Jeremiah 32:16-35 - Jeremiah Prays For Understanding

¹⁶ "Now when I had delivered the evidence unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I besought the LORD, saying, ¹⁷ 'O LORD God: It is thou that hast made heaven and earth with thy great power and high arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee. ¹⁸ Thou showest mercy upon thousands, thou recompensest the wickedness of the fathers, into the bosom of the children that come after them. Thou art the great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of Hosts: ¹⁹ great in counsel, and infinite in thought. Thine eyes look upon all the ways of men's children, to reward every one after his way, and according to the fruits of his inventions. ²⁰ Thou hast done great tokens and wonders in the land of Egypt, as we see this day upon the people of Israel and upon those men: to make thy name great as it is come to pass this day. ²¹ Thou hast brought thy people of Israel out of the land of Egypt, with tokens, with wonders, with a mighty hand, with a stretched out arm and with great terribleness; ²² and hast given them this land, like as thou hadst promised unto their fathers: Namely, that thou wouldest give them a land, that floweth with milk and honey. ²³ Now when they came therein, and possessed it, they followed not thy voice, and walked not in thy law: but all that thou commandedst them to do, that have they not done. And therefore come all these plagues upon them. ²⁴ Behold, there are bulwarks made now against the city, to take it: and it shall be won of the Chaldeans that besiege it with sword, with hunger and death. And look, what thou hast spoken, that same shall come upon them. For lo, all things are present unto thee: ²⁵ Yet sayest thou unto me, O LORD God, and commandest me that I shall loose a piece of land unto myself, and take witness thereto: and yet in the mean season the city is delivered into the power of the Chaldeans.'

²⁶ "Then came the word of the LORD unto me, saying, ²⁷ 'Behold, I am the LORD God of all flesh, is there anything then too hard for me?' ²⁸ Therefore thus said the LORD, 'Behold, I shall deliver this city into the power of the Chaldeans, and into the power of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon: they shall take it in. ²⁹ For the Chaldeans shall come, and win this city, and set fire upon it, and burn it: with the gorgeous houses in whose parlors they have made sacrifice unto Baal, and poured drink offerings unto strange gods, to provoke me unto wrath. ³⁰ For seeing the children of Israel, and the children of Judah have wrought wickedness before me ever from their youth up, what have they else done, but provoked me with the works of their own hands, sayeth the LORD? ³¹ Or, what hath this city been else, but a provoking of my wrath, ever since the day that I builded it, unto this hour? Wherein I cast it out of my sight, ³² because of the great blasphemies of the children of Israel and Judah, which they have done to provoke me: yea they, their kings, their princes, their Priests, their Prophets, whole Judah, and all the citizens of Jerusalem. ³³ When I stood up early, and taught them and instructed them, they turned their backs to me, and not their faces. ³⁴ They would not hear, to be reformed and correct. They have set their gods in the house that is hallowed unto my name, to defile it. ³⁵ They have builded high places for Baal in the valley of the children of Hinnom, to cause their sons and daughters to pass through fire in honor of Moloch: which I never commanded them, neither came it ever in my thought, to make Judah sin with such abomination.