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Aramaic Peshitta Bible Repository

Lamsa OT - Jeremiah

"1 ¶ THE words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, until the inhabitants of Jerusalem were carried captive in the fifth month."

"4 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5 Before I formed you in the belly I knew you; and before you came out of the womb I sanctified you and ordained you a prophet to the nations. 6 Then I said, I beseech thee, O LORD God! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am but a child. 7 And the LORD said to me, Do not say, I am a child; for you shall go to all that I shall send you, and whatever I command you you shall speak. 8 Be not afraid of their presence; for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD. 9 Then the LORD put forth his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, I have this day set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out and to pull down, and to overthrow and to destroy, to build and to plant."

"11 ¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what do you see? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. 12 Then the LORD said to me, You have well seen; for I will hasten my word to perform it. 13 And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, What do you see? And I said, I see a boiling caldron; and its face is toward the north. 14 Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, lo, I will send and I will call all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And I will utter my judgments against them, because of all their wickedness, for they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods and worshipped the works of their own hands. 17 Therefore gird up your loins, and arise and speak to all that I command you; be not afraid of them, lest I confound you before them. 18 For, behold, I have made you this day like a fortified city and like an iron pillar and like a brass fence against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against their princes, against their priests, against their prophets, and against all the people of the land. 19 And they shall fight with you; but they shall not prevail against you; for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD."

"2:1 ¶ MOREOVER the word of the LORD came upon me, saying, 2 Go and proclaim in the ears of the people of Jerusalem, and say, Thus says the LORD: I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your long-suffering; for you walked after me in the wilderness, in the land that was not sown. 3 Israel has sanctified to the LORD the first fruits of his crops; all those who embezzle them shall be condemned; evil shall come upon them, says the LORD. 4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: 5 Thus says the LORD: What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me and have walked after vanity and have profited nothing? 6 Neither did they say, Where is the LORD who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a waste and depressed land, through a desolate land and a land of the shadow of death, a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwells? 7 And I brought you into a land of plenty, to eat its fruit and its goodness; but when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. 8 The priests did not say, Where is the LORD? And those who handle the law did not know me; the leaders also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after things that do not profit."

"9 ¶ Therefore I will yet contend with you, says the LORD; and with your children’s children I will contend. 10 For cross over to the islands of China and see; and send to Kedar, and understand diligently, and see if there ever has been such a thing as this. 11 Have the Gentiles changed their gods, which are not gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. 12 Be astonished, O heavens, at this, and tremble and be exceedingly afraid, says the LORD. 13 For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and they went and dug for themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water."

"14 ¶ Is Israel a servant? If he is a homeborn heir, why then is he plundered? 15 The lions have roared against him, and growled, and they made his land waste; his villages have become desolate without inhabitants. 16 Also certain rulers of the inhabitants of Memphis and Tahapanes shall rule over you. 17 Behold, such shall be done unto you, because you have forsaken the LORD your God, at a time when he led you in his way. 18 And now, why is it that you go in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? And why is it that you go in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river (Euphrates)? 19 Your own evil shall chastise you, and your repentance shall reprove .you; know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, for you have forsaken the LORD your God, and you have not revered me, says the LORD God of hosts."

"20 ¶ For of old time I have broken your yoke and cut your bands; and you said, I shall never serve another god again; and behold, now upon every high hill and under every green tree you wander, playing the harlot. 21 Yet I had planted you a good vine, wholly a right seed; why then have you turned against me and have become degenerate like a plant of a strange vine? 22 For though you wash yourself with nitre and use much sulphur, yet your sins within you are marked before me, says the LORD God. 23 How can you say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baal? See your ways in the valleys, and know what you have done: you have lifted up your voice, O you perverse in her ways; 24 You are like a wild ass which is untrained in the wilderness and follows her own will; you have snuffed up the wind, who can bring you back? Whoever seeks her shall weary himself, he shall find her only by means of her footprints. 25 Your feet are weary because they are unshod, and your throat is dry from thirst; but you said, I have become strong, I am unwilling to repent because I have loved strangers, and after them I will go. 26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so the children of Israel are ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, 27 Who say to a piece of wood, You are our father; and to a stone, You have brought us forth; for they have turned their backs upon me and not their faces; but in the time of their trouble, they say, Arise and save us. 28 But where are your gods that you have made for yourself? Let them arise and save you in the time of your trouble; for according to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah."

"29 ¶ Why then do you contend with me? You all have transgressed against me, says the LORD. 30 In vain have I smitten your children; they have received no discipline; the sword has devoured your prophets like a destroying lion. 31 As for you, O generation, hear the word of the LORD. Have I been like a wilderness to Israel? Or a waste land? Wherefore then say my people, We are humiliated; we will come no more to you? 32 Can a maid forget her ornaments or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. 33 Why do you deck yourself to induce love? For behold you have also learned evil by means of your conduct. 34 Also on your hands is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents; I have not found it by hard search, for it is under every tree. 35 Yet you say, Because I am innocent, therefore he will turn his anger from me. Behold, I will contend with you, because you have said, I have not sinned. 36 Why do you gad about so much to change your ways? You shall also be ashamed of Egypt, even as you were ashamed of Assyria. 37 Yea, you shall go forth from him humiliated; for the LORD is angry against those upon whom you have put your trust, and you shall not prosper with them."

"3:1 ¶ IF a man put away his wife, and she go from him and become another man’s wife, and he return to her again, behold, the land shall be defiled. But you have committed adultery with many rulers; return again to me, says the LORD. 2 Lift up your eyes to the highways, and see if there is a place where you have not defiled yourself. In the roads you have sat waiting for them, like an ostrich in the wilderness; and you have polluted the land with your whoredom. 3 And because of your wickedness the showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain; and you have become shameless like a whore, you have refused to be reproved. 4 Behold, now you say to me, My father, and thou art foster mother of my childhood. 5 Will God reserve his anger for ever? Or will he keep it to the end? Behold, you have spoken, and have done evil things beyond measure."

"6 ¶ The LORD said to me in the days of King Josiah, Have you seen the thing which she who dwells in Israel has done? She has gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there has played the harlot. 7 And I said after she had done all these things, Return to me, but she did not return. And her perverseness was seen by her sister Judah. 8 And she saw all Israel’s evil-doings. And because the inhabitants of Israel committed adultery, I had put her away and given a bill of divorce; yet her perverse sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. 9 And her whoredom was so excessive that she defiled the land and committed adultery with idols of stone and wood, 10 And yet, for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not returned to me with her whole heart, but only with falsehood, says the LORD. 11 And the LORD said to me, The inhabitant of Israel has justified herself more than her perverse sister Judah."

"12 ¶ Go proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Repent, O you inhabitant of Israel, says the LORD; and I will not be severe against you; for I am good, says the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. 13 Only acknowledge your iniquity, for you have sinned against the LORD your God, and have scattered your evil practices to the strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed my voice, says the LORD. 14 Repent, O backsliding children, says the LORD; for I was pleased with you; and took one person of you from every town and two from every family, and I brought you to Zion. 15 And I will give you rulers according to my own heart, who will govern you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And it shall come to pass when you have multiplied and increased in the land in those days, says the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD; neither shall it come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall that ritual be performed any more. 17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall look up to the name of the LORD; neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to their fathers. 19 And I said, I will consider you as children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations; and I said, You shall call me, My father, and shall not turn away from me."

"20 ¶ Surely as a wife lies about her lover, so has the house of Israel lied against me, says the LORD. 21 A voice was heard on the highways, the weeping and supplications of the children of Israel; for they have perverted their ways, and they have forsaken the LORD their God. 22 Repent, O you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings; and say, Behold, we are yours; for thou art the LORD our God. 23 Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills and from fortified mountains; truly, in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. 24 For shame has devoured the labor of our fathers from their childhood, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us; for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God."

"4:1 ¶ IF you will repent, O Israel, says the LORD, return to me; and if you will put away your abominations from my presence, then you shall not be carried away. 2 And you shall swear, The LORD liveth in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the Gentiles shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory."

"3 ¶ For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Light your lamp; and sow not among thorns. 4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath come forth like fire, and burn so that no one can quench it, because of the evil of your doings."

"5 ¶ Declare in Judah and publish in Jerusalem, and say, Blow the trumpet in the land; cry with a loud voice and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities. 6 Set up the standard toward Zion; be strong, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. 7 A powerful king is come up like a lion from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he has gone forth from his country to make your land desolate; and your cities shall be laid waste without an inhabitant. 8 For this gird yourself with sackcloth, mourn and lament; for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from you. 9 And it shall come to pass at that day, says the LORD, that the hearts of kings shall fail, and the hearts of princes; and the priests shall be astonished and the prophets shall wonder. 10 Then I said, I beseech thee, O LORD God, surely I have greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem; for I have said, You shall have peace; and behold, the sword reaches into the soul. 11 At that time it shall be said to this people and to Jerusalem, As a changing wind in the paths of the wilderness is the way of the daughter of my people, useful neither to fan, nor to cleanse, 12 But a strong wind from those places shall come to me; now also I will pronounce judgment against them. 13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! for we are plundered. 14 O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness that you may be saved. How long shall your evil thoughts remain in you? 15 For a voice declares from Dan and proclaims affliction from mount Ephraim. 16 Make mention to the nations and publish to Jerusalem, Behold, multitudes of Gentiles are coming from a far country, and they shall shout against the cities of Judah. 17 As keepers of the fields are they against her around about, because she has been rebellious against me, says the LORD. 18 Your ways and your doings have brought these things upon you; this is your wickedness; it is bitter, it has reached to your heart."

"19 ¶ I am in pain! I am in pain! I suffer in my heart; my heart throbs within me, and does not cease, because my soul has heard the sound of the trumpet and the shouting of war. 20 Destruction shall come upon destruction; for the whole land is plundered; suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains are fallen down. 21 How long shall I see fugitives and hear the sound of the trumpet? 22 For my people are foolish; they have not known me; they are stupid children, and they have no understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. 23 I looked on the earth, and, lo, it was without form and void; and on the heavens, and they had no light. 24 And I looked on the mountains, and, to, they trembled and all the hills were shattered. 25 I looked, and, behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled. 26 I looked, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all its towns were destroyed at the presence of the LORD and before his fierce anger. 27 For thus says the LORD God, The whole land shall be desolate; yet I will not make a full end. 28 For this the earth shall mourn and the heavens above shall be darkened; because of everything that I have spoken; I have purposed it and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. 29 Because of the noise of the horsemen and bowmen, the whole city has fled; enter into the forests and climb up upon the rocks; all towns are deserted and no man dwells therein: 30 And you that are plundered, what will you do? Though you clothe yourself with crimson, though you deck yourself with ornaments of gold, though you paint your eyes with kohl, in vain shall you make yourself fair; your lovers have left you and they seek your life. 31 For I have heard a voice as of a sick woman, and the anguish as of a woman who is in travail to bring forth her child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, who is wearied and who spreads her hands, saying. Woe is me! for my soul faints because of my men who are slain."

"5:1 ¶ RUN to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now and know, and search in its broad places, if you can find a man, if there is any that executes justice, that seeks truth; and I will pardon them. 2 And though they say, The LORD lives; truly they swear falsely. 3 O LORD, thine eyes are upon the truth; thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction; they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to repent. 4 Therefore I said, It is because they are poor; they have gone astray, for they do not know the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God. 5 I will go to the princes and will speak to them; for they have known the way of the LORD and the judgment of their God; but truly they have altogether broken the yoke; they have burst the bonds. 6 Therefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them and hungry wolves of the evening shall tear them in pieces; a leopard shall lie in wait over their cities; every one that goes out thence shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are multiplied and become so strong that they will not repent. 7 How shall I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by those that are no gods; when I had fed them until they were satisfied, they then committed adultery, and they fought one another in the harlots’ houses. 8 They were wanton like stallions, every one lusting after his neighbor’s wife. 9 Shall I not punish them for these things? says the LORD; and shall I not avenge myself on such a people as this?"

"10 ¶ Go up upon her walls and destroy; but make not a full end; spare her foundations, for they belong to the LORD. 11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, says the LORD. 12 They have lied against the LORD and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine: 13 And the prophets shall become a whirlwind and will have nothing to say; thus shall it be done to them. 14 Therefore thus says the LORD God of hosts, Because you speak this word, behold, I will make my words fire in your mouth, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. 15 Lo, I will bring a nation against you, a people from afar, O house of Israel, says the LORD; it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a people whose language you do not know; neither can you understand what they say. 16 Their quiver is like an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men. 17 And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread, which your sons and your daughters should eat; they shall eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees; they shall impoverish with the sword your fortified cities in which you trust. 18 Nevertheless in those days, says the LORD, I will not make a full end of you. 19 And it shall come to pass, when you shall say, Why does the LORD our God do all these things to us? Then you shall say to them, Thus says the LORD. Because you have forsaken me and served strange gods in your land, so you shall serve strangers in a land that is not yours."

"20 ¶ Declare this in the house of Jacob and publish it in Judah, saying, 21 Hear now this, O foolish people who have no understanding, who have eyes and see not, who have ears and hear not: 22 Do you not revere me? says the LORD, and will you not tremble at my presence? I have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual ordinance, that it cannot overflow; though the waves roar, yet they cannot prevail; and though they toss, yet they cannot pass over it. 23 But this people has a contentious and rebellious heart; they have revolted and gone astray. 24 Neither do they say in their heart, Let us now worship the LORD our God, who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season, who preserves for us the summer crops for the winter."

"25 ¶ Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withheld good things from you. 26 For among my people are found wicked men; they have laid snares like hedges that they may catch men with them. 27 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit; 28 Therefore they have become great and rich and have perverted judgment; they do not execute justice, and they do not judge aright the cause of the orphan; and the cause of the needy they did not judge. 29 Shall I not punish for these things? says the LORD; shall I not avenge myself on such a people as this? 30 An astonishing and horrible thing is committed in the land: 31 The prophets prophesy falsely and the priests have supported them; and my people love to have it so; and what will you do at the end?"

"6:1 ¶ O CHILDREN of Benjamin, flee out of the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet and set up a standard in Beth-keram; for I am bringing a calamity out of the north, and great destruction. 2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman. 3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come to her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place. 4 Prepare war against her; and say, Arise, let us go up at noon. Woe to us! for the day is spent, and the shadows of the evening are lengthened. 5 Arise, and let us go up against her by night, and let us destroy her palaces. 6 For thus says the LORD of hosts, Hew down her trees and cast a mound against Jerusalem; this is the city to be visited with destruction; all of her calumnies are in the midst of her. 7 As a cistern that gathers its water, so has she gathered her wickedness; violence and plunder are heard in her; before me continually are grief and wounds. 8 Be chastised, O Jerusalem, lest my soul abhor you; lest I make you desolate like an uninhabited land."

"9 ¶ Thus says the LORD of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine; turn back your hand as a grape gatherer when he gleans the grapes. 10 To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are dull and they cannot hear; behold, the word of the LORD is to them a reproach; they have no delight in it. 11 Therefore you are full of the fury of the LORD, and you are weary; I will measure and then I will pour it out upon the children in the streets and upon the assembly of young men together; for even the husbands and wives shall be taken, the old men with the infants. 12 Their houses shall be given to others, with their fields and wives together; for I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land, says the LORD. 13 For from the least of them even to the greatest of them every one commits treachery; and from the false prophets even to the priests every one of them deals falsely. 14 And yet they try to heal the wound of the daughter of my people mockingly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace. 15 Now they are ashamed because they had committed abomination, but the impudent are not ashamed at all, neither do they know what chastisement is; therefore they shall fall among them that fall; at the time that I visit them with punishment they shall be overthrown, says the LORD. 16 Thus says the LORD, Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths and see where is the good way, and walk in it and find rest for your souls. But you said, We will not walk therein. 17 Also I set watchmen over you, so that you might hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But you said, We will not hearken."

"18 ¶ Therefore hear, O nations, and know, O congregation, the deceit that is among them. 19 Hear, O earth! Behold, I will bring evil upon this people according to the fruits of their imaginations, because they have not hearkened to my words, and my law they have rejected. 20 To what purpose do you bring to me incense from Sheba and the cane of sweet incense from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable to me, nor do your sacrifices please me. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; and the neighbor and his friend shall perish. 22 Thus said the LORD, Behold, a people is coming from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the ends of the earth. 23 They shall be armed with bows and spears; they are cruel and have no mercy; their voices roar like the sea; and they ride upon horses set in array as men for war against you, O daughter of Zion. 24 We have heard the report of them; our hands wax feeble; anguish has taken hold of us, and pain as of a woman in travail. 25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemies is on every side. 26 O daughter of my people, gird yourself with sackcloth and wallow in ashes; make for yourself mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation; for the plunderers shall suddenly come upon you. 27 I have set you as a seer among my great people, that you may know and understand their ways. 28 Their rulers are all rebellious, walking treacherously; like brass and iron, they are corruptible. 29 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed by their fire; the refiner purges in vain; for their evil does not come out. 30 Rejected silver, they are called, because the LORD has rejected them."

"7:1 ¶ THE word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all the house of Judah who enter in these gates to worship the LORD. 3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4 Do not trust in the lying words of those who say to you, The temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD. 5 For if you amend your ways and your doings, you are the temple of the LORD; if you execute justice between a man and his neighbor; 6 If you do not defraud and oppress the strangers, the fatherless, and the widows, and do not shed innocent blood in this country, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: 7 Then I will cause you to dwell in this country, in the land that I gave to your fathers for ever and ever. 8 Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit. 9 Indeed you are thieves, you are murderers, and you commit adultery and swear falsely and burn incense to Baal and walk after other gods whom you know not; 10 And then you come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, Deliver us; and yet you do all these evils. 11 Is this house which is called by my name become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, says the LORD. 12 Therefore go now to my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 And now, because you have done all these works, says the LORD, and I warned you in advance and spoke to you, but you did not listen; and I called you, but you did not answer; 14 Therefore I will do to this house which is called by my name, in which you trust, and to this city which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even all the descendants of Ephraim."

"16 ¶ Therefore do not pray for this people, neither supplicate for them nor make intercession to me; for I will not hear you. 17 Do you not see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood and the fathers kindle the fire and the women knead dough to make cakes to the queen of heaven and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. 19 It is not I that they provoke, says the LORD, but they provoke themselves so that they may be ashamed. 20 Therefore thus says the LORD God, Behold, my anger and my wrath shall be poured out upon this country, upon men and upon beasts and upon the trees of the field and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn and shall not be quenched."

"21 ¶ Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat which I did not command your fathers to eat. 22 Neither did I command them concerning either burnt offerings or sacrifices in the day when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; 23 But this thing I commanded them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God and you shall be my people; and walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you. 24 But they did not listen nor incline their ear to hear, but they walked in their own counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward. 25 From the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt to this day I have sent to them all my servants the prophets, daily. 26 I sent them in advance to warn them; but they did not listen nor incline their ear toward me, but hardened their necks more than their fathers. 27 Therefore you shall speak all these words to them; but they will not hearken to you; you shall also call to them; but they will not answer you. 28 Truth is perished and is cut off from their mouth."

"29 ¶ Cut off your hair, Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high ways; for the LORD is angry and has forsaken this passing generation. 30 For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, says the LORD; they have set their abomination in the house which is called by my name and they have polluted it. 31 And they have built altars by the Taphat (stream) which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither did I think of it. 32 Therefore, behold, the days come, says the LORD, that it shall no more be called Taphat, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter; for they shall bury in the stream for the lack of ground. 33 And the corpses of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the air and for the beasts of the earth; and there will be no deliverer. 34 Then I shall cause to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for all the land shall become desolate."

"8:1 ¶ AT that time, says the LORD, they shall bring out of their graves the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of their princes and the bones of their priests, and the bones of their prophets and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 2 And they shall spread them before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought and which they have worshipped; they shall not be gathered nor be buried; but they shall be like rubbish upon the face of the ground. 3 And they shall choose death rather than life, all the remnant of them that remain of this evil family, in all countries where I have driven them, says the LORD of hosts."

"4 ¶ Moreover you shall say to them, Thus says the LORD: They shall fall and not arise; and even if they would try to repent, they will not do so. 5 Why then is this people of Jerusalem perpetually backsliding? They hold fast to deceit, they refuse to repent. 6 I have given ear and heard, but they did not speak aright; no one repented of his evil, saying, What have I done? All of them walk according to their own will, as a horse that rushes into the battle. 7 Yea, the stork in the sky knows her appointed times; and the turtle-dove and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD. 8 How do you say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, surely the lying pen of the scribes has made it for falsehood. 9 The wise men are ashamed, they are defeated and caught because they have rejected the word of the LORD, and there is no wisdom in them. 10 Therefore I will give their wives to others and their fields as a spoil; for every one from the least even to the greatest deals treachery, from the prophet even unto the priest every one deals falsehood. 11 And they try to heal the wound of the daughter of my people mockingly, saying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace. 12 Now they are ashamed because they have committed abomination, but the impudent are not at all ashamed, neither do they know what chastisement is. Therefore they fall among the fallen; in the time of their punishment they shall be overthrown, says the LORD."

"13 ¶ I will surely consume them, says the LORD; there are no grapes on the vine nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaves are fallen down; and the things that I have given them are passed away from them. 14 And they shall say, Why do we dwell here? Let us gather together and let us enter into the fortified cities and let us be silent there; for the LORD our God has silenced us and has given us bitter water to drink because we have sinned against the LORD. 15 We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of healing, and behold distress has befallen us! 16 The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan; the whole land trembled at the sound of the cry of his mighty men; for they are come and have devoured the land and all that is in it, the city, and those who dwell in it. 17 For, behold, I will send ferocious serpents among you, which cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you, says the LORD. 18 I am weary with sorrow, my heart is faint in me. 19 Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people who dwell in a far land; for they say, Is not the LORD in Zion? Is not her king in her? For they have provoked me to anger with their graven images and with strange idols. 20 The harvest is past, the grapes are gathered, and we are not saved. 21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am sorrowful, and astonishment has seized me. 22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no healer a there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people restored?"

"9:1 ¶ OH that my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! 2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, that I might leave my people and go away from them! For they are all adulterers, an assembly of liars. 3 And they bend their tongues like their bow; in falsehood and not in truth they are valiant upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not know me, says the LORD. 4 Take heed every one of his neighbor and do not trust in any brother; for every brother henceforth will defraud and every neighbor will walk deceitfully. 5 And every man will lie against his neighbor and will not speak the truth; they have taught their tongues to speak lies, they are weary and worn out. 6 Your habitation is in the midst of deceit; through their deceit they refuse to know me, says the LORD. 7 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will refine them and try them; for what else shall I do because of the daughter of my people? 8 Their tongue is a sharp pointed arrow; it speaks deceit; one speaks peacefully to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he lies in wait for him. 9 Shall I not punish them for these things? says the LORD; shall I not avenge myself on a people such as this? 10 Take up weeping and wailing for the mountains and a lamentation for the camps of the shepherds in the wilderness, because they are desolate so that none can pass through them; neither can any one hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the air and the beast have fled and they are gone. 11 And I will make Jerusalem heaps and a den of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah desolate without an inhabitant."

"12 ¶ Who is the wise man that may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it, why is the land perished and become desolate like a wilderness so that no one passes through it? 13 And the LORD says, Because they have forsaken my law which I gave to them and to their fathers, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked according to my warnings; 14 But have followed after the imagination of their own evil heart and after the idols which their fathers taught them; 15 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood and give them bitter water to drink. 16 I will scatter them also among the Gentiles, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send a sword after them till I have consumed them. 17 Thus says the LORD of hosts, Call for the mourning women that they may come; and send for women versed in lamentations that they may come; 18 And let them make haste and take up lamentations for us, so that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters. 19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, saying, How are we plundered! We are greatly ashamed, because we have left the land, because our tents are dismantled. 20 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, O women, and let your ears receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters lamentations, and every one to her neighbor a melody. 21 For death is come up into our windows and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from the streets and the young men from the broad ways. 22 For thus says the LORD, The carcasses of men shall fall as rubbish upon the open field and as the grass after the reaper, and none shall gather them."

"23 ¶ Thus says the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, and let not the rich man glory in his riches; 24 But let him who glories glory in this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who executes lovingkindness, justice and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the LORD. 25 Behold, the days come, says the LORD, that I will punish all those who are circumcised together with the uncircumcised; 26 Egyptians and Jews and Edomites, and the children of Ammon and Moab, and all those who cut their beards, who dwell in the wilderness; for all these nations are uncircumcised in their flesh, and all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart."

"10:1 ¶ HEAR the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel: 2 Thus says the LORD, Learn not the way of the Gentiles and be not afraid of the signs of heaven; for the Gentiles are dismayed at them. 3 For the gods of the Gentiles are nothing; they are cut from a tree in the forest, the work of the hands of a carpenter, things made with a plane. 4 They are decked with silver and with gold; men fasten them with hammers and nails, so that they may not fall apart. 5 They are set up straight as palm trees, but they do not speak; they must be carried, for they cannot walk. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither can they do good. 6 There is no one like unto thee, O LORD; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. 7 Who would not revere thee, O King of nations? For to thee belongs the kingdom; for among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like thee. 8 But altogether the vain doctrines of wooden image worship shall be utterly destroyed and consumed. 9 Fine silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Ophir; they are the work of the carpenter and of the hands of the silversmith; blue and purple is their clothing; they are woven by cunning men. 10 But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King; at his anger the earth trembles, and the nations shall not be able to endure his indignation. 11 Thus shall you say to them: The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens. 12 The LORD has made the earth by his power; he has established the world by his wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens by his intelligence. 13 He causes the sound of roaring of waters that are in the heavens, and he causes the clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth; he makes lightnings for the rain, and brings forth the wind out of his treasure house. 14 Every man has acted foolishly because of lack of knowledge; all those who work in gold are ashamed because of the graven images which they made; for molten images are falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 15 They are vanity, and the work of vain folly; in the time when they are visited with punishment, they shall perish. 16 The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he who has created all things is their portion; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; The LORD of hosts is his name."

"17 ¶ Gather up your disgrace from the land, O inhabitant who dwells in distress. 18 For thus says the LORD, Behold, I will perplex the inhabitants of this land at this very time, so that they may seek me and find me. 19 Woe to me for my hurt! my wound is grievous; but I said, Truly this is my grief and I must bear it. 20 My tabernacle is plundered and all its cords are cut off; my children have left me, and they are not; there is no one to pitch my tent again and to set up my curtains. 21 For the shepherds have misbehaved, and have not sought the LORD; and because they did not prosper, all of their flocks have been scattered. 22 Behold, the noise of the report is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate and a den of jackals. 23 I know that the ways of the LORD are not like the ways of men; he does not walk as a man directing his steps. 24 O LORD, correct me justly, and not in thy anger, lest thou bring me to nothing. 25 Pour out thy wrath upon the nations who do not know thee and upon the families that call not on thy name; for they have devoured Jacob, yea, they have devoured him and consumed him and have made his habitation desolate."

"11:1 ¶ 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 you shall say to them. Thus says the LORD God of Israel: Cursed be the man who does not obey the words of this covenant 4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Hearken to my voice and do all that I command you; so shall you be my people, and I will be your God; 5 That I may perform the oaths which I have sworn to your fathers to give them a land flowing 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, Proclaim 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 solemnly testified against your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even to this day; I sent messengers in advance, warning them, saying, Obey my voice. 8 But they neither obeyed nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of his evil heart; therefore I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to obey, but they did not. 9 And the LORD said to me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They are turned back to the iniquities of their fathers and have refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have nullified my covenant which I made with their fathers."

"11 ¶ Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring evil upon them which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry to me, I will not hearken to them. 12 Then shall the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem go and cry to the gods to whom they had offered incense; but they shall not save them at all in the time of their misfortune. 13 For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem you have set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense to Baal. 14 Therefore pray not for this people, neither offer a supplication or prayer for them; for I will not hearken to them in the time that they call to me, in the time of their misfortune. 15 Why has my beloved wrought so much lewdness in my temple? Therefore the holy meat shall pass away from you, for your evil is exceedingly increased. 16 The LORD called your name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit; but now with the noise of a great condemnation he has kindled fire upon it, and its branches are destroyed. 17 For the LORD of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you, for the evil 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 ¶ The LORD has revealed it to me, and I know it: truly thou hast shown me their works. 19 But I was like an innocent lamb that is brought to the slaughter; and I did not know that they had conspired against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name may not be remembered. 20 But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously, who knows what is in the heart and mind, let me see thy vengeance on them; for to thee have I revealed my cause. 21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth who seek your life, saying, Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, that you may not die by our hands: 22 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them; their young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine: 23 And there shall be no remnant of them; for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their punishment."

"12:1 ¶ RIGHTEOUS art thou. O LORD, when I plead with thee; yet let me talk of justice before thee. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are all the treacherous men rich? 2 Thou hast planted them; yea, their roots have become strong; they grow, they bring forth fruit; thou art near in their mouth, and far from their hearts. 3 But thou, O LORD, knowest me; thou hast seen me and tried my heart before thee; prepare them like sheep for the slaughter, and invite them for the day of destruction. 4 How long shall the land mourn and all herbs of the field wither for the wickedness of those who dwell therein? The cattle and the birds are consumed because wicked men have said, We shall not see an end. 5 If you have run with footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you run with horses? And if on the level land, where you have confidence, they have wearied you, then how will you cross the raging Jordan? 6 For since your brethren and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously against you; yea, they also have gossiped about you; believe them not when they speak well of you."

"7 ¶ I have forsaken my house, I have left my heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. 8 My heritage has become to me as a lion in the forest; it cries out against me; therefore I have hated it. 9 My heritage has become to me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; go, assemble all the wild beasts of the field, bring them to devour her. 10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion as a desolate wilderness. 11 They have made it desolate and destroyed it, and now being desolate, it cries out to me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man lays the law to heart. 12 The robbers are come upon all highways in the wilderness; for the sword of the LORD devours from one end of the land even to the other: no flesh shall have peace. 13 They have sown wheat, but they shall reap thorns; they have labored hard, but they shall not profit; and they shall be ashamed of their crops because of the fierce anger of the LORD."

"14 ¶ Thus says the LORD: Against all neighboring shepherds, who touch the inheritance which I have given to my people Israel to possess; behold, I will remove 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 them again, every man to his heritage and every man to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently teach my ways to my people, to swear by my name, As the LORD lives (as they taught them to swear by the name of Baal), then they shall dwell in the midst of my people. 17 But if they will not obey, then I will utterly pluck up and destroy this people, says the LORD."

"13:1 ¶ THUS says the LORD unto me, Go and buy for yourself a linen girdle, and put it on your loins, and do not put it in water. 2 So I bought a girdle according to the word of the LORD and put it on my loins. 3 And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, 4 Take the girdle which you have bought, and which is upon your loins, and arise, go to the Euphrates and bury it there in a hole of the rock. 5 So I went and buried it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. 6 And it came to pass after many days that the LORD said to me, Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from thence the girdle which I commanded you to bury there. 7 Then I went to the Euphrates and dug and took the girdle from the place where I had buried it; and, behold, the girdle was rotted and was good for nothing. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: In this manner will I destroy the proud men of Judah and the proud men of Jerusalem that are many. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who walk in the imagination of their heart, and have gone after other gods to serve them and to worship them, shall be even as this girdle which is good for nothing. 11 For as the girdle cleaves to the loins of a man, so I have caused to cleave to me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, says the LORD; that they might be to me for a people and for a name and for a praise and for a glory; but they would not hearken."

"12 ¶ Therefore you shall speak to them this word: Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Every wineskin shall be filled with wine; and they shall say to you, Do we not know that every wineskin 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 David’s throne and the priests and the prophets and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. 14 And I will scatter them and separate them every man from his brother, even fathers and their children together, says the LORD; I will not pity, nor have mercy, nor spare, but destroy them. 15 Hear and give ear; be not proud, for the LORD has spoken. 16 Give glory to the LORD your God before it becomes dark, and before your feet are injured upon the mountains in the darkness, and, while you look for light, he turns it into darkness and the shadows of death. 17 But if you will not hearken to him, then my soul shall weep in secret because of distress; and I will weep bitterly, and tears shall run down from my eyes because the LORD’S flock is carried away captive. 18 Say to the king and to the princes, Humble yourselves and repent, for the crown of your glory has fallen from your heads. 19 The cities of the south are shut up, and there is no one to open them; Judah is carried away captive, yea, is wholly carried away captive. 20 Lift up your eyes and see those that come from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful flock? 21 What will you say when he shall punish you? For you have taught the people a doctrine which has caused them to be trodden under foot; behold, you shall be seized with pain as a woman in travail."

"22 ¶ And if you say in your heart, Why have these things come upon me? For the greatness of your iniquity are your skirts uncovered and your heels made bare. 23 Just as a Hindu cannot change his skin or a leopard his spots, you also cannot do good because you are accustomed to do evil. 24 Therefore I will scatter them like the stubble driven by the wind in the wilderness. 25 This is your lot, the portion of your inheritance from me, says the LORD; because you have forgotten me and trusted in falsehood. 26 Therefore I also will cause your skirts to be uncovered and lifted over your face, and your shame shall be seen. 27 I have seen your adulteries and your lusts, the lewdness of your whoredom and your abominations on the hills in the wilderness. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! for you are unwilling to be cleansed. How long will it be till you repent?"

"14:1 ¶ THE word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought. 2 Judah mourns and her gates are desolate; they are fallen on the ground, and the painful cry of Jerusalem is gone up. 3 And their nobles have sent their least ones for water; they came to the cistern, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads. 4 Because of the evil deeds of the land, the ground is parched, no rain has fallen upon it; the farmers are ashamed, they covered their heads. 5 Yea, the hinds also gave birth in the field, and forsook their young ones because there was no grass. 6 And the wild asses stood in the paths, they snuffed up the wind like jackals; their eyes did fail because there was no grass. 7 Though our sins testify against us, O LORD have mercy upon us for thy name’s sake; for thy lovingkindness is great; we have sinned against thee. 8 O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in the time of trouble, be thou not as a stranger in the land and as a wayfarer who turns aside to tarry for a night. 9 Be thou not as a weak man, as a man who cannot save; yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not."

"10 ¶ Thus says the LORD to this people: They have loved to be unreliable, they have not restrained their feet from going after evil; therefore the LORD is not pleased with them; he will now remember their iniquity and punish their sins. 11 Then the LORD said to me, Do not pray for this people for their good. 12 For if they fast, I will not hear their prayer; and if they offer burnt offerings and an oblation, I will not accept them; but I will consume them by the sword and by famine and by pestilence. 13 Then I said, Hear me, I beseech thee, O LORD God! Behold, the prophets say to the people, You shall not see the sword, neither shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace and justice in this country. 14 Then the LORD said to me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: for I did not send them, neither have I commanded them nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you false visions, oracles and divinations and the deceit of their hearts; 15 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, and I did not send them; 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 they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of sword and famine and pestilence; and they shall have none to bury them, neither their wives nor their sons nor their daughters; for I will pour out their wickedness upon them."

"17 ¶ Therefore you shall say this word to them: Let my eyes run down with tears night and day and let them not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has suffered a terrible defeat; she is smitten with a very grievous wound. 18 If I go forth into the desert, then behold, the slain with the sword! And if I enter into the city, then behold, those who are suffering with famine! For also both the prophets and the priests are begging in the land unrecognized. 19 Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? Hast thy soul loathed Zion? Why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold fear! 20 We acknowledge, O LORD, our sins and the sins of our fathers; for we have sinned against thee. 21 Do not be angry, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory; remember, do not nullify thy covenant with us. 22 For the gods of the Gentiles cannot bring rain nor cause the heavens to give showers, but thou art our God; therefore we will wait for thee; for thou hast made all these things."

"15:1 ¶ THEN the LORD said to me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading, yet my soul would not be pleased with this people; but I will cast them out of my sight and let them go. 2 And it shall come to pass, if they say to you, Where shall we go? Then you shall tell them, Thus says the LORD: Those numbered for death, to death; and those numbered for the sword, to the sword; and those numbered for famine, to famine; and those numbered for captivity, to captivity. 3 And I will decree against them four kinds of afflictions, says the LORD: The sword to slay, the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the air and the wild beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 And I will cause them to be a horror in all the kingdoms of the earth, because of the transgressions of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. 5 For who shall have pity upon you, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan you? or who shall go aside to inquire about your peace? 6 You have forsaken me, says the LORD, you are gone backward; therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and destroy you; and I shall not spare you again. 7 And I will fan them with a fan in the cities of the earth; I have bereaved them of their children. I have destroyed my people, and yet they did not return from their ways. 8 Their widows are increased in number more than the sand of the sea; I have brought against them, both against the mother and against the young men, robbers at noonday; I have caused terror and trembling to fall upon them suddenly. 9 She who has borne seven children languishes; her pride is gone; her sun has gone down while it was yet day; she has been ashamed and confounded; and the rest of them I will deliver to the sword before their enemies, says the LORD."

"10 ¶ Woe is me, my mother, that you have borne me a judge, a rebuker to the whole earth. I am neither a debtor, nor a creditor; yet all of them curse me. 11 The LORD said, Verily I shall not leave you at ease, but I will cause an enemy from the north to encounter you in the time of tribulation and in the time of evil; 12 For he is hard as iron and as brass. 13 Your riches, your treasures, and all your borders, I will give to the spoil, because of your sins. 14 And I shall cause you to be enslaved to your enemies in a land which you do not know; for a fire is kindled in my anger, which shall burn upon you."

"15 ¶ O LORD, thou knowest; remember me and save me and avenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering; know that for thy sake I have suffered reproach. 16 Thy commandments have I kept and carried out, thy word was to me a delight and the joy of my heart; for I am called by thy name. 17 O LORD God of hosts, I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, but I was afraid because of thy hand, and I sat alone; for thou hast filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my pain so grievous and my wound so severe that it refuses to be healed? Wilt thou be to me as a mirage that cannot be believed? 19 Therefore thus says the LORD, If you repent, then I will bring you back again, and you shall stand before me; and if you bring forth the precious words and not the vile, you shall be as my mouth, says the LORD; the people shall turn to you; but you shall not turn to them. 20 I have made you to this people as a fortified wall of brass; and they shall fight against you. but they shall not prevail; 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 save you from the hand of the mighty."

"16:1 ¶ THE word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 You shall not take a wife for yourself, neither shall you have sons or daughters in this place. 3 For thus says the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them, and their fathers who begat them in this land; 4 They shall die the death of those who are ravaged by famine; they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as refuse upon the face of the earth; and they shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be food for the fowls of the air and for the beasts of the earth. 5 For thus says the LORD, Do not enter into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them; for I have taken away my peace from the people, says the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies. 6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land; they shall not be buried, neither shall any one mourn for them or lament for them, or shave his head for them; 7 Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their fathers or for their mothers. 8 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, I will cause to cease out of this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride."

"10 ¶ And it shall come to pass, when you tell this people all these words, and they shall say to you, Why has the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity, or what is our sin that we have sinned against the LORD our God? 11 That you shall say to them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, says the LORD, and have walked after other gods and have served them and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law, 12 And you have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, you walk away every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that you may not hearken to me; 13 Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land which you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; there you shall serve other gods day and night; and I will have no compassion upon you."

"14 ¶ Now, behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when 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 I had driven them; and I will bring them again into their land which I gave to their fathers. 16 Behold, I will send for many fishers, says the LORD, and they shall fish them from islands; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and from every hill and out of the holes of the rocks. 17 For my eyes are upon all their ways; they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from my eyes. 18 And first I will doubly recompense them for their iniquities and their sins; because they have defiled my land with burnt offerings of their idols and have filled my inheritance with their abominations. 19 O LORD, my strength and my helper and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come to thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely the idols of falsehood which our fathers have inherited are nothing, and there is no profit in them. 20 Behold, men make gods to themselves, and they are no gods. 21 Therefore, behold, I will show them, and at this time I will make known to them my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is the LORD."

"17:1 ¶ THE sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron and with the point of a diamond; it is engraved upon the tablets of their heart and upon the horns of their altars; 2 And their idols are under every green tree and upon every high hill and upon the mountains and in the open country. 3 I will give all your riches, all your treasures to the spoil, and that which is throughout your territory, because of your sins. 4 And I will cause you to lose the inheritance which I have given you; and I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land which you do riot know; for you have kindled a fire in my anger, which shall burn for ever."

"5 ¶ Thus says the LORD, Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes the son of the flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the LORD. 6 For he shall be like a plant in the desert, and shall not see when good comes; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness in a salt land not inhabited. 7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is in him. 8 For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, that spreads out its roots by the stream, and it shall not be afraid when heat comes, but its leaves shall be green; and shall not be afraid in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit. 9 The heart is stubborn above all things; who can understand it? 10 I the LORD search the heart and try the reins, and give every man according to his ways and according to the fruits of his doings. 11 Like the partridge that calls to the eggs which she has not hatched, so is he who gets riches and not by right; he shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end he shall be in disgrace."

"12 ¶ A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. 13 The LORD is the hope of Israel; all who forsake thee shall be ashamed, and those who revolt against thee shall have their names written in the dust, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters. 14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved; for thou art my praise. 15 Behold, they say to me, Where is the word of the LORD? Let it come now. 16 As for me, I have not urged thee to bring evil; nor have I desired any man’s woeful day; thou knowest; that which came out of my lips was before thy face. 17 Be not a terror to me; but abide with me in the day of trouble. 18 Let them be put to shame who persecute me, but let me not be put to shame; let them be defeated, but let me not be defeated; bring upon them the day of evil, and defeat them with double defeat."

"19 ¶ Thus said the LORD to me: Go and stand at the public gate by which the kings of Judah enter 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 the house of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the LORD: Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day nor bring it in through the gates of Jerusalem; 22 Neither carry a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, nor do any work; but hallow the sabbath day as I commanded your fathers. 23 But they did not obey, neither inclined their ear, but hardened their neck that they, might not heat nor receive instruction. 24 And it shall come to pass if you diligently listen to me, says the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day and do no work on it; 25 Then there shall enter through the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain for ever. 26 And the people shall come from the cities of Judah and from the places round about Jerusalem and from the land of Benjamin and from the plain and from the mountains and from the south, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the LORD. 27 But if you do not listen to me to hallow the sabbath day and do not refrain from carrying a burden 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."

"18:1 ¶ THE word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying. 2 Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear my words. 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, according to the word of the LORD, and, behold, he was doing work on the wheel. 4 And the vessel which he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he mixed the clay and made it into another vessel, as seemed good to him. 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 is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If suddenly I should speak concerning a people and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to pull down and to destroy it; 8 And if that nation repent from its evil, I will turn away from it the evil which I thought to do to it. 9 And if at another instant I should speak concerning a people and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; 10 And if it does evil in my sight and does not obey my voice, then I will turn away from it the good which I said I would do to it."

"11 ¶ Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am bringing evil against you and I am devising a device against you; repent you now, and return every one from his evil way and make your ways and your doings good. 12 But they said, We shall become strong and we will walk after our own devices and we will every man do the imagination of his evil heart. 13 Therefore thus says the LORD: Ask among the Gentiles, Who has done such things as these? The virgin of Israel has done a very horrible thing. 14 Does the green grass vanish from the mountain or the snow leave Lebanon? Does the cold water that gushes out and runs down cease from flowing? 15 Yet my people have forsaken me and have burned incense to vanity and have stumbled in their ways, and have departed from the ancient paths to walk in a way which was not trodden. 16 They have made their land desolate and a perpetual hissing; every one who passes through it shall be astonished and shake his head. 17 I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them my back and not my face, in the day of their calamity."

"18 ¶ Then they said, Come and let us devise plots against Jeremiah; so that the law shall not perish from the priests nor counsel from the wise nor the word from the prophets. Come and let us smite him in his tongue, and let us not listen to any of his words. 19 Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the cry of my oppression. 20 Evil has been recompensed for good, for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee and spoke good for them to turn away thy wrath from them. 21 Therefore give their children to famine and deliver them to the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and become widows; and let their men be put to death and their young men be slain by the sword in battle. 22 Let wailing be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a band of raiders suddenly upon them; for they have digged a pit to take me and hid snares for my feet. 23 Yet, O LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me; forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sins from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger."

"19:1 ¶ THUS said the LORD to me, Go and buy a potters earthen jug, and take with you some of the elders of the people and some of the elderly priests; 2 And go out to the valley of the son of Hinnom which is by the entrance of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell you, 3 And 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 evil upon this place, such that whosoever hears of it his ears shall tingle. 4 Because they have forsaken me and have polluted this place and have burned incense in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; and have filled this place with the blood of the innocents; 5 They have built also the high places of Baal to burn their sons with fire as burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command; nor did I speak of it, neither came it into my mind; 6 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when this place shall no more be called Taphat, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter. 7 And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem 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 their corpses will I give as food for the fowls of the air and for the wild beasts of the earth. 8 And I will make this city desolate and a hissing; so that every one who passes by it shall be horrified and hiss because of all its catastrophes. 9 And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his neighbors in the siege and in the affliction with which their enemies and those who seek their lives shall inflict upon them."

"10 ¶ Then you shall break a pot in the sight of the men who go with you, 11 And say to them, Thus says the LORD of hosts: Even so will I break this people and this city, as this potter’s vessel is broken, so that it cannot be mended again; and they shall bury the dead in Taphat because of the lack of burial space. 12 Thus will I do to this place and to its inhabitants, says the LORD, and even make this city like Taphat; 13 And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be defiled like the place of Taphat; and likewise all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven and have poured out drink offerings to other gods. 14 Then Jeremiah came from Taphat, 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 its towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks that they might not hear my words."

"20:1 ¶ NOW Pashur the son of Amariah the priest, who was governor in charge of the house of the LORD, heard Jeremiah the prophet prophesying these things. 2 Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD. 3 And it came to pass on the morrow that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah to him, The LORD has not called your name Pashur, but a stranger and a beggar. 4 For thus says the LORD: Behold, I will make you a sojourner, you and your friends; and the people shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall see it; and I shall deliver all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword. 5 Moreover I will deliver all the fortified places of this city and all the labor thereof; and all its precious things and all the treasures of the king of Judah will I deliver into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and take them and carry them to Babylon. 6 And as for you, Pashur, you and all the members of your household shall go into captivity; and you shall go to Babylon, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you, and all your friends, to whom you have prophesied lies."

"7 ¶ O LORD, thou hast comforted me, and I am comforted; thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed; I have become a laughing-stock daily, every one mocks me. 8 For at the time when I spoke and cried out, I spoke against the extortioners and against the robbers; because the word of the LORD has become for me a reproach and derision daily. 9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word became in my heart like a burning fire kindling in my bones; and I sought to be patient, but I could not endure it. 10 For I heard the evil intentions of many, who were gathering from every side inquiring of my peace with their mouth, but hating me in their heart, saying, Point him out to us; we will stand against him; perhaps we can win him over and we shall take our revenge on him. 11 But the LORD is with me as a mighty warrior; therefore all my persecutors shall be ashamed, and they shall not prevail; they have been greatly ashamed because they did not understand; their everlasting shame shall never be forgotten. 12 But, O LORD of hosts, who observest the right cause and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them; for to thee have I revealed my cause. 13 Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD; for he has delivered the life of the poor from the hand of evildoers."

"14 ¶ Cursed be the day on which I was born; let not the day on which my mother bore me be blessed. 15 Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A son is born to you, making him very glad. 16 Let that man be like the cities which the LORD overthrew, and he was never reconciled towards them; and let him hear the cry in the morning and the howling at noon. 17 Because he did not slay me in the womb, so that my mother might have been my grave, and my conception would have remained in the womb for ever. 18 Why did I come forth out of the womb to see toil and sorrow? My days are spent in shame."

"21:1 ¶ THE word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashur the son of Melchiah and Zephaniah the son of Maasiah, the priests, saying, 2 Enquire of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, and cause the enemy to withdraw from us. 3 Then said Jeremiah to them, Thus shall you say to Zedekiah: 4 Thus says the LORD God of Israel: Behold, I will destroy the weapons of war which are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the city, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city. 5 And I myself will fight against you with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, even in anger and in great wrath. 6 And in great wrath will I smite the inhabitants of this city, both men and beasts; they shall die of a great pestilence. 7 And afterward, says the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants and the people that are left in this city, from the sword and from the pestilence and from the famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their lives; and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; and he shall not spare them, neither have pity nor have mercy upon them."

"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 abides in this city shall die by the sword and by famine and by pestilence; but he who surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you, he shall live, and he shall save his life. 10 For I have set my face against this city for evil and not for good, says the LORD; it shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 11 And concerning the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear the word of the LORD, O house of David; thus says the LORD: 12 Execute justice in the morning, and deliver him who is oppressed from the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. 13 Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley, O you who are hidden below the plain, says the LORD, who say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations? 14 But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, says the LORD, and I will kindle a fire in its villages, and it shall devour all things round about it."

"22:1 ¶ THUS says the LORD: GO down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, and say, 2 Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you and your servants and your people who enter by these gates; 3 Thus says the LORD: Execute justice and righteousness, and deliver the oppressed from the hand of the oppressor; and do no wrong, do no violence to the strangers, the fatherless, and the widows, nor shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you will do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David and princes who ride in chariots and on horses, a king and his servants and his people. 5 But if you will not listen to these words, I swear by myself, says the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation. 6 For thus says the LORD concerning the house of the king of Judah: You are like Gilead, like the head of Lebanon; but I will surely make you a desert, like an uninhabited city. 7 And I will prepare destroyers against you, every one with his axe in his hand; and they shall cut down your choicest cedars and cast them into the fire. 8 And many people shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, Wherefore has the LORD done such a thing 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 ¶ Weep not for the dead, nor bemoan him; but weep bitterly for him that goes away; for he shall return no more, nor see his native land. 11 For thus says the LORD concerning Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father and who went away from this country: He shall not return here any more; 12 But he shall die in the country where they have carried him captive, and shall see this land no more. 13 Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness and his upper rooms by injustice; who makes his neighbor work for him without wages, and does not give him his hire; 14 Who says, I will build for myself wide houses with spacious upper rooms; and cuts out windows for them and covers them with cedar and paints them with vermilion. 15 Shall you reign and rejoice by living in palaces built with cedar? Indeed, your father did eat and drink, but he also did justice and righteousness, therefore I did good to him. 16 He did justice to the cause of the poor and needy; and he did well; he who does these things, knows me, says the LORD. 17 But your eyes and your hearts are set for nothing else but for your wealth and for the shedding of innocent blood, and for oppression and for violence, to do it. 18 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah: They shall not mourn for him, nor shall they say, Ah my brother! Ah my brother! They shall not lament for him, saying, Ah lord! Ah lord! 19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, dragged and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem."

"20 ¶ Go up to Lebanon and cry; and lift up your voice in Mathnin and cry from the other side of the sea; for all your lovers are defeated. 21 I spoke to you in your prosperity; but you said, I will not listen. This has been your way from your youth, you did not obey my voice. 22 All of your shepherds shall be smitten by the east wind, and your lovers shall go into captivity; surely then you shall be ashamed and confounded for all your wickedness. 23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, who makes her nest in the cedars, how you shall groan when pangs come upon you and the pain as of a woman in travail! 24 As I live, says the LORD God, though Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet on my right hand, yet I would pull you off; 25 And I will deliver you into the hand of the men who seek your life, and into the hand of those whose presence you fear, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26 And I will cast you out, and your mother who bore you, into another land, where you were not born; and there shall you die. 27 But to the land to which you hope to return, thither you shall not come back. 28 this Jecaniah is a little man and a fool, he is like a useless vessel; this is why he is carried away, he and his children, and cast into a land which he knows not. 29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD! 30 Thus says the LORD: Write this man down despised and childless, for none of his offspring shall prosper in his days, sitting upon the throne of David and ruling any more in Judah."

"23:1 ¶ WOE to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says the LORD. 2 Therefore thus speaks the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed my people: You have scattered my flock, and have caused them to go astray, and have not visited them; behold, I will punish you according to your evil doings, says the LORD. 3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 And I will set shepherds over them who shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be scattered nor shall they go astray, says the LORD. 5 Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Heir, and he shall reign over the kingdom with understanding, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell securely; and this is the name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. 7 Therefore, the days are coming, says the LORD, when it shall never be said again, 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 house of Israel out of the north country and from all the countries where they had been scattered; and they shall dwell in their own land."

"9 ¶ My heart is broken within me because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man and like a man who is overcome by wine, because of the presence of the LORD and because of the words of his holiness. 10 For the land is full of adulterers and robbers; because of these men the land mourns and the pastures of the shepherds in the wilderness are dried up, and their yield has been poor, and they did not flourish. 11 For both prophets and priests have become pagans; yea, even in my house have I found their wickedness, says the LORD. 12 Therefore their ways shall be to them as slippery ways in the darkness; they shall be driven on, and fall in them; for I will bring evil upon them, even the year of their punishment, says the LORD. 13 And I have seen falsehood in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied by Baal and caused my people Israel to err. 14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem folly; they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen also the hands of their friends, so that no one turns from his evil way; they are all of them to me like Sodom, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah. 15 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets: Behold. I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink bitter water; for from the prophets of Jerusalem paganism has gone forth throughout all the land. 16 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Do not hearken to the words of the false prophets who prophesy to you and mislead you; they tell a vision of the imagination of their own hearts, and not from the mouth of the LORD. 17 They say still to those who provoke me, The LORD has said, You shall have peace; and they say to every one who walks after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you. 18 For who has stood in the counsel of the LORD and has seen him and heard his word? or who has given ear to his word and heard him? 19 Behold, the punishment of the LORD is gone forth in fury, and the punishment will kindle; it shall fall upon the head of the wicked. 20 The wrathful indignation of the LORD shall not turn back until he has executed his devices, and till he has performed the thoughts of his mind; in the latter days you shall discern it perfectly. 21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they have gone forth; I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. 22 But if they had stood in my counsel and had caused my people to hear my words, then they would have turned them from their evil ways and from the evil of their doings. 23 I am the God who is near, says the LORD God, and not a God afar off. 24 If any man should hide himself in secret places, I will see him, says the LORD; behold, heaven and earth are filled with me, says the LORD of hosts. 25 I have heard what the prophets have said, who prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed a dream. 26 How long shall there be in the mouth of the false prophets, prophecies of lies? prophecies of the deceit of their own heart? 27 Who think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbor, as their fathers forgot my name and served Baal. 28 The prophet who sees a dream, let him tell a dream; but he who has my words, let him speak my words faithfully. Why do you mix chaff with the wheat? says the LORD. 29 Behold, my words issue like a fire, says the LORD, and like a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces. 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, says the LORD, who steal my words, every one from his neighbor. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, says the LORD, who pervert their tongues, and say, Thus says the LORD. 32 Behold, I am against the prophets who see false dreams, says the LORD, and tell them, and lead my people astray by their lies and their wantonness; yet I did not command them nor send them; so they do not profit this people at all."

"33 ¶ land when this people, or a prophet or a priest, shall ask you, and say to you, What is the word of the LORD? you shall say to them, This is the word of the LORD: I will utterly uproot you, says the LORD. 34 And as for the prophet or the priest or the people who shall speak the word of the LORD, I will punish that man and his house. 35 Thus shall you say every one to his neighbor, and every one to his brother: What has the LORD answered? and, What has the LORD spoken? 36 And the words of the LORD you shall mention no more; for every man’s word shall be to him his prophecy, for you pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God. 37 Thus shall you say to that person: What has the LORD answered you? and, What has the LORD spoken? 38 But if you speak the word of the LORD, therefore, thus says the LORD: Because you have said this word, The words of the LORD, and I have sent you, saying, You shall not say, The words of the LORD; 39 Therefore, behold, I will surely remove you, and I will cast you away, both you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers; 40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame which shall not be forgotten."

"24:1 ¶ AFTER Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with the craftsmen and the soldiers, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, the LORD showed me, and, behold two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD. 2 One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs, so that they could not be eaten, because they were so bad. 3 Then the LORD said to me, What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the bad figs, very bad, so that they cannot be eaten because they are so bad. 4 Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 5 Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge the exiles of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place to the land of the Chaldeans for their good. 6 For I will set my eyes upon them for good and not for evil, says the LORD, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them and not overthrow them; and I will plant them and not pluck them up. 7 And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God when they shall return to me with their whole heart. 8 And like the bad figs which cannot be eaten because they are so bad; thus says the LORD, So will I deliver Zedekiah the king of Judah and his princes and the remnant of the people who are left in this city together with those who dwell in the land of Egypt; 9 And I will make them a horror, an abomination and an evil thing, a reproach in all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a reproach, a proverb, a taunt, and a curse in all the lands where I have driven them. 10 And I will send after them the sword, famine, and pestilence, till I shall destroy them off the land which I gave to them and to their fathers."

"25:1 ¶ THE word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; 2 The year in which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, 3 From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even to this day, that is twenty-three years, the word of the LORD has come to me and I have spoken to you, warning you in advance daily; but you did not listen. 4 And the LORD has sent to you all his servants the prophets, sending them in advance to warn you; but you did not listen, nor incline your ear to hear. 5 They said, Repent every man from his evil way, and from the evil of his doings, and dwell in the land which the LORD has given to you and to your fathers for ever and ever; 6 And do not go after other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke me to anger with the works of your hands; that I may not hurt you. 7 Yet you have not hearkened to me, says the LORD; but you have provoked me to anger with the works of your hands to your own harm."

"8 ¶ Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts: Because you have not listened to my words, 9 Behold, I will send and take all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says the LORD, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about, and I will utterly destroy them and make them an astonishment and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. 10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 And it shall come to pass when seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and his people for their iniquities, says the LORD; and also the land of the Chaldeans, I will make it a perpetual desolation. 13 And I will bring upon that land all words which I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations. 14 For many nations and great kings shall enslave them also; and I will recompense them according to their deeds and according to the work of their own hands."

"15 ¶ For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel to me: Take the wine cup of this fury from my hand, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16 And they shall drink, and be dazed and be troubled because of the sword which I am sending among them. 17 Then I took the cup from the LORD’S hand, and made all the nations to whom the LORD had sent me drink it: 18 Even to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its princes, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, a hissing, as it is this day; 19 And to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to all his servants and his princes and all his people 20 And all his borders and all the kings of the land of Uz and all the kings of the land of the Philistines and Ashkelon and Gaza and Ekron and the remnant of Ashdod 21 Edom and Moab and the children of Ammon 22 And all the kings of Tyre and all the kings of Zidon and the kings of the islands which are beyond the sea 23 Deran and Tema and Buz and all of those who cut their beards 24 And all the kings whose boundaries are close to each other and all the kings of Arabia who dwell in the desert 25 And all the kings of Zimran and all the kings of Elam and all the kings of the Medes 26 And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world which are upon the face of the earth; and the king of the Parthians shall drink after them. 27 Therefore you shall say to them, Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink and be drunken and stagger and fall and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you. 28 And if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, Thus says the LORD of hosts: You shall certainly drink. 29 For behold, I begin to brine evil on this city which is called by my name, and you shall not be left unpunished, you shall not be blameless; for I am calling for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, says the LORD of hosts."

"30 ¶ Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them, The LORD shall roar from on high and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar against his fold; he shall shout, Hurrah, hurrah, like those who tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. 31 The noise shall reach even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD will contend against the nations; he will judge all flesh, and the wicked he shall deliver to the sword, says the LORD. 32 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the ends of the earth. 33 And those who are slain by the LORD shall be on that day from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; they shall not be lamented, neither mourned nor wept over nor gathered nor buried; but they shall be like refuse upon the face of the ground. 34 Howl, you shepherds, and cry; wallow in the ashes, you who have great flocks; for the days of your slaughter are at hand, anal you shall be broken, and fall like choice vessels. 35 And the shepherds shall not find the way to flee, nor shall the rams of the flock escape. 36 A voice of the cry of shepherds, and the bleating of the rams of the flock shall be heard; for the LORD has plundered their flocks. 37 And the peaceful folds are destroyed because of the fierce anger of the LORD. 38 For they have deserted his fold like a lion that has forsaken his covert; for their land is desolate because of the anger of the LORD and because of the presence of his fierce anger."

"26:1 ¶ IN the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Thus says the LORD: Stand in the court of the LORD’S house and speak to all the cities of Judah which come to worship in the house of the LORD all the words that I commanded you to speak to them; omit not a word: 3 Perhaps they will listen and turn every man from his evil way, so that I may cease from the harm which I purpose to do to them because of their evil doings. 4 And you shall say to them, Thus says the LORD: If you will not listen to me, to walk in my law which I have set before you 5 And to hearken to the words of my servants the prophets whom I have sent to you, warning you in advance, but you have not hearkened; 6 Then I will make this house like Shiloh and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth."

"7 ¶ So the priests and the false prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD. 8 Now it came to pass when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the false prophets and all the people seized him, saying, 9 He shall surely be put to death, for he has prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant. And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. 10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of the LORD and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD’S house. 11 Then the priests and the false prophets spoke to the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is guilty of death; for he has prophesied against this city and against its inhabitants, as you have heard with your ears. 12 Then Jeremiah spoke to all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. 13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will cease from the evil which he has pronounced against you. 14 As for me, behold, I am in your hands; do with me as it seems right and proper to you. 15 But you must know for certain that if you put me to death, you shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city and upon its inhabitants; for of a truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears."

"16 ¶ Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the false prophets, This man is not guilty of death; for he has spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God. 17 Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, 18 Micah the Morashite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the people of Judah, Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the temple like a forest. 19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? No, but they feared the LORD and prayed before him, and the LORD refrained from the evil which he had pronounced against them. And now, we wish to bring great evil upon ourselves. 20 And there was also another man who prophesied in the name of the LORD, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from Koriath-narin, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah; 21 And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his servants and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriah heard of it, he was afraid; so he fled and went to Egypt; 22 And King Jehoiakim sent a certain Egyptian, namely, Eliathan the son of Achbor, and certain other men with him to Egypt. 23 And they fetched Uriah from Egypt, and brought him to King Jehoiakim; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the burial place of the common people. 24 Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that they might not deliver him into the hand of the people to put him to death."

"27:1 ¶ IN the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Thus says the LORD to me: Make yourself yokes and bands, and put them on your neck, 3 And send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Zidon by the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah; 4 And command them to say to their masters, Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Thus shall you say to your masters: 5 I have made the earth and the men and the beasts that are upon the ground by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and I have given it to whom it seemed good in my sight. 6 And now I have given all these lands to serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. 7 And all nations shall serve him and his son and his son’s son, until the very time of his land shall come; many nations and great kings shall serve him. 8 And the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon and that will not put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword and with famine, and with pestilence, says the LORD, until I have delivered them into his hand. 9 Therefore do not listen to your false prophets nor to your diviners nor to your dreamers nor to your enchanters nor to your magicians, who say to you, You shall not serve the king of Babylon; 10 For it is a lie which they are prophesying to you, that I may drive you out from your land, and that I should drive you out, and you should perish. 11 But the nation that brings its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serves him, I will leave on its own land, says the LORD; and they shall till it and dwell in it."

"12 ¶ I spoke also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people and live; 13 So that you may not die, you and your people, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, according to that which the LORD has spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon. 14 Therefore do not listen to the words of the false prophets who speak to you, saying, You shall not serve the king of Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you. 15 For I have not sent them, says the LORD; yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that you might perish, you and the prophets who prophesy to you. 16 I spoke also to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus says the LORD: Do not hearken to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying. Behold, the vessels of the LORD’S house shall now shortly be brought back from Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you. 17 Do not listen to them, says the LORD, but serve the king of Babylon and live, that this city might not become a desolation. 18 But if they are prophets and the word of the LORD is with them, then let them beseech the LORD of hosts that the vessels which are left in the house of the LORD and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem be not taken to Babylon. 19 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the pillars and concerning the sea and concerning the bases and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20 Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon and all the princes of Judah and Jerusalem; 21 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the LORD and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem: 22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they remain until the day when I visit them, says the LORD; then I will bring them up and restore them to this place."

"28:1 ¶ AND it came to pass that same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, Hananiah the son of Azur the false prophet, who was from Gibeon, spoke to me in the house of the LORD in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people, saying, 2 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the LORD’S house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4 And I will bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah who went to Babylon, says the LORD; for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 5 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the false prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and in the presence of all the people who stood in the house of the LORD. 6 And Jeremiah said, Amen! may the LORD do so; the LORD perform the words which you have prophesied, to bring back the vessels of the LORD’S house and all the captives from Babylon to this place. 7 Nevertheless, hear now this word which I speak before you and before all the people; 8 The prophets who have been before me and before you of old prophesied both against many countries and against great kingdoms, of war and of evil and of pestilence. 9 If a prophet prophesies of peace, then when the word of that prophet shall come to pass, he shall be known as the one whom the LORD has truly sent."

"10 ¶ Then Hananiah the false prophet took the bands of the yoke from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, and broke them. 11 And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus says the LORD: Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations within two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way. 12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, after Hananiah the false prophet had broken the yoke bands from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 13 Go and tell Hananiah the false prophet, Thus says the LORD: You have broken the yoke of wood; but you shall make in their place a yoke of iron. 14 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him; and I have given him the beasts of the field also. 15 Then said the prophet Jeremiah to Hananiah the false prophet, Hear now, Hananiah, the LORD has not sent you; but you make this people to trust in a lie. 16 Therefore, thus says the LORD: Behold, I will cast you from off the face of the earth; this very year you shall die, for you have spoken iniquity in the presence of the LORD. 17 So Hananiah the false prophet died the same year in the seventh month."

"29:1 ¶ NOW these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to Babylon, to the rest of the elders who were in exile and to the priests and to the false prophets and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried captive from Jerusalem to Babylon 2 (After Jeconiah the king and the queen and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the craftsmen and the guard had departed from Jerusalem), 3 By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, saying, 4 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all who are carried away captives, from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat the fruit of them; 6 Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there, and not decrease. 7 And seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray to the LORD for it; for in the peace thereof shall you have peace."

"8 ¶ For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, neither listen to your dreams which you dream. 9 For they prophesy falsely to you in my name; I have not sent them, says the LORD. 10 For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon I will deliver you and perform my good word toward you in bringing you back to this country. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a good hope at the end. 12 Then you shall call upon me and pray to me. 13 And when you shall seek me with all your heart, you shall find me, says the LORD. 14 And I will bring back your exiles, and I will gather you from all the nations and from all the lands where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I caused you to be carried away captive."

"15 ¶ Because you have said, The LORD has raised us up prophets in Babylon; 16 Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning the king who sits on the throne of David and concerning all the people who dwell in this city and your brethren who did not go out with you into captivity; 17 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will send upon them the sword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like bad figs which are so bad that they cannot be eaten. 18 And I will pursue them with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, and I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be an astonishment, a curse, a reproach, and a hissing among all the nations where I have driven them, 19 Because they did not hearken to my words, and I sent to them all my servants the prophets, warning them in advance, but they did not listen to them, says the LORD. 20 Hear therefore the word of the LORD, all you exiles who were carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; 21 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab, the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maasiah, who prophesy lies to you: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; 22 And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the exiles who are in Babylon; they shall say, The LORD make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; 23 Because they have done wickedness in Israel and have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know and I am a witness, says the LORD."

"24 ¶ And to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, you shall say, 25 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have sent a letter in his name to all the people who are in Jerusalem and to Zephaniah the son of Maasiah the priest and to all the priests, saying, 26 The LORD has made you priest instead of Jehoiadah the priest, to be an officer in the house of the LORD over every man who acts foolishly and prophesies falsehood, to put him in prison and in the stocks. 27 Now, therefore, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who prophesies to you? 28 For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, You shall remain there for a long time; therefore, build houses and dwell in them; and plant gardens and eat the fruit of them. 29 And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 31 Send to all of them who are in captivity, saying, Thus says the LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you the thing which I did not send him to prophesy and has caused you to trust in a lie; 32 Therefore, thus says the LORD: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his posterity; he shall not have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he see the good which I will do for my people, says the LORD, because he has spoken iniquity against the LORD."

"30:1 ¶ THE word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Thus says the LORD God of Israel: Write all the words that I have spoken to you in a book. 3 For behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will bring back the captives of my people Israel and Judah, says the LORD; and I will bring them back to the land which I gave to their fathers and they shall possess it. 4 And these are the words that the LORD spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah. 5 Thus says the LORD: We have heard a sound of trembling and of fear; and there is no peace. 6 Ask now and see: Can a male bear a child? Wherefore do I observe every man with his hands on his loins, like a woman in travail, and all faces turned into paleness? 7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it; it is a time of distress for Jacob; but he shall be saved out of it. 8 For it shall come to pass in that day, says the LORD of hosts, that I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon from off your neck, and I will cut off your bonds, and strangers shall no more enslave them; 9 But they shall serve the LORD their God and David their king whom I will raise up for them."

"10 ¶ Therefore fear not, O my servant Jacob, says the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel; for, lo, I will save you from afar and your offspring from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall hurt him. 11 Fear not, O my servant Jacob, says the LORD, for I am with you to save you, says the LORD; for I will make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered you, yet I will not make a full end of you; but I will correct you justly, and will not declare you innocent. 12 For thus says the LORD: Your wound is grievous, and your affliction is severe. 13 There is none to plead your cause or to succor you and heal you. 14 All your friends have forgotten you; they seek your life; for I have smitten you with the wound of an enemy, with a severe chastisement because of the multitude of your iniquities, and because your sins were increased and you would not repent. 15 Why do you lament over your wound? Your wound is painful because of the multitude of your iniquities; and because your sins were increased, I have done these things to you. 16 Therefore, all who devour you shall be devoured; and all your enemies, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and those who trample over you shall be trampled over, and all those who plunder you I will give for a prey. 17 For I will restore health to you, and I will heal you of your wounds, says the LORD; because they have called you an outcast, saying, This is Zion who had no avenger."

"18 ¶ Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob’s tents, and I will do to him as of old, and have mercy on his dwelling places; the city shall be built upon its own hill, and the temple shall be established after the former manner thereof. 19 And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of those who sing; and I will multiply them, and they shall not decrease; I will also make them mighty, and they shall not be weak. 20 Their children also shall be as of old, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all who oppress them. 21 And their king shall be one of themselves, and their governors shall come forth from among themselves; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach to me; for I will turn his heart towards me, says the LORD. 22 And you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 23 Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goes forth with fury, a tornado; it shall rest upon the head of the wicked. 24 The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until he has executed his orders and until he has performed the intents of his heart; in the latter days you shall understand this."

"31:1 ¶ AT that time, says the LORD, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. 2 Thus says the LORD: The people who escaped from the sword found compassion in the wilderness when Israel went into exile. 3 The LORD has appeared to me from afar, saying, Yea, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn you. 4 Again I will build you, and you shall be built, O virgin of Israel; you shall again be adorned with your ornaments, and shall go forth in the assembly of those who make merry. 5 You shall again plant vineyards on the mountain of Samaria. Yea, you will plant vines and sing. 6 For the clay is coming when the watchmen on mount Ephraim shall cry, saying, Arise, and let us go up to Zion to the LORD our God. 7 For thus says the LORD: Sing with gladness, O house of Jacob, and rejoice among the chief of the nations; publish, give praise, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. 8 Behold, I will bring them from the north land, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, and also the lame and the blind who are among them, the woman with child and her that is in travail together; a great company shall they return here. 9 They shall go with weeping, but they shall return with fervent prayer; I will lead them by the paths that have water, in straight ways in which they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born."

"10 ¶ Hear the word of the LORD, O you his people, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He who scattered Israel will gather him, and shall keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock. 11 For the LORD has saved his servant Jacob, and delivered him from the hand of him who was stronger than he. 12 Therefore they shall come and sing on the height of Zion, and they shall be happy because of the goodness of the LORD, for the wheat, for the wine, and for the oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd; and their soul shall be like a watered garden; and they shall not lack any more. 13 Then shall the virgin rejoice and be glad, both young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them and make them rejoice from their sorrow. 14 And I will satisfy the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, says the LORD. 15 Thus says the LORD: A voice was heard in Ramtha, lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel is weeping for her children, and she refuses to be comforted because they are not. 16 Thus says the LORD: Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears; for there is a reward for your tears, says the LORD; and the people shall return from the land of the enemy. 17 And there is hope in your future, says the LORD, and the children shall come back to their own land."

"18 ¶ I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning and saying, O LORD, thou hast chastised me, and I was chastened; I had become like a bullock which cannot be subdued; bring me back, and I will repent; for thou art the LORD my God. 19 Surely after I had repented, I have been comforted; and after I was instructed, I have found rest; I was ashamed, yea even reproved, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. 20 Ephraim is my dear son, and a beloved child; for when I speak of him, I do earnestly remember him still; therefore I have my mercy upon him, I will surely have compassion on him, says the LORD. 21 Set up a standard for yourself, and dwell in the wilderness; set your heart towards the straight highway; repent, O virgin of Israel, says the LORD, and dwell in these your cities. 22 How long will you hesitate, O backsliding daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing on the earth, a woman shall love her husband. 23 Thus says the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel: From henceforth they shall use this saying in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I shall bring them back from their captivity: The LORD bless you, O habitation of righteousness, O holy mountain. 24 And there shall dwell in Judah itself and in all its cities together, farmers and shepherds of flocks. 25 For I have satisfied the thirsty soul and I have replenished every hungry soul. 26 This is why I awoke and beheld; and my sleep was sweet to me."

"27 ¶ Behold the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass that as I purposed against them, to uproot them and to break them down and to overthrow them and to destroy and to afflict; so will I be mindful of them, to build and to plant, says the LORD. 29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. 30 But every one shall die for his own sins; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. 31 Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; 32 Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt; and because they nullified my covenant, so I also despised them, says the LORD; 33 But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law in the midst of them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his brother and every man his neighbor, saying, Know the LORD; for they shall all know me, from the youngest of them to the eldest of them, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sins no more."

"35 ¶ Thus says the LORD, who has ordained the sun for a light by day and the moon and the stars for a light by night, who rebukes the sea and stills its waves; the LORD of hosts is his name; 36 If those ordinances depart from before me, says the LORD, then the descendants of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. 37 Thus says the LORD: If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below explored, then I will also reject all the descendants of Israel for all that they have done, says the LORD. 38 Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananael to the gate of the corner. 39 And the measuring line shall go forth straight upon the hill Gareb, and shall curve about to Goath. 40 And the whole valley in which they dump refuse and ashes, as far as the brook Kidron and as far as the corner of the horse gate towards the east, shall be holy to the LORD; it shall not be uprooted nor demolished any more for ever."

"32:1 ¶ THE word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 For then the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the king of Judah’s house. 3 For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Why do you prophesy and say, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; 4 And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face, and they shall see each other eye to eye; 5 And he shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, says the LORD; though you fight with the Chaldeans, you shall not win. 6 And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 7 Behold, Nahmael the son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, Buy my field which is at Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of redemption is yours to buy it. 8 So Nahmael my uncle’s son came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of the LORD, and said to me, Buy my field which is at Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is yours, and the redemption is yours; buy it for yourself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. 9 And I bought the field of Nahmael my uncle’s son, which was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver. 10 And I wrote the deed, and sealed it and called witnesses, and weighed him the money in the scales. 11 Then I took the deed of purchase, both that which was duly sealed according to law and a copy which was not sealed; 12 And I gave the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maasiah, in the sight of Nahmael my uncle’s son and in the presence of the witnesses whose names were written on the deed of purchase and in the presence of all the Jews who were seated in the court of the guard. 13 And I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, 14 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this deed of purchase which is sealed and this deed which is not sealed; and put them in an earthen vessel, so that they may be preserved for a long time. 15 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall be bought again in this land."

"16 ¶ Now after I had given the deeds of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the LORD, saying, 17 Ah, LORD God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and by thy stretched out arm, and there is nothing hidden from thee; 18 Thou showest lovingkindness to thousands of generations, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers to the bosom of their children after them; thou art the Great God, the Mighty and Revered, the LORD of hosts is his name, 19 Great in counsel and mighty in work, whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give every one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings. 20 For thou didst perform great signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even to this day and in Israel and among other men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day; 21 And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders and with a strong hand and with a stretched out arm and with a great spectacle; 22 And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey; 23 And they came in and possessed it; but they did not obey thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they did nothing of all that thou didst command them to do; therefore all this evil has come upon them. 24 Behold the siege ramparts are come against this city to take it; and because of sword and of famine and of pestilence the city is delivered into the hand of the Chaldeans, who are fighting against it; and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, I see it. 25 And thou, O LORD God, hast said to me, Buy the field for money, and call witnesses; and, behold the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans."

"26 ¶ Then came the word of the LORD to Jeremiah, saying, 27 I am the LORD, the God of all flesh; is there anything hidden from me? 28 Therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I will deliver this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it; 29 And the Chaldeans shall come and fight against this city, and shall uproot this city and set fire to it, together with the houses upon whose roofs the people have offered incense to Baal and poured out drink offerings to other gods to provoke me to anger. 30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done only that which is evil before me from their youth; for the children of Israel have always provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, says the LORD. 31 And because of them my anger and fury have come upon this city from the day that they built it even to this day; so that I may remove it from before my face, 32 Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests and their prophets and the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 And they have turned to me their backs and not their faces; though I have taught them, warning them in advance, yet they would not listen to receive instruction. 34 But they set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it. 35 And they built the high places of Baal in Taphat, which is in the valley of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters as offerings to Molech; which I did not command them, nor did it come into my mind that they should do this abomination to cause Judah to sin. 36 And now therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, of which you say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword and by famine and by pestilence; 37 Behold, I will gather them from all the lands to which I have driven them in my anger and in my fury and great wrath; and I will bring them back to this country, and I will cause them to dwell in safety; 38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God; 39 And I will give them a new heart and a new spirit, that they may worship before me for ever; and it shall be good to them and to their children after them: 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them to do them good: and I will put my reverence in their hearts, that they may not go astray from me. 41 Yea, I will cause them to rejoice, and good shall come to them, and I will plant them in this land in truth, with my whole heart and with my whole soul. 42 For thus says the LORD: Just as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring them all the good that I promise them. 43 And fields shall be bought in this land, of which you say, It is desolate, without man and beast; and it is delivered into the hand of the Chaldeans. 44 Men shall buy fields for money, and write deeds and seal them and call witnesses in the land of Benjamin and in the places about Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah and in the cities of the mountains and in the cities of the valleys and in the cities of the south; for I will bring them back from their captivity, says the LORD."

"33:1 ¶ MOREOVER, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the guard, saying, 2 Thus says the LORD who made you and formed you and established you: the LORD is his name: 3 Call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you know not. 4 For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which the robbers have uprooted by the sword: 5 They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but it is to fill the streets with the dead bodies of men whom I have slain in my anger and in my wrath; for I have turned my face from this city because of the evil which they did before me. 6 Behold, I will bring to it a long period of healing, and I will heal them and will reveal to them the paths of peace and truth. 7 And I will bring back the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel, and I will build them as at first. 8 And I will cleanse them from their iniquity whereby they have committed evil against me; and I will pardon all their trespasses whereby they have sinned against me, and whereby they have transgressed against me. 9 And Israel shall be to me for a name and for a delight, and for rejoicing and for glory before all the nations of the earth, who shall hear of all the good that I do to them; and they shall fear and be angry because of all the goodness and all the peace that I bring to them."

"10 ¶ Thus says the LORD: Again there shall be heard in this country which you say is a waste without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, which are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without beast, 11 The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voice of those who say, Praise the LORD of hosts; for the LORD is good and pleasant, and his mercy endures for ever; even of those who bring a sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will bring back the captivity of the land, as at the first, says the LORD of hosts. 12 Thus says the LORD of hosts: From henceforth in this place which is waste, without men and without beast, and in all its cities there shall be habitations of shepherds and folds of the flocks. 13 In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the plain and in the cities of the south and in the land of Benjamin and in the places about Jerusalem and in the cities of Judah, flocks shall again pass under the hands of those who count them, says the LORD. 14 Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will perform the good things which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah, says the LORD. 15 In those days and at that time I will cause an heir of righteousness to rise up to David; and he shall rule over the kingdom and shall have understanding and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah shall be saved and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is the name by which they shall call him: The LORD our righteousness."

"17 ¶ For thus says the LORD, David shall never lack an heir to sit on the throne of the house of Israel; 18 Neither shall the priests and the Levites lack a man before me to offer burnt offerings and to burn meat offerings and to do sacrifice and to burn incense continually. 19 And the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 20 Thus says the LORD: if they can break my ordinances of the day, and my ordinances of the night, so that there should not be day and night in their appointed time; 21 Then may also my covenant which I made with David my servant be broken, so that he should not have an heir to reign upon his throne; and my covenant with the priests and the Levites, my ministers. 22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured; so will I multiply the descendants of David my servant and of the Levites who minister to me. 23 Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 24 Have you not considered what this people are saying, The two families which the LORD has chosen, he has rejected? Thus they have provoked my people to anger, that they should be no more a nation before me. 25 Thus says the LORD: If my covenant be not in effect with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; 26 Then I will reject the descendants of Jacob and of David my servant so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the house of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for I will bring them back from their exile and will have mercy upon them."

"34:1 ¶ THE word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and all his army and all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion and all the peoples who were fighting against Jerusalem and against all of its cities, saying, 2 Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will deliver this city into the hand of the king of Babylon and he shall burn it with fire; 3 And you shall not escape from his hand, but shall surely be seized and delivered into his hand, and your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and you shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and you shall go to Babylon. 4 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; thus says the LORD concerning you, You shall not die by the sword; but you shall die in peace; 5 And as they mourned over your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so shall they mourn over you; and they shall lament for you, saying, Ah lord! for I have spoken this word, says the LORD. 6 Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem 7 When the king of Babylon’s army was fighting against Jerusalem and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and against Azekah; for these were the only fortified cities that remained of the cities of Judah."

"8 ¶ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people that were in Jerusalem: Proclaim liberty to them; 9 That every man should set free his Hebrew manservant and maidservant, so that no man may enslave a Jew, his brother. 10 And all the princes and all the people obeyed, and took upon themselves to let every one his manservant and his maidservant go free, that they should not make them to serve them any more; so they let them go free. 11 But afterward they changed their minds, and caused to return both the male and female servants whom they had let go free, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids. 12 Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 13 Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, 14 At the end of seven years you shall set free every man his brother, a Hebrew, who has been sold to you; and when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you; but your fathers did not hearken to me nor incline their ear. 15 And you now had turned, and had done that which is right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbor, and you had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name; 16 But then you turned again and profaned my name, and caused every man his servant and every man his handmaid, whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return and to be brought again into subjection, to be to you for servants and for handmaids. 17 Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: You have not hearkened to me in proclaiming liberty every one to his neighbor; beg hold, I proclaim for you liberty to sword, to famine, and to pestilence, says the LORD; and I will make you a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth. 18 And I will deliver up the men who have transgressed my covenant, who have not confirmed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between the parts thereof, 19 The princes of Judah and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs and the priests and all the people of the land, who passed between the parts of the calf; 20 And I will deliver them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives; and their dead bodies shall be food for the fowls of the air and for the beasts of the earth. 21 And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes I will deliver into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives and into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, who are coming back against them. 22 Behold, I will command, says the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it and take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant."

"35:1 ¶ THE word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, 2 Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink. 3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Amariah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites; 4 And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Gedaliah, a prophet of God, whose house was near the chamber of the princes, who dwell above the house of Maasiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door; 5 And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites vessels full of wine, and cups, and I said to them, Drink wine; 6 But they said, We will drink no wine; for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, You shall drink no wine, neither you nor your sons for ever; 7 Neither shall you build houses for yourselves nor sow seed nor plant vineyards nor have any; but you shall dwell in tents all your days; for you shall live many days in the land where you sojourn. 8 Thus we have obeyed the command of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he has charged us, to drink no wine all our days, neither we nor our wives nor our sons nor our daughters; 9 Nor to build houses for ourselves to dwell in; neither to have vineyards nor fields nor seed; 10 But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 11 But it came to pass when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, Come and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and for fear of the army of Edom; so we dwell in Jerusalem."

"12 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 13 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction to hearken to my words? says the LORD. 14 The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, who commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for to this day they drink none, for they have obeyed their father’s commandment; yet I have spoken to you and warned you in advance; but you have not listened to me. 15 I have sent also to you all my servants the prophets, sending them in advance, saying, Repent now every man from his evil way and amend your doings and do not go after other gods to serve them, and you shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers; but you have not inclined your ear nor listened to me. 16 Behold, the sons of Jonadab have faithfully kept the commandment of their father, who commanded them, but this people has not hearkened to me; 17 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them; because I have warned them, but they have not listened; and I have called to them, but they have not answered me. 18 And Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts and done according to all that he has commanded you, 19 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack an heir to stand before me for ever."

"36:1 ¶ AND it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah that this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Take a scroll of a book and write on it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and against Judah and against all the nations from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah even to this day. 3 It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do to them; that they may turn every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their trespasses and their sins. 4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD which he had spoken to him, upon a scroll of a book. 5 And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I cannot enter into the house of the LORD; 6 Therefore go and read the scroll which you have written from my mouth, the words of the LORD, in the presence of the people in the LORD’S house on a fast day; and also you shall read them in the presence of all the people of Judah who come out of their cities. 7 It may be they will present their supplication before the LORD, and every one will turn from his evil way; so that the LORD may cease from the evil which he has pronounced against them; for great is the anger and the fury that he has pronounced against this people. 8 And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the scroll the words of the LORD in the LORD’S house."

"9 ¶ And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth month, when all the people in Jerusalem had proclaimed a fast before the LORD, Baruch read before all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem. 10 Then Baruch the scribe read the words of the LORD which Jeremiah the prophet had spoken in the house of the LORD in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe in the upper court at the entry of the new gate of the LORD’S house before all the people. 11 When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the book, 12 He went down from the king’s house to the scribes’ chamber; and he saw all the princes seated there: Elishama the scribe, and Belaiah the son of Shemaiah and Eliathan the son of Achbor and Gemariah the son of Shaphan and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah and all the princes. 13 Then Michaiah told them all the words that he had heard when Baruch the scribe read the scroll in the presence of the people. 14 Then all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, Take in your hand the scroll which you have read before the people, and come. So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. 15 And the princes said to him, Sit down now and read it in our presence; so Baruch read it in their presence. 16 Now it came to pass when they had heard all the words that they were alarmed, looking one to another, and they said to Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words. 17 And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, how did you write all these words at his mouth? 18 Then Baruch answered them, Jeremiah dictated all these words to me and I wrote them with ink in the book. 19 Then the princes said to Baruch, Go hide, you and Jeremiah; and let no man know where you are."

"20 ¶ Then the princes went to the king in the courtyard, but they placed the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the presence of the king. 21 So the king sent Jehudi to bring the scroll; and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and Jehudi read it before the king and before all the princes who stood before the king. 22 Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month; and there was a fire burning on the brazier before him. 23 And it came to pass that when Jehudi had read three or four pages, the king cut it with the scribe’s penknife and threw it into the coals of fire; and the whole scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the brazier. 24 Yet neither the king nor any of his servants were afraid, nor did they tear their garments when they heard all these words. 25 Nevertheless Eliathan and Belaiah and Gemariah had entreated the king not to burn the scroll; but he would not listen to them. 26 And the king commanded Jerahmael the king’s son and Seraiah the son of Azriel and Shelemiah the son of Abdael to seize Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the scribe; but the LORD hid them. 27 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, 28 Return from hiding and take another scroll and write on it all the former words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah has burned. 29 And you shall say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus says the LORD: You have burned this scroll, saying, Why have you written in it and said, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land and exterminate from it both man and beast? 30 Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, He shall have not an heir to sit upon the throne of David; and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat and in the night to the frost. 31 And I will punish him and his offspring and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and upon the men of Judah all the evil things that I have pronounced against them; because they did not hearken to my voice. 32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it as Jeremiah dictated all the words which were written in the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and he added to them many similar words."

"37:1 ¶ AND King Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. 2 But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the LORD, which he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. 3 And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maasiah the priest to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Pray now for us before the LORD your God. 4 Now Jeremiah was free, going out and coming in among the people; for they had not yet put him in prison. 5 Then Pharaoh’s army came forth out of Egypt; and when the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report, they departed from Jerusalem. 6 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 7 Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. 8 And the Chaldeans shall return again and fight against this city, and they shall take it and burn it with fire. 9 Thus says the LORD: Do not think within yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely withdraw from us; for they shall not withdraw. 10 For even if you should destroy the whole army of Chaldeans that is fighting against you and there remained but wounded men among them, yet they would rise up every man from his tent and burn this city with fire."

"11 ¶ And it came to pass that when the Chaldean army had departed from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin to divide a portion of property there with the people. 13 And as he stood in the gate of Benjamin, an officer was there whose name was Neriah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, You are escaping to the Chaldeans. 14 Then Jeremiah said, You lie; I am not escaping to the Chaldeans. But he would not listen to him; so Neriah seized Jeremiah and brought him to the princes. 15 And the princes were angry with Jeremiah; so they scourged him and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for he was appointed warden over the prisoners. 16 And they lowered Jeremiah from the opening of the well into its depths, and Jeremiah remained there many days; 17 Then King Zedekiah sent and brought him up; and the king conferred with him secretly in the palace and said to him, Is there any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is. And the king said, What is it? Then Jeremiah said, You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. 18 Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, What offence have I done against you or against your servants or against this people, that you have put me into prison? 19 Where are now your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you nor against this land? 20 Therefore now listen to me, O my lord the king; let my supplication be acceptable before you, that you may not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there. 21 Then King Zedekiah gave an order, and they allowed Jeremiah to stay in the court of the prison, and they gave him a loaf of bread daily from the bakers’ street until all the bread in the city was gone. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison."

"38:1 ¶ THEN Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken to all the people, saying, 2 Thus says the LORD: He who remains in this city shall die by sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes forth to the Chaldeans shall live: and shall save his life. 3 Thus says the LORD, This city shall surely be delivered into the hands of the army of the king of Babylon, which shall take it. 4 Then the princes said to the king, Let this man be put to death; for it is he who is weakening the hands of the men of war who remain in this city and the hands of all the people in speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but the hurt. 5 Then King Zedekiah said, Behold, he is in your hands; for the king cannot say anything to you. 6 Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the well of Malchiah the son of the king, which was in the court of the prison; and they let down Jeremiah with ropes. And there was no water in the well, but only mire; so Jeremiah sank in the mire. 7 Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch who was in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the well, the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin; 8 So Ebed-melech went forth out of the king’s house and spoke to the king, saying, 9 My Lord, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, for they have cast him into the well; and, behold, he will die of hunger, for there is no more bread in the city. 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from here thirty men with you, and go and draw up Jeremiah out of the well before he dies. 11 So Ebed-melech the Ethiopian took the men with him from the king’s house, and went into the treasury which is below the palace and took from there some worn out towels and rags, and lowered them down by a rope into the well to Jeremiah. 12 And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, Put these old towels and rags under your armpits under the rope. And Jeremiah did so. 13 So they drew up Jeremiah with the rope, and took him up out of the well; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison."

"14 ¶ Then King Zedekiah sent and took Jeremiah the prophet to him into the third entry that is in the house of the LORD; and the king said to Jeremiah, I will ask you a question, hide not a word from me. 15 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, If I tell you, behold, you will surely put me to death; and if I give you counsel, you will not listen to me. 16 So King Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah in the palace, saying, As the LORD lives, who created soul in us, I will not put you to death, neither will I deliver you into the hand of these men who seek your life. 17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: If you will go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then you will spare your life, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and you and your household shall live; 18 But if you do not go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, then this city shall be delivered into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and you shall not escape from their hands. 19 And King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, I am afraid, because of the Jews, to go forth to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hands and they mock me. 20 But Jeremiah said, They will not deliver you. Obey the word of the LORD, which I speak to you; so it shall be well with you, and your life shall be saved. 21 But if you refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD has shown me: 22 Behold, all the women who are left in the king of Judah’s house shall go forth to the king of Babylon’s princes, and those women shall say, Your friends have deceived you and have prevailed against you; yea, they have caused your feet to sink in the mire, and they have turned away from you. 23 So they shall bring out all your wives and your children to the Chaldeans; and you yourself shall not escape from their hands, but shall be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon; and this city shall be burned with fire. 24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words and you shall not die. 25 But if the princes hear that I have talked with you, and they come to you and say to you, Declare to us now what you said to the king and what the king said to you, hide nothing from us and we will not put you to death; 26 Then you shall say to them, I was beseeching the king that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan’s house to die there. 27 Then came all the princes to Jeremiah and asked him; and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded him. So they ceased conversing with him because the matter was not made known. 28 So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison house until the day that Jerusalem was taken."

"39:1 ¶ IN the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And in the eleventh year of King Zedekiah, in the fifth month, on the ninth day of the month, the city was breached. 3 And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in and sat in the middle gate, even Nergal-sharezar, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim chief of eunuchs, Nergal-sharezar, Rab-mag, with all of the princes of the king of Babylon. 4 And it came to pass, when Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they fled and went out of the city by night by the way of the king’s garden by the gate between the two walls; and they went out by the way of the plain. 5 But the Chaldean’s army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him; and they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Diblath in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced judgment upon him. 6 Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah in Diblath before his eyes; also the king of Babylon slew all the princes of Judah. 7 Moreover, he put out Zedekiah’s eyes and bound him in chains, to carry him to Babylon. 8 And the Chaldeans burned the king’s house and the houses of the people with fire, and broke down the entire wall of Jerusalem round about. 9 Then Nebuzaradan the general of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the people who were left in the city and those who had deserted to him, with the rest of the people that remained. 10 But Nebuzaradan the general of the guard left in the land of Judah some of the poor people, who had nothing, and gave them vineyards and work at the same time."

"11 ¶ Now Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon gave orders concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the general of the guard, saying, 12 Take Jeremiah and treat him well and do him no harm; but do to him anything that he shall say to you. 13 So Nebuzaradan the general of the guard, Nebushazban the chief of the eunuchs, Nergal-sharezar. Rab-mag, and all the princes of the king of Babylon 14 Sent and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison and committed him to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should have him sent back to his home; so he dwelt among the people. 15 Now the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard, saying, 16 Go and say to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil and not for good; and they shall be accomplished in that day before you. 17 But I will deliver you in that day, says the LORD; and you shall not be delivered into the hand of men of whom you are afraid. 18 For I will surely deliver you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but your life shall be spared because you have put your trust in me, says the LORD."

"40:1 ¶ THE word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after Nebuzaradan the general of the guard sent him away from Ramtha, when he had taken him bound in chains among all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah who were carried away captive to Babylon. 2 And the general of the guard took Jeremiah, and said to him, The LORD your God has pronounced this evil upon this place. 3 Now the LORD has brought it and done according as he has said, because you have sinned against the LORD and did not obey his voice, therefore this thing has come upon you. 4 And now, behold, I release you this day from the chains which are upon your hands. If you wish to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will take good care of you; but if you do not wish to come with me to Babylon, remain here. Behold, all the land is before you; wherever it seems good and convenient for you to go, thither go. 5 Then he said to him again, If you remain, dwell among the people with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has made governor over the cities of Judah; or go wherever it seems good to you to go. Then Nebuzaradan, the general of the guard gave him presents after the custom and let him go. 6 Then Jeremiah went to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people who were left in the land."

"7 ¶ Now when all the captains of the forces who were in the villages and their men heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land and had committed to him men and women and children and some of the poor of the land who had not been carried away captive to Babylon, 8 Then they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite and Jezaniah the son of Maacath, they and their men. 9 And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan swore to them and to their men, saying, Fear not to serve the Chaldeans; dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. 10 As for me, behold, I will dwell in Mizpah, to stand before the Chaldeans who will come to us; but you gather wheat, wine, oil, and summer fruits, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in the cities that you have taken. 11 Likewise when all the Jews who were in Edom, Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in all other countries heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah and that he had appointed over them Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan; 12 Then all the Jews returned from all the places to which they had been driven and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, to Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much. 13 Moreover, Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces who were in the villages came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, 14 And said to him, Do you not know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to slay you? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam did not believe them. 15 Then Johanan the son of Kareah spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, saying, Let me go and slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it; lest he slay you, and all the Jews who are gathered to you should be scattered, and the remnant of the Jews should perish. 16 But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said to Johanan the son of Kareah, You shall not do this thing; for you are speaking falsely of Ishmael."

"41:1 ¶ NOW it came to pass in the seventh month that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, and twenty men with him came to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah. 2 Then Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the twenty men who were with him rose up and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor over the land of Judah. 3 Ishmael also slew all the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah and the Chaldeans who were found there and the men of war. 4 And it came to pass the second day after Gedaliah had been slain, and no man had heard of it, 5 That there came certain men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men, agitated, having their beards shaven and their clothes torn, carrying offerings and incense to bring them to the house of the LORD. 6 And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went; and as he met them, he said to them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. 7 And when they came into the city, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him slew them and cast them into a pit. 8 But ten men were found among them who said to Ishmael, Do not kill us; for we have in the field stores of wheat and of barley and of oil and honey. So he spared their lives, and did not slay them with their brethren. 9 Now the pit into which Ishmael cast all dead bodies of the men whom he had slain with Gedaliah was the same pit which Asa the king of Judah had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel; that same pit Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled with the slain. 10 Then Ishmael carried away captive all the rest of the people that were in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the general of the guard had entrusted to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam; Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive and departed to cross over to the Ammonites."

"11 ¶ But when Johanan the son of Kareah and all the generals of the forces who were with him heard of all the booty that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had carried away, 12 They took all the men and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon. 13 Now it carne to pass when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, then they rejoiced. 14 So all the people whom Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned back and came to Johanan the son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men and went to the Ammonites. 16 Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him took all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, and carried away the men of war, the women and the children and the eunuchs whom he had brought back from Gibeon; 17 And they departed and dwelt at the threshing floors of Bimham, which is by the side of Bethlehem, to go into Egypt 18 Because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land."

"42:1 ¶ THEN all the officers of the forces and Johanan the son of Kareah and Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah and all the people from the young to the old came near. 2 And said to Jeremiah, We beseech you, pray for us before the LORD your God, for we are left but a few of many, as your eyes see us; 3 That the LORD our God may show us the way by which we may go and the thing that we may do. 4 Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, I have heard you; behold. I will pray before the LORD your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass that whatever the LORD shall answer you. I will declare it to you; I will hide nothing from you. 5 Then they said to Jeremiah, May the LORD be a true and faithful witness between us if we do not do according to the word with which the LORD your God shall send you to us. 6 Whether it be good or whether it be bad, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God to whom we send you; that it may be well with us when we obey the voice of the LORD our God."

"7 ¶ And it came to pass after ten days that the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet. 8 Then he called Johanan the son of Kareah and all the officers of the forces that were with him and all the people from the young to the old, 9 And said to them, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your supplication before him: 10 If you will dwell in this land, then I will build you and not pull you down, and I will plant you and not pluck you up; for I will cease from the harm that I have done to you. 11 Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid; be not afraid of him, says the LORD, for I am with you to save you, says the LORD; and to deliver you from his hands. 12 And I will show mercy to you, that he may have mercy upon you and cause you to be settled in your own land. 13 But if you say, We will not dwell in this land, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God, 14 Saying, Not so; but we will go into the land of Egypt that we may not see war nor hear the sound of the trumpet nor have hunger for bread; and there will we dwell; 15 And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, O remnant of Judah; thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: If you set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to live there; 16 Then it shall come to pass that the sword which you fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine of which you are afraid shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there you shall die. 17 So shall it be with all the men who set their faces to enter into Egypt to live there; they shall die by sword, by famine, and by pestilence; and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them. 18 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: As my anger and my fury have been poured out upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured out upon you, when you shall enter into Egypt; and you shall be an execration and an astonishment and a curse and a reproach; and you shall see this place no more. 19 The LORD has said concerning you, O remnant of Judah: Do not go to Egypt; know certainly that I have warned you this very day. 20 For you have deceived yourselves when you sent me to the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us before the LORD our God, and whatever the LORD our God shall say to you declare to us and we will do it. 21 And this day I have declared to you; but you have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God; anything for which he has sent me to you, you have not done. 22 Now therefore know certainly that you shall die by sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live."

"43:1 ¶ AND it came to pass when Jeremiah had finished speaking to all the people all the words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them to speak to them all these words, 2 Then Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the wicked men said to Jeremiah, You speak falsely; the LORD our God has not sent you to say to us, You shall not go into Egypt to sojourn there; 3 But Baruch the son of Neriah stirred you up against us to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans that they might kill us or carry us away captives into Babylon. 4 So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the officers of the forces and all the people did not obey the voice of the LORD their God, to dwell in the land of Judah. 5 But Johanan the son of Kareah took all the officers of the forces and all the remnant of the people who were left from the house of Judah, 6 Men and women and children and the king’s household and every person whom Nebuzaradan the general of the guard had left with Gedeliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet and Baruch the son of Neriah. 7 So they came into the land of Egypt; for they did not obey the voice of the LORD; thus they came as far as Tahpanhes."

"8 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, 9 Take large stones in your hands and hide them in the mortar in the brickkiln which is at the entrance of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah; 10 And say to them. Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon. my servant, and will set his throne above these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. 11 And he shall come and smite the land of Egypt, and he shall deliver those who are for death to death and those who are for captivity to captivity and those who are for the sword to the sword. 12 And he shall kindle a fire in the house of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them and carry them away captives; and he shall conquer the land of Egypt as easily as a shepherd puts on his woolen cloak; and he shall go away from thence peacefully. 13 He shall break also in pieces the image of Beth-shemesh which is in the land of Egypt; and the temples of the gods of the Egyptians he shall burn with fire."

"44:1 ¶ THE word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD to prophesy concerning all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt: those who dwell at Migdol and at Tahpanhes and at Memphis and in the land of Pathros, saying, 2 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You have seen all the calamity that I have brought upon Jerusalem and upon all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are desolate, and no man dwells in them 3 Because of the wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that they went and burned incense to other gods, whom they knew not, neither they nor their fathers. 4 And I sent to them all my servants the prophets, in advance, saying. Oh, do not do this abominable thing that I hate. 5 But they did not hearken nor incline their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to other gods. 6 Therefore my fury and my anger were poured forth and a fire was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they became a desolation and an astonishment, as they are today. 7 And now thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves, to cut off from you man and woman, the young and the little one out of Judah, to leave you none to remain; 8 And thus have provoked me to anger with the works of your hands, and have burned incense to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you have come to dwell, so that I may destroy you, and you shall become a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have you forgotten the wickedness of your fathers and the wickedness of the kings of Judah and the wickedness of their wives which they committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They have not cleansed themselves even to this day, neither have they feared nor have they served me nor walked in my law nor in my statutes which I set before them and before their fathers. 11 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will set my face against you for evil to destroy the whole house of Judah. 12 And I will crush the remnant of Judah who have set their faces to enter into the land of Egypt to live there, and they shall all be consumed in the land of Egypt; they shall die by sword and by famine and by pestilence; and they shall be an execration and an astonishment and a curse and a reproach. 13 For I will punish those who dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by sword, by famine, and by pestilence; 14 So that none of the remnant of Judah, who are gone into the land of Egypt to live there shall escape or remain that they may return to the land of Judah to which they hope to return to dwell there; and only a few shall return."

"15 ¶ Then all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods and all the women who stood by, a great multitude, and all the people who dwelt in the land of Egypt and in Pathros answered Jeremiah, saying, 16 As for the word that you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD, we will not listen to you. 17 But we will certainly do every word that has gone forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of food and were well and saw no evil. 18 But since we left off burning incense to the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her we have lacked everything and have been consumed by sword and by famine. 19 And all the women said, When we burned incense to the queen of heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, it was not without our husbands’ consent; nor without their knowledge did we make cakes for her and pour out drink offerings to her."

"20 ¶ Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and to the women and to all the people who had given him that answer, saying, 21 The incense that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your fathers, your kings and your princes and the people of the land, it was that incense that the LORD has remembered, and it has come into his mind. 22 So that the LORD could no longer forgive you because of your evil doings and because of the abomination which you have committed; therefore your land has become an astonishment and a curse and a desolation without an inhabitant, as it is this day. 23 It is because you have burned incense and because: you have sinned against the LORD and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD nor walked in his law nor in his statutes nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil has overtaken you, as it is this day. 24 Moreover Jeremiah said to all the people, to men and women, Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who are in the land of Egypt; 25 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: You and your wives have both spoken with your mouths and fulfilled with your hands, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings to her; you have surely confirmed your oaths and performed your vows. 26 Therefore hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who dwell in the land of Egypt: Behold, I have sworn by my great name, says the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any men of Judah in all the land of Egypt, nor shall they say, The LORD God lives. 27 For I will hasten to bring evil upon them, says the LORD; and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by sword and by famine and by pestilence until I annihilate them. 28 And of those who escape the sword a few shall return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah who are gone to the land of Egypt to dwell there shall know whose words shall stand, mine or theirs. 29 And this shall be a sign to you, says the LORD, that I will punish you in this place, that you may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil. 30 Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will deliver Pharaoh the Lame, the king of Egypt, into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, as I delivered Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, who sought his life."

"45:1 ¶ THE word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah; when he wrote these words on a scroll as Jeremiah dictated, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, 2 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning you, O Baruch: 3 You said. Woe is me! for the LORD has added grief to my sorrow; I am weary in my sighing and I find no rest. 4 Thus shall you say to him: Thus says the LORD: Behold that which you have built I will break down, and that which you have planted I will pluck up. I am laying waste the whole land. 5 And as for you who once sought great things for yourself, seek nothing that is of great value: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, says the LORD, but I will let you save your life in all countries where you go."

"46:1 ¶ THE word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet to prophesy concerning the Gentiles: 2 Concerning Egypt, concerning the army of Pharaoh the Lame, king of Egypt, which was encamped by the river Euphrates at Carchemish, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon slew in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, 3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Take up the buckler and shield and draw near to battle. 4 Harness the horses and mount, O you horsemen; put on your helmets; polish the spears and wear the breastplates. 5 Because I have seen them defeated and retreating, and their mighty men are beaten down and are fled apace, and they look not back: for they were surrounded, says the LORD. 6 The swift cannot flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they have all stumbled and fallen by the river Euphrates. 7 Who is this that comes up like a river, and like rivers whose waters are raging? 8 The king of Egypt is rising up like a river, and his waters surge like the rivers; and he says, I will go up, and I will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof. 9 Mount the horses, O you horsemen; sing, O you riders in the chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and the Putians, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, who are skilled in handling and bending the bow. 10 And let that day be the day of the LORD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge himself of his enemies; and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood: for the LORD of hosts shall bring slaughter in the north country by the river Euphrates. 11 Go up to Gilead and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt! In vain you shall use many medicines; for you shall not be healed."

"12 ¶ The nations have heard of your shame, and your wailing has filled the land; for soldier has stumbled against soldier, and they are fallen both together by the sword. 13 The word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to smite the land of Egypt. 14 Declare it in Egypt and publish it in Migdol and announce it in Memphis and in Tahpanhes. Say, Make ready and prepare yourselves; for the sword shall devour round about you. 15 Why are your valiant men defeated? They fell down and rose up no more because the LORD has overthrown them. 16 Multitudes of them are fallen; yea, one fell upon another and said, Arise, and let us go back to our own people and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword. 17 They did invoke there the name of Pharaoh the Lame, king of Egypt, the troublemaker and passer of time. 18 As I live, says the LORD, whose name is the King of hosts, surely Pharaoh shall fall like a mountain slide, and like Carmel when it slides into the sea. 19 Furnish yourself with the clothes for exile, O virgin daughter of Egypt; for Memphis shall become waste and desolate without an inhabitant. 20 Egypt is like a very fair and pampered heifer, but an army from the north has come against her. 21 Also her hired men in the midst of her are like fatted bullocks; for they have turned back and fled together; they did not stand, because the day of their defeat was come upon them and the time of their punishment. 22 The sound of the army is like that of a serpent when it creeps; for they shall march with an army and come against her with axes, like hewers of trees. 23 Cut down her forests, says the LORD, for they are limitless; they are more than the locusts, and are innumerable. 24 The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame; she is delivered into the hand of the people of the north. 25 The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, says, Behold, I will punish Arnon of the waters of Thebes and Pharaoh and Egypt and her gods and her army and her kings, and even Pharaoh and all those who trust in him; 26 And I will deliver them into the hand of their enemies and into the hand of those who seek their lives and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of his servants; and afterward Egypt shall regain her freedom, as in the days of old, says the LORD. 27 But fear not, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel; for, behold, I will save you from afar off, and your descendants from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return and be in rest and at ease, and none shall harm him. 28 Fear not, O Jacob my servant, says the LORD, for I am with you; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven you; but I will not make a full end of you, for I will correct you justly; but I will not wholly declare you blameless."

"47:1 ¶ THE word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh smote Gaza. 2 Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am bringing young soldiers from the north, and they shall become like an overflowing flood, and they shall overflow the land and all that is in it, the city and those who dwell in it; then the men shall cry for help, and all the inhabitants of the land shall wail. 3 Because of the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of the horses of his mighty men and the rushing of his chariots and the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for the feebleness of their hands; 4 Behold, the day has come to plunder all the Philistines and to destroy Tyre and Sidon and every helper that remains; for the LORD will smite the Philistines, the remnant of the islands of Caphtor. 5 Slaughter has reached to Gaza, Ashkalon is destroyed, and all that is left of their habitation is taken. 6 O, sword of the LORD, how long will it be till you be quiet and cease from destruction? put up yourself into your scabbard, rest and be still. 7 How can it be quiet, when the LORD has given it a charge against Ashkalon and against the coastal cities? For against these places he has decreed punishment."

"48:1 ¶ CONCERNING Moab. thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe to Nebo! for it is spoiled; Koriathaim is ashamed and confounded; its defenders are confused and scattered. 2 The glory of Moab is no more; in Heshbon they have devised evil against her, saying, Come let us cut her off from being a nation. Though you shall keep your peace, the sword shall pursue you. 3 A sound of wailing is heard from Horonaim, plunder and great destruction. 4 Moab is destroyed; her poor people have published her lamentation. 5 For at the ascent of Luhith they shall go up weeping: and in the going down of Horonaim they shall raise a cry of tribulation and of destruction. 6 Hearken and flee, save your lives and be like a plant in the wilderness. 7 For, because you have trusted in your fortifications and in your treasures, you shall also be taken; and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity together with his priests and his princes. 8 And the spoiler shall come upon all your cities, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as the LORD has spoken. 9 Give a garland to Moab, for she shall surely be destroyed, and all her cities shall become a desolation without any to dwell in them. 10 Cursed is be who does the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed is he who keeps back his sword from blood. 11 The Moabites have been at ease from their youth, and they have settled on their lees, and have not been emptied from vessel to vessel, nor have they gone into captivity; therefore their taste remains in them and their scent is not changed. 12 Therefore, Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will send robbers against them, and they shall plunder them and empty their vessels and destroy their wine containers. 13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Beth-el their confidence."

"14 ¶ How can you say, We are mighty and valiant men of war? 15 Moab is plundered and his cities are burned and his chosen mighty men have been delivered to the slaughter, says the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. 16 The calamity of Moab is soon to come, and his affliction hastens fast. 17 All who are round about him are troubled and shaken, and all who know his name, say, How is the strong staff broken, and the beautiful rod! 18 Come down from your glory and sit in disgrace, O inhabitant daughter of Ribon, for the spoiler of Moab has come up against you, and he has destroyed your strongholds. 19 Stand by the ways and look, O inhabitant of Adoer! Ask him who flees and him who escapes, and say. What has happened? 20 Moab is ashamed; for it is broken down; howl and cry in Arnon, for Moab is destroyed. 21 And judgment has come upon the land of Mashor, upon Holon and upon Jahazah and upon Mephaath 22 And upon Ribon and upon Nebo and upon Beth-diblathaim 23 And upon Koriathaim and upon Bet-gamul and upon Beth-moen 24 And upon Korioth and upon Bozrah and upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The horn of Moab is cut off and his arm is broken, says the LORD. 26 Make him to be a vagabond, for he magnified himself against the LORD; Moab also shall wallow in his filth and he shall be in derision. 27 Was not Israel a derision to you? He was found among thieves when you fought against him. 28 Leave the cities, and dwell in steep rocks, O you that dwell in Moab, and be like the dove that makes her nest in the sides of the mouth of a crag. 29 We have heard that the princes of Moab are exceedingly proud; their loftiness, their arrogance, and the haughtiness of their hearts I know well, says the LORD; 30 Their works were unjust, and yet their soothsayers did not predict such things against them. 31 Therefore wail for Moab; they cry out for all Moab from every place; for they shall devise evil against the men who dwell in his house. 32 With the weeping of Jazer I will weep for you, O vine of Sibmah; your branches are gone over the sea; they reach as far as the sea of Jazer, because the spoiler is fallen upon your summer fruits and upon your vintage. 33 Joy and gladness shall pass away from the fruitful field and from the land of Moab; and wine shall cease from the winepress; none shall tread with shouting; they shall not shout nor say Ho! Ho! 34 From the cry of Heshbon as far as Elealeh, and even to Jahaz, they have uttered their voice; from Zoar to Horonaim, to the city of Alis, they cried like a heifer of three years old; for the waters of Nimrim shall be desolate. 35 Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, says the LORD, him that offers sacrifices in the high places and him that burns incense to his god. 36 Therefore, my heart shall sound for Moab like a harp because they have done evil and are perished. 37 For their heads are clipped and their beards shaved; upon all their hands are signs of mourning, and upon their loins sackcloth. 38 And upon all the housetops of Moab and in all the streets there is mourning, for I have broken Moab like a useless vessel, says the LORD. 39 How it is broken down! How Moab has turned his back and is put to shame! So shall Moab become a derision and a dismay to all that are round about him. 40 For thus says the LORD: Behold, he shall fly mightily as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab. 41 Kerioth is taken and the stronghold has been captured; the heart of the mighty men of Moab shall be in that day as the heart of a woman in her pangs. 42 And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people because he has magnified himself against the LORD. 43 Terror and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of Moab, says the LORD. 44 He who flees from the terror shall fall into the pit; and he who gets up out of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for I will bring all these things upon Moab in the year of their punishment, says the LORD. 45 For a fire has gone forth out of Heshbon and a flame from the province of Sihon, and it shall devour the face of Moab and the crown of the head of the sons of Shaon. 46 Woe to you, O Moab! The people of Chemosh is perished; for your sons are driven away and your daughters are carried captives. 47 Yet I will bring back the captivity of Moab in the latter days, says the LORD. Thus far is the judgment of Moab."

"49:1 ¶ CONCERNING the Ammonites, thus says the LORD: Has Israel no sons? Has he no heir? Why then has Malcolm inherited Gad, and why do his people dwell in its cities? 2 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will cause an alarm of war to be heard against Rabbath of the Ammonites; and it shall become a desolate heap, and its little villages shall be burned with fire; then Israel shall be heir to those who were his heirs, says the LORD. 3 Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is destroyed; call for help, O villages of Rabbath, gird you with sackcloth; mourn, be disquieted; for Malcolm shall go into captivity, together with his priests and princes, says the LORD. 4 Why do you glory in your valleys and trust in your broad plains, O beloved daughter who trusts in her treasures, saying, Who shall come against me? 5 Behold, I will bring a terror upon you from all your borders, says the LORD of hosts; and I will drive the people in all directions; and none shall gather up the wanderers. 6 But afterward I will bring back the captivity of the children of Ammon, says the LORD."

"7 ¶ Concerning Edom, thus says the LORD of hosts: There is no more wisdom in Teman; the counsel is perished from the prudent; their wisdom is taken away. 8 Flee, turn back, dwell in deep crevices, O inhabitants of Deran! For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him, the time of his punishment, says the LORD. 9 If grape-gatherers came to you, would they not leave gleaning grapes? If thieves came by night, they would destroy till they have enough. 10 But I have searched out Esau, I have uncovered his secret places, and he tried to hide himself but could not; his descendants are driven away, and his brethren and his neighbors are no more. 11 Leave your fatherless children; I will preserve them alive; and let your widows trust in me. 12 For thus says the LORD: Behold, those whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have assuredly drunken; and though you consider yourselves blameless, you shall not go unpunished; but you shall surely drink of the cup. 13 For I have sworn by myself, says the LORD, that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a desolation, a reproach, and a curse; and all its cities shall become perpetual wastes. 14 I have heard a rumor from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent to the nations, saying, Arise, let us go up against her to the battle. 15 For, lo, I will make you small among the nations and despised among men. 16 Your wickedness has deceived you, and the pride of your heart. O you that dwell in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill; who say in your hearts, Who can bring us down to the ground? though you make your nest among the stars, and though you make your nest as high as the eagle’s, I will bring you down from there, says the LORD. 17 And Edom shall become a desolation; every one who passes by it shall be astonished and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof. 18 It shall be overthrown just as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, says the LORD, no man shall dwell there, neither shall any human being live in it. 19 Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the sheepfold of Atan; but I will suddenly make them run away from her; and I will charge young warriors against her; for who is like me? And who shall testify against me? And who is that leader who can prevail against me? 20 Therefore, hear the counsel that the LORD has devised against Edom, and his purposes that he has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely even the least of the flock they shall shear; and the enemy shall make their folds desolate over them. 21 The earth is moved at the sound of their fall, and the noise of their wailing is heard from the Red sea. 22 Behold, he shall come up and fly mightily like an eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah; and the heart of the mighty men of Edom shall be in that day as the heart of a woman in her pangs."

"23 ¶ Concerning Damascus: Hamath and Arpad are put to shame, for they have heard evil tidings; they are dismayed, they are disturbed like the sea, they cannot find rest. 24 Damascus is weakened, and she turns to flee; trembling has seized her; anguish and pangs have taken her like a woman in travail. 25 How is the glorious city ruined, the city of joy! 26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be silenced, in that day, says the LORD of hosts. 27 And I will kindle a fire in the streets of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Bar-hadad."

"28 ¶ Concerning Kedar and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon smote; thus says the LORD: Arise, go up against Kedar and plunder the men of the east. 29 Their tents and their flocks shall the enemy take away; they shall carry away their curtains and all their vessels and their camels; and the oppressor shall shout against them on every side. 30 Flee, get you far away, dwell in deep places, O inhabitants of Hazor, says the LORD; for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has taken counsel against you and has conceived a purpose against you, saying, 31 Arise, get you up against a wealthy nation that dwells in tranquillity, says the LORD, that has neither gates nor bars, that dwells alone. 32 And their camels shall be booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter to all the winds those whose beards are clipped; and I will bring their calamity from every side of them, says the LORD. 33 And Hazor shall be a dwelling place for jackals and a desolation for ever; there shall no one abide there, nor any human live in it."

"34 ¶ Concerning Elam, the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he might prophesy concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, 35 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. 36 And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter the people to all these winds; and there shall be no nation whither the dispersed ones of Elam shall not come. 37 And I will cause Elam to be defeated before their enemies and before those who seek their lives; and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, says the LORD; and I will send the sword after them till I have consumed them; 38 I will set my throne in Elam, and I will destroy from thence the kings and the princes, says the LORD. 39 But it shall come to pass in the latter days that I will bring back the captivity of Elam, says the LORD."

"50:1 ¶ CONCERNING Babylon, the word that the LORD spoke against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet. 2 Declare among the nations and publish and raise an ensign; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is fallen, Merodach is put to shame, her idols are confounded and her graven images are broken in pieces. 3 For out of the north there comes up a nation against her which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell in it; they shall flee, they shall depart, both man and beast. 4 In those days and in that time, says the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping and seeking the LORD their God. 5 They shall ask the way to Zion, with their faces towards it, saying, Come, let us join ourselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant which shall not be forgotten. 6 My people have been like lost sheep; their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have scattered them on the mountains; they have gone from mountains to hills, they have forgotten their fold. 7 All who found them have devoured them; and their adversaries have said, We shall not spare them, because they have sinned against the LORD and against his righteous habitation; even the LORD, the hope of their families. 8 Flee from the midst of Babylon and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he-goats before the flocks."

"9 ¶ For, behold, I will stir up and cause to come against Babylon a multitude of many nations from the north country; and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken; their arrows shall be as those of an expert archer; none shall return empty. 10 And the land of the Chaldeans shall be a spoil; all that plunder her shall be satisfied, says the LORD. 11 Because you were glad, because you rejoiced over the destruction of my heritage, you leaped for joy like fat heifers and you danced like the rams of the flock: 12 Your mother is exceedingly ashamed; she who bore you is confounded: behold, the last of the nations shall become wilderness, waste, and desolation. 13 Because of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate; every one who passes by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her wounds. 14 Set yourselves in array against Babylon round about; all you that know how to bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows; for she has sinned against the LORD. 15 Shout against her round about; she has surrendered, her foundations are fallen, her walls are demolished; for it is the vengeance of the LORD. Take vengeance upon her; as she has done to others, do so to her. 16 Cut off from Babylon both the sower and him that handles the sickle in the time of harvest; because of the fear of the oppressing sword, they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land. 17 Israel is a lost ewe; the lions have caused him to go astray; first the king of Assyria has devoured him; and at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has inflicted a more grievous wound than the other. 18 Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. 19 And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and on Mathnin and mount Ephraim and Gilead; and his soul shall be satisfied. 20 In those days and in that time, says the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found; for I will pardon those whom I reserve as a remnant."

"21 ¶ Go up against the rebellious land, go up against it, and against its inhabitants; unsheath the sword and destroy them, says the LORD, and do according to all that I have commanded you. 22 A sound of battle is in the land, and of great destruction. 23 How is the mighty one of the whole earth defeated and taken! How has Babylon become an amazement among the nations! 24 Babylon has stumbled and she is taken; she did not know that she stood up against the LORD. 25 The LORD has opened his armory and brought forth weapons of his indignation; for this is the work of the LORD God of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans. 26 Come against her from round about her, open her gates; leave her as a naked woman and destroy her utterly; let nothing be left of her. 27 Destroy her; and let all her offspring be delivered to the slaughter; woe to them! for their day is come, the time of their punishment. 28 The voice of those who flee and escape from the land of Babylon to declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his temple. 29 Call together great armies against Babylon: all who know how to bend the bow shoot against her round about; let none be spared; recompense her according to her works; according to all that she had done, do to her; for she has ventured against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel. 30 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all her men of war shall be silenced on that day. 31 Behold, I am against you, O boaster, says the LORD God of hosts; for your day has come, the time of your punishment. 32 And the boaster shall be overthrown and fall, and none shall raise him up; and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him."

"33 ¶ Thus says the LORD of hosts: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together; and all who took them captive have held them fast; they refused to let them go. 34 Their Saviour is strong; the LORD of hosts is his name; he shall thoroughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the earth, and disquiet all the inhabitants of Babylon. 35 A sword is upon the Chaldeans, says the LORD, and upon all the inhabitants of Babylon and upon her princes and upon her wise men. 36 A sword is upon her soothsayers, and they shall be dismayed; a sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be defeated. 37 A sword is upon her horses and upon her chariots and upon all sojourners that are in the midst of her; and they shall become cowards; a sword is upon her treasures, and they shall be plundered. 38 A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for she is the land of the makers of images, who boast in their idols. 39 Therefore screech-owls shall dwell in her, and ostriches shall inhabit her; and she shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall she be inhabited throughout generations. 40 She shall become like Sodom and Gomorrah when God destroyed them and their inhabitants; so no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man live there. 41 Behold, a people is coming from the north, a great nation, and many kings shall be stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth. 42 They are armed with bows and lances; they are cruel and have no mercy; their voices are like the roaring of the sea, and they ride upon horses, arrayed as mighty men to the battle against you, O daughter of Babylon. 43 The king of Babylon has heard the report of them, and his hands weakened; anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail. 44 Behold, the enemy shall come up like a lion from the thickets of Jordan against the folds of Athan; and I will make the people suddenly run away from Babylon; and I will charge young warriors against her; for who is like me? Or who shall assail me? Or what leader is there who can prevail against me? 45 Therefore, hear the counsel of the LORD which he has taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he has proposed against the land of the Chaldeans; for they shall shear even the least of the flock, and they shall make their folds a desolation upon them. 46 At the noise of the capture of Babylon the earth is moved and her wailing is heard among the nations."

"51:1 ¶ THUS says the LORD, the God of hosts: Behold, I will stir up against Babylon and against its inhabitants a man of cruel heart and like a destroying wind; 2 And I will send to Babylon destroyers, and they shall plunder her and tread her land under their feet; and they shall gather against her from every side in the day of trouble. 3 The archer shall not cease from bending his bow, and the warrior shall not put off his breastplate; spare not her young men; destroy utterly all her host. 4 Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans and the wounded lie in her streets. 5 For Israel and Judah have not been bereaved of their God, of the LORD of hosts their God; though their land was filled with wickedness before the Holy One of Israel. 6 Flee from the midst of Babylon, and let every man save his life; be not swallowed up in her iniquities; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; he will render to her according to her works. 7 Babylon has been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand that made all the earth drunken of her wine; all the nations have drunk, and therefore the nations stagger with drunkenness. 8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed; wail for her, take balm for her wound; perhaps she may be healed. 9 We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed; let us forsake her, and let us go every one to his own country; for her judgment has reached to heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies. 10 The LORD has made evident our innocence; come, let us declare in Zion the works of the LORD our God. 11 Gather the quivers; fill them with arrows; the LORD has stirred up the spirit of the king of the Medes; for his device is against Babylon, to destroy her; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple. 12 Set up the ensign upon the walls of Babylon, set up a watch, drown her in waters; for the LORD has performed that which he had devised against the inhabitants of Babylon. 13 O you that dwell by many waters, abundant in treasures, your end has come and your wound is grievous. 14 The LORD of hosts has sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill you with men, numerous as locusts; and they shall lift up a shout against you, saying, It is done! It is done! 15 The LORD has made the earth by his power, he has established the world by his wisdom, and has stretched out heaven by his understanding. 16 When he utters his voice, he causes the rushing sound of waters in the heavens; and he causes the clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth; he makes lightnings for the rain, and brings forth the wind out of his storehouses. 17 Every man is brutish, lacking knowledge; all silversmiths are put to shame by the images they have made; for they have cast falsehood, and there is no breath in them. 18 They are worthless, the works of fools; in the time of punishment they shall perish. 19 The portion of Jacob is not the same; for he who has created everything, he is their portion and the sceptre of their inheritance; the LORD of hosts is his name. 20 Prepare weapons of war, for with you will I scatter the nations and with you will I destroy kingdoms; 21 And with you I will scatter horses and their riders, and with you I will scatter chariots and their riders, 22 With you will I scatter men and women, and with you will I scatter the old men and the youths, and with you will I scatter the young men and the maids, 23 And with you will I scatter the shepherd and his flock, and with you will I scatter the plowman and his yoke of oxen, and with you will I scatter rulers and governors. 24 And I will recompense to Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea, before your eyes, for all the evil that they have done in Zion, says the LORD. 25 Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, says the LORD, which destroys all the earth; I will stretch out my hand against you and remove your foundation from the rock, and will make you a burnt mountain. 26 And they shall not take from you a stone for a corner nor a stone for foundations; but you shall be desolate for ever, says the LORD. 27 Set up a banner in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations; prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Armenia, and Aschenaz; decree destruction against her; bring up horses like crawling locusts. 28 Prepare the nations for war against her, the king of the Medes and his princes and all his governors. 29 And the earth shall tremble and be confounded; for the purpose of the LORD against Babylon shall stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant. 30 The warriors of Babylon, together with those who man the strongholds, have ceased to fight; their strength has failed; they became cowards; they have dismantled her tents; her bars are broken. 31 One courier shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to tell the king of Babylon that his city is taken from every side, 32 And that the crossings are seized and the bastions are burned with fire and all the men of war are in confusion. 33 For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor, when wheat is ready to be threshed; yet a little while and the time of harvest shall come. 34 Jerusalem has said, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me, he has plundered me, he has made me like an empty vessel, he has swallowed me up like a dragon, he has filled his belly with my delicacies, and then he has caused me to go astray. 35 My spoil and my wealth are carried away to Babylon, my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, Jerusalem shall say. 36 Therefore thus says the LORD Behold, I will plead your cause, and take vengeance for you; I will dry up the sea of Babylon, and make her springs dry. 37 And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling place for jackals, an astonishment and a hissing, without an inhabitant. 38 They shall roar together like lions; they shall growl like lions’ whelps. 39 With venom I will prepare their drinks, and I will make them drunk, and they shall fall down and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake, says the LORD. 40 And I will deliver them like fatlings to be slain, like rams and he-goats to slaughter. 41 How is the royal city taken! the praise of the whole earth! How has Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! 42 The sea has come up upon Babylon; she is covered with the multitude of its waves. 43 Her cities have become a horror, like a dry land and a wilderness, a land in which no man shall dwell, neither shall any son of man live in it. 44 And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up; and the nations shall not worship him anymore; yea, even the broad walls of Babylon shall fall. 45 My people, go out of the midst of her, and spare every man his life from the fierce anger of the LORD, 46 Lest your heart faint and be fearful at the rumors that shall be heard in the land; and a rumor shall come in one year, and the following year another rumor; and there shall be violence in the land, and ruler shall rise against ruler. 47 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will break the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be destroyed, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. 48 Then the heaven and the earth and all that is in them shall rejoice over Babylon; for the spoilers shall come to her from the north, says the LORD. 49 And also in Babylon there shall fall the slain of Israel, and the slain of Babylon shall fall all over the earth. 50 You that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still; remember the LORD from afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind. 51 And the house of Israel shall say, We are exceedingly ashamed, because we have heard reproach; shame has covered our faces; for strangers have entered into the sanctuary of the LORD. 52 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will bring punishment upon Babylon and destruction upon her graven images; and her slain shall fall throughout her land. 53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should set her fortifications in the heights, yet spoilers shall come from me upon her, says the LORD. 54 A sound of wailing comes from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans 55 Because the LORD has spoiled Babylon and destroyed out of her both man and beast; the great sound of their voices goes up like the roaring of many waters. 56 The spoilers have come upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, and their bows are broken in pieces; for God is the LORD of recompense; he will surely requite them. 57 And I will make drunk her princes and her wise men, her noble men and her rulers and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, says the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. 58 Thus says the LORD of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall surely be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labor in vain, and the nations shall be weary with fire."

"59 ¶ The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Sheraiah the son of Neriah the son of Massaiah when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign, and Sheraiah was commander of an army. 60 So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that was to come upon Babylon, even all these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61 And Jeremiah said to Sheraiah, When you enter Babylon, see that you read all these words; 62 Then say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this country, to destroy it, that none shall dwell in it. neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever. 63 And when you have finished reading this scroll, then tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates; 64 And say, Thus shall Babylon sink and shall not rise, because of the evil that I will bring upon her people; and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah."

"52:1 ¶ ZEDEKIAH was twenty-one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2 And he did that which was evil before the LORD. according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 3 Because of these evils the anger of the LORD came against Jerusalem and against Judah till he had cast them out from his presence, and King Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. 4 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem and encamped against it and built forts against it round about. 5 So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 And in the fifth month, on the ninth day of the month, the famine was severe in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land. 7 Then the city was breached, and all the men of war fled and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden (now the Chaldeans were round about the city), and they went by the way of the plain. 8 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plain of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. 9 Then they took the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon to Diblath in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him. 10 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; he slew also all the princes of Judah in Diblath. 11 Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains, and the king of Babylon carried him to Babylon and put him in prison till the day of his death."

"12 ¶ Now in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the general of the guard, came and stood before the king of Babylon to serve him in Jerusalem; 13 And he burned the house of the LORD and the house of the king of Judah and all the houses of Jerusalem and all the houses of the princes he burned with fire; 14 And all the army of the Chaldeans that were with the general of the guard broke down all the walls of Jerusalem round about. 15 Then Nebuzaradan, the general of the guard, carried away captive some of the poor of the people and the rest of the people who were left in the city and those who had fled to the king of Babylon and the rest of the people of the land. 16 But Nebuzaradan, the general of the guard, left some of the poor of the land for vine-dressers and for other work. 17 And the pillars of brass and the wine vessels and the bronze sea that were in the house of the LORD the Chaldeans broke in pieces, and they took all the brass of them and carried it to Babylon. 18 The pots, also, and the caldrons and the hanging pots and the sprinklers and the spoons and all the vessels of brass with which they ministered they took away. 19 And the braziers and the censers and the bowls and the pots and the candlesticks, and the spoons and the cups which were made of gold and of silver the general of the guard took away. 20 The two bronze pillars, one sea, the twelve bronze bulls which were under the sea, which King Solomon had made for the house of the LORD; the brass of all these vessels was without weight. 21 And as for the pillars, the height of one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a fillet of twelve cubits encircled it, and its thickness was four fingers, and it was hollow. 22 And a capital of brass was upon it; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capitals round about, all of brass. The second pillar and the pomegranates were the same. 23 And there were ninety-six pomegranates on the side; all the pomegranates upon the network were one hundred round about."

"24 ¶ And the general of the guard took Sheraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the doors; 25 He took also from the city a eunuch who had been in charge of the men of war, and seven prominent men who had attended the king’s person, who were found in the city, and the scribe the commander in chief of the army, who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city. 26 So Nebuzaradan, the general of the guard, took them and brought them to the king of Babylon to Diblath. 27 And the king of Babylon smote them and put them to death in Diblath in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land. 28 This is the number of people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive in the seventh year of his reign: three thousand and twenty-three Jews; 29 In the eighteenth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred and thirty-two persons; 30 In the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon Nebuzaradan, the general of the guard, carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred and forty-five persons: all the persons were four thousand and six hundred."

"31 ¶ And it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiakim king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the twenty-fifth day of the month, Aol-merodach king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, honored Jehoiakim king of Judah and brought him out of prison. 32 And he spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon, 33 And changed his prison garments; and he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life. 34 And for his portion, there was a continual allowance given him of the king of Babylon, every day until the day of his death, all the days of his life."