And you must gird up your loins, and arise, and speak to them all that I command you. Do not be terrified at their faces, lest I prostrate you before them.

Nor did they say, Where is Jehovah who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of dry places, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man lived?

For long ago you broke your yoke and tore up your bonds; and you said, I will not transgress, when on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down like a harlot.

Lift up your eyes to the high places, and see. Where have you not been lain with? By the highways you have sat for them, like the Arabian in the wilderness; and you have defiled the land with your fornications and with your wickedness.

Jehovah also said to me in the days of Josiah the king, Have you seen that which backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and has fornicated there.

For shame has eaten up the labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

For so says Jehovah to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and do not sow among thorns.

Set up the banner toward Zion; flee for safety and do not wait; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great ruin.

The lion has come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the nations has set out; he has left his place to make your land a waste. Your cities will fall into ruins without inhabitant.

Behold, he shall come up like clouds, and his chariots like a tempest. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are plundered!

Every city shall flee from the sound of the horsemen and bowmen. They shall go into thickets and climb up among the rocks. All the city is abandoned, and not a man shall live in them.

I will go up for myself to the great men, and will speak to them; for they have known the way of Jehovah and the judgment of their God. But these have broken the yoke together and have torn off the bonds!

Go up on her vine-rows and destroy; but do not make a full end; take away her branches, for they are not Jehovah's.

And they shall eat up your harvest and your bread. They will devour your sons and your daughters. They shall eat up your flocks and your herds; they shall eat up your vines and your fig-trees. One shall beat down your fortified cities with the sword, those in which you trust.

O sons of Benjamin, take refuge out of the midst of Jerusalem. And blow the ram's horn in Tekoa, and set up a signal-fire over Beth-haccerem; for evil appears out of the north, and great ruin.

Prepare war against her; arise and let us go up at noon. Woe to us! For the day goes away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.

I have set you up an assayer, an examiner among My people, that you may know and try their way.

And now, because you have done all these works, says Jehovah, and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear; and I called you, but you did not answer;

Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up cry nor prayer for them, nor make intercession to Me; for I will not hear you.

But I commanded them this thing, saying, Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people; and walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, so that it may be well with you.

Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending.

But you shall say to them, This is a nation which does not obey the voice of Jehovah their God, nor receives instruction; truth has perished, and is cut off from their mouth.

Cut off your hair and throw it away, and take up a weeping on the high places. For Jehovah has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.

Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

I will take up a weeping and a wailing for the mountains, and a mourning for the pastures of the wilderness; because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; nor can men hear the voice of the cattle. Both the birds of the heavens and the beast have fled; they are gone.

Who is the wise man who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of Jehovah has spoken, that he may declare it? Why does the land perish and burn up like a wilderness, so that none passes through?

and let them make haste and take up a weeping for us, so that our eyes may run down with tears, and waters flow from our eyelids.

Yet hear the Word of Jehovah, O women, and let your ear receive the Word of His mouth, and teach your daughters to weep, and each one teach her neighbor to mourn.

For death has come up into our windows, and has entered into our houses, to cut off the children from outside and the young men from the streets.

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

My tabernacle is ravaged, and all my cords are broken; My sons went away from me, and they are not. There is none to stretch out My tabernacle any more, and to set up My curtains.

Pour out Your fury on the nations who do not know You, and on the families who do not call on Your name; for they have eaten up Jacob and have devoured him, and have destroyed him, and have made his dwelling desolate.

And say to them, So says Jehovah, the God of Israel, Cursed is the man who does not obey the Words of this covenant,

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 that I command you; so you shall be My people, and I will be your God;

For I earnestly testified to your fathers in the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even to this day, rising early and testifying, saying, Obey My voice.

Yet they did not obey nor bow down their ear, but walked each one in the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I will bring on them all the Words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did not do them.

For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah. And according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem you have set up altars to that shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal.

And you, do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them. For I will not hear them in the time they cry to Me for their trouble.

But if they will not obey, I will uproot and destroy that nation, says Jehovah.

Give glory to Jehovah your God, before He causes darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and, while you look for light, He turns it into the shadow of death, setting up deep gloom.

But if you will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride. And my eye shall weep sore and run down with tears, because Jehovah's flock was captured.

The cities of the south have been shut up, and none are opening; Judah has been exiled, all of it has been peacefully exiled.

Lift up your eyes and behold those who come from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful flock?

Judah mourns, and its gates droop. They are black to the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.

And the wild asses stood in the high places; they snuffed up the wind like jackals; their eyes failed because there was no grass.

If I go out into the field, then I see those killed with the sword! And if I enter into the city, then, behold, sicknesses of famine! Yes, both the prophet and the priest have gone up into a land that they do not know.

For who shall have pity on you, O Jerusalem? Or who shall weep over you? Or who shall turn aside to ask your welfare?

For so says Jehovah, Do not enter into the house of mourning; do not go to weep nor moan over them. For I have taken away My peace from this people, says Jehovah, even loving-kindness and mercies.

So, behold, the days come, says Jehovah, that it shall no more be said, As Jehovah lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

but, As Jehovah lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands where He had driven them. And I will bring them again into their lands that I gave to their fathers.

But they did not obey, nor bowed down their ear, but made their neck stiff, so that they might not hear nor receive instruction.

The instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck it up and to pull it down, and to destroy it;

if it does evil in My sight, not to obey My voice, then I will repent of the good with which I said I would do them good.

Therefore deliver up their sons to the famine, and give them over to the hand of the sword. And let their wives be bereaved, and widows, and their men be slain of death; let their young men be struck by the sword in battle.

Then I said, I will not mention Him, nor speak in His name any more. But His Word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with holding in, and I could not stop.

Please inquire of Jehovah for us. For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is warring against us. Perhaps Jehovah will deal with us according to all His wonderful works, that he may go up from us.

Weep not for the dead, nor moan for him; but weep bitterly for him who goes away. For he shall return no more, nor see his native country.

Go up to Lebanon, and cry. And lift up your voice in Bashan, and cry from Abarim, for all your lovers are destroyed.

The wind shall eat up all your shepherds, and your lovers shall go into captivity; surely then you will be ashamed and humiliated for all your wickedness.

And I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them. And they shall fear no more, nor be afraid; nor shall they lack anything, says Jehovah.

Therefore, behold, the days come, says Jehovah, that they shall no more say, Jehovah lives, who brought the sons of Israel up out of the land of Egypt;

but, Jehovah lives, who brought up and led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries where I have driven them. And they shall dwell in their own land.

For the land is full of adulterers. Yes, because of cursing the land mourns; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their power is not right.

The anger of Jehovah shall not return, until He has done and until He has set up the purposes of His heart; in later days you shall understand it perfectly.

For I will set My eyes on 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.

So says Jehovah of Hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest shall be stirred up from the corners of the earth.

to listen to the words of My servants the prophets whom I am sending to you (both rising up early and sending them, but you have not listened);

When the rulers of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house to the house of Jehovah, and sat down in the entrance of the New Gate of Jehovah's house.

So now make your ways and your doings good, and obey the voice of Jehovah your God. And Jehovah will repent of the evil that He has spoken against you.

Then some of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying,

They shall be carried to Babylon, and they shall be there until the day that I visit them, says Jehovah. Then I will bring them up and give them back to this place.

Because you have said, Jehovah has raised us up prophets in Babylon;

because they have not listened to My Words, says Jehovah, which I sent to them by My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending; but you would not hear, says Jehovah.

And a curse shall be taken up from them by all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, May Jehovah make you like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,

but they shall serve Jehovah their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up to them.

For there shall be a day that the watchmen on Mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise and let us go up to Zion to Jehovah our God!

Set up waymarks, make sign posts for yourself. Set your heart toward the highway, the way you went. Turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these your cities.

On this I awoke and looked up; and my sleep was sweet to me.

And it shall be, as I have watched over them to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so I will watch over them to build, and to plant, says Jehovah.

And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields to the torrent of Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to Jehovah. It shall not be plucked up nor thrown down any more forever.

For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Why do you prophesy and say, So says Jehovah, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it,

And they came in and possessed it, but they did not obey Your voice, nor did they walk in Your Law. They have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do; therefore You have caused all this evil to come on them.

And the Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come up and set this city on fire, and burn it with the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal, and poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke Me to anger.

And they have turned the back to Me, and not the face; though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not listened to receive instruction.

And the Word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard, saying,

In those days, and at that time, I will cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up to David. And He shall do judgment and righteousness in the land.

But it happened when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, we said, Come and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the Chaldean army, and for fear of the Syrian army. So we are living at Jerusalem.

The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are done. For to this day they do not drink, but obey their father's commandment. But I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you did not listen to Me.

I have also sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending, saying, Return now each man from his evil way, and make your doings good, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and you shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers. But you have not bowed down your ear, nor listened to Me.

And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up. I cannot go into the house of Jehovah.

And they went in to the king into the court. But they laid up the roll in the room of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king.

And it happened when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the scribe's knife and threw it into the fire in the fire-pan, until all the scroll was burned up in the fire-pan.

For though you had stricken the whole army of the Chaldeans who fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, they would rise up, each man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.

And it happened when the army of Chaldeans was made to go up from Jerusalem because of fear of Pharaoh's army,

Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take in your hand thirty men with you from here, and lift Jeremiah the prophet up out of the pit before he dies.

So they drew up Jeremiah with ropes and took him up out of the pit. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver you. I beg you, obey the voice of Jehovah which I speak to you; so it shall be well to you, and your soul shall live.

In the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth of the month, the city was broken up.

But the Chaldean army pursued them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And they took him, and made him go up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment on him.

And the Word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,