And I said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! behold, I cannot speak; for I am a child.

But Jehovah said unto me, Say not, I am a child; for thou shalt go to whomsoever I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

And Jehovah put forth his hand and touched my mouth; and Jehovah said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

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

And Jehovah said unto me, Thou hast well seen; for I am watchful over my word to perform it.

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

And Jehovah said unto me, Out of the north shall evil break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

And they said not, Where is Jehovah, that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and of pits, in a land of drought and of the shadow of death, in a land that no one passeth through, and where no man dwelleth?

The priests said not, Where is Jehovah? and they that handled the law knew me not; and the shepherds transgressed against me; and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

And Jehovah said unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen what backsliding Israel hath done? She hath gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath committed fornication.

And I said, After she hath done all these things, she will return unto me; but she returned not. And her sister Judah, the treacherous, saw it.

And Jehovah said unto me, Backsliding Israel hath shewn herself more just than treacherous Judah.

And as for me, I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee the pleasant land, the goodly inheritance of the hosts of the nations? And I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from following me.

And I said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A hot wind cometh from the heights in the wilderness, on the way of the daughter of my people, not for fanning, nor for cleansing.

And I said, Surely these are the wretched ones, they are foolish; for they know not the way of Jehovah, the judgment of their God.

For thus hath Jehovah of hosts said: Hew ye down trees, and cast a mound against Jerusalem. She is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.

Thus saith Jehovah: Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the ancient paths, which is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

Also I have set watchmen over you: Hearken ye to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.

Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith Jehovah, when it shall no more be said, Topheth, and Valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter; for they shall bury in Topheth, till there be no place.

Woe is me, for my wound! My stroke is hard to heal, and I had said, Yea, this is my grief, and I will bear it.

that I may perform the oath that I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. And I answered and said, Amen, Jehovah!

And Jehovah said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: Hear the words of this covenant, and do them.

And Jehovah said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Thus said Jehovah unto me: Go and buy thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins; but dip it not in water.

And it came to pass at the end of many days, that Jehovah said unto me, Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence which I commanded thee to hide there.

And Jehovah said unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.

And I said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! Behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; for I will give you assured peace in this place.

And Jehovah said unto me, The prophets prophesy falsehood in my name; I have not sent them, neither have I commanded them, nor spoken unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision, and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.

And Jehovah said unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, my soul would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go forth.

Jehovah said, Verily I will set thee free for thy good; verily I will cause the enemy to meet thee kindly in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.

Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith Jehovah, that it shall no more be said, As Jehovah liveth, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

Thus hath Jehovah said unto me: Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Judah come in, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

if it do evil in my sight, that it hearken not unto my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them.

And they said, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor word from the prophet. Come and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.

And Jeremiah came from Topheth, whither Jehovah had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of Jehovah's house, and said to all the people,

And it came to pass the next day, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks; and Jeremiah said unto him, Jehovah hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magor-missabib.

And I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name: but it was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I became wearied with holding in, and I could not.

And Jeremiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:

They say constantly unto them that despise me, Jehovah hath said, Ye shall have peace. And they say unto every one that walketh in the stubbornness of his heart, No evil shall come upon you.

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

And Jehovah said unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs: the good figs very good; and the bad very bad, which cannot be eaten for badness.

when they said, Turn again now every one from his evil way, and from the wickedness of your doings, and dwell in the land that Jehovah hath given unto you and to your fathers from of old even for ever.

For thus hath Jehovah the God of Israel said unto me: Take the cup of the wine of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations to whom I send thee to drink it.

And the princes and all the people said unto the priests and to the prophets, This man is not worthy to die; for he hath spoken to us in the name of Jehovah our God.

Thus hath Jehovah said unto me: Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck;

And the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen, may Jehovah do so! may Jehovah perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again from Babylon, into this place, the vessels of Jehovah's house, and all them of the captivity!

And the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah, Hear now, Hananiah: Jehovah hath not sent thee; and thou makest this people to trust in falsehood.

And Jeremiah said, The word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

And Hanameel, mine uncle's son, came to me in the court of the guard according to the word of Jehovah, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine: buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of Jehovah.

And thou, Lord Jehovah, thou hast said unto me, Buy for thyself the field for money, and take witnesses; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.

And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink wine.

And they said, We will drink no wine; for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, ye nor your sons for ever;

And it came to pass when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come and let us go into Jerusalem because of the army of the Chaldeans, and because of the army of Syria; and we dwell at Jerusalem.

And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his injunctions, and have done according unto all that he hath commanded you;

And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. And Baruch read it in their ears.

And it came to pass, when they heard all the words, they turned in fear one toward another, and said unto Baruch, We will certainly report to the king all these words.

And Baruch said unto them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.

And the princes said unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; that none may know where ye are.

And Jeremiah said, It is false: I am not deserting to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him; and Irijah laid hold on Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.

king Zedekiah sent and took him out. And the king asked of him secretly in his house, and said, Is there any word from Jehovah? And Jeremiah said, There is; and he said, Thou shalt be given into the hand of the king of Babylon.

And Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in the prison?

And the princes said unto the king, Let this man, we pray thee, be put to death; for why should he weaken the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking to them according to these words? for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.

And king Zedekiah said, Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he that can do a thing against you.

And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said to Jeremiah, Put, I pray, these old shreds and rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.

And king Zedekiah sent and took the prophet Jeremiah unto him, into the third entry that is in the house of Jehovah; and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing: hide nothing from me.

And Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not certainly put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, thou wilt not hearken unto me.

And Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, Thus saith Jehovah the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If thou wilt freely go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thy house.

And king Zedekiah said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that have deserted to the Chaldeans, lest they give me over into their hand, and they mock me.

And Jeremiah said, They shall not give thee over. Hearken, I beseech thee, unto the voice of Jehovah, in that which I speak unto thee; so shall it be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.

And Zedekiah said unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.

And if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; and what hath the king said unto thee?

And the captain of the body-guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, Jehovah thy God pronounced this evil upon this place,

and Jehovah hath brought it about and done according as he said; for ye have sinned against Jehovah, and have not hearkened unto his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you.

And while he had not yet given answer; he said, Yea, go back to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath appointed over the cities of Judah, and abide with him in the midst of the people; or go wheresoever it seemeth right in thy sight to go. And the captain of the body-guard gave him provisions and a present, and let him go.

and said unto him, Dost thou indeed know that Baalis the king of the children of Ammon hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to smite thee to death? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them not.

But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing; for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.

And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went; and it came to pass when he met them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam.

But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Do not kill us, for we have hidden stores in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of honey. So he forbore, and did not kill them among their brethren.

came near and said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication come before thee, and pray for us unto Jehovah thy God, for all this remnant (for we are left a few of many, as thine eyes do behold us);

And Jeremiah the prophet said unto them, I have heard; behold, I will pray unto Jehovah your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass that whatsoever thing Jehovah shall answer you, I will declare it unto you: I will keep nothing back from you.

And they said to Jeremiah, Jehovah be a true and faithful witness amongst us, if we do not even according to all the word for which Jehovah thy God shall send thee to us.

and said unto them, Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel, to whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him:

Jehovah hath said concerning you, the remnant of Judah, Go ye not into Egypt. Know certainly that I have admonished you this day.

And Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people that had given him that answer, saying,

And Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear ye the word of Jehovah, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt.

He made many to stumble, yea, one fell upon another; and they said, Arise, and let us return to our own people and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword.

And the waster shall come upon every city, that not a city shall escape; and the valley shall perish, and the plateau shall be destroyed: as Jehovah hath said.

All that found them devoured them, and their adversaries said, We are not guilty, because they have sinned against Jehovah, the habitation of righteousness, even Jehovah, the hope of their fathers.

And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, see that thou read all these words;