For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, "plans for well-being, and not for calamity, in order to give you a future and a hope.

"The heart is more deceitful than anything. It is incurable who can know it?

"Look, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I'll make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

Listen to this message from the LORD, you descendants of Jacob and all the families of the descendants of Israel.

This message from the LORD came to me:

"Call to me and I'll answer you, and will tell you about great and hidden things that you don't know.'

"I knew you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart for me before you were born; I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations."

This is what the LORD says: "Stand beside the roads and watch. Ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is. Walk in it and find rest for yourselves. But they said, "We won't walk in it!'

and during the reign of Josiah's son Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and continued until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month, at the end of the eleventh year of the reign of Josiah's son Zedekiah, the king of Judah.

Don't be afraid of them, because I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD.

I replied, "Ah, LORD God! Look, I don't know how to speak, because I'm only a young man."

"The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I'll raise up a righteous branch for David. He will be a king who rules wisely, and he will administer justice and righteousness in the land.

You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart.

The LORD appeared to Israel from far away and said, "I've loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I've drawn you with gracious love.

Israel was consecrated to the LORD, she was the first fruits of his produce. All who devoured her became guilty and disaster came on them," declares the LORD.'"

This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the person who trusts in mankind, who makes flesh his strength, and whose heart turns away from the LORD.

"Rather, this is the covenant that I'll make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the LORD. "I'll put my Law within them and will write it on their hearts. I'll be their God and they will be my people.

Your words were found, and I consumed them. Your words were joy and my hearts delight, because I bear your name, LORD God of the Heavenly Armies.

This message from the LORD came to me, asking, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I replied, "I see an almond branch."

The LORD is the true God; he's the living God and the everlasting king. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.

"Look, you're trusting in deceptive words that cannot benefit.

Blessed is the person who trusts in the LORD, making the LORD his trust.

Then the LORD told me, "Don't say, "I'm only a young man,' for you will go everywhere I send you, and you will speak everything I command you.

The message that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

The LORD stretched out his hand, touched my mouth, and then told me, "Look, I've put my words in your mouth.

Have you not just called out to me, "My father, you are the friend of my youth

Tell this to them: "The gods who didn't make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from these heavens."

This is what the LORD says: "The wise man is not to boast in his wisdom; the strong man is not to boast in his strength; and the rich man is not to boast in his riches.

See, today I've appointed you to prophesy about nations and kingdoms, to pull up and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."

Let those who pursue me be put to shame, but don't put me to shame. Let them be terrified, but don't let me be terrified. Bring the day of judgment on them, and destroy them with double destruction!

This message from the LORD came to me a second time: "What do you see?" I replied, "I see a boiling pot, and its mouth is tilted away from the north."

It won't be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They broke my covenant, although I was a husband to them," declares the LORD.

Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them, a wolf from the desert will devastate them. A leopard is watching their towns, and everyone who goes out of them will be torn to pieces. For their transgressions are many, and their apostasies numerous.

The LORD told me, "You have observed well, because I'm watching over my message, to make sure it comes about."

LORD, I know that a person's life is not his to control, nor does a person establish his way in life.

Then the LORD told me, "From the north disaster will pour out on all who live in the land,

Declare in Judah, make known in Jerusalem, by saying, "Blow the trumpet in the land, cry out, and say, "Gather together and let's go to the fortified cities!'

I'll weep and mourn for the mountains, and lament for the desert pastures, because they are desolate and no one passes through them. They don't hear the lowing of the cattle. Both the birds of the sky and the animals have fled. They're gone!

"As for me, today I'm making you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall against the whole land against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.

because I'm about to summon all the families and kingdoms from the north," declares the LORD. "They'll come and each one will set up his seat at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all of its surrounding walls, and against all of the towns of Judah.

Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear by false gods, burn incense to Baal, follow other gods that you don't know,

As a well keeps its waters fresh, so the city keeps her wickedness fresh. Violence and destruction are heard in her, sickness and wounds are always before me.

They'll fight against you, but they won't prevail against you, because I am with you," declares the LORD, "to deliver you."

"I'll pronounce my judgments against them because of all their wickedness. They have forsaken me, they have burned incense to other gods, and they have bowed down in worship to the works of their own hands."

"As for you, get ready! Stand up and tell them everything that I've commanded you. Don't be frightened as you face them, or I'll frighten you right in front of them.

will he hold on to his anger forever, will he persist in his wrath to the end?' Look, you have spoken and done evil things, and you have succeeded in it."

The wise men will be put to shame. They'll be dismayed and taken captive. Look, they have rejected the message from the LORD! So what kind of wisdom do they have?

Raise a standard in the direction of Zion. Flee! Don't stand around! For I'm bringing calamity from the north, along with great destruction.

"I've heard what the prophets who prophesy lies in my name have said: "I had a dream; I had a dream.'

Why should I forgive you? Your sons have forsaken me, and you have sworn by those who aren't gods. When I gave them enough food to satisfy them, they committed adultery and marched to the prostitute's house.

Everyone is stupid and without knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false. There is no life in them.

Therefore, this is what the LORD says about the false prophets who prophesy in my name, "There will be no sword and famine in this land' (though I haven't sent them): "By the sword and by famine these prophets will be finished off!

The LORD told me, "Go, stand in the gate of the people, where the kings of Judah come in and go out, and in the other gates of Jerusalem as well.

They have sown wheat, but they have harvested thorns. They have tired themselves out, but they don't show a profit. Now be disappointed about your harvest because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

"I'll make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a refuge for jackals. I'll make the towns of Judah desolate, without inhabitants."

Be warned, Jerusalem, or I'll be alienated from you. I'll make you desolate, a land not inhabited."

The towns of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they'll be no help at all to them in the time of their disaster.

When his voice sounds there is thunder from the waters of heaven, and he makes clouds rise up from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings wind out of his storehouses.

"Go to my place that was in Shiloh, where I first caused my name to dwell. See what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel.

all the kings of the north near and far, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. The king of Sheshak will drink after all the others.

This is what the LORD says: "What did your ancestors find wrong with me that they left me, and pursued worthless things, and so they became worthless?

In the time of King Josiah the LORD told me, "Have you seen what unfaithful Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she committed fornication there.

For I am watching all their ways; they are not hidden from my sight. Their iniquity is not concealed from my eyes.

and then come to stand before me in this house that is called by my name and say, "We're delivered' so we can continue to do all these things that are repugnant to God?

They were well-fed, lusty stallions, each one neighing after his neighbor's wife.

I'll smash them against each other, even fathers against their sons," declares the LORD. "I'll have no pity, mercy, or compassion when I destroy them."'"

A lion has gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to make your land a waste. Your cities will be ruined, and without inhabitants.

The Portion of Jacob is not like these. He made everything, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance. The LORD of the Heavenly Armies is his name.

This is what the LORD says about all the wicked neighbors who strike out against the land I've given to my people Israel as their inheritance: "I'm about to uproot them from their land, and I'll uproot the house of Judah from among them.

"They didn't ask, "Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through the land of desert and pits, through the land of dryness and deep darkness, a land that people don't pass through, and where no one lives?'

You who live under siege, Gather up your bundle from the ground.

Has this house that is called by my name become a hideout for bandits in your eyes? Look, I'm watching," declares the LORD.

Say to them, "Kings of Judah, all Judah, and all the residents of Jerusalem entering these gates, hear this message from the LORD.

For this is what the LORD says: "I'm going to throw out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I'll bring distress on them so they'll experience it."

LORD, pay attention to me. Listen to the voice of my accusers!

I didn't sit in the company of those who have fun, and I didn't rejoice. Because of your hand on me, I sat alone, for you filled me with indignation.

"Send a message to all the exiles: "This is what the LORD says about Shemaiah from Nehelam, "Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you, even though I didn't send him, and has made you trust a lie,"

I saw that even though I had sent unfaithful Israel away for all her adulteries and had given her a divorce decree, her treacherous sister Judah didn't fear, and she, too, committed adultery.

The people to whom they have prophesied will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. There will be no one to bury them, their wives, their sons, or their daughters. I'll pour out on them the judgment they deserve.'"

I thought, "After she has done all these things, she will return to me.' But she didn't return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw this.

This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "Let them glean the remnant of Israel as thoroughly as they would the vine. Pass your hand over them like grape gatherers over the branches.

You who live in Lebanon, who build your nest in the cedars, how you will groan when pains come upon you, pain like that of a woman giving birth.

"I brought you into the fruitful land to eat its fruit and its good things. But you came in, defiled my land, and made my inheritance into an abomination.

"Go through her rows of vines and destroy them, but don't completely destroy them. Strip away her branches, because they aren't the LORD's.

and this message from the LORD came to Jeremiah:

Therefore, I'll give their wives to others, and their fields to new owners. Indeed, from the least important to the most important, they're all greedy for dishonest gain. From prophet to priest, they all act deceitfully.

But if they don't listen, then I'll completely uproot that nation and destroy it," declares the LORD.

Now, because you have done all these things," declares the LORD, "I spoke to you over and over again, but you didn't listen. I called to you, but you didn't answer.

"Jeremiah, don't pray for this people and don't cry or pray for them. I won't listen when they cry out to me because of their disaster.

If they have learned the ways of my people well, to swear by my name: "As surely as the LORD lives,' just as they once taught my people to swear by Baal, then they'll be built up among my people.

First I'll repay them double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the dead bodies of their detestable images, and they have filled my inheritance with their abominations."

"The priests didn't say, "Where is the LORD?' and those handling the Law didn't know me. The rulers transgressed against me, the prophets prophesied by Baal, and they followed that which does not profit.

So, put on sackcloth, mourn and wail, because the burning anger of the LORD has not turned away from us."

Judah, you have as many gods as you have towns, and you have set up as many altars to the shameful idols as there are streets in Jerusalem. You burn incense to Baal on these altars.

My tent is destroyed, and all my tent cords are broken. My sons have gone away from me, they no longer live. There is no one to pitch my tent again and set up my curtains.

Who is the wise person who understands this, and to whom has the LORD spoken so that he may declare it? Why is the land destroyed, ruined like the desert, without anyone passing through it?

"Indeed, go over to the coasts of Cyprus and see, send to Kedar and pay very close attention. See if there has ever been such a thing as this!

She took her fornication so lightly that she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.

How long will this go on? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy lies, and who prophesy from the deceit that is in their hearts?

To whom will I speak and give a warning so they'll listen? Look, their ears are closed, and they cannot hear. Look, this message from the LORD is contemptible to them; they don't delight in it.

This is what the LORD says: "Be careful! On the Sabbath day, don't carry any load or bring anything through the gates of Jerusalem.

"Therefore I'll again accuse you," declares the LORD, "and I'll accuse your grandchildren."

Because the shepherds are stupid and don't seek the LORD, therefore, they don't prosper, and their flock is scattered.

Woe is me because of my injury. My wound is severe. I said, "Truly this is my sickness, and I must bear it.

They have treated my people's wound superficially, telling them, "Peace, peace,' when there is no peace.

LORD, correct me, but with justice, not with anger. Otherwise, you'll bring me to nothing.

They'll come from the cities of Judah, from the places around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, and incense, and bringing thanksgiving offerings to the LORD's Temple.

Then the LORD told me, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I didn't send them, I didn't command them, and I didn't speak to them. They're proclaiming to you false visions, worthless predictions, and the delusions of their own minds.

Listen and pay attention! Don't be proud, for the LORD has spoken.

Heavens, be appalled at this, be shocked, be utterly devastated," declares the LORD.

Why is my pain unending and my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? You are like a deceptive brook, whose waters cannot be depended on.

"Should I not punish them for these things?" asks the LORD, "And on a nation like this, should I not seek retribution?"

This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says:

Go, proclaim these words to the north, and say, "Return, unfaithful Israel,' declares the LORD. "I won't look on you in anger, for I am gracious,' declares the LORD. "I won't remain angry forever.

With their dreams that they relate to one another, they plan to make my people forget my name just as their ancestors forgot my name by embracing Baal.

They're worthless, a work of mockery, and when the time of punishment comes, they'll perish.

The LORD said, "It is because they have forsaken my Law that I gave them. They didn't obey me and didn't live according to it.

They put their detestable idols in the house that is called by my name and defiled it.

Yet in all this her treacherous sister Judah didn't return to me with her whole heart, but rather deceptively," declares the LORD.

"On that day," declares the LORD, "the courage of the king and the leaders will fail. The priests will be appalled and the prophets astounded."

Then I replied, "Ah, Lord GOD, you have completely deceived this people and Jerusalem when you said, "You will have peace,' while the sword is at their throat!"

After I've uprooted them, I'll again have compassion on them. I'll return each one of them to his inheritance, and each one to his own land.

I'm full of the wrath of the LORD, and I'm tired of holding it back. Pour it out on the children in the street and on the groups of young men gathered together. Indeed, both husband and wife will be caught in it, the old and the very old.

Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit to take my life. Remember! I stood before you and spoke good on their behalf in order to turn your wrath away from them.

This message from the LORD came to me:

Has a nation ever changed gods when they aren't even gods? But my people have exchanged their glory for that which does not profit.

"When a man divorces his wife, she leaves him and becomes another man's wife, will the first husband return to her again? The land would be deeply polluted, would it not? Since you have committed fornication with many lovers, would you now return to me?" declares the LORD.

Then the LORD told me, "Unfaithful Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.

Instead, they followed their rebellious hearts and the Baals, as their ancestors taught them."

At that time, it will be told this people and to Jerusalem, "A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert is coming toward my people, and it's not for winnowing or cleansing.

Hear the message that the LORD has spoken to you, house of Israel.

For both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me," declares the LORD.

"Return, unfaithful people," declares the LORD, "for I am your husband. I'll take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I'll bring you to Zion.

Just as I did to Shiloh, I'll do to the house in which you trust and which is called by my name, the place that I gave to you and your ancestors.

Look, I'm against those who prophesy based on false dreams," declares the LORD, "and relate them and lead my people astray with their lies and their recklessness. I didn't send them; I didn't command them, and they provide no benefit at all to these people," declares the LORD.

"What right does my beloved have in my house, when she has carried out many evil schemes? Can sacrificial flesh turn disaster away from you, so you can rejoice?"

The LORD made it known to me, and so I understood. Then you showed me their malicious deeds.

Are they ashamed because they have done what is repugnant to God? They weren't ashamed at all; they don't even know how to blush! Therefore they'll fall with those who fall. When I punish them, they'll be brought down," says the LORD.

Therefore, this is what the LORD says: "If you repent, I'll take you back and you will stand before me. If you speak what is worthwhile, instead of what is worthless, then you will be my spokesman. People will turn to you, but you aren't to turn to them.

The sound of a report, it's coming now! There is a great commotion from a land in the north to make the towns of Judah desolate, a refuge for jackals."

The LORD once called you a green olive tree, with beautiful shape and fruit. With a great roaring sound, he has set fire to it and its branches will be destroyed.

They treated my people's wound superficially, telling them, "Peace, peace,' but there is no peace.

I'll give you shepherds after my own heart, and they'll shepherd you with knowledge and good sense."

This is what the LORD says: "If the heavens could be measured above, or the foundations of the earth be searched out below, then I also would reject all the descendants of Israel because of everything they have done," declares the LORD.

At that time people will call Jerusalem, "The Throne of the LORD," and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem. They'll no longer stubbornly follow their own evil desires.

"As certainly as I'm alive and living," declares the LORD, "even if Jehoiakim's son King Jehoiachin of Judah were a signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off

Also, people from Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken your skull.

The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven, and they pour out liquid offerings to other gods in order to provoke me.

Your wickedness will be punished, and you will be corrected due to your acts of apostasy. Know and see that it's evil and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God, but the fear of me is not in you," declares the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies.

I'll cast you out of my sight, just as I cast out all your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.

"I would have gathered them," declares the LORD, "but there were no grapes on the vine, and no figs on the fig tree, and their leaves were withered. What I've given them has been taken away."'"

"For long ago I broke your yoke and tore off your bonds, But you said, "I won't serve you!' Instead, on every high hill and under every green tree, you bend down to commit fornication.

If I go out into the field, I see those slain by the sword! If I go into the city, I see the ravages of the famine! Indeed, both prophet and priest ply their trade in the land, but they don't know anything.'"

"Is Israel a slave, or was he born a servant? Why then has he become plunder?

"Indeed, from the least important to the most important, they're all greedy for dishonest gain. From prophet to priest, they all act deceitfully.

Their houses will be turned over to others their fields and wives together when I stretch out my hand against those who live in the land," declares the LORD.

Look, he comes up like clouds, and his chariots are like a whirlwind. His horses are as swift as eagles. Woe to us we're destroyed!

"Go and announce to Jerusalem: "This is what the LORD says: "I remember the loyal devotion of your youth, your love as a bride. You followed me in the desert, in a land that was not planted.

I planted you myself as a choice vine, from the very best seed. How did you turn against me into a degenerate and foreign vine?

LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the righteous judge, the one who tests feelings and the heart, let me see your vengeance on them, for I've committed my cause to you.

Therefore, I'm about to make them understand; this time I'll make them understand my power and strength, so they'll understand that my name is the LORD.

"They have lied about the LORD by saying, "He wouldn't do that! Disaster won't come on us. We won't see sword and famine.

"And in those days when you increase in numbers and multiply in the land," declares the LORD, "people will no longer say, "The Ark of the Covenant of the LORD,' and it won't come to mind, and they won't remember it or miss it, nor will it be made again.

You have done this to yourselves, have you not, by forsaking the LORD your God, when he is the one who led you on the way?

The LORD of the Heavenly Armies who planted you has called for disaster on you because of the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, has provoked me by burning incense to Baal."

You are righteous, LORD, even when I bring a complaint to you. But I want to discuss justice with you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper, while all who are treacherous are at ease?

I'll make you a fortified wall of bronze to this people. They'll fight against you, but they won't prevail against you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you,"

"Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have rebelled against the LORD your God, and have scattered your favors to strangers under every green tree. But you haven't obeyed me,' declares the LORD.

For the practices of the people are worthless. Indeed, a tree is cut down from the forest; it's the work of the hands of a craftsman with an ax.

I'm about to gather my people from all the lands where I've driven them in my anger, wrath, and great indignation. I'll bring them back to this place and let them live in safety.

Now, what are you doing on the road to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Nile? And what are you doing on the road to Assyria, to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

"As for you, don't pray on behalf of this people, don't cry or offer a petition for them, and don't plead with me, for I won't listen to you.

Incurable sorrow has overwhelmed me, my heart is sick within me.

Therefore, this is what the LORD says about the men of Anathoth who seek to kill you, all the while threatening you, "Don't prophesy in the name of the LORD so you won't die by our hand!"

In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and together they'll come to the land that I gave your ancestors as an inheritance."

Young lions roar at him, they cry out loudly. They have made his land into a wasteland, and his cities are destroyed so they are without inhabitants.

Were they ashamed because they did what was repugnant to God? They were not ashamed at all they don't even know how to blush! Therefore they'll fall with those who fall. When I punish them, they'll be brought down," says the LORD.

Can any of the worthless gods of the nations make it rain? Can the heavens themselves bring forth showers? Aren't you the one who does this, LORD our God? So we hope in you, for you are the one who does all these things.

Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me," declares the Lord GOD.

People of Israel, I'm now bringing a nation from far away to attack you," declares the LORD. "It is an enduring nation, an ancient nation, a nation whose language you don't know. And you won't understand what they say.

For the sake of your name don't despise us. Don't dishonor your glorious throne. Remember, don't break your covenant with us!

Therefore, this is what the Lord GOD says: "I'm about to pour out my anger and my wrath on this place, on people and animals, on the trees of the field, and on the fruit of the ground. It will burn, and it won't be put out."

I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. I didn't know that they had devised schemes against me. They told themselves, "Let's destroy the tree with its fruit. Let's eliminate him from the land of the living, so his name won't be remembered again."

Therefore, this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "Look, I'll make these people eat wormwood and drink poisoned water.

The prophets are nothing but wind, and the word is not in them. So may the disaster happen to them!'"

"I said, "How I wanted to treat you like children, and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful inheritance of the nations.' I said, "You will call me, my father, and won't turn back from following me.'

Give glory to the LORD your God before he brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the mountains at twilight. You hope for light, but he turns it into deep darkness. He changes it into heavy gloom.

"And deliver this message to them: "Let tears run down my face, night and day, and don't let them stop, because my virgin daughter my people will be broken with a powerful blow, with a severe wound.

"Don't run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. But you say, "It's hopeless! Because I love foreign gods, I'll go after them!'"

Don't you see what they're doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

"Turn back, unfaithful people, and I'll heal your unfaithfulness." "Look, we're coming to you because you are the LORD our God.

This message from the LORD came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Josiah's son Jehoiakim, king of Judah. (This was also the first year of the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.)

Pour out your anger on the nations that don't acknowledge you, and on the families that don't call on your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured and consumed him; they have devastated his habitation.

"My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain. Oh, the aching of my heart! My heart pounds within me; I cannot keep silent. For I hear the sound of the trumpet, the alarm for war.

Let the prophet who has a dream relate the dream, but let whoever receives my message speak my message truthfully. What does straw have in common with wheat?" declares the LORD.

"The snorting of their horses is heard from Dan. At the neighing of their stallions, the whole earth quakes. They're coming to devour the land and all it contains, the city and all who live in it.

Instead, like an unfaithful wife leaves her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, house of Israel," declares the LORD.

"As for the prophet, the priest, or the people who say, "I have an oracle of the LORD,' I'll judge that person and his household.

I'll scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I'll pursue them with the sword until I've finished them off."

but I did give them this command: "Obey me and I'll be your God, and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways that I command you so it will go well for you.'

This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "Think about what I'm saying! Indeed, call out the professional mourners! Send for the best of them to come.

"How can you say, "I'm not defiled. I haven't gone after the Baals.'? Look at what you've done in the valley. Know what you have done. You are a swift young camel galloping aimlessly;

Why are we sitting here? Join together! Let's go to the fortified cities and perish there! For the LORD our God has condemned us to perish and given us poisoned water to drink, because we have sinned against him.

They have built high places at Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire. I didn't command this, and it never entered my mind!

Jerusalem, wash your evil from your heart so that you may be delivered. How long will you harbor evil schemes within you?

LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in a time of difficulty, to you the nations will come, and from the ends of the earth they'll say, "Surely our ancestors inherited deception, things that are worthless, and in which there is no profit."

Indeed, if you run with others on foot, and they tire you out, how can you compete with horses? You are secure in a land at peace, but how will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?

Not one of them will be left, for I'll bring disaster on the men of Anathoth when I punish them."

Therefore, this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "I'm about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword. Their sons and daughters will die by famine.

Circumcise yourselves to the LORD and remove the foreskin of your heart, you men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem, or else my wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to put it out, because of your evil deeds."

The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we haven't been delivered.

"Wander through the streets of Jerusalem. Look and investigate; search through her squares and see whether you find anyone even one person there doing justice and seeking truth. Then I'll forgive them.

We waited for peace, but no good has come, for a time of healing, but instead there was terror.

"You are to say to them, "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "Drink, get drunk, and vomit! Fall down and don't get up because of the sword I'm sending among you."'

Therefore, make their children undergo famine, and deliver them over to death in time of war. May their women be childless widows! May their men be slaughtered! May their young men be slain by the sword in battle!

Therefore, this is what the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies says: "Because you people have said this, my words in your mouth will become a fire and these people the wood. The fire will destroy them.

A wind too strong for that is coming at my bidding. Now I'm judging them as I speak."

"A voice is heard on the barren heights, the weeping and pleading of the children of Israel because they have perverted their way. They have forgotten the LORD their God."

Don't bring any load out of your houses on the Sabbath day, nor are you to do any work. You are to consecrate the Sabbath day, just as I commanded your ancestors.

There is no one like you, LORD. You are great, and your name is great and powerful.

Though Babylon should reach up to the heavens and fortify her high fortresses, from me destroyers will come to her," declares the LORD.

a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her passion. When she's in heat, who can turn her away? None of the males who pursue her need to tire themselves out, for in her month they'll find her."

"As a thief is disgraced when he's caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets,

This is the message that came to Jeremiah from the LORD:

"Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the meat. Indeed, when I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I didn't speak or command them about burnt offering and sacrifice,

Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field. They can't speak! They must always be carried because they can't walk! Don't be afraid of them because they can do no harm, nor can they do any good."

"For my people are foolish, they don't know me. They're stupid children, they have no understanding. They're skilled at doing evil, but how to do good, they don't know."

Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. The idols are the work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothing is violet and purple. The idols are all the work of skilled craftsmen.

"Therefore, look, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I'll punish her idols, and throughout her land the wounded will groan.

"But where are your gods that you made for yourselves? Let them rise up, if they can deliver you in the time of your trouble. You have as many gods as you have towns, Judah.

Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? So why is there no healing for my people?

"If these laws cease to function in my presence," declares the LORD, "then the descendants of Israel will cease to be a nation in my presence for all time!"

Are they provoking me?" asks the LORD. "Is it not themselves, and to their own shame?"

Their quiver is like an open grave, and all of them are powerful warriors.

"Israel, if you return to me," declares the LORD, "Return to me, remove your detestable idols from my presence, and don't waver.

"Look up to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been ravished? You have sat beside the road, waiting for them like a nomad in the desert. And you have polluted the land with your fornication and your wickedness.

Truly the hills are a deception, and the mountains are confusion. Truly, in the LORD our God is Israel's salvation."

Therefore, this is what the LORD says: "I'm about to bring disaster on them from which they won't be able to escape. They'll cry out to me, but I won't listen to them.

who say to a tree, "You are my father,' and to a stone, "You gave birth to me.' They have turned their back to me, but not their faces. In the time of their trouble, they'll say, "Rise up! Deliver us!'"

"You don't fear me, do you?' declares the LORD. "You don't tremble before me, do you? I'm the one who put the sand as a boundary for the sea, a perpetual barrier that it cannot cross. Though the waves toss, they cannot prevail against it, though they roar, they cannot cross it.'

You plant them and they take root, they grow and bear fruit. "You are near to us," they say with their mouths, but the truth is that you're far from their hearts.

Flight will be impossible for the shepherds, as will be escape for the leaders of the flock.

Listen! My people cry from a distant land: "Is the LORD no longer in Zion? Is her king no longer there?" "Why did they provoke me to anger with their images, with their worthless foreign gods?"

"Hear this, you foolish and stupid people: They have eyes, but don't see; they have ears, but don't hear.

How long will the land mourn and the vegetation of every field dry up? Because of the wickedness of those who live in it, animals and birds are swept away. For they say, "He does not see our future."

This is why the rain has been withheld and there are no spring showers. Yet you have a harlot's look and you refuse to be ashamed.

Look, I'll send snakes among you, vipers that cannot be charmed, and they'll bite you."

Rather, let the one who boasts, boast in this: that he understands and knows me, for I am the LORD who acts with gracious love, justice, and righteousness in the land. I delight in these things," declares the LORD.

They decorate it with silver and gold. They secure it with nails and hammers so it won't totter.

Everyone is stupid and senseless. They follow worthless instruction from a piece of wood!

"Flee to safety, you people of Benjamin, leave Jerusalem. Sound the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise a signal over Beth-haccerem! For calamity and terrible destruction are turning toward you from the north.

Disaster upon disaster is proclaimed, for the entire land is devastated. Suddenly, my tent is destroyed, in a moment my curtains.

Who wouldn't fear you, king of the nations? This is what you deserve! Indeed, among all the wise men of the nations, and throughout all their kingdoms, there is no one like you!

So I'll deliver you from the hand of the wicked, and redeem you from the grasp of the ruthless."

Many shepherds will destroy my vineyard. They'll trample down my portion. They'll turn my pleasant portion into a desolate desert.

I'll bring on you everlasting reproach and everlasting humiliation that won't ever be forgotten."

But they didn't listen, nor did they pay attention. They pursued their own plans, stubbornly following their own evil desires. They went backward and not forward.

The LORD told me, "Conspiracy has been found among the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem.

"Now, you women, hear the message from the LORD; listen to what he has to say! Teach your daughters how to mourn, let every woman teach her friend how to lament.

"Your lifestyles and your actions have brought these things on you. This is your calamity it is indeed bitter, for it has reached your heart!"

I'll forsake my house, I'll abandon my inheritance. I'll give the beloved of my heart into the hand of her enemies.

"They'll devour your harvest and your food. They'll devour your sons and your daughters. They'll devour your vines and your fig trees. With their swords they'll batter down your fortified cities in which you trust.

This is what you should say to the prophet, "What has the LORD answered?' or "What has the LORD said?'

They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors of old who refused to listen to my words. They followed other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke my covenant which I made with their ancestors."

You are to say to them, "This is what the LORD God of Israel says: "Cursed is the person who does not listen to the words of this covenant

On all the barren heights in the desert destroyers will come. Indeed, a sword of the LORD will devour from one end of the land to the other. There will be no peace for any person.

The prophets prophesy falsely, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?"

Since our youth the false gods have consumed the products of our ancestors' hard work, their sheep and their cattle, their sons and their daughters.

But they would not listen or turn their ear, and each of them stubbornly followed his own evil desires. So I brought on them all the consequences of this covenant that I commanded them to fulfill, but they did not.'"

And if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink it, say to them, "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "You will surely drink it!

"Let us lie down in our shame, and let our humiliation cover us, because both we and our ancestors have sinned against the LORD our God from our youth until this present time. We haven't obeyed the LORD our God."

They don't say to themselves, "Let's fear the LORD our God, who gives rain in its season, both the autumn and the spring rain. He sets aside for us the weeks appointed for the harvest.'

Listen, earth! I'm about to bring calamity on this people, on the fruit of their plans, because they didn't listen to my words and they rejected my instruction.

But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts. They have turned aside and have gone away.

For a voice announces from Dan and declares disaster from Mount Ephraim.

You know me, LORD. You see me and test my thoughts toward you. Pull the wicked out like sheep for slaughter; set them apart for the day of butchering.

which I commanded to your ancestors on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace. I said, "Obey me and do everything that I commanded you. Then you will be my people and I'll be your God.'

The LORD told me, "Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. You are to say, "Listen to the words of this covenant and do them.

Therefore, hear, nations, and know, congregation, what will happen to them.

They have turned their backs to me rather than their faces. Even though I taught them, teaching them again and again, they didn't listen to accept correction.

For I've diligently warned your ancestors from the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt until now, regularly warning them, saying, "Obey me!"

As a result, I'll fulfill the oath that I made with your ancestors to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, just as is the case today."'" Then I answered, "So be it, LORD."

"Tell the nations, "Here they come!' Proclaim to Jerusalem, "The besieging forces are coming from a distant land. They cry out against the cities of Judah.

"Indeed, this is what the LORD says: "Just as I'm bringing all this great disaster on this people, so I'll bring on them all the good things that I'm promising concerning them.

"Listen to the words of this covenant, and convey them to the people of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem.

then kings and princes, sitting on the throne of David will come through the gates of this city. They, their princes, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem will come riding in chariots and on horses, and this city will be inhabited forever.

Even the stork in the sky knows its seasons, and the dove, the swallow, and the crane observe the time for migration. But my people don't know the requirements of the LORD.

Let them hurry and lament for us. Let tears run down from our eyes, and let our eyelids flow with water.

They have surrounded her like those guarding a field because they have rebelled against me,'" declares the LORD.

They built the high places of Baal that are in the Hinnom Valley in order to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molech something that I didn't command, nor did it ever enter my mind for them to require this utterly repugnant thing and lead Judah into sin."

"Evil men are found among my people. They lie in wait like someone who traps birds. They set a trap, but they do so to catch people.

My inheritance has become like a lion in the forest to me. She roars at me; therefore, I hate her.

They'll make it into a desolate place, and, desolate, it will cry out in mourning to me. The whole land will be desolate because no one takes it to heart.

"Yet even in those days," declares the LORD, "I won't destroy you completely.

Indeed, even your brothers and your father's family conspire against you. Even they cry out after you loudly. Don't believe them, even though they speak friendly words to you.

and say, "LORD, you have declared about this place that you would destroy it so that there wouldn't be an inhabitant in it, neither human nor animal, because it will be a wasteland forever.'

"An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land:

Why do you contend with me? You have rebelled against me," declares the LORD.

Is my inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to me? Are the other birds of prey all around her coming against her? Go, gather all the wild animals and bring them to devour it.

Your iniquities have turned these things away, and your sins have held back from you what is good.

Because of this, the land will mourn, and the heavens above will be dark. Because I have spoken and decided, I won't turn back from doing it."

"I've made you an assayer of my people, as well as a fortress. You know how to test their way."

Like a cage full of birds, so their houses are filled with treachery. This is how they have become prominent and rich,

Because my people are crushed, I'm crushed. I mourn, and dismay overwhelms me.

This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says:

You are ruined! What are you doing dressing in scarlet, putting on golden ornaments, and highlighting your eyes with makeup? You are making yourself beautiful in vain. Your lovers reject you they're out to kill you.

When the people ask, "Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?' you are to say to them, "Just as you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.'"

How long will I see the battle standard and hear the sound of the trumpet?

A measuring line will go straight out from there to the hill of Gareb, and then it will turn to Goah.

For this is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, "Break up your unplowed ground, and don't sow among thorns.

I appointed watchmen over you. Listen for the sound of the trumpet. But they said, "We won't listen!'

If you don't listen, I'll cry secretly because of your pride. My eyes will cry bitterly, flowing tears, because the LORD's flock has been taken captive.

This is what the LORD says: "Look, people are coming from a northern country. A great nation is stirring from the ends of the earth.

Therefore, this is what the LORD says: "I'm about to put stumbling blocks in front of this people, and fathers and sons will stumble over them together. The neighbor and his friends will perish."

"Declare this to the descendants of Jacob, and proclaim it in Judah:

If you swear, "as surely as the LORD lives,' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations will be blessed by him, and in him they will boast."

and have grown fat and sleek. There is no limit to their evil deeds. They don't argue the case of the orphan to secure justice. They don't defend the rights of the poor.

"You are to say to them, "This is what the LORD says: "Will a person fall down and then not get up? Will someone turn away and then not turn back again?

I've listened and I've heard, and what they say is not right. No one repents of his evil and says, "What have I done?' "They all turn to their own course like a horse racing into battle.

"Change your ways and your deeds, and I'll let you live in this place. Don't trust deceptive words like these, and say, "The Temple of the LORD, the Temple of the LORD, the Temple of the LORD,'

LORD, don't your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they didn't flinch. You brought them to an end, but they refused to receive discipline. They made their faces harder than stone, and they refused to repent.

Daughter of my people, put on sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter wailing, as one mourns at the death of an only son. For the destroyer will come on us suddenly.

If you listen to me carefully," declares the LORD, "and don't bring a load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, and you consecrate the Sabbath day and don't do any work on it,

I'll destroy the lovely and delicate Daughter of Zion.

Although they say, "As surely as the LORD lives,' still they are swearing falsely."

"Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, for then I would cry day and night for those of my people who have been killed.

"For the people of Judah have done evil in my eyes," declares the LORD. "They have put their detestable idols in the house that is called by my name in order to defile it.

Get ready, let's attack at night, and destroy her fortresses."

"Cut off your hair and throw it away; let your lamentations rise on the barren heights, because the LORD has rejected and abandoned the generation that is subject to his wrath.

They'll be spread out to the sun, the moon, and all the stars of the heavens, which they loved and served, and which they followed, consulted, and worshipped. Their bones won't be collected, nor will they be buried. They'll be like dung on the surface of the ground.

But you, LORD, know all their plots to kill me. Don't forgive their iniquity, and don't erase their sin from your sight. Let them stumble before you. When it's time for you to be angry, act against them!

At the sound of the horseman and the archer the entire city flees. Its residents go into the thickets and climb among the rocks. Every city is abandoned, and no one lives in them.

For a sound of mourning is heard from Zion: "How we're ruined! Our shame is very great, because we have left the land, because our houses are torn down.'"

We have heard the news about it, and our hands are limp. Distress has seized us like a woman in labor.

I looked at the mountains; they were quaking, and all the hills moved back and forth.

They grab bow and spear; they're cruel and show no mercy. Their sound roars like the sea as they ride on horses, deployed like men ready for battle against you, daughter of Zion."

Let a cry be heard from their houses because you have brought a raiding party against them suddenly. For they have dug a pit to capture me and have set traps for my feet.

"Now therefore," says the LORD God of Israel, "concerning this city about which you are saying, "It is being given into the control of the king of Babylon by sword, famine, and plague,'

"At that time," declares the LORD, "the bones of the king of Judah, the bones of his officials, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the residents of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves.

From the day your ancestors left the land of Egypt to this present time, I've sent all my servants, the prophets, to you, again and again.

but rather, truly change your ways and your deeds. If you truly practice justice between each person and his neighbor,

"Should I not punish them for this?' asks the LORD. "Should I not avenge myself on a nation like this?'

For this is what the LORD says: "The entire land will be devastated, but I won't completely destroy it.

I looked, and the fruitful land had become a desert. All its towns were broken down because of the LORD, because of his burning anger.

Egypt, Judah, Edom, the people of Ammon, Moab, all those who live in the desert and shave the corners of their beard; indeed all the other nations that are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel that is uncircumcised of heart."

"Stand at the gate of the LORD's Temple and proclaim this message there. Say, "Listen to this message from the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD.'"

For this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "Cut down trees and set up siege works against Jerusalem. It is the city to be judged, and there is oppression throughout the entire city.

But they didn't listen to me, and they didn't pay attention. They stiffened their necks, and they did more evil than their ancestors.

"In all the places where the people remain, where I've banished them, death will be chosen over life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family," declares the LORD of the Heavenly Armies.

Let me go to the leaders and speak to them. For they know the LORD's way, the requirement of their God." "But they, all together, have broken the yoke and torn off the restraints.

Don't go out into the field, and don't travel on the road, because the enemy has a sword, and terror is on every side.

I looked, and no people were there. All the birds of the sky had gone.

Why has this people turned away? Why does Jerusalem continue in apostasy? They hold on to deceit and refuse to repent.

This is what the LORD says: "A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter crying. Rachel is crying, and she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no longer alive."

You will say to them, "This is the nation that wouldn't listen to the voice of the LORD its God and wouldn't accept correction. Truth has perished; it has been eliminated from their discussions.'

Prepare for war against her. Get ready, let's attack at noon! How terrible for us that the day is coming to an end, and that the evening shadows are lengthening.

and if you don't oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, and don't shed an innocent person's blood in this place, and if you don't follow other gods to your own harm,

They're called reject silver, because the LORD has rejected them.

therefore, this is what the LORD says: "I'm about to judge Shemaiah from Nehelam along with his descendants. He won't have anyone related to him living among these people. Nor will he see the good that I'll do for my people," declares the LORD, "because he advocated rebellion against the LORD."'"

They use their tongues like a bow. Lies rather than truth fly throughout the land. They progress from one evil to another, and they don't know me," declares the LORD.

Can a person make a god for himself? They are not gods!

Shepherds and their flocks will come against her. They'll pitch their tents all around her, and every one will tend his flock in his own place.

"Indeed, my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that cannot hold water."

For death comes up through our windows; it has come into our palaces to eliminate children from the streets and young men from the town squares.

then I'll let you dwell in this land, the land that I gave to your ancestors forever and ever.

No longer will a person teach his neighbor or his relative: "Know the LORD.' Instead, they'll all know me, from the least to the greatest of them," declares the LORD. "Indeed, I'll forgive their iniquity, and I'll remember their sin no more."

All of them are very rebellious, going around as slanderers. They're bronze and iron, and all of them are corrupt.

The bellows blow fiercely to consume the lead with the fire. The assayer keeps on refining, but the impurities aren't separated out.

"Look, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when the city of the LORD will be rebuilt from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

"LORD! Look, you made the heavens and the earth with your great power and your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for you!

But they didn't listen, nor did they pay attention. They were determined not to listen and not to accept instruction.

Oh how terrible! That time will be worse than any like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be rescued from it.

Then I said, "These are only the poor, they're foolish, for they don't know the LORD's way, the requirement of their God.

When you call out to me and come and pray to me, I'll hear you.

Speak! "This is what the LORD says: "The corpses of people will fall like dung on the surface of the field, and like a row of cut grain behind the harvester when there is no one to gather it."'"

"You will tell them all these things, but they won't listen to you. You will call out to them, but they won't answer you.

and give you to those who are trying to kill you, whom you fear that is, to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the Chaldeans.

Say to the king and the queen mother, "Come take a lowly seat, because your beautiful crowns have fallen off your heads."

"Look, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I'll punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh:

"Am I a God who is near," declares the LORD, "rather than a God who is far away?

The whole valley of dead bodies and ashes and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east will be holy to the LORD. It won't be uprooted or overthrown again, forever."

"Look, I am the LORD, the God who rules over all flesh. Is anything too difficult for me?"

Look, I'm against the prophets," declares the LORD, "who use their tongues to issue a declaration.

Indeed, both priest and prophet are ungodly. Even in my house I find evil," declares the LORD.

Oh, that I had a lodging place for travelers in the desert, so that I could leave my people and go away from them. For all of them are adulterers, a band of traitors.

"Beware of your neighbors, and don't trust any of your relatives. For all of your relatives act deceitfully, and every friend goes around as a slanderer.

But if you don't listen to me, to consecrate the Sabbath day and not carry any load as you enter the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I'll start a fire in its gates. It will consume the palaces of Jerusalem and won't be extinguished."'"

"Jeremiah, when these people, the prophet, or a priest ask you, "What is the oracle of the LORD?' say to them, "You are the burden, and I'll cast you out,'" declares the LORD.

This is what the LORD says: "Don't learn the way of the nations, and don't be terrified by signs in the heavens, though the nations are terrified of them.

Indeed, I'll bring you healing, and I'll heal you of your wounds,' declares the LORD, "because they have called you an outcast and have said, "It is Zion, no one cares for her!"'"