But the LORD said to me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatever I command thee thou shalt speak.

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.

Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Jeremiah, What seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond-tree.

And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and its face is towards the north.

Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children's children will I plead.

For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send to Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there is such a thing.

Thy 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.

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;

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,

Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back to me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.

O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness to Israel? a land of darkness? why say my people, We are lords; we will come no more to thee?

Why dost thou go about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.

They say, If a man shall put away his wife, and she shall go from him, and become another man's, shall he return to 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.

Lift up thy eyes to the high places, and see where thou hast not been lain with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy acts of lewdness, and with thy wickedness.

Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there hath been no latter rain? and thou hadst a harlot's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.

And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou to me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.

And I saw, when for all the causes by which 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.

Go and proclaim these words towards the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause my anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.

And it shall come to pass, when ye shall 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.

Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.

For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.

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 fortified cities.

How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the trumpet?

Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in its broad places, if ye can find a man, if there is any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.

And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.

They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbor's wife.

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.

They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:

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.

And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Why doeth the LORD our God all these things to us? then shalt thou answer them, As ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; who have eyes, and see not; who have ears, and hear not:

Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though its waves toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?

Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in its season: he reserveth to us the appointed weeks of harvest.

As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they have become great, and have grown rich.

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?

As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and devastation is heard in her; before me continually are grief and wounds.

Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk in it, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk in it.

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.

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.

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?

But go ye now to my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.

But thou shalt say to them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth hath perished, and is cut off from their mouth.

Moreover, thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?

How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain he hath made it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.

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 have fled; they are gone.

Thus shall ye say to them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.

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.

And say thou to them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,

Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth from 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:

That I may perform the oath which I have sworn to 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.

But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for to thee have I revealed my cause.

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 will not see our last end.

So I procured a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put it on my loins.

So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.

For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave to me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be to me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.

Therefore thou shalt speak to them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say to thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?

Then shalt thou say to 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.

But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and my eye shall weep bitterly, and run down with tears, because the LORD'S flock is carried away captive.

Say to the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.

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?

And if thou shalt say in thy heart, Why come these things upon me? For the greatness of thy iniquity are thy skirts uncovered, and thy heels made bare.

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.

Then said I, Ah Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say to them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.

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.

Therefore thou shalt say this word to them; Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.

Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake; do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.

And it shall come to pass, if they say to 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.

And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt show this people all these words, and they shall say to thee, Why 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?

Then shalt thou say to them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshiped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;

O LORD, my strength and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come to thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things in which there is no profit.

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.

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 anxious in the year of drouth, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

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.

Behold, they say to me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now.

And say to them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter by these gates:

Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.

Then I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.

And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make it.

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 my hand, O house of Israel.

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;

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, which whoever heareth, his ears shall tingle.

And shalt say to 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.

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,

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, Perhaps he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.

But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for to thee have I opened my cause.

Why was I brought into the world to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?

Then said Jeremiah to them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:

And to this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.

And concerning the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the LORD;

Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock of the plain, saith the LORD; who say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?

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 by these gates:

For thus saith the LORD to the king's house of Judah; Thou art Gilead to me, and the head of Lebanon; yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.

And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbor, Why hath the LORD done thus to this great city?

Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep bitterly for him that goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country.

But he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.

Woe to him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; that useth his neighbor's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, who brought the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

They say still to them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say to every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.

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.

Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith.