Jeremiah’s Call and Commission
The words of aJeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in bAnathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of aJosiah the son of bAmon, king of Judah, in the cthirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of aJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of bZedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
4 Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,
5 “Before I aformed you in the womb I knew you,
And bbefore you were born I consecrated you;
I have cappointed you a prophet to the nations.”
6 Then aI said, “Alas, Lord God!
Behold, I do not know how to speak,
Because bI am a youth.”
7 But the Lord said to me,
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
aBecause everywhere I send you, you shall go,
And ball that I command you, you shall speak.
8 “aDo not be afraid of them,
For bI am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.
9 Then the Lord stretched out His hand and atouched my mouth, and the Lord said to me,
“Behold, I have bput My words in your mouth.
10 “See, aI have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,
bTo pluck up and to break down,
To destroy and to overthrow,
cTo build and to plant.”
The Almond Rod and Boiling Pot
11 The word of the Lord came to me saying, “What do you see, aJeremiah?” And I said, “I see a rod of an almond tree.” 12 Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for aI am watching over My word to perform it.”
13 The word of the Lord came to me a second time saying, “aWhat do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling bpot, facing away from the north.” 14 Then the Lord said to me, “aOut of the north the evil will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, behold, I am calling aall the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the Lord; “and they will come and they will bset each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the ccities of Judah. 16 I will pronounce My judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have aforsaken Me and have boffered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the cworks of their own hands. 17 Now, agird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. bDo not be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them. 18 Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for aI am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.
Judah’s Apostasy
Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2 “Go and aproclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord,
“I remember concerning you the bdevotion of your youth,
The love of your betrothals,
cYour following after Me in the wilderness,
Through a land not sown.
3 “Israel was aholy to the Lord,
The bfirst of His harvest.
cAll who ate of it became guilty;
Evil came upon them,” declares 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,
“aWhat injustice did your fathers find in Me,
That they went far from Me
And walked after bemptiness and became empty?
6 “They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
Who abrought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who bled us through the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and of pits,
Through a land of drought and of deep darkness,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no man dwelt?’
7 “I brought you into the afruitful land
To eat its fruit and its good things.
But you came and bdefiled My land,
And My inheritance you made an abomination.
8 “The apriests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the law bdid not know Me;
The rulers also transgressed against Me,
And the cprophets prophesied by Baal
And walked after dthings that did not profit.
9 “Therefore I will yet acontend with you,” declares the Lord,
“And with your sons’ sons I will contend.
10 “For across to the coastlands of Kittim and see,
And send to bKedar and observe closely
And see if there has been such a thing as this!
11 “Has a nation changed gods
When athey were not gods?
But My people have bchanged their glory
For that which does not profit.
12 “Be appalled, aO heavens, at this,
And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.
13 “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The afountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves bcisterns,
Broken cisterns
That can hold no water.
14 “Is Israel aa slave? Or is he a homeborn servant?
Why has he become a prey?
15 “The young alions have roared at him,
They have roared loudly.
And they have bmade his land a waste;
His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.
16 “Also the men of aMemphis and Tahpanhes
Have shaved the bcrown of your head.
17 “Have you not adone this to yourself
By your forsaking the Lord your God
When He aled you in the way?
18 “But now what are you doing aon the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of the bNile?
Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,
To drink the waters of the Euphrates?
19 “aYour own wickedness will correct you,
And your bapostasies will reprove you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil and cbitter
For you to forsake the Lord your God,
And dthe dread of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord God of hosts.
20 “For long ago aI broke your yoke
And tore off your bonds;
But you said, ‘I will not serve!’
For on every bhigh hill
And under every green tree
You have lain down as a harlot.
21 “Yet I aplanted you a choice vine,
A completely faithful seed.
How then have you turned yourself before Me
Into the bdegenerate shoots of a foreign vine?
22 “Although you awash yourself with lye
And use much soap,
The bstain of your iniquity is before Me,” declares the Lord God.
23 “aHow can you say, ‘I am not defiled,
I have not gone after the bBaals’?
Look at your way in the cvalley!
Know what you have done!
You are a swift young camel dentangling her ways,
24 A awild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,
That sniffs the wind in her passion.
In the time of her heat who can turn her away?
All who seek her will not become weary;
In her month they will find her.
25 “Keep your feet from being unshod
And your throat from thirst;
But you said, ‘aIt is hopeless!
No! For I have bloved strangers,
And after them I will walk.’
26 “As the athief is shamed when he is discovered,
So the house of Israel is shamed;
They, their kings, their princes
And their priests and their prophets,
27 Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their aback to Me,
And not their face;
But in the btime of their trouble they will say,
‘Arise and save us.’
28 “But where are your agods
Which you made for yourself?
Let them arise, if they can bsave you
In the time of your trouble;
For caccording to the number of your cities
Are your gods, O Judah.
29 “Why do you contend with Me?
You have aall transgressed against Me,” declares the Lord.
30 “aIn vain I have struck your sons;
They accepted no chastening.
Your bsword has devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.
31 “O generation, heed the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a aland of thick darkness?
Why do My people say, ‘bWe are free to roam;
We will no longer come to You’?
32 “Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have aforgotten Me
Days without number.
33 “How well you prepare your way
To seek love!
Therefore even the wicked women
You have taught your ways.
34 “Also on your skirts is found
The alifeblood of the innocent poor;
You did not find them bbreaking in.
But in spite of all these things,
35 Yet you said, ‘I am innocent;
Surely His anger is turned away from me.’
Behold, I will aenter into judgment with you
Because you bsay, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 “Why do you ago around so much
Changing your way?
Also, byou will be put to shame by Egypt
As you were put to shame by cAssyria.
37 “From this place also you will go out
With ayour hands on your head;
For the Lord has rejected bthose in whom you trust,
And you will not prosper with them.”
The Polluted Land
God says, “aIf a husband divorces his wife
And she goes from him
And belongs to another man,
Will he still return to her?
Will not that land be completely polluted?
But you bare a harlot with many lovers;
Yet you cturn to Me,” declares the Lord.
2 “Lift up your eyes to the abare heights and see;
Where have you not been violated?
By the roads you have bsat for them
Like an Arab in the desert,
And you have cpolluted a land
With your harlotry and with your wickedness.
3 “Therefore the ashowers have been withheld,
And there has been no spring rain.
Yet you had a bharlot’s forehead;
You refused to be ashamed.
4 “Have you not just now called to Me,
‘aMy Father, You are the bfriend of my cyouth?
5 ‘aWill He be angry forever?
Will He be indignant to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken
And have done evil things,
And you have had your way.”
Faithless Israel
6 Then the Lord said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She awent up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. 7 aI thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her btreacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and agiven her a writ of divorce, yet her btreacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. 9 Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she apolluted the land and committed adultery with bstones and trees. 10 Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in adeception,” declares the Lord.
God Invites Repentance
11 And the Lord said to me, “aFaithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say,
‘aReturn, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord;
‘bI will not look upon you in anger.
For I am cgracious,’ declares the Lord;
‘I will not be angry forever.
13 ‘Only aacknowledge your iniquity,
That you have transgressed against the Lord your God
And have bscattered your favors to the strangers cunder every green tree,
And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the Lord.
14 ‘Return, O faithless sons,’ declares the Lord;
‘For I am a amaster to you,
And I will take you one from a city and two from a family,
And bI will bring you to Zion.’
15 “Then I will give you ashepherds after My own heart, who will bfeed you on knowledge and understanding. 16 It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land,” declares the Lord, “they will ano longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The aThrone of the Lord,’ and ball the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the cname of the Lord; nor will they dwalk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18 aIn those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together bfrom the land of the north to the cland that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.
19 “Then I said,
‘How I would set you among My sons
And give you a pleasant land,
The most abeautiful inheritance of the nations!’
And I said, ‘You shall call Me, bMy Father,
And not turn away from following Me.’
20 “Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her lover,
So you have adealt treacherously with Me,
O house of Israel,” declares the Lord.
21 A voice is heard on the abare heights,
The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel;
Because they have perverted their way,
They have bforgotten the Lord their God.
22 “Return, O faithless sons,
aI will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to You;
For You are the Lord our God.
23 “Surely, athe hills are a deception,
A tumult on the mountains.
Surely in the bLord our God
Is the salvation of Israel.
24 “But athe shameful thing has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 Let us lie down in our ashame, and let our humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, bfrom our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
Judah Threatened with Invasion
“If you will areturn, O Israel,” declares the Lord,
“Then you should return to Me.
And bif you will put away your detested things from My presence,
And will not waver,
2 And you will aswear, ‘As the Lord lives,’
bIn truth, in justice and in righteousness;
Then the cnations will bless themselves in Him,
And din Him they will glory.”
3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,
“aBreak up your fallow ground,
And bdo not sow among thorns.
4 “aCircumcise yourselves to the Lord
And remove the foreskins of your heart,
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Or else My bwrath will go forth like fire
And burn with cnone to quench it,
Because of the evil of your deeds.”
5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,
“aBlow the trumpet in the land;
Cry aloud and say,
‘bAssemble yourselves, and let us go
Into the fortified cities.’
6 “Lift up a astandard toward Zion!
Seek refuge, do not stand still,
For I am bringing bevil from the north,
And great destruction.
7 “A alion has gone up from his thicket,
And a bdestroyer of nations has set out;
He has gone out from his place
To cmake your land a waste.
Your cities will be ruins
Without inhabitant.
8 “For this, aput on sackcloth,
Lament and wail;
For the bfierce anger of the Lord
Has not turned back from us.”
9 “It shall come about in that day,” declares the Lord, “that the aheart of the king and the heart of the princes will fail; and the priests will be appalled and the bprophets will be astounded.”
10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Surely You have utterly adeceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘bYou will have peace’; whereas a sword touches the throat.”
11 In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A ascorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness in the direction of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse, 12 a wind too strong for this—will come at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.
13 “Behold, he agoes up like clouds,
And his bchariots like the whirlwind;
His horses are cswifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for dwe are ruined!”
14 Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem,
That you may be saved.
How long will your awicked thoughts
Lodge within you?
15 For a voice declares from aDan,
And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.
16 “Report it to the nations, now!
Proclaim over Jerusalem,
‘Besiegers come from a afar country,
And blift their voices against the cities of Judah.
17 ‘Like watchmen of a field they are aagainst her round about,
Because she has brebelled against Me,’ declares the Lord.
18 “Your aways and your deeds
Have brought these things to you.
This is your evil. How bbitter!
How it has touched your heart!”
Lament over Judah’s Devastation
19 aMy soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart!
My bheart is pounding in me;
I cannot be silent,
Because you have heard, O my soul,
The csound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.
20 aDisaster on disaster is proclaimed,
For the bwhole land is devastated;
Suddenly my ctents are devastated,
My curtains in an instant.
21 How long must I see the standard
And hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “aFor My people are foolish,
They know Me not;
They are stupid children
And have no understanding.
They are shrewd to bdo evil,
But to do good they do not know.”
23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was a formless and void;
And to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were aquaking,
And all the hills moved to and fro.
25 I looked, and behold, there was no man,
And all the abirds of the heavens had fled.
26 I looked, and behold, the afruitful land was a wilderness,
And all its cities were pulled down
Before the Lord, before His fierce anger.
27 For thus says the Lord,
“The awhole land shall be a desolation,
Yet I will bnot execute a complete destruction.
28 “For this the aearth shall mourn
And the bheavens above be dark,
Because I have cspoken, I have purposed,
And I will not change My mind, nor will I turn from it.”
29 At the sound of the horseman and bowman aevery city flees;
They bgo into the thickets and climb among the rocks;
cEvery city is forsaken,
And no man dwells in them.
30 And you, O desolate one, awhat will you do?
Although you dress in scarlet,
Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold,
Although you benlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you make yourself beautiful.
Your clovers despise you;
They seek your life.
31 For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor,
The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
The cry of the daughter of Zion agasping for breath,
bStretching out her hands, saying,
“Ah, woe is me, for I faint before murderers.”