These are the Sermons of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah the Priest, one of them that dwelt at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:

"But you, Jeremiah, get yourself ready! Go and tell these people everything I instruct you to say. Do not be terrified of them, or I will give you good reason to be terrified of them.

These are the words of the Lord: What evil have your fathers seen in me that they have gone far from me, and, walking after what is false, have become false?

“Also on your skirts is found
The lifeblood of the innocent poor;
You did not find them breaking in [a house].
But in spite of all these things [your disobedience, your love of idolatry, your lack of compassion]—

Will he be angry for ever? will he keep his wrath to the end? These things you have said, and have done evil and have had your way.

I thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous (faithless) sister Judah saw it.

Go and proclaim these words toward the north [where the ten tribes have been taken as captives] and say,

‘Return, faithless Israel,’ says the Lord;
‘I will not look on you in anger.
For I am gracious and merciful,’ says the Lord;
‘I will not be angry forever.

a full wind from these shall come for me: now will I also utter judgments against them.

“Your ways and your deeds
Have brought these things on you.
This is your tragedy and doom; how bitter,
How it has touched your heart!”

In fact, I hear a cry like that of a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like that of a woman giving birth to her first baby. It is the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath, reaching out for help, saying, "I am done in! My life is ebbing away before these murderers!"

These people make promises in the name of the Lord. But the fact is, what they swear to is really a lie."

Lord, I know you look for faithfulness. But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected. They have become as hardheaded as a rock. They refuse to change their ways.

Then I said, “[Surely] these are only the poor (uneducated);
They are [sinfully] foolish and have no [spiritual] understanding,
For they do not know the way of the Lord
Or the ordinance of their God [and the requirements of His just and righteous law].

“I will go to the great [men]
And speak to them,
For they [must] know the way of the Lord,
The ordinance of their God.”
But [I found the reverse to be true, that] they too had all alike broken the yoke [of God’s law]
And had burst the bonds [of obedience to Him].

“Shall I not punish them [for these things]?” says the Lord;
“Shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?”

The Lord commanded the enemy, "March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah and ruin them. But do not destroy them completely. Strip off their branches for these people do not belong to the Lord.

"These people have denied what the Lord says. They have said, 'That is not so! No harm will come to us. We will not experience war and famine.

Therefore, this is what the LORD God of the Heavenly Armies says: "Because you people have said this, my words in your mouth will become a fire and these people the wood. The fire will destroy them.

It will come about when your people say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘As you have abandoned (rejected) Me,’ [says the Lord,] ‘and have served strange and foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’

‘But this people has a stubborn heart and a rebellious will [that draws them away from Me];
They have turned away and have gone [into idolatry].

‘Your wickedness has turned these [blessings] away,
And your sins have withheld good [harvests] from you.

‘Shall I not punish them [for these things]?’ says the Lord.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself
On such a nation as this?’

So the Lord said, "Hear, you nations! Be witnesses and take note of what will happen to these people.

Hear this, you peoples of the earth: 'Take note! I am about to bring disaster on these people. It will come as punishment for their scheming. For they have paid no attention to what I have said, and they have rejected my law.

So, this is what the Lord says: 'I will assuredly make these people stumble to their doom. Parents and children will stumble and fall to their destruction. Friends and neighbors will die.'

These are the words that God spake unto Jeremiah:

“Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house and proclaim there this word and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who enter by these gates to worship the Lord.’”

Put no faith in false words, saying, The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, are these.

If you stop doing these things, I will allow you to continue to live in this land which I gave to your ancestors as a lasting possession.

and [then dare to] come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My Name, and say, ‘We are protected and set free [by this act of religious ritual]!’—only to go on with this wickedness and these disgusting and loathsome things?

What? Think you this house that beareth my name, is a den of thieves? And these things are not done privily, but before mine eyes, sayeth the LORD.

And now, because you have done all these things,” says the Lord, “and I spoke [persistently] to you, even rising up early and speaking, but you did not listen, and I called you but you did not answer,

Then the Lord said, "As for you, Jeremiah, do not pray for these people! Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf! Do not plead with me to save them, because I will not listen to you.

These are the words of the Lord of armies, the God of Israel: Put your burned offerings with your offerings of beasts, and take flesh for your food.

“You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall [also] call to them, but they will not answer you.

So tell them: 'This is a nation that has not obeyed the Lord their God and has not accepted correction. Faithfulness is nowhere to be found in it. These people do not even profess it anymore.

The dead bodies of these people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the land, and no one will disturb them.

They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon and the stars. These are things they adored and served, things to which they paid allegiance, from which they sought guidance, and worshiped. The bones of these people will never be regathered and reburied. They will be like manure used to fertilize the ground.

However, I will leave some of these wicked people alive and banish them to other places. But wherever these people who survive may go, they will wish they had died rather than lived," says the Lord who rules over all.

Why do these people of Jerusalem go back, for ever turning away? they will not give up their deceit, they will not come back.

I will, surely remove, them, declareth Yahweh: There shall be no grapes on the vine Nor figs on the fig-tree, Even the leaf, hath faded, Though I have given them these things, they shall pass away from them.

The Lord says, "These people are like soldiers who have readied their bows. Their tongues are always ready to shoot out lies. They have become powerful in the land, but they have not done so by honest means. Indeed, they do one evil thing after another and do not pay attention to me.

One friend deceives another and no one tells the truth. These people have trained themselves to tell lies. They do wrong and are unable to repent.

“Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord.
“Shall I not avenge Myself
On such a nation as this?

The Lord answered, "This has happened because these people have rejected my laws which I gave them. They have not obeyed me or followed those laws.

Therefore, this is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies, the God of Israel, says: "Look, I'll make these people eat wormwood and drink poisoned water.

but let the one who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me [and acknowledges Me and honors Me as God and recognizes without any doubt], that I am the Lord who practices lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on the earth, for in these things I delight,” says the Lord.

Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those who live in the desert who clip off the hair on their temples; for all these nations are uncircumcised (sinful, impure), and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.”

For the religion of these people is worthless. They cut down a tree in the forest, and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools.

Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the heavens.

All these idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols.

The Portion of Jacob [the true God on whom Israel has a claim] is not like these;
For He is the Designer and Maker of all things,
And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance [and He will not fail them]—
The Lord of hosts is His name.

And the Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Hear the words of this [solemn] covenant and do them.

And the LORD said unto me, "It is found out, that whole Israel and all these citizens of Jerusalem are gone back.

They have turned themselves to the blasphemies of their forefathers, which had no lust to hear my word. Even likewise have these also followed strange gods, and worshiped them. The houses of Israel and Judah have broken my covenant, which I made with their fathers.

Judah, you have as many gods as you have towns, and you have set up as many altars to the shameful idols as there are streets in Jerusalem. You burn incense to Baal on these altars.

So, Jeremiah, do not pray for these people. Do not cry out to me or petition me on their behalf. Do not plead with me to save them. For I will not listen to them when they call out to me for help when disaster strikes them."

“What right has My beloved [to be] in My house
When she has done many vile things and acted treacherously [over and over again]?
Can vows and the meat of your sacrifices remove your wickedness from you and cancel the consequences of your sin,
So that you can [escape your judgment and] rejoice?”

But You, O Lord, know me [and understand my devotion to You];
You see me;
And You examine the attitude of my heart toward You.
Drag out the faithless like sheep for the slaughter [O Lord]
And set them apart for the day of slaughter.

How long must the land be parched and the grass in every field be withered? How long must the animals and the birds die because of the wickedness of the people who live in this land? For these people boast, "God will not see what happens to us."

The people I call my own attack me like birds of prey or like hyenas. But other birds of prey are all around them. Let all the nations gather together like wild beasts. Let them come and destroy these people I call my own.

But they must make sure you learn to follow the religious practices of my people. Once they taught my people to swear their oaths using the name of the god Baal. But then, they must swear oaths using my name, saying, "As surely as the Lord lives, I swear." If they do these things, then they will be included among the people I call my own.

These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said. They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance to other gods by worshiping and serving them. So they will become just like these linen shorts which are good for nothing.

Give ear and let your ears be open; be not lifted up: for these are the words of the Lord.

You will probably ask yourself, 'Why have these things happened to me? Why have I been treated like a disgraced adulteress whose skirt has been torn off and her limbs exposed?' It is because you have sinned so much.

Then the Lord spoke about these people. "They truly love to go astray. They cannot keep from running away from me. So I am not pleased with them. I will now call to mind the wrongs they have done and punish them for their sins."

Then the Lord said to me, "Do not pray for good to come to these people!

Then the Lord said to me, "Those prophets are prophesying lies while claiming my authority! I did not send them. I did not commission them. I did not speak to them. They are prophesying to these people false visions, worthless predictions, and the delusions of their own mind.

Therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh concerning the prophets who are prophesying in my Name though, I, sent them not, and yet, they have beer, saying, Neither sword nor famine, shall there be in this land, - By sword or by famine, shall these prophets be consumed;

"Tell these people this, Jeremiah: 'My eyes overflow with tears day and night without ceasing. For my people, my dear children, have suffered a crushing blow. They have suffered a serious wound.

Are there any among the idols of the nations who can send rain?
Or can the heavens [of their own will] give showers?
Is it not You, O Lord our God?
Therefore we will wait and hope [confidently] in You,
For You are the one who has made all these things [the heavens and the rain].

Then the Lord said to me, "Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me pleading for these people, I would not feel pity for them! Get them away from me! Tell them to go away!

I said, "Oh, mother, how I regret that you ever gave birth to me! I am always starting arguments and quarrels with the people of this land. I have not lent money to anyone and I have not borrowed from anyone. Yet all of these people are treating me with contempt."

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:

I will make you as strong as a wall to these people, a fortified wall of bronze. They will attack you, but they will not be able to overcome you. For I will be with you to rescue you and deliver you," says the Lord.

“For this is what the Lord says: Don’t enter a house where a mourning feast is taking place. Don’t go to lament or sympathize with them, for I have removed My peace from these people”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“as well as My faithful love and compassion.

"When you tell these people about all this, they will undoubtedly ask you, 'Why has the Lord threatened us with such great disaster? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done to offend the Lord our God?'

But for now I, the Lord, say: "I will send many enemies who will catch these people like fishermen. After that I will send others who will hunt them out like hunters from all the mountains, all the hills, and the crevices in the rocks.

Jehovah, my strength and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of distress, unto thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and they shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited falsehood and vanity; and in these things there is no profit.

Behold, these say unto me, Where is the word of Jehovah? let it then come!

As you stand in those places announce, 'Listen, all you people who pass through these gates. Listen, all you kings of Judah, all you people of Judah and all you citizens of Jerusalem. Listen to what the Lord says.

If you do this, then the kings and princes who follow in David's succession and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to enter through these gates, as well as their officials and the people of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem. This city will always be filled with people.

Therefore, Thus saith Yahweh, Ask I pray you among the nations, - Who hath heard such things as these? A very horrible thing, hath, the virgin, Israel done!

I will do so because these people have rejected me and have defiled this place. They have offered sacrifices in it to other gods which neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah knew anything about. They have filled it with the blood of innocent children.

and you are to proclaim to them: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: I will shatter these people and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again be mended. They will bury the dead in Topheth because there is no other place for burials.

Now Pashhur son of Immer heard Jeremiah prophesy these things. He was the priest who was chief of security in the Lord's temple.

These are the words that the LORD spake unto Jeremiah, what time as king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashhur the son of Malchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, priest, saying,

Thus said the LORD also, "Go down in to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there these words,

‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David—you and your servants and your people who enter by these gates.

If you are careful to obey these commands, then the kings who follow in David's succession and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to come through the gates of this palace, as will their officials and their subjects.

But, if you do not obey these commands, I solemnly swear that this palace will become a pile of rubble. I, the Lord, affirm it!"

Therefore, this is what the LORD says about Josiah's son Jehoiakim, king of Judah, "They won't lament for him with these words: "How terrible, my brother, How terrible, my sister!' They won't lament for him with these words: "How terrible, lord, How terrible, your majesty!'

For of adulterers hath the land been full, For because of these hath the land mourned, Dried up hath been the pleasant places of the wilderness, And their course is evil, and their might -- not right.

I have seen also among the Prophets of Jerusalem foul adultery, and presumptuous lies. They take the most shameful men by the hand, flattering them, so that they cannot return from their wickedness. All these with their citizens are, unto me, as Sodom and as the inhabiters of Gomorrah."

So then I, the Lord who rules over all, have something to say concerning the prophets of Jerusalem: 'I will make these prophets eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment. For the prophets of Jerusalem are the reason that ungodliness has spread throughout the land.'"

“I did not send [these counterfeit] prophets,
Yet they ran;
I did not speak to them,
Yet they prophesied.

How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart,

Therefore behold (hear this), I am against the [counterfeit] prophets,” says the Lord, “[I am descending on them with punishment, these prophets] who steal My words from one another [imitating the words of the true prophets].

I, the Lord, affirm that I am opposed to those prophets who dream up lies and report them. They are misleading my people with their reckless lies. I did not send them. I did not commission them. They are not helping these people at all. I, the Lord, affirm it!"

The Lord said to me, "Jeremiah, when one of these people, or a prophet, or a priest asks you, 'What burdensome message do you have from the Lord?' Tell them, 'You are the burden, and I will cast you away. I, the Lord, affirm it!