For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land.

They thought not in their hearts, 'Where have we left the LORD, that brought us out of the land of Egypt? That led us through the wilderness; through a desert and rough land; through a dry and deadly land; yea a land that no man had gone through, and wherein no man had dwelt?'

Has a nation ever changed gods when they aren't even gods? But my people have exchanged their glory for that which does not profit.

And I saw that when for all the causes wherein backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce, yet the treacherous Judah, her sister, feared not, but went and committed fornication also.

“Warn the [neighboring] nations now [that our enemy is coming]!
Announce to Jerusalem,
‘Besiegers are coming from a far country,
And they lift their voices and shout against the cities of Judah.

Why should I forgive you? Your sons have forsaken me, and you have sworn by those who aren't gods. When I gave them enough food to satisfy them, they committed adultery and marched to the prostitute's house.

"Go through her rows of vines and destroy them, but don't completely destroy them. Strip away her branches, because they aren't the LORD's.

And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.

But unto whom shall I speak, whom shall I warn, that he may take heed? Their ears are so uncircumcised, that they may not hear. Behold, they take the word of God but for a scorn, and have no lust thereto.

Were they ashamed when they acted so abhorrently?
They weren’t at all ashamed.
They can no longer feel humiliation.
Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.
When I punish them, they will collapse,
says the Lord.

The Lord said, "I appointed prophets as watchmen to warn you, saying: 'Pay attention to the warning sound of the trumpet!'" But they said, "We will not pay attention!"

What good is frankincense that comes from Sheba to me, or sweet cane from a distant country? Your burnt offerings aren't acceptable, nor are your sacrifices pleasing to me."

They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.

The bellows blow fiercely to consume the lead with the fire. The assayer keeps on refining, but the impurities aren't separated out.

And will ye then come in and stand before me in this house whereon my Name hath been called, and say, - We have set ourselves free, - for the purpose of committing all these abominations?

And now, though ye have done all these deeds, sayeth the LORD, and I myself rose up ever betimes to warn you and to commune with you, yet would ye not hear me: I called, ye would not answer.

Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.

For the sons of Judah, have done, that which was wicked in mine eyes, Declareth Yahweh, - They have set their abominations in the house whereon my Name hath been called to defile it;

Were they ashamed when they acted so abhorrently?
They weren’t at all ashamed.
They can no longer feel humiliation.
Therefore, they will fall among the fallen.
When I punish them, they will collapse,”
says the Lord.

Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:

Therefore, here is what the Lord says concerning the people of Anathoth who want to take your life. They warn, “You must not prophesy in the name of Yahweh, or you will certainly die at our hand.”

If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?

“They have planted wheat but have reaped thorns;
They have exhausted themselves but without profit.
So be ashamed of your harvest
Because of the fierce and raging anger of the Lord.”

Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? or can the sky give showers? Aren't you he, Yahweh our God? therefore we will wait for you; for you have made all these things.

Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel?

Therefore, this is what the LORD says: "If you repent, I'll take you back and you will stand before me. If you speak what is worthwhile, instead of what is worthless, then you will be my spokesman. People will turn to you, but you aren't to turn to them.

O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.

The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;

Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.

But as for the land to which they long to return, they will not return to it.

Is this man Coniah a despised broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?

Wherefore, their way shall be slippery in the darkness, wherein they may stagger and fall. For I will bring a plague upon them, even the year of their visitation, sayeth the LORD.

You aren't to listen to your prophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your soothsayers, and your sorcerers who say to you, "Don't serve the king of Babylon.'

Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron.

For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also.

but seek after peace and prosperity of the city wherein ye be prisoners, and pray unto God for it. For in the peace thereof, shall your peace be.

I will be found of you, sayeth the LORD. And will deliver you out of prison, and gather you together again out of all places, wherein I have scattered you, sayeth the LORD: and will bring you again to the same place, from whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

Thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: Because thou hast sealed letters under thy name unto all the people that is at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, yea and sent them to all the priests: wherein thou writest thus unto him:

"Yahweh made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, so that there are overseers [in] the house of Yahweh over any mad man [who] exhibits the behavior of a prophet, and you must put him into the stocks and into the neck iron,

They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

"Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a darling child? Indeed, as often as I've spoken about him, I surely still remember him. Therefore I deeply yearn for him. I'll surely have great compassion on him," declares the LORD.

Or, what hath this city been else, but a provoking of my wrath, ever since the day that I builded it, unto this hour? Wherein I cast it out of my sight,

Behold, I will gather them together from all lands wherein I have scattered them in my wrath, in my fearful and great displeasure: and will bring them again unto this place, where they shall dwell safely.

From all misdeeds wherein they have offended against me, I will cleanse them: And all their blasphemies which they have done against me, when they regarded me not, I will forgive them.

"Moreover thus sayeth the LORD: In this place, whereof ye say that it shall be a wilderness, wherein neither people nor cattle shall dwell: in like manner in the cities of Judah and without Jerusalem - which also shall be so void, that neither people nor cattle shall dwell there -

neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any; but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land wherein ye sojourn.

I sent all my servants the prophets to warn you over and over again. They said, "Every one of you, stop doing the evil things you have been doing and do what is right. Do not pay allegiance to other gods and worship them. Then you can continue to live in this land that I gave to you and your ancestors." But you did not pay any attention or listen to me.

Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, unto Baruch, saying, Take in thine hand the roll wherein thou hast read in the ears of the people, and come. So Baruch the son of Neriah took the roll in his hand, and came unto them.

Moreover, I, the Lord, warn you not to deceive yourselves into thinking that the Babylonian forces will go away and leave you alone. For they will not go away.

Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, Wherein have I sinned against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison?

So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence rags and worn-out garments, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.

And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these rags and worn-out garments under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.

Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were slain.

That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do.

"The Lord has told you people who remain in Judah, 'Do not go to Egypt.' Be very sure of this: I warn you here and now.

‘You have said, “Woe is me, because the Lord has added misery to my pain! I am worn out with groaning and have found no rest.”’

And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, like as Israel was ashamed of Bethel, wherein she put her trust.

There shall be lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the LORD.

Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the thickets of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will arraign me? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?

I have laid a snare for you, and you are also taken, Babylon, and you weren't aware: you are found, and also caught, because you have striven against Yahweh.

Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the thickets of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and who will arraign me? and who is that shepherd that will stand before me?

Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

And he put out Zedekiah's eyes; and the king of Babylon, chaining him in iron bands, took him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death.