Your words were found, and I ate them.
Your words became a delight to me
and the joy of my heart,
for I am called by Your name,
Yahweh God of Hosts.

But I have not run away from being Your shepherd,
and I have not longed for the fatal day.
You know my words were spoken in Your presence.

I spoke to you when you were secure.
You said, “I will not listen.”
This has been your way since youth;
indeed, you have never listened to Me.

“As I live,” says the Lord, “though you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would tear you from it.

I will hurl you and the mother who gave birth to you into another land, where neither of you were born, and there you will both die.

One basket contained very good figs, like early figs, but the other basket contained very bad figs, so bad they were inedible.

The prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the temple of the Lord.

and gave the purchase agreement to Baruch son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah. I did this in the sight of my cousin Hanamel, the witnesses who were signing the purchase agreement, and all the Judeans sitting in the guard’s courtyard.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, all his army, all the earthly kingdoms under his control, and all other nations were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding cities:

while the king of Babylon’s army was attacking Jerusalem and all of Judah’s remaining cities—against Lachish and Azekah, for they were the only ones left of Judah’s fortified cities.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah made a covenant with all the people who were in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom to them,

he went down to the scribe’s chamber in the king’s palace. All the officials were sitting there—Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.

The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi then read it in the hearing of the king and all the officials who were standing by the king.

“Take another scroll, and once again write on it the very words that were on the original scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned.

Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son of Neriah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at Jeremiah’s dictation all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim, Judah’s king, had burned in the fire. And many other words like them were added.

Pharaoh’s army had left Egypt, and when the Chaldeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, heard the report, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

Indeed, if you were to strike down the entire Chaldean army that is fighting with you, and there remained among them only the badly wounded men, each in his tent, they would get up and burn this city down.”

The officials were angry at Jeremiah and beat him and placed him in jail in the house of Jonathan the scribe, for it had been made into a prison.

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord after Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, released him at Ramah. When he found him, he was bound in chains with all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah who were being exiled to Babylon.

Now pay attention: Today I am setting you free from the chains that were on your hands. If it pleases you to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will take care of you. But if it seems wrong to you to come with me to Babylon, go no farther. Look—the whole land is in front of you. Wherever it seems good and right for you to go, go there.”

but then Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the 10 men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with the sword; he killed the one the king of Babylon had appointed in the land.

Ishmael also struck down all the Judeans who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Chaldean soldiers who were there.

80 men came from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria who had shaved their beards, torn their garments, and gashed themselves, and who were carrying grain and incense offerings to bring to the temple of the Lord.

However, there were 10 men among them who said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us, for we have hidden treasure in the field—wheat, barley, oil, and honey!” So he stopped and did not kill them along with their companions.

and he summoned Johanan son of Kareah, all the commanders of the armies who were with him, and all the people from the least to the greatest.

“For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as My anger and fury were poured out on Jerusalem’s residents, so will My fury pour out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an object of cursing, scorn, execration, and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.’

Have you forgotten the evils of your fathers, the evils of Judah’s kings, the evils of their wives, your own evils, and the evils of your wives that were committed in the land of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

However, all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense to other gods, all the women standing by—a great assembly—and all the people who were living in the land of Egypt at Pathros answered Jeremiah,

But Jeremiah responded to all the people—the men, women, and all the people who were answering him:

If grape harvesters came to you,
wouldn’t they leave some gleanings?
Were thieves to come in the night,
they would destroy only what they wanted.

As when Sodom and Gomorrah were overthrown along with their neighbors,” says the Lord, “no one will live there; no human being will even stay in it as a temporary resident.

Babylon, I laid a trap for you, and you were caught,
but you did not even know it.
You were found and captured
because you fought against the Lord.

Those who were slain will fall in the land of the Chaldeans,
those who were pierced through, in her streets.

Jeremiah wrote on one scroll about all the disaster that would come to Babylon; all these words were written against Babylon.

Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, deported some of the poorest of the people, as well as the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had defected to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the craftsmen.

Now the Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars for the Lord’s temple and the water carts and the bronze reservoir that were in the Lord’s temple, and carried all the bronze to Babylon.

From the city he took a court official who had been appointed over the warriors; seven trusted royal aides found in the city; the secretary of the commander of the army, who enlisted the people of the land for military duty; and 60 men from the common people who were found within the city.

in Nebuchadnezzar’s twenty-third year, Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guards, deported 745 Jews. All together 4,600 people were deported.

He spoke kindly to him and set his throne above the thrones of the kings who were with him in Babylon.

ז ZayinDuring the days of her affliction and homelessness
Jerusalem remembers all her precious belongings
that were hers in days of old.
When her people fell into the adversary’s hand,
she had no one to help.
The adversaries looked at her,
laughing over her downfall.

ו VavHe has done violence to His temple
as if it were a garden booth,
destroying His place of meeting.
The Lord has abolished
appointed festivals and Sabbaths in Zion.
He has despised king and priest
in His fierce anger.

נ NunYour prophets saw visions for you
that were empty and deceptive;
they did not reveal your guilt
and so restore your fortunes.
They saw oracles for you
that were empty and misleading.

ה HeThose who used to eat delicacies
are destitute in the streets;
those who were reared in purple garments
huddle in garbage heaps.

ז ZayinHer dignitaries were brighter than snow,
whiter than milk;
their bodies were more ruddy than coral,
their appearance like sapphire.

ע AyinAll the while our eyes were failing
as we looked in vain for assistance;
we watched from our towers
for a nation that refused to help.

צ TsadeOur steps were closely followed
so that we could not walk in our streets.
Our end drew near; our time ran out.
Our end had come!

ק QofThose who chased us were swifter
than eagles in the sky;
they relentlessly pursued us over the mountains
and ambushed us in the wilderness.

Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf, sparkling like the gleam of polished bronze.

Their wings were touching. The creatures did not turn as they moved; each one went straight ahead.

That is what their faces were like. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching that of another and two wings covering its body.

The creatures were darting back and forth like flashes of lightning.

Their rims were large and frightening. Each of their four rims were full of eyes all around.

When He unrolled it before me, it was written on the front and back; words of lamentation, mourning, and woe were written on it.

I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were living by the Chebar Canal, and I sat there among them stunned for seven days.

They will throw their silver into the streets,
and their gold will seem like something filthy.
Their silver and gold will be unable to save them
in the day of the Lord’s wrath.
They will not satisfy their appetites
or fill their stomachs,
for these were the stumbling blocks
that brought about their iniquity.

In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, I was sitting in my house and the elders of Judah were sitting in front of me, and there the hand of the Lord God came down on me.

Seventy elders from the house of Israel were standing before them, with Jaazaniah son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had a firepan in his hand, and a fragrant cloud of incense was rising up.

So He brought me to the inner court of the Lord’s house, and there were about 25 men at the entrance of the Lord’s temple, between the portico and the altar, with their backs to the Lord’s temple and their faces turned to the east. They were bowing to the east in worship of the sun.

Slaughter the old men, the young men and women, as well as the older women and little children, but do not come near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple.

While they were killing, I was left alone. And I fell facedown and cried out, “Oh, Lord God! Are You going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel when You pour out Your wrath on Jerusalem?”

Now the cherubim were standing to the south of the temple when the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court.

I looked, and there were four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub. The luster of the wheels was like the gleam of beryl.

Their entire bodies, including their backs, hands, wings, and the wheels that the four of them had, were full of eyes all around.

As I listened the wheels were called “the wheelwork.”

The cherubim ascended; these were the living creatures I had seen by the Chebar Canal.

The cherubim lifted their wings and ascended from the earth right before my eyes; the wheels were beside them as they went. The glory of the God of Israel was above them, and it stood at the entrance to the eastern gate of the Lord’s house.

These were the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the Chebar Canal, and I recognized that they were cherubim.

The Spirit then lifted me up and brought me to the eastern gate of the Lord’s house, which faces east, and at the gate’s entrance were 25 men. Among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur, and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.

even if these three men—Noah, Daniel, and Job—were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

even if these three men were in it, as I live”—the declaration of the Lord God—“they could not deliver their sons or daughters. They alone would be delivered, but the land would be desolate.

even if these three men were in it, as I live”—the declaration of the Lord God—“they could not deliver their sons or daughters, but they alone would be delivered.

even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I live”—the declaration of the Lord God—“they could not deliver their son or daughter. They would deliver only themselves by their righteousness.

You are to say: This is what the Lord God says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

As for your birth, your umbilical cord wasn’t cut on the day you were born, and you weren’t washed clean with water. You were not rubbed with salt or wrapped in cloths.

No one cared enough about you to do even one of these things out of compassion for you. But you were thrown out into the open field because you were despised on the day you were born.

I made you thrive like plants of the field. You grew up and matured and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed and your hair grew, but you were stark naked.

“Then I passed by you and saw you, and you were indeed at the age for love. So I spread the edge of My garment over you and covered your nakedness. I pledged Myself to you, entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

So you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was made of fine linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour, honey, and oil. You became extremely beautiful and attained royalty.

“But you were confident in your beauty and acted like a prostitute because of your fame. You lavished your sexual favors on everyone who passed by. Your beauty became his.

In all your detestable practices and acts of prostitution, you did not remember the days of your youth when you were stark naked and lying in your blood.

“Therefore, I stretched out My hand against you and reduced your provisions. I gave you over to the desire of those who hate you, the Philistine women, who were embarrassed by your indecent behavior.

Then you engaged in prostitution with the Assyrian men because you were not satisfied. Even though you did this with them, you were still not satisfied.

So you extended your prostitution to Chaldea, the land of merchants, but you were not even satisfied with this!

building your mound at the head of every street and making your elevated place in every square. But you were unlike a prostitute because you scorned payment.

So you were the opposite of other women in your acts of prostitution; no one solicited you. When you paid a fee instead of one being paid to you, you were the opposite.

They were haughty and did detestable things before Me, so I removed them when I saw this.

Didn’t you treat your sister Sodom as an object of scorn when you were proud,

before your wickedness was exposed? It was like the time you were scorned by the daughters of Aram and all those around her, and by the daughters of the Philistines—those who treated you with contempt from every side.

But it was uprooted in fury,
thrown to the ground,
and the east wind dried up its fruit.
Its strong branches were torn off and dried up;
fire consumed them.

“But they rebelled against Me and were unwilling to listen to Me. None of them threw away the detestable things that were before their eyes, and they did not forsake the idols of Egypt. So I considered pouring out My wrath on them, exhausting My anger against them within the land of Egypt.

But I acted because of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations they were living among, in whose sight I had made Myself known to Israel by bringing them out of Egypt.

For they did not practice My ordinances but rejected My statutes and profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers’ idols.

I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances they could not live by.

I will bring you from the peoples and gather you from the countries where you were scattered, with a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and outpoured wrath.

Return it to its sheath!

I will judge you
in the place where you were created,
in the land of your origin.

“Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother,

who acted like prostitutes in Egypt, behaving promiscuously in their youth. Their breasts were fondled there, and their virgin nipples caressed.

She offered her sexual favors to them; all of them were the elite of Assyria. She defiled herself with all those she lusted after and with all their idols.

and lusted after their lovers, whose sexual members were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of stallions.

The sound of a carefree crowd was there. Drunkards from the desert were brought in, along with common men. They put bracelets on the women’s hands and beautiful crowns on their heads.