will add to their numbers so they don't dwindle away. I will honor them so they aren't humiliated.

20 Their children will thrive as they did long ago, and their community will be established before me. I will punish their oppressors.

21 They will have their own leader; their ruler will come from among them. I will let him approach me, and he will draw near. Who would dare approach me unless I let them come? declares the LORD.

22 You will be my people, and I will be your God.

23 Look! The LORD's anger breaks out like a violent storm, a fierce wind that strikes the heads of the wicked.

24 The LORD's fierce anger won't turn back until God's purposes are entirely accomplished. In the days to come, you will understand what this means.

31

1 At that time, declares the LORD, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.

2 The LORD proclaims: The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness. As Israel searched for a place of rest,

3 the LORD appeared to them from a distance: I have loved you with a love that lasts forever. And so with unfailing love, I have drawn you to myself.

4 Again, I will build you up, and you will be rebuilt, virgin Israel. Again, you will play your tambourines and dance with joy.

5 Again, you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; farmers will plant and then enjoy the harvests.

6 The time will come when the watchmen shout from the highlands of Ephraim: "Get ready! We're going up to Zion to the LORD our God!"

7 The LORD proclaims: Sing joyfully for the people of Jacob; shout for the leading nation. Raise your voices with praise and call out: "The LORD has saved his people, the remaining few in Israel!"

8 I'm going to bring them back from the north; I will gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the disabled, expectant mothers and those in labor; a great throng will return here.

9 With tears of joy they will come; while they pray, I will bring them back. I will lead them by quiet streams and on smooth paths so they don't stumble. I will be Israel's father, Ephraim will be my oldest child.

10 Listen to the LORD's word, you nations, and announce it to the distant islands: The one who scattered Israel will gather them and keep them safe, as a shepherd his flock.

11 The LORD will rescue the people of Jacob and deliver them from the power of those stronger than they are.

12 They will come shouting for joy on the hills of Zion, jubilant over the LORD's gifts: grain, wine, oil, flocks, and herds. Their lives will be like a lush garden; they will grieve no more.

13 Then the young women will dance for joy; the young and old men will join in. I will turn their mourning into laughter and their sadness into joy; I will comfort them.

14 I will lavish the priests with abundance and shower my people with my gifts, declares the LORD.

15 The LORD proclaims: A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and wailing. It's Rachel crying for her children; she refuses to be consoled, because her children are no more.

16 The LORD proclaims: Keep your voice from crying and your eyes from weeping, because your endurance will be rewarded, declares the LORD. They will return from the land of their enemy!

17 There's hope for your future, declares the LORD. Your children will return home!

18 I hear, yes, I hear Ephraim lamenting: "You disciplined me, and I learned my lesson, even though I was as stubborn as a mule. Bring me back, let me return, because you are the LORD my God.

19 After I turned away from you, I regretted it; I realized what I had done, and I have hit myself -- I was humiliated and disgraced, and I have carried this disgrace since I was young."

20 Isn't Ephraim my much-loved child? Don't I utterly adore him? Even when I scold him, I still hold him dear. I yearn for him and love him deeply, declares the LORD.

21 Set up markers, put up signs; think about the road you have traveled, the path you have taken. Return, virgin Israel; return to these towns of yours.

22 How long will you hem and haw, my rebellious daughter? The LORD has created something new on earth: Virgin Israel will once again embrace her God!

23 The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: When I bring my people back from captivity, they will once again utter these words in the land and towns of Judah: ,The LORD bless you, righteous dwelling place, holy mountain.

24 Those who live in Judah and its towns will dwell together with farmers and shepherds.

25 I will strengthen the weary and renew those who are weak.

26 Then I woke up and looked around. What a pleasant sleep I had!

27 The time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will plant seeds in Israel and Judah, and both people and animals will spring up.

28 Just as I watched over them to dig up and pull down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and plant, declares the LORD.

29 In those days, people will no longer say: ,Sour grapes eaten by parents leave a bitter taste in the mouths of their children.

30 Because everyone will die for their own sins: whoever eats sour grapes will have a bitter taste in their own mouths.

31 The time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.

32 It won't be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant with me even though I was their husband, declares the LORD.

33 No, this is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel after that time, declares the LORD. I will put my Instructions within them and engrave them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

34 They will no longer need to teach each other to say, "Know the LORD!" because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD; for I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sins.

35 The LORD proclaims: The one who established the sun to light up the day and ordered the moon and stars to light up the night, who stirs up the sea into crashing waves, whose name is the LORD of heavenly forces:

36 If the created order should vanish from my sight, declares the LORD, only then would Israel's descendants ever stop being a nation before me.

37 The LORD proclaims: If the heavens above could be measured and the foundation of the earth below could be fathomed, only then would I reject Israel's descendants for what they have done, declares the LORD.

38 The time is coming, declares the LORD, when the city will be rebuilt for the LORD from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

39 Its boundaries will extend to the Gareb Hill and around to Goah.

40 The entire valley defiled by corpses and ashes, and all the fields as far as the Kidron Valley and the Horse Gate on the east, all this will be set apart for the LORD. And the city will never again be dug up or overthrown. Nothing is too hard for the LORD

32

1 Jeremiah received the LORD's word in the tenth year of Judah's King Zedekiah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar's rule.

2 At that time, the army of the Babylonian king had surrounded Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined to the prison quarters in the palace of Judah's king.

3 Judah's King Zedekiah had Jeremiah sent there after questioning him: "Why do you prophesy, 'This is what the LORD says: I'm handing this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will occupy it;

4 and Judah's King Zedekiah will be captured and handed over to the king of Babylon; he will speak to the king of Babylon personally and see him with his very own eyes.

5 And Zedekiah will be carried off to Babylon to live out his days until I punish him, declares the LORD. If you make war against the Babylonians, you will fail.'"

6 Jeremiah said, The LORD's word came to me:

7 Your cousin Hanamel, Shallum's son, is on his way to see you; and when he arrives, he will tell you: "Buy my field in Anathoth, for by law you are next in line to purchase it."

8 And just as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel showed up at the prison quarters and told me, "Buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you are next in line and have a family obligation to purchase it." Then I was sure this was the LORD's doing.

9 So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver.

10 I signed the deed, sealed it, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales.

11 Then I took the deed of purchase--the sealed copy, with its terms and conditions, and the unsealed copy--

12 and gave it to Baruch, Neriah's son and Mahseiah's grandson, before my cousin Hanamel and the witnesses named in the deed, as well as before all the Judeans who were present in the prison quarters.

13 I charged Baruch before all of them:

14 "The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Take these documents--this sealed deed of purchase along with the unsealed one--and put them into a clay container so they will last a long time.

15 The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Houses, fields, and vineyards will again be bought in this land."

16 After I had given the documents to Baruch, Neriah's son, I prayed to the LORD:

17 LORD God, you created heaven and earth by your great power and outstretched arm; nothing is too hard for you!

18 You act with mercy toward thousands upon thousands, but you also bring the consequences of the fathers' sins on their children after them. Great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of heavenly forces,

19 marvelous are your purposes, and mighty are your deeds. You are aware of all the ways of humanity, and you reward us for how we live and what we do even now.

20 You have performed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt as you do to this very day in Israel and everywhere else. That's why you are so renowned.

21 With a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and with awesome power, yes, with signs and wonders, you brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt.

22 You gave them this land that you promised to their ancestors, a land full of milk and honey.

23 They entered and took possession of it, but they didn't obey you or follow your Instruction. In fact, they didn't do anything you commanded them. So you brought upon them this disaster.

24 Now the siege ramps are in place to take the city. And the Babylonians are about to capture it by war, famine, and disease. What you have pronounced is now happening, as you can see.

25 So why tell me, LORD God, Buy the field for money and make sure there are witnesses, when the city is under Babylonian control?

26 Then the LORD's word came to Jeremiah:

27 I am the LORD, the God of all living things! Is anything too hard for me?

28 Therefore, the LORD proclaims: I'm handing this city over to the Babylonians and King Nebuchadnezzar, who will capture it.

29 They will enter the city, set it on fire, and burn it down--including the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal and drink offerings to other gods, which made me especially angry.

30 The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my eyes since their youth; the people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but anger me by the work of their hands, declares the LORD.

31 This city has enraged me from the day it was built to this very day, and so it must be removed from my sight--

32 because of all the evil done by the people of Israel and Judah to make me angry--they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the men of Judah, and those who live in Jerusalem.

33 They turned their backs to me and not their faces; and though I taught them over and over, they wouldn't accept my correction.

34 They set up their disgusting idols in the temple that bears my name and violated it;

35 and they built shrines to Baal in the Ben-hinnon Valley, where they sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech, though I never commanded them--nor did it even cross my mind--that they should do such detestable things, leading Judah to sin.

36 You have been saying, "This city will be handed over to the king of Babylon through sword, famine, and disease." But this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:

37 I will gather them from all the countries where I have scattered them in my fierce anger and rage. I will bring them back to this place to live securely.

38 They will be my people, and I will be their God.

39 I will give them one heart and one mind so that they may worship me all the days of their lives, for their own good and for the good of their children after them.

40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them, never to stop treating them graciously. I will put into their hearts a sense of awe for me so that they won't turn away from me.

41 I will rejoice in treating them graciously, and I will plant them in this land faithfully and with all my heart and being.

42 The LORD proclaims: Just as I brought this great disaster on this people, so I will bring on them all the good I promised them.

43 Fields will be bought in this land, a land you have said is bleak and uninhabited and in the possession of the Babylonians.

44 Fields will be bought, and deeds will be signed, sealed, and witnessed in the land of Benjamin and in the outlying areas of Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the highlands, in the towns of the western foothills and the arid southern plain; for I will bring them back from their captivity, declares the LORD. Restoration of Judah and Israel

33

1 While he was still confined to the prison quarters, the LORD's word came to Jeremiah a second time:

2 The LORD proclaims, the LORD who made the earth, who formed and established it, whose name is the LORD:

3 Call to me and I will answer and reveal to you wondrous secrets that you haven't known.

4 This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, proclaims about the houses of this city and the palaces of the kings of Judah that were torn down to defend against the siege ramps and weapons

5 of the invading Babylonians. They will be filled with the corpses of those slain in my fierce anger. I hid my face from the people of this city because of all their evil deeds,

6 but now I will heal and mend them. I will make them whole and bless them with an abundance of peace and security.

7 I will bring back the captives of Judah and Israel, and I will rebuild them as they were at first.

8 I will cleanse them of all the wrongdoing they committed against me, and I will forgive them for all of their guilt and rebellion.

9 Then this city will bring me great joy, praise, and renown before all nations on earth, when they hear of all the good I provide for them. They will be in total awe at all the good and prosperity I provide for them.

10 The LORD proclaims: You have said about this place, "It is a wasteland, without humans or animals." Yet in the ravaged and uninhabited towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem,

11 the sounds of joy and laughter and the voices of the bride and the bridegroom will again be heard. So will the voices of those who say, as thank offerings are brought to the LORD's temple, "Give thanks to the LORD of heavenly forces, for the LORD is good and his kindness lasts forever." I will bring back the captives of this land as they were before, says the LORD.

12 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: This wasteland, without humans or animals--and all its towns--will again become pastures for shepherds to care for their flocks.

13 Shepherds will again count their flocks in the towns of the highlands, the western foothills and the arid southern plain, in the land of Benjamin, as well as in the outlying areas of Jerusalem and the towns of Judah, says the LORD.

14 The time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill my gracious promise with the people of Israel and Judah.

15 In those days and at that time, I will raise up a righteous branch from David's line, who will do what is just and right in the land.

16 In those days, Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is what he will be called: The LORD Is Our Righteousness.

17 The LORD proclaims: David will always have one of his descendants sit on the throne of the house of Israel.

18 And the levitical priests will always have someone in my presence to make entirely burned offerings and grain offerings, and to present sacrifices.

19 Then the LORD's word came to Jeremiah:

20 This is what the LORD says: If one could break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night so that they wouldn't come at their proper time,

21 only then could my covenant with my servant David and my covenant with the levitical priests who minister before me be broken; only then would David no longer have a descendant to rule on his throne.

22 And just as the stars in the sky can't be numbered and the sand on the shore can't be counted, so I will increase the descendants of my servant David and the Levites who minister before me.

23 Then the LORD's word came to Jeremiah:

24 Aren't you aware of what people are saying: "The LORD has rejected the two families that he had chosen"? They are insulting my people as if they no longer belong to me.

25 The LORD proclaims: I would no sooner break my covenant with day and night or the laws of heaven and earth

26 than I would reject the descendants of Jacob and my servant David and his descendants as rulers for the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will restore the captives and have compassion on them. Lessons on obedience and disobedience

34

1 Jeremiah received the LORD's word when Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar and his army, and all the countries and people he ruled, were attacking Jerusalem and all its towns.

2 The LORD, the God of Israel, proclaims, Go and speak to Judah's King Zedekiah and say to him: The LORD proclaims, I'm handing this city over to the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down.

3 You won't escape but will be captured and handed over to him. You will see the king of Babylon with your very own eyes and speak to him personally, and you will be taken to Babylon.

4 Even so, hear the LORD's word, King Zedekiah of Judah: This is what the LORD proclaims about you: You won't die in battle;

5 you will die a peaceful death. As burial incense was burned to honor your ancestors, the kings who came before you, so it will be burned to honor you as people mourn, "Oh, master!" I myself promise this, declares the LORD.

6 The prophet Jeremiah delivered this message to Judah's King Zedekiah in Jerusalem

7 when the army of the king of Babylon was attacking Jerusalem and all the remaining Judean towns, Lachish and Azekah--the only fortified towns still standing in Judah.

8 Jeremiah received the LORD's word after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim liberty for their slaves:

9 everyone was to free their male and female Hebrew slaves and no longer hold a Judean brother or sister in bondage.

10 So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed to free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage; they obeyed the king's command and let them go.

11 But afterward they broke their promise, took back the men and women they had freed, and enslaved them again.

12 Then the LORD's word came to Jeremiah:

13 The LORD, the God of Israel, proclaims: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

14 I said that every seventh year each of you must free any Hebrews who have been sold to you. After they have served you for six years, you must set them free. But your ancestors didn't obey or pay any attention to me.

15 Recently you turned about and did what was right in my sight; each of you proclaimed liberty for the other and made a covenant before me in the temple that bears my name.

16 But then you went back on your word and made my name impure; each of you reclaimed the men and women you had set free and forced them to be your slaves again.

17 Therefore, the LORD proclaims: Since you have defied me by not setting your fellow citizens free, I'm setting you free, declares the LORD, free to die by the sword, disease, and famine! And I will make you an object of horror for all nations on earth.

18 I will make those who disregarded my covenant, violating its terms that they agreed to in my presence, like the calf they cut in two and then walked between the halves of its carcass.

19 The officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the eunuchs and priests, and all the people who passed through the pieces of the calf

20 I will hand over to their enemies who seek to kill them. And their corpses will become food for birds and wild animals.

21 I will hand over Judah's King Zedekiah and his officials to their enemies who seek to kill them: namely, the army of Babylon's king, which has just withdrawn from you.

22 I'm about to issue orders, declares the LORD, that the army of Babylon return to this city. They will wage war against it, capture it, and burn it down along with other Judean cities. I will make Judah a wasteland, without inhabitants.n

35

1 Jeremiah received the LORD's word during the rule of Judah's King Jehoiakim, Josiah's son:

2 Go to the Rechabite family and invite them to come to one of the rooms of the LORD's temple. When they arrive, offer them some wine to drink.

3 So I took Jaazaniah, Jeremiah's son and Habazziniah's grandson, and his brothers and all his sons, and the whole Rechabite family.

4 I brought them to the room in the LORD's temple assigned to the sons of Hanan, Igdaliah's son, the man of God. The room was next to the one used by the chief officers and right above the room of Maaseiah, Shallum's son, the temple doorkeeper.

5 Then I set bowls full of wine before the Rechabites, along with several cups, and I said to them, "Have some."

6 But they refused: "We don't drink wine because our ancestor Jonadab, Rechab's son, commanded us, 'You and your children are never to drink wine;

7 nor are you to build or own houses or plant gardens and vineyards; rather, you are always to dwell in tents so you may live a long time in the fertile land you pass through.'

8 We have obeyed everything our ancestor Jonadab, Rechab's son, commanded us. No one in our household, including our wives and children, has ever had wine.

9 And we haven't built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields, or crops.

10 We have lived in tents and done everything our ancestor Jonadab commanded us.

11 But when Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar invaded the country, we said, 'We better go to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian and Aramean armies.' That's why we're here in Jerusalem."

12 Then the LORD's word came to Jeremiah:

13 The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Go and tell the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem: Can't you learn a lesson about what it means to obey me? declares the LORD.

14 Jonadab, Rechab's son, commanded his descendants not to drink wine, and to this very day they have not drunk wine, obeying their ancestor's instruction. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you haven't listened to me.

15 I have sent you all my servants, the prophets, time and again, saying, "Each of you, turn from your evil ways and reform your actions; don't worship or serve other gods. Then you may live in the fertile land I gave to you and your ancestors." But you haven't paid attention or listened to me.

16 The descendants of Jonadab, Rechab's son, have thoroughly obeyed their ancestor, but this people have not listened to me.

17 Therefore, this is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, says: I'm going to bring upon the people of Judah and all those who live in Jerusalem the disaster I pronounced against them, because they wouldn't listen to me or respond when I called.

18 Then Jeremiah said to the Rechabite family: The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Because you have obeyed all Jonadab's instructions and you have done everything he commanded you,

19 the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel proclaims: Jonadab, Rechab's son, will always have a descendant that stands before me. Enduring word of God

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1 In the fourth year of Judah's King Jehoiakim, Josiah's son, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

2 Take a scroll and write in it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah, and all the nations from the time of Josiah until today.

3 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I intend to bring upon them, they will turn from their evil ways, and I will forgive their wrongdoing and sins.

4 So Jeremiah sent for Baruch, Neriah's son. As Jeremiah dictated all the words that the LORD had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them in the scroll.

5 Then Jeremiah told Baruch, "I'm confined here and can't go to the LORD's temple.

6 So you go to the temple on the next day of fasting, and read the LORD's words from the scroll that I have dictated to you. Read them so that all the people in the temple can hear them, as well as all the Judeans who have come from their towns.

7 If they turn from their evil ways, perhaps the LORD will hear their prayers. The LORD has threatened them with fierce anger."

8 Baruch, Neriah's son, did everything the prophet Jeremiah instructed him: he read all the LORD's words from the scroll in the temple.

9 In the ninth month of the fifth year of Judah's King Jehoiakim, Josiah's son, all the people in Jerusalem and all those who had come from Judean towns observed a fast for the LORD in Jerusalem.

10 Then Baruch read Jeremiah's words from the scroll to all the people in the LORD's temple; he read them in the chamber of Gemariah, Shaphan the scribe's son, in the upper courtyard near the entrance of the New Gate of the LORD's temple.

11 When Micaiah, Gemariah's son and Shaphan's grandson, heard all the LORD's words from the scroll,

12 he went down to the scribes' chamber in the royal palace. There he found all the officials meeting together: Elishama the scribe; Delaiah, Shemaiah's son; Elnathan, Achbor's son; Gemariah, Shaphan's son; Zedekiah, Hananiah's son, and all the other officials.

13 Micaiah told them all the words he heard Baruch read from the scroll before the people.

14 Then all the officials sent Jehudi, Nethaniah's son and Shelemiah's grandson, and Cushi's great-grandson, to Baruch: "Take the scroll you read to the people and come with me." So Baruch, Neriah's son, took the scroll and went to the officials.

15 They said to him, "Sit down and read it to us." So Baruch read it to them.

16 When they heard all its words, they were alarmed and said to Baruch: "We must at once report all this to the king!"

17 Then they asked Baruch, "Tell us, how did you write all these words? Did they come from Jeremiah?"

18 Baruch replied, "He dictated all the words to me, and I wrote them with ink in the scroll."

19 The officials then said to Baruch, "You and Jeremiah had better go and hide. And don't let anyone know where you are."

20 After leaving the scroll in the room of Elishama the scribe, they went to the king's court and told him everything.

21 The king sent Jehudi to take the scroll, and he retrieved it from the room of Elishama the scribe. Then Jehudi read it to the king and all his royal officials who were standing next to the king.

22 Now it was the ninth month, and the king was staying in the winterized part of the palace with the firepot burning near him.

23 And whenever Jehudi read three or four columns of the scroll, the king would cut them off with a scribe's knife and throw them into the firepot until the whole scroll was burned up.

24 Neither the king nor any of his attendants who heard all these words were alarmed or tore their clothes.

25 Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, but he wouldn't listen to them.

26 The king commanded Jerahmeel, the king's son, along with Seraiah, Azriel's son, and Shelemiah, Abdeel's son, to arrest the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah. But the LORD hid them.

27 The LORD's word came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll containing the words written by Baruch at Jeremiah's dictation:

28 Get another scroll and write in it all the words that were in the first scroll that Judah's King Jehoiakim burned.

29 Then say to Judah's King Jehoiakim: The LORD proclaims: You burned that scroll because it declared that the king of Babylon will come and destroy this land and eliminate every sign of life from it.

30 Therefore, this is what the LORD proclaims about Judah's King Jehoiakim: He won't have any heirs to occupy the throne of David, and his dead body will be cast out and exposed to the heat of the day and the frost of the night.

31 I will punish him and his family and his attendants for their wrongdoing. I will bring upon them, as well as the residents of Jerusalem and the people of Judah, every disaster I pronounced against them. But they wouldn't listen.

32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch, Neriah's son, who wrote at Jeremiah's dictation all the words in the scroll burned in the fire by Judah's King Jehoiakim. Many similar words were added to them. Jeremiah falsely accused and imprisoned

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1 Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar appointed Zedekiah, Josiah's son, to succeed Coniah, Jehoiakim's son, as king of Judah.

2 Neither Zedekiah, his attendants, nor the people of the land listened to the LORD's words spoken by the prophet Jeremiah.

3 Nevertheless, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal, Shelemiah's son, and the priest Zephaniah, Maaseiah's son, to Jeremiah the prophet with this plea: "Please pray for us to the LORD our God." (

4 Now Jeremiah hadn't been imprisoned yet, so he was free to come and go among the people.

5 Pharaoh's army had recently set out from Egypt; when the Babylonians who were attacking Jerusalem learned of the Egyptian advance, they withdrew from Jerusalem.)

6 Then the LORD's word came to Jeremiah the prophet:

7 The LORD, the God of Israel, proclaims: Tell the king of Judah who sent his emissaries to seek advice from me: "Pharaoh's army that came to assist you is heading back to Egypt.

8 The Babylonians will return and attack this city. They will capture it and burn it down."

9 The LORD proclaims: Don't let yourself be deceived into thinking that the Babylonians will withdraw for good. They won't!

10 Even if you were to crush the entire Babylonian army that's attacking you and only the wounded in their tents remained, they would rise up and burn this city down.

11 Now when the Babylonian army had withdrawn from Jerusalem due to Pharaoh's advance,

12 Jeremiah set out for the land of Benjamin to secure his share of the family property.

13 He got as far as the Benjamin Gate in Jerusalem when the guard there named Irijah, Shelemiah's son and Hananiah's grandson, arrested the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "You are deserting to the Babylonians."

14 "That's a lie," Jeremiah replied. "I'm not deserting to the Babylonians." But Irijah wouldn't listen to him. He arrested Jeremiah and brought him to the officials,

15 who were furious with him. They beat him and threw him into the house of the scribe Jonathan, which had been turned into a prison.

16 So Jeremiah was put in a cistern, which was like a dungeon, where he remained a long time.

17 Later King Zedekiah sent for him and questioned Jeremiah secretly in the palace: "Is there a word from the LORD?" "There is," Jeremiah replied. "You are going to be handed over to the king of Babylon."

18 Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, "What have I done wrong to you or your attendants or this people that you should throw me into prison?

19 Where are your prophets now who prophesied that the king of Babylon wouldn't attack you and this land?

20 Now, my master and king, I beg you, don't send me back to the house of Jonathan the scribe, or I'll die there."

21 So King Zedekiah gave orders that Jeremiah be held in the prison quarters and that he receive a loaf of bread daily from the street vendors --until all the bread in the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in the prison quarters.n

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1 Shephatiah, Mattan's son; Gedaliah, Pashhur's son; Jucal, Shelemiah's son; and Pashhur, Malchiah's son heard what Jeremiah had been telling the people:

2 The LORD proclaims: Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and disease. But whoever surrenders to the Babylonians will live; yes, their lives will be spared.

3 The LORD proclaims: This city will certainly be handed over to the army of Babylon's king, who will capture it.

4 Then the officials said to the king: "This man must be put to death! By saying such things, he is discouraging the few remaining troops left in the city, as well as all the people. This man doesn't seek their welfare but their ruin!"

5 "He's in your hands," King Zedekiah said, "for the king can do nothing to stop you."

6 So they seized Jeremiah, threw him into the cistern of the royal prince Malchiah, within the prison quarters, and lowered him down by ropes. Now there wasn't any water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah began to sink into the mud.

7 Ebed-melech the Cushite, a court official in the royal palace, got word that they had thrown Jeremiah into the cistern. Since the king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate,

8 Ebed-melech left the palace and said to the king:

9 "My master the king, these men have made a terrible mistake in treating the prophet Jeremiah the way they have; they have thrown him into the cistern where he will die of starvation, for there's no bread left in the city."

10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Cushite, "Take thirty men from here and take Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies."

11 So Ebed-melech took the men and returned to the palace, to an underground supply room, where he found some old rags and scraps of clothing. Ebed-melech lowered them down the cistern by the ropes

12 and called to Jeremiah, "Put these old rags and scraps of clothing under your arms and hold on to the ropes." When Jeremiah did this,

13 they pulled him up by the ropes and got him out of the cistern. After that Jeremiah remained in the prison quarters.

14 King Zedekiah ordered that the prophet Jeremiah be brought to him at the third entrance of the LORD's temple, where the king said to Jeremiah, "I want to ask you something, and don't hide anything from me."

15 Jeremiah replied, "If I do, you'll kill me! And if I tell you what to do, you won't listen to me!"

16 So King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah behind closed doors, "As the LORD lives, who has given us this life, I won't put you to death and I won't hand you over to those who seek to kill you."

17 So Jeremiah said to Zedekiah: "The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: If you surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, you and your family will live, and this city will not be burned down.

18 If you don't surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, the city will be handed over to the Babylonians, who will burn it down, and you won't escape from them."

19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I'm afraid that I will fall into the hands of the Judeans who have defected to the Babylonians, and they will torture me."

20 "That won't happen," Jeremiah replied, "if you obey the LORD, whose message I bring. You will survive, and all will go well for you.

21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the LORD has shown me:

22 All the women left in the palace of the king of Judah will be led out to the officers of the king of Babylon. And they will say: ,'Your trusted friends have betrayed you; they have deceived you; now that your feet are stuck in the mud, they are nowhere to be found.'

23 "All your wives and children will be led out to the Babylonians, and you yourself won't escape from them. The king of Babylon will capture you, and this city will be burned down."

24 Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "No one is to know about these matters or else you will die.

25 If the officials find out that we met, and they come and say to you, 'Tell us what you said to the king. Don't hide anything from us; otherwise, we'll kill you. So what did the king say to you?'

26 you should say to them, 'I was begging the king not to send me back to the house of Jonathan to die there.'"

27 Then all the officials approached Jeremiah to question him. And he responded exactly as the king had instructed him. So they stopped interrogating him because the conversation between the king and Jeremiah hadn't been overheard.

28 Jeremiah remained in the prison quarters until Jerusalem was captured. Fall of Jerusalem

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1 In the ninth year and the tenth month of Judah's King Zedekiah, Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar and his entire army came against Jerusalem and surrounded it.

2 In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, on the ninth day of the fourth month, they broke through the city walls.

3 Then all the commanding officers of the king of Babylon--Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim the chief officer, Nergal-sharezer the field commander--entered it and took their places at the middle gate with the rest of the officials of the king of Babylon.

4 When Judah's King Zedekiah and his troops saw them, they tried to escape at night through the royal gardens and the gate between the two walls, toward the desert plain.

5 But the Babylonian army chased them down and caught Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. They arrested him and brought him before Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There the king put him on trial.

6 The king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah's children at Riblah before his very own eyes, and the king of Babylon slaughtered all the officials of Judah.

7 Then he gouged out Zedekiah's eyes, bound him in chains, and dragged him off to Babylon.

8 The Babylonians burned down the royal palace and the houses of the people, and they destroyed the Jerusalem walls.

9 Nebuzaradan the captain of the special guard rounded up the rest of the people who were left in the city, including those who had defected to the Babylonians, and deported them to Babylon.

10 But Nebuzaradan the captain of the special guard left some of the poorest people in the land of Judah. He gave them vineyards and fields at that time.

11 Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar gave orders concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the captain of the special guard:

12 "Find Jeremiah and look after him; don't harm him but do whatever he asks from you."

13 So Nebuzaradan the captain of the special guard, Nebushazban the chief officer, Nergal-sharezer the field commander, and all the commanders of the king of Babylon

14 sent orders to release Jeremiah from the prison quarters. They entrusted him to Gedaliah, Ahikam's son and Shaphan's grandson, so that Jeremiah could move about freely among the people.

15 The LORD's word came to Jeremiah when he was still confined to the prison quarters:

16 Go and say to Ebed-melech the Cushite that the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: I'm about to fulfill my words concerning this city, for harm and not for good. You will witness it for yourself on that day.

17 But on that day, declares the LORD: ,I will rescue you; you won't be handed over to those you dread.

18 I will defend you; you won't die in battle. You will escape with your life, because you have trusted in me, declares the LORD. Jeremiah's release

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1 Jeremiah received the LORD's word after Nebuzaradan the captain of the special guard had released him from Ramah. He had been bound in chains there along with all the other detainees from Jerusalem and Judah who were being sent off to Babylon.

2 The captain of the special guard located Jeremiah and said to him, "The LORD your God declared that a great disaster would overtake this place.

3 Now the LORD has made it happen. He has done just as he warned because all of you have sinned against the LORD and haven't obeyed him. That's why this has happened to you.

4 But I'm setting you free from the chains on your hands. If you would like, come with me to Babylon, and I'll take care of you. If you would rather not come with me, that's fine too. Now, the whole land lies before you; go wherever you want.

5 If you decide to remain here, stay with Gedaliah, Ahikam's son and Shaphan's grandson--the Babylonian appointee in charge of the cities of Judah. Stay with him and the people he rules or go wherever you want." Then the captain of the special guard gave him ample provisions and let him go.

6 Jeremiah went to Gedaliah, Ahikam's son at Mizpah, and he stayed with him and the people who remained in the land. Gedaliah's provisional government

7 Some of the army officers and their troops were still hiding out in the countryside when they heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, Ahikam's son, over the region, responsible for the men, women, and children who were the poorest in the land and who hadn't been deported to Babylon.

8 So they went out to meet Gedaliah at Mizpah: Ishmael, Nethaniah's son; Johanan and Jonathan, Kareah's sons; Seraiah son of Tanhumeth; the sons of Ephai the Netophathite; Jezaniah son of the Maacathite; and their troops.

9 Gedaliah, Ahikam's son and Shaphan's grandson, firmly assured them all: "Don't be afraid of serving the Babylonians. Remain in the land, serve the king of Babylon, and all will go well for you.

10 But me? I will stay at Mizpah so I can speak on your behalf when the Babylonians arrive. But you? Settle down in the towns you have taken; harvest the grapes, the summer fruits and figs, and then store them in your containers."

11 In the same way, all the Judeans living in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and in other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a few people in the land and that he had put Gedaliah, Ahikam's son and Shaphan's grandson, in charge of them.

12 So they left the places where they had been scattered and returned to the land, to Gedaliah at Mizpah. There they gathered large amounts of grapes and summer fruits.

13 Johanan, Kareah's son, and all the army officers in the countryside approached Gedaliah at Mizpah

14 and said to him, "Are you aware that King Baalis of Ammon has sent Ishmael, Nethaniah's son, to kill you?" But Gedaliah, Ahikam's son, wouldn't believe them.

15 Still Johanan, Kareah's son, met with Gedaliah secretly at Mizpah and said to him, "Let me go and kill Ishmael, Nethaniah's son; no one needs to knows about this matter. Otherwise, he'll kill you, and all the Judeans who have gathered around you will be scattered, and the few who are left will perish."

16 But Gedaliah son of Ahikam told Johanan, Kareah's son, "Don't do such a thing, for what you are saying about Ishmael is wrong." Mutiny and murder

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1 In the seventh month, Ishmael, Nethaniah's son and Elishama's grandson, who was from a royal family and who was one of the chief officers of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah, Ahikam's son, at Mizpah. While they were eating a meal together,

2 Ishmael, Nethaniah's son, and the ten men got up and struck down Gedaliah, Ahikam's son and Shaphan's grandson, with the sword. They murdered him because he had been appointed over the region by the king of Babylon.

3 Ishmael also murdered all the Judeans who had rallied around Gedaliah at Mizpah as well as the Babylonian soldiers who were posted there.

4 The day after Gedaliah was killed, before anyone knew of it,

5 eighty men with shaved beards, torn clothes, and gashed bodies arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. They were bringing grain offerings and incense to present at the LORD's temple.

6 Ishmael, Nethaniah's son, left Mizpah to meet them, weeping as he went. When he reached them, he said, "Come to Gedaliah, Ahikam's son!"

7 When they arrived in the middle of the town, Ishmael, Nethaniah's son, and the men with him slaughtered them and threw their bodies into a cistern.

8 But there were ten men among them who begged Ishmael, "Don't kill us; we have wheat, barley, oil, and honey hidden in a field." So he stopped and didn't kill them along with the rest. (

9 Now the cistern that Ishmael used to discard the bodies of the men he had killed because of their association with Gedaliah was the one that King Asa had made to defend against Israel's King Baasha. Ishmael, Nethaniah's son, filled it with the dead.)

10 Ishmael captured the rest of the people who were at Mizpah, including the daughters of the king and all those assigned to Gedaliah, Ahikam's son, at Mizpah by Nebuzaradan the captain of the special guard. Then Ishmael, Nethaniah's son, set out to cross over to the Ammonites with the hostages.

11 Johanan, Kareah's son, and all the army officers at his side heard of the terrible acts committed by Ishmael, Nethaniah's son.

12 So they mustered all their forces and went to fight him. They found Ishmael, Nethaniah's son, at the great pool in Gibeon.

13 When all those taken by Ishmael at Mizpah saw Johanan, Kareah's son, and all his army officers with him, they were delighted.

14 They rallied around Johanan, Kareah's son, and returned home with him.

15 But Ishmael, Nethaniah's son, and eight of his men eluded Johanan and went to the Ammonites.

16 Then Johanan, Kareah's son, and all the army officers with him took the small group they had rescued in Gibeon, including the soldiers, women, children, and commanding officers that Ishmael, Nethaniah's son, had captured at Mizpah after killing Gedaliah, Ahikam's son.

17 They set out for Egypt, stopping on the way at Geruth Chimham near Bethlehem,

18 because they were afraid of what the Babylonians would do when they found out that Ishmael, Nethaniah's son, had killed Gedaliah, Ahikam's son, whom the king of Babylon had appointed over the region. Don't go to Egypt!

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1 Then all the army officers, including Johanan, Kareah's son, and Jezaniah, Hoshaiah's son, and the rest of the people, from the least to the greatest, approached

2 Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, "We have something to ask you: Please pray to the LORD your God for us, this small group, for as you can see we were once many but now are very few.

3 May the LORD your God show us where we should go and what we should do."

4 The prophet Jeremiah replied, "Yes, I'll pray to the LORD your God as you have asked. And I'll tell you whatever the LORD says; I won't hide anything from you."

5 Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we fail to do everything that the LORD your God tells us through you.

6 Whether we like it or not, we will obey all that the LORD our God says. We will obey the LORD our God, to whom we're sending you, so it may go well for us."

7 Ten days later Jeremiah received the LORD's word.

8 So he called Johanan, Kareah's son, and all the army officers with him and the rest of the people, from the least to the greatest,

9 and he said to them: You have sent me to present your plea to the LORD, and this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says:

10 If you live in this land, I will build you up and not pull you down. I will plant you and not dig you up because I grieve over the disaster I have brought upon you.

11 You don't have to be afraid of the king of Babylon, whom you now fear. You don't have to be afraid of him anymore, declares the LORD, for I will be with you to save you and rescue you from his hand.

12 I will be merciful to you, and he will be merciful and return you to your land.

13 But if you say, "We won't live in this land," you will disobey the LORD your God.

14 And if you insist, "No, we're going to live in Egypt, where there's no war, battle alarms, or hunger, and there we will stay,"

15 then listen to the LORD's word, you remaining Judeans. The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: If you are determined to go to Egypt and you then go and live there,

16 then the war you fear will seize you in the land of Egypt; and the famine you dread will hunt you down in Egypt, and there you will die.

17 Every one of you who is determined to go and live in Egypt will die by the sword, famine, and disease. No one will escape the disaster that I will bring upon them there.

18 The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Just as my fierce anger was poured out on the people of Jerusalem, so it will be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an object of cursing, scorn, shock, and disgrace. And you will never see this place again.

19 You who survive from Judah, the LORD has told you: Don't go to Egypt. Know without a doubt that I have warned you this day.

20 You are putting your lives at risk by sending me to the LORD your God, saying, "Pray for us to the LORD our God; tell us everything the LORD our God says, and we'll do it."

21 Today I have told you, but you still haven't obeyed all that the LORD your God has sent me to tell you.

22 So know without a doubt that you will die by war, famine, and disease in the place you yearn to go and live. Off to Egypt with Jeremiah and Baruch

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1 When Jeremiah finished telling the people all the words of the LORD their God--he didn't omit anything the LORD sent him to convey--

2 Azariah, Hoshaiah's son, and Johanan, Kareah's son, and all the arrogant men said to Jeremiah, "You're lying to us! The LORD our God didn't send you to tell us not to go to Egypt to live.

3 It's Baruch, Neriah's son, who put you up to it so that we end up in the hands of the Babylonians, who will either kill us or deport us to Babylon."

4 So Johanan, Kareah's son, and all the army officers and the rest of the people disobeyed the LORD's command to stay in the land of Judah.

5 Johanan, Kareah's son, and all the army officers took the remaining Judeans who had returned to the land of Judah after being scattered among the nations--

6 men, women, children, the king's daughters, everyone Nebuzaradan the captain of the special guard had left with Gedaliah, Ahikam's son and Shaphan's grandson, including Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch, Neriah's son.

7 They went to the land of Egypt, as far as Tahpanhes, for they wouldn't obey the LORD.

8 The LORD's word came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes:

9 Take some large stones and set them in the clay pavement in front of Pharaoh's palace in Tahpanhes while the people of Judah are watching.

10 After that, say to the people: The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: I'm sending for my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who will set his throne over these stones and will spread his canopy over them.

11 He will come and ravage the land of Egypt: ,those marked for disaster, to disaster, and those marked for exile, to exile. and those marked for war, to war.

12 He will set on fire the temples of the Egyptian gods. He will burn them down and carry off their gods. He will wrap the land of Egypt around himself, just as a shepherd wraps his garment around himself, and he will move on unharmed.

13 He will shatter the sacred pillars in the temple of the sun in Egypt and burn down the temples of the Egyptian gods. Jeremiah's final words to Judeans in Egypt

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1 Jeremiah received the LORD's word for the Judeans living in the land of Egypt, those living in Migdol, Tahpanhes, and Memphis and in the land of Pathros.

2 The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: You have seen the disaster I brought on Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. They are now a wasteland with no one left

3 because of their evil ways. They have angered me by making offerings and worshipping other gods that neither they nor you nor your ancestors knew.

4 Yet time and again I sent you all my servants the prophets, saying, "Don't do these detestable things that I hate."

5 But they wouldn't listen or pay attention or turn from their evil ways. They continued making offerings to other gods.

6 So my fierce anger poured out and blazed against the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. And they were reduced to an utter wasteland, as they are today.

7 Now the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: Why are you committing this huge mistake that will cost you your lives? Every man, woman, child, and infant will be eliminated from the midst of Judah, and no one will be left.

8 Why do you anger me by what you do: by burning incense to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to live? You will be eliminated and become an object of cursing and disgrace among all the nations of the earth.

9 Have you forgotten the sins of your ancestors and the sins of the kings of Judah and their wives? Have you forgotten the sins that you and your wives committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

10 To this day you haven't shown any sorrow for what you have done. And you haven't revered me or followed my Instruction and my laws that I set before you and your ancestors.

11 Therefore, the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: I'm determined to bring disaster on you, to eliminate all of Judah.

12 I will take the few remaining Judeans who were determined to go to the land of Egypt to live. They will all perish there. They will fall by the sword and perish due to famine. The least to the greatest will die by the sword and by famine. They will become an object of cursing, scorn, contempt, and disgrace.

13 I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem with war, famine, and disease.

14 From the few remaining in Judah, no fugitive or survivor who came to live here in the land of Egypt will be able to return to the land of Judah. Even though they want to return and live there, they won't be able to return, except for some fugitives.

15 Then all the men who knew that their wives had made offerings to other gods, along with the great crowd of women who were present, as well as the people living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, all answered Jeremiah:

16 "We're not going to listen to a word you have said to us in the LORD's name!

17 No, we're going to do exactly what we want: We're going to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her, as we and our ancestors, our kings and our officials, have done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. Then we had plenty to eat and we were thriving; we didn't have any troubles.

18 But ever since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring drink offerings to her, we have been destroyed by the sword and by famine."

19 And the women added, "Do you think that we burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour drink offerings to her without our husbands' support when we make cakes in her image and pour drink offerings to her?"

20 Jeremiah said to all the people, men and women alike, in fact everyone who had spoken this way:

21 "Do you really think the LORD was unaware of what you were up to in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem? Don't you think the LORD knew that you and your ancestors were making offerings to other gods --along with your kings and officials, and the people of the land?

22 It got so bad that the LORD could no longer bear your evil and shameless acts; it was at that point that your land was reduced to an utter wasteland and a curse, as it is today.

23 The current dire situation occurred because you made offerings to other gods and sinned against the LORD--because you wouldn't obey the LORD or follow the LORD's instruction, laws, or warnings."

24 Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including the women: Listen to the LORD's word, all you Judeans in the land of Egypt.

25 The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: You and your wives have done exactly what you said you would do. You said, "We will definitely fulfill our promise to burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her." Go ahead and keep your promises!

26 But listen to the LORD's word, all you Judeans who live in the land of Egypt. I swear by my great name, says the LORD, that no one from Judah living in Egypt will utter my name again, even in the solemn pledge: "As surely as the LORD God lives."

27 I'm watching over them for harm and not for good. Everyone from Judah who is living in the land of Egypt will die by the sword and by famine, until all are gone.

28 Those who actually survive war and return from Egypt to the land of Judah will be very few. Then the few remaining Judeans living in Egypt will know for certain whose word is true--mine or theirs!

29 And this will be a sign for you, declares the LORD: I will punish you here so that you know my threats against you will surely be fulfilled.

30 The LORD proclaims: I will hand Pharaoh Hophra, Egypt's king, over to his enemies who seek to kill him, just as I delivered Judah's King Zedekiah over to his enemy King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who sought to kill him. A final word for Baruch

45

1 In the fourth year of Judah's King Jehoiakim, Josiah's son, Baruch was writing in a scroll the words that Jeremiah was dictating to him. Jeremiah the prophet told Baruch, Neriah's son:

2 This is what the LORD the God of Israel proclaims about you, Baruch:

3 You have said, "I can't take it anymore! The LORD has added sorrow to my pain. I'm worn out from groaning and can find no rest."

4 This is what you should say to him: "The LORD proclaims: I'm breaking down everything I have built up. I'm digging up that which I have planted--the entire land.

5 You seek great things for yourself, but don't bother. I'm bringing disaster on all humanity, declares the LORD, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life." , CONCERNING THE NATIONS

46

1 This is what the LORD told the prophet Jeremiah concerning the nations. Prophecy against Egypt

2 About Egypt! A message for the army of Pharaoh Neco, Egypt's king, which was defeated by Babylon's Nebuchadnezzar at Carchemish near the Euphrates River in the fourth year of Judah's King Jehoiakim, Josiah's son:

3 Grab your shields and prepare for war!

4 Saddle the horses; mount the stallions! Take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears; put on your armor!

5 Why do I see them terrified, retreating in haste? Their soldiers are crushed, running for cover, and they don't turn back. Panic lurks at every turn, declares the LORD.

6 The swift can't flee; the mighty can't escape. Up north by the Euphrates River, they stagger and fall.

7 Who is this that rises like the Nile, whose banks overflow?

8 It's Egypt that rises like the Nile, whose banks overflow, who declares, "I will arise and cover the earth and destroy cities and inhabitants."

9 Charge, you horses; advance, you chariots! Attack, you soldiers with your shield in hand, you people of Cush and Put with your bow drawn, you archers from Lud.

10 But that day belongs to the LORD God of heavenly forces; it's a day of reckoning, settling scores with enemies. The sword will devour until it has had its fill of blood. The LORD God of heavenly forces is preparing a sacrifice in the north by the Euphrates River.

11 Go up to Gilead and seek balm, virgin Daughter Egypt. You search out remedies in vain, for your disease is incurable.

12 Nations hear of your shame; the earth is filled with your sobs. Soldier stumbles over soldier; together they go down.

13 This is the word that the LORD spoke to the prophet Jeremiah about the military offensive of Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar against the land of Egypt:

14 Tell Egypt, warn Migdol, alert Memphis and Tahpanhes! Say: "Brace yourselves for what's coming. War is breaking out from every side!"

15 Why have your mighty fallen? Why haven't they stood their ground? Because the LORD has struck them down.

16 He's tripped them up; they fall over each other and say, "Let's get out of here and go home to our people, where we were born, far away from the oppressor's sword."

17 There they call Pharaoh, Egypt's king, Loudmouth--Nothing But Hot Air!

18 As I live, declares the king, whose name is the LORD of heavenly forces, one is coming just as surely as Tabor is in the mountains and Carmel is by the sea.

19 Get what you need for deportation, you inhabitants of Egypt. Memphis will be reduced to a wasteland, a ruin with no one left.

20 Egypt is a beautiful, yes, beautiful heifer, but a horsefly from the north is coming to bite her.

21 Even her mercenaries are like well-fed calves; they too will retreat and run for cover; they won't survive. The day of disaster has come to haunt them, the time of their punishment.

22 Like the sound of a snake hissing as it slithers away is Egypt as armies approach in force; they come against her with axes, like woodcutters.

23 They destroy her dense forest, though it is vast, because they outnumber locusts and can't be counted, declares the LORD.

24 Daughter Egypt will be humiliated, handed over to people from the north.

25 This is what the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: I'm going to punish Amon of Thebes, Egypt and its gods and kings, as well as Pharaoh and all who rely on him.

26 I will hand them over to those who seek to kill them, namely Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar and his servants. But afterward Egypt will dwell like it did a long time ago, declares the LORD.

27 But don't be afraid, my servant Judah; don't lose heart, Israel. I will deliver you from a faraway place and your children from the land of their exile. My people Jacob will again be safe and sound, with no one harassing them.

28 So don't be afraid, my servant Jacob, declares the LORD. I'm with you; I will put an end to all the nations where I have scattered you. But I won't put an end to you. I won't let you avoid punishment; I will discipline you as you deserve. Prophecy against Philistia

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1 The LORD's word to the prophet Jeremiah concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh conquered Gaza.

2 The LORD proclaims: Waters are rising from the north and turning into a raging flood. They will engulf the land and everything in it, the towns and those living in them. The people cry out; all who live there scream.

3 At the pounding of the stallions' hooves, at the deafening roar of the chariots' wheels, parents abandon children, so paralyzed are they with fear.

4 Because the time is coming for the Philistines' destruction, for cutting off from Tyre and Sidon anyone who might try to save Gaza, because the LORD will destroy the Philistines, the few left from the island of Caphtor.

5 Mourning will come upon Gaza; silence will cover Ashkelon, the few left in their valley. How long will you gash yourselves in grief?

6 You sword of the LORD, how long until you are silent? Return to your sheath; rest and be still!

7 How can you be silent when the LORD has directed you to attack Ashkelon and the coast line? Prophecy against Moab

48

1 Concerning Moab: ,The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: How awful for Nebo; it lies in ruins. Kirathaim is captured and shamed; the fortress is disgraced, reduced to rubble.

2 No one sings Moab's praise any longer! In Heshbon they are hatching a plot against her: "Come, let's bring down the nation!" You too, madmen, will be silenced; the sword will pursue you.

3 Listen to the cries for help from Horonaim: "Destruction and massive devastation!"

4 Moab is shattered; its young cry for help.

5 On the way up to Luhith, there is uncontrollable weeping. On the way down to Horonaim, they hear sobs of anguish.

6 Run for your lives! Be like Aroer in the desert.

7 Because you have relied on your own strength and treasures, you also will be captured. Chemosh will go into exile, together with his priests and officials.

8 The destroyer will sweep through every town; no town will escape. The valleys will be ravaged; the plateaus will be destroyed, because the LORD has declared it so.

9 Give wings to Moab, and it would fly away because its towns lie in ruins, with no one left in them.

10 Cursed is the one who is halfhearted in doing the LORD's work. Cursed is the one who restrains the sword from bloodshed.

11 From early on Moab has been at ease, like wine left to settle on its sediment. It hasn't been poured into jars; nor has Moab been taken into exile. Therefore, its taste is still pleasant, and its aroma is the same.

12 But the time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will send to him someone to spill it--to pour out his wine and to smash his jars.

13 And Moab will be put to shame on account of Chemosh, just as the people of Israel were put to shame on account of Bethel, in which they trusted.

14 How can you claim, "We're soldiers; we're war heroes"?

15 Moab is doomed; its towns will surrender; its elite forces will go down in defeat, declares the king whose name is the LORD of heavenly forces.

16 Moab's destruction is near; its downfall approaches rapidly.

17 Grieve for this nation, you neighbors of Moab, all you who know his name. Proclaim how its mighty scepter and magnificent staff are shattered!

18 Come down from your lofty place and sit in the dust, you inhabitants of Daughter Dibon; because Moab's destroyer has arrived to level your fortresses.

19 Stand by the roads and watch, you inhabitants of Aroer. Ask the men who flee and the women who run off, "What's happened?"

20 Moab is shamed and shocked; weep and wail! Tell it by the Arnon River: Moab's been destroyed!

21 Judgment has come to the towns of the plateau-- to Holon, Jahzah, and Mephaath,

22 to Dibon, Nebo, and Beth-diblathaim,

23 to Kiriathaim, Beth-gamul, and Beth-meon,

24 to Kerioth and Bozrah, to all the towns of Moab, far and near.

25 Moab's horn is cut off; its arm is broken, declares the LORD.

26 Get Moab drunk, because it has exalted itself above the LORD. Moab will collapse in its vomit and become the butt of every joke.

27 Wasn't Israel the butt of your jokes? Didn't you shake your head as if they were thieves caught in the act?

28 Leave your towns, head for the cliffs, you people of Moab. Hide like a dove that nests in the mouth of a cave.

29 We have heard of Moab's pride: arrogant, puffed up, exalted, high and mighty, boastful!

30 I myself know about its arrogance, declares the LORD, the idle talk, the empty deeds.

31 But I'll still wail for Moab; I'll cry out for all Moab; I'll sob for the people of Kir-heres.

32 I'll weep for you, vine of Sibmah, more than I would for Jazer. Though your branches extended to the sea and reached the coast of Jazer, now the destroyer has come to harvest your grapes and summer fruits.

33 Joy and gladness have been taken from the orchards and farms of Moab. I have stopped making wine in the presses. No one shouts with joy while treading the grapes. Though there are shouts, they are not shouts of joy!

34 Screams are heard from Heshbon to Elealeh and Jahaz; their cries resound from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. Even the waters of Nimrim are dried up.

35 I'll put an end to Moab, declares the LORD, for making offerings on the shrines, and worshipping their gods.

36 Therefore, my heart wails for Moab like a mournful flute that plays the dirge; my heart wails for the people of Kir-heres, like a mournful flute. Their abundance is now gone.

37 Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off, every hand is slashed, and everyone wears mourning clothes.

38 On every housetop of Moab and in all its streets, there's nothing but mourning. I have shattered Moab like a pottery vessel no one wants, declares the LORD.

39 How it's shattered! Go wail! How Moab turns away! What shame! Moab has become the butt of every joke, horrific to all its neighbors.

40 The LORD proclaims: Look! One who soars like an eagle and spreads its wings over Moab.

41 The towns will be captured; the strongholds will be seized. On that day, the heart of every soldier from Moab will be like that of a woman in the throes of labor.

42 Moab will be destroyed once and for all because it has exalted itself above the LORD.

43 Terror, traps, and trackers are upon you, people of Moab, declares the LORD.

44 Those who flee from terror will fall into a pit; those who escape the pit will be captured by the trap. I will bring upon Moab the year of its punishment, declares the LORD.

45 In Heshbon tired refugees seek shelter. But fire is raging in Heshbon, flames from the house of Sihon. It has burned up part of Moab, including the leader of this rebellious nation.

46 How terrible for you, Moab; the people of Chemosh have perished. Your sons have been carried off; your daughters have been taken captive.

47 But in the days to come I'll bring back Moab from captivity, declares the LORD. Such is the judgment on Moab. Prophecy against the Ammonites

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1 Concerning the Ammonites, the LORD proclaims: ,Doesn't Israel have children? Aren't there heirs to his land? Why then has Milcom taken over Gad? Why have his people settled in its towns?

2 Therefore, the time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will sound the battle alarm against Rabbah, the capital city of the Ammonites. The city will be demolished, and its neighboring villages will be burned to the ground. Then Israel will repossess the land seized by its captors, says the LORD.

3 Weep, you people of Heshbon; Ai has been destroyed. Wail, you daughters of Rabbah; put on funeral clothing, cry your eyes out, run for shelter. Milcom will surely go into exile, together with his priests and ministers.

4 Why do you brag about your strength? Your strength is exhausted, you rebellious daughter. You trust in your treasures, never imagining who would attack you.

5 I'm the one who will terrify you from every side, declares the LORD of heavenly forces. Every one of you will be scattered about; no one will gather those who fled.

6 Afterward, though, I will bring back the Ammonites from captivity, declares the LORD. Prophecy against Edom

7 Concerning Edom, the LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Is wisdom no longer in Teman? Has good sense vanished from the perceptive? Are they no longer wise?

8 Turn, flee, and run for cover, you inhabitants of Dedan. I'm bringing disaster on Esau: its day of reckoning.

9 If workers would come to you to pick grapes, they would at least leave a few on the vine. If thieves would come in the night, they would take only what they needed.

10 But me? I will strip Esau bare. I will expose his hiding places, and he will find no place to take cover. His offspring, family, and acquaintances will perish, and there will be no one left to say,

11 "Leave me your orphans, and I'll look after them; trust your widows into my care."

12 The LORD proclaims: If the innocent must drink the cup, why do you expect to escape punishment? You won't! You will drink it!

13 I myself swear, declares the LORD, that Bozrah will become an object of horror and scorn, a wasteland and a curse. And all of its towns will lie in ruins forever.

14 I have heard a report from the LORD that a messenger is sent among the nations: Join forces and come against her; prepare for war!

15 I'm about to cut you down to size before the nations; you will be scorned by everyone.

16 The terror you have inflicted on others has deceived you, as has your own pride. Though you live in a fortress and occupy the high ground; though you nest on high like the eagles, I will bring you down, declares the LORD.

17 Then Edom will become a wasteland. All who pass by will be shocked by its injuries.

18 It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and their surrounding towns, says the LORD. No one will live there; no human will dwell in it.

19 Like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan to a well-watered meadow, so I will suddenly chase down Edom and single out its choicest of rams. Who is like me? Who can direct me? What shepherd can withstand me?

20 Therefore, listen to the counsel that the LORD has for Edom and the plans he's devised against the people of Teman: The little ones of the flock will be dragged off, as their pasture watches in utter disbelief.

21 The earth quakes as the Edomites go down; their screams echo as far as the Reed Sea.

22 Look! One who mounts up and soars like an eagle, who swoops down and spreads his wings over Bozrah. On that day, the heart of every soldier from Edom will be like that of a woman in the throes of labor. Prophecy against Damascus

23 Concerning Damascus: Hamath and Arpad lose heart when they hear the bad news. They are trembling with fear, like the raging sea, which can't become quiet.

24 Damascus staggers about; she tries to flee, but panic overwhelms her. She's gripped by anguish and pain, like a woman in labor.

25 Forsaken is the renowned city, city of my delight.

26 Yes, her young men will fall in the streets, and her soldiers will be silent on that day, declares the LORD of heavenly forces.

27 I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will burn up the fortresses of Ben-hadad. Prophecy against Kedar and Hazor

28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar defeated, the LORD proclaims: ,Get ready to attack Kedar; destroy the people from the east!

29 Seize their tents and their flocks, their belongings and all their goods. Take off with their camels and shout as you go: "Panic Lurks Everywhere!"

30 Run away; take cover, you people of Hazor, declares the LORD. Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar has taken counsel and devised a plan against you.

31 Get ready to attack a nation that feels safe and secure, declares the LORD, one without barred gates that lives by itself.

32 Their camels will become plunder; their many cattle will be pillaged. I will scatter to the winds those who are clean-shaven, and I will bring disaster on them from every side, declares the LORD.

33 Hazor will become a den for wild dogs, a wilderness forever. No one will live there; no human will dwell in it. Prophecy against Elam

34 This is what the LORD told the prophet Jeremiah concerning Elam at the beginning of the rule of Judah's King Zedekiah.

35 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: ,I'm going to break the bow of Elam, the backbone of its military might.

36 I will bring against Elam four winds from the four corners of heaven, and I will scatter them to the winds. Those banished from Elam will migrate to every nation.

37 I will terrify Elam before their enemies, before those who seek to kill them. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, declares the LORD. I will send the sword to attack them until I have destroyed them all.

38 I will establish my rule in Elam and dispose of its king and officials, declares the LORD.

39 But in the days to come I will bring back the captives of Elam, declares the LORD. Prophecy against Babylon

50

1 This is what the LORD said concerning Babylon and the land of the Babylonians through the prophet Jeremiah:

2 Tell the nations; proclaim it far and wide! Set up a flag; proclaim it far and wide! Hold nothing back; just shout it: "Babylon is captured; Bel is shamed; Marduk is panic-stricken. Her images are shamed; her idols are panic-stricken."

3 A nation from the north has risen up against her. It will decimate her land, and no one will live in it. Every living thing will flee.

4 In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, the people of Israel and Judah will come out of Babylon together; with weeping they will leave as they seek the LORD their God.

5 They will search for Zion, turning their faces toward it. They will come and unite with the LORD, in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.

6 My people were lost sheep; their shepherds led them astray; they deserted them on the mountains, where they wandered off among the hills, forgetting their resting place.

7 All who found them devoured them; and their attackers said, "It's not our fault, because they have sinned against the LORD, the true pasture, the hope of their ancestors--the LORD."

8 Now wander far from Babylon. Get out of that country. Like rams of the flock, lead the way home.

9 I'm stirring up against Babylon a coalition of mighty nations. It will mobilize in the north, and from there she will be captured. Their arrows are like those of an expert archer who does not return empty-handed.

10 Babylon will be defeated; its attackers will carry off all that they want, declares the LORD.

11 Sure, you gloat and rejoice, you plunderers of my possession. Sure, you dance around like a calf and neigh like a stallion.

12 But Mother Babylon will be humiliated; the one who bore you will be disgraced. She will become the least of the nations: a wilderness, a desert, and parched land.

13 Because of the LORD's anger, no one will live there; she will be reduced to total ruin. All who pass by Babylon will be shocked; they will gasp at all her injuries.

14 Take up your positions around Babylon, all you archers; now shoot at her; save none of your arrows, because she's sinned against the LORD.

15 Raise a victory shout against her on every side! She's surrendered; her towers have collapsed; her walls are destroyed. This is the LORD's retribution; now pay her back: do to her what she's done to others!

16 Cut Babylon off from those who plant and those who harvest the crops, because of its ruthless sword. Now return, all of you, to your people; flee to your homeland!

17 Israelites are scattered sheep, driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured them, and now Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar has ravaged them.

18 Therefore, the LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: ,I'm going to punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I punished the king of Assyria.

19 But I will restore Israel to their pasture; they will graze on Carmel and Bashan; they will eat their fill in the highlands of Ephraim and Gilead.

20 In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, if one searches for the sin of Israel, they will find nothing; if one seeks out the wrongdoing of Judah, they will look in vain. I will forgive those I have spared.

21 Attack the land of Merathaim; crush those living in Pekod. Ruin and destroy them, declares the LORD; do all I have commanded you.

22 There's the sound of war in the land and enormous devastation.

23 How the hammer of the whole earth has been broken and shattered into pieces! How Babylon has become a wasteland among the nations!

24 You set a trap for others, Babylon, but you yourself were caught in it unaware; you have been found and captured because you have defied the LORD.

25 The LORD has opened his arsenal and brought out his brutal weapons. The LORD God of heavenly forces has a job to do in the land of the Babylonians.

26 Come against her from every side; throw open her granaries; pile her up like stalks of grain; totally destroy her; leave nothing intact.

27 Destroy all her bulls; prepare them for slaughter. How terrible for them! Their time has come, the day of reckoning.

28 A voice of fugitives and refugees, from the land of Babylon, declaring in Zion the retribution of the LORD our God because of what has been done to his temple.

29 Send the archers against Babylon, all who draw the bow! Surround her and let no one escape. Pay her back for her deeds; do to her what she's done to others. She has acted arrogantly toward the LORD, the holy one of Israel!

30 Therefore, her soldiers will fall in the streets; all her warriors will be silenced on that day, declares the LORD.

31 I'm against you, you arrogant one! declares the LORD God of heavenly forces. Your day has come, your time of reckoning.

32 The arrogant one will stumble and fall, and no one will help her up. I'll set your cities on fire, and it will consume all that's around her.

33 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: The people of Israel were oppressed, together with the people of Judah. Their captors held them and refused to let them go.

34 Yet their redeemer is strong; the LORD of heavenly forces is his name. He will surely defend their cause and give them rest in the land. But he will unsettle the people of Babylon.

35 A sword against Babylon and its people, declares the LORD, along with its officials and sages.

36 A sword against its diviners so that they become fools. A sword against its warriors so that they are terrified.

37 A sword against its horses and chariots, and the mercenaries in its midst so that they lose courage. A sword against its treasures so that they are looted.

38 A sword against the water supplies so that they dry up. It is truly the land of idols, idols about which they have gone utterly mad!

39 Therefore, Babylon will become a ghost town, a place for desert animals, hyenas, and ravenous birds. No one will live there again; no one will make it their home.

40 Just as God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors, declares the LORD, so no one will live in Babylon or settle there again.

41 Look! An army is on the move from the northern regions. A powerful nation and many kings are coming from the ends of the earth.

42 Equipped with bow and spear, they are cruel and show no mercy. Their horsemen sound like the roaring sea, arrayed in battle formation against you, Daughter Babylon.

43 The king of Babylon has heard reports of them and is panic-stricken; distress overwhelms him, pain like that of a woman in labor.

44 Like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan to a well-watered meadow, so I will suddenly chase down Babylon and single out its choicest of rams. Who is like me? Who can direct me? What shepherd can withstand me?

45 Therefore, listen to the counsel that the LORD has for Babylon and the plans he's devised against the land of Babylon: The little ones of the flock will be dragged off, as their pasture watches in utter disbelief.

46 The earth quakes at the sound of Babylon's capture; its screams echo throughout the world.

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1 The LORD proclaims: ,I'm stirring up a violent wind against Babylon and those who live in Leb-qamai.

2 I will send mercenaries to Babylon who will sift her and clear out her land. They will surround her on the day of disaster.

3 Let the archers draw their bows; let them prepare their armor. Show no mercy to her young men; wipe out her entire company!

4 They will fall wounded in the land of Babylon, struck down in her streets.

5 God, the LORD of heavenly forces, hasn't abandoned Israel and Judah, even though they live in a land filled with guilt before the holy one of Israel.

6 Escape from Babylon; each of you run for your lives! Don't perish because of her guilt, because this is the time for the LORD's retribution, a day of reckoning for all that Babylon has done.

7 Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD's hand; it made the whole earth drunk. The nations drank her wine and went mad.

8 But suddenly Babylon fell and shattered into pieces. Wail for her! Bring medicine for her pain; perhaps she will recover.

9 We tried to cure Babylon, but she was beyond help. Let's depart from her and return to your own country, each of you. Her punishment reaches to heaven and extends to the clouds.

10 The LORD has come to our defense, so let's declare in Zion what the LORD our God has done!

11 Sharpen your arrows; prepare your shields. The LORD is stirring up the spirit of kings from Media. He intends to destroy Babylon; this is the LORD's retribution, a day of reckoning for his temple.

12 Set up a flag on the walls of Babylon, fortify the guards, post watchmen, prepare an ambush, because the LORD has a plan against the inhabitants of Babylon. He will accomplish it, just as he said he would.

13 You live beside a great river, and you are rich in treasures. But your time has come; your cruelty has caught up with you.

14 The LORD of heavenly forces has sworn by his own name: I'm going to fill your cities with soldiers like a swarm of locusts; they will celebrate their victory over you.

15 God made the earth by his might, shaped the world by his wisdom, and crafted the skies by his knowledge.

16 At the sound of God's voice, the heavenly waters roar. God raises the clouds from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and sends the wind from his treasuries.

17 Everyone is too foolish to understand; every smith is shamed by his idols, for their images are shams; they aren't alive.

18 They are a delusion, a charade; at the appointed time they will be ruined!

19 But the portion of Jacob is utterly different, for he has formed all things, including his very own tribe; the LORD of heavenly forces is his name!

20 You are my hammer, my weapon of war. With you I will crush the nations. With you I will destroy kingdoms.

21 With you I will crush horse and rider. With you I will crush chariot and driver.

22 With you I will crush men and women. With you I will crush old and young. With you I will crush young men and young women.

23 With you I will crush shepherds and flocks. With you I will crush farmers and oxen. With you I will crush governors and officials.

24 I will repay Babylon and all its inhabitants for the terrible things they have done to Zion in your sight, declares the LORD.

25 I'm against you, you mountain of destruction, declares the LORD, you destroyer of the whole earth! I will reach out against you; I will topple you from your heights; I will turn you into a rubbish heap.

26 They will never remove a cornerstone or a foundation stone from you. You will be a wasteland forever, declares the LORD.

27 Set up a flag in the land; sound the alarm among the nations! Prepare them for war against her; summon kingdoms against her-- Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a commander against her; call up the troops, like swarms of locusts!

28 Prepare the nations for war against her, the kings of Media, its governors, all its officials, and all the countries they rule.

29 The earth quakes and trembles because the LORD's plans against Babylon are fulfilled: to reduce Babylon to a wasteland, with no one left in it.

30 Babylon's warriors quit fighting; they hide in their fortifications. Their strength is worn out; their courage is gone! Babylon's houses are burned down, and its gates are smashed.

31 Courier joins courier, messenger joins messenger to relate the news to the king of Babylon that his entire city has fallen.

32 The river crossings are blocked; the marshes are on fire; the soldiers are terrified.

33 The LORD of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims: ,Daughter Babylon is like a threshing floor ready to be trampled down. In a little while her harvest will come.

34 Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar has eaten us alive; he's drained us of strength; he's left us for dead. He's gobbled us up like a great sea monster; he's filled his belly with our treasures; and he's spit us out.

35 May Babylon be violated as our bodies were, say the inhabitants of Zion. May our blood be on the Babylonians, say those from Jerusalem.

36 Therefore, the LORD proclaims: I'm going to defend your cause; I'll turn the tables on your attacker. I'll dry up her sea; I'll shut up her springs.

37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins, a den of wild dogs, a wasteland with no one left in it.

38 Like lions they will roar together; they will growl like lions' cubs.

39 They are ready to devour, so I'll prepare the feast and mix the drinks! But after their noisy drunkenness, they will fall fast asleep. They will sleep forever, never to get up, declares the LORD.

40 I'll lead them off like lambs for slaughter, like rams and goats.

41 How Sheshach has been defeated, the pride of the whole earth taken captive! How Babylon has become a wasteland among the nations!

42 The sea has risen over Babylon; its pounding waves overwhelm her.

43 Her towns are devastated; her land is scorched and barren, a place where no one lives or dares to pass through.

44 I will punish Bel in Babylon; I will force him to vomit what he's consumed. Then nations will no longer stream to him, and Babylon's walls will collapse!

45 Get out of Babylon, my people! Run for your lives from the LORD's fierce anger.

46 Don't be distracted or frightened by the rumors you hear in the land. Sometimes you hear one thing and another time something else: rumors of violence and uprisings.

47 The time is coming when I will deal with Babylon's idols; the whole land will be disgraced, and her wounded will fall in her midst.

48 Then all creation will rejoice over Babylon, because out of the north destroying armies will come to attack her, declares the LORD.

49 Babylon must fall for the dead in Israel, as the dead of all the earth have fallen to Babylon.

50 You survivors of war, leave now; don't delay! Remember the LORD, from a faraway land. Keep Jerusalem alive in your hearts.

51 We're humiliated by their taunts; we're disgraced that strangers have violated the sacred places of the LORD's temple.

52 The time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will deal with her idols, and the wounded in her land will groan.

53 Even if Babylon scales the heavens and strengthens its towering defenses, the destroying armies will still come against her, at my command, declares the LORD.

54 Listen to the cries for help from Babylon, signs of massive devastation in the land, declares the LORD.

55 The LORD is destroying Babylon and silencing her outcry, whose roar is like the crushing waves, a deafening crash.

56 He certainly comes against her; the destroyer comes against Babylon. Her warriors are captured; their bows are broken. The LORD is an exacting God who repays in full.

57 I'll make her leaders and sages drunk, her governors, officials, and warriors as well. They will sleep forever, never to get up, declares the king, whose name is the LORD of heavenly forces.

58 The LORD of heavenly forces proclaims: Babylon's massive walls will come down, down to the ground; and its high gates will be burned to the ground. People labor in vain; nations toil for nothing but ashes!

59 This is what the prophet Jeremiah instructed the staff officer Seraiah, Neriah's son and Mahseiah's grandson, when Seraiah went to Babylon with Judah's King Zedekiah in the fourth year of his rule.

60 Jeremiah wrote down in a single scroll all the disasters that would happen to Babylon--all these things concerning Babylon.

61 Jeremiah said to Seraiah: When you get to Babylon, see to it that you read all these words.

62 Then say, "LORD, you declared that this place will be destroyed and nothing will remain in it--neither human nor animal; that it will forever be a wasteland!"

63 When you finish reading the scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates River.

64 Then say, "In the same way, Babylon will sink and never rise again because of the disaster I'm bringing against it." Jeremiah's words end here. Rule of Zedekiah and the fall of Jerusalem

52

1 Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king, and he ruled for eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal; she was a daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.

2 He did evil in the LORD's eyes just as Jehoiachin had done.

3 It was because the LORD was angry against Jerusalem and Judah that he thrust them out of his presence. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

4 In the ninth year, the tenth month, and the tenth day of the month, Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem with all of his army. He camped beside the city and built a siege wall around it.

5 The city was under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

6 On the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city reached a point that no food remained for the people.

7 The enemy entered the city, and all the soldiers fled by night along the gate between the two walls by the royal gardens. So the Babylonians surrounded the city while the soldiers fled toward the desert plain.

8 However, the Babylonian army chased down Zedekiah and caught him in the plains of Jericho. (His entire army had fled from him.)

9 They arrested the king and brought him before the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath. And he pronounced sentence on him.

10 The king of Babylon slaughtered Zedekiah's children before his very own eyes, and he slaughtered all Judah's officers at Riblah.

11 Then he gouged out Zedekiah's eyes and bound him in chains. The king of Babylon dragged him off to Babylon and put him in prison, where he remained until he died.

12 In the tenth day of the fifth month, which was the nineteenth year of Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan commander of the guard came to Jerusalem on behalf of his king.

13 He burned down the LORD's temple, the royal palace, all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the important buildings.

14 The entire Babylonian army and the commander of the guard destroyed the walls surrounding Jerusalem.

15 Nebuzaradan commander of the guard deported some of the poorest people, the rest of the people left in the city, a few skilled workers, and those who had joined the king of Babylon.

16 But Nebuzaradan commander of the guard left some of the poor to tend the vineyards and till the land.

17 The Babylonians broke apart the bronze columns, the stands, and the bronze Sea in the LORD's temple. They carried the bronze to Babylon.

18 They took the pots, the shovels, the wick trimmers, the sprinkling bowls, the incense dishes, and all the bronze equipment used for the temple services.

19 The commander of the guard took whatever gold or silver he could find as well: the small bowls, the fire pans, the sprinkling bowls, the pots, the lampstands, the basins, and the offering bowls.

20 There was too much bronze to be weighed: two columns, the bronze Sea and the twelve bronze bulls that held it up, and the stands, all of which Solomon had made for the LORD's temple.

21 Each column was about twenty-seven feet high and eighteen feet around. They were hollow, but the bronze was about three inches thick.

22 Each had a capital of bronze above it that towered seven and a half feet high, and each had an ornate design of bronze pomegranates around it. The second column was the same, also with pomegranates.

23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides, a total of one hundred pomegranates around the ornate design.

24 The commander of the guard also took Seraiah the high priest, Zephaniah the deputy priest, and the three doorkeepers.

25 From the city, he took a eunuch who was appointed over the army and the seven royal advisors who remained in the city. He also took the scribe of the commander of the army in charge of military conscription and sixty military personnel who were found in the city.

26 Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah.

27 The king of Babylon struck them and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. And Judah went away from its land into exile.

28 This is the number of people whom Nebuchadnezzar deported: In the seventh year, 3,023 Judeans.

29 In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, he took 832 people from Jerusalem.

30 In the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, he dispatched Nebuzaradan commander of the guard, who deported 745 Judeans. Altogether, 4,600 were taken captive.

31 Judah's King Jehoiachin had been in exile for thirty-seven years when Awil-merodach became king in Babylon. He took note of Jehoiachin's plight and released him from prison on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of that very year.

32 Awil-merodach treated Jehoiachin kindly and gave him a throne higher than those of the other kings with him in Babylon.

33 So Jehoiachin discarded his prison clothes and ate his meals at the king's table for the rest of his life.

34 The Babylonian king provided him daily provisions for the rest of his life, right up until he died.