Bible in 90 Days
19 I will put a sign among them and send the survivors of My people to Tarshish, Put, and Lud (where those great archers live), from Tubal east of Lud, and Javan, which is near it. I’ll bring them here from places so far away that they’ve never heard My name, much less had a chance to see My glory. But they’ll hear about Me, far and wide among the nations. 20 And they will bring the surviving members of your family back as if they are a grain offering from all the nations. They’ll come by every conceivable means—on horse, camel, donkey, or mule, in wagons or litters—they’ll come to Jerusalem, My holy mountain. They will be delivered just as the Israelites bring their grain offerings to Me in a clean container at the temple. 21 And out of those who return, I will make priests and Levites. This is My word to you.
22 Because just as the new heavens and the new earth that I am making
will go on by My enduring will,
So your name and the people
who come from you will go on as well.
23 From one month to the next, on Sabbath after Sabbath,
everyone, every living thing, will come to this holy place
To honor Me as God of all.
This is My word to you.
24 They’ll visit the site where the people who rejected Me lie rotting on the ground,
crawling with worms that never die on a fire that just keeps smoldering.[a]
All who see it will recoil at the horrible sight.
1 1-2 This is an account of the words and deeds of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who lived in the village of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. The word of the Eternal came to him in a series of messages that started coming to the prophet in the 13th year of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah. 3 These disturbing and awesome messages continued throughout the reign of Jehoiakim, Josiah’s son, king of Judah, until Jerusalem was captured in the 5th month of the 11th year of Zedekiah, another of Josiah’s sons, who was also king of Judah.
4 And now the fateful day when the Eternal One first spoke to me:
5 Eternal One: Before I even formed you in your mother’s womb,
I knew all about you.
Before you drew your first breath, I had already chosen you
to be My prophet to speak My word to the nations.
6 Jeremiah: Ah, Eternal Lord!
I’m too young and inexperienced to speak for You.
7 Eternal One: Don’t use your youth as an excuse;
you can and will go wherever I send you.
You can and will say whatever I tell you to say.
8 You have no reason to fear the people you speak to,
for I am with you and will defend you.
9 Then the Eternal reached out and touched my mouth, and He gave me His divine message.
Eternal One: Look, I have placed My words in you.
You will know what to say now, for you will be My voice.
10 This very day I appointed you to speak with My authority over nations and kingdoms.
Your word—My word—will have the power to uproot and stamp out;
it will destroy and upend.
And then your word—My word—will rebuild and plant anew.
Nations and empires will now hear Jeremiah’s voice as God’s in these days of painful change. To confirm that Jeremiah has indeed been called to speak for God, two simple visions are given to him, each with an explanation. Both speak of coming judgment and remind the young prophet of his difficult assignment.
11 The word of the Eternal came to me.
Eternal One: What do you see, Jeremiah?
Jeremiah: I see the branch of an almond tree.
Eternal One: 12 That’s right. From this know that I am watching over My word until it is accomplished.
Words are the tools of a prophet. The word of God comes asking the prophet what he sees. He responds that he sees something rather ordinary: an almond tree. God uses this ordinary sight to give him an extraordinary message. There is a play on words here between the Hebrew words for “almond” and “watching,” which sound alike in that language. Jeremiah sees an almond, which is shaped like a person’s eye, and God says He is watching. This playful and clever use of words gets Jeremiah’s attention; it stirs his prophetic imagination so that he will similarly use poetry, wordplay, and object lessons to get the attention of his listeners. Just as the almond tree is usually the first sign of spring, soon the first signs of God’s approaching judgment will appear.
13 Then the word of the Eternal came to me a second time.
Eternal One: What do you see this time?
Jeremiah: I see a boiling pot, tilting away from the north, ready to spill out toward the south.
Eternal One: 14 That is because an evil out of the north will indeed begin spilling onto the people of this land. 15 Watch now, as I summon the clans and kingdoms of the north to march against Judah, rule with power at the very gates of Jerusalem, press in on every side, and vanquish all the cities of Judah. 16 I will declare My sentence for their wicked crimes. My own people have abandoned Me, burning incense to other gods and bowing down to handmade idols.
17 Now stand with courage, and tell the people exactly what I command. Don’t break down in front of them, or I will break you Myself. 18 Remember, Jeremiah, this very day I have made you as a fortress, a column as strong as iron, a wall of bronze able to withstand the attacks of the entire nation of Judah—from her kings and leaders to the priests and people. 19 Eventually, they will all give you trouble, but you will be safe. They will fight you, but they will not win. Remember, I am with you. I promise I will always deliver you.
2 The word of the Eternal came to me again.
With Jeremiah as God’s mouthpiece, the mighty oracles begin about a loving husband (God) divorcing his unfaithful wife (Judah).
Eternal One: 2 Go now, and say this loud enough for all Jerusalem to hear. Tell them that the Eternal speaks these words:
“I still remember the way you clung to Me in your youth, in the early days of our union.
Like a young bride, you loved the vows you made.
As I led you from slavery in Egypt to your freedom in Canaan, you drew close to Me.
Even in the barren wilderness along the way, I filled your every need.
3 In those days, you, Israel, were set apart for Me, the Eternal.
You were like the first portions of the harvest—devoted and true.
All who defied this arrangement and ate My portion for themselves were guilty,
and evil rained down upon them.”
4 Listen to the very word of the Eternal, house of Jacob and all the clans of Israel!
5 Eternal One: What happened between us?
What could I have done to your ancestors that was so wrong, so unfair?
Why would they pull away from Me
to pursue the empty worship of idols that has left them just as empty?
6 They didn’t think to say, “Where is the Eternal who rescued us from slavery in Egypt?
Where is the One who led us through the wilderness—a land of deserts and ravines?”
No one seems to remember how they crossed a scorched and lifeless land,
a darkness none had ever crossed before, a place where none survive.
7 I am the One who delivered you into this land of abundance
to enjoy its fruits and many good things.
But you have now taken the very land I gave you and defiled it.
You have done a most disgusting thing with this gift I reserved only for you.
8 Even then, the priests didn’t think to say, “Where is the Eternal One?”
Those who understand and teach the law act as if they’ve never known Me.
The rulers also have moved against Me.
Even the so-called prophets spoke in the name of Baal
and pursued worthless idols in their vain attempt for greater prosperity.
9 This is the case that I bring against you and your descendants:
10 You can search from the coastlands of Kittim in the west
to the deserts of Kedar in the east, and you won’t find anything as sickening as this.
11 Has a nation ever exchanged its gods for some others,
even if they weren’t really gods in the first place?
But My beloved people have done just that: they have exchanged their glory
to pursue worthless idols in their vain attempt for greater prosperity.
Israel’s plan to submit herself to the authority of a stronger pagan nation in return for protection makes no sense to an objective observer, much less to God Himself. During the long history of this nation, her troubles have often resulted from a stubborn refusal to trust God. They have a habit of looking elsewhere—to anywhere or anyone but God—for relief, of turning to nations that are never constant friends. For example, when the Assyrian Empire was conquering the region 100 years earlier, the Northern Kingdom of Israel attempted to ward off the threat by making treaties with other nations. Despite their feeble plans, Israel fell in 722 b.c. to Assyrian might and cruelty. Now God points out to Judah’s leaders in the Southern Kingdom how useless it is to align with either Egypt or Assyria when the punishing Babylonian army is on the horizon. It doesn’t matter how powerful her allies may seem; once the covenant with God is broken, Israel must pay for her infidelity.
12 Be horrified, O you heavens, at this appalling betrayal.
Cringe in horror and be repulsed.
13 My people are guilty of two evils:
They have abandoned Me, the spring of living waters;
And instead, they have settled for dead and stagnant water
from cracked, leaky cisterns of their own making.
14 Is Israel some common slave, born into bondage?
Why has he been carted off as if he were the spoil of battle?
15 The nations have circled him like hungry young lions,
roaring and growling their war cries.
They have left Israel a wasteland—
the cities destroyed and the people scattered.
16 Even your Egyptian allies, from Memphis and Tahpanhes,
have stripped you of land and your crowning glory.
17 Is there anyone to blame but yourself?
Weren’t you the ones who abandoned the Eternal,
Your True God, even as He led you on this journey?
18 Eternal One: What do you hope to accomplish by going to Egypt
and drinking from the waters of the Nile?
What do you think you will gain by traveling to Assyria
and drinking from the waters of the Euphrates?
19 It is your wickedness that will punish you
and your desertion of My ways that will convict you.
See the evil and taste the bitterness of forsaking the one True God, the Eternal.
At the core of this evil is the sad truth that you have forgotten the wonder and terror of who I am.
So says the Eternal Lord, Commander of heavenly armies.
20 Eternal One (to His people): A long time ago, I broke the yoke that weighed you down
and tore off the chains that enslaved you;
Still you boldly said, “I will not serve You!”
Instead, you bowed down like a whore to pagan gods on the high hills, under every green tree.
21 I am the One who planted you like a select vine, chosen from vintage stock.
How could you turn into such a useless, wild weed of a vine?
22 You can scrub yourself with all the soap you want,
but you’ll never be able to wash away the stain of what you’ve done before Me.
So says the Eternal Lord.
23 Eternal One (to His people): How can you say, “I have not been defiled”?
How can you reply, “I have not run after the idols of Baal?”
You know exactly what you’ve done down in the valley—
you’re like a young camel running here and there without any direction.
24 You’ve acted like a wild donkey at home in that desert,
sniffing at the wind for any scent of the next encounter, unbridled in her lust.
It’s not even fair to say you were seduced by these gods.
You sought them out!
25 I warn you again: stop running after these rituals
till your feet are bare and your throat is dried out.
You said, “I can’t help myself, for I love these strange gods I am chasing after.”
26 Like a thief caught in the act, the people of Israel will be put to shame:
kings, leaders, priests, and prophets will be shamed.
27 They say to a piece of wood, “You are my father”;
they confess to a stone, “You gave me birth.”
They have shunned Me, who gave them life—turning their backs
instead of facing Me—
But that will change when troubles come.
That’s when they will cry out to Me, “Stand up for us, and save us!”
28 O Judah, where will your pagan gods be then?
You know, the ones you made yourself?
Let them stand up on their own.
See if they’re able to save you from your troubles.
You have as many gods as villages, Judah. Now let them take care of you.
29 Why are you leveling charges against Me?
You are the unfaithful one here.
You have all pulled away from Me.
30 I tried to discipline your sons, but it didn’t work; they wouldn’t listen.
You destroyed the prophets I sent to speak truth to you.
You devoured them as a lion does his prey.
31 People of this generation, consider again the word of the Eternal.
Eternal One: Have I been a barren wasteland to Israel with nothing to offer?
Am I no more than a land cloaked in darkness to them?
Why do My own people say to Me,
“We would rather wander where we want than come to You”?
32 Does a young woman ever forget her jewelry?
Does a bride forget to bring along her wedding dress?
And yet My people forgot Me long, long ago.
33 How good you’ve become at your reckless loving!
You could teach even a loose woman a thing or two.
34 The stain of the blood of the poor and the innocent is on your clothes
Even though you didn’t find them breaking into your houses.
In spite of it all,
35 Still you dare to say, “I am innocent;
surely God could not be angry with me anymore.”
Yet watch as I condemn you
because you perjure yourself saying, “I have not sinned.”
36 How do you keep changing directions,
making a covenant with Me, then a treaty with them?
You will soon be disappointed by the alliance with Egypt
just as you were by the one with Assyria.
37 You will leave this land as captives, with your hands on your head.
Why? Because I, the Eternal One, have rejected those you relied on.
You will never prosper from their help.
3 Eternal One: If a husband divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he ever go back to her again? Such behavior would violate what is right, and the land itself would be tainted with sin. Now you, Judah, have acted like a whore and taken on many lovers. Why are you trying to return to Me now?
2 Look up to the hilltops. Take a good look.
Is there anywhere you have not committed perverse acts in the company of other gods?
You sat on the side of the road, offering yourself to lovers;
like a desert nomad you waited, patiently.
Even the land itself is tainted by your prostitution and wickedness.
From the beginning, the covenant between God and His people is clear. They are to worship and trust Him alone. They are to remain true to His teachings. So when God sees His people worshiping idols made of stone and wood, when He sees them participating in demeaning sexual practices with prostitutes as part of local fertility rites, it is too much. The people of Judah have been unfaithful in nearly every way imaginable. They have witnessed what happened to the adulterous Northern Kingdom of Israel. But somehow, these stubborn people think they are special, even immune to such disaster. They think if they say the right prayers in the right ways to the right God from time to time, then all the blatant violations of God’s covenant will be ignored. The prophet Jeremiah sees it all differently.
God will send out a message to the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom, which He still calls Israel. For decades, those people have been scattered throughout the Assyrian Empire to the north, while their land has been under enemy occupation. But despite the tribes’ faithlessness, these many years later, the God of mercy offers to restore them. In the midst of divine judgment, God utters words of hope; but this hope, this restoration, is only found in true repentance.
3 That is why I have held back the rain,
why the spring rains have not come.
But you still look and act the part of a prostitute—
unfazed, unashamed.
4 But wait, did you just now call out to Me, saying,
“My Father, You have been my friend, my confidant since I was young”?
5 You ask, “Surely He won’t be angry forever, will He?
Surely He won’t hold this against us to the end, right?”
This is how you talk—as if all I want are your words;
meanwhile you continue in your selfish and evil ways.
6 Then the Eternal who rules over all of history reminded me of a lesson my people, Judah, should have learned from Israel a century ago. He spoke these words to Judah early in my career, during the days of Josiah the king.
Eternal One: Have you not learned anything from Israel’s unfaithful ways? How she turned away from Me, went up every high hill and under every green tree to worship another. She acted like a prostitute and broke our covenant there. 7 I thought, “After she’s done all this, she’ll return home to Me,” but it never happened. She didn’t come back. And her deceitful sister, Judah, saw all of this and learned nothing. 8 She saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away with a decree of divorce for these acts of adultery. But it didn’t matter to her deceitful sister, Judah. She wasn’t afraid or moved by any of this. She went her own way and played the prostitute as well. 9 In fact, because her own infidelity bothered her so little, she defiled the land by committing adultery, worshiping stones and trees instead of Me. 10 And while this was a lesson to be learned by deceitful Judah, it was an opportunity lost—for she never learned it; she never completely returned to Me. She only pretended to be Mine, as if empty words would satisfy Me.
11 (to Jeremiah) Despite her faithlessness, Israel has proven to be more righteous than her deceitful sister, Judah. 12 Now go and cry out these words of hope to those people in the north:
“Return to Me, faithless Israel.
I will look on you with mercy, not anger.
I will not hold this grudge against you forever.
13 Just admit what you did—your sin against Me.
How you rebelled against the Eternal your God.
How you gave yourself away to these foreign gods in the open, under the trees!
How you disobeyed My voice.
14 Come back home, My restless, faithless ones,
for I am your master, your husband (not that other god),
And I will take you in—one from this city, two from that clan;
I will bring you home to Zion.
15 “Then I will give you shepherds who trust and know Me, wise teachers who will impart knowledge and understanding to you. 16 In those days, after your people have grown and increased in the land, they will no longer talk about the covenant chest of the Eternal. They won’t think about it, remember it, or even miss it. There will be no need for it to be made again. 17 In this coming age, Jerusalem will be known as the throne of the Eternal. All the nations of the world will be drawn there to her, to honor the name of the Eternal. The days of people insisting on their own stubborn ways dictated by their own evil hearts will be gone. 18 In that day, the split between My people will be mended. Judah and Israel will walk together again. From a land to the north, they will come to this land I gave only to your ancestors.
19 “I thought to Myself how much I wanted to welcome you home as children
and bless you with a good land and a future to be envied by all the world.
I hoped for the day when you would call Me ‘My Father,’
and no longer pull away from Me and My ways.
20 But just as an unfaithful wife betrays her husband,
so have you betrayed Me, O house of Israel.”
Jeremiah tells the people what could happen, if only they will repent. The prophet hopes for dialogue between Israel and the God who has never stopped loving her.
21 A sound now echoes from the deserted hills
where Israel betrayed her God.
It is the sound of bitter tears mixed with the prayers
of the lost and rebellious people of Israel
who have forgotten the Eternal, their True God.
22 Eternal One: Come back to Me, My faithless ones,
and I will heal your faithlessness.
Israel: Look! We come to You now,
because You are the Eternal our God.
23 The idols we worshiped on the hills,
the rituals we performed on the mountains were based on a lie.
You, the Eternal, our one True God,
are the only hope of Israel’s rescue.
24 Everything our parents worked for—their livestock and even their families—has been devoured by the worship of the shameful god. 25 Let us fall on our faces in shame, covered in our humiliation. Ours is a legacy of rebellion, for we and those before us have sinned against the Eternal our God. From the time we were young to this very day, we have refused to obey His voice.
4 Eternal One: O Israel if you turn, turn home to Me.
Just turn away from the vile worship of those things,
those idols that repulse Me.
Put them out of My sight for good.
Come home to Me and never stray.
2 If you make a promise in My name, saying, “As the Eternal lives,”
and do so in truth, justice, and righteousness,
Then the nations will discover true blessing in Me
and give Me the praise I deserve.
3 This is what the Eternal now says to the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem.
Eternal One: Break up the hard, untilled soil!
It is a waste to plant seeds among thorns.
4 Circumcise yourselves to Me;
cut away the foreskin of your hearts,
men of Judah and people of Jerusalem.
Remove all that stands between us,
and devote yourselves fully to Me,
Or the heat of My anger will burn as an unquenchable fire
against your wicked ways.
The warnings now climax with a vision of invasion and destruction that is almost more than the young prophet can bear. Still God instructs Jeremiah to speak these words of terror, and this prophet who loves the people he has been called to chastise struggles with his mission. In the midst of this painful vision, Jeremiah begins to wonder aloud to the very God for whom he speaks. As he proclaims, he prays. As he waits for answers, the words of devastation continue.
5 Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Cry out to those in Jerusalem. Proclaim to all of Judah.
Let the trumpets blare throughout the land!
Say to the people, “Gather everyone from the outlying villages,
and run toward the fortified cities.”
6 Raise a banner toward Zion, Jerusalem;
point everyone toward her refuge.
Don’t wait, for I am releasing an evil from the north that will devastate the land.
7 For a lion has stepped out of the thicket;
A destroyer of nations is on the move.
He has left his den to devour your land;
your cities will be left in ruin, empty and lifeless.”
8 The time of mourning is here.
Put on your sackcloth, and get ready to cry and scream.
Since we have not turned from our sin,
the blazing anger of the Eternal has not turned away from us.
Eternal One: 9 On that fearsome day, even the hearts of kings and leaders will fail. Priests will recoil in horror. Prophets will be shocked into silence.
Jeremiah: 10 But Eternal Lord, You have misled this people and all of Jerusalem when you said, “You will live in peace.” Even now the cold blade of the sword is pressed against our throats.
11 The day is coming soon when Jerusalem and the people beyond will be told, “A blistering wind will blow in from the desert mountains toward My daughter, My people: a wind too strong to winnow the grain and clean the crops, 12 a wind too powerful to withstand for it comes from Me. It is My judgment that will bear down on you.”
13 Look, you can see Him coming in the distance, like a cloud on the horizon.
Like a whirlwind, His chariots of destruction will descend on you.
Swifter than eagles are His horses. At the sight of this, you will cry out, “Alas, we are doomed!”
14 Hear me, O Jerusalem, for even now there is time.
Wash these wicked ways from your hearts
So that you can be saved.
How long will you cling to those wicked thoughts?
15 From the tribe of Dan in the north comes the first cry;
news of disaster arrives from the hill country of Ephraim.
16 Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Tell the nations to beware.
Announce to Jerusalem:
“Invaders are coming from a distant land.
Their war cries will soon be heard in Judah’s villages.”
17 They will spread out and surround Jerusalem on every side like guards in a field,
all because she has acted against Me.
18 (to the people) You chose this path that led to disaster.
Your plans and actions brought it on.
It is your wickedness that tastes so bitter,
your evil that pierces your heart.
19 I’ve got this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. I’m in agony.
Every beat of my heart pounds with an awful dread.
I can’t stay silent, for I know what is coming—
oh my soul, there it is: the blast of the trumpet;
The battle cries of the invading hoards.
20 Crushing defeat after crushing defeat. That’s the news.
The land is in ruins, all of it.
In an instant, my world changed;
in a moment, my tents destroyed, my curtains torn, my refuge gone.
21 How long must I see the flags of the enemy?
How long must I be forced to hear the trumpets sound?
Eternal One (to Jeremiah): 22 My people are foolish.
They do not know Me at all.
They are reckless, senseless children.
They are clever and cunning when it comes to evil,
But inept and incapable of doing good.
23 I looked at the earth and saw that it was again formless and empty;
I looked at the heavens and saw no light.
24 I looked at the mountains and saw them quaking;
all the hills, they shuddered.
25 I looked around and saw no hint of life.
The people were gone. The birds had fled the sky.
26 I looked at what was once a garden and saw a desert—
the rubble of its cities torn down right in front of the Eternal and His fierce anger.
27 Eternal One: The whole land will lie in ruin,
but I will not completely destroy it.
28 Because of this devastation,
the earth will mourn and the skies will darken—for I have spoken.
Once I have decided, I will not change My mind.
I will not turn back from this.
29 As the horseman thunders closer and the archer draws near,
the people panic and the cities empty.
They scatter to the bushes; they scramble to the hills.
The villages are abandoned, for no one dares remain.
30 So what are you doing, my ravaged one?
Why are you dressing up in scarlet, putting on your gold jewelry,
And painting your eyes to make them larger, more beautiful?
You’re wasting your time.
Your lovers want nothing to do with you.
In fact, they despise you, and are looking to kill you.
31 I hear a cry like a woman in labor, the distress of a first-time mother.
It is the anguish of my people; it is the voice of the daughter of Zion,
Gasping for breath, reaching for help, as she cries out,
“I am faint, and my life is in the hands of murderers!”
5 Eternal One: Roam the streets of Jerusalem, and tell Me what you see, Jeremiah.
See if you can find anything good happening anywhere.
Look in the marketplaces and open spaces of the city.
If you can find just one honest person who lives according to My ways,
I’ll spare the city of this horror.
2 I hear them making oaths in My name. “As the Eternal lives,” they say.
But they know the oaths are not true.
As when Abraham pleaded with God over Sodom’s fate (Genesis 18:23–32), God is willing to spare Jerusalem if the prophet can find a single person, honest and true, living there.
3 Jeremiah: O Eternal One, aren’t You looking for truth and integrity?
You struck them, but they did not flinch.
You destroyed them, but they did not yield to Your correction.
They wouldn’t change their ways.
They have set their stony faces against You—
defiant and determined, refusing to repent.
4 And I thought to myself, “How could they know any better?
They are poor and senseless people, unfamiliar with the ways of the Eternal,
Unaware of what their God requires.
5 So I will go to their leaders and share what I see.
They will do the right thing because they know the Eternal’s ways.
Surely, they will do what their God requires.”
But to a person, I was wrong; leaders were no different;
They, too, had broken the yoke, burst the bonds,
and pulled away from God’s guidance and correction.
6 Therefore, from the forest, a lion will strike.
From the desert, a wolf will pounce and destroy.
And from the shadows, a leopard now stalks their villages,
waiting to tear apart any who dare wander outside.
Such is the fate of all who fall away,
for their rebellion is great; their sins are many.
7 Eternal One (to His people): How can I forgive what you’ve done?
You have passed on your legacy of rebellion to your children who also rejected Me.
They have made unholy oaths in the names of so-called gods.
Why? I have fed them till they were full, and still they wanted more.
So they betrayed Me with their adultery,
trooping off to worship idols, filling up the houses of prostitutes.
8 They have everything they need, and still they want more.
Like lusty stallions, they call for each other’s mate.
9 Should I not punish them for these atrocities?
Against this nation, should I not avenge Myself?
10 (to His people’s enemies) Walk through the rows in her vineyards, and destroy them.
But do not destroy them completely.
Lop off the branches,
for they do not belong to Me, the Eternal.
11 Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have betrayed Me.
12 They spew lies about the Eternal that mock My sovereign power.
They have said, “Nothing will happen! God will not hurt us!
All this talk of war and famine is just talk.
13 As for the prophets, they are full of hot air;
the word of God is not in them;
Let their words of doom fall on them.”
14 The Eternal One, Commander of heavenly armies, has this to say:
Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Because this is the way they[b] speak,
I am going to turn My words in your mouth into a fire,
A fire that will consume these people; they are nothing but kindling for My fury.
15 (to His people) O house of Israel, I am stirring up a distant nation to march against you.
They are an enduring people from ancient times.
The language they speak is unknown to you;
you will not understand them.
16 Their quiver is like a gaping grave, full of death.
They are all mighty warriors.
17 They will devour your harvest and your food.
They will devour your sons and daughters.
They will devour your livestock, flocks, and herds.
They will devour your vineyards and orchards.
They will wield their swords
and cut down the fortified cities you think are so safe.
(to Jeremiah) 18 But even then, I will not destroy your people completely. 19 So when they ask you, “Why has the Eternal done this to us? Why would our one True God treat us this way?” remind them and speak to them My words: “Because you have rejected Me and bowed down to foreign gods in a land that was yours, now you will bow down to a foreign people in a land that is not yours.”
20 Declare My truth to the house of Jacob.
Proclaim it throughout the land of Judah:
21 Hear Me you foolish, heartless people.
Even with eyes and ears you are still blind and deaf to what is happening.
22 Do you not realize who I am? Do you not fear Me?
Do you not shake in the presence of the Eternal, the Creator of all things?
It is I who has drawn for all time the boundaries of the sea.
The waves may crash and roar against the sand,
But the waters do not cross the lines I have drawn.
23 But with stubborn and defiant hearts, this people
ignored Me and left Me for another.
24 It never occurs to them to say,
“Let us stand in awe of the Eternal our God,
For He sends the rain—both the autumn and the spring rain—
and He brings the harvest at just the right time year after year.”
25 It is your sins that hold back the rain.
It is your rebellion that keeps good things from happening to you.
26 Lurking among My own people are the wicked
who watch and wait, preying on the less fortunate.
Like hunters who set traps for birds,
they ensnare people for their own benefit.
27 Like a cage full of noisy birds, their homes are filled with screeching lies.
This is how they have become so rich and important—because others fell for their lies.
28 This is how they have grown so fat and polished.
Their evil deeds know no boundaries.
They do not take the side of the orphaned to help them prosper.
They do not seek justice for the poor;
29 Should I not punish them for these atrocities?
Against a nation like this, should I not avenge Myself?
30 (to His people) Something horrible and appalling has happened
in this land of promise.
31 The prophets who claim to speak for Me
are nothing more than false prophets, spewing lies and empty predictions.
The priests who were to do My bidding have chosen to go their own way,
and all the while, My people think nothing of it.
They actually prefer it this way,
but when the end comes, when My justices arrives, what will you do then?
God, through His prophet, speaks about the ills of a greedy people who have forgotten how much the poor and orphaned matter to Him. The stench of injustice has become unbearable. For God, it is time to act.
As the swirling clouds gather to form a storm only Jeremiah sees on the horizon, the destruction of Jerusalem seems at hand. This ancient city, this storied place, is on the brink of a disaster beyond imagination. God is raising up an army from an ancient nation, known for its power and cruelty. For the prophet of God, the minutes are blurring into seconds. There seems to be little time to run and hide as the city will soon fall into the hands of those who mean her harm.
6 Eternal One (to His people): Run away, people of Benjamin,
and take refuge anywhere but Jerusalem.
You’re not safe inside those walls.
From the village of Tekoa, blow the trumpet, sound the alarm.
Light the warning fires above Beth-haccerem across the land.
For evil peers down; a dark army of destruction is gathering in the north.
2 I will destroy Jerusalem,
beautiful and delicate daughter of Zion.
3 As shepherds come and surround her with flocks of hungry sheep,
so their enemies will gather their troops around you, set up camp,
And feed off your land as they see fit.
4 “Get ready for the battle,” they cry.
“Come on, let’s attack. It’s already noon!
But look, the day is half over—
the shadows are growing longer.
5 So arise, let us launch our attack at night.
The palaces will fall in the darkness!”
6 This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, decrees.
Eternal One: Cut down her trees—make battering rams and siege ramps—
for Jerusalem will soon be under attack.
Swarm over those walls, you invading hoards,
and punish My Jerusalem, the city of oppression.
7 Like fresh water from a well,
fresh wickedness flows from deep inside of her.
Sounds of cruelty and destruction rumble through this city;
her wounds are always before Me.
8 Take Me seriously, O Jerusalem; this warning is for you!
Listen to My words and turn away from evil
Or I will turn away from you in disgust.
I will turn you into a land so barren that no one would dare to live there.
9 This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, decrees:
Eternal One: The enemy will pass over the remnant of Israel again and glean what is left,
like the worker who checks the vine again for any missed grapes.
10 To whom should I speak and give this warning?
Who will listen to what I say?
Their ears are closed; they cannot hear. They’re deaf to anything about God.
The Eternal’s word is offensive to them. They take no delight in it.
11 But I am welling up with His anger.
I’m too tired to try to hold it in any longer.
Eternal One: Pour it out on children playing in the streets,
on young men meeting together.
Husbands and wives, old and even the very old—
let each of them know they will be taken.
12 Their homes will be seized and lived in by others;
so, too, will their fields and wives be taken from them and given to others when I reach out against the people of this land.
13 Greed has corrupted this culture, from the least to the greatest:
all are tainted with this lust for what they don’t deserve.
The prophets and priests are no better.
Their lives reek with deceit.
14 To heal the brokenness of My people,
they offer superficial words.
They say, “Peace, peace,” as if all is well.
But there is no peace.
15 Do they feel any shame for their disgraceful deeds?
Absolutely not. My very own have forgotten how to blush.
And so it is that they will fall among the fallen and be defeated;
when the time comes, they will stumble beneath the weight of My punishment;
They will know soon enough what they have done.
This is what the Eternal decrees:
16 Eternal One (to the people): Stand at the crossing, and consider the ancient path,
for it is good and it leads to Me.
Walk on this path, and you will find rest for your souls.
But they have said, “We will not walk upon this road.”
17 Even then I sent watchmen to warn you of what is to come.
“Listen for the blaring of the trumpet,” I warned.
But the people did not listen.
They said, “We will not pay attention.”
18 Now listen to Me, nations of the earth.
Learn, O congregation, what is about to happen to My people.
19 Listen, O Earth, for I am bringing this disaster upon Judah.
This is the fruit of their own scheming.
For My people would not listen to My instructions;
They have rejected My guidance—My law—to go their own way.
Many people in Judah keep going through the motions of worship; they offer sacrifices and incense to the one True God. They speak superficial words when they think it counts, and they give Him extravagant gifts. But the prophet knows the mind of God, and God is not impressed with any of it. Empty worship is meaningless. In fact, empty worship may do more harm than good. These gifts and actions, it seems, have no meaning unless the hearts of the people are attuned to God, unless they are willing to hear and do what God asks. Obedience, you see, is better than sacrifice.
20 Eternal One: What use do I have of your expensive incense from Sheba
or the fragrant reeds you offer Me from a faraway land?
I will not accept your burnt offerings;
the aroma of these empty sacrifices does not please Me.
21 And so I, the Eternal One, will place stumbling blocks on your path of rebellion.
You will stumble indeed, fathers and sons alike.
Neighbors and friends will be wiped out.
22 Look in the distance, and you will see an army
marching toward you out of the north.
A nation whose size and might you can’t imagine
is now awakening and coming from the remote parts of the earth.
23 They are armed with bows and spears.
Their hearts are cruel and will show you no mercy.
The sound of their massive army,
riding in on their horses, is like the sound of an angry sea;
They are ready for battle, marching in formation,
coming to destroy you, O Jerusalem, daughter of Zion.
As clear as God’s pronouncements have been, there must be a moment of decision. The warnings are all invitations for the people of Jerusalem to return to the God who loves them. But their fate is up to them; it is their choice. At this place of decision, long overdue, Jeremiah voices the fear in the hearts of those who hear of the impending attack. Speaking for the nation, he once again responds to God’s awesome decree.
24 We heard the news, and our strength vanished—anguish and fear grip us.
We twist in pain like a woman giving birth.
25 Do not go into the field alone.
Do not walk the streets, for our enemy is armed and approaching fast.
Terror is everywhere we turn.
26 You who are my people, weep with me for it is time.
Put on sackcloth and roll in ashes.
Cry as you would for the loss of an only child.
The time for bitter tears has come.
The destroyer is descending upon us quickly,
and the days of sadness will soon begin.
27 Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Put My people to the test.
Examine their ways as a refiner tests the ore’s purity.
28 They are all stubborn rebels,
lying to each other and to Me.
They are nothing more than bronze and iron—
lesser metals, corrupt and common.
29 The refining fire has blazed fiercely, My prophet;
the lead is burned away in the fire.
But it’s no use. Though the refining fire burns hot,
their wickedness cannot be removed.
30 Now I, the Eternal, reject them as impure—
“rejected silver” is what they will be called.
7 The word of the Eternal came to Jeremiah.
Eternal One: 2 Go now and take a stand for Me at the entrance to My temple. Proclaim there My message. Tell all the people of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Eternal to stop and listen to the word of the Eternal. 3 Tell them this is what I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, have to say:
“Change your ways and stop what you are doing, and I will let you live in this land. 4 Do not rely on the misguided words, ‘The temple of the Eternal, the temple of the Eternal, the temple of the Eternal,’ as if the temple’s presence alone will protect you. 5 But if you genuinely change your ways and stop what you are doing; if you deal with each other fairly; 6 if you don’t oppress foreigners, orphans, and widows; if you don’t shed the blood of the innocent in this land; and if you don’t practice the self-destructive worship of other gods; 7 then I will let you live forever in this land I promised your ancestors long ago.
One of the most important and difficult messages Jeremiah ever delivers is given at the entrance to the temple. In the seventh century, the problem isn’t that people are refusing to worship, for the crowds continue to form at the temple in Jerusalem, but that they are embracing a superficial form of worship. They are acting as if their motives do not matter; their immoral behavior seems to be of little or no concern. As long as they have the temple—with its rituals and rich history—they believe they are immune to anything. As long as they have the building in their midst, they seem to think they have God—as if He could be contained in this beautiful and storied structure.
Imagine the scene as this bold prophet speaks to the crowds streaming into the temple area. Imagine how startling these words sound to people who think religious activity and merely showing up at the temple will protect them. Listen now as Jeremiah preaches strong words about the dangers of worship gone bad.
8 “But instead, you are clinging to lies and illusions that are worthless. 9 Do you think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and chase after other gods and still expect Me to protect you? 10 Do you think all it takes is for you to run back to Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We’re safe now’? Does this somehow make it all right to do these vile things in front of Me? 11 Do you think this house, which is called by My name, is a den of thieves?[c] I see what you’re doing.
12 “Go and take notice of what happened in Shiloh, the place where I first met your ancestors in the tabernacle that bore My name. See what I did in response to the wickedness of My people, Israel. 13 Now, because of all the evil you have done, and because when I spoke to you time and again you never listened, and because when I called your name you never answered, 14 watch what I will do to this house which bears My name, this sacred place I gave to you and your fathers. I will do to this temple, where you have put your trust, what I did to Shiloh all those years ago. 15 I will throw you from My presence, just as I did to all your kinsmen in the Northern Kingdom, the descendants of Ephraim.”
(to Jeremiah) 16 Don’t pray or plead for these people. No matter how badly you want to come to Me on their behalf, don’t bother. For I won’t hear such cries from you. 17 Can’t you see what’s happening in the villages throughout Judah and even in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather the firewood, the fathers tend the fire, and the mothers bake the bread for the so-called queen of heaven! The people pour out drink offerings in honor of other gods as if to spite Me. 19 What they are doing doesn’t hurt me; it only hurts them, to their own disgrace. 20 Now hear what I, the Eternal Lord, declare: “The heat of My anger will pour out on this land, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the fruit of the soil. My wrath will burn through this place and not be quenched.
Generally, prophets are called to speak to people on behalf of God (prophecy) and to speak to God on behalf of the people (intercession). But in this stinging message, God tells Jeremiah not to waste his breath by praying for the people because He will not hear the prophet’s pleas. God is determined to right His people’s wrongs with punishing fury. God’s honor is at stake, and so is His people’s future. The powerful and beautiful rituals God gave the Hebrews in order to shape them as individuals and as a community have become nothing more than empty rites that God cannot tolerate.
21 This is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, has to say:
Eternal One: Treat your burnt offerings the way you treat other sacrifices. Go ahead and eat the meat yourselves. I won’t have any part of it. 22 When I freed your ancestors from slavery in Egypt, burnt offerings and sacrifices were not something I required of them. 23 I wanted them to trust Me and obey My voice. In those early days, I told them, “I will be your God, and you will be My people. Follow Me every step of the way into a life that is good.” 24 But they didn’t trust Me. They didn’t obey My voice. They refused to listen to Me. Instead they followed the plans of their own stubborn hearts. Each step was a step backward, not forward. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, I have shown them the way to a better life. Day after day, I sent all of My servants, the prophets, to speak the truth. 26 But did any of them listen or pay attention? Did they change their ways? No, they only hardened their resolve to go their own way. Each generation has done more evil than the generation before.
(to Jeremiah) 27 This is how I want you to speak to the people—say it all, don’t hold anything back—but they won’t hear you. Your voice will call throughout the land, but no one will answer you. 28 And so you will say to them, “This is the nation that dared not obey the voice of the Eternal, their one True God. This is the people who would not be taught.” Truth has died and disappeared from their very lips.
29 Shave your head and throw your hair away, for it is time to mourn.
Climb the hills and grieve for the darkness has gone too far.
The Eternal has rejected His faithless people;
He has forsaken this generation that has stirred up His wrath.
30 For the people of Judah have done what is plainly evil right in front of Me. They have brought their revolting idols into My temple! They have desecrated this place that stands in honor of My name. 31 They have built shrines to other gods at Topheth, the garbage dump in the valley of Ben-hinnom, where they sacrifice their own sons and daughters and burn them in the fire to dark and pagan gods. I never taught them to do such unspeakable evil; it never even crossed My mind. 32 But I tell you this: the days are coming when that place will no longer be known as Topheth, or the garbage dump in the valley of Ben-hinnom. But it will be called the valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the bodies of those who sacrifice children there until there is no more room. 33 The remains of these wicked people will feed the vultures of the sky and wild animals of the earth because no one will be there to scare them away. 34 I will silence the sounds of laughter and joy from the villages of Judah to the streets of Jerusalem. Even the joy of a wedding will not be heard in this land of ruin.
8 Eternal One: When that sad day comes, the graves of My people will be desecrated. The remains of Judah’s kings and her leaders, of priests and prophets, of the citizens of My city Jerusalem will be pulled from their graves. 2 Their bones will be spread out over the ground, exposing them to the sun, moon, and the stars of heaven, the heavenly hosts, which our enemies loved, served, chased after, sought out, and worshiped. These bones will not be gathered or buried again, but they will be scattered like dung on the ground. 3 As for the survivors of this wicked nation, they will prefer death to life in all the places where I have driven them.
The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has spoken!
4 Eternal One (to Jeremiah): Tell My people that these are My words:
“When people stumble and fall, don’t they get up again?
When people are lost, don’t they try to find their way back?
5 So why have these people turned away from Me
and refused to come back?
They hang onto lies that lead them further away
instead of embracing the truth and coming home to Me.
6 I listen intently for someone, anyone, to speak the truth.
But it never happens. No one corrects his lies.
No one regrets his evil, saying, ‘What have I done?’
Instead, everyone keeps running farther down that path, away from Me,
Like a horse charging into a battle.
7 Even the stork in the sky knows her time to migrate.
The dove, the swallow, and the crane
All take flight when the time is right.
But not so with My people.
They do not know or care about the Eternal’s commands.”
8 How can any of you say, “We are wise, because we have the Eternal’s law”?
How little you care about the truth!
A pen in the hand of your teachers drips nothing but lies.
9 The day is coming when these so-called wise teachers will be put to shame;
their lives will be shattered when they are captured and taken away.
Why will this happen? Because they have rejected and perverted My word.
Are these the works of wise men?
10 This is why I will give their wives away to intruders
and their property to invaders.
Greed has corrupted this culture, from the least to the greatest:
everyone is tainted with this lust for what they don’t deserve.
The prophets and priests are no better.
Their lives reek with deceit.
11 To heal the brokenness of My people, they offer superficial words.
They say, “Peace, peace” as if all is well, but there is no peace.
12 Do they feel any shame for their disgraceful deeds?
Absolutely not. My very own have forgotten how to blush.
And so it is that they will fall among the fallen and be defeated:
when the time comes, they will stumble beneath the weight of My punishment;
13 The harvest will soon be gone, a thing of the past.
There will be no grapes on the vine, no figs in the tree;
Even the leaves will wither and fall.
For what I have given so generously, I will now take away.
Some people in the land believe they know God’s ways, but they don’t. In fact, the ways they twist God’s words and perform empty rituals only make things worse. Over and over again, prophets such as Jeremiah have attempted to describe the devastation that will result from the actions of those who refuse to listen to and really know God. As the invading army comes across the borders, some realize that what God has said—what the prophet has spoken in His name—is all coming true. God may long to bring His people close, to forgive and restore them, but it will not happen. They have refused both His forgiveness and His final warning, and so the enemy from the north is on the move.
14 People: Why are we still sitting here, exposed and waiting for death to come?
Let’s get together and run to the walled cities and die there.
We are without hope because the Eternal our God has pronounced our judgment.
He has given us a cup[d] of bitter poison to drink because we have sinned against Him.
15 We were counting on peace, but none came.
We waited for a time of healing, but now all we have is terror.
16 We can hear the snorts of their warhorses as they charge into Dan;
at the thunder of their hoofs and noise of their neighs the whole land trembles.
They have come to devour us—our land and everything in it,
the city and all her citizens.
17 Eternal One: Look, I have released an army of serpents against you;
they slither like vipers across the land.
There is no hope of charming them.
There is no escape from their deadly bite.
Jeremiah: 18 There is no cure for my grief.
My heart breaks for what I see and hear.[e]
19 Listen, my Lord, don’t You hear the daughter of our people weeping, crying out to You from exile?
“Is the Eternal no longer in Zion? Does her King no longer reside there?”
Eternal One: But Jeremiah, why have they provoked Me with their dark and evil practices?
Why do they worship these handcrafted idols, these worthless gods?
Jeremiah understands that the time for Judah to repent and change her ways is past. She has had her last chance, but that doesn’t stop him from pleading with God.
20 Jeremiah: The harvest is over, summer has ended,
and we are not saved.
21 And because the daughter of my people is being ripped apart, I am ripped apart.
From within, a dark and cold hurt arises.
From without, I am strangled by the horror of it all.
22 Is there no healing medicine in Gilead, no balm that could help my people?
Is there no physician who can help?
Why is there no healing for the wounds inflicted on my people?
9 Jeremiah: O that my head were a spring of water
and my eyes a fountain of tears;
Then I could weep day and night for my poor people
who have been slaughtered.
2 O that I had a place in the desert I could run to,
a haven for travelers.
Then I could leave my people,
for they are all an adulterous and treacherous lot.
3 Eternal One: With tongues bent like bows they shoot their lies at one another.
Truth does not win out in this land; deceit always seems to triumph.
One evil leads to another because they don’t know who I am.
4 Let everyone be careful of his neighbor,
and think twice before he trusts his brothers;
For every brother is ready to cheat and deceive;
every neighbor is prepared to lie when it suits him.
5 In this land of liars, friends have no misgivings about deceiving one another;
no one even thinks to tell the truth.
They’ve trained their tongues to utter lies;
they wear themselves out with all their sinning.
6 Jeremiah, you live in a place where deception is assumed;
as their lies pile up, they refuse to acknowledge Me.
7 Here is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has to say:
Eternal One: Watch, I will refine this nation and put them to the test.
What else can I do with My people?
8 Their tongues are like deadly arrows;
they speak such lies;
Each one leads his neighbor with kind words
into a trap that was already set.
9 Should I not punish them for what they do?
Should I not repay a nation that acts this way?
10 Jeremiah: I will weep bitterly for the mountains of my homeland
and grieve for the death of her wild meadows.
For they have become a silent wasteland
where no one dares to travel.
Pastures once filled with the lowing of cattle, now are empty and lifeless.
All the animals have fled; even the birds have left the sky.
11 Eternal One: I will leave Jerusalem in ruins;
her rubble will be the haunt of jackals.
I will wreak the same havoc on the cities of Judah;
no person will be found there.
Jeremiah: 12 Who is wise enough to take all this in? Who has heard the Eternal speak and can explain His ways to others? Can anyone say why this land has been ruined and left a wasteland, a desert where no one dares to travel?
Eternal One: 13 I will answer you Myself. Because they have ignored the law I gave them generations ago. They haven’t listened to My voice, and they refuse to walk in My ways. 14 Instead, they have stubbornly followed after their own hearts. They have chosen to worship images of Baal just as their ancestors taught them. 15 This is why I, the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, must now take action. Look, I will now give them bitter food to eat and poisoned water to drink. 16 I Myself will scatter them among the nations—nations neither they nor their ancestors ever knew existed—and I will hunt them down with the sword and destroy them completely.
These images are too real, too vivid. Jeremiah tells of the people’s judgment. He can’t help but grieve for them and the land that was once a place of promise.
17 The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, has this to say:
Eternal One: Think this over, and summon the mourners.
Send for the women who will chant the dirge, that they may come.
18 Let them be quick about it: weep and wail,
that our eyes may fill with tears that streak down our faces.
19 Listen to the voice of sorrow weeping from Zion herself:
“We are ruined. All that remains for us is great shame.
Now we must leave this land that was ours;
they have torn down our houses.”
20 Jeremiah: So listen now, women of Judah, to the word of the Eternal.
Mark His words well.
It is time to teach your daughters how to mourn,
time to teach your neighbors the song of lament.
21 For death has found us all.
It has crept in through our windows and slipped past our defenses.
It has cut down our children in the streets,
and our young men in the public squares. Death has found us all.
22 Tell everyone what the Eternal has said:
“The dead bodies of men will fall like dung on the open field.
Corpses will lie on the ground like grain cut in the harvest;
but on this day, there will be no one to gather and bury the dead.”
Eternal One: 23 Let not the wise boast in their wisdom, nor the mighty in their strength, nor the rich in their wealth. 24 Whoever boasts must boast in this: that he understands and knows Me.[f] Indeed, I am the Eternal One who acts faithfully and exercises justice and righteousness on earth. These are the things that delight Me.
25 Look, the day is coming when I will set things right with all people. I will punish all those who are circumcised in their bodies but not in their hearts— 26 the people of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, and Moab, and all who live in the desert and clip the corners of their hair. All these nations are really uncircumcised, and all of Israel is uncircumcised where it counts, in the heart.
Circumcision is supposed to be a sign of God’s covenant with the people of Israel, but it has become a mark on the body that has little to no effect on how God’s people live. Now God speaks a rather shocking message. Judgment is coming on all nations—those inside and those outside the covenant—whose people are not distinguished by a mark that truly matters. God calls this judgment the circumcision of the heart—a strange phrase indeed. The difference is between the inside and the outside, the superficial and the real. God has had enough, the prophet says, of those who go through the motions, confident in their wisdom, strength, and wealth. God wants a people who are truly devoted to knowing and honoring Him.
10 This message is for all of Israel. Listen to what the Eternal is saying to you.
2 Eternal One: Don’t learn the strange practices and beliefs of other nations.
Don’t be terrified by signs in the sky
just because the other nations are.
3 For their traditions and customs are useless; there is nothing to them.
A tree is cut down in the forest;
then an artisan takes out a tool and carves it into an image.
4 They dress it up with gold and silver to make it more impressive.
Then they nail it down so it won’t fall over!
5 This is what they worship? The idol just stands there—
lifeless, powerless like a scarecrow in a cucumber patch.
It cannot speak. It cannot move. They must pick the thing up and bring it along.
Do you see why there’s nothing to fear from these dead pieces of wood?
They cannot harm you, and they cannot help you either.
6 O Eternal One, there is no comparison.
You are great; even Your name is powerful.
7 Who wouldn’t worship You? It is only right;
You are the King of all kingdoms.
The wise and powerful men of all nations in their realms
are still nothing compared to You.
8 They are stupid fools for taking their cues from blocks of wood,
as if that idol could lead them anywhere.
9 Beaten silver from Tarshish, and hammered gold from Uphaz—
materials made by artisans and goldsmiths—
Draped with royal blue and purple,
even with the work of craftsmen—still a lifeless object!
10 Just look at the contrast! The Eternal is the True God:
He is the living God and eternal King, not some lifeless idol.
The whole earth trembles when He is angry; nations crumble beneath His wrath.
11 Say this to anyone still worshiping idols: The so-called gods you worship did not make the earth and starry sky above it. And one day, they will all be blotted from the earth beneath those stars.
12 Know whom you’re dealing with!
God alone is powerful enough to create the earth.
He alone is wise enough to put the world together.
He alone understands enough to stretch out the heavens.
13 His voice thunders through the heavens, and the waters gush from the sky;
He summons the clouds to build up over the earth.
As the rain falls, the lightning flashes at His command;
the wind rushes in from where He alone can store it.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.