Behold, they keep saying to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord [that is, the disaster that you prophesied]?
Let it come now!”

Thou wilt not be for a terror to me; thou my refuge in the evil day.

Yet they would not listen and obey and control their behavior; but they were stiff-necked in order not to hear and take instruction.

Now and then there would be something wrong with the pot he was molding from the clay with his hands. So he would rework the clay into another kind of pot as he saw fit.

If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

But My people have forgotten Me, to a vain thing they make perfume, And they cause them to stumble in their ways -- paths of old, To walk in paths -- a way not raised up,

And thou, O Jehovah, knewest all their counsel against me to kill: thou wilt not expiate for their iniquity, and their sin from before thee thou wilt not wipe away, and they shall be weak before thee; do with them in the time of thine anger.

Thus says the Lord, “Go and buy a potter’s earthenware jar, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the senior priests

I will spoil the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hand of those who want to take their life. I will provide their corpses as food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.

"Thus sayeth the LORD of Hosts the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon every town about it, all the plagues that I have devised against them: for they have been obstinate, and would not obey my warnings."

Thou didst persuade me, O Jehovah, and I shall be persuaded: thou didst hold me fast, and thou wilt prevail: I was for a derision all the day, all mocking to me.

For each time I speak, I cry aloud;
I proclaim violence and destruction,
Because for me the word of the Lord has resulted
In reproach and derision all day long.

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.

I hear many whispering words of intrigue against me. Those who would cause me terror are everywhere! They are saying, "Come on, let's publicly denounce him!" All my so-called friends are just watching for something that would lead to my downfall. They say, "Perhaps he can be enticed into slipping up, so we can prevail over him and get our revenge on him.

because he slew me not from the womb; and so my mother would have been my grave, and her womb always great.

For thus hath the LORD spoken upon the king's house of Judah: Thou art the head, as Gilead is in Lebanon: What wilt thou lay of it, if I make thee and thy cities also not so waste that no man shall dwell therein?

As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence;

And I would give you into the hand of those who seek your life, and into the hand of those from whom you [are] frightened by their presence, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.

The anger of Yahweh, wilt not return, Until he hath executed nor Until he hath established The purposes of his heart, - In the afterpart of the days, shall ye understand it perfectly.

But if they had stood in my council, and had caused my people to hear my words, then would they have turned them from their evil way and from the wickedness of their doings.

"For the last twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year that Josiah son of Amon was ruling in Judah until now, the Lord has been speaking to me. I told you over and over again what he said. But you would not listen.

Though the LORD hath sent his servants, all the prophets, unto you in season: Yet would ye not obey. Ye would not incline your ears to hear.

saying, Return ye now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that Jehovah hath given unto you and to your fathers, from of old and even for evermore;

“‘But you would not obey Me’—this is the Lord’s declaration—‘in order that you might provoke Me to anger by the work of your hands and bring disaster on yourselves.’

I will bring on that land everything that I said I would. I will bring on it everything that is written in this book. I will bring on it everything that Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations.

I made Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and its officials drink it. I did it so Judah would become a ruin. I did it so Judah, its kings, and its officials would become an object of horror and of hissing scorn, an example used in curses. Such is already becoming the case!

And thou shalt prophesy to them all these words, and say to them; Jehovah shall roar from on high, and he will give his voice from his holy habitation; roaring, he will roar from his seat; he shall cry aloud as they treading, to all the inhabitants of the earth.

But correct the way you have been living and do what is right. Obey the Lord your God. If you do, the Lord will forgo destroying you as he threatened he would.

And men will rise up from the old men of the land, and they will say to all the convocation of the people, saying,

King Hezekiah and all the people of Judah did not put him to death, did they? Did not Hezekiah show reverence for the Lord and seek the Lord's favor? Did not the Lord forgo destroying them as he threatened he would? But we are on the verge of bringing great disaster on ourselves."

And when his words came to the ears of Jehoiakim the king and all his men of war and his captains, the king would have put him to death; but Uriah, hearing of it, was full of fear and went in flight into Egypt:

So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. I have even given him the wild animals to serve him.

Why wilt thou and thy people perish with the sword, with hunger, with pestilence: like as the LORD hath devised for all people that will not serve the king of Babylon?

The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.

For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says, ‘I have put an iron yoke on the neck of all these nations that they might serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and they will serve him. I have also put the wild animals under him.’”

And these the words of the writing which Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the remnant of the old men of the captivity, and to the priests and to the prophets, and to all the people which Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babel;

Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD.

All your lovers have forgotten you;
they no longer look for you,
for I have struck you as an enemy would,
with the discipline of someone cruel,
because of your enormous guilt
and your innumerable sins.

Why wilt thou cry for thy breaking? thy pain is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: thy sins were strong, I did these things to thee.

“Thus says the Lord,
‘Behold (hear this), I will restore the fortunes of the tents of Jacob
And have mercy on his dwelling places;
The city will be rebuilt on its [old, mound-like] ruin,
And the palace will stand on its rightful place.

And their children will be as of old, and their community will be established {before me}. And I will punish all their oppressors.

‘Their prince will be one of them,
And their ruler will come forward from among them.
I will bring him near and he shall approach Me,
For who is he who would have the boldness and would dare [on his own initiative] to risk his life to approach Me?’ says the Lord.

The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

For thus saith Jehovah: Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and shout at the head of the nations; publish ye, praise ye, and say, Jehovah, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.

And they shall come and sing aloud upon the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of Jehovah, for corn, and for new wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd; and their soul shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not languish any more at all.

Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

Thus sayeth the LORD, "The voice of heaviness, weeping and lamentation was heard on the hills; even of Rachel mourning for her children, and would not be comforted, because they were not."

How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.

It will not be like the old covenant that I made with their ancestors when I delivered them from Egypt. For they violated that covenant, even though I was like a faithful husband to them," says the Lord.

"If these rules would cease from {before me}," {declares} Yahweh, "also the offspring of Israel would cease from being a nation {before me} {forever}."

This is what the LORD says: "If the heavens could be measured above, or the foundations of the earth be searched out below, then I also would reject all the descendants of Israel because of everything they have done," declares the LORD.

Who set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even to this day, and in Israel, and in man; and thou wilt make to thee a name according to this day.

And thou wilt bring forth thy people Israel from the land of Egypt with signs and with wonders, and with a strong hand and with an arm stretched forth, and with great fear:

And you gave them this land which you had promised their ancestors that you would give them a land flowing with milk and honey.

And they will come in and possess it; and they heard not to thy voice, and they went not in thy law; all which thou didst command to them to do they did not, and thou wilt cause all this evil to befall them.

Even now siege ramps have been built up around the city in order to capture it. War, starvation, and disease are sure to make the city fall into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. Lord, you threatened that this would happen. Now you can see that it is already taking place.

They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them repeatedly, yet they would not listen and receive instruction.

They would not hear, to be reformed and correct. They have set their gods in the house that is hallowed unto my name, to defile it.

And they put up the high places of the Baal in the valley of the son of Hinnom, making their sons and their daughters go through the fire to Molech; which I did not give them orders to do, and it never came into my mind that they would do this disgusting thing, causing Judah to be turned out of the way.

I will restore Judah and Israel and will rebuild them as they were in days of old.

Once again there will be sounds of joy and gladness and the glad celebrations of brides and grooms. Once again people will bring their thank offerings to the temple of the Lord and will say, "Give thanks to the Lord who rules over all. For the Lord is good and his unfailing love lasts forever." For I, the Lord, affirm that I will restore the land to what it was in days of old.'

"Thus says Yahweh: 'If you could break my covenant [with] the day, and my covenant [with] the night, so that day and night [would] not come at their time,

then the offspring of Jacob and David my servant I would reject, from choosing rulers from his offspring over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for I will restore their fortunes and I will have compassion on them.'"

so each man would free his male and female Hebrew slaves and no one would enslave his Judean brother.

So all the princes and all the people who had entered into the covenant agreed that everyone would let his male servant and his female servant go free, and that no one would keep them in bondage any longer; they obeyed, and set them free.

will be handed over to their enemies, to those who want to take their life. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.

Time and time again I have sent you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming: Turn, each one from his evil way of life, and correct your actions. Stop following other gods to serve them. Live in the land that I gave you and your ancestors. But you would not pay attention or obey Me.

Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I will certainly bring to Judah and to all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against them because I have spoken to them, but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them, but they would not answer.”

So you must go and you shall read aloud from the scroll that you have written from my mouth the words of Yahweh in the hearing of the people [in] the temple of Yahweh on a day of fast, and also you shall read aloud in the hearing of all those of Judah who came from their towns.

And Baruch the son of Neriah did all that Jeremiah the prophet instructed him, to read aloud from the scroll the words of Yahweh [in] the temple of Yahweh.

Then Baruch read aloud from the scroll the words of Jeremiah [in] the temple of Yahweh, in the chamber of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, the secretary, in the upper courtyard [at] the entrance of the New Gate of the temple of Yahweh in the hearing of all the people.

And Micaiah told them all the words that he had heard at the reading aloud of Baruch from the scroll in the hearing of the people.

Then all the officials sent Jehudi, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, {saying}, "The scroll that you read aloud from in the hearing of the people, take it in your hand and come." And Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and he came to them.

And they said to him, "Sit please and read it aloud in our hearing." So Baruch read aloud in their hearing.

Then the king sent Jehudi to take the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary, and Jehudi read it aloud in the hearing of the king, and in the hearing of all the officials who stood next to the king.

And after Jehudi had read three or four columns [of the scroll], King Jehoiakim would cut off that portion with a scribe’s knife and throw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until the [entire] scroll was consumed by the fire.

Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them.

I will also punish him and his descendants and his servants for their wickedness, and I will bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah all the destruction that I have declared against them—but they would not listen.”’”

But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people in the land would obey the words of the LORD, which he spake by the Prophet Jeremiah.

For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained but wounded men among them, yea would they rise up every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.

that Jeremiah left Jerusalem [during the withdrawal of the Chaldean invaders] to go to [Anathoth, his hometown, in] the land of Benjamin to take possession of [the title to] the land [which he had purchased] there among the people.

But Jeremiah said, “That is a lie! I am not deserting to join the Chaldeans.” But the guard would not listen to him. So Irijah took Jeremiah and brought him to the princes (court officials).

Where now are the prophets who prophesied to you that the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land?

My lord, O King! wickedly, have these men done all that they haw done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom indeed they have cast into the dungeon, - since he would have died where he was because of the famine, for there is no bread any longer, in the city.

Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian and said, "Take from hence thirty men whom thou wilt, and draw up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die."

So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.

And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so.

Some time later Zedekiah sent and had Jeremiah brought to him at the third entrance of the Lord's temple. The king said to Jeremiah, "I would like to ask you a question. Do not hide anything from me when you answer."

Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me?

Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house:

But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.

But if thou wilt not go forth, the LORD hath told me this plainly:

Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there.

Then all the princes (court officials) came to Jeremiah and asked him [just what King Zedekiah had anticipated they would ask], and he reported to them in accordance with all that the king had commanded. So they stopped questioning him, since the conversation [with the king] had not been overheard.

And I delivered thee in that day, says Jehovah: and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men thou wilt be afraid of their face.

For I wilt, surely, deliver, thee, and by the sword, shalt thou not fall, - but thou shalt have thine own life as a spoil, Because thou hast trusted in me, Declareth Yahweh.

But now, Jeremiah, today I will set you free from the chains on your wrists. If you would like to come to Babylon with me, come along and I will take care of you. But if you prefer not to come to Babylon with me, you are not required to do so. You are free to go anywhere in the land you want to go. Go wherever you choose."

and said to him, "{Are you at all aware} that Baalis, the king of the {Ammonites}, has sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, to kill you?" But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam would not believe them.

Then Johanan son of Kareah suggested to Gedaliah in private at Mizpah, “Let me go kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah. No one will know it. Why should he kill you and scatter all of Judah that has gathered to you so that the remnant of Judah would perish?”

But the people of Jerusalem and Judah would not listen or pay any attention. They would not stop the wickedness they were doing nor quit sacrificing to other gods.