Bible in 90 Days
14 Everyone is too stupid to know;
every artisan is put to shame by his idol:
He has molded a fraud,
without breath of life.(A)
15 They are nothing, objects of ridicule;
they will perish in their time of punishment.
16 Jacob’s portion is nothing like them:
for he is the maker of everything!
Israel is his very own tribe,
Lord of hosts is his name.(B)
Abandonment of Judah
17 Gather up your bundle from the land,
City living under siege!
18 For thus says the Lord:
Now, at this time
I will sling away the inhabitants of the land;
I will hem them in,
that they may be taken.
19 Woe is me! I am undone,
my wound is beyond healing.
Yet I had thought:
if I make light of my sickness, I can bear it.
20 My tent is ruined,
all its cords are severed.
My children have left me, they are no more:
no one to pitch my tent,
no one to raise its curtains.(C)
21 How stupid are the shepherds!
The Lord they have not sought;
For this reason they have failed,
and all their flocks scattered.(D)
22 Listen! a rumor! here it comes,
a great commotion from the land of the north:
To make the cities of Judah a desolation,
the haunt of jackals.
Prayer of Jeremiah
23 I know, Lord,
that no one chooses their way,
Nor determines their course
nor directs their own step.
24 Correct me, Lord, but with equity,
not in anger, lest you diminish me.
25 Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not know you,
on the tribes that do not call your name;
For they have utterly devoured Jacob,
and laid waste his home.(E)
Chapter 11
Plea for Fidelity to the Covenant. 1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 Speak to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, 3 and say to them: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Cursed be anyone who does not observe the words of this covenant,(F) 4 which I commanded your ancestors the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, that iron furnace, saying: Listen to my voice and do all that I command you. Then you shall be my people, and I will be your God.(G) 5 Thus I will fulfill the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, the one you have today. “Amen, Lord,” I answered.
6 Then the Lord said to me: Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Hear the words of this covenant and obey them. 7 I warned your ancestors unceasingly from the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt even to this day: obey my voice. 8 But they did not listen or obey. They each walked in the stubbornness of their evil hearts, till I brought upon them all the threats of this covenant which they had failed to observe as I commanded them.(H)
9 A conspiracy has been found, the Lord said to me, among the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 10 They have returned to the crimes of their ancestors who refused to obey my words. They also have followed and served other gods; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors.(I) 11 Therefore, thus says the Lord: See, I am bringing upon them a disaster they cannot escape. Though they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.(J) 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they have been offering incense. But these gods will give them no help whatever in the time of their disaster.(K)
13 For as many as your cities
are your gods, O Judah!
As many as the streets of Jerusalem
are the altars for sacrifice to Baal.(L)
14 Now, you must not intercede for this people; do not raise on their behalf a cry or prayer! I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their disaster.(M)
Sacrifices of No Avail
15 What right has my beloved in my house,
while she devises her plots?
Can vows and sacred meat turn away
your disaster from you?
Will you still be jubilant
16 when you hear the great tumult?
The Lord has named you
“a spreading olive tree, a pleasure to behold”;
Now he sets fire to it,
its branches burn.
17 The Lord of hosts who planted you has decreed disaster for you because of the evil done by the house of Israel and by the house of Judah, who provoked me by sacrificing to Baal.(N)
The Plot Against Jeremiah. 18 I knew it because the Lord informed me: at that time you showed me their doings.
19 Yet I was like a trusting lamb led to slaughter, not knowing that they were hatching plots against me: “Let us destroy the tree in its vigor; let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name will no longer be remembered.”(O)
20 But, you, Lord of hosts, just Judge,
searcher of mind and heart,
Let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause!(P)
21 Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth who seek your life and say, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord; otherwise you shall die by our hand.”(Q) 22 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: I am going to punish them. The young men shall die by the sword; their sons and daughters shall die by famine.(R) 23 None shall be spared among them, for I will bring disaster upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.(S)
Chapter 12
1 You would be in the right, O Lord,
if I should dispute with you;
even so, I must lay out the case against you.
Why does the way of the wicked prosper,
why do all the treacherous live in contentment?(T)
2 You planted them; they have taken root,
they flourish and bear fruit as well.
You are upon their lips,
but far from their thoughts.(U)
3 Lord, you know me, you see me,
you have found that my heart is with you.(V)
Pick them out like sheep for the butcher,
set them apart for the day of slaughter.[a]
4 How long must the land mourn,
the grass of the whole countryside wither?
Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it
beasts and birds disappear,
for they say, “God does not care about our future.”
5 If running against men has wearied you,
how will you race against horses?
And if you are safe only on a level stretch,
what will you do in the jungle of the Jordan?
6 Your kindred and your father’s house, even they betray you; they have recruited a force against you. Do not believe them, even when they speak fair words to you.(W)
The Lord’s Complaint
7 I have abandoned my house,
cast off my heritage;
The beloved of my soul I have delivered
into the hand of her foes.(X)
8 My heritage has become for me
like a lion in the thicket;
She has raised her voice against me,
therefore she has incurred my hatred.(Y)
9 My heritage is a prey for hyenas,
is surrounded by vultures;
Come, gather together, all you wild animals,
come and eat!(Z)
10 Many shepherds have ravaged my vineyard,
have trampled down my heritage;
My delightful portion they have turned
into a desert waste.(AA)
11 They have made it a mournful waste,
desolate before me,
Desolate, the whole land,
because no one takes it to heart.
12 Upon every height in the wilderness
marauders have appeared.
The Lord has a sword that consumes
the land from end to end:
no peace for any living thing.(AB)
13 They have sown wheat and reaped thorns,
they have tired themselves out for no purpose;
They are shamed by their harvest,
the burning anger of the Lord.
Judah’s Neighbors. 14 Thus says the Lord, against all my evil neighbors[b] who plunder the heritage I gave my people Israel as their own: See, I will uproot them from their land; the house of Judah I will uproot in their midst.(AC)
15 But after uprooting them, I will have compassion on them again and bring them back, each to their heritage, each to their land.(AD) 16 And if they truly learn my people’s custom of swearing by my name, “As the Lord lives,” just as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they shall be built up in the midst of my people.(AE) 17 But if they do not obey, I will uproot and destroy that nation entirely—oracle of the Lord.(AF)
Chapter 13
Judah’s Corruption.[c] 1 The Lord said to me: Go buy yourself a linen loincloth; wear it on your loins, but do not put it in water. 2 I bought the loincloth, as the Lord commanded, and put it on. 3 A second time the word of the Lord came to me thus: 4 Take the loincloth which you bought and are wearing, and go at once to the Perath; hide it there in a cleft of the rock. 5 Obedient to the Lord’s command, I went to the Perath and buried the loincloth. 6 After a long time, the Lord said to me: Go now to the Perath and fetch the loincloth which I told you to hide there. 7 So I went to the Perath, looked for the loincloth and took it from the place I had hidden it. But it was rotted, good for nothing! 8 Then the word came to me from the Lord: 9 Thus says the Lord: So also I will allow the pride of Judah to rot, the great pride of Jerusalem.(AG) 10 This wicked people who refuse to obey my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and follow other gods, serving and worshiping them, will be like this loincloth, good for nothing.(AH) 11 For, as the loincloth clings to a man’s loins, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me—oracle of the Lord—to be my people, my fame, my praise, my glory. But they did not listen.(AI)
The Broken Wineflask. 12 Now speak to them this word: Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Every wineflask should be filled with wine. If they reply, “Do we not know that every wineflask should be filled with wine?” 13 say to them: Thus says the Lord: Beware! I am making all the inhabitants of this land drunk, the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests and prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.(AJ) 14 I will smash them against each other, parents and children together—oracle of the Lord—showing no compassion, I will neither spare nor pity, but I will destroy them.(AK)
A Last Warning
15 Listen and give ear, do not be arrogant,
for the Lord speaks.
16 Give glory to the Lord, your God,
before he brings darkness;
Before your feet stumble
on mountains at twilight;
Before the light you look for turns to darkness,
changes into black clouds.(AL)
17 If you do not listen to this in your pride,
I will weep many tears in secret;
My eyes will run with tears
for the Lord’s flock, led away to exile.(AM)
Exile
18 Say to the king and to the queen mother:
come down from your throne;
From your heads
your splendid crowns will fall.(AN)
19 The cities of the Negeb are besieged,
with no one to relieve them;
Judah is taken into exile—all of it—
in total exile.
Jerusalem’s Disgrace
20 Lift up your eyes and see
those coming in from the north.
Where is the flock entrusted to you,
your splendid sheep?(AO)
21 What will you say when rulers are appointed over you,
those you taught to be allies?
Will not pains seize you
like those of a woman giving birth?(AP)
22 If you say to yourself:
“Why have these things happened to me?”
For your great guilt your skirts are stripped away
and you are violated.(AQ)
23 Can Ethiopians change their skin,
leopards their spots?
As easily would you be able to do good,
accustomed to evil as you are.(AR)
24 I will scatter them like chaff that flies
on the desert wind.(AS)
25 This is your lot, the portion I have measured out to you—
oracle of the Lord.
Because you have forgotten me,
and trusted in deception,[d](AT)
26 I now will strip away your skirts,
so that your shame is visible.(AU)
27 Your adulteries, your neighings,
your shameless prostitutions:
On the hills, in the fields
I see your detestable crimes.
Woe to you, Jerusalem! How long will it be
before you are clean?(AV)
Chapter 14
The Great Drought. 1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:(AW)
2 Judah mourns,
her gates are lifeless;
They are bowed to the ground,
and the outcry of Jerusalem goes up.(AX)
3 The nobles send their servants for water,
but when they come to the cisterns
They find no water
and return with empty jars.(AY)
Confounded, despairing, they cover their heads
4 because of the ruined soil;
Because there is no rain in the land
the farmers are confounded, they cover their heads.(AZ)
5 Even the doe in the field deserts her young
because there is no grass.
6 The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights,
gasping for breath like jackals;
Their eyes grow dim;
there is no grass.
7 Even though our crimes bear witness against us,
act, Lord, for your name’s sake—
Even though our rebellions are many,
and we have sinned against you.(BA)
8 Hope of Israel, Lord,
our savior in time of need!
Why should you be a stranger in the land,
like a traveler stopping only for a night?
9 Why are you like someone bewildered,
a champion who cannot save?
You are in our midst, Lord,
your name we bear:
do not forsake us!(BB)
10 Thus says the Lord about this people:
They so love to wander
that they cannot restrain their feet.
The Lord takes no pleasure in them;
now he remembers their guilt,
and will punish their sins.(BC)
11 Then the Lord said to me: Do not intercede for the well-being of this people.(BD) 12 If they fast, I will not listen to their supplication. If they sacrifice burnt offerings or grain offerings, I will take no pleasure in them. Rather, I will destroy them with the sword, famine, and plague.(BE)
13 “Ah! Lord God,” I replied, “it is the prophets who say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword; famine shall not befall you. Indeed, I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”(BF)
14 These prophets utter lies in my name, the Lord said to me: I did not send them; I gave them no command, nor did I speak to them. They prophesy to you lying visions, foolish divination, deceptions from their own imagination.(BG) 15 Therefore, thus says the Lord: Concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, though I did not send them, and who say, “Sword and famine shall not befall this land”: by sword and famine shall these prophets meet their end.(BH) 16 The people to whom they prophesy shall be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of famine and the sword. No one shall bury them, their wives, their sons, or their daughters, for I will pour out upon them their own wickedness.(BI) 17 Speak to them this word:
Let my eyes stream with tears
night and day, without rest,
Over the great destruction which overwhelms
the virgin daughter of my people,
over her incurable wound.(BJ)
18 If I walk out into the field,
look! those slain by the sword;
If I enter the city,
look! victims of famine.
Both prophet and priest ply their trade
in a land they do not know.
19 Have you really cast Judah off?
Is Zion loathsome to you?
Why have you struck us a blow
that cannot be healed?
We wait for peace, to no avail;
for a time of healing, but terror comes instead.(BK)
20 We recognize our wickedness, Lord,
the guilt of our ancestors:
we have sinned against you.(BL)
21 Do not reject us, for your name’s sake,
do not disgrace your glorious throne.
Remember! Do not break your covenant with us.(BM)
22 Among the idols of the nations are there any that give rain?
Or can the mere heavens send showers?
Is it not you, Lord,
our God, to whom we look?
You alone do all these things.(BN)
Chapter 15
1 The Lord said to me: Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me, my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them away from me and let them go.(BO) 2 If they ask you, “Where should we go?” tell them, Thus says the Lord: Whoever is marked for death, to death; whoever is marked for the sword, to the sword; whoever is marked for famine, to famine; whoever is marked for captivity, to captivity.(BP) 3 Four kinds of scourge I have decreed against them—oracle of the Lord—the sword to kill them; dogs to drag them off; the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy them.(BQ) 4 And I will make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of what Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.(BR)
Scene of Tragedy
5 Who will pity you, Jerusalem,
who will grieve for you?
Who will stop to ask
about your welfare?(BS)
6 It is you who have disowned me—oracle of the Lord—
turned your back upon me;
I stretched out my hand to destroy you,
because I was weary of relenting.(BT)
7 I winnowed them with a winnowing fork
at the gates of the land;
I have bereaved, destroyed my people;
they have not turned from their evil ways.(BU)
8 Their widows were more numerous before me
than the sands of the sea.
I brought against the mother of youths
the destroyer at midday;
Suddenly I struck her
with anguish and terror.
9 The mother of seven faints away,
breathing out her life;
Her sun sets in full day,
she is ashamed, abashed.
Their survivors I will give to the sword
in the presence of their enemies—oracle of the Lord.(BV)
Jeremiah’s Complaint
10 Woe to me, my mother, that you gave me birth!
a man of strife and contention to all the land!
I neither borrow nor lend,
yet everyone curses me.(BW)
11 Tell me, Lord, have I not served you for their good?
Have I not interceded with you
in time of misfortune and anguish?(BX)
12 Can one break iron,
iron from the north, and bronze?
13 [e]Your wealth and your treasures
I give as plunder, demanding no payment,
because of all your sins, throughout all your territory.
14 And I shall enslave you to your enemies
in a land you do not know,
For fire has broken out from my anger,
it is kindled against you.
15 You know, Lord:
Remember me and take care of me,
avenge me on my persecutors.
Because you are slow to anger, do not banish me;
know that for you I have borne insult.(BY)
16 When I found your words, I devoured them;
your words were my joy, the happiness of my heart,
Because I bear your name,
Lord, God of hosts.
17 I did not sit celebrating
in the circle of merrymakers;
Under the weight of your hand I sat alone
because you filled me with rage.(BZ)
18 Why is my pain continuous,
my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
To me you are like a deceptive brook,
waters that cannot be relied on!(CA)
19 Thus the Lord answered me:
If you come back and I take you back,
in my presence you shall stand;
If you utter what is precious and not what is worthless,
you shall be my mouth.
Then they will be the ones who turn to you,
not you who turn to them.
20 And I will make you toward this people
a fortified wall of bronze.
Though they fight against you,
they shall not prevail,
For I am with you,
to save and rescue you—oracle of the Lord.(CB)
21 I will rescue you from the hand of the wicked,
and ransom you from the power of the violent.
Chapter 16
Jeremiah’s Life a Warning. 1 This word came to me from the Lord: 2 Do not take a wife and do not have sons and daughters in this place, 3 for thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, the mothers who give them birth, the fathers who beget them in this land: 4 Of deadly disease they shall die. Unlamented and unburied they will lie like dung on the ground. Sword and famine will make an end of them, and their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.(CC)
5 Thus says the Lord: Do not go into a house of mourning; do not go there to lament or grieve for them. For I have withdrawn my peace from this people—oracle of the Lord—my love and my compassion.(CD) 6 They shall die, the great and the lowly, in this land, unburied and unlamented.[f] No one will gash themselves or shave their heads for them.(CE) 7 They will not break bread with the bereaved to offer consolation for the dead; they will not give them the cup of consolation to drink over the death of father or mother.(CF)
8 Do not enter a house of feasting to sit eating and drinking with them. 9 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Before your eyes and in your lifetime, I will silence in this place the song of joy and the song of gladness, the song of the bridegroom and the song of the bride.(CG)
10 When you proclaim all these words to this people and they ask you: “Why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us? What is our crime? What sin have we committed against the Lord, our God?”—(CH) 11 (CI)you shall answer them: It is because your ancestors have forsaken me—oracle of the Lord—and followed other gods that they served and worshiped; but me they have forsaken, and my law they did not keep. 12 And you have done worse than your ancestors. Here you are, every one of you, walking in the stubbornness of your evil heart instead of listening to me.(CJ) 13 I will throw you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your ancestors have known; there you can serve other gods day and night because I will not show you mercy.
Return from Exile. 14 Therefore, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when it will no longer be said, “As the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites out of Egypt”;(CK) 15 but rather, “As the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites out of the land of the north and out of all the countries to which he had banished them.” I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors.(CL)
Double Punishment. 16 Look!—oracle of the Lord—I will send many fishermen to catch them. After that, I will send many hunters to hunt them out from every mountain and hill and rocky crevice.(CM) 17 For my eyes are upon all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor does their guilt escape my sight.(CN) 18 I will at once repay them double for their crime and their sin because they profaned my land with the corpses of their detestable idols, and filled my heritage with their abominations.(CO)
Conversion of the Nations
19 Lord, my strength, my fortress,
my refuge in the day of distress!
To you nations will come
from the ends of the earth, and say,
“Our ancestors inherited mere frauds,
empty, worthless.”(CP)
20 Can human beings make for themselves gods?
But these are not gods at all!(CQ)
21 Therefore, I will indeed give them knowledge;
this time I will make them acknowledge
My strength and my power:
they shall know that my name is Lord.(CR)
Chapter 17
The Sin of Judah and Its Punishment
1 The sin of Judah is written
with an iron stylus,
Engraved with a diamond point
upon the tablets of their hearts,(CS)
And the horns of their altars, 2 when their children remember their altars and their asherahs, beside the green trees, on the high hills, 3 the peaks in the country.
Your wealth and all your treasures
I give as plunder,
As payment for all your sins
throughout your territory,
4 You will relinquish your hold on your heritage
which I have given you.
I will enslave you to your enemies
in a land you do not know:
For a fire has broken out from my anger,
burning forever.(CT)
True Wisdom
5 Thus says the Lord:
Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
who makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.(CU)
6 He is like a barren bush in the wasteland
that enjoys no change of season,
But stands in lava beds in the wilderness,
a land, salty and uninhabited.
7 Blessed are those who trust in the Lord;
the Lord will be their trust.(CV)
8 They are like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It does not fear heat when it comes,
its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still produces fruit.(CW)
9 More tortuous than anything is the human heart,
beyond remedy; who can understand it?
10 I, the Lord, explore the mind
and test the heart,
Giving to all according to their ways,
according to the fruit of their deeds.(CX)
11 A partridge that broods but does not hatch
are those who acquire wealth unjustly:
In midlife it will desert them;
in the end they are only fools.(CY)
The Source of Life
12 A throne of glory, exalted from the beginning,
such is our holy place.(CZ)
13 O Hope of Israel, Lord!
all who forsake you shall be put to shame;
The rebels shall be enrolled in the netherworld;
they have forsaken the Lord, source of living waters.(DA)
Prayer for Vengeance
14 Heal me, Lord, that I may be healed;
save me, that I may be saved,
for you are my praise.
15 See how they say to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come to pass!”(DB)
16 Yet I did not press you to send disaster;
the day without remedy I have not desired.
You know what passed my lips;
it is present before you.
17 Do not become a terror to me,
you are my refuge in the day of disaster.(DC)
18 Let my persecutors be confounded—not me!
let them be terrified—not me!
Bring upon them the day of disaster,
crush them with double destruction.(DD)
Observance of the Sabbath. 19 Thus said the Lord to me: Go, stand at the Gate of Benjamin,[g] where the kings of Judah enter and leave, and at the other gates of Jerusalem.(DE) 20 There say to them: Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all you inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter these gates! 21 Thus says the Lord: As you love your lives, take care not to carry burdens on the sabbath, to bring them in through the gates of Jerusalem.(DF) 22 Bring no burden from your homes on the sabbath. Do no work whatever, but keep holy the sabbath day, as I commanded your ancestors,(DG) 23 though they did not listen or give ear, but stiffened their necks so they could not hear or take correction.(DH) 24 If you truly obey me—oracle of the Lord—and carry no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath, keeping the sabbath day holy and abstaining from all work on it,(DI) 25 then, through the gates of this city, kings who sit upon the throne of David will continue to enter, riding in their chariots or upon their horses, along with their princes, and the people of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. This city will remain inhabited forever.(DJ) 26 To it people will come from the cities of Judah and the neighborhood of Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the Shephelah, from the hill country and the Negeb, to bring burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings, incense, and thank offerings to the house of the Lord.(DK) 27 But if you do not obey me and keep holy the sabbath day, if you carry burdens and come through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath, I will set fire to its gates—a fire never to be extinguished—and it will consume the palaces of Jerusalem.(DL)
Chapter 18
The Potter’s Vessel.[h] 1 This word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 Arise and go down to the potter’s house; there you will hear my word. 3 I went down to the potter’s house and there he was, working at the wheel. 4 Whenever the vessel of clay he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making another vessel of whatever sort he pleased.(DM) 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done?—oracle of the Lord. Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.(DN) 7 (DO)At one moment I may decree concerning a nation or kingdom that I will uproot and tear down and destroy it; 8 but if that nation against whom I have decreed turns from its evil, then I will have a change of heart regarding the evil which I have decreed.(DP) 9 At another moment, I may decree concerning a nation or kingdom that I will build up and plant it; 10 but if that nation does what is evil in my eyes, refusing to obey my voice, then I will have a change of heart regarding the good with which I planned to bless it.(DQ)
11 And now, tell this to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: Look, I am fashioning evil against you and making a plan. Return, all of you, from your evil way; reform your ways and your deeds.(DR) 12 But they will say, “No use! We will follow our own devices; each one of us will behave according to the stubbornness of our evil hearts!”(DS)
Unnatural Apostasy
13 Therefore thus says the Lord:
Ask among the nations—
who has ever heard the like?
Truly horrible things
virgin Israel has done!(DT)
14 Does the snow of Lebanon[i]
desert the rocky heights?
Do the gushing waters dry up
that flow fresh down the mountains?
15 Yet my people have forgotten me:
they offer incense in vain.
They stumble off their paths,
the ways of old,
Traveling on bypaths,
not the beaten track.(DU)
16 Their land shall be made a waste,
an object of endless hissing:[j]
All passersby will be horrified,
shaking their heads.(DV)
17 Like the east wind, I will scatter them
before their enemies;
I will show them my back, not my face,
in their day of disaster.(DW)
Another Prayer for Vengeance. 18 “Come,” they said, “let us devise a plot against Jeremiah, for instruction will not perish from the priests, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. Come, let us destroy him by his own tongue. Let us pay careful attention to his every word.”(DX)
19 Pay attention to me, O Lord,
and listen to what my adversaries say.
20 Must good be repaid with evil
that they should dig a pit to take my life?
Remember that I stood before you
to speak on their behalf,
to turn your wrath away from them.(DY)
21 So now, give their children[k] to famine,(DZ)
deliver them to the power of the sword.
Let their wives be childless and widows;
let their husbands die of pestilence,
their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.
22 May cries be heard from their homes,
when suddenly you send plunderers against them.
For they have dug a pit to capture me,
they have hidden snares for my feet;
23 But you, Lord, know
all their planning for my death.
Do not forgive their crime,
and their sin do not blot out from your sight!
Let them stumble before you,
in the time of your anger act against them.(EA)
Chapter 19
Symbol of the Potter’s Flask. 1 Thus said the Lord: Go, buy a potter’s earthenware flask. Take along some of the elders of the people and some of the priests, 2 and go out toward the Valley of Ben-hinnom, at the entrance of the Potsherd Gate;[l] there proclaim the words which I will speak to you: 3 You shall say, Listen to the word of the Lord, kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I am going to bring such evil upon this place that the ears of all who hear of it will ring. 4 All because they have forsaken me and profaned this place by burning incense to other gods which neither they nor their ancestors knew; and because the kings of Judah have filled this place with innocent blood,(EB) 5 building high places for Baal to burn their children in fire as offerings to Baal—something I never considered or said or commanded.(EC) 6 [m]Therefore, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when this place will no longer be called Topheth, or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather, the Valley of Slaughter.(ED) 7 In this place I will foil the plan of Judah and Jerusalem; I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hand of those who seek their lives. Their corpses I will give as food to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.(EE) 8 I will make this city a waste and an object of hissing. Because of all its wounds, every passerby will be horrified and hiss. 9 I will have them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters; they shall eat one another’s flesh during the harsh siege under which their enemies and those who seek their lives will confine them.(EF)
10 And you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who went with you, 11 and say to them: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Thus will I smash this people and this city, as one smashes a clay pot so that it cannot be repaired. And Topheth shall be its burial place, for there will be no other place for burial.(EG) 12 Thus I will do to this place and to its inhabitants—oracle of the Lord; I will make this city like Topheth.(EH) 13 And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled like the place of Topheth, all the houses upon whose roofs they burnt incense to the whole host of heaven and poured out libations to other gods.(EI)
14 When Jeremiah returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, he stood in the court of the house of the Lord and said to all the people:(EJ) 15 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I will bring upon this city all the evil I have spoken against it, because they have become stubborn and have not obeyed my words.(EK)
Chapter 20
1 Now the priest Pashhur,(EL) son of Immer, chief officer in the house of the Lord,[n] heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 So he struck the prophet and put him in the stocks at the upper Gate of Benjamin in the house of the Lord.(EM) 3 The next morning, after Pashhur had released Jeremiah from the stocks, the prophet said to him:(EN) “Instead of Pashhur, the Lord names you ‘Terror on every side.’[o] 4 For thus says the Lord: Indeed, I will hand you over to terror, you and all your friends. Your own eyes shall see them fall by the sword of their enemies. All Judah I will hand over to the power of the king of Babylon,[p] who shall take them captive to Babylon or strike them down with the sword. 5 All the wealth of this city, all its resources and its valuables, all the treasures of the kings of Judah, I will hand over to their enemies, who will plunder it and carry it away to Babylon.(EO) 6 You, Pashhur, and all the members of your household shall go into exile. To Babylon you shall go; there you shall die and be buried, you and all your friends, because you have prophesied lies to them.”(EP)
Jeremiah’s Interior Crisis
7 You seduced me,[q] Lord, and I let myself be seduced;
you were too strong for me, and you prevailed.
All day long I am an object of laughter;
everyone mocks me.
8 Whenever I speak, I must cry out,
violence and outrage I proclaim;
The word of the Lord has brought me
reproach and derision all day long.
9 I say I will not mention him,
I will no longer speak in his name.
But then it is as if fire is burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones;
I grow weary holding back,
I cannot!(EQ)
10 Yes, I hear the whisperings of many:
“Terror on every side!
Denounce! let us denounce him!”
All those who were my friends
are on the watch for any misstep of mine.
“Perhaps he can be tricked; then we will prevail,
and take our revenge on him.”(ER)
11 But the Lord is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not prevail.
In their failure they will be put to utter shame,
to lasting, unforgettable confusion.(ES)
12 Lord of hosts, you test the just,
you see mind and heart,
Let me see the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.(ET)
13 Sing to the Lord,
praise the Lord,
For he has rescued the life of the poor
from the power of the evildoers!(EU)
14 Cursed be the day[r]
on which I was born!
May the day my mother gave me birth
never be blessed!(EV)
15 Cursed be the one who brought the news
to my father,
“A child, a son, has been born to you!”
filling him with great joy.
16 Let that man be like the cities
which the Lord relentlessly overthrew;
Let him hear war cries in the morning,
battle alarms at noonday,(EW)
17 because he did not kill me in the womb!
Then my mother would have been my grave,
her womb confining me forever.(EX)
18 Why did I come forth from the womb,
to see sorrow and pain,
to end my days in shame?(EY)
III. Oracles in the Last Years of Jerusalem
Chapter 21
Fate of Zedekiah and Jerusalem. 1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah[s] sent Pashhur, son of Malchiah, and the priest Zephaniah, son of Maaseiah, to him with this request: 2 Inquire for us of the Lord, because Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will act for us in accord with his wonderful works by making him withdraw from us. 3 But Jeremiah answered them: This is what you shall report to Zedekiah: 4 Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: I will turn against you the weapons with which you are fighting the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who besiege you outside the walls. These weapons I will pile up in the midst of this city,(EZ) 5 and I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand and mighty arm, in anger, wrath, and great rage!(FA) 6 I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, human being and beast; they shall die in a great pestilence.(FB) 7 After that—oracle of the Lord—I will hand over Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his ministers and the people in this city who survive pestilence, sword, and famine, to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to their enemies and those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword, without quarter, without mercy or compassion.(FC) 8 And to this people you shall say: Thus says the Lord: See, I am giving you a choice between the way to life and the way to death.(FD) 9 Whoever remains in this city shall die by the sword or famine or pestilence. But whoever leaves and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live and escape with his life. 10 I have set my face against this city, for evil and not for good—oracle of the Lord. It shall be given into the power of the king of Babylon who shall set it on fire.[t]
Oracles Regarding the Kings[u]
11 To the royal house of Judah:
Hear the word of the Lord,
12 house of David!
Thus says the Lord:
Each morning dispense justice,
rescue the oppressed from the hand of the oppressor,
Or my fury will break out like fire
and burn with no one to quench it
because of your evil deeds.(FE)
13 Beware! I am against you, Ruler of the Valley,
Rock of the Plain[v]—oracle of the Lord.
You say, “Who will attack us,
who can storm our defenses?”
14 I will punish you—oracle of the Lord—
as your deeds deserve!
I will kindle a fire in its forest[w]
that shall devour all its surroundings.(FF)
Chapter 22
1 Thus says the Lord: Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and there deliver this word: 2 You shall say: Listen to the word of the Lord, king of Judah, who sit on the throne of David, you, your ministers, and your people who enter by these gates!(FG) 3 Thus says the Lord: Do what is right and just. Rescue the victims from the hand of their oppressors. Do not wrong or oppress the resident alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.(FH) 4 If you carry out these commands, kings who succeed to the throne of David will continue to enter the gates of this house, riding in chariots or mounted on horses, with their ministers, and their people. 5 But if you do not obey these commands, I swear by myself—oracle of the Lord: this house shall become rubble. 6 For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:
Though you be to me like Gilead,
like the peak of Lebanon,
I swear I shall turn you into a waste,
with cities uninhabited.
7 Against you I will send destroyers,
each with their tools:
They shall cut down your choice cedars,
and cast them into the fire.(FI)
8 Many nations will pass by this city and ask one another: “Why has the Lord done this to so great a city?”(FJ) 9 And they will be told: “Because they have deserted their covenant with the Lord, their God, by worshiping and serving other gods.”(FK)
Jehoahaz
10 Do not weep for him who is dead,[x]
nor mourn for him!
Weep rather for him who is going away;
never again to see
the land of his birth.(FL)
11 Thus says the Lord concerning Shallum,[y] son of Josiah, king of Judah, his father’s successor, who left this place: He shall never return, 12 but in the place where they exiled him, there he shall die; he shall never see this land again.
Jehoiakim
13 Woe to him who builds his house on wrongdoing,
his roof-chambers on injustice;
Who works his neighbors without pay,[z]
and gives them no wages.(FM)
14 Who says, “I will build myself a spacious house,
with airy rooms,”
Who cuts out windows for it,
panels it with cedar,
and paints it with vermilion.
15 Must you prove your rank among kings[aa]
by competing with them in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink,
And act justly and righteously?
Then he prospered.(FN)
16 Because he dispensed justice to the weak and the poor,
he prospered.
Is this not to know me?—
oracle of the Lord.(FO)
17 But your eyes and heart are set on nothing
except your own gain,
On shedding innocent blood
and practicing oppression and extortion.(FP)
18 Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah:
They shall not lament him,
“Alas! my brother”; “Alas! sister.”[ab]
They shall not lament him,
“Alas, Lord! alas, Majesty!”(FQ)
19 The burial of a donkey[ac] he shall be given,
dragged forth and cast out
beyond the gates of Jerusalem.(FR)
Jeconiah
20 Climb Lebanon and cry out,[ad]
in Bashan lift up your voice;
Cry out from Abarim,
for all your lovers are crushed.(FS)
21 I spoke to you when you were secure,
but you answered, “I will not listen.”
This has been your way from your youth,
not to listen to my voice.
22 The wind shall shepherd all your shepherds,
your lovers shall go into exile.
Surely then you shall be ashamed and confounded
because of all your wickedness.
23 You who dwell on Lebanon,
who nest in the cedars,
How you shall groan when pains come upon you,
like the pangs of a woman in childbirth!
24 As I live—oracle of the Lord—even if you, Coniah,[ae] son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were a signet ring(FT) on my right hand, I would snatch you off. 25 I will hand you over to those who seek your life, to those you dread: Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and the Chaldeans.(FU) 26 I will cast you out, you and the mother who bore you,[af] into a land different from the land of your birth; and there you will die;(FV) 27 Neither shall return to the land for which they yearn.(FW)
28 Is this man Coniah a thing despised, to be broken,
a vessel that no one wants?
Why are he and his offspring cast out?
why thrown into a land they do not know?
29 O land, land, land,
hear the word of the Lord—
30 Thus says the Lord:
(FX) Write this man down as childless,[ag]
a man who will never prosper in his life!
Nor shall any of his descendants prosper,
to sit upon the throne of David,
to rule again over Judah.
Chapter 23
A Just Shepherd.[ah] 1 (FY)Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the flock of my pasture—oracle of the Lord. 2 Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.(FZ) 3 I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have banished them and bring them back to their folds; there they shall be fruitful and multiply.(GA) 4 I will raise up shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear or be terrified; none shall be missing—oracle of the Lord.(GB)
5 See, days are coming—oracle of the Lord—
when I will raise up a righteous branch for David;
As king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.(GC)
6 In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name to be given him:
“The Lord our justice.”(GD)
7 (GE)Therefore, the days are coming—oracle of the Lord—when they shall no longer say, “As the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt”; 8 but rather, “As the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of the house of Israel up from the land of the north”—and from all the lands to which I banished them; they shall again live on their own soil.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.