New King James Version (NKJV)

1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests whowerein Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,

2 to whom the word of theLordcame in the days ofJosiah the son of Amon, king of Judah,in the thirteenth year of his reign.

3 It came also in the days ofJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah,until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah,until the carrying away of Jerusalem captivein the fifth month.

The Prophet Is Called

4 Then the word of theLordcame to me, saying:

5 “Before Iformed you in the wombI knew you;

# Before you were born Isanctified you;

I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”

6 Then said I:

# “Ah, LordGod!

Behold, I cannot speak, for Iama youth.”

7 But theLordsaid to me:

“Do not say, ‘Iama youth,’

For you shall go to all to whom I send you,

# Andwhatever I command you, you shall speak.

8 Do not be afraid of their faces,

# ForIamwith you to deliver you,” says theLord.

9 Then theLordput forth His hand andtouched my mouth, and theLordsaid to me:

# “Behold, I haveput My words in your mouth.

10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms,

# Toroot out and to pull down,

To destroy and to throw down,

To build and to plant.”

11 Moreover the word of theLordcame to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?”

And I said, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”

12 Then theLordsaid to me, “You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word.”

13 And the word of theLordcame to me the second time, saying, “What do you see?”

# And I said, “I seea boiling pot, and it is facing away from the north.”

14 Then theLordsaid to me:

# “Out of thenorth calamity shall break forth

On all the inhabitants of the land.

15 For behold, I amcalling

All the families of the kingdoms of the north,” says theLord;

# “They shall come andeach one set his throne

At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem,

Against all its walls all around,

And against all the cities of Judah.

16 I will utter My judgments

Against them concerning all their wickedness,

# Becausethey have forsaken Me,

# Burnedincense to other gods,

# And worshiped the works of their ownhands.

17 “Thereforeprepare yourself and arise,

And speak to them all that I command you.

# Do not be dismayed before their faces,

Lest I dismay you before them.

18 For behold, I have made you this day

# A fortified city and an iron pillar,

And bronze walls against the whole land—

Against the kings of Judah,

Against its princes,

Against its priests,

And against the people of the land.

19 They will fight against you,

But they shall not prevail against you.

For Iamwith you,” says theLord, “to deliver you.”

God’s Case Against Israel

1 Moreover the word of theLordcame to me, saying,

2 “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says theLord:

“I remember you,

# The kindness of youryouth,

The love of your betrothal,

# When you went after Me in the wilderness,

In a land not sown.

3 Israelwasholiness to theLord,

# The firstfruits of His increase.

# All that devour him will offend;

# Disaster willcome upon them,” says theLord.’ ”

4 Hear the word of theLord, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel.

5 Thus says theLord:

# “What injustice have your fathers found in Me,

That they have gone far from Me,

# Have followed idols,

And have become idolaters?

6 Neither did they say, ‘WhereistheLord,

# Whobrought us up out of the land of Egypt,

# Who led us throughthe wilderness,

Through a land of deserts and pits,

Through a land of drought and the shadow of death,

Through a land that no one crossed

And where no one dwelt?’

7 I brought you intoa bountiful country,

To eat its fruit and its goodness.

# But when you entered, youdefiled My land

And made My heritage an abomination.

8 The priests did not say, ‘WhereistheLord?’

# And those who handle thelaw did not know Me;

The rulers also transgressed against Me;

# The prophets prophesied by Baal,

And walked afterthingsthatdo not profit.

9 “ThereforeI will yet bring charges against you,” says theLord,

“And against your children’s children I will bring charges.

10 For pass beyond the coasts of Cyprus and see,

Send to Kedar and consider diligently,

# And see if there has been suchathing.

11 Has a nation changeditsgods,

# Whicharenot gods?

# But My people have changed their Glory

Forwhatdoes not profit.

12 Be astonished, O heavens, at this,

And be horribly afraid;

Be very desolate,” says theLord.

13 “For My people have committed two evils:

# They have forsaken Me, thefountain of living waters,

Andhewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.

14 “IsIsraela servant?

Ishe a homebornslave?

Why is he plundered?

15 The young lions roared at him,andgrowled;

They made his land waste;

His cities are burned, without inhabitant.

16 Also the people of Noph andTahpanhes

Have broken the crown of your head.

17 Have you not brought this on yourself,

In that you have forsaken theLordyour God

# WhenHe led you in the way?

18 And now why takethe road to Egypt,

# To drink the waters ofSihor?

# Or why take the road toAssyria,

To drink the waters of the River?

19 Your own wickedness willcorrect you,

And your backslidings will rebuke you.

Know therefore and see thatitisan evil and bitterthing

That you have forsaken theLordyour God,

And the fear of Meisnot in you,”

Says the LordGodof hosts.

20 “For of old I havebroken your yokeandburst your bonds;

# Andyou said, ‘I will not transgress,’

# Whenon every high hill and under every green tree

# You lay down,playing the harlot.

21 Yet I hadplanted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality.

How then have you turned before Me

# Intothe degenerate plant of an alien vine?

22 For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap,

# Yetyour iniquity ismarked before Me,” says the LordGod.

23 “Howcan you say, ‘I am not polluted,

I have not gone after the Baals’?

See your way in the valley;

Know what you have done:

Youarea swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways,

24 A wild donkey used to the wilderness,

Thatsniffs at the wind in her desire;

In her time of mating, who can turn her away?

All those who seek her will not weary themselves;

In her month they will find her.

25 Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst.

# But you said,‘There is no hope.

# No! For I have lovedaliens, and after them I will go.’

26 “As the thief is ashamed when he is found out,

So is the house of Israel ashamed;

# They and their kings and their princes, and their priests and theirprophets,

27 Saying to a tree, ‘Youaremy father,’

# And to astone, ‘You gave birth to me.’

For they have turnedtheirback to Me, and nottheirface.

# But in the time of theirtrouble

They will say, ‘Arise and save us.’

28 Butwhereareyour gods that you have made for yourselves?

Let them arise,

# If theycan save you in the time of your trouble;

# Foraccordingtothe number of your cities

Are your gods, O Judah.

29 “Why will you plead with Me?

You all have transgressed against Me,” says theLord.

30 “In vain I havechastened your children;

# Theyreceived no correction.

# Your sword hasdevoured your prophets

Like a destroying lion.

31 “O generation, see the word of theLord!

Have I been a wilderness to Israel,

Or a land of darkness?

Why do My people say, ‘We are lords;

# We will come no more to You’?

32 Can a virgin forget her ornaments,

Ora bride her attire?

# Yet My peoplehave forgotten Me days without number.

33 “Why do you beautify your way to seek love?

Therefore you have also taught

The wicked women your ways.

34 Also on your skirts is found

# The blood of the lives of the poor innocents.

I have not found it by secret search,

But plainly on all these things.

35 Yet you say, ‘Because I am innocent,

Surely His anger shall turn from me.’

# Behold,I will plead My case against you,

# Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

36 Why do you gad about so much to change your way?

# Alsoyou shall be ashamed of Egyptas you were ashamed of Assyria.

37 Indeed you will go forth from him

# With your hands onyour head;

For theLordhas rejected your trusted allies,

# And you willnot prosper by them.

Israel Is Shameless

1 “They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife,

And she goes from him

And becomes another man’s,

# May he return to her again?’

# Would not thatland be greatly polluted?

# But you haveplayed the harlot with many lovers;

# Yet return to Me,” says theLord.

2 “Lift up your eyes tothe desolate heights and see:

Where have you not lainwithmen?

# By the road you have sat for them

Like an Arabian in the wilderness;

# And you have polluted the land

With your harlotries and your wickedness.

3 Therefore theshowers have been withheld,

And there has been no latter rain.

# You have had aharlot’s forehead;

You refuse to be ashamed.

4 Will you not from this time cry to Me,

# ‘My Father, Youarethe guide ofmy youth?

5 Will He remain angry forever?

Will He keep it to the end?’

Behold, you have spoken and done evil things,

As you were able.”

A Call to Repentance

6 TheLordsaid also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen whatbacksliding Israel has done? She hasgone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot.

7 And I said, after she had done all thesethings,‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacheroussister Judah saw it.

8 Then I saw thatfor all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I hadput her away and given her a certificate of divorce;yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.

9 So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that shedefiled the land and committed adultery withstones and trees.

10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Mewith her whole heart, but in pretense,” says theLord.

11 Then theLordsaid to me,“Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.

12 Go and proclaim these words towardthe north, and say:

‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says theLord;

‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you.

# For Iammerciful,’ says theLord;

‘I will not remain angry forever.

13 Only acknowledge your iniquity,

That you have transgressed against theLordyour God,

# And havescattered your charms

# Toalien deitiesunder every green tree,

And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says theLord.

14 “Return, O backsliding children,” says theLord;“for I am married to you. I will take you,one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you toZion.

15 And I will give youshepherds according to My heart, who willfeed you with knowledge and understanding.

16 “Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied andincreased in the land in those days,” says theLord, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of theLord.’It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visitit,nor shall it be made anymore.

17 “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of theLord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it,to the name of theLord, to Jerusalem. No more shall theyfollow the dictates of their evil hearts.

18 “In those daysthe house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land ofthe north tothe land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers.

19 “But I said:

‘How can I put you among the children

# And give youa pleasant land,

A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’

“And I said:

# ‘You shall call Me,“My Father,”

And not turn away from Me.’

20 Surely,asa wife treacherously departs from her husband,

# Sohave you dealt treacherously with Me,

O house of Israel,” says theLord.

21 A voice was heard onthe desolate heights,

Weepingandsupplications of the children of Israel.

For they have perverted their way;

They have forgotten theLordtheir God.

22 “Return, you backsliding children,

# AndI willheal your backslidings.”

“Indeed we do come to You,

For You are theLordour God.

23 Truly, in vainissalvationhopedforfrom the hills,

Andfromthe multitude of mountains;

# Truly, in theLordour God

Isthe salvation of Israel.

24 For shame has devoured

The labor of our fathers from our youth—

Their flocks and their herds,

Their sons and their daughters.

25 We lie down in our shame,

And our reproach covers us.

# For we have sinned against theLordour God,

We and our fathers,

From our youth even to this day,

# Andhave not obeyed the voice of theLordour God.”

1 “If you will return, O Israel,” says theLord,

# “Return to Me;

And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight,

Then you shall not be moved.

2 And you shall swear, ‘TheLordlives,’

# In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness;

# The nations shall bless themselves in Him,

# And in Him they shallglory.”

3 For thus says theLordto the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

# “Break up your fallow ground,

# Anddo not sow among thorns.

4 Circumcise yourselves to theLord,

And take away the foreskins of your hearts,

You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

Lest My fury come forth like fire,

And burn so that no one can quenchit,

Because of the evil of your doings.”

An Imminent Invasion

5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:

# “Blow the trumpet in the land;

Cry, ‘Gather together,’

# And say,‘Assemble yourselves,

And let us go into the fortified cities.’

6 Set up the standard toward Zion.

Take refuge! Do not delay!

# For I will bring disaster from thenorth,

And great destruction.”

7 The lion has come up from his thicket,

# Andthe destroyer of nations is on his way.

He has gone forth from his place

# To make your land desolate.

Your cities will be laid waste,

Without inhabitant.

8 For this,clothe yourself with sackcloth,

Lament and wail.

For the fierce anger of theLord

Has not turned back from us.

9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says theLord,

“Thatthe heart of the king shall perish,

And the heart of the princes;

The priests shall be astonished,

And the prophets shall wonder.”

10 Then I said, “Ah, LordGod!

# Surely You have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem,

# Saying, ‘You shall have peace,’

Whereas the sword reaches to the heart.”

11 At that time it will be said

To this people and to Jerusalem,

# “A dry wind of the desolate heightsblowsin the wilderness

Toward the daughter of My people—

Not to fan or to cleanse—

12 A wind too strong for these will come for Me;

# NowI will also speak judgment against them.”

13 “Behold, he shall come up like clouds,

# Andhis chariots like a whirlwind.

# His horses are swifter than eagles.

Woe to us, for we are plundered!”

14 O Jerusalem,wash your heart from wickedness,

That you may be saved.

How long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you?

15 For a voice declaresfrom Dan

And proclaims affliction from Mount Ephraim:

16 “Make mention to the nations,

Yes, proclaim against Jerusalem,

# Thatwatchers come from afar country

And raise their voice against the cities of Judah.

17 Like keepers of a field they are against her all around,

Because she has been rebellious against Me,” says theLord.

18 “Yourways and your doings

Have procured thesethingsfor you.

Thisisyour wickedness,

Because it is bitter,

Because it reaches to your heart.”

Sorrow for the Doomed Nation

19 O mysoul, my soul!

I am pained in my very heart!

My heart makes a noise in me;

I cannot hold my peace,

Because you have heard, O my soul,

The sound of the trumpet,

The alarm of war.

20 Destruction upon destruction is cried,

For the whole land is plundered.

# Suddenlymy tents are plundered,

Andmy curtains in a moment.

21 How long will I see the standard,

Andhear the sound of the trumpet?

22 “For My peoplearefoolish,

They have not known Me.

Theyaresilly children,

And they have no understanding.

# Theyarewise to do evil,

But to do good they have no knowledge.”

23 I beheld the earth, and indeeditwaswithout form, and void;

And the heavens, theyhadno light.

24 I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,

And all the hills moved back and forth.

25 I beheld, and indeedtherewasno man,

# Andall the birds of the heavens had fled.

26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful landwasawilderness,

And all its cities were broken down

At the presence of theLord,

By His fierce anger.

27 For thus says theLord:

“The whole land shall be desolate;

# Yet I will not make a full end.

28 For thisshall the earth mourn,

# Andthe heavens above be black,

Because I have spoken.

# I havepurposed andwill not relent,

Nor will I turn back from it.

29 The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen.

They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks.

Every cityshallbeforsaken,

And not a man shall dwell in it.

30 “Andwhenyouareplundered,

What will you do?

Though you clothe yourself with crimson,

Though you adornyourselfwith ornaments of gold,

# Though you enlarge your eyes with paint,

In vain you will make yourself fair;

# Yourlovers will despise you;

They will seek your life.

31 “For I have heard a voice as of a woman in labor,

The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child,

The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself;

# Shespreads her hands,saying,

‘Woeisme now, for my soul is weary

Because of murderers!’

The Justice of God’s Judgment

1 “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem;

See now and know;

And seek in her open places

# If you can find a man,

# If there isanyonewho executes judgment,

Who seeks the truth,

# And I will pardon her.

2 Though they say, ‘AstheLordlives,’

# Surely theyswear falsely.”

3 OLord,arenotYour eyes on the truth?

# You havestricken them,

But they have not grieved;

You have consumed them,

# Butthey have refused to receive correction.

They have made their faces harder than rock;

They have refused to return.

4 Therefore I said, “Surely thesearepoor.

They are foolish;

# Forthey do not know the way of theLord,

The judgment of their God.

5 I will go to the great men and speak to them,

# Forthey have known the way of theLord,

The judgment of their God.”

# But these have altogetherbroken the yoke

Andburst the bonds.

6 Thereforea lion from the forest shall slay them,

# A wolf of the deserts shall destroy them;

# A leopard will watch over their cities.

Everyone who goes out from there shall be torn in pieces,

Because their transgressions are many;

Their backslidings have increased.

7 “How shall I pardon you for this?

Your children have forsaken Me

# Andsworn bythosethat are not gods.

# When I had fed them to the full,

Then they committed adultery

And assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.

8 They werelikewell-fed lusty stallions;

Every one neighed after his neighbor’s wife.

9 Shall I not punishthemfor thesethings?” says theLord.

# “And shall I notavenge Myself on such a nation as this?

10 “Go up on her walls and destroy,

# But do not make acomplete end.

Take away her branches,

For theyarenot theLord’s.

11 Forthe house of Israel and the house of Judah

Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” says theLord.

12 They have lied about theLord,

# And said,“Itisnot He.

# Neither will evil come upon us,

Nor shall we see sword or famine.

13 And the prophets become wind,

For the wordisnot in them.

Thus shall it be done to them.”

14 Therefore thus says theLordGod of hosts:

“Because you speak this word,

# Behold, I will make My words in your mouth fire,

And this people wood,

And it shall devour them.

15 Behold, I will bring anation against youfrom afar,

O house of Israel,” says theLord.

“Itisa mighty nation,

Itisan ancient nation,

A nation whose language you do not know,

Nor can you understand what they say.

16 Their quiverislike an open tomb;

Theyareall mighty men.

17 And they shall eat up yourharvest and your bread,

Whichyour sons and daughters should eat.

They shall eat up your flocks and your herds;

They shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;

They shall destroy your fortified cities,

In which you trust, with the sword.

18 “Nevertheless in those days,” says theLord, “Iwill not make a complete end of you.

19 And it will be when you say,‘Why does theLordour God do all thesethingsto us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘Just as you haveforsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, soyou shall serve aliens in a landthatisnot yours.’

20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob

And proclaim it in Judah, saying,

21 ‘Hear this now, Ofoolish people,

Without understanding,

Who have eyes and see not,

And who have ears and hear not:

22 Do you not fear Me?’ says theLord.

‘Will you not tremble at My presence,

# Who have placed the sand as thebound of the sea,

By a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass beyond it?

And though its waves toss to and fro,

Yet they cannot prevail;

Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.

23 But this people has a defiant and rebellious heart;

They have revolted and departed.

24 They do not say in their heart,

“Let us now fear theLordour God,

# Who gives rain, both theformer and the latter, in its season.

# He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest.”

25 Your iniquities have turned thesethingsaway,

And your sins have withheld good from you.

26 ‘For among My people are found wickedmen;

# Theylie in wait as one who sets snares;

They set a trap;

They catch men.

27 As a cage is full of birds,

So their housesarefull of deceit.

Therefore they have become great and grown rich.

28 They have grownfat, they are sleek;

Yes, they surpass the deeds of the wicked;

# They do not pleadthe cause,

The cause of the fatherless;

# Yet they prosper,

And the right of the needy they do not defend.

29 Shall I not punishthemfor thesethings?’ says theLord.

‘Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?’

30 “An astonishing andhorrible thing

Has been committed in the land:

31 The prophets prophesyfalsely,

And the priests rule by theirownpower;

# And My peoplelovetohaveitso.

But what will you do in the end?

Impending Destruction from the North

1 “O you children of Benjamin,

Gather yourselves to flee from the midst of Jerusalem!

Blow the trumpet in Tekoa,

# And set up a signal-fire inBeth Haccerem;

# For disaster appears out of the north,

And great destruction.

2 I have likened the daughter of Zion

To a lovely and delicate woman.

3 Theshepherds with their flocks shall come to her.

They shall pitchtheirtents against her all around.

Each one shall pasture in his own place.”

4 “Preparewar against her;

# Arise, and let us go upat noon.

Woe to us, for the day goes away,

For the shadows of the evening are lengthening.

5 Arise, and let us go by night,

And let us destroy her palaces.”

6 For thus has theLordof hosts said:

“Cut down trees,

And build a mound against Jerusalem.

Thisisthe city to be punished.

Sheisfull of oppression in her midst.

7 As a fountain wells up with water,

So she wells up with her wickedness.

# Violence and plundering are heard in her.

Before Me continuallyaregrief and wounds.

8 Be instructed, O Jerusalem,

# LestMy soul depart from you;

Lest I make you desolate,

A land not inhabited.”

9 Thus says theLordof hosts:

“They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel;

As a grape-gatherer, put your hand back into the branches.”

10 To whom shall I speak and give warning,

That they may hear?

# Indeed theirearisuncircumcised,

And they cannot give heed.

# Behold,the word of theLordis a reproach to them;

They have no delight in it.

11 Therefore I am full of the fury of theLord.

# I am weary of holdingitin.

# “I will pour it outon the children outside,

And on the assembly of young men together;

For even the husband shall be taken with the wife,

The aged withhimwhoisfull of days.

12 Andtheir houses shall be turned over to others,

Fields and wives together;

For I will stretch out My hand

Against the inhabitants of the land,” says theLord.

13 “Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them,

# Everyoneisgiven tocovetousness;

# And from the prophet even to thepriest,

Everyone deals falsely.

14 They have alsohealed the hurt of My people slightly,

# Saying, ‘Peace, peace!’

Whenthereisno peace.

15 Were theyashamed when they had committed abomination?

No! They were not at all ashamed;

Nor did they know how to blush.

Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;

At the time I punish them,

They shall be cast down,” says theLord.

16 Thus says theLord:

“Stand in the ways and see,

# And ask for theold paths, where the good wayis,

And walk in it;

# Then you will findrest for your souls.

But they said, ‘We will not walkinit.’

17 Also, I setwatchmen over you,saying,

# ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’

But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

18 Therefore hear, you nations,

And know, O congregation, whatisamong them.

19 Hear, O earth!

# Behold, I will certainly bringcalamity on this people—

# The fruit of their thoughts,

Because they have not heeded My words

Nor My law, but rejected it.

20 For what purpose to Me

# Comes frankincensefrom Sheba,

# Andsweet cane from a far country?

# Your burnt offeringsarenot acceptable,

Nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.”

21 Therefore thus says theLord:

“Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people,

And the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them.

The neighbor and his friend shall perish.”

22 Thus says theLord:

# “Behold, a people comes from thenorth country,

And a great nation will be raised from the farthest parts of the earth.

23 They will lay hold on bow and spear;

Theyarecruel and have no mercy;

# Their voiceroars like the sea;

And they ride on horses,

As men of war set in array against you, O daughter of Zion.”

24 We have heard the report of it;

Our hands grow feeble.

# Anguish has taken hold of us,

Pain as of a woman in labor.

25 Do not go out into the field,

Nor walk by the way.

Because of the sword of the enemy,

Fearison every side.

26 O daughter of my people,

# Dress in sackcloth

# And roll about in ashes!

# Make mourningasforan only son, most bitter lamentation;

For the plunderer will suddenly come upon us.

27 “I have set youasan assayeranda fortress among My people,

That you may know and test their way.

28 Theyareall stubborn rebels,walking as slanderers.

# Theyarebronze and iron,

Theyareall corrupters;

29 The bellows blow fiercely,

The lead is consumed by the fire;

The smelter refines in vain,

For the wicked are not drawn off.

30 Peoplewill call themrejected silver,

Because theLordhas rejected them.”

Trusting in Lying Words

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from theLord, saying,

2 “Stand in the gate of theLord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of theLord, allyouofJudah who enter in at these gates to worship theLord!’ ”

3 Thus says theLordof hosts, the God of Israel:“Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

4 Do not trust in these lying words, saying, ‘The temple of theLord, the temple of theLord, the temple of theLordarethese.’

5 “For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughlyexecute judgment between a man and his neighbor,

6 ifyou do not oppress the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place,or walk after other gods to your hurt,

7 then I will cause you to dwell in this place, inthe land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

8 “Behold, you trust inlying words that cannot profit.

9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, andwalk after other gods whom you do not know,

10 andthencome and stand before Me in this housewhich is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered to do all these abominations’?

11 Hasthis house, which is called by My name, become aden of thieves in your eyes? Behold, I, even I, have seenit,” says theLord.

12 “But go now toMy place whichwasin Shiloh,where I set My name at the first, and seewhat I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.

13 And now, because you have done all these works,” says theLord, “and I spoke to you,rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and Icalled you, but you did not answer,

14 therefore I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and your fathers, as I have done toShiloh.

15 And I will cast you out of My sight,as I have cast out all your brethren—the whole posterity of Ephraim.

16 “Thereforedo not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me;for I will not hear you.

17 Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

18 The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; andtheypour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger.

19 Do they provoke Me to anger?” says theLord. “Dotheynotprovokethemselves, to the shame of their own faces?”

20 Therefore thus says the LordGod: “Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place—on man and on beast, on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground. And it will burn and not be quenched.”

21 Thus says theLordof hosts, the God of Israel:“Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat.

22 For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices.

23 But this is what I commanded them, saying,‘Obey My voice, andI will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.’

24 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, butfollowed the counselsandthe dictates of their evil hearts, andwent backward and not forward.

25 Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have evensent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sendingthem.

26 Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear, butstiffened their neck.They did worse than their fathers.

27 “Thereforeyou shall speak all these words to them, but they will not obey you. You shall also call to them, but they will not answer you.

Judgment on Obscene Religion

28 “So you shall say to them, ‘Thisisa nation that does not obey the voice of theLordtheir Godnor receive correction.Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.

29 Cut off your hair and castitaway, and take up a lamentation on the desolate heights; for theLordhas rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.’

30 For the children of Judah have done evil in My sight,” says theLord.“They have set their abominations in the house which is called by My name, to pollute it.

31 And they have built thehigh places of Tophet, whichisin the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, toburn their sons and their daughters in the fire,which I did not command, nor did it come into My heart.

32 “Therefore behold,the days are coming,” says theLord, “when it will no more be called Tophet, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter;for they will bury in Tophet until there is no room.

33 Thecorpses of this people will be food for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. And no one will frightenthemaway.

34 Then I will cause tocease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. Forthe land shall be desolate.