Thus sayeth the LORD unto you, "What unfaithfulness found your fathers in me, that they went so far away from me, falling to lightness, and being so vain?

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.'

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."

Commonly, when a man putteth away his wife, and she goeth from him, and marrieth with another, then the question is: should he resort unto her any more after that? Is not this field then defiled and unclean? But as for thee, thou hast played the harlot with many lovers, yet turn again to me, sayeth the LORD.

Else wouldst thou say unto me, 'O my father, thou art he that hast brought me up, and led me from my youth:

Wilt thou then put me away and cast me off for ever? Or wilt thou withdraw thyself clean from me?' Nevertheless, thou speakest such words, but thou art ever doing worse and worse."

and therefore go preach these words toward the north, and say, 'Thou shrinking Israel, turn again, sayeth the LORD; and I will not turn my face from you, for I am merciful, sayeth the LORD. And I will not always bear displeasure against thee:

O ye shrinking children, turn again, sayeth the LORD: and I will be married with you. For I will take one out of the city, and two out of one generation from among you, and bring you out of Zion:

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.

Then shall Jerusalem be called the LORD's seat, and all Heathen shall be gathered unto it, for the name of the LORD's sake, which shall be set up at Jerusalem. And from that time forth, they shall follow no more the imagination of their own froward heart.

"'I have showed also, how I took thee up being but a child, and gave thee a pleasant land for thine heritage; yea, and a goodly Host of the Heathen: and how I commanded thee, that thou shouldest call me Father only, and not to shrink from me.

Confusion hath devoured our fathers' labour from our youth up: yea, their sheep and bullocks, their sons and daughters.

So do we also sleep in our confusion, and shame covereth us: for we and our fathers from our youth up unto this day have sinned against the LORD our God, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God."

Set up the token in Zion, speed you, and make no tarrying: for I will bring a great plague, and a great destruction from the north.

For the spoiler of the Gentiles is broken up from his place, as a lion out of his den, that he may make the land waste, and destroy the cities, so that no man may dwell therein.

Wherefore gird yourselves about with sackcloth, mourn, and weep, for the fearful wrath of the LORD shall not be withdrawn from you."

O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be helped. How long shall thy noisesome thoughts remain with thee?

For a voice from Dan and from the hill of Ephraim speaketh out, and telleth of a destruction.

Behold, the Heathen give Jerusalem warning, and preach unto her, that her destroyers are coming from far countries. They tell the cities of Judah the same also.

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."

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.

But this people hath a false and an obstinate heart, they are departed and gone away from me.

"Nevertheless, your misdeeds have turned these from you, and your sins have robbed you hereof.

hereof are they fat and wealthy, and are run away from me with shameful blasphemies. They minister not the law, they make no end of the fatherless cause, they judge not the poor according to equity.

Come out of Jerusalem, ye strong children of Benjamin! Blow up the trumpets ye Tekoites, set up a token unto Bethhaccherem; for a plague and a great misery peepeth out from the North.

Amend thee, O Jerusalem, lest I withdraw my heart from thee, and make thee desolate: and thy land also, that no man dwell in it."

"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.

Wherefore bring ye me incense from Sheba, and sweet smelling Calamus from far countries? Your burnt offerings displease me, and I rejoice not in your sacrifices.

And therefore thus sayeth the LORD, 'Behold, I will make this people fall, and there shall fall from among them the father with the children; one neighbour shall perish with another.'"

Moreover, thus sayeth the LORD, "Behold, there shall come a people from the North, and a great people shall arise from the ends of the earth;

The bellows are burnt in the fire, the lead is consumed, the melter melteth in vain, for the evil is not taken away from them.

And this have they done, from the time that your fathers came out of Egypt, unto this day. Nevertheless, I sent unto them my servants, all the prophets. I rose up early and sent them word,

Wherefore, I will give their wives unto aliens, and their fields to destroyers. For from the lowest to the highest, they follow all filthy lucre: and from the Prophet unto the priest, they deal all with lies.

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."

"Then shall the noise of his horses be heard from Dan; the whole land shall be afraid at the neigh of his strong horses. For they shall go in, and devour the land, with all that is in it: the cities, and those that dwell therein.

for lo, the voice of the crying of my people is heard from a far country: "Is not the LORD in Zion? Is not the king in her?" "Wherefore then have they grieved me," shall the LORD say, "with their images and foolish strange fashions?"

Would God that I had a cottage somewhere far from folk, that I might leave my people, and go from them: for they be all adulterers and a shrinking sort.

They bend their tongues like bows, to shoot out lies: As for the truth, they may nothing away with all in the world. For they go from one wickedness to another, and hold nothing of me, sayeth the LORD.

Yea, one must keep himself from another; no man may safely trust his own brother. For one brother undermineth another, and one neighbour begileth another.

"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.

namely, wood; silver, which is brought out of Tarshish, and beaten to plates; and gold from Ophir, a work that is made with the hand of the craftsman and the caster, clothed with yellow silk and scarlet: even so is the work of their wise men altogether.

As for their gods, it may well be said of them, "They are gods, that made neither heaven nor earth: therefore shall they perish from the earth, and from all things under heaven."

At his voice the waters gather together in the air; he draweth up the clouds from the utmost parts of the earth: he turneth lightning to rain, and bringeth forth the winds out of their treasures.

My tabernacle is destroyed, and all my cords are broken. My children are gone from me, and can nowhere be found. Now have I none to spread out my tent, or to set up my hangings.

which I commanded unto your fathers; what time as I brought them out of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Be obedient unto my voice, and do according to all that I commanded you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God,

The destroyers come over the heath every way, for the sword of the LORD shall consume from the one end of the land to the other, and no flesh shall have rest.

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 it happened, long after this, that the LORD spake unto me, "Up, and get thee to Euphrates, and fetch the breech from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there."

Then went I to Euphrates, and digged up, and took the breech from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the breech was corrupt, so that it was profitable for nothing.

Honour the LORD your God herein, or he take his light from you, and before your feet stumble in darkness at the hill: lest when ye look for the light, he turn it into the shadow and darkness of death.

But if ye will not hear me, that give you secret warning, I will mourn from my whole heart for your stubbornness. Piteously will I weep, and the tears shall gush out of mine eyes. For the LORD's flock shall be carried away captive.

Tell the king and the rulers, "Humble yourselves, set you down low, for the crown of your glory shall fall from your head."

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

seeing thou goest from me and turnest backward? Sayeth the LORD: Therefore I will stretch out mine hand against thee, to destroy thee, and I will not be entreated.

I will scatter thee abroad with the fan on every side of the land: I will waste my people and destroy them, for they have had no lust to turn from their own ways.

Doth one iron hurt another, or one metal that cometh from the North, another?

"O LORD," said I then, "thou knowest all things. Therefore remember me, and visit me, deliver me from my persecutors: Receive not my cause in thy long wrath; yet thou knowest, that for thy sake I suffer rebuke.

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:

Again, thus sayeth the LORD: Go not unto them that come together for to mourn and weep: for I have taken my peace from this people, sayeth the LORD; yea, my favour and my mercy.

But it shall be said, 'The LORD liveth, that brought the children of Israel from the North, and from all lands where I had scattered them.' For I will bring them again into the land that I gave unto their fathers.

Behold, sayeth the LORD, I will send out many fishers to take them, and after that will I send out many hunters to hunt them out, from all mountains and hills and out of the caves of stones.

For mine eyes behold all their ways, and they cannot be hid from my face; neither can their wicked deeds be kept close out of my sight.

O LORD, my strength, my power, and refuge in time of trouble! The Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the world, and say, "Verily our fathers have cleaved unto lies, their Idols are but vain and unprofitable.

Ye shall be cast out also from the heritage, that I gave you. And I will subdue you under the heavy bondage of your enemies, in a land that ye know not. For ye have ministered fire to my indignation, which shall burn evermore."

Thus sayeth the LORD, "Cursed be the man that putteth his trust in man, and that taketh flesh for his arm: and he, whose heart departeth from the LORD.

Thou art the comfort of Israel. All that forsake thee, shall be ashamed. And they that depart from thee shall be written in the earth. For they have lost the LORD that is the fountain of the water of life.

There shall come men also from the cities of Judah; from about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin; from the plain fields; from the mountains and from the wilderness; which shall bring burnt offerings, sacrifices, oblations, and incense, and offer up thanksgiving in the house of the LORD.

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.

Do they not recompense evil for good, when they dig a pit for my soul? Remember, how that I stood before thee, to speak for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.

And so Jeremiah came from Tophet, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court of the house of the LORD, and spake to all the people:

Wherefore, I thought from henceforth not to speak of him, nor to preach anymore in his name. But the word of the LORD was a very burning fire in my heart and in my bones, which when I would have stopped, I might not.

Sing unto the LORD, and praise him, for he hath delivered the soul of the oppressed, from the hand of the violent.

"Ask counsel at the LORD, we Pray thee, of our behalf, for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon beseigeth us: if the LORD peradventure will deal with us, according to his marvelous power, and take him from us."

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.'

O house of David, for thus sayeth the LORD: Minister righteousness, and that soon. Deliver the oppressed from violent power: before my terrible wrath break out like a fire, and burn so that no man may quench it, because of the wickedness of your imaginations.

Thus the LORD commandeth: Keep equity and righteousness, deliver the oppressed from the power of the violent: do not grieve nor oppress the stranger, the fatherless nor the widow, and shed no innocent blood in this place.

Yea when he helped the oppressed and poor to their right, then prospered he well. From whence came this? But only because he had me before his eyes, sayeth the LORD.

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.

I gave thee warning, while thou wast yet in prosperity. But thou saidst, 'I will not hear.' And this manner hast thou used from thy youth, that thou wouldest never hear my voice.

And will gather together the remnant of my flock, from all lands that I had driven them unto, and will bring them again to their pastures, that they may grow and increase.

But, 'The LORD liveth, which brought forth, and led the seed of the house of Israel, out of the North land, and from all countries where I had scattered them.' And they shall dwell in their own land again."

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."

Therefore thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts concerning the prophets, "Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall. For from the prophets of Jerusalem is the sickness of hypocrisy come into all the land."

But if they had continued in my counsel and heard my words: they had turned my people from their evil ways and wicked imaginations.

"Therefore, thus sayeth the LORD: behold, I will upon the prophets, that steal my word privily from every man.

If this people, either any prophet or priest ask thee, and say, 'What is the burden of the LORD?' Thou shalt say unto them, 'What burden? I will cast you from me, sayeth the LORD, because ye yourselves are a burden.'

"From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, unto this present day, that is even the twenty third year, the word of the LORD hath been committed unto me. And so I have spoken to you. I have risen up early, I have given you warning in season, but ye would not hear me.

He said, 'Turn again every man from his evil way, and from your wicked imaginations, and so shall ye dwell forever in the land that the LORD promised you and your forefathers:

Moreover, I will take from them the voice of gladness and solace, the voice of the bridegroom and the bride, the voice of the anointed, with the cressets:

"For thus hath the LORD God of Israel spoken unto me, 'Take this wine cup of indignation from my hand, that thou mayest cause all the people, to whom I send thee, for to drink of it:

Then took I the cup from the LORD's hand, and made all the people drink thereof, unto whom the LORD had sent me.

"'Therefore tell them all these words, and say unto them: The LORD shall cry from above, and let his voice be heard from his holy habitation. With a great noise shall he cry from his regal court. He shall give a great voice, like the grape gatherers, and the sound thereof shall be heard unto the ends of the world.

For thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts: Behold, a miserable plague shall go from one people to another, and a great stormy water shall arise from all the ends of the earth.

And the same day shall the LORD himself slay them, from one end of the earth to another. There shall no moan be made for any of them, none gathered up, none buried: but shall lie as dung upon the ground.

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, came this word from the LORD, saying,

if peradventure they will hearken, and turn every man from his wicked way: that I may also repent of the plague, which I have determined to bring upon them, because of their wicked inventions.

In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, which spake thus unto me,

For they preach you lies, to bring you far from your land, and that I might cast you out, and destroy you.

I spake to the Priests also, and to all the people, "Thus sayeth the LORD: Hear not the words of those Prophets, that preach unto you, and say, 'Behold, the vessels of the LORD's house shall shortly be brought hither again from Babylon.' For they prophesy lies unto you.