¹⁴ Yahweh has given this command about you, Nineveh:
    You will no longer have descendants to carry on your name.
    I will remove the wooden and metal idols from the temple of your gods.
    I will prepare your grave because you are worthless.^[b]

⁶ “I will cut off the nations.
    Their towers will be destroyed.
        I will demolish their streets.
            No one will walk through them.
    Their cities will be completely destroyed.
        Not a single person will be left.
            No one will be living there.
⁷ I said to my people,
    ‘You will fear me.
    You will accept correction!’
    Then their homeland would not be wiped out
    even though I have punished them.
        Still, they continued to be corrupt in everything they did.”
⁸ Yahweh declares, “Just wait!
    One day I will stand up as a witness.
    I have decided to gather nations,
        to bring kingdoms together,
            and to pour my rage, my burning anger, on them.
    The whole land will be consumed by my fiery fury.

⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb,
    I knew you.
    Before you were born,
    I set you apart for my holy purpose.
    I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations.”

“Now I have put my words in your mouth.
¹⁰ Today I have put you in charge of nations and kingdoms.
    You will uproot and tear down.
    You will destroy and overthrow.
    You will build and plant.”

“Disaster will be poured out from the north
    on all those who live in the land.
¹⁵ I am going to call every family and kingdom from the north,”
    declares Yahweh.
        “They will come, and they will set up their thrones
            at the entrance of Jerusalem’s gates.
        They will attack all the walls around the city
            and all the cities of Judah.
¹⁶ I will pass sentence on my people because of all their wickedness.
    They abandoned me,
        burned incense to other gods,
            and worshiped what their hands have made.
¹⁷ Brace yourself, Jeremiah!
    Stand up, and say to them whatever I tell you to say.
    Don’t be terrified in their presence,
        or I will make you even more terrified in their presence.
¹⁸ Today I have made you like a fortified city,
    an iron pillar, and a bronze wall.
        You will be able to stand up to the whole land.
        You will be able to stand up to Judah’s kings,
            its officials, its priests, and all the common people.
¹⁹ They will fight you, but they will not defeat you.
    I am with you, and I will rescue you,” declares Yahweh.

² “Go and announce to Jerusalem,
    ‘This is what Yahweh says:
        I remember the unfailing loyalty of your youth,
            the love you had for me as a bride.
        I remember how you followed me into the desert,
            into a land that couldn’t be farmed.
³ Israel was set apart for Yahweh.
    It was the best part of the harvest.
        All who devoured it became guilty,
            and disaster struck them,’” declares Yahweh.

⁴ Listen to the word of Yahweh, descendants of Jacob,
    all the families in the nation of Israel.
⁵ This is what Yahweh says:
    What did your ancestors find wrong with me
    that they went so far away from me?
    They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.
⁶ They didn’t ask, “Where is Yahweh,
    who brought us from Egypt?
        He led us through the desert,
            through a wasteland and its pits,
                a land of drought and the shadow of death.
                    No one lives there or travels there.”
⁷         I brought them into a fertile land
            to eat its fruit and its produce.
                They came and made my land unclean.^[b]
                    They made my property disgusting.
⁸ The priests didn’t ask, “Where is Yahweh?”
    Those who deal with my teachings didn’t know me.
    The rulers rebelled against me.
    The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal
        and followed statues that couldn’t help them.

⁹ “That is why I am bringing charges against you,” declares Yahweh,
    “and I am bringing charges against your grandchildren.
¹⁰ Go over to the coasts of Cyprus, and see.
    Send someone to Kedar, and observe closely.
    See if there has ever been anything like this.
¹¹ Has any nation ever exchanged gods?
    (Their gods aren’t really gods.)
    Yet, my people have exchanged their Glory
    for something that doesn’t help them.
¹² Be horrified over this, heaven.
    Be terribly afraid,” declares Yahweh.
¹³ “My people have done two things wrong.
    They have abandoned me,
        the fountain of life-giving water.
    They have also dug their own cisterns,
        broken cisterns that can’t hold water.

¹⁴ “Are the people of Israel slaves?
    Were they born into slavery?
        Why, then, have they become someone’s property?
¹⁵ Young lions have roared very loudly at them.
    Young lions have turned the land into a wasteland.
    The cities have been burned down, and everyone has left.
¹⁶ People from Noph and Tahpanhes have cracked your skulls, Israel.
¹⁷ You have brought this on yourself
    by abandoning Yahweh your Elohim
        when he led you on his way.
¹⁸ You won’t gain anything by going to Egypt
    to drink water from the Nile River.
    You won’t gain anything by going to Assyria
        to drink water from the Euphrates River.
¹⁹ Your own wickedness will correct you,
    and your unfaithful ways will punish you.
    You should know and see how evil and bitter it is for you
        if you abandon Yahweh your Elohim and do not fear me,”
            declares Adonay Yahweh Tsebaoth.

²⁰ “Long ago you broke off your yoke,^[c] tore off your chains,
    and said that you wouldn’t be a slave.
    You lay down and acted like a prostitute
    on every high hill and under every large tree.
²¹ I planted you like a choice grapevine from the very best seed.
    Now you have turned against me and have become a wild vine.
²² Even if you wash with detergent and use a lot of soap,
    I would still see the stains from your wickedness,”
        declares Adonay Yahweh.
²³ “How can you say that you haven’t dishonored yourselves
    and haven’t followed other gods—the Baals?
        Look how you’ve behaved in the valley.
            Acknowledge what you’ve done.
    You are like a young camel that swiftly runs here and there.
²⁴ You are like a wild donkey that is used to the desert,
    sniffing the wind while in heat.
    All who look for you won’t get tired.
    They will find you during your monthly period.
²⁵ Don’t run until your feet are bare and your throats are dry.
    But you say that it’s useless.
    You love foreign gods and follow them.

²⁶ “As a thief feels ashamed when he’s caught,
    so the nation of Israel will feel ashamed.
        Their kings, princes, priests,
            and prophets will also feel ashamed.
²⁷ You call wood your father.
    You call stone your mother.
    You’ve turned your backs, not your faces, to me.
    But when you’re in trouble, you ask me to come and rescue you.
²⁸ Where are the gods that you made for yourselves?
    Let them come and rescue you when you’re in trouble.
        You have as many gods as you have cities, Judah!

²⁹ “Why do you complain about me?
    All of you have rebelled against me,” declares Yahweh.
³⁰ “I have punished your children without results.
    They didn’t respond to correction.
    You killed my prophets like a raging lion.

³¹ “Consider the word of Yahweh, people of this generation.
    Haven’t I been a desert, a land of thick darkness, for Israel?
        Why do my people say that they are free to wander around
            and no longer come to me?
³² A young woman can’t forget her jewelry or a bride her veils.
    Yet, my people have forgotten me for countless days.
³³ You carefully planned ways to look for love.
    You taught your ways to wicked women.
³⁴ You have the blood from poor and innocent people
    on your clothes.
        You didn’t kill them for breaking into your home.
³⁵ In spite of all this you say, ‘I’m innocent.
    Yahweh will turn his anger from me,
        because I haven’t sinned.’
³⁶ You change your mind so easily.
    You will be put to shame by Egypt
    as you were put to shame by Assyria.
³⁷ You will also leave this place with your hands over your head,
    because Yahweh has rejected those you trust.
        You will not be helped by them.”

If a man divorces his wife
    and she leaves him and marries another man,
        her first husband shouldn’t go back to her again.
            The land would become thoroughly polluted.
    “You have acted like a prostitute who has many lovers.
    And now you want to come back to me!” declares Yahweh.

² “Look at the bare hills, and see.
    You have had sex with men in every place.
    You sat by the roadside waiting for them like a nomad in the desert.
    You have polluted the land with your prostitution and wickedness.
³ So the rain has been withheld, and there have been no spring showers.
    Yet, you have the shameless look of a prostitute,
    and you refuse to blush.
⁴ But now you are calling to me.
    You say, ‘Ab! You have been my companion
        ever since I was young.
⁵             He won’t hold a grudge forever.
            He won’t always be angry.’
    You have said and done all the evil things that you could.”

“‘Come back, unfaithful Israel.
    It is Yahweh speaking.
        I will no longer frown on you
            because I’m merciful,’ declares Yahweh.
        ‘I will no longer be angry with you.
¹³ Admit that you’ve done wrong!
    You have rebelled against Yahweh your Elohim.
    You have given yourself to strangers under every large tree.
    You have not obeyed me,’ declares Yahweh.

¹⁹ “I wanted to treat you like children
    and give you a pleasant land,
        the most beautiful property among the nations.
    I thought that you would call me Ab and wouldn’t turn away from me.
²⁰ But like a wife who betrays her husband,
    so you, nation of Israel, betrayed me,” declares Yahweh.

²¹ The sound of crying is heard on the hills.
    It is the crying and the pleading of the people of Israel.
        They have become crooked
            and have forgotten Yahweh their Elohim.
²² “Come back, you rebellious people,
    and I will forgive you for being unfaithful.”

Here we are!
    We have come to you because you are Yahweh our Elohim.
²³ Truly, the noise from the hills, from the mountains,
    is the noise of false worship.
    Truly, Yahweh our Elohim will rescue us.
²⁴ Ever since we were young,
    the shameful worship of Baal
        has taken everything our ancestors worked for,
            their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.
²⁵ We must lie down in our shame
    and be covered by our disgrace.
    Ever since we were young, we and our ancestors have sinned
    against Yahweh our Elohim.
        We haven’t obeyed Yahweh our Elohim.

“If you come back, Israel,
    if you come back to me,
    if you take your disgusting idols out of my sight
    and you don’t wander away from me,
² if you take the oath, “As Yahweh lives . . .”
    in an honest, fair, and right way,
    then the nations will be blessed,
    and they will be honored by me.”

Plow your unplowed fields,
    and don’t plant among thorns.
⁴ Be circumcised by Yahweh,
    and get rid of the foreskins of your hearts,
        people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem.
    If you don’t, my fury will flare up like a fire.
    It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out,
        because of the evil you do.

⁵ Report this message in Judah.
    Make it heard in Jerusalem.
    Say, “Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land.”
        Shout loudly and say, “Gather together!
            Let’s go into the fortified cities.”
⁶ Raise the flag to signal people to go to Zion.
    Take cover!
        Don’t just stand there!
    I’m bringing disaster and widespread destruction from the north.
⁷ A lion has come out of its lair.
    A destroyer of nations has set out.
    He has left his place to destroy your land.
        Your cities will be ruined, and no one will live in them.
⁸ So put on sackcloth, mourn, and cry
    because Yahweh’s burning anger hasn’t turned away from us.

⁹ “When that day comes,” declares Yahweh,
    “the king and the leaders will lose their courage.
    The priests will be stunned.
    The prophets will be amazed and astonished.”

¹⁰ I said, “Adonay Yahweh,
    you certainly have deceived these people and Jerusalem.
        You said that everything would go well for them,
            but a sword is held at their throats.”

¹¹ At that time it will be said to these people and to Jerusalem:
    “A hot wind from the heights will blow in the desert
        on the tracks of my people.
            It will not be a wind that winnows^[d] or cleanses.
¹² It will be a stronger wind than that.
    It will come from me.
    Now, I will pass sentence on them.”

¹³ The enemy comes up like clouds.
    His chariots are like a raging wind.
    His horses are faster than eagles.
    How horrible it will be for us! We will be destroyed!
¹⁴ Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart
    so that you may be rescued.
        Don’t continue making evil plans.
¹⁵ A message is heard from Dan,
    and a report of disaster comes from the mountains of Ephraim.
¹⁶ Warn the nations about these things.
    Bring them to the attention of Jerusalem.
    “Hostile troops are coming from a distant country.
        They are shouting battle cries against the cities of Judah.
¹⁷ They surround them like men guarding a field,
    because Judah has rebelled against me,”
        declares Yahweh.
¹⁸ “You brought this on yourself.
    This is your punishment.
    It is bitter.
    It breaks your heart.”

¹⁹ My anguish, my anguish!
    I writhe in pain.
        My heart is beating wildly!
        My heart is pounding!
    I can’t keep quiet
        because I hear a ram’s horn sounding the alarm for war.
²⁰ One disaster follows another.
    The whole land is ruined.
    My tents are suddenly destroyed.
    Their curtains are torn in an instant.
²¹ How long must I see the battle flag and hear the sound of rams’ horns?

²² “My people are fools. They don’t know me.
    They are stupid people. They don’t understand.
    They are experts in doing wrong,
        and they don’t know how to do good.”

²³ I see the earth. It’s formless and empty.
    I see the sky. Its lights are gone.
²⁴ I see the mountains. They are shaking,
    and the hills are swaying.
²⁵ I see that there are no people,
    and every bird has flown away.
²⁶ I see that the fertile land has become a desert,
    and all its cities are torn down
        because of Yahweh and his burning anger.

The whole earth will be ruined,
    although I will not destroy it completely.
²⁸ The earth will mourn, and the sky will grow black.
    I have spoken, and I have planned it.
        I won’t change my plans, and I won’t turn back.
²⁹ All the people in the city will flee
    at the sound of riders and archers.
        They will go off into the thickets
            and climb among the rocks.
    The entire city will be abandoned, and no one will live in it.

³⁰ You are going to be destroyed!
    What are you going to do?
        Why do you dress in red and put on gold jewelry?
        Why do you wear eye shadow?
            You are making yourself beautiful for nothing.
                Your lovers reject you; they want to kill you.

³¹ I hear a woman in labor.
    I hear the woman cry with anguish as she gives birth to her first child.
    My people Zion are gasping for breath.
        They are stretching out their hands, saying,
            “How horrible it is for us!
            We’re defenseless in the presence of murderers!”

⁷ “Why should I forgive you?
    Your children abandoned me.
        They took godless oaths.
        They committed adultery, even though I satisfied their needs.
        They traveled in crowds to the houses of prostitutes.
⁸ They are like well-fed stallions that are wild with desire.
    They neigh for their neighbors’ wives.
⁹ I will punish them for these things,” declares Yahweh.
    “I will punish this nation.

¹⁰ “Go among Jerusalem’s rows of grapevines and destroy them,
    but don’t destroy all of them.
    Cut off the branches because they don’t belong to Yahweh.
¹¹ The nations of Israel and Judah are unfaithful to me,”
    declares Yahweh.
¹² They lie about Yahweh and say,
    “He doesn’t exist!
        Nothing bad will happen to us.
            We won’t experience war or famine.
¹³ The prophets are nothing but windbags.
    Yahweh hasn’t spoken through them,
    so let what they say happen to them.”

Because you’ve talked like this,
    I’m going to put my words in your mouth like a fire.
        These people will be like wood.
            My words will burn them up.
¹⁵ Nation of Israel, I’m going to bring a nation from far away
    to attack you, declares Yahweh.
        It is a nation that has lasted a long time.
        It is an ancient nation.
            You don’t know the language of this nation.
            You can’t understand what its people say.
¹⁶ Their arrow quivers are like open graves.
    They are all mighty warriors.
¹⁷ They will devour your harvest and your food.
    They will devour your sons and your daughters.
        They will devour your flocks and your cattle.
            They will devour your grapevines and your fig trees.
                With their swords they will destroy
                    the fortified cities you trust.
¹⁸ Yet, even in those days, declares Yahweh,
    I won’t destroy all of you.

²⁰ “Tell this to the descendants of Jacob, and make this heard in Judah:
²¹ Hear this, you stupid and senseless people!
    You have eyes, but you cannot see.
    You have ears, but you cannot hear.
²² Don’t you fear me?” asks Yahweh.
    “Don’t you tremble in my presence?
        I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
            a permanent barrier that it cannot cross.
                Although the waves toss continuously,
    they can’t break through.
        Although they roar, they can’t cross it.
²³ But these people are stubborn and rebellious.
    They have turned aside and wandered away from me.
²⁴ They don’t say to themselves,
    ‘We should fear Yahweh our Elohim.
        He sends rain at the right time,
            the autumn rain and the spring rain.
            He makes sure that we have harvest seasons.’
²⁵ Your wickedness has turned these things away.
    Your sins have kept good things away from you.

²⁶ “Wicked people are found among my people.
    They lie in ambush like bird catchers.
    They set traps and catch people.
²⁷ Like cages filled with birds, their houses are filled with deceit.
    That is why they become powerful and rich.
²⁸ They grow big and fat.
    Their evil deeds have no limits.
    They have no respect for the rights of others.
    They have no respect for the rights of orphans.
        But they still prosper.
    They don’t defend the rights of the poor.
²⁹ I will punish them for these things,” declares Yahweh.
    “I will punish this nation.

³⁰ “Something horrible and disgusting is happening in the land:
³¹ Prophets prophesy lies.
    Priests rule under the prophets’ directions,
        and my people love this.
    But what will you do in the end?”