Jeremiah 1-5
Holman Christian Standard Bible
1 The words of Jeremiah,(A) the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests living in Anathoth(B) in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah(C) son of Amon, king of Judah. 3 It also came throughout the days of Jehoiakim(D) son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah(E) son of Josiah, king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.
The Call of Jeremiah
4 The word of the Lord came to me:
5 I chose you before I formed you in the womb;
I set you apart before you were born.(F)
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.(G)
6 But I protested, “Oh no, Lord, God! Look, I don’t know how to speak(H) since I am only a youth.”(I)
7 Then the Lord said to me:
Do not say, “I am only a youth,”(J)
for you will go to everyone I send you to
and speak whatever I tell you.(K)
8 Do not be afraid of anyone,(L)
for I will be with you to deliver you.(M)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
9 Then the Lord reached out His hand, touched my mouth,(N) and told me:
I have now filled your mouth with My words.(O)
10 See, I have appointed you today
over nations and kingdoms
to uproot and tear down,
to destroy and demolish,(P)
to build and plant.(Q)
Two Visions
11 Then the word of the Lord came to me, asking, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”(R)
I replied, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”
12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I watch over My word to accomplish it.”(S) 13 Again the word of the Lord came to me inquiring, “What do you see?”
And I replied, “I see a boiling pot,(T) its lip tilted from the north to the south.”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “Disaster will be poured out[a] from the north(U) on all who live in the land. 15 Indeed, I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north.”(V)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
They will come, and each king will set up his throne
at the entrance to Jerusalem’s gates.
They will attack all her surrounding walls
and all the other cities of Judah.
16 “I will pronounce My judgments against them for all the evil they did when they abandoned Me to burn incense to other gods and to worship the works of their own hands.(W)
17 “Now, get ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by them(X) or I will cause you to cower before them. 18 Today, I am the One who has made you a fortified city,(Y) an iron pillar, and bronze walls(Z) against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the population. 19 They will fight against you but never prevail over you,(AA) since I am with you to rescue you.”(AB)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Israel Accused of Apostasy
2 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Go and announce directly to Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says:
I remember the loyalty of your youth,(AC)
your love as a bride—
how you followed Me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.
3 Israel was holy to the Lord,(AD)
the firstfruits of His harvest.(AE)
All who ate of it found themselves guilty;(AF)
disaster came on them.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
4 Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob
and all families of the house of Israel.
5 This is what the Lord says:
What fault did your fathers find in Me(AG)
that they went so far from Me,
followed worthless idols,(AH)
and became worthless themselves?(AI)
6 They stopped asking, “Where is the Lord(AJ)
who brought us from the land of Egypt,
who led us through the wilderness,(AK)
through a land of deserts and ravines,
through a land of drought and darkness,[b]
a land no one traveled through
and where no one lived?”
7 I brought you to a fertile land(AL)
to eat its fruit and bounty,
but after you entered, you defiled My land;(AM)
you made My inheritance(AN) detestable.
8 The priests quit asking, “Where is the Lord?”
The experts in the law no longer knew Me,(AO)
and the rulers(AP) rebelled against Me.
The prophets prophesied by[c] Baal(AQ)
and followed useless idols.(AR)
9 Therefore, I will bring a case against you again.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will bring a case against your children’s children.(AS)
10 Cross over to Cyprus[d](AT) and take a look.
Send someone to Kedar(AU) and consider carefully;
see if there has ever been anything like this:
11 Has a nation ever exchanged its gods?(AV)
(But they were not gods!(AW))
Yet My people have exchanged their[e] Glory
for useless idols.(AX)
12 Be horrified at this, heavens;(AY)
be shocked and utterly appalled.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
13 For My people have committed a double evil:
They have abandoned Me,(AZ)
the fountain of living water,(BA)
and dug cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.(BB)
Consequences of Apostasy
14 Is Israel a slave?
Was he born into slavery?[f]
Why else has he become a prey?
15 The young lions have roared at him;(BC)
they have roared loudly.
They have laid waste his land.(BD)
His cities are in ruins, without inhabitants.
16 The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes(BE)
have also broken your skull.
17 Have you not brought this on yourself(BF)
by abandoning the Lord your God
while He was leading you along the way?
18 Now what will you gain
by traveling along the way to Egypt(BG)
to drink the waters of the Nile?[g]
What will you gain
by traveling along the way to Assyria(BH)
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?(BI)
19 Your own evil will discipline you;(BJ)
your own apostasies will reprimand you.
Think it over and see how evil and bitter(BK) it is
for you to abandon the Lord your God
and to have no fear of Me.
This is the declaration
of the Lord God of Hosts.
20 For long ago I[h] broke your yoke;(BL)
I[i] tore off your chains.
You insisted, “I will not serve!”
On every high hill
and under every green tree(BM)
you lie down like a prostitute.(BN)
21 I planted you, a choice vine(BO)
from the very best seed.
How then could you turn into
a degenerate, foreign vine?(BP)
22 Even if you wash with lye
and use a great amount of soap,(BQ)
the stain of your sin is still in front of Me.(BR)
This is the Lord God’s declaration.
23 How can you protest, “I am not defiled;
I have not followed the Baals”?(BS)
Look at your behavior in the valley;
acknowledge what you have done.(BT)
You are a swift young camel
twisting and turning on her way,
24 a wild donkey(BU) at home[j] in the wilderness.
She sniffs the wind in the heat of her desire.
Who can control her passion?
All who look for her will not become tired;
they will find her in her mating season.[k]
25 Keep your feet from going bare
and your throat from thirst.
But you say, “It’s hopeless;(BV)
I love strangers,(BW)
and I will continue to follow them.”
26 Like the shame of a thief when he is caught,
so the house of Israel has been put to shame.(BX)
They, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets(BY)
27 say to a tree, “You are my father,”
and to a stone, “You gave birth to me.”
For they have turned their back to Me
and not their face,(BZ)
yet in their time of disaster(CA) they beg,
“Rise up and save us!”
28 But where are your gods you made for yourself?
Let them rise up and save you(CB)
in your time of disaster if they can,
for your gods are as numerous as your cities, Judah.
Judgment Deserved
29 Why do you bring a case against Me?(CC)
All of you have rebelled against Me.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
30 I have struck down your children in vain;
they would not accept discipline.(CD)
Your own sword has devoured your prophets(CE)
like a ravaging lion.
31 Evil generation,
pay attention to the word of the Lord!
Have I been a wilderness to Israel
or a land of dense darkness?(CF)
Why do My people claim,
“We will go where we want;[l]
we will no longer come to You”?
32 Can a young woman forget her jewelry(CG)
or a bride her wedding sash?
Yet My people have forgotten Me(CH)
for countless days.
33 How skillfully you pursue love;
you also teach evil women your ways.
34 Moreover, your skirts are stained
with the blood of the innocent poor.(CI)
You did not catch them breaking and entering.(CJ)
But in spite of all these things
35 you claim, “I am innocent.(CK)
His anger is sure to turn away from me.”
But I will certainly judge you
because you have said, “I have not sinned.”(CL)
36 How unstable you are,(CM)
constantly changing your ways!
You will be put to shame by Egypt(CN)
just as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37 Moreover, you will be led out from here
with your hands on your head(CO)
since the Lord has rejected those you trust;(CP)
you will not succeed even with their help.[m]
Wages of Apostasy
3 If[n] a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him to marry another,
can he ever return to her?(CQ)
Wouldn’t such a land[o] become totally defiled?
But you!
You have played the prostitute with many partners(CR)—
can you return to Me?(CS)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
2 Look to the barren heights(CT) and see.
Where have you not been immoral?
You sat waiting for them beside the highways(CU)
like a nomad in the desert.
You have defiled the land
with your prostitution and wickedness.(CV)
3 This is why the showers haven’t come(CW)—
why there has been no spring rain.
You have the brazen look(CX) of a prostitute[p]
and refuse to be ashamed.(CY)
4 Have you not lately called to Me, “My Father.(CZ)
You were my friend in my youth.(DA)
5 Will He bear a grudge forever?(DB)
Will He be endlessly infuriated?”
This is what you have said,
but you have done the evil things
you are capable of.
Unfaithful Israel, Treacherous Judah
6 In the days of King Josiah the Lord asked me, “Have you seen what unfaithful Israel has done? She has ascended every high hill and gone under every green tree to prostitute herself there.(DC) 7 I thought: After she has done all these things, she will return to Me.(DD) But she didn’t return, and her treacherous sister Judah(DE) saw it. 8 I[q] observed that it was because unfaithful Israel had committed adultery that I had sent her away and had given her a certificate of divorce.(DF) Nevertheless, her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid but also went and prostituted herself.(DG) 9 Indifferent to[r] her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones(DH) and trees.(DI) 10 Yet in spite of all this, her treacherous sister Judah didn’t return to Me with all her heart(DJ)—only in pretense.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
11 The Lord announced to me, “Unfaithful Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.(DK) 12 Go, proclaim these words to the north, and say:
Return, unfaithful Israel.(DL)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will not look on you with anger,[s]
for I am unfailing in My love.(DM)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will not be angry forever.(DN)
13 Only acknowledge your guilt(DO)—
you have rebelled against the Lord your God.(DP)
You have scattered your favors to strangers
under every green tree(DQ)
and have not obeyed My voice.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
14 “Return, you faithless children”(DR)—this is the Lord’s declaration—“for I am your master,(DS) and I will take you,(DT) one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. 15 I will give you shepherds who are loyal to Me,[t](DU) and they will shepherd you with knowledge and skill. 16 When you multiply and increase in the land,(DV) in those days”—the Lord’s declaration—“no one will say any longer, ‘The ark of the Lord’s covenant.’(DW) It will never come to mind, and no one will remember or miss it. It will never again be made. 17 At that time Jerusalem will be called, Yahweh’s Throne,(DX) and all the nations will be gathered to it,(DY) to the name of Yahweh in Jerusalem.(DZ) They will cease to follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. 18 In those days the house of Judah will join with the house of Israel,(EA) and they will come together from the land of the north to the land I have given your ancestors to inherit.”(EB)
True Repentance
19 I thought: How I long to make you My sons
and give you a desirable land,
the most beautiful inheritance(EC) of all the nations.
I thought: You will call Me, my Father,
and never turn away from Me.
20 However, as a woman may betray her lover,[u]
so you have betrayed(ED) Me, house of Israel.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
21 A sound is heard on the barren heights,
the children of Israel weeping and begging for mercy,
for they have perverted their way;
they have forgotten the Lord their God.(EE)
22 Return, you faithless children.
I will heal your unfaithfulness.(EF)
“Here we are, coming to You,
for You are the Lord our God.
23 Surely, falsehood comes from the hills,
commotion from the mountains,(EG)
but the salvation of Israel
is only in the Lord our God.(EH)
24 From the time of our youth
the shameful one[v] has consumed
what our fathers have worked for—
their flocks and their herds,
their sons and their daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame;
let our disgrace cover us.(EI)
We have sinned against the Lord our God,(EJ)
both we and our fathers,
from the time of our youth even to this day.(EK)
We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
Blessing or Curse
4 If you return,[w] Israel—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
you will return to Me,(EL)
if you remove your detestable idols(EM)
from My presence
and do not waver,
2 then you can swear, “As the Lord lives,”(EN)
in truth,(EO) in justice, and in righteousness,(EP)
then the nations will be blessed[x] by Him(EQ)
and will pride themselves in Him.(ER)
3 For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
Break up the unplowed ground;(ES)
do not sow among the thorns.(ET)
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;
remove the foreskin of your hearts,(EU)
men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.
Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire
and burn with no one to extinguish it(EV)
because of your evil deeds.
Judgment from the North
5 Declare in Judah, proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:
Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land.(EW)
Cry out loudly and say:
Assemble yourselves,
and let’s flee to the fortified cities.
6 Lift up a signal flag toward Zion.(EX)
Run for cover! Don’t stand still!
For I am bringing disaster from the north—
a great destruction.(EY)
7 A lion has gone up from his thicket;(EZ)
a destroyer of nations has set out.
He has left his lair
to make your land a waste.
Your cities will be reduced to uninhabited ruins.(FA)
8 Because of this, put on sackcloth;
mourn and wail,(FB)
for the Lord’s burning anger(FC)
has not turned away from us.
9 “On that day”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“the king and the officials will lose their courage. The priests will tremble in fear, and the prophets will be scared speechless.”
10 I said, “Oh no, Lord God, You have certainly deceived(FD) this people and Jerusalem, by announcing, ‘You will have peace,’(FE) while a sword is at[y] our throats.”
11 “At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, ‘A searing wind(FF) blows from the barren heights in the wilderness on the way to My dear[z] people. It comes not to winnow or to sift; 12 a wind too strong for this comes at My call.[aa] Now I will also pronounce judgments against them.’”(FG)
13 Look, he advances like clouds;(FH)
his chariots are like a storm.(FI)
His horses are swifter than eagles.(FJ)
Woe to us, for we are ruined!(FK)
14 Wash the evil from your heart,(FL) Jerusalem,
so that you will be delivered.
How long will you harbor
malicious thoughts within you?(FM)
15 For a voice announces from Dan,
proclaiming malice from Mount Ephraim.
16 Warn the nations: Look!
Proclaim to Jerusalem:
Those who besiege are coming
from a distant land;(FN)
they raise their voices
against the cities of Judah.
17 They have her surrounded(FO)
like those who guard a field,
because she has rebelled against Me.(FP)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
18 Your way of life and your actions
have brought this on you.(FQ)
This is your punishment. It is very bitter,
because it has reached your heart!
Jeremiah’s Lament
19 My anguish, my anguish![ab] I writhe in agony!
Oh, the pain in[ac] my heart!(FR)
My heart pounds;
I cannot be silent.
For you, my soul,
have heard the sound of the ram’s horn—
the shout of battle.
20 Disaster after disaster(FS) is reported
because the whole land is destroyed.
Suddenly my tents are destroyed,
my tent curtains, in a moment.
21 How long must I see the signal flag
and hear the sound of the ram’s horn?
22 “For My people are fools;
they do not know Me.
They are foolish children,
without understanding.(FT)
They are skilled in doing what is evil,
but they do not know how to do what is good.”(FU)
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty.(FV)
I looked to the heavens,
and their light was gone.(FW)
24 I looked at the mountains,
and they were quaking;(FX)
all the hills shook.
25 I looked, and no man was left;(FY)
all the birds of the sky had fled.(FZ)
26 I looked, and the fertile field(GA) was a wilderness.(GB)
All its cities were torn down
because of the Lord
and His burning anger.(GC)
27 For this is what the Lord says:
The whole land will be a desolation,(GD)
but I will not finish it off.(GE)
28 Because of this, the earth will mourn;(GF)
the skies above will grow dark.(GG)
I have spoken; I have planned,
and I will not relent or turn back from it.(GH)
29 Every city flees(GI)
at the sound of the horseman and the archer.
They enter the thickets
and climb among the rocks.(GJ)
Every city is abandoned;
no inhabitant is left.
30 And you, devastated one, what are you doing(GK)
that you dress yourself in scarlet,
that you adorn yourself with gold jewelry,
that you enlarge your eyes with paint?(GL)
You beautify yourself for nothing.
Your lovers reject you;(GM)
they want to take your life.(GN)
31 I hear a cry like a woman in labor,(GO)
a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child.
The cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,
stretching out her hands:(GP)
Woe is me, for my life is weary
because of the murderers!
The Depravity of Jerusalem
5 Roam(GQ) through the streets of Jerusalem.
Look and take note;
search in her squares.
If you find one person,(GR)
any who acts justly,
who seeks to be faithful,
then I will forgive her.(GS)
2 When they say, “As the Lord lives,”(GT)
they are swearing falsely.(GU)
3 Lord, don’t Your eyes look for faithfulness?(GV)
You have struck them, but they felt no pain.(GW)
You finished them off,
but they refused to accept discipline.(GX)
They made their faces harder than rock,(GY)
and they refused to return.(GZ)
4 Then I thought:
They are just the poor;
they have played the fool.
For they don’t understand the way of the Lord,(HA)
the justice of their God.(HB)
5 I will go to the powerful
and speak to them.
Surely they know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.(HC)
However, these also had broken the yoke
and torn off the chains.(HD)
6 Therefore, a lion from the forest will strike them down.(HE)
A wolf from an arid plain will ravage them.
A leopard(HF) keeps watch over their cities.
Anyone who leaves them will be torn to pieces
because their rebellious acts are many,(HG)
their unfaithful deeds numerous.(HH)
7 Why should I forgive you?
Your children have abandoned Me
and sworn by those who are not gods.(HI)
I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery;(HJ)
they gashed themselves(HK) at the[ad] prostitute’s house.
8 They are well-fed,[ae] eager[af] stallions,(HL)
each neighing(HM) after someone else’s wife.(HN)
9 Should I not punish them for these things?(HO)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge Myself(HP)
on such a nation as this?
10 Go up among her vineyard terraces and destroy them,(HQ)
but do not finish them off.(HR)
Prune away her shoots,
for they do not belong to the Lord.(HS)
11 They, the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
have dealt very treacherously with Me.(HT)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
12 They have contradicted the Lord
and insisted, “It won’t happen.[ag](HU)
Harm won’t come to us;
we won’t see sword or famine.”
13 The prophets become only wind,
for the Lord’s word is not in them.
This will in fact happen to them.
Coming Judgment
14 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Hosts says:
Because you have spoken this word,
I am going to make My words
become fire in your mouth.(HV)
These people are the wood,
and the fire will consume them.(HW)
15 I am about to bring a nation
from far away against you,(HX)
house of Israel.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
It is an established nation,
an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know
and whose speech you do not understand.(HY)
16 Their quiver is like an open grave;(HZ)
they are all mighty warriors.
17 They will consume your harvest and your food.(IA)
They will consume your sons and your daughters.
They will consume your flocks and your herds.
They will consume your vines and your fig trees.
They will destroy with the sword
your fortified cities(IB) in which you trust.
18 “But even in those days”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“I will not finish you off.(IC) 19 When people ask, ‘For what offense has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ You will respond to them: Just as you abandoned Me(ID) and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.(IE)
20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah, saying:
21 Hear this,
you foolish and senseless[ah] people.(IF)
They have eyes, but they don’t see.
They have ears, but they don’t hear.(IG)
22 Do you not fear Me?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Do you not tremble before Me,
the One who set the sand as the boundary of the sea,
an enduring barrier that it cannot cross?(IH)
The waves surge, but they cannot prevail.
They roar but cannot pass over it.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.(II)
They have turned aside and have gone away.
24 They have not said to themselves,
‘Let’s fear the Lord our God,(IJ)
who gives the rain,(IK) both early and late,(IL) in its season,(IM)
who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.’
25 Your guilty acts have diverted these things from you.
Your sins have withheld My bounty from you,(IN)
26 for wicked men live among My people.
They watch like fowlers lying in wait.[ai](IO)
They set a trap;(IP)
they catch men.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
so their houses are full of deceit.(IQ)
Therefore they have grown powerful and rich.
28 They have become fat(IR) and sleek.
They have also excelled in evil matters.
They have not taken up cases,
such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper,
and they have not defended the rights of the needy.(IS)
29 Should I not punish them for these things?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge Myself(IT)
on such a nation as this?
30 A horrible, terrible thing
has taken place in the land.(IU)
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,(IV)
and the priests rule by their own authority.
My people love it like this.
But what will you do at the end of it?(IW)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 1:14 LXX reads will boil
- Jeremiah 2:6 Or shadow of death
- Jeremiah 2:8 = in the name of
- Jeremiah 2:10 Lit to the islands of Kittim
- Jeremiah 2:11 Ancient Jewish tradition reads My
- Jeremiah 2:14 Lit born of a house
- Jeremiah 2:18 Lit of Shihor
- Jeremiah 2:20 LXX reads you
- Jeremiah 2:20 LXX reads you
- Jeremiah 2:24 Lit donkey taught
- Jeremiah 2:24 Lit her month
- Jeremiah 2:31 Or We have taken control, or We can roam
- Jeremiah 2:37 Lit with them
- Jeremiah 3:1 One Hb ms, LXX, Syr; other Hb mss read Saying: If
- Jeremiah 3:1 LXX reads woman
- Jeremiah 3:3 Lit have a prostitute’s forehead
- Jeremiah 3:8 One Hb ms, Syr read She
- Jeremiah 3:9 Lit From the lightness of
- Jeremiah 3:12 Lit not cause My face to fall on you
- Jeremiah 3:15 Lit shepherds according to My heart
- Jeremiah 3:20 Lit friend
- Jeremiah 3:24 = Baal
- Jeremiah 4:1 Or Repent
- Jeremiah 4:2 Or will bless themselves
- Jeremiah 4:10 Lit sword touches
- Jeremiah 4:11 Lit to the daughter of My
- Jeremiah 4:12 Lit comes for Me
- Jeremiah 4:19 Lit My inner parts, my inner parts
- Jeremiah 4:19 Lit the walls of
- Jeremiah 5:7 Or adultery and trooped to the, or adultery and lodged at the; Hb obscure
- Jeremiah 5:8 Lit well-equipped; Hb obscure
- Jeremiah 5:8 Lit early-rising; Hb obscure
- Jeremiah 5:12 Lit He does not exist
- Jeremiah 5:21 Lit without heart
- Jeremiah 5:26 Hb obscure
Yirmeyah 1-5
Orthodox Jewish Bible
1 Divrei Yirmeyah ben Chilkiyah, of the kohanim that were in Anatot in Eretz Binyamin;
2 To whom the Devar Hashem came in the days of Yoshiyah ben Amon Melech Yehudah, in the thirteenth year of his reign [i.e., 627.B.C.E.).
3 And in the days of Y’hoyakim ben Yoshiyah Melech Yehudah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Tzidkiyah ben Yoshiyah Melech Yehudah, that is, until the Golus Yerushalayim captive in the fifth month [i.e., 587 B.C.E.].
4 Then the Devar Hashem came unto me, saying,
5 Before I formed thee in the beten I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the rechem I set thee apart as kodesh, and I ordained thee a navi unto the Goyim.
6 Then said I, Ah, Adonoi Hashem! hinei, I have no da’as to speak; for I am a na’ar.
7 But Hashem said unto me, Say not, Na’ar anochi; for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
8 Be not afraid of them; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith Hashem.
9 Then Hashem put forth His yad, and touched my mouth. And Hashem said unto me, Hinei, I put My words in thy mouth.
10 See, I have this yom set thee over the Goyim and over the mamlachot (kingdoms), to uproot, and to tear down, and to destroy, and to demolish, to build, and to plant.
11 Moreover the Devar Hashem came unto me, saying, Yirmeyah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a makel SHAQED (a branch of an almond tree).
12 Then said Hashem unto me, Thou hast well seen: for SHOQED (WATCHING) I am over My Devar to carry it out.
13 And the Devar Hashem came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a SIYR NAFUACH (A BOILING CAULDRON) tipping over from the north.
14 Then Hashem said unto me, From the north hara’ah (the evil, disaster) TIPATACH (SHALL BE POURED OUT) upon all the inhabitants of HaAretz.
15 For, hineni, I am now summoning all the mishpekhot mamlechot of the north, saith Hashem; they shall come, they shall set every one his kisse at the petach Sha’arei Yerushalayim, and against all the surrounding chomot thereof, against all the towns of Yehudah.
16 And I will pronounce My mishpatim against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken Me, and have burned ketoret unto elohim acherim, and worshiped the works of their own hands.
17 Thou therefore tighten thy gartel of readiness, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee; be not fearful before them, lest I make thee fearful before them.
18 For, hinei, I have made thee today an ir mivtzar (a fortified city), and an ammud barzel, and a chomat nechoshet against kol HaAretz, against the melachim of Yehudah, against the sarim thereof, against the kohanim thereof, and against the am ha’aretz.
19 And they shall make war against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith Hashem, to deliver thee.
2 Moreover the Devar Hashem came to me, saying,
2 Go and cry, shouting in the ears of Yerushalayim, saying, Thus saith Hashem; I remember thee, the chesed of thy ne’urim, the ahavas of thy days as a kallah, when thou wentest after Me in midbar, in an eretz that was not sown.
3 Yisroel was Kodesh unto Hashem, and the reshit (firstfruit) of his tevu’ah (crop): all that devour him are held guilty; ra’ah shall overtake them, saith Hashem.
4 Hear ye the Devar Hashem, O Beis Ya’akov, and all the mishpekhot of Bais Yisroel:
5 Thus saith Hashem, What avel (wrong, fault) have avoteichem found in Me, that they are strayed far from Me, and have walked after hevel (vain, empty delusion), and are become deluded?
6 Neither did they ask, Where is Hashem that brought us up out of Eretz Mitzrayim, that led us through the midbar, through an eretz of deserts and pits, through an eretz tziyyah (land of drought) and tzalmavet, through eretz that no ish passed through, where no adam dwelt?
7 And I brought you into an eretz hacarmel, to eat the pri thereof and the tovah thereof; but when ye entered, ye made My land tameh, and made My nachalah a to’evah.
8 The Kohanim asked not, Where is Hashem? And they that handle the Torah had no da’as of Me; the ro’im also rebelled against Me, and the nevi’im prophesied by Ba’al, and walked after worthless things.
9 Therefore I will yet bring lawsuit against you, saith Hashem, and against bnei beneichem will I bring lawsuit.
10 For pass over to the isles of Kittim, and look; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there has ever been anything like this.
11 Hath ever a nation changed elohim, and these no elohim at all? But My people have exchanged their kavod for that which is worthless.
12 Be appalled, O ye Shomayim, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith Hashem.
13 For Ami have committed shtayim ra’ot (two evils); they have forsaken Me, the fountain of Mayim Chayim, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no mayim.
14 Is Yisroel an eved? Is he a homeborn slave? Why has he become plunder?
15 The young lions roared upon him, and growled, and they made his [Israel’s] Eretz waste; his towns are burned without inhabitant.
16 Also the Bnei Noph and Tachpanhes have broken the crown of thy head.
17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken Hashem Eloheicha, when He led thee by the derech?
18 And now what hast thou to do in the derech Mitzrayim, to drink the waters of the Shichor [[Nile] River]? Or what hast thou to do in the derech Ashur (Assyria), to drink the waters of the Euphrates [River]?
19 Thine own ra’ah shall correct thee, and thy meshuvot (backslidings) shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and mar (bitter), that thou hast forsaken Hashem Eloheicha, and that My pachad is not in thee, saith Adonoi Hashem Tzva’os.
20 For long ago I have broken thy ol (yoke), and tore off thy bonds; and thou saidst, I will not serve; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou hast sprawled, playing the zonah.
21 Yet I had planted thee a choice vine, wholly a zera emes. How then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a gefen nochriyah unto Me?
22 For though thou wash thee with lye, and take thee much soap, yet thine avon (iniquity) is marked before Me, saith Adonoi Hashem.
23 How canst thou say, I am not tameh, I have not gone after Ba’alim? See thy derech in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift camel traversing her ways;
24 A pereh used to the midbar, that sniffs up the ruach in the craving of her nefesh; in her occasion [of heat] who can turn her away? All they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.
25 Withhold thy regel from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst; but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved zarim, and after them will I go.
26 As the ganav is ashamed when he is caught, so is the Bais Yisroel ashamed; they, their melachim, their sarim, and their kohanim, and their nevi’im.
27 Saying to Etz (wood), Thou art Avi; and to Even (stone), Thou hast brought me forth; for they have turned their back unto Me, and not their face; but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and hoshi’einu (save us).
28 But where are thy elohim that thou hast made for thee? Let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble; for as many as are the mispar (number) of thy towns are thy elohim, O Yehudah.
29 Why will ye bring lawsuit against Me? Ye all have rebelled against Me, saith Hashem.
30 In vain have I struck your banim; they received no musar [cf Isa 53:5]; your own cherev hath devoured your nevi’im, like a destroying lion.
31 O HaDor (Generation), heed ye the Devar Hashem. Have I been a midbar unto Yisroel? An eretz of great darkness? Madu’a (why) say Ami, We are free; we will come no more unto Thee?
32 Can a betulah forget her jewelry, or a kallah her adornments? Yet My people have forgotten Me yamim ein mispar (days without number).
33 How well thou direct thy derech to seek ahavah? Therefore hast thou also taught hara’ot (the worst women) the darkhei (ways) of thee.
34 Also in thy skirts is found the dahm of the nefashot of the innocent poor; although you never caught them breaking in. Yet concerning all these
35 Thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely His anger shall turn from me. Hineni, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, Loh chatati (I have not sinned).
36 Why doest thou gad about so much to change the course of thy derech? Thou also shalt be ashamed of Mitzrayim, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
37 Yea, thou shalt go forth from this [dependence on religiously entangling and compromising foreign allies], and thine hands upon thine head; for Hashem hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.
3 They say, If an ish put away [in divorce] his isha, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? Shall not that eretz be defiled and forbidden? But thou hast played the zonah with re’im rabbim (many lovers); yet shuv (turn) to Me, saith Hashem.
2 Lift up thine eyes unto the hilltops, and see! Where hast thou not been lain with? In the drakhim (ways, roads) hast thou sat [waiting] for them, as the nomad in the midbar; and thou hast defiled the eretz with thy zenut (whoredom, prostitution) and with thy ra’ah (wickedness).
3 Therefore the revivim (showers) have been withheld, and there hath been no malkosh (latter rain, spring rain); and thou hadst a metzach isha zonah (whore’s forehead), and thou refusedst to blush with shame.
4 Wilt thou not from this time cry unto Me, Avi, Thou art the Alluf (Guide, Friend) of my neurim (youth)?
5 Will He reserve His anger l’olam? Will He keep it lanetzach? Hinei, this is what you preach, but you practice all hara’ot (the evils) you can.
6 Hashem said also unto me in the days of Yoshiyah HaMelech, Hast thou seen that which meshuvah Yisroel (backsliding Yisroel) hath done? She is gone up upon every high hill and under every green tree, and there hath played the zonah.
7 And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto Me. But she returned not. And her treacherous achot Yehudah saw it [i.e., saw Israel’s refusal to renounce fertility cult idolatry].
8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby meshuvah Yisroel (backsliding Yisroel) committed adultery, I had put her away, and given her a sefer keritut (bill of divorce); yet her treacherous achot Yehudah feared not, but went and played the zonah also.
9 And it came to pass through the lightness with which she [Yisroel] took her zenut (whoredom), that she defiled HaAretz, and committed adultery with HaEven (the Stone [of the fertility cult of Ba’al worship]) and with HaEtz (the Wood [of the fertility cult of Ba’al worship]).
10 And yet for all this her treacherous achot Yehudah hath not returned unto Me with her kol lev, but in sheker (falsity, pretense, an insincere religious spirit), saith Hashem.
11 And Hashem said unto me, Meshuvah Yisroel hath come nearer to justifying herself than treacherous Yehudah.
12 Go and proclaim these devarim toward the north, and say, Return, thou meshuvah Yisroel, saith Hashem; and I will not cast down Mine anger to fall upon you; for I am chasid (displaying chesed, mercy), saith Hashem, and I will not keep anger l’olam.
13 Only acknowledge thine avon (iniquity, guilt of wrongdoing), that thou hast rebelled against Hashem your G-d, and hast scattered thy favors to the zarim under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed My voice, saith Hashem.
14 Shuvu (Turn), O banim shovaviv (backsliding children), saith Hashem; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one from a town, and two from a mishpakhah, and I will bring you to Tziyon:
15 And I will give you ro’im according to Mine lev, which shall feed you with da’as and seichel.
16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in HaAretz, in those days, saith Hashem, they shall say no more, The Aron Brit Hashem: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they ask for it; neither shall another be fashioned.
17 At that time they shall call Yerushalayim the Kisse Hashem; and all the Goyim shall be gathered unto it, to the Shem Hashem, to Yerushalayim; neither shall they walk any more after the sherirut libam harah (the stubbornness of their evil heart).
18 In those days Bais Yehudah shall walk with Bais Yisroel, and they shall come together out of the eretz tzafon to HaAretz that I have given for a nachalah unto Avoteichem.
19 But I said, How shall I set thee among the banim, and give thee an eretz chemdah (a land of desire), the most beautiful nachalah of the Goyim? And I said, Thou shalt call Me, Avi; and shalt not turn back from following Me.
20 Surely as an isha treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with Me, O Bais Yisroel, saith Hashem.
21 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and tachanunei Bnei Yisroel (supplications of the Children of Israel); for they have perverted their derech, and they have forgotten Hashem Eloheihem.
22 Shuvu (return), ye banim shovavim (backsliding children), and I will heal your meshuvot (backslidings). Behold, we come unto Thee; for Thou art Hashem Eloheinu.
23 Truly in sheker is Salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains; truly in Hashem Eloheinu is the Teshu’at Yisroel (Salvation of Israel).
24 For HaBoshet (the Shame, i.e., the Ba’al fertility cult false religion) hath devoured the labor of Avoteinu from ne’ureinu (our youth): their tzon and their bakar, their banim and their banot.
25 We lie down in our Boshet (Shame), and kelimateinu (our humiliation) covereth us; for we have sinned against Hashem Eloheinu, we and Avoteinu, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of Hashem Eloheinu.
4 If thou wilt make teshuvah, O Yisroel, saith Hashem, return unto Me; and if thou wilt put away thine shikkutzim (abominations) out of My sight, then shalt thou not be moved [to wander].
2 And thou shalt swear, Chai Hashem, in emes, in mishpat, and in tzedakah; and the Goyim shall bless themselves in Him, and in Him shall they glory.
3 For thus saith Hashem to Ish Yehudah and Yerushalayim, Break up your unplowed ground, and sow not among kotzim (thorns).
4 Circumcise yourselves to Hashem, and take the mohel knife to the arelot of your levav, ye Ish Yehudah and inhabitants of Yerushalayim: lest My fury break out like eish, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.
5 Declare ye in Yehudah, and publish in Yerushalayim; and say, Blow ye the shofar in HaAretz. Cry out, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities.
6 Raise up a nes (a banner, a flag pointing to the place of refuge) over Tziyon; take refuge, delay not; for I will bring ra’ah (evil, disaster) from the tzafon (north), and shever gadol (great destruction).
7 The aryeh (lion) is come up from his thicket, and the Mashkhit Goyim (Destroyer of the Nations, i.e., Babylon) is on his way, he is gone forth from his place to make thy eretz desolate; and thy cities shall be made to lie in ruins, without an inhabitant.
8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the charon af Hashem is not turned away from us.
9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith Hashem, that the lev HaMelech shall be disheartened, and the lev hasarim; and the kohanim shall be horror-struck, and the nevi’im dumbfounded.
10 Then said I, Adonoi Hashem! Surely Thou hast greatly misled HaAm HaZeh and Yerushalayim, saying, Shalom yeheyeh lachem (Ye shall have shalom); whereas the cherev is near unto the nefesh.
11 At that time shall it be told HaAm HaZeh and Yerushalayim, A ruach tzach (a dry wind, sirocco) from the high places in the midbar toward the Bat Ami [i.e., Yisroel], not to winnow, nor to cleanse,
12 Even a ruach maleh (strong wind) from those places shall come from Me; now also I will pronounce mishpatim against them.
13 Hinei, he [the approaching foe] shall come up like ananim (clouds), and his merkavot shall be like the whirlwind; his susim are swifter than nesharim (eagles). Oy lanu! (Woe unto us!) For we are ruined.
14 O Yerushalayim, wash thine lev from rah, that thou mayest be saved. Ad mosai (how long, how much longer) shall thy sinful machsh’vot lodge within thee?
15 For a kol (voice) declareth from Dan, and publisheth evil tidings from Mt Ephrayim.
16 Tell the Goyim; hinei, spread the news to Yerushalayim, that notzrim (besiegers) come from a far country, and raise their voice against the cities of Yehudah.
17 As shomrim of a sadeh, they are against her all around; because she hath been rebellious against Me, saith Hashem.
18 Thy derech and thy deeds have brought these things upon thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is mar (bitter), for it hath touched upon thine lev.
19 My innards, my innards! I am pained at my very lev; my lev is pounding in me; I cannot keep silent, because thou hast heard, O my nefesh, the kol shofar (sound of the shofar), the teru’at milchamah (battle alarm of war).
20 Shever (destruction) follows after shever; for the whole land lies in ruins; suddenly are my ohalim destroyed, and my canopies rega.
21 Ad mosai (how long) shall I see the nes (banner), and hear the kol shofar?
22 For Ami is foolish, they have not known Me; they are stupid banim, and they have no understanding; they are chachamim to do evil, but to do good they have no da’as.
23 I beheld ha’aretz, and, hinei, it was tohu vavohu [Genesis 1:2]; and HaShomayim—there was no ohr.
24 I beheld the mountains, and, hinei, they quaked, and all the hills had crumbled.
25 I beheld, and, hinei, there was no adam, and kol oph HaShomayim fled away.
26 I beheld, and, hinei, the carmel was a midbar, and all the cities thereof lay in ruins before Hashem, before the charon af Hashem.
27 For thus hath Hashem said, A wasteland shall be kol HaAretz; yet I will not make a complete end of it.
28 For this reason HaAretz shall mourn, and HaShomayim above turn black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not relent, neither will I turn back from it.
29 Kol HaIr shall flee at the noise of the parash and the romeh keshet (the archer); they shall run into thickets, and climb up among the kefim (rocks); every city shall be deserted, and not an ish dwell therein.
30 And thou, O plundered one [Jerusalem], what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with scarlet, though thou deckest thee with jewelry of zahav, though thou paintest thy eyes with cosmetics, in vain thou adornest thyself; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy nefesh.
31 For I have heard a kol (outcry) like that of a woman in travail, and in labor pain like that of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of Bat Tziyon, that waileth, that stretcheth out her hands, saying, Oy nah li (Woe is me now)! for my nefesh is weary because of murderers.
5 Run ye to and fro through the chutzot Yerushalayim (streets of Jerusalem), and see now, and know, and seek in the rechovot thereof, if ye can find an ish, if there be any that dispenseth mishpat (justice), that seeketh the emunah (faith); and I will forgive her [Jerusalem].
2 And though they say, Chai Hashem; surely they swear lasheker (falsely).
3 Hashem, are not Thine eyes upon emunah? Thou hast struck them, but they felt no anguish; Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to accept musar [cf Isa 53:5]; they have made their faces harder than stone; they have refused to make teshuvah.
4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish; for they know not the Derech Hashem, nor the Mishpat Eloheihem.
5 I will get me unto the Gedolim, and will speak unto them; for they have known the Derech Hashem, and the Mishpat Eloheihem; but these have altogether broken off the ol (yoke), and burst the bonds.
6 Therefore an aryeh (lion) out of the forest shall slay them, and a ze’ev (wolf) of the deserts shall destroy them, a namer (leopard) shall prowl near their towns; every one that ventureth out from there shall be torn to pieces; because their peysha’im (rebellions) are many, and their meshuvot (backslidings) are increased.
7 How shall I forgive thee for this? Thy banim have forsaken Me, and sworn by them that are no elohim; when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and trooped to the bais zonah.
8 They were like well-fed, lusty susim: every one neighed after the isha of his neighbor.
9 Shall I not visit [to punish] for these things? saith Hashem; and shall not My Nefesh be avenged on such a Goy as this?
10 Go ye up through her rows of vines, and cut down; but make not a full end; take away her branches; for they are not Hashem’s.
11 For Bais Yisroel and Bais Yehudah have dealt very treacherously against Me, saith Hashem.
12 They have spoken lies about Hashem, and said, Lo hu (not He); neither shall ra’ah come upon us; neither shall we see cherev nor ra’av (famine);
13 And the nevi’im shall become ru’ach, and the Devar is not in them; thus shall it be done unto them.
14 Therefore thus saith Hashem Elohei Tzva’os, Because ye speak this devar, hinei, I will make My Devarim in thy mouth an eish, and HaAm HaZeh etzim (wood), and it shall consume them.
15 Hineni, I will bring a Goy (Nation) upon you from afar, O Bais Yisroel, saith Hashem; it is a powerful nation, a goy me’olam (an ancient nation), a nation whose leshon thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.
16 Their quiver is as an open kever (grave), they are all gibborim.
17 And they shall devour thine katzir (harvest), and thy lechem, which thy banim and thy banot should eat; they shall devour thy tzon and thine bakar; they shall eat up thy gefen and thy te’enah (fig tree); they shall impoverish thy fortified cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the cherev.
18 Nevertheless in those days, saith Hashem, I will not make a full end with you.
19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Why doeth Hashem Eloheinu all these things unto us? Then shalt thou answer them, As ye have forsaken Me, and served elohei nechar (foreign g-ds, strange g-ds) in your land, so shall ye serve zarim in an eretz not your own.
20 Declare this in Bais Ya’akov, and publish it in Yehudah, saying,
21 Hear now this, O Am Sakhal (foolish people) without understanding; which have eynayim (eyes), and see not; which have oznayim (ears), and hear not;
22 Fear ye not Me? saith Hashem; will ye not tremble at My Presence, Who hath placed the chol (sand) as the boundary of the yam by a chok olam, that it cannot transgress; and though the waves thereof toss, yet they cannot prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
23 But HaAm Hazeh hath a lev sorer (stubborn heart) and moreh (rebellious); they have revolted and departed.
24 Neither say they in their lev, Let us now fear Hashem Eloheinu, that giveth geshem, both the yoreh (former rain, autumn rain) and the malkosh (latter rain, spring rain) in season; He secureth unto us shavu’ot chukkot katzir (the appointed weeks of the harvest).
25 Your avonot (iniquities) have turned away these things, and your chatta’ot (sins) have deprived hatov from you.
26 For among Ami are found resha’im; they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a mashkhit (trap), they catch anashim.
27 As a cage is full of oph, so are their batim (houses) full of mirmah; therefore they are become powerful and oshir (rich, wealthy).
28 They have grown fat and sleek; yea, their wicked deeds are without limit; the cause of the yatom they do not plead, yet they prosper; and the mishpat evyonim (right of the poor people) they do not defend.
29 Shall I not visit [to punish] for these things? saith Hashem; shall not My nefesh be avenged on such a Goy (Nation) as this?
30 An astonishing and horrible thing is committed in HaAretz;
31 The nevi’im prophesy falsely, and the kohanim rule at their direction; and My people love to have it this way; but what will ye do in the end?
Jeremías 1-5
Reina Valera Revisada
Llamamiento y comisión de Jeremías
1 Las palabras de Jeremías, hijo de Hilcías, de los sacerdotes que estuvieron en Anatot, en la tierra de Benjamín,
2 al que vino la palabra de Jehová en los días de Josías, hijo de Amón, rey de Judá, en el año decimotercero de su reinado.
3 Le vino también en días de Joacim, hijo de Josías, rey de Judá, hasta el fin del año undécimo de Sedequías, hijo de Josías, rey de Judá, hasta la deportación de Jerusalén en el mes quinto.
4 Vino, pues, palabra de Jehová a mí, diciendo:
5 Antes que te formase en el vientre te conocí, y antes que nacieses te santifiqué, te di por profeta a las naciones.
6 Entonces dije yo: ¡Ah!, ¡ah, Señor Jehová! He aquí, no sé hablar, porque soy un muchacho.
7 Y me dijo Jehová: No digas: Soy un muchacho; porque a todo lo que te envíe irás, y dirás todo lo que te mande.
8 No tengas miedo de ellos, porque estoy contigo para librarte, dice Jehová.
9 Y extendió Jehová su mano y tocó mi boca, y me dijo Jehová: He aquí he puesto mis palabras en tu boca.
10 Mira que te he puesto en este día sobre naciones y sobre reinos, para arrancar y para destruir, y para arruinar y para derribar; para edificar y para plantar.
11 Y vino a mí la palabra de Jehová, diciendo: ¿Qué ves tú, Jeremías? Y dije: Veo una vara de almendro.
12 Y me dijo Jehová: Bien has visto; porque yo estoy atento a mi palabra para ponerla por obra.
13 Vino a mí la palabra de Jehová por segunda vez, diciendo: ¿Qué ves tú? Y dije: Veo una olla que hierve y asoma su rostro desde el norte.
14 Me dijo Jehová: Del norte se soltará el mal sobre todos los moradores de esta tierra.
15 Porque he aquí que yo convoco a todas las familias de los reinos del norte, dice Jehová; y vendrán, y pondrá cada uno su trono a la entrada de las puertas de Jerusalén, y junto a todos sus muros en derredor, y contra todas las ciudades de Judá.
16 Y a causa de toda su maldad, proferiré mis juicios contra ellos, porque me dejaron, e incensaron a dioses extraños, y adoraron la obra de sus manos.
17 Tú, pues, ciñe tus lomos, levántate, y háblales todo cuanto yo te mande; no desmayes delante de ellos, para que no te haga yo desmayar delante de ellos.
18 Porque he aquí que yo te he puesto en este día como ciudad fortificada, como columna de hierro, y como muros de bronce contra toda esta tierra, contra los reyes de Judá, sus príncipes, sus sacerdotes, y el pueblo de la tierra.
19 Y pelearán contra ti, pero no prevalecerán contra ti; porque yo estoy contigo, dice Jehová, para librarte.
Jehová y la infidelidad de Israel
2 Vino a mí palabra de Jehová, diciendo:
2 Anda y clama a los oídos de Jerusalén, diciendo: Así dice Jehová: Me he acordado de ti, del cariño de tu juventud, del amor de tus desposorios, cuando andabas en pos de mí en el desierto, en una tierra no sembrada.
3 Santo era Israel a Jehová, primicias de sus nuevos frutos. Todos los que le devoran son culpables; mal vendrá sobre ellos, dice Jehová.
4 Oíd la palabra de Jehová, oh casa de Jacob, y todas las familias de la casa de Israel.
5 Así dice Jehová: ¿Qué maldad hallaron en mí vuestros padres, que se alejaron de mí, y se fueron tras la vanidad y se hicieron vanos?
6 Y no dijeron: ¿Dónde está Jehová, que nos hizo subir de la tierra de Egipto, que nos condujo por el desierto, por una tierra desierta y despoblada, por tierra seca y de sombra de muerte, por una tierra por la cual no pasó varón, ni allí habitó hombre?
7 Y os introduje en tierra fértil, para que comieseis de sus frutos y sus bienes; pero en cuanto entrasteis, profanasteis mi tierra, e hicisteis abominable mi heredad.
8 Los sacerdotes no dijeron: ¿Dónde está Jehová?, y los depositarios de la ley no me conocieron; y los pastores se rebelaron contra mí, y los profetas profetizaron en nombre de Baal, y anduvieron tras lo que no aprovecha.
9 Por tanto, contenderé aún con vosotros, dice Jehová, y con los hijos de vuestros hijos pleitearé.
10 Porque pasad a las islas de Quitim y mirad; y enviad a Cedar, e informaos diligentemente, y ved si se ha hecho cosa semejante a esta.
11 ¿Acaso alguna nación ha cambiado sus dioses, aunque ellos no son dioses? Sin embargo, mi pueblo ha trocado su gloria por lo que no aprovecha.
12 Asombraos, cielos, de ello; horrorizaos y cobrad gran espanto, dice Jehová.
13 Porque dos males ha hecho mi pueblo: me dejaron a mí, fuente de agua viva, y cavaron para sí cisternas, cisternas rotas que no retienen agua.
14 ¿Es Israel siervo?, ¿es hijo de una esclava? ¿Por qué ha venido a ser presa?
15 Los cachorros del león rugieron contra él, alzaron su voz, y asolaron su tierra; quemadas están sus ciudades, sin morador.
16 Aun los hijos de Menfis y de Tafnes te raparon el cráneo.
17 ¿No te acarreó esto el haber dejado a Jehová tu Dios, cuando te conducía por el camino?
18 Ahora, pues, ¿qué te va a ti en el camino de Egipto, para que bebas agua del Nilo? ¿Y qué te va a ti en el camino de Asiria, para que bebas agua del Eufrates?
19 Tu propia maldad te castigará, y tus rebeldías te condenarán; sabe, pues, y ve cuán malo y amargo es el haber dejado tú a Jehová tu Dios, y faltar mi temor en ti, dice el Señor, Jehová de los ejércitos.
20 Porque desde muy atrás rompiste tu yugo y tus ataduras, y dijiste: No serviré. Tú, que sobre todo collado alto y debajo de todo árbol frondoso te echabas como ramera.
21 Y eso que yo te planté de vid escogida, simiente verdadera toda ella; ¿cómo, pues, te me has vuelto sarmiento de vid extraña?
22 Aunque te laves con lejía, y amontones jabón sobre ti, la mancha de tu pecado permanecerá aún delante de mí, dice Jehová el Señor.
23 ¿Cómo puedes decir: No soy inmunda, nunca anduve tras los baales? Mira tu proceder en el valle, conoce lo que has hecho, joven dromedaria ligera que tuerce su camino,
24 asna montés acostumbrada al desierto, que en su ardor olfatea el viento. De su lujuria, ¿quién la detendrá? Todos los que la busquen no tendrán que fatigarse, porque en el tiempo de su celo la hallarán.
25 Guarda tus pies de andar descalzos, y tu garganta de la sed. Mas dijiste: No hay remedio en ninguna manera, porque a extraños he amado, y tras ellos he de ir.
26 Como se avergüenza el ladrón cuando es descubierto, así se avergonzará la casa de Israel, ellos, sus reyes, sus príncipes, sus sacerdotes y sus profetas,
27 que dicen a un leño: Mi padre eres tú; y a una piedra: Tú nos has engendrado. Porque me volvieron la espalda, y no el rostro; y en el tiempo de su calamidad dicen: Levántate, y líbranos.
28 ¿Pues dónde están tus dioses que hiciste para ti? Levántense ellos, a ver si te podrán librar en el tiempo de tu aflicción; porque según el número de tus ciudades, oh Judá, fueron tus dioses.
29 ¿Por qué porfiáis conmigo? Todos vosotros prevaricasteis contra mí, dice Jehová.
30 En vano he azotado a vuestros hijos; no han recibido corrección. Vuestra espada devoró a vuestros profetas como león destrozador.
31 ¡Oh generación!, atended vosotros a la palabra de Jehová. ¿He sido yo un desierto para Israel, o una tierra de tinieblas? ¿Por qué ha dicho mi pueblo: Vagamos a nuestras anchas; nunca más vendremos a ti?
32 ¿Puede una doncella olvidarse de su atavío, o una desposada de sus galas? Pues mi pueblo se ha olvidado de mí por innumerables días.
33 ¿Por qué adornas tu camino para hallar amor? Por eso, aun a las malvadas enseñaste tus caminos.
34 Aun en tus faldas se halló la sangre de las almas de los pobres inocentes. No los hallaste cometiendo ningún delito; sin embargo, en todas estas cosas dices:
35 Soy inocente, de seguro su ira se apartó de mí. He aquí, yo entraré en juicio contigo, porque dijiste: No he pecado.
36 ¿Por qué eres tan ligera, cambiando tus caminos? También serás avergonzada de Egipto, como fuiste avergonzada de Asiria.
37 También de allí saldrás con las manos sobre la cabeza, porque Jehová desechó a aquellos en quienes tú confiabas, y no prosperarás por ellos.
3 Dicen: Si alguno deja a su mujer, y yéndose ésta de él se junta a otro hombre, ¿volverá a ella más? ¿No será tal tierra del todo mancillada? Tú, pues, has fornicado con muchos amantes; y, con todo, ¿quieres volver a mí?, dice Jehová.
2 Alza tus ojos a las alturas, y ve si hay lugar en que no te hayas prostituido. Junto a los caminos te sentabas para ellos como árabe en el desierto, y con tus fornicaciones y con tu maldad has contaminado la tierra.
3 Por esta causa las aguas han sido detenidas, y faltó la lluvia tardía; y has tenido frente de ramera, y no quisiste tener vergüenza.
4 A lo menos desde ahora, ¿no me llamarás a mí: Padre mío, tú eres el amigo de mi juventud?
5 ¿Guardará su enojo para siempre? ¿Hasta el final lo guardará? He aquí cómo has hablado, pero has hecho maldades y las has colmado.
Jehová exhorta a Israel y a Judá al arrepentimiento
6 Me dijo Jehová en los días del rey Josías: ¿Has visto lo que ha hecho la apóstata Israel? Ella se fue sobre todo monte alto y debajo de todo árbol frondoso, y allí ha fornicado.
7 Y dije: Después de hacer todo esto, se volverá a mí; pero no se volvió, y lo vio su hermana la traidora Judá.
8 Ella vio que por haber cometido adulterio la apóstata Israel, yo la había despedido y le había dado carta de repudio; pero no tuvo temor la pérfida Judá su hermana, sino que también fue ella y fornicó.
9 Y sucedió que por la ligereza de su fornicación, la tierra fue contaminada, y adulteró con la piedra y con el leño.
10 Con todo esto, su hermana la pérfida Judá no se volvió a mí de todo corazón, sino fingidamente, dice Jehová.
11 Y me dijo Jehová: Ha resultado justa la apóstata Israel en comparación con la desleal Judá.
12 Ve y proclama estas palabras hacia el norte, y di: Vuélvete, oh apóstata Israel, dice Jehová; no haré caer mi ira sobre ti, porque misericordioso soy yo, dice Jehová, no guardaré para siempre el enojo.
13 Tan sólo, reconoce tu maldad, que contra Jehová tu Dios has prevaricado, y te diste a dioses extranjeros debajo de todo árbol frondoso, y no oíste mi voz, dice Jehová.
14 Convertíos, hijos apóstatas, dice Jehová, porque yo soy vuestro señor; y os tomaré uno de cada ciudad, y dos de cada familia, y os introduciré en Sión;
15 y os daré pastores según mi corazón, que os apacienten con conocimiento y con inteligencia.
16 Y acontecerá que cuando os multipliquéis y crezcáis en la tierra, en esos días, dice Jehová, no se dirá más: Arca del pacto de Jehová; ni vendrá al pensamiento, ni se hará mención de ella, ni la echarán de menos, ni se hará otra.
17 En aquel tiempo llamarán a Jerusalén: Trono de Jehová; y todas las naciones se reunirán con ella en el nombre de Jehová en Jerusalén; ni andarán más tras la dureza de su malvado corazón.
18 En aquellos días andará la casa de Judá con la casa de Israel, y vendrán juntamente de la tierra del norte a la tierra que hice heredar a vuestros padres.
Prosigue el poema de la conversión
19 Pero yo había dicho: ¿Cómo te pondré entre los hijos, y te daré la tierra deseable, la más excelente heredad de las naciones? Y dije: Me llamarás: Padre mío; y no te apartarás de en pos de mí.
20 Pero como la esposa infiel abandona a su compañero, así fuisteis desleales contra mí, oh casa de Israel, dice Jehová.
21 Voz fue oída sobre las alturas, el llanto suplicante de los hijos de Israel; porque han pervertido su camino, de Jehová su Dios se han olvidado.
22 Volveos, hijos apóstatas, y sanaré vuestras apostasías. Aquí estamos; hemos venido a ti, porque tú eres Jehová nuestro Dios.
23 Ciertamente falsedad eran los collados, y el bullicio sobre los montes; ciertamente en Jehová nuestro Dios está la salvación de Israel.
24 La confusión consumió el trabajo de nuestros padres desde nuestra juventud; sus ovejas, sus vacas, sus hijos y sus hijas.
25 Yazcamos en nuestra confusión, y que nuestra afrenta nos cubra; porque hemos pecado contra Jehová nuestro Dios, nosotros y nuestros padres, desde nuestra juventud y hasta este día, y no hemos atendido a la voz de Jehová nuestro Dios.
4 ¡Si te volvieras, oh Israel!, dice Jehová, sí, vuélvete a mí. Y si quitas de delante de mí tus abominaciones, y no andas de acá para allá,
2 y juras: Vive Jehová, en verdad, en justicia y en rectitud, entonces las naciones se bendecirán en él, y en él se gloriarán.
3 Porque así dice Jehová a todo varón de Judá y de Jerusalén: Arad campo para vosotros, y no sembréis entre espinos.
4 Circuncidaos a Jehová, y quitad el prepucio de vuestro corazón, varones de Judá y moradores de Jerusalén; no sea que mi ira salga como fuego, y se encienda y no haya quien la apague, por la maldad de vuestras obras.
La invasión extranjera, anunciada y descrita
5 Anunciad en Judá, y proclamad en Jerusalén, y decid: Tocad trompeta en la tierra; pregonad a voz en grito, y decid: Reuníos, y entrémonos en las ciudades fortificadas.
6 Alzad bandera hacia Sión, escapad, no os detengáis; porque yo hago venir calamidad desde el norte, y gran destrucción.
7 El león sube de la espesura, y el destruidor de naciones está en marcha, y ha salido de su lugar para poner tu tierra en desolación; tus ciudades quedarán asoladas y sin morador.
8 Por esto vestíos de cilicio, endechad y aullad; porque la ira de Jehová no se ha apartado de nosotros.
9 Y sucederá en aquel día, dice Jehová, que desfallecerá el corazón del rey y el corazón de los príncipes, y los sacerdotes estarán atónitos, y se asombrarán los profetas.
10 Y dije: ¡Ay, Jehová Dios! Verdaderamente en gran manera has engañado a este pueblo y a Jerusalén, diciendo: Paz tendréis; pues la espada ha penetrado hasta el alma.
11 En aquel tiempo se dirá de este pueblo y de Jerusalén: Viento seco de las alturas del desierto vino a la hija de mi pueblo, no para aventar, ni para limpiar.
12 Viento demasiado fuerte para eso me vendrá a mí; y ahora yo también pronunciaré juicios contra ellos.
13 He aquí que subirá como denso nublado, y sus carros como torbellino; más ligeros son sus caballos que las águilas. ¡Ay de nosotros, porque estamos perdidos!
14 Lava de maldad tu corazón, oh Jerusalén, para que seas salva. ¿Hasta cuándo morarán dentro de ti tus siniestros pensamientos?
15 Porque una voz trae las nuevas desde Dan, y hace oír la calamidad desde los montes de Efraín.
16 Decid a las naciones: He aquí, haced oír acerca de Jerusalén: Vigías enemigos vienen de tierra lejana, y lanzarán su voz contra las ciudades de Judá.
17 Como guardas de campo están en derredor de ella, porque se rebeló contra mí, dice Jehová.
18 Tu camino y tus obras te causaron esto; ésta es tu maldad, por lo cual esta amargura penetra hasta tu corazón.
19 ¡Mis entrañas, mis entrañas! Me duelen las fibras de mi corazón; mi corazón se agita dentro de mí; no callaré; porque has oído sonido de trompeta, oh alma mía, pregón de guerra.
20 Quebrantamiento sobre quebrantamiento es anunciado; porque toda la tierra es destruida; de repente son destruidas mis tiendas, en un momento mis cortinas.
21 ¿Hasta cuándo he de ver bandera, he de oír sonido de trompeta?
22 Porque mi pueblo es necio, no me conocen; son hijos ignorantes y no tienen entendimiento; sabios para hacer el mal, pero para hacer el bien no tienen conocimiento.
23 Miré a la tierra, y he aquí que estaba asolada y vacía; y a los cielos, y no había en ellos luz.
24 Miré a los montes, y he aquí que temblaban, y todos los collados se cimbreaban.
25 Miré, y no había hombre, y todas las aves del cielo se habían ido.
26 Miré, y he aquí el campo fértil era un desierto, y todas sus ciudades eran asoladas ante la presencia de Jehová, delante del ardor de su ira.
27 Porque así dice Jehová: Toda la tierra será asolada; pero no la destruiré del todo.
28 Por esto se enlutará la tierra, y los cielos arriba se oscurecerán, porque hablé, lo decidí, y no me he arrepentido, ni desistiré de ello.
29 Al estruendo de la gente de a caballo y de los flecheros huye toda la ciudad; entran en las espesuras de los bosques, y suben a los peñascos; todas las ciudades fueron abandonadas, y no quedó en ellas morador alguno.
30 Y tú, destruida, ¿qué haces, que te vistes de grana, que te adornas con atavíos de oro, y te pintas con antimonio los ojos? En vano te engalanas; te menosprecian tus amantes, buscan tu vida,
31 porque oí una voz como de mujer que está de parto, angustia como de primeriza; la voz de la hija de Sión que, con el aliento entrecortado, extiende sus manos, diciendo: ¡Ay ahora de mí!, que mi alma desmaya delante de los asesinos.
Impiedad de Jerusalén y de Judá
5 Recorred las calles de Jerusalén, y mirad ahora, e informaos; buscad en sus plazas a ver si halláis un hombre, si hay alguno que haga justicia, que busque verdad; y yo la perdonaré.
2 Aunque digan: Como vive Jehová, juran falsamente.
3 Oh Jehová, ¿no miran tus ojos a la verdad? Los azotaste, y no les dolió; los consumiste, y no quisieron recibir corrección; endurecieron sus rostros más que la piedra, han rehusado convertirse.
4 Pero yo dije: Ciertamente éstos son pobres, han enloquecido, pues no conocen el camino de Jehová, ni la ordenanza de su Dios.
5 Iré a los grandes, y les hablaré; porque ellos conocen el camino de Jehová, y la ordenanza de su Dios. Pero ellos también quebraron el yugo, rompieron las coyundas.
6 Por tanto, el león de la selva los matará, los destruirá el lobo del desierto, el leopardo acechará sus ciudades; cualquiera que de ellas salga será arrebatado; porque sus transgresiones se han multiplicado, se han aumentado sus deslealtades.
7 ¿Cómo te he de perdonar por esto? Tus hijos me dejaron, y juraron por lo que no es Dios. Los sacié, y adulteraron, y en casa de rameras se juntaron en compañías.
8 Como caballos bien alimentados, cada cual relinchaba tras la mujer de su prójimo.
9 ¿No había de castigar esto?, dice Jehová. De una nación como esta, ¿no se había de vengar mi alma?
10 Escalad sus muros y destruid, pero no del todo: quitad las almenas de sus muros, porque no son de Jehová.
11 Porque se portaron muy deslealmente contra mí la casa de Israel y la casa de Judá, dice Jehová.
12 Renegaron de Jehová, y dijeron: Él no actúa, y no vendrá mal sobre nosotros, ni veremos espada ni hambre;
13 y los profetas serán como viento, porque no está en ellos la palabra; así se hará a ellos.
14 Por tanto, así ha dicho Jehová Dios de los ejércitos: Porque decís esta palabra, he aquí yo pongo mis palabras en tu boca por fuego, y a este pueblo por leña, y los consumirá.
15 He aquí yo traigo sobre vosotros gente de lejos, oh casa de Israel, dice Jehová; gente que no ceja, gente antigua, gente cuya lengua ignorarás, y no entenderás lo que hable.
16 Su aljaba como sepulcro abierto, todos valientes.
17 Y se comerán tu mies y tu pan, se comerán a tus hijos y a tus hijas; se comerán tus ovejas y tus vacas, se comerán tus viñas y tus higueras, y con su espada demolerán tus ciudades fortificadas, en las que confías.
18 No obstante, aun en aquellos días, dice Jehová, no os destruiré del todo.
19 Y cuando digáis: ¿Por qué Jehová el Dios nuestro hizo con nosotros todas estas cosas?, entonces les dirás tú: De la manera que me dejasteis a mí, y servisteis a dioses ajenos en vuestra tierra, así serviréis a extraños en tierra ajena.
20 Anunciad esto en la casa de Jacob, y haced que esto se oiga en Judá, diciendo:
21 Oíd ahora esto, pueblo necio y sin entendimiento, que tiene ojos y no ve, que tiene oídos y no oye:
22 ¿A mí no me temeréis?, dice Jehová. ¿No os amedrentaréis ante mí, que puse arena por término al mar, por orden eterna, la cual no puede ser traspasada? Se levantarán tempestades, mas no prevalecerán; bramarán sus ondas, mas no lo pasarán.
23 No obstante, este pueblo tiene un corazón obstinado y rebelde; traicionaron y se fueron.
24 Y no dijeron en su corazón: Temamos ahora a Jehová Dios nuestro, que da lluvia temprana y tardía en su tiempo, y nos guarda los tiempos establecidos de la siega.
25 Vuestras iniquidades han estorbado estas cosas, y vuestros pecados apartaron de vosotros el bien.
26 Porque fueron hallados en mi pueblo impíos; acechaban como quien pone lazos, pusieron trampa para cazar hombres.
27 Como jaula llena de pájaros, así están sus casas llenas de engaño; así se hicieron grandes y ricos.
28 Se engordaron y se pusieron lustrosos, y sobrepasaron los hechos del malo; no defendían la causa del huérfano para hacerla prosperar, y la causa de los pobres no defendían.
29 ¿No castigaré esto?, dice Jehová; ¿y de tal gente no se vengará mi alma?
30 Cosa espantosa y fea ha llegado a suceder en la tierra;
31 los profetas profetizaban al servicio de la mentira, y los sacerdotes dirigían a su arbitrio; y mi pueblo gustaba de esto. ¿Qué, pues, haréis cuando llegue el fin?
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International
Texto bíblico tomado de La Santa Biblia, Reina Valera Revisada® RVR® Copyright © 2017 por HarperCollins Christian Publishing® Usado con permiso. Reservados todos los derechos en todo el mundo.
