'Before I form thee in the belly, I have known thee; and before thou comest forth from the womb I have separated thee, a prophet to nations I have made thee.'

And Jehovah saith unto me, 'Do not say, I am a youth, for to all to whom I send thee thou goest, and all that I command thee thou speakest.

Be not afraid of their faces, for with thee am I to deliver thee, -- an affirmation of Jehovah.'

See, I have charged thee this day concerning the nations, and concerning the kingdoms, to pluck up, and to break down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.'

'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.

And I, lo, I have given thee this day for a fenced city, and for an iron pillar, and for brazen walls over all the land, to the kings of Judah, to its heads, to its priests, and to the people of the land;

and they have fought against thee, and they prevail not against thee; for with thee am I, -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- to deliver thee.

'Go, and thou hast called in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus said Jehovah: I have remembered for thee The kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, Thy going after Me in a wilderness, in a land not sown.

Also sons of Noph and Tahapanes Consume thee -- the crown of the head!

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

And now, what -- to thee in the way of Egypt, To drink the waters of Sihor? And what -- to thee in the way of Asshur, To drink the waters of the River?

Instruct thee doth thy wickedness, And thy backslidings reprove thee, Know and see that an evil and a bitter thing Is thy forsaking Jehovah thy God, And My fear not being on thee, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah of Hosts.

And I planted thee a choice vine, wholly a true seed, And how hast thou been turned to Me, To the degenerate shoots of a strange vine?

And where are thy gods, that thou hast made to thyself? Let them arise, if they may save thee, In the time of thy vexation, For -- the number of thy cities have been thy gods, O Judah,

O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah: A wilderness have I been to Israel? A land of thick darkness? Wherefore have My people said, 'We mourned, We come not in again unto Thee.'

And thou sayest, 'Because I have been innocent, Surely turned back hath His anger from me?' Lo, I have been judged with thee, Because of thy saying, 'I have not sinned.'

And I have said, How do I put thee among the sons, And give to thee a desirable land, A beauteous inheritance of the hosts of nations, And I say, My father -- ye do call to Me, And from after Me ye do not turn back.

Turn back, O backsliding sons, I cause your backslidings to cease. -- Behold us, we have come to Thee, For Thou art Jehovah our God.

Thy way and thy doings have done these to thee, This is thy vexation, for it is bitter, For it hath struck unto thy heart.

And thou, O spoiled one, what dost thou? For thou puttest on scarlet, For thou adornest thyself with ornaments of gold. For thou rendest with pain thine eyes, In vain thou dost make thyself fair, Kicked against thee have doting ones, Thy life they do seek.

For this I am not propitious to thee, Thy sons have forsaken Me, And are satisfied by that which is not god, I satisfy them, and they commit adultery, And at the house of a harlot They gather themselves together.

Be instructed, O Jerusalem, Lest My soul be alienated from thee, Lest I make thee a desolation, a land not inhabited.

Bow and javelin they take hold of, Fierce it is, and they have no mercy, Their voice as a sea doth sound, And on horses they ride, set in array as a man of war, Against thee, O daughter of Zion.

O daughter of My people, Gird on sackcloth, and roll thyself in ashes, The mourning of an only one make for thee, A lamentation most bitter, For suddenly come doth the spoiler against us.

A watch-tower I have given thee, Among My people a fortress, And thou knowest, and hast tried their way.

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.

And thou hast spoken unto them all these words, And they do not hearken to thee, And thou hast called unto them, And they do not answer thee.

Because there is none like Thee, O Jehovah, Great art Thou, and great Thy name in might.

Who doth not fear Thee, king of the nations? For to Thee it is becoming, For among all the wise of the nations, And in all their kingdom there is none like Thee.

Pour out Thy fury on the nations that have not known Thee, And on the families that have not called in Thy name, For they have eaten up Jacob, Yea, they have eaten him up, yea, they consume him, And his habitation they have made desolate!

What -- to My beloved in My house, Her doing wickedness with many, And the holy flesh do pass over from thee? When thou dost evil, then thou exultest.

And Jehovah of Hosts, who is planting thee, Hath spoken evil concerning thee, For the evil of the house of Israel, and of the house of Judah, That they have done to themselves, To provoke Me to anger, to make perfume to Baal.

And O Jehovah of Hosts, judging righteousness, Trying reins and heart, I do see Thy vengeance against them, For unto Thee I have revealed my cause.'

Righteous art Thou, O Jehovah, When I plead towards thee, Only, judgments do I speak with Thee, Wherefore did the way of the wicked prosper? At rest have been all treacherous dealers.

And Thou, O Jehovah, Thou hast known me, Thou seest me, and hast tried my heart with Thee, Draw them away as sheep to slaughter, And separate them for a 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!

For even thy brethren and the house of thy father, Even they dealt treacherously against thee, Even they -- they called after thee fully, Trust not in them, when they speak to thee good things.

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:'

And it cometh to pass, at the end of many days, that Jehovah saith unto me, 'Rise, go to Phrat, and take thence the girdle, that I commanded thee to hide there;'

And thou hast said unto them this word, Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, 'Every bottle is full of wine,' And they have said unto thee: 'Do we not certainly know that every bottle is full of wine?'

Lift up your eyes, and see those coming in from the north, Where is the drove given to thee, thy beautiful flock?

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?

Thine adulteries, and thy neighings, The wickedness of thy whoredom, on heights in a field, I have seen thine abominations. Woe to thee, O Jerusalem, Thou art not cleansed, after when is it again?

Surely our iniquities have testified against us, O Jehovah, work for Thy name's sake, For many have been our backslidings, Against Thee we have sinned.

We have known, O Jehovah, our wickedness, The iniquity of our fathers, For we have sinned against Thee.

Are there among the vanities of the nations any causing rain? And do the heavens give showers? Art not Thou He, O Jehovah our God? And we wait for thee, for Thou -- Thou hast done all these!

And it hath come to pass, when they say to thee, Whither do we go out? that thou hast said unto them, Thus said Jehovah: Those who are for death -- to death, And those who are for the sword, to the sword, And those who are for famine, to famine, And those who are for captivity, to captivity.

For who hath pity on thee, O Jerusalem? And who doth bemoan for thee? And who turneth aside to ask of thy welfare?

Thou -- thou hast left Me -- an affirmation of Jehovah, Backward thou goest, And I stretch out My hand against thee, And I destroy thee, I have been weary of repenting,

Jehovah said, Did I not direct thee for good? Did not I intercede for thee in a time of evil, And in a time of adversity, with the enemy?

Thou, Thou hast known, O Jehovah, Remember me, and inspect me, And take vengeance for me of my pursuers, In Thy long-suffering take me not away, Know -- I have borne for Thee reproach.

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.

And I have made thee to this people For a wall -- brazen -- fenced, And they have fought against thee, And they do not prevail against thee, For with thee am I to save thee, And to deliver thee -- an affirmation of Jehovah,

And I have delivered thee from the hand of evil doers, And I have ransomed thee From the hand of the terrible!

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

And it hath come to pass when thou declarest to this people all these words, and they have said unto thee, 'For what hath Jehovah spoken against us all this great evil? yea, what is our iniquity, and what our sin, that we have sinned against Jehovah our God?'

O Jehovah, my strength, and my fortress, And my refuge in a day of adversity, Unto Thee nations do come from the ends of earth, And say, Only falsehood did our fathers inherit, Vanity, and none among them is profitable.

And thou hast let go -- even through thyself, Of thine inheritance that I gave to thee, And I have caused thee to serve thine enemies, In a land that thou hast not known, For a fire ye have kindled in Mine anger, Unto the age it doth burn.

The hope of Israel is Jehovah, All forsaking Thee are ashamed, And 'My apostates' in the earth are written, For they have forsaken Jehovah, A fountain of living waters.

And I hastened not from feeding after Thee, And the desperate day I have not desired, Thou -- Thou hast known, The produce of my lips, before Thy face it hath been,

Rise, and thou hast gone down to the potter's house, and there I cause thee to hear My words;

And now, speak, I pray thee, unto men of Judah, And against inhabitants of Jerusalem, Saying: Thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am framing against you evil, And devising against you a device, Turn back, I pray you, each from his evil way And amen your ways and your doings.

Is evil recompensed instead of good, That they have dug a pit for my soul? Remember my standing before Thee to speak good of them, To turn back Thy wrath from 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 hast gone forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, that is at the opening of the gate of the pottery, and hast proclaimed there the words that I speak unto thee,

'And thou hast broken the bottle before the eyes of the men who are going with thee,

For thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am making thee for a fear to thyself, And to all loving thee, And they have fallen by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes are beholding, And all Judah I give into the hand of the king of Babylon, And he hath removed them to Babylon, And he hath smitten them with the sword.

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.'

And, O Jehovah of Hosts, trier of the righteous, Beholder of reins and heart, I do see Thy vengeance out of them, For unto Thee I have revealed my cause.

Cursed is the man who bore tidings to my father, saying, 'Born to thee hath been a child -- a male,' Making him very glad!

'Inquire, we pray thee, for us at Jehovah, for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath fought against us; perhaps Jehovah doth deal with us according to all His wonders, and doth cause him to go up from off us.'

Lo, I am against thee -- an affirmation of Jehovah, O inhabitant of the valley, rock of the plain, Who are saying, Who cometh down against us? And who cometh into our habitations?

For thus said Jehovah, Concerning the house of the king of Judah: Gilead art thou to Me -- head of Lebanon, If not -- I make thee a wilderness, Cities not inhabited.

And I have separated for thee destroyers, Each with his weapons, And they have cut down the choice of thy cedars, And have cast them on the fire.

Go up to Lebanon, and cry, And in Bashan give forth thy voice, And cry from Abarim, For destroyed have been all loving thee.

I have spoken unto thee in thine ease, Thou hast said, 'I do not hearken,' This is thy way from thy youth, For thou hast not hearkened to My voice.

O dweller in Lebanon, making a nest among cedars, How gracious hast thou been when pangs come to thee, Pain -- as of a travailing woman.

I live -- an affirmation of Jehovah, Though Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah Were a seal on My right hand, Surely thence I draw thee away,

And I have given thee into the hand of those seeking thy life, And into hands of which thou art afraid, Into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, And into the hand of the Chaldeans.

And I have cast thee, And thy mother who bore thee, unto another country, Where ye were not born, and there do ye die.

And when this people, or the prophet, Or a priest, doth ask thee, saying, What is the burden of Jehovah? Then thou hast said unto them: Ye are the burden, and I have left you, An affirmation of Jehovah.

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

'For thus said Jehovah God of Israel unto me, Take the wine cup of this fury out of My hand, and thou hast caused all the nations to drink it unto whom I am sending thee;

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.

'Thus said Jehovah unto me, Make to thee bands and yokes,

'Only, hear, I pray thee, this word that I am speaking in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people.

The prophets who have been before me, and before thee, from of old, even they prophesy concerning many lands, and concerning great kingdoms, of battle, and of evil, and of pestilence.

And Jeremiah the prophet saith unto Hananiah the prophet, 'Hear, I pray thee, O Hananiah; Jehovah hath not sent thee, and thou hast caused this people to trust on falsehood.

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 taken from them hath been a reviling by all the removed of Judah that are in Babylon, saying, Jehovah doth set thee as Zedekiah, and as Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted with fire;

Jehovah hath made thee priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, for there being inspectors of the house of Jehovah, for every one mad and making himself a prophet, and thou hast put him unto the torture and unto the stocks.

'Thus spake Jehovah, God of Israel, saying, Write for thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee on a book.

And thou, be not afraid, My servant Jacob, An affirmation of Jehovah, Nor be affrighted, 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 rested, And is quiet, and there is none troubling.

For with thee am I, An affirmation of Jehovah -- to save thee, For I make an end of all the nations Whither I have scattered thee, Only, of thee I do not make an end, And I have chastised thee in judgment, And do not entirely acquit thee.

There is none judging thy cause to bind up, Healing medicines there are none for thee.

all loving thee have forgotten thee, Thee they do not seek, For with the stroke of an enemy I smote thee, The chastisement of a fierce one, Because of the abundance of thy iniquity, Mighty have been thy sins!

What! -- thou criest concerning thy breach! Incurable is thy pain, Because of the abundance of thy iniquity, Mighty have been thy sins! I have done these to thee.

Therefore all consuming thee are consumed, And all thine adversaries -- all of them -- Into captivity do go, And thy spoilers have been for a spoil, And all thy plunderers I give up to plunder.

For I increase health to thee, And from thy strokes I do heal thee, An affirmation of Jehovah, For 'Outcast' they have called to thee, 'Zion it is, there is none seeking for her.'

From afar Jehovah hath appeared to me, With love age-during I have loved thee, Therefore I have drawn thee with kindness.