Bible in 90 Days
14 Every man is a beast by knowledge. Every metalsmith is confounded by the molten image. For his idol is but falsehood and there is no breath in it.
15 They are vanity, the work of errors. At the time of their reckoning they shall perish.
16 The portion of Jacob is not like them. For He is the maker of all things, and Israel is the rod of His inheritance. The LORD of Hosts is His Name.
17 Gather up your wares out of the land, O you who dwells in the strong place.
18 For thus says the LORD: “Behold, at this time I will throw as with a sling the inhabitants of the land and will trouble them. And they shall find it so.”
19 Woe is me for my destruction and my grievous plague! But I thought, “Still, it is my sorrow and I will bear it.”
20 My tent is destroyed, and all my cords are broken. My children have gone from me and are no more. There is no one to spread out my tent anymore, and to set up my curtains.
21 For the shepherds have become beasts and have not sought the LORD. Therefore, have they no understanding. And all the flocks of their pastures are scattered.
22 Behold, the noise of the report has come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, a den of dragons.
23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself, nor is it in man to walk and to direct his steps.
24 O LORD, correct me, but with judgment, not in Your anger, lest You bring me to nothing.
25 Pour out Your wrath upon the heathen who do not know You, and upon the families that do not call on Your Name. For they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.
11 The Word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2 “Hear the words of this Covenant, and speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
3 “and say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Cursed is the man who does not obey the words of this Covenant,
4 “which I Commanded to your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Obey My Voice, and do according to all these things which I Command you.’ So shall you be My people, and I will be your God,
5 “so that I may confirm the oath that I have sworn to your fathers, to give them a land which flows with milk and honey, as it is this day.”’” Then I answered, and said, “So be it, O LORD.”
6 Then the LORD said to me, “Cry all these Words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Hear the Words of this Covenant, and do them!’
7 “For I have protested to your fathers, when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, until this day, rising early and protesting, saying, ‘Obey My Voice.’
8 “Nevertheless, they would not obey or incline their ear. But everyone walked in the stubbornness of his wicked heart. Therefore, I will bring upon them all the words of this Covenant, which I Commanded them to do, but they did not do it.”
9 And the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10 “They have turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear My Words. And they went after other gods, to serve them. The House of Israel and the House of Judah have broken My Covenant, which I made with their fathers.”
11 Therefore, thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will bring a plague upon them, which they shall not be able to escape. And though they cry to Me, I will not hear them.
12 “Then shall the cities of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, go and cry to the gods to whom they offer incense. But they shall not be able to help them in time of their trouble.
13 “For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah. And according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have you set up altars of confusion, altars to burn incense unto Baal.
14 “Therefore, you shall not pray for this people or lift up a cry or prayer for them. For when they cry to Me in their trouble, I will not hear them.
15 “What should My beloved be doing in My House, seeing they have committed abomination with many, and the holy flesh has gone away from you? Yet when you do evil, you rejoice.
16 “The LORD called your name, a green olive tree, fair, of good fruit. But with noise and great tumult, He has set fire upon it. And the branches of it are broken.
17 “For the LORD of Hosts, Who planted you, has pronounced a plague against you, for the wickedness of the House of Israel, and of the House of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke Me to anger in offering incense to Baal.”
18 And the LORD has taught me, and I know it. Then You showed me their practices.
19 But I was like a lamb, a bullock that is brought to the slaughter. And I did not know that they had devised this against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and cut him out of the land of the living, so that his name may be remembered no more.”
20 But, O LORD of Hosts, Who judges righteously and tests the inner core and the heart, let me see Your vengeance on them! For to You have I opened my cause!
21 Therefore, the LORD speaks this of the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, and say, “Do not prophesy in the Name of the LORD, so that you do not die by our hands.”
22 Thus, therefore, says the LORD of Hosts: “Behold, I will visit them. The young men shall die by the sword. Their sons and their daughters shall die by famine.
23 “And none of them shall remain. For I will bring a plague upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment.”
12 O LORD, if I dispute with You, You are righteous. Yet, let me talk with You of judgments. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are all those wealthy who rebelliously transgress?
2 You have planted them, and they have taken root. They grow and bring forth fruit. You are near in their mouth, and far from their core.
3 But You, LORD, know me. You have seen me and tried my heart toward You. Pull them out, like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
4 How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of those who dwell in them? The beasts are consumed, and the birds, because they said, “He will not see our last end.”
5 “If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you match yourself with horses? And if you thought yourself safe in a peaceable land, what will you do in the swelling of Jordan?
6 “For even your brethren and the House of your father, even they have dealt unfaithfully with you. And they have cried out altogether upon you. Do not believe them, though they speak good things to you.
7 “I have forsaken My House. I have left My heritage. I have given the dearly beloved of My Soul into the hands of her enemies.
8 “My heritage is to Me as a lion in the forest. It cries out against Me. Therefore, I have hated it.
9 “Shall My heritage be to Me as a bird of diverse colors? Are not the birds around her saying, ‘Come, assemble all the beasts of the field. Come to eat her’?
10 “Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard and trampled My portion under foot. They have made a desolate wilderness of My pleasant portion.
11 “They have laid it waste. And it, being waste, mourns to Me. The whole land lies waste because no man sets his mind on it.
12 “The destroyers have come upon all the high places in the wilderness. For the sword of the LORD shall devour. From one end of the land to the other end of the land, no flesh shall have peace.
13 “They have sown wheat and reaped thorns. They were sick and had no profit. And they were ashamed of your fruits because of the fierce wrath of the LORD.”
14 Thus says the LORD: “Against all My evil neighbors who touch the inheritance which I have caused My people Israel to inherit, behold, I will pluck them out of their land and pluck out the House of Judah from among them.
15 “And after I have plucked them out, I will return and have compassion on them, and will bring back every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.
16 “And if they will learn the ways of My people, to swear by My Name, ‘The LORD lives’ (as they taught My people to swear by Baal), then they shall be built in the midst of My people.
17 “But if they will not obey, then will I utterly pluck up and destroy that nation,” says the LORD.
13 Thus says the LORD to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen girdle, and put it upon your loins. And do not put it in water.”
2 So I bought the girdle, according to the Commandment of the LORD, and put it upon my loins.
3 And the Word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying,
4 “Take the girdle that you have bought, which is upon your loins. And arise, go toward Perath, and hide it there in the cleft of the rock.”
5 So I went and hid it by Perath, as the LORD had Commanded me.
6 And after many days, the LORD said to me, “Arise, go toward Perath, and take the girdle from there, which I Commanded you to hide there.”
7 Then I went to Perath and dug and took the girdle from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the girdle was ruined, profitable for nothing.
8 Then the Word of the LORD came to me, saying,
9 “Thus says the LORD: After this manner I will destroy the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.
10 “This wicked people has refused to hear My Word, and walk after the stubbornness of their own heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them and to worship them. Therefore they shall be as this girdle, which is profitable to nothing.
11 “For as the girdle clings to the loins of a man, so have I tied to Myself the whole House of Israel, and the whole House of Judah,” says the LORD, “so that they might be My people, so that they might have a name and praise and glory. But they would not hear.
12 “Therefore, you shall say this Word to them, ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Every bottle shall be filled with wine.”’ And they shall say to you, ‘Do we not know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?’
13 “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land—even the kings that sit upon the throne of David, and the priests and the Prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with drunkenness.”’
14 “And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,” says the LORD. “I will not spare. I will neither pity nor have compassion, but will destroy them.”
15 Hear and give ear! Do not be proud. For the LORD has spoken it.
16 Give glory to the LORD your God before He brings darkness, or if ever your feet stumble in the dark mountains while you look for light and He turns it into the shadow of death and makes it as darkness.
17 But if you will not hear this, my soul shall weep in secret for your pride. And my eye shall weep and drop down tears, because the LORD’s flock is carried away captive.
18 Say to the king and to the queen, “Humble yourselves. Sit down. For the crown of your glory shall come down from your heads.”
19 The cities of the South shall be shut up, and no man shall open them. All Judah shall be carried away captive. It shall be wholly carried away captive.
20 Lift up your eyes and behold those who come from the North. Where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful flock?
21 What will you say when He shall reckon with you? For you have taught them to be captains, as chief over you. Shall not sorrow take you, as a woman in labor?
22 And if you say in your heart, “Why do these things come upon me?” For the multitude of your iniquities are your skirts uncovered and your heels made bare.
23 Can the black moor change his skin, or the leopard his spots? May you who are accustomed to doing evil also do good?
24 “Therefore, I will scatter them as the stubble that is taken away with the south wind.
25 “This is your portion, the part of your measures from Me,” says the LORD, “because you have forgotten Me and trusted in lies.
26 “Therefore, I have also uncovered your skirts upon your face, so that your shame may appear.
27 “I have seen your adulteries and your neighings, the filthiness of your whoredom on the hills, in the fields, your abominations. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! Will you not be made clean as you once were?”
14 The Word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought.
2 “Judah has mourned, and its gates are desolate. They have been brought to heaviness, to the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
3 “And their nobles have sent their inferiors to the water, who came to the wells and found no water. They returned with their vessels empty. They were ashamed and confounded and covered their heads.
4 “For the ground was destroyed because there was no rain on the Earth. The plowmen were ashamed, covering their heads.
5 “Yea, the deer also calved in the field, and left it, because there was no grass.
6 “And the wild donkeys stood in the high places and drew in their wind like dragons. Their eyes failed because there was no grass.”
7 O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, deal with us according to Your Name. For our rebellions are many. We sinned against You.
8 O, You Hope of Israel, its Savior in the time of trouble! Why are You as a stranger in the land, as one who passes through, to tarry for a night?
9 Why are You as a man astonished, and as a strong man who cannot help? Yet You, O LORD, are in the midst of us. And Your Name has called upon us. Do not forsake us.
10 Thus says the LORD to this people: “Thus have they delighted in wandering. They have not refrained their feet.” Therefore, the LORD has no delight in them. He will now remember their iniquity and visit their sins.
11 Then said the LORD to me, “You shall not pray to do this people good.
12 “When they fast, I will not hear their cry. And when they offer Burnt Offering, and an oblation, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.”
13 Then I answered, “Ah, LORD God, behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall famine come upon you. But I will give you assured peace in this place.’”
14 Then the LORD said to me, “The prophets prophesy lies in My Name. I have not sent them, nor did I Command them, nor did I speak to them. They prophesy to you a false vision, and divination, and vanity, and deceitfulness of their own heart.”
15 Therefore thus says the LORD: “Concerning the prophets that prophesy in My Name whom I have not sent, yet they say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land,’ by sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
16 “And the people to whom these prophets prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, because of the famine and the sword, and there shall be no one to bury them and their wives and their sons and their daughters. For I will pour their wickedness upon them.
17 “Therefore, you shall say this Word to them, ‘Let my eyes drop down tears night and day without ceasing. For the virgin daughter of my people is destroyed with a great destruction, with a very grievous plague.
18 ‘For if I go into the field, behold the slain with the sword. And if I enter into the city, also behold those who are sick from hunger. Moreover, the Prophet and the priest go wandering into a land that they do not know.’”
19 Have You utterly rejected Judah? Or has Your Soul abhorred Zion? Why have You stricken us, so that we cannot be healed? We looked for peace and there is no good, and for the time of health and behold trouble.
20 We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness and the iniquity of our fathers. For we have sinned against You.
21 Do not abhor. For Your Name’s sake, do not cast down the throne of Your Glory. Remember. Do not break Your Covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can give rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Is it not You, O LORD our God? Therefore, we will wait upon You. For You have made all these things.
15 Then the LORD said to me, “Even though Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My affection could not be toward this people. Cast them out of My sight and let them depart.
2 “And if they say to you, ‘Where shall we go?’ then tell them, ‘Thus says the LORD: ‘Such as are appointed to death, to death. And such as are for the sword, to the sword. And such as are for the famine, to the famine. And such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.’
3 “And I will appoint over them four kinds—” says the LORD, “the sword to slay and the dogs to tear in pieces and the birds of the sky and the beasts of the Earth—to devour and to destroy.
4 “I will also scatter them in all kingdoms of the Earth, because of Manasseh—the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah—for that which he did in Jerusalem.
5 “Who shall then have pity upon you, O Jerusalem? Or who shall be sorry for you? Or who shall go to pray for your peace?
6 “You have forsaken Me,” says the LORD, “gone backward. Therefore, I will stretch out My Hand against you, and destroy you. I am weary with pity.
7 “And I will scatter them with the fan in the gates of the Earth. I have wasted, destroyed My people. They would not repent from their ways.
8 “Their widows are increased by Me above the sand of the sea. I have brought upon them, against the assembly of the young men, a destroyer at noon. I have caused him to fall upon them and the city, suddenly and speedily.
9 “She who has borne seven has been made weak. Her heart has failed. The Sun has failed her while it was day. She has been confounded and ashamed. And I will deliver their residue to the sword, before their enemies,” says the LORD.
10 Woe is me, my mother, that you have borne me, a contentious man, and a man who strives with the whole Earth! I have neither lent with usury, nor have men lent to me with usury. Everyone curses me.
11 The LORD said, “Surely your remnant shall have wealth. Surely I will cause your enemy to enjoin you in the time of trouble, and in the time of affliction.
12 “Shall the iron break the iron, and the bronze, from the North?
13 “I will give your substance and your treasures to be plundered without payment because of all your sins within all your borders.
14 “And I will make you go with your enemies into a land that you do not know. For a fire is kindled in My anger, which shall burn you.”
15 O LORD, You know. Remember me and visit me and avenge me on my persecutors. Do not take me away in the continuance of Your anger! Know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.
16 Your Words were found and I ate them. And Your Word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart! For Your Name is called upon me, O LORD, God of Hosts!
17 I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, nor did I rejoice, but sat alone, because of Your plague. For You have filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my heaviness continual and my plague desperate and cannot be healed? Are You as a liar to me, as waters that fail?
19 Therefore thus says the LORD: “If you return, then I will bring you back. And you shall stand before Me. And if you take out the precious from the vile, you shall be according to My Word. Let them return to you, but do not return to them.
20 “And I will make you a strong brazen wall to this people. And they shall fight against you. But they shall not prevail against you. For I am with you, to save you, and to deliver you,” says the LORD.
21 “And I will deliver you out of the hand of the wicked. And I will redeem you out of the hand of the tyrants.”
16 The Word of the LORD came also to me, saying,
2 “You shall neither take yourself a wife nor have sons or daughters in this place.”
3 For thus says the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bear them, and concerning their fathers who beget them in this land:
4 “They shall die of deaths and diseases. They shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried. They shall be as dung upon the Earth. And they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine. And their carcasses shall be food for the birds of the sky, and for the beasts of the earth.”
5 For thus says the LORD: “Do not enter into the house of mourning, or go to lament, or be moved for them. For I have taken My Peace from this people,” says the LORD, “mercy and compassion.
6 “Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried, nor shall men lament for them or cut themselves or make themselves bald for them.
7 “They shall not stretch out for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead, nor shall they give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.
8 “Also, you shall not go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink.”
9 For thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, in your days, in your eyes, I will cause the voice of mirth to cease from this place, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.
10 “And when you shall show this people all these words, and they shall say to you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great plague against us?’ or ‘What is our iniquity and what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?’
11 “Then shall you say to them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken Me,’ says the LORD, ‘and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and worshipped them, and have forsaken Me, and have not kept My Law,
12 ‘and you have done worse than your fathers (for behold, each one walks after the stubbornness of his wicked heart and will not hear Me),
13 ‘therefore I will drive you out of this land into a land that you do not know, you nor your fathers. And there you shall serve other gods, day and night, for I will show you no grace.
14 ‘Behold, therefore,’ says the LORD, ‘the days come that it shall no more be said, “The LORD lives, Who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt,”
15 ‘but, “The LORD lives, Who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the North, and from all the lands where He had scattered them.” And I will bring them back into their land that I gave to their fathers.
16 ‘Behold,’ says the LORD, ‘I will send out many fishermen, and they shall fish for them. And afterward, I will send out many hunters. And they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the caves of the rocks.
17 ‘For My Eyes are upon all their ways. They are not hidden from My Face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My Eyes.
18 ‘And first, I will repay their iniquity and their sin double, because they have defiled My land, and have filled My inheritance with their filthy carcasses and their abominations.’”
19 O LORD, my fortress and my strength and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come to You from the ends of the world, and shall say, “Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, in which there was no profit.”
20 Shall a man make gods for himself, and they are not gods?
21 “Behold, therefore, I will teach them this once. I will show them My Hand and My Power. And they shall know that My Name is the LORD.”
17 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, with the point of a diamond, engraved upon the tablet of their heart and upon the horns of your altars.
2 “They remember their altars as their children, with their groves by the green trees, upon the high hills.
3 “O, My mountain in the field! I will give your substance, all your treasures, to be plundered, for the sin of your high places, throughout all your borders.
4 “And you, even you, shall release your heritage that I gave you. And I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land, which you do not know. For you have kindled a fire in My anger, which shall burn forever.”
5 Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and withdraws his heart from the LORD.
6 “For he shall be like the heath in the wilderness, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
8 “For he shall be as a tree that is planted by the water, which spreads out her roots by the river, and shall not feel when the heat comes. But her leaf shall be green and shall not care for the year of drought. Nor shall it cease from yielding fruit.
9 “The heart is deceitful and wicked above all things, who can know it?
10 “I, the LORD, search the heart, test the inner core, to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his works.
11 “As the partridge gathers those which she has not brought forth, he who gets riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days. And at his end, he shall be a fool.”
12 As a glorious throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary!
13 O LORD! The hope of Israel, whoever forsakes You shall be confounded! Those who depart from you shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the Fountain of Living Waters.
14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be whole! Save me, and I shall be saved! For You are my praise!
15 Behold, they say to me, “Where is the Word of the LORD? Let it come now.”
16 But I, myself, have not run away from being a shepherd after You. Nor have I desired the day of misery. You know. That which came out of my lips was before You.
17 Do not be terrible to me. You are my hope in the day of adversity.
18 Let those who persecute me be confounded. But do not let me be confounded. Let them be afraid, but do not let me be afraid. Bring upon them the day of adversity and destroy them with double destruction.
19 Thus has the LORD said to me: “Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem,
20 “and say to them, ‘Hear the Word of the LORD, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter in by these gates!
21 ‘Thus says the LORD: “Take heed to your souls, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem
22 “or carry forth burdens out of your houses on the Sabbath day, or do any work. But sanctify the Sabbath, as I Commanded your Fathers.”
23 ‘But they did not obey, nor did they incline their ears, but made their necks stiff and would not hear or receive correction.
24 “Nevertheless, if you will hear Me,” says the LORD, “and bear no burden through the gates of the city on the Sabbath day, but sanctify the Sabbath day, so that you do no work on it,
25 “then shall the kings and the princes enter in at the gates of this city, and shall sit upon the throne of David, and shall ride upon chariots and upon horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall remain forever.
26 “And they shall come — from the cities of Judah, and from around Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the South — who shall bring Burnt Offerings and Sacrifices and Meat Offerings and incense, shall bring sacrifices of praise into the House of the LORD.
27 “But if you will not hear Me, to sanctify the Sabbath day and not bear a burden or go through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates. And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem. And it shall not be quenched.”’”
18 The Word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2 “Arise, and go down into the potter’s house, and there shall I show you My Words.”
3 Then I went down to the potter’s house. And behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
4 And the vessel that he made of clay was broken in the hand of the potter. So he returned and made it another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make.
5 Then the Word of the LORD came to me, saying,
6 “O House of Israel! Cannot I do with you as this potter,” says the LORD? “Behold, as the clay in the potter’s hand, so you are in My Hand, O House of Israel.
7 “I will speak suddenly against a nation, or against a kingdom, to pluck it up and to root it out and to destroy it.
8 “But if this nation against whom I have pronounced turns from their wickedness, I will turn from the plague that I had thought to bring upon them.
9 “And I will speak suddenly concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build it and to plant it.
10 “But if it does evil in My sight, and does not hear My Voice, I will turn from the good that I had thought to do for them.
11 “Speak now, therefore, to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I prepare a plague for you, and plan something against you. Therefore, every one of you return from his evil way, and make your ways and your works good.”
12 ‘But they said desperately, “Surely we will walk after our own imaginations. And every man will follow the stubbornness of his wicked heart.”
13 ‘Therefore, thus says the LORD: “Ask now who has heard such things among the heathen. The virgin of Israel has done very filthily.
14 “Will a man forsake the snow of Lebanon, which comes from the rock of the field? Or shall the cold, flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?
15 “Because My people have forgotten Me and have burnt incense to worthless idols, causing them to stumble in their ways from the ancient ways and to walk in the pathway that is not built up,
16 “and making their land desolate and a perpetual derision, everyone who passes by it will be astonished and wag his head.
17 “I will scatter them with an east wind before the enemy. I will show them My Back, and not My Face, in the day of their destruction.”
18 ‘Then they said, “Come, and let us imagine some device against Jeremiah! For the Law shall not perish from the Priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the Word from the Prophet. Come and let us strike him with the tongue! And let us not consider any of his words!”’”
19 Listen to me, O LORD, and hear the voice of those who contend with me.
20 Shall evil be repaid for good? For they have dug a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before You, to speak good for them, to turn away Your wrath from them.
21 Therefore, deliver up their children to famine, and let them drop away by the force of the sword. Let their wives be robbed of their children and be widows. And let their husbands be put to death. Let their young men be killed by the sword in the battle.
22 Let the cry be heard from their houses when You shall suddenly bring an army upon them. For they have dug a pit to take me, and hidden snares for my feet.
23 Yet, LORD, You know all their deadly counsel against me. Do not forgive their iniquity or blot out their sin from Your sight. But let them be overthrown before You. Deal with them in the time of Your anger!
19 Thus says the LORD: “Go and buy an earthen bottle of a potter, and take from the elders of the people, and from the elders of the priests,
2 “and go forth to the valley of Ben-Hinnom, which is by the entry of the East Gate. And you shall preach there the Words that I shall tell you,
3 “and shall say, ‘Hear the Word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring a plague upon this place of which whoever hears, his ears shall tingle,
4 “because they have forsaken Me and profaned this place, and have burnt incense in it to other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah. They have also filled this place with the blood of innocents.
5 “And they have built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not Command. Nor did I speak it. Nor did it come into My mind.
6 “Therefore, behold. The days come,” says the LORD, “that this place shall no longer be called Topheth, or the valley of Ben-Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.
7 “And I will bring the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem to nothing in this place. And I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their lives. And I will give their carcasses to be food for the birds of the sky, and to the beasts of the field.
8 “And I will make this city desolate, and a hissing, so that everyone who passes by it shall be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues.
9 “And I will feed them with the flesh of their sons, and with the flesh of their daughters. And everyone shall eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and distress with which their enemies, who seek their lives, shall constrain them.
10 “Then you shall break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with you,
11 “and shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of Hosts: “Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel that cannot be made whole again. And they shall bury them in Topheth, until there is no place to bury.
12 “Thus will I do to this place,” says the LORD, “and to its inhabitants. And I will make this city like Topheth.
13 “For the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled, as the place of Topheth, because of all the houses upon whose roofs they have burnt incense to all the host of heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.”’”
14 Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy. And he stood in the court of the LORD’s House, and said to all the people,
15 “Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring upon this city, and upon all her towns, all the plagues that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks and would not hear My Words!’”
20 When Pashhur, the son of Immer the Priest, who was appointed Governor in the House of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things,
2 then Pashhur struck Jeremiah the Prophet and put him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by the House of the LORD.
3 And in the morning, Pashhur brought Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD has not called your name Pashhur, but Magor-Missabib.
4 For thus says the LORD: ‘Behold, I will make you to be a terror to yourself, and to all your friends. And they shall fall by the sword of their enemies. And your eyes shall behold it. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babel. And he shall carry them captive into Babel and shall kill them with the sword.
5 ‘Moreover, I will deliver all the substance of this city, and all its labors, and all its precious things. And I will give all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and take them away and carry them to Babel.
6 ‘And you, Pashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. And you shall come to Babel. And there you shall die and shall be buried there, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’”
7 O LORD, You have persuaded me, and I am laid open. You are stronger than me and have prevailed. I am in derision daily. Everyone mocks me.
8 For when I speak, I cry out of wrong. And I proclaim desolation. Therefore, the Word of the LORD has become a reproach to me and a daily derision.
9 Then I said, “I will not make mention of Him or speak in His Name anymore.” But His Word was in my heart as a burning fire, shut up in my bones. And I was weary with restraining it. And I could not.
10 For I had heard the whispering of many, fear on every side, saying, “Declare! And we will declare it!” All my friends watched for my halting, saying, “It may be that he is deceived. So, we shall prevail against him. And we shall execute our vengeance upon him.”
11 But the LORD is with me like a mighty giant. Therefore, my persecutors shall be overthrown, and shall not prevail, and shall be greatly confounded. For they have done unwisely, and their everlasting shame shall never be forgotten.
12 But, O, LORD of Hosts! Who tries the righteous and sees the inner core and the heart! Let me see Your vengeance on them! For to You have I opened my cause.
13 Sing to the LORD! Praise the LORD! For He has delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of the wicked.
14 Curse the day on which I was born and do not let the day on which my mother bore me be blessed!
15 Curse the man who showed my father, saying, “A male child is born to you,” and comforted him.
16 And let that man be as the cities which the LORD has overturned without relent. And let him hear the cry in the morning and the shouting at noon,
17 because he did not kill me in the womb, so that my mother might have been my grave, or her womb a perpetual conception.
18 How is it that I came forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow, so that my days should be consumed with shame?
21 The Word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD when king Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur, the son of Melchiah and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah the Priest, saying,
2 “Please inquire of the LORD for us, for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, makes war against us. Perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all His wondrous works, so that he may withdraw from us.”
3 Then Jeremiah said, “Thus shall you say to Zedekiah,
4 ‘Thus says the LORD God of Israel: “Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babel, and against the Chaldeans, who besiege you outside the walls. And I will assemble them into the midst of this city.
5 “And I, myself, will fight against you with an outstretched Hand, and with a mighty Arm, in anger and in wrath and in great indignation.
6 “And I will strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence.
7 “And after this,” says the LORD, “I will deliver Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his servants and the people and such as are left in this city, from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their lives. And he shall strike them with the edge of the sword. He shall neither spare them nor have pity nor compassion.”’
8 “And to this people you shall say, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.
9 ‘He who stays in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence. But he who goes out and falls before the Chaldeans who besiege you, he shall live. And his life shall be as plunder to him.
10 ‘For I have set My Face against this city, for calamity and not for good,’ says the LORD, ‘It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babel, and he shall burn it with fire.’”
11 “And say to the House of the king of Judah, ‘Hear the Word of the LORD,
12 O House of David! Thus says the LORD: “Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver the oppressed out of the hand of the oppressor, lest My wrath go out like fire and burn, so that no one can quench it because of the wickedness of your works.
13 “Behold, I come against you, O inhabitant of the valley, rock of the plain,” says the LORD, “which says, ‘Who shall come down against us?’ Or ‘Who shall enter into our habitations?’
14 “But I will visit you according to the fruit of your works,” says the LORD, “and I will kindle a fire in its forest. And it shall devour all around it.”’”
22 Thus says the LORD: “Go down to the House of the king of Judah, and speak this thing there,
2 “and say, ‘Hear the Word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits upon the throne of David, you and your servants and your people who enter in by these gates!
3 ‘Thus says the LORD: “Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the oppressed from the hand of the oppressor, and do not trouble the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow. Do no violence or shed innocent blood in this place.
4 “For if you do this thing, then the kings sitting upon the throne of David shall enter in by the gates of this House and ride upon chariots and upon horses, he and his servants and his people.
5 “But if you will not hear these words, I swear by Myself,” says the LORD, “that this House shall be waste.”
6 ‘For thus has the LORD, spoken upon the king’s House of Judah: “You are Gilead to Me, the head of Lebanon. Surely I will make you as a wilderness, as uninhabited cities.
7 “And I will prepare destroyers against you, everyone with his weapons. And they shall cut down your chief cedar trees and cast them in the fire.
8 “And many nations shall pass by this city. And every man shall say to his neighbor, ‘Why has the LORD done this to this great city?’
9 “Then they shall answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods and served them.’”’”
10 Do not weep for the dead, and do not be moved for them. Weep for him who goes out. For he shall return no more, nor see his native country.
11 For thus says the LORD concerning Shallum, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned for Josiah, his father, who went out of this place: “He shall not return there.
12 “But he shall die in the place where they have led him captive and shall see this land no more.”
13 “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers without justice. He uses his neighbor without wages and gives him nothing for his work.
14 “He says, ‘I will build myself a wide house and large chambers.’ So he will make himself large windows and a ceiling with cedar and paint them with vermilion.
15 “Shall you reign because you close yourself in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink and prosper when he executed judgment and justice?
16 “When he judged the cause of the afflicted and the poor he prospered. Was not this because he knew Me,” says the LORD?
17 “But your eyes and your heart are only for your covetousness, and for shedding innocent blood, and for oppression, and for destruction.”
18 Therefore, thus says the LORD against Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah: “They shall not lament him, saying, ‘Ah, my brother,’ or ‘Ah sister.’ Nor shall they mourn for him, saying, ‘Ah, lord,’ or ‘Ah, his glory.’
19 “He shall be buried as a donkey is buried, dragged and cast out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry! Shout in Bashan, and cry by the passages! For all your lovers are destroyed.
21 “I spoke to you when you were in prosperity, but you said, ‘I will not hear.’ This has been your manner from your youth, that you would not obey My Voice.
22 “The spirit shall feed all your shepherds. And your lovers shall go into captivity. And then you shall be ashamed of all your wickedness and confounded.
23 “You who dwell in Lebanon, and make your nest in the cedars, how beautiful shall you be when sorrows come upon you, as the sorrow of a woman in labor?
24 “As I live,” says the LORD, “though Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, were the signet of My right Hand, yet would I pluck you from there.
25 “And I will give you into the hand of those who seek your life and into the hand of those whose faces you fear, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babel, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.
26 “And I will cause them to carry you away, and your mother who bore you, into another country where you were not born. And there you shall die.
27 “But to the land to which they desire to return, they shall not return to it.
28 “Is not this man, Coniah, a despised and broken idol or a vessel in which there is no pleasure? Why are they carried away, he and his seed, and cast out into a land that they do not know?
29 “O Earth, Earth, Earth! Hear the Word of the LORD!
30 “Thus says the LORD: ‘Write this man down as childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days. For there shall be no man from his seed who shall prosper and sit upon the throne of David or bear rule anymore in Judah.’”
23 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture,” says the LORD.
2 “Therefore, thus says the LORD God of Israel to the shepherds who feed My people: You have scattered My flock, and thrust them out, and have not visited them. Behold, I will reckon with you for the wickedness of your works,” says the LORD.
3 “And I will gather the remnant of My sheep out of all countries where I had driven them and will bring them again to their folds. And they shall grow and increase.
4 “And I will set up shepherds over them who shall feed them. And they shall dread no more nor be afraid, nor shall any of them be lacking,” says the LORD.
5 “Behold, the days come,” says the LORD, “that I will raise to David a righteous Branch. And a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice on the Earth.
6 “In His days, Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is the Name by which they shall call Him: The Lord Our Righteousness.
7 “Therefore, behold, the days come,” says the LORD, “that they shall no longer say, ‘The LORD lives, Who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’
8 “but, ‘The LORD lives, Who brought up and led the seed of the House of Israel out of the North country, and from all countries where I had scattered them,’ and they shall dwell in their own land.”
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