'And thou, thou dost gird up thy loins, and hast arisen, and spoken unto them all that I command thee: be not affrighted because of them, lest I affright thee before them.

Dost thou not do this to thyself? By thy forsaking Jehovah thy God, At the time He is leading thee in the way?

But though thou dost wash with nitre, And dost multiply to thyself soap, Marked is thine iniquity before Me, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

How dost thou trim thy way to seek love! Therefore hast thou also accustomed thy ways to wickedness.

Why dost thou gad about so much, and change thy way? Thou shalt also be brought to shame by Egypt, as thou wast brought to shame by Assyria.

Also from this thou goest out, And thy hands on thy head, For Jehovah hath kicked at thy confidences, And thou dost not give prosperity to them!

Doth He keep to the age? watch for ever?' Lo, these things thou hast spoken, And thou dost the evil things, and prevailest.

And I say, after her doing all these, Unto Me thou dost turn back, and she hath not turned back, and see it doth her treacherous sister Judah.

But for all this, her false sister Judah has not come back to me with all her heart, but with deceit, says the Lord.

Only, know thine iniquity, For against Jehovah thy God thou hast transgressed, And thou dost scatter thy ways to strangers, Under every green tree, And to My voice thou hast not hearkened, An affirmation of Jehovah.

If thou dost turn back, O Israel, An affirmation of Jehovah, unto Me turn back, And if thou dost turn aside Thine abominations from My face, Then thou dost not bemoan.

Wash from evil thy heart, O Jerusalem, That thou mayest be saved, Till when dost thou lodge in thy heart Thoughts of thy strength?

And thou, when thou art made desolate, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with scarlet, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou enlargest thine eyes with paint, in vain dost thou make thyself fair; thy lovers despise thee, they seek thy life.

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

"For from the smallest of them to the greatest of them, {everyone} makes profit for unlawful gain. And from the prophet to the priest, {everyone} practices deceit.

My dear people, dress yourselves in sackcloth
and roll in the dust.
Mourn as you would for an only son,
a bitter lament,
for suddenly the destroyer will come on us.

"I have made you an assayer among my people, a fortification, so that you may know and put to the test their ways.

All of them are turned away, going about with false stories; they are brass and iron: they are all workers of deceit.

And thou dost not pray for this people, Nor lift up for them crying and prayer, Nor intercede with Me, for I hear thee not.

Dost thou not see what, they, are doing In the cities of Judah, - and In the streets of Jerusalem?

Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.

Therefore I will give their wives to others, their fields to conquerors, because from [the] smallest to [the] greatest, all of them make profit [for] unlawful gain, from prophet to priest, all of them practice deceit.

Everyone will make sport of his neighbour with deceit, not saying what is true: their tongues have been trained to say false words; they are twisted, hating to come back.

Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.

Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts,

“Behold, I will refine them [through suffering] and test them;
For how else should I deal with the daughter of My people?

Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.

Then every man becomes like a beast without knowledge; every gold-worker is put to shame by the image he has made: for his metal image is deceit, and there is no breath in them.

And thou, thou dost not pray for this people, Nor dost thou lift up for them cry and prayer, For I do not hearken in the time of their calling unto Me for their vexation.

What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.

Therefore, thus said Jehovah concerning the men of Anathoth, who are seeking thy life, saying: Do not prophesy in the name of Jehovah, And thou dost not die by our hands.

You are in the right, O Lord, when I put my cause before you: still let me take up with you the question of your decisions: why does the evil-doer do well? why are the workers of deceit living in comfort?

Thou plantest them, they take root, they grow, and bring forth fruit. They boast much of thee, yet doest thou not punish them.

But you, Yahweh, you know me, you see me, and you test [that] my heart [is] with you. Tear them apart like sheep for [the] slaughtering, and set them apart for [the] day of slaughter.

For -- with footmen thou hast run, And they weary thee, And how dost thou fret thyself with horses! Even in the land of peace, In which thou art confident -- And how dost thou in the rising of Jordan!

Thus said Jehovah unto me, 'Go, and thou hast got for thee a girdle of linen, and hast placed it on thy loins, and into water thou dost not cause it to enter:'

What dost thou say, when He looketh after thee? And thou -- thou hast taught them to be over thee -- leaders for head? Do not pangs seize thee as a travailing woman?

And when thou dost say in thy heart, 'Wherefore have these met me?' For the abundance of thine iniquity Have thy skirts been uncovered, Have thy heels suffered violence.

This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from Me -- an affirmation of Jehovah, Because thou hast forgotten me, And dost trust in falsehood.

And Jehovah saith unto me: Thou dost not pray for this people for good,

Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.

"Hast thou then utterly forsaken Judah?" said I, "Doest thou so abhor Zion? Or hast thou so plagued us, that we can be healed no more? We looked for peace, and there cometh no good: for the time of health, and lo, here is nothing but trouble.

Are there any among the gods of the Gentiles, that send rain or give the showers of heaven? Dost not thou it, O LORD our God, in whom we trust? Yea LORD, thou dost all these things."

For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?

Therefore, thus said Jehovah: If thou turnest back, then I bring thee back, Before Me thou dost stand, And if thou bringest out the precious from the vile, As My mouth thou art! They -- they turn back unto thee, And thou dost not turn back unto them.

Thou dost not take to thee a wife, Nor hast thou sons and daughters in this place.

A house of banqueting thou dost not enter, To sit with them, to eat and to drink,

O Lord, my strength and my strong tower, my safe place in the day of trouble, the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth, and say, The heritage of our fathers is nothing but deceit, even false things in which there is no profit.

I, Yahweh, examine [the] {mind}, test [the] {heart}, and give to each one according to his way, according to the fruit of his deeds.

LORD, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn aside from you will be written in the dust, because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water.

I will scatter them before their enemies like dust blowing in front of a burning east wind. I will turn my back on them and not look favorably on them when disaster strikes them."

And Thou, O Jehovah, Thou hast known, All their counsel against me is for death, Thou dost not cover over their iniquity, Nor their sin from before Thee blottest out, And they are made to stumble before Thee, In the time of Thine anger work against them!

And thou, Pashhur, and all dwelling in thy house, Do go into captivity. and Babylon thou dost enter, And there thou diest, and there thou art buried, Thou and all loving thee, To whom thou hast prophesied falsely.'

Thou hast persuaded me, O Jehovah, and I am persuaded; Thou hast hardened me, and dost prevail, I have been for a laughter all the day, Every one is mocking at me,

For numbers of them say evil secretly in my hearing (there is fear on every side): they say, Come, let us give witness against him; all my nearest friends, who are watching for my fall, say, It may be that he will be taken by deceit, and we will get the better of him and give him punishment.

O Lord who rules over all, you test and prove the righteous. You see into people's hearts and minds. Pay them back for what they have done because I trust you to vindicate my cause.

And unto this people thou dost say, Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am setting before you the way of life, And the way of death!

Dost thou reign, because thou art fretting thyself in cedar? Thy father -- did he not eat and drink? Yea, he did judgment and righteousness, Then it is well with him.

and I would give thee into the hand of them who seek thy life and into the hand of them from the face of whom, thou dost shrink in fear, - even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans;

And in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a shocking thing; they are untrue to their wives, walking in deceit, and they make strong the hands of evil-doers, so that a man may not be turned back from his evil-doing: they have all become like Sodom to me, and its people like Gomorrah

How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart;

“Is not My word like fire [that consumes all that cannot endure the test]?” says the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks the [most stubborn] rock [in pieces]?

See, I am against the prophets of false dreams, says the Lord, who give them out and make my people go out of the way by their deceit and their uncontrolled words: but I did not send them or give them orders; and they will be of no profit to this people, says the Lord.

But you shall not mention the burden of Yahweh, for the burden is to each one his word, and so you twist the words of [the] living God, Yahweh of hosts, our God

Thus dost thou say unto the prophet What hath Jehovah answered thee? And what hath Jehovah spoken?

And thou, thou dost prophesy unto them all these words, and hast said unto them: Jehovah from the high place doth roar, And from His holy habitation giveth forth His voice, He surely roareth for His habitation, A shout as of treaders down, God answereth all the inhabitants of the land,

Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the dust, noble ones of the flock: for the days of your slaughter are accomplished, and I will disperse you; and ye shall fall like a precious vessel.

Thus said Jehovah, Stand thou in the court of the house of Jehovah, and thou hast spoken unto all those of the cities of Judah who are coming in to bow themselves in the house of Jehovah, all the words that I have commanded thee to speak unto them, thou dost not diminish a word.

And it cometh to pass, at the completion of Jeremiah's speaking all that Jehovah hath commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests, and the prophets, and all the people catch him, saying, Thou dost surely die,

Therefore thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am casting thee from off the face of the ground; this year thou diest, for apostasy thou hast spoken concerning Jehovah.'

'And unto Shemaiah the Nehelamite thou dost speak, saying,

Again thou dost plant vineyards In mountains of Samaria, Planters have planted, and made common.

Till when dost thou withdraw thyself, O backsliding daughter? For Jehovah hath prepared a new thing in the land, Woman doth compass man.

For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;

In that thou hast done signs and wonders in the land of Egypt unto this day, and in Israel, and among men, and Thou dost make for Thee a name as at this day.

And they come in, and possess it, and they have not hearkened to Thy voice, and in Thy law have not walked, all that which Thou didst lay a charge on them to do they have not done, and Thou dost proclaim to them all this evil.

and thou, thou dost not escape out of his hand, for thou art certainly caught, and into his hand thou art given, and thine eyes see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and his mouth with thy mouth speaketh, and Babylon thou enterest.

'Only, hear a word of Jehovah, O Zedekiah king of Judah, Thus said Jehovah unto thee: Thou dost not die by sword,

in peace thou diest, and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings who have been before thee, so they make a burning for thee; and Ah, lord, they lament for thee, for the word I have spoken -- an affirmation of Jehovah.'

but thou hast entered -- and thou hast read in the roll that thou hast written from my mouth, the words of Jehovah, in the ears of the people, in the house of Jehovah, in the day of the fast, and also in the ears of all Judah who are coming in from their cities thou dost read them;

and unto Jehoiakim king of Judah thou dost say: Thus said Jehovah, Thou hast burnt this roll, saying, Wherefore hast thou written on it, saying, The king of Babylon surely cometh in, and hath destroyed this land, and caused to cease from it man and beast?

And Jeremiah saith unto Zedekiah, 'When I declare to thee, dost thou not surely put me to death? and when I counsel thee, thou dost not hearken unto me.'

And Jeremiah saith unto Zedekiah, 'Thus said Jehovah, God of Hosts, God of Israel: If thou dost certainly go forth unto the heads of the king of Babylon, then hath thy soul lived, and this city is not burned with fire, yea, thou hast lived, thou and thy house.

And if thou dost not go forth unto the heads of the king of Babylon, then hath this city been given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they have burnt it with fire, and thou dost not escape from their hand.'

'And all thy wives, and thy sons, are brought forth unto the Chaldeans, and thou dost not escape from their hand, for by the hand of the king of Babylon thou art caught, and this city is burnt with fire.'

And Zedekiah saith unto Jeremiah, 'Let no man know of these words, and thou dost not die;

And said unto him, Dost thou certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to slay thee? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not.

And Gedaliah son of Ahikam saith unto Johanan son of Kareah, 'Thou dost not do this thing, for falsehood thou art speaking concerning Ishmael.'

For you have been acting with deceit in your hearts; for you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, Make prayer for us to the Lord our God, and give us word of everything he may say, and we will do it.

Thus dost thou say unto him: Thus said Jehovah: Lo, that which I have built I am throwing down, and that which I have planted I am plucking up, even the whole land itself.

Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt: in vain dost thou use many medicines; there is no healing for thee.

And thou, thou dost not fear, my servant Jacob, Nor art thou dismayed, O Israel, For lo, I am saving thee from afar, And thy seed from the land of their captivity, And Jacob hath turned back, And hath been at rest, and been at ease, And there is none disturbing.

Thou, thou dost not fear, My servant Jacob, An affirmation of Jehovah -- for with thee I am, For I make an end of all the nations Whither I have driven thee, And of thee I do not make an end, And I have reproved thee in judgment, And do not entirely acquit thee!'

Come hath baldness unto Gaza, Cut off hath been Ashkelon, O remnant of their valley, Till when dost thou cut thyself?

Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds.

And was not Israel the derision to thee? Among thieves was he found? For since thy words concerning him, Thou dost bemoan thyself.

What -- dost thou boast thyself in valleys? Flowed hath thy valley, O backsliding daughter, Who is trusting in her treasures: Who doth come in unto me?

Because thou rejoicest, because thou exultest, O spoilers of Mine inheritance, Because thou increasest as a heifer at the tender grass, And dost cry aloud as bulls,

Then every man becomes like a beast without knowledge; every gold-worker is put to shame by the image he has made: for his metal image is deceit, and there is no breath in them.

And Jeremiah saith unto Seraiah, 'When thou dost enter Babylon, then thou hast seen, and hast read all these words,

And it hath come to pass, when thou dost finish reading this book, thou dost bind to it a stone, and hast cast it into the midst of Phrat,