Then said the LORD, "Thou hast seen right, for I will watch diligently upon my word, to perform it."

Then said the LORD unto me, "Out of the north shall come a plague upon all the dwellers of the land.

And through them shall I declare my judgment, upon all the wickedness of those men that have forsaken me: that have offered unto strange gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.

Thou Israel wast hallowed unto the LORD, and so was his firstfruits. All they that devoured Israel, offended: misfortune fell upon them, sayeth the LORD."

"Wherefore I am constrained, sayeth the LORD, to make my complaint upon you, and upon your children.

Why do they roar and cry then upon him, as a lion? They have made his land waste, his cities are so burnt up, that there is no man dwelling in them.

"I have ever broken thy yoke of old, and bursten thy bonds: yet sayest thou, 'I will no more serve.' But like a harlot thou runnest about upon all high hills,

Say not now, 'I am not unclean, and I have not followed Baal.' Look upon thy own ways in the woods, valleys and dens: so shalt thou know, what thou hast done. Thou art like a swift Dromedary that goeth easily his way:

Thou keepest thy foot from nakedness, and thy throat from thirst, and thinkest thus in thyself, 'Tush: I will take no sorrow; I will love the strange gods, and hang upon them.'

For they say to a stock, 'Thou art my father,' and to a stone, 'Thou hast begotten me.' Yea, they have turned their back upon me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble, when they say, 'Stand up and help us!'

Upon thy wings is found the blood of poor and innocent people; and that not in corners and holes only, but openly in all these places.

Yet darest thou say, 'I am guiltless: Tush, his wrath cannot come upon me.' Behold, I will reason with thee because thou darest say, 'I have not offended.'

Yea, thou shalt go thy way from them, and smite thine hands together upon thy head. Because the LORD shall bring that confidence and hope of thine to naught, and thou shalt not prosper withal."

The LORD said also unto me, in the time of Josiah the king, "Hast thou seen what that shrinking Israel hath done? How she hath run up upon all high hills, and among all thick trees, and there played the harlot?

Moreover, when ye be increased and multiplied in the land, then, sayeth the LORD, there shall no more boast be made of the ark of the LORD's Covenant: No man shall think upon it, neither shall any man make mention of it: for from thenceforth it shall neither be visited, nor honored with gifts.

The hills fall, and all the high pride of the mountains; but the health of Israel standeth only upon God our LORD.

After that shall there come unto me a strong wind, and then will I also give sentence upon them."

They cry murder upon murder; the whole land shall perish. Immediately my tents were destroyed, and my hangings, in the twinkling of an eye.

"Nevertheless this shall come upon them because my people is become foolish, and hath utterly no understanding. They are the children of foolishness, and without any discretion. To do evil, they have wit enough: but to do well, they have no wisdom."

I have looked upon the earth, and see, it is waste and void. I looked toward heaven, and it had no shine.

And therefore let the earth mourn, and let the heaven be sorry above: for the things that I have purposed and taken upon me to do, shall not repent me, and I will not go from it."

Where as thou, O LORD, lookest only upon faith and truth. Thou hast scourged them, but they took no repentance: thou hast corrected them for amendment, but they refused thy correction. They made their faces harder than stone, and would not amend.

"Should I then, for all this, have mercy upon thee? Thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods. And albeit they were bound to me in marriage, yet they fell to adultery, and hunted harlots' houses.

"Climb up upon their walls, beat them down, but destroy them not utterly: cut off their branches because they are not the LORD's.

They have denied the LORD, and said, 'It is not he. Tush, there shall no misfortune come upon us; we shall see neither sword nor hunger.'

Lo, I will bring a people upon you from far, O house of Israel, sayeth the LORD; a mighty people, an old people, a people whose speech thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.

And therefore I am so full of thine indignation, O LORD, that I may suffer no longer. "Shed out thy wrath upon the children that are without, and upon all young men. Yea the man must be taken prisoner with the wife, and the aged with the cripple.

Their houses with their lands and wives shall be turned unto strangers, when I stretch out mine hand upon the inhabiters of this land," sayeth the LORD.

"For from the least unto the most, they hang all upon covetousness: and from the prophet unto the priest, they go all about with falsity and lies.

Hear thou earth also: behold, I will cause a plague come upon this people, even the fruit of their own imaginations. For they have not been obedient unto my words and to my law, but abhorred them.

with bows and with darts shall they be weaponed. It is a rough and fierce people, an unmerciful people: their voice roareth like the sea, they ride upon horses well appointed to the battle against thee, O daughter Zion!"

Then shall this cry be heard, "Our arms are feeble! Heaviness and sorrow is come upon us, as upon a woman travailing with child!

No man go forth into the field, no man come upon the high street: for the sword and fear of the enemy shall be on every side!"

Wherefore, gird a sackcloth about thee, O daughter of my people; sprinkle thyself with ashes, mourn and weep bitterly, as upon the only beloved son: for the destroyer shall suddenly fall upon us.

For they are all unfaithful and fallen away, they hang upon filthy lucre; they are clean brass and iron, for they hurt and destroyed every man.

And therefore thus sayeth the LORD God, "Behold, my wrath and my indignation shall be poured out upon this place, upon men and cattle, upon the trees in the field and all fruit of the land, and it shall burn so, that no man may quench it."

"And thou shalt now speak all these words unto them, but they shall not hear thee: thou shalt cry upon them, but they shall not answer thee.

and laid against the Sun, the Moon and all the heavenly host: whom they loved, whom they served, whom they ran after, whom they sought and worshipped. They shall neither be gathered together nor buried, but shall lie upon the earth, to their shame and despising.

Moreover, I will gather them in, sayeth the LORD, so that there shall not be one grape upon the vine, neither one fig upon the fig tree, and the leaves shall be plucked off. And the thing that I have given to them shall be taken from them."

Sorrow is come upon me, and heaviness vexeth my heart:

"Upon the mountains will I take up a lamentation and sorrowful cry, and a mourning upon the fair plains of the wilderness: Namely, how they are so burnt up, that no man goeth there any more. Yea, a man shall not hear one beast cry there. Birds and cattle are all gone from thence.

But tell thou plainly, thus sayeth the LORD, "The dead bodies of men shall lie upon the ground, as the dung upon the field, and as the hay after the mower, and there shall be no man to take them up."

But who so will rejoice, let him rejoice in this: that he understandeth, and knoweth me. For I am the LORD, which do mercy, equity and righteousness upon the earth. Therefore have I pleasure in such things, sayeth the LORD."

Pour out thine indignation rather upon the Gentiles, that know thee not, and upon the people that call not on thy name: And that because they have consumed, devoured and destroyed Jacob, and have rooted out his glory.

Then shall the towns of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem go, and call upon their gods, unto whom they made their oblations: but they are not able to help them in time of their trouble.

For as many cities as thou hast, O Judah, so many gods hast thou also: And look how many streets there be in thee, O Jerusalem: so many shameful altars have ye set up, to offer upon them unto Baal.

But I, as a meek lamb, was carried away to be slain: not knowing, that they had devised such a counsel against me saying, "We will destroy his meat with wood, and drive him out of the land of the living: that his name shall never be thought upon."

so that none shall remain. For upon the citizens of Anathoth will I bring a plague, and the year of their visitation."

For thy brethren and thy kindred have altogether despised thee, and cried out upon thee in thine absence. Believe them not, though they speak fair words to thee.

Mine heritage is become unto me, as a Lion in the wood. It cried out upon me, therefore have I forsaken it.

Mine heritage is unto me, as a speckled bird; a bird of divers colors is upon it. Go hence, and gather all the beasts of the field together, that they may eat it up.

Divers herdsmen have broken down my vineyard, and trodden upon my portion. Of my pleasant portion, they have made a wilderness and desert.

Thus sayeth the LORD upon all mine evil neighbours, that lay hand on mine heritage, which I have given my people of Israel, "Behold, I will pluck them, namely Israel, out of their land; and put out the house of Judah from among them.

And when I have rooted them out, I will be at one with them again, and will have mercy upon them: and bring them again, every man to his own heritage, and into his land.

This people is a wicked people; they will not hear my word, they follow the wicked imaginations of their own heart, and hang upon strange gods, them have they served and worshiped: and therefore they shall be as this breech, that serveth for nothing.

For as straightly as a breech lieth upon a man's loins, so straightly did I bind the whole house of Israel, and the whole house of Judah unto me, sayeth the LORD: that they might be my people; that they might have a glorious name; that they might be in honour. But they would not obey me.

Then shalt thou say unto them, 'Thus sayeth the LORD: Behold, I shall fill all the inhabiters of this land with drunkenness, the kings that sit upon David's stool, the Priests and Prophets, with all that dwell at Jerusalem.

And I will shoot them one against another; yea, the fathers against the sons, sayeth the LORD. I will not pardon them, I will not spare them, nor have pity upon them: but destroy them.'"

The cities toward the south shall be shut up, and no man shall open them. All Judah shall be carried away captive, so that none shall remain.

"Lift up your eyes, and behold them, that come from the North: Like a fat flock shall they fall upon thee.

To whom will thou make thy moan, when they come upon thee? For thou hast taught them thyself, and made them masters over thee. Shall not sorrow come upon thee, as on a woman travailing with child?

And if thou wouldest say then in thine heart, 'Wherefore come these things upon me?' Even for the multitude of thy blasphemies, shall thy hinder parts and thy feet be uncovered.

thy adultery, thy deadly malice, thy beastliness, and thy shameful whoredom. For upon the fields and hills I have seen thy abominations. Woe be unto thee, O Jerusalem. When wilt thou ever be cleansed any more?"

For the ground shall be dried up, because there cometh no rain upon it. The plowmen also shall be ashamed, and shall cover their heads.

Then answered I, "O LORD God, the prophets say unto them, 'Tush, ye shall see no sword, and no hunger shall come upon you, but the LORD shall give you continual rest in this place.'"

and the people to whom they have preached shall be cast out of Jerusalem; die of hunger; and be slain with the sword. And there shall be no man to bury them, both they and their wives, their sons and their daughters. For thus will I pour their wickedness upon them.

For I will bring four plagues upon them, sayeth the LORD. The sword shall strangle them, the dogs shall devour them, the fowls of the air, and beasts of the earth shall eat them up, and destroy them.

Who shall then have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? Who shall be sorry for thee? Or who shall make intercession, to obtain peace for thee,

I will make their widows more in number than the sands of the sea. Upon the mothers of their children, I shall bring a destroyer in the noonday. Suddenly and unawares, shall I send a fear upon their cities.

O mother, alas that ever thou didst bear me, an enemy and hated of the whole land: Though I never lent nor received upon usury, yet all men speak evil upon me.

When I had found thy words, I ate them up greedily: they have made my heart joyful and glad, for I call upon thy name, O LORD God of Hosts.

Upon these words, thus said the LORD unto me, "If thou wilt turn again, I shall set thee in my service: and if thou wilt take out the thing that is precious from the vile, thou shalt be even as mine own mouth. They shall convert unto thee, but turn not thou unto them:

They shall die a horrible death: and no man shall mourn for them, nor bury them, but they shall lie as dung upon the earth. They shall perish through the sword, and hunger, and their bodies shall be meat for the fowls of the air, and beasts of the earth.

your sin, O ye of the tribe of Judah, is written in the table of your hearts, and graven so upon the edges of your altars with a pen of iron and with an adamant claw:

that your children also may think upon your altars, woods, thick trees, high hills, mountains and fields.

Wherefore, I will make all your substance and treasure be spoiled, for the great sin that ye have done upon your high places throughout all the coasts of your land.

Let them that persecute me be confounded, and let not me be confounded. Let their hearts fail them, and not mine heart fail. Bring upon them an evil day, and bruise them again and again.

Thus the LORD commandeth: Take heed for your lives, that ye carry no burden upon you in the Sabbath, to bring it through the gates of Jerusalem:

Nevertheless, if ye will hear me, sayeth the LORD, and bear no burden into the city through this gate upon the Sabbath; If ye will hallow the Sabbath, so that ye do no work therein;

then shall there go through the gates of this city, kings and princes, that shall sit upon the stool of David: They shall be carried upon chariots, and ride upon horses, both they and their princes. Yea, whole Judah and all the citizens of Jerusalem shall go herethrough, and this city shall ever be the more and more inhabited.

But if ye will not be obedient unto me, to hallow the Sabbath: so that ye will bear your burdens through the gates of Jerusalem upon the Sabbath: Then shall I set fire upon the gates of Jerusalem, and it shall burn up the houses of Jerusalem, and no man shall be able to quench it."

Now when I came to the Potter's house, I found him making his work upon a wheel.

if that people against whom I have thus devised convert from their wickedness: Immediately, I repent of the plague, that I devised to bring upon them.

"Speak now therefore unto whole Judah, and to them that dwell at Jerusalem. Thus sayeth the LORD: Behold, I am devising a plague for you, and am taking a thing in hand against you. Therefore let every man turn from his evil way, take upon you the thing that is good, and do right.

Shall not the snow that melteth upon the stony rocks of Lebanon moisten the fields? Or may the springs of waters be so graven away, that they run no more, give moistness, nor make fruitful?

With an East wind will I scatter them, before their enemies. And when their destruction cometh, I will turn my back upon them, but not my face."

Let the noise be heard out of their houses, when the murderer cometh suddenly upon them: For they have digged a pit to take me, and laid snares for my feet.

and say thus unto them: 'Hear the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and ye citizens of Jerusalem! Thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring such a plague upon this place, that the ears of all that hear it, shall glow.

And I will make this city so desolate, and despised: that whoso goeth thereby, shall be abashed and jest upon her, because of all her plagues.

"Thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon every town about it, all the plagues that I have devised against them: for they have been obstinate, and would not obey my warnings."

For why? I heard so many derisions and blasphemies, yea even of my own companions, and such as were conversant with me: which went about, to make me afraid, saying, "Upon him; let us go upon him, to fear him, and make him hold his tongue: that we may overcome him, and be avenged of him."

And after this, sayeth the LORD, I shall deliver Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his servants, his people - and such as are escaped in the city, from the pestilence, sword, and hunger - into the power of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon: yea into the hands of their enemies; into the hands of those that follow upon their lives, which shall smite them with the sword. They shall not pity them, they shall not spare them, they shall have no mercy upon them.'

Behold, sayeth the LORD, I will come upon you that dwell in the valleys, rocks and fields, and say: Tush, who will make us afraid? Or, who will come into our houses?

And if ye keep these things faithfully, then shall there come in at the door of this house, kings, to sit upon David's seat: they shall be carried in Chariots and ride upon horses, both they and their servants, and their people.

For thus hath the LORD spoken upon the king's house of Judah: Thou art the head, as Gilead is in Lebanon: What wilt thou lay of it, if I make thee and thy cities also not so waste that no man shall dwell therein?

Nevertheless, as for thine eyes and thine heart, they look upon covetousness, to shed innocent blood, and to do wrong and violence.'"

Climb up the hill of Lebanon, O thou daughter Zion! Lift up thy voice upon Bashan, cry from all parts: for all thy lovers are destroyed.

thou that dwellest upon Lebanon, and makest thy nest in the Cedar's trees. O how great shall thy mourning be, when thy sorrows come upon thee, as a woman travailing with child?

Write this man among the outlaws, for no prosperity shall this man have all his life long. Neither shall any of his seed be so happy as to sit upon the seat of David, and to bear rule in Judah."

Wherefore, this is the commandment of the LORD God of Israel, unto the shepherds that feed my people, "Ye scatter and thrust out my flock, and look not upon them. Therefore now will I visit the wickedness of your imaginations, sayeth the LORD: