New King James Version (NKJV)

1 “At that time,” says theLord, “they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves.

2 They shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served and after which they have walked, which they have sought andwhich they have worshiped. They shall not be gatherednor buried; they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth.

3 Thendeath shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of those who remain of this evil family, who remain in all the places where I have driven them,” says theLordof hosts.

The Peril of False Teaching

4 “Moreover you shall say to them, ‘Thus says theLord:

“Will they fall and not rise?

Will one turn away and not return?

5 Why has this peopleslidden back,

Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding?

# They hold fast to deceit,

# They refuse to return.

6 I listened and heard,

Butthey do not speak aright.

# No man repented of his wickedness,

Saying, ‘What have I done?’

Everyone turned to his own course,

As the horse rushes into the battle.

7 “Eventhe stork in the heavens

Knows her appointed times;

And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow

Observe the time of their coming.

# ButMy people do not know the judgment of theLord.

8 “How can you say, ‘Wearewise,

# And the law of theLordiswith us’?

Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood.

9 The wise men are ashamed,

They are dismayed and taken.

Behold, they have rejected the word of theLord;

# Sowhat wisdom do they have?

10 ThereforeI will give their wives to others,

Andtheir fields to those who will inheritthem;

Because from the least even to the greatest

# Everyone is given tocovetousness;

From the prophet even to the priest

Everyone deals falsely.

11 For they havehealed the hurt of the daughter of My people slightly,

# Saying,‘Peace, peace!’

Whenthereisno peace.

12 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;

In the time of their punishment

They shall be cast down,” says theLord.

13 “I will surely consume them,” says theLord.

# “No grapesshallbeon the vine,

# Nor figs on thefig tree,

And the leaf shall fade;

# AndthethingsI have given them shallpass away from them.” ’ ”

14 “Why do we sit still?

# Assemble yourselves,

And let us enter the fortified cities,

And let us be silent there.

For theLordour God has put us to silence

# And given uswater of gall to drink,

Because we have sinned against theLord.

15 “Welooked for peace, but no goodcame;

And for a time of health, and there was trouble!

16 The snorting of His horses was heard fromDan.

# The whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of Hisstrong ones;

For they have come and devoured the land and all that is in it,

The city and those who dwell in it.”

17 “For behold, I will send serpents among you,

# Vipers which cannot becharmed,

And they shall bite you,” says theLord.

The Prophet Mourns for the People

18 I would comfort myself in sorrow;

My heartisfaint in me.

19 Listen! The voice,

The cry of the daughter of my people

# Froma far country:

“Isnot theLordin Zion?

Isnot her King in her?”

“Why have they provoked Me to anger

With their carved images—

With foreign idols?”

20 “The harvest is past,

The summer is ended,

And we are not saved!”

21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt.

# I ammourning;

Astonishment has taken hold of me.

22 Istherenobalm in Gilead,

Isthereno physician there?

Why then is there no recovery

For the health of the daughter of my people?

1 Oh,that my head were waters,

And my eyes a fountain of tears,

That I might weep day and night

For the slain of the daughter of my people!

2 Oh, that I had in the wilderness

A lodging place for travelers;

That I might leave my people,

And go from them!

# Fortheyareall adulterers,

An assembly of treacherous men.

3 “Andliketheir bowthey have bent their tonguesforlies.

They are not valiant for the truth on the earth.

# For they proceed fromevil to evil,

# And theydo not know Me,” says theLord.

4 “Everyonetake heed to his neighbor,

And do not trust any brother;

For every brother will utterly supplant,

# And every neighbor willwalk with slanderers.

5 Everyone willdeceive his neighbor,

And will not speak the truth;

They have taught their tongue to speak lies;

They weary themselves to commit iniquity.

6 Your dwelling placeisin the midst of deceit;

Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” says theLord.

7 Therefore thus says theLordof hosts:

# “Behold,I will refine them and try them;

# For how shall I deal with the daughter of My people?

8 Their tongueisan arrow shot out;

# It speaksdeceit;

# Onespeakspeaceably to his neighbor with his mouth,

But in his heart he lies in wait.

9 Shall I not punish them for thesethings?” says theLord.

“Shall I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”

10 I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains,

# Andfor the dwelling places of the wilderness a lamentation,

Because they are burned up,

So that no one can pass through;

Nor canmenhear the voice of the cattle.

# Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled;

They are gone.

11 “I will make Jerusalema heap of ruins,a den of jackals.

I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.”

12 Whoisthe wise man who may understand this? Andwhoisheto whom the mouth of theLordhas spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perishandburn up like a wilderness, so that no one can pass through?

13 And theLordsaid, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and havenot obeyed My voice, nor walked according to it,

14 but they havewalked according to the dictates of their own hearts and after the Baals,which their fathers taught them,”

15 therefore thus says theLordof hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I willfeed them, this people,with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.

16 I willscatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known.And I will send a sword after them until I have consumed them.”

The People Mourn in Judgment

17 Thus says theLordof hosts:

# “Consider and call forthe mourning women,

That they may come;

And send for skillfulwailingwomen,

That they may come.

18 Let them make haste

And take up a wailing for us,

# Thatour eyes may run with tears,

And our eyelids gush with water.

19 For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion:

‘How we are plundered!

We are greatly ashamed,

Because we have forsaken the land,

# Because we have been cast out ofour dwellings.’ ”

20 Yet hear the word of theLord, O women,

And let your ear receive the word of His mouth;

Teach your daughters wailing,

And everyone her neighbor a lamentation.

21 For death has come through our windows,

Has entered our palaces,

# To kill offthe children—nolongertobeoutside!

Andthe young men—nolongeron the streets!

22 Speak, “Thus says theLord:

# ‘Even the carcasses of men shall fallas refuse on the open field,

Like cuttings after the harvester,

And no one shall gatherthem.’ ”

23 Thus says theLord:

# “Let not the wisemanglory in his wisdom,

# Let not the mightymanglory in hismight,

Nor let the richmanglory in his riches;

24 Butlet him who glories glory in this,

That he understands and knows Me,

That IamtheLord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.

# For in these I delight,” says theLord.

25 “Behold, the days are coming,” says theLord, “thatI will punish allwhoarecircumcised with the uncircumcised—

26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, and allwhoarein thefarthest corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For allthesenationsareuncircumcised, and all the house of Israelareuncircumcised in the heart.”

Idols and the True God

1 Hear the word which theLordspeaks to you, O house of Israel.

2 Thus says theLord:

# “Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;

Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,

For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.

3 For the customs of the peoplesarefutile;

# Foronecuts a tree from the forest,

The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.

4 They decorate it with silver and gold;

# Theyfasten it with nails and hammers

So that it will not topple.

5 Theyareupright, like a palm tree,

# Andthey cannot speak;

# They must becarried,

Because they cannot gobythemselves.

Do not be afraid of them,

# Forthey cannot do evil,

Nor can they do any good.”

6 Inasmuch asthereisnonelike You, OLord

(Youaregreat, and Your nameisgreat in might),

7 Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?

For this is Your rightful due.

# Foramong all the wisemenof the nations,

And in all their kingdoms,

Thereisnone like You.

8 But they are altogetherdull-hearted and foolish;

A wooden idolisa worthless doctrine.

9 Silver is beaten into plates;

It is brought from Tarshish,

# Andgold from Uphaz,

The work of the craftsman

And of the hands of the metalsmith;

Blue and purplearetheir clothing;

# Theyareallthe work of skillfulmen.

10 But theLordisthe true God;

# Heisthe living God and theeverlasting King.

At His wrath the earth will tremble,

And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.

11 Thus you shall say to them:“The gods that have not made the heavens and the earthshall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”

12 Hehas made the earth by His power,

# He hasestablished the world by His wisdom,

# Andhas stretched out the heavens at His discretion.

13 When He utters His voice,

Thereisa multitude of waters in the heavens:

# “And He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth.

He makes lightning for the rain,

He brings the wind out of His treasuries.”

14 Everyone isdull-hearted, without knowledge;

# Every metalsmith is put to shame by an image;

# For his molded imageisfalsehood,

Andthereisno breath in them.

15 Theyarefutile, a work of errors;

In the time of their punishment they shall perish.

16 The Portion of Jacobisnot like them,

For Heisthe Maker of allthings,

# AndIsraelisthe tribe of His inheritance;

# TheLordof hostsisHis name.

The Coming Captivity of Judah

17 Gather up your wares from the land,

O inhabitant of the fortress!

18 For thus says theLord:

# “Behold, I willthrow out at this time

The inhabitants of the land,

And will distress them,

# That they may finditso.”

19 Woe is me for my hurt!

My wound is severe.

# But I say,“Truly thisisan infirmity,

# AndI must bear it.”

20 My tent is plundered,

And all my cords are broken;

My children have gone from me,

# And theyareno more.

Thereisno one to pitch my tent anymore,

Or set up my curtains.

21 For the shepherds have become dull-hearted,

And have not sought theLord;

Therefore they shall not prosper,

# And all their flocks shall bescattered.

22 Behold, the noise of the report has come,

# And a great commotion out of thenorth country,

# To make the cities of Judah desolate, aden of jackals.

23 OLord, I know theway of manisnot in himself;

Itisnot in man who walks to direct his own steps.

24 OLord,correct me, but with justice;

Not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.

25 Pour out Your fury on the Gentiles,who do not know You,

And on the families who do not call on Your name;

For they have eaten up Jacob,

# Devoured him and consumed him,

And made his dwelling place desolate.

The Broken Covenant

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

2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

3 and say to them, ‘Thus says theLordGod of Israel:“Cursedisthe man who does not obey the words of this covenant

4 which I commanded your fathers in the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt,from the iron furnace, saying,‘Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,’

5 that I may establish theoath which I have sworn to your fathers, to give them‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ asitisthis day.” ’ ”

And I answered and said, “So be it,Lord.”

6 Then theLordsaid to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: ‘Hear the words of this covenantand do them.

7 For I earnestly exhorted your fathers in the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, until this day,rising early and exhorting, saying, “Obey My voice.”

8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, buteveryone followed the dictates of his evil heart; therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commandedthemto do, butwhichthey have not done.’ ”

9 And theLordsaid to me,“A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

10 They have turned back tothe iniquities of their forefathers who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers.”

11 Therefore thus says theLord: “Behold, I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape; andthough they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them.

12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go andcry out to the gods to whom they offer incense, but they will not save them at all in the time of their trouble.

13 Foraccordingtothe number of yourcities were your gods, O Judah; andaccordingtothe number of the streets of Jerusalem you have set up altars tothatshameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal.

14 “Sodo not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not hearthemin the time that they cry out to Me because of their trouble.

15 “Whathas My beloved to do in My house,

# Havingdone lewd deeds with many?

# Andthe holy flesh has passed from you.

# When you do evil, then yourejoice.

16 TheLordcalled your name,

# Green Olive Tree, Lovelyandof Good Fruit.

With the noise of a great tumult

He has kindled fire on it,

And its branches are broken.

17 “For theLordof hosts,who planted you, has pronounced doom against you for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke Me to anger in offering incense to Baal.”

Jeremiah’s Life Threatened

18 Now theLordgave me knowledgeofit,and I knowit;for You showed me their doings.

19 But Iwaslike a docile lamb brought to the slaughter; and I did not know that they had devised schemes against me,saying,“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,and let us cut him off fromthe land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.”

20 But, OLordof hosts,

You who judge righteously,

# Testing the mind and the heart,

# Let me see Yourvengeance on them,

For to You I have revealed my cause.

21 “Therefore thus says theLordconcerning the men ofAnathoth who seek your life, saying,‘Do not prophesy in the name of theLord, lest you die by our hand’—

22 therefore thus says theLordof hosts: ‘Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shalldie by famine;

23 and there shall be no remnant of them, for I will bring catastrophe on the men of Anathoth,eventhe year of their punishment.’ ”

Jeremiah’s Question

1 RighteousareYou, OLord, when I plead with You;

Yet let me talk with You aboutYourjudgments.

# Why does the way of the wicked prosper?

Whyare those happy who deal so treacherously?

2 You have planted them, yes, they have taken root;

They grow, yes, they bear fruit.

# Youarenear in their mouth

But far from their mind.

3 But You, OLord,know me;

You have seen me,

# And You havetested my heart toward You.

Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,

# And prepare them forthe day of slaughter.

4 How long willthe land mourn,

And the herbs of every field wither?

# The beasts and birds are consumed,

# For the wickedness of those who dwell there,

Because they said, “He will not see our final end.”

The Lord Answers Jeremiah

5 “If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you,

Then how can you contend with horses?

Andifin the land of peace,

Inwhichyou trusted,theyweariedyou,

# Then how will you do inthe floodplain of the Jordan?

6 For evenyour brothers, the house of your father,

Even they have dealt treacherously with you;

Yes, they have called a multitude after you.

# Do not believe them,

Even though they speak smooth words to you.

7 “I have forsaken My house, I have left My heritage;

I have given the dearly beloved of My soul into the hand of her enemies.

8 My heritage is to Me like a lion in the forest;

It cries out against Me;

# Therefore I havehated it.

9 My heritageisto Melikea speckled vulture;

The vultures all aroundareagainst her.

Come, assemble all the beasts of the field,

# Bring them to devour!

10 “Manyrulers have destroyedMy vineyard,

# They havetrodden My portion underfoot;

They have made My pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.

11 They have made itdesolate;

Desolate, it mourns to Me;

The whole land is made desolate,

# Becauseno one takesitto heart.

12 The plunderers have come

On all the desolate heights in the wilderness,

For the sword of theLordshall devour

Fromoneend of the land to theotherend of the land;

No flesh shall have peace.

13 They have sown wheat but reaped thorns;

They have put themselves to painbutdo not profit.

But be ashamed of your harvest

Because of the fierce anger of theLord.”

14 Thus says theLord: “Against all My evil neighbors whotouch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit—behold, I willpluck them out of their land and pluck out the house of Judah from among them.

15 Then it shall be, after I have plucked them out, that I will return and have compassion on themand bring them back, everyone to his heritage and everyone to his land.

16 And it shall be, if they will learn carefully the ways of My people,to swear by My name, ‘As theLordlives,’ as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they shall beestablished in the midst of My people.

17 But if they do notobey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation,” says theLord.

Symbol of the Linen Sash

1 Thus theLordsaid to me: “Go and get yourself a linen sash, and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.”

2 So I got a sash according to the word of theLord, and putitaround my waist.

3 And the word of theLordcame to me the second time, saying,

4 “Take the sash that you acquired, whichisaround your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole in the rock.”

5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as theLordcommanded me.

6 Now it came to pass after many days that theLordsaid to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the sash which I commanded you to hide there.”

7 Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the sash from the place where I had hidden it; and there was the sash, ruined. It was profitable for nothing.

8 Then the word of theLordcame to me, saying,

9 “Thus says theLord: ‘In this mannerI will ruin the pride of Judah and the greatpride of Jerusalem.

10 This evil people, whorefuse to hear My words, whofollow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing.

11 For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says theLord, ‘thatthey may become My people,for renown, for praise, and forglory; but they wouldnot hear.’

Symbol of the Wine Bottles

12 “Therefore you shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says theLordGod of Israel: “Every bottle shall be filled with wine.” ’

And they will say to you, ‘Do we not certainly know that every bottle will be filled with wine?’

13 “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says theLord: “Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land—even the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with drunkenness!

14 AndI will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,” says theLord. “I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy, but will destroy them.” ’ ”

Pride Precedes Captivity

15 Hear and give ear:

Do not be proud,

For theLordhas spoken.

16 Give glory to theLordyour God

# Before He causesdarkness,

And before your feet stumble

On the dark mountains,

# And while you arelooking for light,

# He turns it intothe shadow of death

Andmakesitdense darkness.

17 But if you will not hear it,

# My soul willweep in secret foryourpride;

My eyes will weep bitterly

And run down with tears,

Because theLord’s flock has been taken captive.

18 Say tothe king and to the queen mother,

“Humble yourselves;

Sit down,

For your rule shall collapse, the crown of your glory.”

19 The cities of the South shall be shut up,

And no one shall openthem;

Judah shall be carried away captive, all of it;

It shall be wholly carried away captive.

20 Lift up your eyes and see

# Those who come from thenorth.

Whereisthe flockthatwas given to you,

Your beautiful sheep?

21 What will you say when He punishes you?

For you have taught them

Tobechieftains, to be head over you.

# Will notpangs seize you,

Like a woman in labor?

22 And if you say in your heart,

# “Why have these things come upon me?”

For the greatness of your iniquity

# Your skirts have been uncovered,

Your heels made bare.

23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots?

Thenmay you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.

24 “Therefore I willscatter themlike stubble

That passes away by the wind of the wilderness.

25 This is your lot,

The portion of your measures from Me,” says theLord,

“Because you have forgotten Me

# And trusted infalsehood.

26 ThereforeI will uncover your skirts over your face,

That your shame may appear.

27 I have seen your adulteries

# And yourlustfulneighings,

The lewdness of your harlotry,

# Your abominationson the hills in the fields.

Woe to you, O Jerusalem!

Will you still not be made clean?”

Sword, Famine, and Pestilence

1 The word of theLordthat came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts.

2 “Judah mourns,

# Andher gates languish;

# Theymourn for the land,

# Andthe cry of Jerusalem has gone up.

3 Their nobles have sent their lads for water;

They went to the cisternsandfound no water.

They returned with their vessels empty;

# They wereashamed and confounded

# And covered their heads.

4 Because the ground is parched,

# For there wasno rain in the land,

The plowmen were ashamed;

They covered their heads.

5 Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field,

But left because there was no grass.

6 Andthe wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights;

They sniffed at the wind like jackals;

Their eyes failed becausetherewasno grass.”

7 OLord, though our iniquities testify against us,

# Do itfor Your name’s sake;

For our backslidings are many,

We have sinned against You.

8 O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble,

Why should You be like a stranger in the land,

And like a travelerwhoturns aside to tarry for a night?

9 Why should You be like a man astonished,

# Like a mighty onewhocannot save?

# Yet You, OLord,arein our midst,

And we are called by Your name;

Do not leave us!

10 Thus says theLordto this people:

# “Thus they have loved to wander;

They have not restrained their feet.

Therefore theLorddoes not accept them;

# He will remember their iniquity now,

And punish their sins.”

11 Then theLordsaid to me,“Do not pray for this people, fortheirgood.

12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; andwhen they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. ButI will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence.”

13 Then I said, “Ah, LordGod! Behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assuredpeace in this place.’ ”

14 And theLordsaid to me,“The prophets prophesy lies in My name.I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and thedeceit of their heart.

15 Therefore thus says theLordconcerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send,and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land’—‘By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed!

16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword;they will have no one to bury them—them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters—for I will pour their wickedness on them.’

17 “Therefore you shall say this word to them:

# ‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day,

And let them not cease;

# For the virgin daughter of my people

Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.

18 If I go out tothe field,

Then behold, those slain with the sword!

And if I enter the city,

Then behold, those sick from famine!

# Yes, both prophet andpriest go about in a land they do not know.’ ”

The People Plead for Mercy

19 Have You utterly rejected Judah?

Has Your soul loathed Zion?

# Why have You stricken us so thatthereisno healing for us?

# We looked for peace, buttherewasno good;

And for the time of healing, and there was trouble.

20 We acknowledge, OLord, our wickedness

# Andthe iniquity of ourfathers,

# Forwe have sinned against You.

21 Do not abhorus,for Your name’s sake;

Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory.

# Remember, do not break Your covenant with us.

22 Are there any amongthe idols of the nations that can causerain?

Or can the heavens give showers?

# AreYou not He, OLordour God?

Therefore we will wait for You,

Since You have made all these.

The Lord Will Not Relent

1 Then theLordsaid to me,“EvenifMoses andSamuel stood before Me, My mindwouldnotbefavorable toward this people. Castthemout of My sight, and let them go forth.

2 And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says theLord:

# “Such asarefor death, to death;

And such asarefor the sword, to the sword;

And such asarefor the famine, to the famine;

# And such asarefor thecaptivity, to the captivity.” ’

3 “And I willappoint over them four formsofdestruction,” says theLord: “the sword to slay, the dogs to drag,the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.

4 I will hand them over totrouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because ofManasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

5 “For who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem?

Or who will bemoan you?

Or who will turn aside to ask how you are doing?

6 You have forsaken Me,” says theLord,

# “You havegone backward.

Therefore I will stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;

# I am weary of relenting!

7 And I will winnow them with a winnowing fan in the gates of the land;

# I willbereavethemof children;

I will destroy My people,

# Sincetheydo not return from their ways.

8 Their widows will be increased to Me more than the sand of the seas;

I will bring against them,

Against the mother of the young men,

A plunderer at noonday;

# I will cause anguish and terror to fall on themsuddenly.

9 “Shelanguishes who has borne seven;

She has breathed her last;

# Her sun has gone down

Whileitwasyet day;

She has been ashamed and confounded.

And the remnant of them I will deliver to the sword

Before their enemies,” says theLord.

Jeremiah’s Dejection

10 Woe is me, my mother,

That you have borne me,

A man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth!

I have neither lent for interest,

Nor have men lent to me for interest.

Every one of them curses me.

11 TheLordsaid:

“Surely it will be well with your remnant;

# Surely I will causethe enemy to intercede with you

In the time of adversity and in the time of affliction.

12 Can anyone break iron,

The northern iron and the bronze?

13 Your wealth and your treasures

# I will give asplunder without price,

Because of all your sins,

Throughout your territories.

14 And I will makeyoucross over with your enemies

# Into a landwhichyou do not know;

# For afire is kindled in My anger,

Whichshall burn upon you.”

15 OLord,You know;

Remember me and visit me,

# Andtake vengeance for me on my persecutors.

In Your enduring patience, do not take me away.

# Know thatfor Your sake I have suffered rebuke.

16 Your words were found, and Iate them,

# AndYour word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart;

For I am called by Your name,

OLordGod of hosts.

17 I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers,

Nor did I rejoice;

I sat alone because of Your hand,

For You have filled me with indignation.

18 Why is mypain perpetual

And my wound incurable,

Whichrefuses to be healed?

# Will You surely be to melike an unreliable stream,

Aswatersthatfail?

The Lord Reassures Jeremiah

19 Therefore thus says theLord:

# “If you return,

Then I will bring you back;

# You shallstand before Me;

# If youtake out the precious from the vile,

You shall be as My mouth.

Let them return to you,

But you must not return to them.

20 And I will make you to this people a fortified bronzewall;

And they will fight against you,

# Butthey shall not prevail against you;

For Iamwith you to save you

And deliver you,” says theLord.

21 “I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,

And I will redeem you from the grip of the terrible.”

Jeremiah’s Life-Style and Message

1 The word of theLordalso came to me, saying,

2 “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.”

3 For thus says theLordconcerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land:

4 “They shall diegruesome deaths; they shall not belamented nor shall they beburied,butthey shall belike refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and theircorpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.”

5 For thus says theLord:“Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people,” says theLord, “lovingkindness and mercies.

6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried;neither shall men lament for them,cut themselves, normake themselves bald for them.

7 Nor shallmenbreakbreadin mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shallmengive them the cup of consolation todrink for their father or their mother.

8 Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.”

9 For thus says theLordof hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold,I will cause to cease from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

10 “And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you,‘Why has theLordpronounced all this great disaster against us? Or whatisour iniquity? Or whatisour sin that we have committed against theLordour God?’

11 then you shall say to them,‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says theLord; ‘they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law.

12 And you have doneworse than your fathers, for behold,each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me.

13 Therefore I will cast you out of this landinto a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.’

God Will Restore Israel

14 “Therefore behold, thedays are coming,” says theLord, “that it shall no more be said, ‘TheLordlives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’

15 but, ‘TheLordlives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of thenorth and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ ForI will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.

16 “Behold, I will send for manyfishermen,” says theLord, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.

17 For Myeyesareon all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes.

18 And first I will repaydouble for their iniquity and their sin, becausethey have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.”

19 OLord,my strength and my fortress,

# My refuge in the day of affliction,

The Gentiles shall come to You

From the ends of the earth and say,

“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,

# Worthlessness andunprofitablethings.”

20 Will a man make gods for himself,

# Whicharenot gods?

21 “Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know,

I will cause them to know

My hand and My might;

# And they shall know thatMy nameistheLord.

Judah’s Sin and Punishment

1 “The sin of Judahiswritten with apen of iron;

# With the point of a diamonditisengraved

On the tablet of their heart,

And on the horns of your altars,

2 While their children remember

# Their altars and theirwooden images

By the green trees on the high hills.

3 O My mountain in the field,

I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures,

Andyour high places of sin within all your borders.

4 And you, even yourself,

Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you;

And I will cause you to serve your enemies

# Inthe land which you do not know;

# Foryou have kindled a fire in My angerwhichshall burn forever.”

5 Thus says theLord:

# “Cursedisthe man who trusts in man

# And makesflesh his strength,

Whose heart departs from theLord.

6 For he shall belike a shrub in the desert,

# Andshall not see when good comes,

But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness,

# Ina salt landwhichisnot inhabited.

7 “Blessedisthe man who trusts in theLord,

And whose hope is theLord.

8 For he shall belike a tree planted by the waters,

Which spreads out its roots by the river,

And will not fear when heat comes;

But its leaf will be green,

And will not be anxious in the year of drought,

Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

9 “Theheartisdeceitful above allthings,

And desperately wicked;

Who can know it?

10 I, theLord,search the heart,

Itest the mind,

# Even to give every man according to his ways,

According to the fruit of his doings.

11 “Asa partridge that broods but does not hatch,

Soishe who gets riches, but not by right;

# Itwill leave him in the midst of his days,

# And at his end he will bea fool.”

12 A glorious high throne from the beginning

Isthe place of our sanctuary.

13 OLord,the hope of Israel,

# All who forsake You shall be ashamed.

“Those who depart from Me

# Shall bewritten in the earth,

Because they have forsaken theLord,

# Thefountain of living waters.”

Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance

14 Heal me, OLord, and I shall be healed;

Save me, and I shall be saved,

# ForYouaremy praise.

15 Indeed they say to me,

# “Whereisthe word of theLord?

Let it come now!”

16 As for me,I have not hurried away frombeinga shepherdwhofollows You,

Nor have I desired the woeful day;

You know what came out of my lips;

It was right there before You.

17 Do not be a terror to me;

# Youaremy hope in the day of doom.

18 Let them be ashamed who persecute me,

# Butdo not let me be put to shame;

Let them be dismayed,

But do not let me be dismayed.

Bring on them the day of doom,

# Anddestroy them with double destruction!

Hallow the Sabbath Day

19 Thus theLordsaid to me: “Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Judah come in and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

20 and say to them,‘Hear the word of theLord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates.

21 Thus says theLord:“Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bringitin by the gates of Jerusalem;

22 nor carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor do any work, but hallow the Sabbath day, as Icommanded your fathers.

23 But they did not obey nor incline their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.

24 “And it shall be,if you heed Me carefully,” says theLord, “to bring no burden through the gates of this city on theSabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work in it,

25 then shall enter the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, accompanied by the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever.

26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah and fromthe places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and fromthe lowland, from the mountains and fromthe South, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, bringingsacrifices of praise to the house of theLord.

27 “But if you will not heed Me to hallow the Sabbath day, such as not carrying a burden when entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, thenI will kindle a fire in its gates,and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not bequenched.” ’ ”