BOOK:Jeremiah
1:1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the
priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
1:2 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.
1:3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of
Josiah king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the
son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive
in the fifth month.
1:4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and
before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained
thee a prophet unto the nations.
1:6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak:
for I am a child.
1:7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child:
for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command
thee thou shalt speak.
1:8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee
to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
1:9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my
mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
1:10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and
over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to
throw down, to build, and to plant.
1:11 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.
1:12 Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen:
for I will hasten my word to perform it.
1:13 And the word of the LORD came unto me the second
time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and the
face thereof is toward the north.
1:14 Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an
evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
1:15 For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms
of the north, saith 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
the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah.
1:16 And I will utter my judgments against them touching
all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto
other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
1:17 Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and
speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces,
lest I confound thee before them.
1:18 For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced
city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against
the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof,
and against the people of the land.
1:19 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall
not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver
thee.
2:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2:2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus
saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of
thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land
that was not sown.
2:3 Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits
of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon
them, saith the LORD.
2:4 Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and
all the families of the house of Israel:
2:5 Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers
found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity,
and are become vain?
2:6 Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought
us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through
a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow
of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?
2:7 And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat
the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled
my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.
2:8 The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they
that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against
me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do
not profit.
2:9 Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD,
and with your children's children will I plead.
2:10 For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and
send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing.
2:11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet
no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not
profit.
2:12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly
afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have
forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns,
broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
2:14 Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why
is he spoiled?
2:15 The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and
they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.
2:16 Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken
the crown of thy head.
2:17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that
thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?
2:18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt,
to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria,
to drink the waters of the river?
2:19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy
backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil
thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my
fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
2:20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst
thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high
hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.
2:21 Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right
seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine
unto me?
2:22 For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee
much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.
2:23 How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not
gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done:
thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
2:24 A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth
up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all
they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find
her.
2:25 Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat
from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers,
and after them will I go.
2:26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is
the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their
priests, and their prophets.
2:27 Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a
stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto
me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say,
Arise, and save us.
2:28 But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee?
let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according
to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.
2:29 Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed
against me, saith the LORD.
2:30 In vain have I smitten your children; they received
no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying
lion.
2:31 O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have
I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people,
We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?
2:32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her
attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
2:33 Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore
hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways.
2:34 Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls
of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all
these.
2:35 Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his
anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou
sayest, I have not sinned.
2:36 Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way?
thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
2:37 Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands
upon thine head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt
not prosper in them.
3:1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go
from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall
not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with
many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
3:2 Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see
where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them,
as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with
thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.
3:3 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there
hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst
to be ashamed.
3:4 Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father,
thou art the guide of my youth?
3:5 Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep
it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.
3:6 The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah
the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is
gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there
hath played the harlot.
3:7 And I said after she had done all these things, Turn
thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw
it.
3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding
Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce;
yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot
also.
3:9 And it came to pass through the lightness of her
whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones
and with stocks.
3:10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah
hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the
LORD.
3:11 And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel
hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.
3:12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and
say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause
mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will
not keep anger for ever.
3:13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast
transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the
strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith
the LORD.
3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for
I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a
family, and I will bring you to Zion:
3:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart,
which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
3:16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied
and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say
no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to
mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither
shall that be done any more.
3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne
of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name
of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination
of their evil heart.
3:18 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 for an inheritance unto your fathers.
3:19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children,
and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations?
and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from
me.
3:20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her
husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith
the LORD.
3:21 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping
and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their
way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God.
3:22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal
your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our
God.
3:23 Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills,
and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation
of Israel.
3:24 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers
from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
3:25 We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth
us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from
our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD
our God.
4:1 If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return
unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight,
then shalt thou not remove.
4:2 And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth,
in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves
in him, and in him shall they glory.
4:3 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem,
Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away
the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem:
lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because
of the evil of your doings.
4:5 Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and
say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble
yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.
4:6 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not:
for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.
4:7 The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer
of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make
thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.
4:8 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl:
for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.
4:9 And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the
LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes;
and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.
4:10 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly
deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas
the sword reacheth unto the soul.
4:11 At that time shall it be said to this people and
to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the
daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,
4:12 Even a full wind from those places shall come unto
me: now also will I give sentence against them.
4:13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots
shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us!
for we are spoiled.
4:14 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that
thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?
4:15 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction
from mount Ephraim.
4:16 Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish
against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out
their voice against the cities of Judah.
4:17 As keepers of a field, are they against her round
about; because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.
4:18 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things
unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth
unto thine heart.
4:19 My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart;
my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast
heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
4:20 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole
land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.
4:21 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the
sound of the trumpet?
4:22 For my people is foolish, they have not known me;
they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise
to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
4:23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form,
and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
4:24 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled,
and all the hills moved lightly.
4:25 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the
birds of the heavens were fled.
4:26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness,
and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD,
and by his fierce anger.
4:27 For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall
be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
4:28 For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens
above be black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will
not repent, neither will I turn back from it.
4:29 The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen
and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every
city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.
4:30 And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though
thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments
of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou
make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.
4:31 For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail,
and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice
of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands,
saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.
5:1 Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can
find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth;
and I will pardon it.
5:2 And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they
swear falsely.
5:3 O LORD, are not thine eyes 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 return.
5:4 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are
foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their
God.
5:5 I will get me unto the great men, and will speak
unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of
their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.
5:6 Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them,
and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over
their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces:
because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.
5:7 How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have
forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to
the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops
in the harlots' houses.
5:8 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one
neighed after his neighbour's wife.
5:9 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD:
and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
5:10 Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not
a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD's.
5:11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have
dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD.
5:12 They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he;
neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:
5:13 And the prophets shall become wind, and the word
is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.
5:14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because
ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and
this people wood, and it shall devour them.
5:15 Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house
of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation,
a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they
say.
5:16 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all
mighty men.
5:17 And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread,
which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks
and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall
impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.
5:18 Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will
not make a full end with you.
5:19 And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore
doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer
them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land,
so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not your's.
5:20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish
it in Judah, saying,
5:21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding;
which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
5:22 Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble
at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by
a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof
toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they
not pass over it?
5:23 But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious
heart; they are revolted and gone.
5:24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear
the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in
his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
5:25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and
your sins have withholden good things from you.
5:26 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay
wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
5:27 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses
full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.
5:28 They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass
the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless,
yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
5:29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD:
shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
5:30 A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the
land;
5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear
rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye
do in the end thereof?
6:1 O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee
out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up
a sign of fire in Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and
great destruction.
6:2 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and
delicate woman.
6:3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her;
they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every
one in his place.
6:4 Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go
up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the
evening are stretched out.
6:5 Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy
her palaces.
6:6 For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down
trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited;
she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.
6:7 As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth
out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually
is grief and wounds.
6:8 Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart
from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.
6:9 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly
glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer
into the baskets.
6:10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they
may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken:
behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight
in it.
6:11 Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am
weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and
upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the
wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.
6:12 And their houses shall be turned unto others, with
their fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the
inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD.
6:13 For from the least of them even unto the greatest
of them every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto
the priest every one dealeth falsely.
6:14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of
my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
6:15 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?
nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore
they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they
shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see,
and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and
ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
6:17 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to
the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
6:18 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation,
what is among them.
6:19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this
people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened
unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.
6:20 To what purpose cometh there to me incense from
Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are
not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.
6:21 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay
stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together
shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.
6:22 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from
the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of
the earth.
6:23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel,
and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon
horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.
6:24 We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble:
anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
6:25 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way;
for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.
6:26 O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth,
and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most
bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.
6:27 I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among
my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.
6:28 They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders:
they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.
6:29 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of
the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
6:30 Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the
LORD hath rejected them.
7:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
7:2 Stand in the gate of the LORD's house, and proclaim
there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that
enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.
7:3 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel,
Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this
place.
7:4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of
the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.
7:5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings;
if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;
7:6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and
the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after
other gods to your hurt:
7:7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in
the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
7:8 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.
7:9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear
falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye
know not;
7:10 And come and stand before me in this house, which
is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?
7:11 Is this house, which is called by my name, become
a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.
7:12 But go ye now unto 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.
7:13 And now, because ye have done all these works, saith
the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard
not; and I called you, but ye answered not;
7:14 Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called
by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and
to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.
7:15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast
out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
7:16 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither
lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I
will not hear thee.
7:17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah
and in the streets of Jerusalem?
7:18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle
the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of
heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may
provoke me to anger.
7:19 Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do
they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?
7:20 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine
anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon
beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground;
and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
7:21 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel;
Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.
7:22 For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded
them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning
burnt offerings or sacrifices:
7:23 But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my
voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in
all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.
7:24 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear,
but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart,
and went backward, and not forward.
7:25 Since the day that your fathers came forth out of
the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants
the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:
7:26 Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their
ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.
7:27 Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto
them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them;
but they will not answer thee.
7:28 But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that
obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction:
truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.
7:29 Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away,
and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and
forsaken the generation of his wrath.
7:30 For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight,
saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is
called by my name, to pollute it.
7:31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, 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 came it into my heart.
7:32 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD,
that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom,
but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there
be no place.
7:33 And the carcases of this people shall be meat for
the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall
fray them away.
7:34 Then will I 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
the land shall be desolate.
8:1 At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out
the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the
bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves:
8:2 And they shall spread them before the sun, and the
moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have
served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and
whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they
shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.
8:3 And death shall be chosen rather than life by all
the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all
the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.
8:4 Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the
LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?
8:5 Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back
by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
8:6 I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright:
no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every
one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.
8:7 Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed
times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of
their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.
8:8 How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD
is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is
in vain.
8:9 The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken:
lo, they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them?
8:10 Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and
their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one from the least
even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet even
unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
8:11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of
my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
8:12 Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?
nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore
shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they
shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
8:13 I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there
shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf
shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from
them.
8:14 Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let
us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there: for the
LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink,
because we have sinned against the LORD.
8:15 We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a
time of health, and behold trouble!
8:16 The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the
whole land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for
they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city,
and those that dwell therein.
8:17 For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices,
among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the
LORD.
8:18 When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart
is faint in me.
8:19 Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my
people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in
Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their
graven images, and with strange vanities?
8:20 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we
are not saved.
8:21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt;
I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
8:22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician
there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
9:1 Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain
of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter
of my people!
9:2 Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of
wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them! for they
be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
9:3 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies:
but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed
from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.
9:4 Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust
ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every
neighbour will walk with slanders.
9:5 And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and
will not speak the truth: they have taught their tongue to speak lies,
and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
9:6 Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through
deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.
9:7 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I
will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my
people?
9:8 Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh
deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in
heart he layeth his wait.
9:9 Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the
LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
9:10 For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing,
and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are
burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the
voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled;
they are gone.
9:11 And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons;
and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
9:12 Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and
who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare
it, for what the land perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that
none passeth through?
9:13 And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my
law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked
therein;
9:14 But have walked after the imagination of their own
heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
9:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God
of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and
give them water of gall to drink.
9:16 I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom
neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after
them, till I have consumed them.
9:17 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call
for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for cunning women,
that they may come:
9:18 And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for
us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with
waters.
9:19 For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How
are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we have forsaken the
land, because our dwellings have cast us out.
9:20 Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let
your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing,
and every one her neighbour lamentation.
9:21 For death is come up into our windows, and is entered
into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men
from the streets.
9:22 Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of
men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the
harvestman, and none shall gather them.
9:23 Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory
in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the
rich man glory in his riches:
9:24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he
understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness,
judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight,
saith the LORD.
9:25 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will
punish all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;
9:26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of
Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in
the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house
of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.
10:1 Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you,
O house of Israel:
10:2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen,
and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed
at them.
10:3 For the customs of the people are vain: for one
cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman,
with the axe.
10:4 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten
it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
10:5 They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not:
they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them;
for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
10:6 Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD;
thou art great, and thy name is great in might.
10:7 Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for
to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations,
and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.
10:8 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the
stock is a doctrine of vanities.
10:9 Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish,
and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the founder:
blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of cunning men.
10:10 But the LORD is the true God, he is the living
God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and
the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
10:11 Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have
not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth,
and from under these heavens.
10:12 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established
the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
10:13 When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude
of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the
ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the
wind out of his treasures.
10:14 Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder
is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and
there is no breath in them.
10:15 They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the
time of their visitation they shall perish.
10:16 The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is
the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The
LORD of hosts is his name.
10:17 Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant
of the fortress.
10:18 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out
the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will distress them, that
they may find it so.
10:19 Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous; but
I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.
10:20 My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are
broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none
to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
10:21 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not
sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks
shall be scattered.
10:22 Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great
commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate,
and a den of dragons.
10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself:
it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
10:24 O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine
anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
10:25 Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee
not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten
up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation
desolate.
11:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD saying,
11:2 Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto
the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
11:3 And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God
of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
11:4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I
brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying,
Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall
ye be my people, and I will be your God:
11:5 That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto
your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is
this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.
11:6 Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words
in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye
the words of this covenant, and do them.
11:7 For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the
day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day,
rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
11:8 Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but
walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will
bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them
to do: but they did them not.
11:9 And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found
among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
11:10 They are turned back to the iniquities of their
forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other
gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken
my covenant which I made with their fathers.
11:11 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring
evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they
shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
11:12 Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants
of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but
they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.
11:13 For according to the number of thy cities were
thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem
have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense
unto Baal.
11:14 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither
lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time
that they cry unto me for their trouble.
11:15 What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing
she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from
thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.
11:16 The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair,
and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire
upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
11:17 For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath
pronounced evil against thee, 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 unto Baal.
11:18 And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and
I know it: then thou shewedst me their doings.
11:19 But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought
to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against
me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us
cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.
11:20 But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously,
that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them:
for unto thee have I revealed my cause.
11:21 Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth,
that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that
thou die not by our hand:
11:22 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold,
I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and
their daughters shall die by famine:
11:23 And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will
bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.
12:1 Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee:
yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the
wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?
12:2 Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root:
they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and
far from their reins.
12:3 But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me,
and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
12:4 How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of
every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the
beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see
our last end.
12:5 If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have
wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land
of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou
do in the swelling of Jordan?
12:6 For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father,
even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude
after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.
12:7 I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage;
I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.
12:8 Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest;
it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.
12:9 Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the
birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of
the field, come to devour.
12:10 Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have
trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate
wilderness.
12:11 They have made it desolate, and being desolate
it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth
it to heart.
12:12 The spoilers are come upon all high places through
the wilderness: for the sword of the LORD shall devour from the one end
of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace.
12:13 They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they
have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed
of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
12:14 Thus saith the LORD against all mine evil neighbours,
that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit;
Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of
Judah from among them.
12:15 And it shall come to pass, after that 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.
12:16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently
learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The LORD liveth; as they
taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst
of my people.
12:17 But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck
up and destroy that nation, saith the LORD.
13:1 Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen
girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.
13:2 So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD,
and put it on my loins.
13:3 And the word of the LORD came unto me the second
time, saying,
13:4 Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon
thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the
rock.
13:5 So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD
commanded me.
13:6 And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD
said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence,
which I commanded thee to hide there.
13:7 Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the
girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred,
it was profitable for nothing.
13:8 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
13:9 Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar
the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.
13:10 This evil people, which refuse to hear my words,
which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods,
to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which
is good for nothing.
13:11 For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man,
so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole
house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people,
and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.
13:12 Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word;
Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine:
and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle
shall be filled with wine?
13:13 Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith 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.
13:14 And I will dash them one against another, even
the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor
spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.
13:15 Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD
hath spoken.
13:16 Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause
darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while
ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross
darkness.
13:17 But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep
in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run
down with tears, because the LORD's flock is carried away captive.
13:18 Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves,
sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your
glory.
13:19 The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none
shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall
be wholly carried away captive.
13:20 Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from
the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?
13:21 What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for
thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not
sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?
13:22 And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come
these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts
discovered, and thy heels made bare.
13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard
his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
13:24 Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that
passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.
13:25 This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from
me, saith the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.
13:26 Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face,
that thy shame may appear.
13:27 I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings,
the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the
fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall
it once be?
14:1 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning
the dearth.
14:2 Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish;
they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
14:3 And their nobles have sent their little ones to
the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with
their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their
heads.
14:4 Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain
in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.
14:5 Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook
it, because there was no grass.
14:6 And the wild asses did stand in the high places,
they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there
was no grass.
14:7 O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us,
do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have
sinned against thee.
14:8 O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time
of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring
man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?
14:9 Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty
man that cannot save? yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we
are called by thy name; leave us not.
14:10 Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have
they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the
LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit
their sins.
14:11 Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people
for their good.
14:12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and
when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them:
but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
14:13 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets
say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine;
but I will give you assured peace in this place.
14:14 Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy
lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither
spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination,
and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
14:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets
that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and
famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets
be consumed.
14:16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast
out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and
they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor
their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.
14:17 Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let
mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for
the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a
very grievous blow.
14:18 If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain
with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are
sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a
land that they know not.
14:19 Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul
lothed 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 trouble!
14:20 We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the
iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.
14:21 Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake, do not disgrace
the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.
14:22 Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles
that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he,
O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all
these things.
15:1 Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel
stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them
out of my sight, and let them go forth.
15:2 And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee,
Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD;
Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the
sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for
the captivity, to the captivity.
15:3 And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the
LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven,
and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.
15:4 And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms
of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for
that which he did in Jerusalem.
15:5 For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem?
or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?
15:6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art
gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy
thee; I am weary with repenting.
15:7 And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the
land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people since they
return not from their ways.
15:8 Their widows are increased to me above the sand
of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men
a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors
upon the city.
15:9 She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath
given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath
been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to
the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD.
15:10 Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a
man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither
lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them
doth curse me.
15:11 The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy
remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time
of evil and in the time of affliction.
15:12 Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel?
15:13 Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to
the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders.
15:14 And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies
into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger,
which shall burn upon you.
15:15 O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me,
and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering:
know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke.
15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy
word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by
thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
15:17 I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced;
I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.
15:18 Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable,
which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar,
and as waters that fail?
15:19 Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return,
then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou
take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them
return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.
15:20 And I will make thee unto this people a fenced
brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail
against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith
the LORD.
15:21 And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the
wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.
16:1 The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying,
16:2 Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou
have sons or daughters in this place.
16:3 For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and
concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their
mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in
this land;
16:4 They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not
be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon
the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by
famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for
the beasts of the earth.
16:5 For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house
of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away
my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies.
16:6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land:
they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves,
nor make themselves bald for them:
16:7 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 father or for their mother.
16:8 Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting,
to sit with them to eat and to drink.
16:9 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel;
Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in 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.
16:10 And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew
this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath
the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity?
or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?
16:11 Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers
have forsaken me, saith 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;
16:12 And ye have done worse than your fathers; for,
behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that
they may not hearken unto me:
16:13 Therefore will I cast you out of this land into
a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye
serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.
16:14 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD,
that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children
of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
16:15 But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children
of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he
had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave
unto their fathers.
16:16 Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the
LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters,
and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and
out of the holes of the rocks.
16:17 For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are
not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.
16:18 And first I will recompense their iniquity and
their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine
inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.
16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge
in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends
of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity,
and things wherein there is no profit.
16:20 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are
no gods?
16:21 Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them
to know, I will cause them to know mine 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 graven upon the table of their heart,
and upon the horns of your altars;
17:2 Whilst their children remember their altars and
their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.
17:3 O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance
and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout
all thy borders.
17:4 And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine
heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies
in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine
anger, which shall burn for ever.
17:5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth
in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
17:6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and
shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in
the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
17:7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and
whose hope the LORD is.
17:8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters,
and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat
cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year
of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately
wicked: who can know it?
17:10 I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even
to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of
his doings.
17:11 As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth
them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them
in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.
17:12 A glorious high throne from the beginning is the
place of our sanctuary.
17:13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee
shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the
earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.
17:14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me,
and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
17:15 Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of
the LORD? let it come now.
17:16 As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor
to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that
which came out of my lips was right before thee.
17:17 Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the
day of evil.
17:18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let
not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed:
bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
17:19 Thus said the LORD unto me; Go and stand in the
gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in,
and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;
17:20 And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD,
ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
that enter in by these gates:
17:21 Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and
bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;
17:22 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses
on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day,
as I commanded your fathers.
17:23 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear,
but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.
17:24 And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken
unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this
city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;
17:25 Then shall there enter into the gates of this city
kings and princes sitting upon 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.
17:26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and
from the places 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 meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices
of praise, unto the house of the LORD.
17:27 But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the
sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of
Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof,
and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
18:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
18:2 Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there
I will cause thee to hear my words.
18:3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold,
he wrought a work on the wheels.
18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in
the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good
to the potter to make it.
18:5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
18:6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this
potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so
are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.
18:7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation,
and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy
it;
18:8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced,
turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto
them.
18:9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation,
and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;
18:10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my
voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit
them.
18:11 Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah,
and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold,
I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now
every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.
18:12 And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk
after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his
evil heart.
18:13 Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among
the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done
a very horrible thing.
18:14 Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh
from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come
from another place be forsaken?
18:15 Because my people hath forgotten me, they have
burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their
ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up;
18:16 To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing;
every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.
18:17 I will scatter them as with an east wind before
the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their
calamity.
18:18 Then said they, Come and let us devise devices
against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel
from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him
with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.
18:19 Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice
of them that contend with me.
18:20 Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have
digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good
for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.
18:21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine,
and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives
be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put
to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.
18:22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou
shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take
me, and hid snares for my feet.
18:23 Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against
me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from
thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them
in the time of thine anger.
19:1 Thus saith the LORD, Go and get a potter's earthen
bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of
the priests;
19:2 And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom,
which is by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that
I shall tell thee,
19:3 And say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of
Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the
God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever
heareth, his ears shall tingle.
19:4 Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged
this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither
they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled
this place with the blood of innocents;
19:5 They have built also the high places of Baal, to
burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded
not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:
19:6 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD,
that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son
of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.
19:7 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 hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases
will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts
of the earth.
19:8 And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing;
every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of
all the plagues thereof.
19:9 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 friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies,
and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them.
19:10 Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of
the men that go with thee,
19:11 And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of
hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh
a potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury
them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury.
19:12 Thus will I do unto this place, saith the LORD,
and to the inhabitants thereof, and even make this city as Tophet:
19:13 And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of
the kings of Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet, because of
all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host
of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods.
19:14 Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the LORD
had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the LORD's house;
and said to all the people,
19:15 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel;
Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her 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 Immer the priest, who was
also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophesied
these things.
20:2 Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put
him in the stocks that were in the high gate of Benjamin, which was by
the house of the LORD.
20:3 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought
forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah unto him, The LORD
hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magormissabib.
20:4 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee
a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the
sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give
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.
20:5 Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this
city, and all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof,
and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of
their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to
Babylon.
20:6 And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house
shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou
shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom
thou hast prophesied lies.
20:7 O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived;
thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every
one mocketh me.
20:8 For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence
and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made a reproach unto me, and
a derision, daily.
20:9 Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor
speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning
fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could
not stay.
20:10 For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every
side. Report, say they, and we will report it. All my familiars watched
for my halting, saying, Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail
against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.
20:11 But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one:
therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they
shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting
confusion shall never be forgotten.
20:12 But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous,
and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for
unto thee have I opened my cause.
20:13 Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he
hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.
20:14 Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the
day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.
20:15 Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father,
saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad.
20:16 And let that man be as the cities which the LORD
overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear the cry in the morning, and
the shouting at noontide;
20:17 Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my
mother might have been my grave, and her womb to be always great with me.
20:18 Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour
and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?
21:1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD,
when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah
the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying,
21:2 Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar
king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the LORD will deal
with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.
21:3 Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say
to Zedekiah:
21:4 Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will
turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight
against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, which besiege you
without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.
21:5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched
hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.
21:6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both
man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence.
21:7 And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah
king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in
this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into
the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their
enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall
smite them with the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither
have pity, nor have mercy.
21:8 And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith
the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.
21:9 He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword,
and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth
to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be
unto him for a prey.
21:10 For I have set my face against this city for evil,
and not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the
king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.
21:11 And touching the house of the king of Judah, say,
Hear ye the word of the LORD;
21:12 O house of David, thus saith the LORD; Execute
judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand
of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can
quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
21:13 Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the
valley, and rock of the plain, saith the LORD; which say, Who shall come
down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
21:14 But I will punish you according to the fruit of
your doings, saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof,
and it shall devour all things round about it.
22:1 Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the
king of Judah, and speak there this word,
22:2 And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah,
that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy
people that enter in by these gates:
22:3 Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness,
and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong,
do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither
shed innocent blood in this place.
22:4 For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there
enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of David,
riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
22:5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by
myself, saith the LORD, that this house shall become a desolation.
22:6 For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of
Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will
make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.
22:7 And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every
one with his weapons: and they shall cut down thy choice cedars, and cast
them into the fire.
22:8 And many nations shall pass by this city, and they
shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath the LORD done thus
unto this great city?
22:9 Then they shall answer, Because they have forsaken
the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served
them.
22:10 Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but
weep sore for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see
his native country.
22:11 For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum the son
of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead of Josiah his father, which
went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more:
22:12 But he shall die in the place whither they have
led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
22:13 Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness,
and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages,
and giveth him not for his work;
22:14 That saith, I will build me a wide house and large
chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and
painted with vermilion.
22:15 Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself
in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice,
and then it was well with him?
22:16 He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then
it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the LORD.
22:17 But thine eyes and thine heart are not but for
thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression, and
for violence, to do it.
22:18 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim
the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him, saying,
Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, saying, Ah
lord! or, Ah his glory!
22:19 He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn
and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
22:20 Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice
in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed.
22:21 I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst,
I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst
not my voice.
22:22 The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy
lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded
for all thy wickedness.
22:23 O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in
the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, the pain
as of a woman in travail!
22:24 As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son
of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would
I pluck thee thence;
22:25 And I will give thee into the hand of them that
seek thy life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even
into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the
Chaldeans.
22:26 And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare
thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye
die.
22:27 But to the land whereunto they desire to return,
thither shall they not return.
22:28 Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he
a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his
seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?
22:29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
22:30 Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless,
a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed shall
prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.
23:1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter
the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
23:2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against
the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven
them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the
evil of your doings, saith the LORD.
23:3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of
all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to
their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.
23:4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall
feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall
they be lacking, saith the LORD.
23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will
raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper,
and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall
dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD
OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
23:7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD,
that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children
of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
23:8 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which
led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from
all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their
own land.
23:9 Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets;
all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath
overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness.
23:10 For the land is full of adulterers; for because
of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are
dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.
23:11 For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in
my house have I found their wickedness, saith the LORD.
23:12 Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery
ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I
will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the
LORD.
23:13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria;
they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.
23:14 I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an
horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen
also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness;
they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
23:15 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning
the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink
the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone
forth into all the land.
23:16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto
the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they
speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.
23:17 They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD
hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh
after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.
23:18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD,
and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard
it?
23:19 Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in
fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head
of the wicked.
23:20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he
have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in
the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.
23:21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I
have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
23:22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused
my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their
evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
23:23 Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God
afar off?
23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall
not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the
LORD.
23:25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy
lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
23:26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets
that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;
23:27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name
by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers
have forgotten my name for Baal.
23:28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream;
and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the
chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.
23:29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD;
and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?
23:30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith
the LORD, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.
23:31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD,
that use their tongues, and say, He saith.
23:32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams,
saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies,
and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore
they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.
23:33 And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest,
shall ask thee, saying, What is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then
say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD.
23:34 And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the
people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that
man and his house.
23:35 Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and
every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the
LORD spoken?
23:36 And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no
more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the
words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God.
23:37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the
LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken?
23:38 But since ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore
thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The burden of the LORD,
and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD;
23:39 Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget
you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers,
and cast you out of my presence:
23:40 And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you,
and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.
24:1 The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of
figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar
king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim
king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths,
from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.
24:2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs
that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which
could not be eaten, they were so bad.
24:3 Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah?
And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that
cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
24:4 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
24:5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these
good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of
Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans
for their good.
24:6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and
I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull
them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
24:7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I
am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for
they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
24:8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they
are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king
of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in
this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:
24:9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the
kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a
taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.
24:10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the
pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I
gave unto 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 Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;
25:2 The which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the
people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,
25:3 From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon
king of Judah, even unto this day, that is the three and twentieth year,
the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising
early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.
25:4 And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants
the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened,
nor inclined your ear to hear.
25:5 They said, Turn ye again now every one from his
evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that
the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:
25:6 And go not after other gods to serve them, and to
worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands;
and I will do you no hurt.
25:7 Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD;
that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your
own hurt.
25:8 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because
ye have not heard my words,
25:9 Behold, I will send and take all the families of
the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant,
and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof,
and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them,
and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations.
25:10 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 candle.
25:11 And this whole land shall be a desolation, and
an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy
years.
25:12 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are
accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation,
saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and
will make it perpetual desolations.
25:13 And I will bring upon that land all my words which
I have pronounced against it, even all that is written in this book, which
Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations.
25:14 For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves
of them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and
according to the works of their own hands.
25:15 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me;
Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to
whom I send thee, to drink it.
25:16 And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad,
because of the sword that I will send among them.
25:17 Then took I the cup at the LORD's hand, and made
all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me:
25:18 To wit, Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and
the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation,
an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day;
25:19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his
princes, and all his people;
25:20 And all the mingled people, and all the kings of
the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon,
and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod,
25:21 Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon,
25:22 And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of
Zidon, and the kings of the isles which are beyond the sea,
25:23 Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the
utmost corners,
25:24 And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings
of the mingled people that dwell in the desert,
25:25 And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of
Elam, and all the kings of the Medes,
25:26 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 Sheshach shall drink after them.
25:27 Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith
the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue,
and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among
you.
25:28 And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup
at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD
of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.
25:29 For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which
is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not
be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of
the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.
25:30 Therefore prophesy thou against them all these
words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his
voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation;
he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants
of the earth.
25:31 A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth;
for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all
flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD.
25:32 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall
go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up
from the coasts of the earth.
25:33 And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day
from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall
not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon
the ground.
25:34 Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves
in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter
and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant
vessel.
25:35 And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor
the principal of the flock to escape.
25:36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling
of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the LORD hath spoiled
their pasture.
25:37 And the peaceable habitations are cut down because
of the fierce anger of the LORD.
25:38 He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their
land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because
of his fierce anger.
26:1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son
of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the LORD, saying,
26:2 Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD's
house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in
the LORD's house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them;
diminish not a word:
26:3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from
his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto
them because of the evil of their doings.
26:4 And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD;
If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before
you,
26:5 To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets,
whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have
not hearkened;
26:6 Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will
make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.
26:7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people
heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the LORD.
26:8 Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end
of speaking all that the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people,
that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying,
Thou shalt surely die.
26:9 Why hast thou 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.
26:10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, then
they came up from the king's house unto the house of the LORD, and sat
down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD's house.
26:11 Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the
princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he
hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.
26:12 Then spake Jeremiah unto 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 ye have heard.
26:13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings,
and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of
the evil that he hath pronounced against you.
26:14 As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me
as seemeth good and meet unto you.
26:15 But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death,
ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city,
and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me
unto you to speak all these words in your ears.
26:16 Then said the princes and all the people unto the
priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath
spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God.
26:17 Then rose up certain of the elders of the land,
and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying,
26:18 Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of
Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus
saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem
shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of
a forest.
26:19 Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him
at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the
LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus
might we procure great evil against our souls.
26:20 And there was also a man that prophesied in the
name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjathjearim, who prophesied
against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah.
26:21 And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty
men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to
death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into
Egypt;
26:22 And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely,
Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt.
26:23 And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and
brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast
his dead body into the graves of the common people.
26:24 Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan
was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people
to put him to death.
27:1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son
of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
27:2 Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes,
and put them upon thy neck,
27:3 And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king
of Moab, and to the king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and
to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the messengers which come to Jerusalem
unto Zedekiah king of Judah;
27:4 And command them to say unto their masters, Thus
saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your
masters;
27:5 I have made the earth, the man and the beast that
are upon the ground, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and
have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.
27:6 And now have I given all these lands into the hand
of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the
field have I given him also to serve him.
27:7 And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and
his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations
and great kings shall serve themselves of him.
27:8 And it shall come to pass, that the nation and kingdom
which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that
will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation
will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and
with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand.
27:9 Therefore hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to
your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your
sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of
Babylon:
27:10 For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you
far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.
27:11 But the nations that bring their neck under the
yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still
in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
27:12 I spake 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.
27:13 Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword,
by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the
nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?
27:14 Therefore hearken not unto the words of the prophets
that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for
they prophesy a lie unto you.
27:15 For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they
prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might
perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.
27:16 Also I spake to the priests and to all this people,
saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to the words of your prophets
that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD's house
shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie
unto you.
27:17 Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon,
and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste?
27:18 But if they be prophets, and if the word of the
LORD be with them, let them now make intercession to 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 at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon.
27:19 For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the
pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning
the residue of the vessels that remain in this city.
27:20 Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not,
when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah
from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;
27:21 Yea, thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel,
concerning the vessels that remain in the house of the LORD, and in the
house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem;
27:22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall
they be until the day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring
them up, and restore them to this place.
28:1 And it came to pass the same year, in the beginning
of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, and in the
fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, which was of Gibeon,
spake unto me in the house of the LORD, in the presence of the priests
and of all the people, saying,
28:2 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel,
saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.
28:3 Within two full years will I bring again into this
place all the vessels of the LORD's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon:
28:4 And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the
son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went
into Babylon, saith the LORD: for I will break the yoke of the king of
Babylon.
28:5 Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet
Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the
people that stood in the house of the LORD,
28:6 Even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do
so: the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again
the vessels of the LORD's house, and all that is carried away captive,
from Babylon into this place.
28:7 Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak
in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people;
28:8 The prophets that have been befo