I will liken the daughter of Zion to a fair and tender woman, and to her shall come the shepherds with their flocks.

Shepherds and their flocks will come against her, they will pitch [their] tents against her all around, they will pasture, each his {portion}.

They will say, 'Prepare to do battle against it! Come on! Let's attack it at noon!' But later they will say, 'Oh, oh! Too bad! The day is almost over and the shadows of evening are getting long.

So come on, let's go ahead and attack it by night and destroy all its fortified buildings.'

Let them be put to shame because they have done disgusting things. They had no shame, they were not able to become red with shame: so they will come down with those who are falling: when my punishment comes on them, they will be made low, says the Lord.

Give ear, O earth: see, I will make evil come on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not given attention to my words, and they would have nothing to do with my law.

What [is] this to me? Frankincense comes from Sheba, and the precious spice reed from a distant land. Your burnt offerings [are] not {acceptable}, your sacrifices are not pleasing to me."

For this reason the Lord has said, See, I will put stones in the way of this people: and the fathers and the sons together will go falling over them; the neighbour and his friend will come to destruction.

Thus says the LORD, Behold, a people comes from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the ends of the earth.

The news of it has come to our ears; our hands have become feeble: trouble has come on us and pain, like the pain of a woman in childbirth.

No man go forth into the field, no man come upon the high street: for the sword and fear of the enemy shall be on every side!"

O daughter of my people, gird yourself [with] sackcloth, and roll about in the ashes in mourning, a mourning ceremony [as for] an only child. Make for yourself wailing of bitterness, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.

Take your place in the doorway of the Lord's house, and give out this word there, and say, Give ear to the word of the Lord, all you of Judah who come inside these doors to give worship to the Lord.

And then you come and you stand {before} me in this house, which is called {by my name}, and you say, 'we are safe {to go on doing} all of these detestable things.'

And they built the high place of Topheth, which [is] in [the] Valley of Ben Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I have not commanded, and it did not come into my mind.

Therefore look, days [are] about to come," {declares} Yahweh, "and it will no longer be called Topheth or [the] Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of the Slaughter, and they will bury in Topheth {until there is no more place}.

The Lord says, "When that time comes, the bones of the kings of Judah and its leaders, the bones of the priests and prophets and of all the other people who lived in Jerusalem will be dug up from their graves.

Further, you are to say to them, This is what the Lord has said: Will those who are falling not be lifted up again? will he who has gone away not come back?

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

Let them be put to shame because they have done disgusting things. They had no shame, they were not able to become red with shame: so they will come down with those who are falling: in the time of their punishment they will be made low, says the Lord.

Why are we seated doing nothing? come together, and let us go to the walled towns, and let destruction overtake us there, for the Lord our God has sent destruction on us, and given us bitter water for our drink, because we have done evil against the Lord.

We hoped for good fortune, but nothing good has come of it. We hoped for a time of relief, but instead we experience terror.

"From Dan is heard the snorting of their horses, from the sound of the neighing of their stallions all the land quakes, for they come and devour the land, and that which fills [the] city, and [those who] live in it.

Sorrow has come on me! my heart in me is feeble.

The voice of the cry of the daughter of my people comes from a far land: Is the Lord not in Zion? is not her King in her? Why have they made me angry with their images and their strange gods which are no gods?

[The] harvest has passed, [the] summer has come to an end, and we have not received help.

Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
So why has the healing of my dear people
not come about?

>

Everyone will make sport of his neighbour with deceit, not saying what is true: their tongues have been trained to say false words; they are twisted, hating to come back.

Their tongues are like deadly arrows. They are always telling lies. Friendly words for their neighbors come from their mouths. But their minds are thinking up ways to trap them.

Who is the wise man able to see this? who is he to whom the word of the Lord has come, so that he may make it clear? why is the land given to destruction and burned up like a waste place, so that no one goes through?

Thus says Yahweh of hosts: "Consider closely, and call for the wailing women, so that they come, and for the skillful women, so that they come.

Let them come quickly to raise a lament over us
so that our eyes may overflow with tears,
our eyelids soaked with weeping.

For a sound of weeping goes up from Zion, a cry, How has destruction come on us? we are overcome with shame because we have gone away from our land; he has sent us out from our house.

For death has come into our windows, it has entered into our fortresses, to cut off [the] children from [the] streets, [the] young men from [the] public squares.

Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish all them that are circumcised in their uncircumcision:

That is, I will punish the Egyptians, the Judeans, the Edomites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, and all the desert people who cut their hair short at the temples. I will do so because none of the people of those nations are really circumcised in the Lord's sight. Moreover, none of the people of Israel are circumcised when it comes to their hearts."

Who shall not fear thee, thou king of the nations? for to thee he shall come: for among all the wise of the nations, and among all their kings, from none like thee.

At the voice He giveth forth, A multitude of waters is in the heavens, And He causeth vapours to come up from the end of the earth, Lightnings for rain He hath made, And bringeth out wind from His treasures.

They are worthless, mere objects to be mocked. When the time comes to punish them, they will be destroyed.

Behold, the noise of the report has come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, and a den of jackals.

and will keep my promise, that I have sworn unto your fathers: Namely, that I would give them a land which floweth with milk and honey, as ye see it is come to pass unto this day." Then answered I, and said, "Amen. It is even so, O LORD, as thou sayest."

For though I, the Lord who rules over all, planted you in the land, I now decree that disaster will come on you because the nations of Israel and Judah have done evil and have made me angry by offering sacrifices to the god Baal."

But I was like a gentle lamb taken to be put to death; I had no thought that they were designing evil against me, saying, Come and let us make trouble his food, cutting him off from the land of the living, so that there may be no more memory of his name.

But, O Lord of armies, judging in righteousness, testing the thoughts and the heart, let me see your punishment come on them: for I have put my cause before you.

So the Lord of armies has said, See, I will send punishment on them: the young men will be put to the sword; their sons and their daughters will come to death through need of food:

“My inheritance has become to Me
Like a lion in the forest;
She has roared against Me;
Therefore I have come to hate her.

The lair of [the] hyena [is] my inheritance to me, the birds of prey [are] all around her. Go, gather all of the animals of the field, bring [them] {to come and devour}.

Upon all [the] barren heights in the desert destroyers have come, for [the] sword of Yahweh devours, from [one] end of [the] land to the [other] end of the land, there is no peace for all flesh.

And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them up, I will return and have compassion on them; and I will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.

And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, As Jehovah liveth; even as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built up in the midst of my people.

Thus said Jehovah to me, Go buy for thee a girdle of linen, and put it upon thy loins, and thou shalt not cause it to come into water.

"Say to the king and to the queen mother, '{Take a lower seat}, for {your beautiful crown} has come down from your head.'

Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?

What will you say when he comes to punish you? For you have taught them to be rulers over you for a head. Do not pangs seize you, like a woman in travail?

And if thou say in thy heart, Wherefore are these things come upon me? for the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts uncovered, and thy heels suffer violence.

"The people of Judah are in mourning. The people in her cities are pining away. They lie on the ground expressing their sorrow. Cries of distress come up to me from Jerusalem.

And their nobles send their servants for water. They come to [the] pits, they find no water. They return [with] their vessels {empty}. They are ashamed, and they are confounded, and they cover their heads.

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

Then answered I, "O LORD God, the prophets say unto them, 'Tush, ye shall see no sword, and no hunger shall come upon you, but the LORD shall give you continual rest in this place.'"

And thou hast said unto them this word: Tears come down mine eyes night and day, And they do not cease, For, with a great breach, Broken hath been the virgin daughter of my people, A very grievous stroke.

For if I go into the field, lo, it lieth all full of slain men: If I come into the city, lo, they be all famished of hunger. Yea, their prophets also and priests shall be led into an unknown land.'"

Then I said, "Lord, have you completely rejected the nation of Judah? Do you despise the city of Zion? Why have you struck us with such force that we are beyond recovery? We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it. We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror.

Are any of the false gods of the nations able to make rain come? are the heavens able to give showers? are you not he, O Lord our God? so we will go on waiting for you, for you have done all these things.

And it shall come to pass, when they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith Jehovah: Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for captivity, to captivity.

I have let their widows be increased in number more than the sand of the seas: I have sent against them, against the mother and the young men, one who makes waste in the heat of the day, causing pain and fears to come on her suddenly.

And the LORD answered me, "Lead not I thee then unto good? Come not I to thee, when thou art in trouble? And help thee, when thine enemy oppresseth thee?

O Lord, you have knowledge: keep me in mind and come to my help, and give their right reward to those who are attacking me; take me not away, for you are slow to be angry: see how I have undergone shame because of you from all those who make little of your word;

For this cause the Lord has said, If you will come back, then I will again let you take your place before me; and if you give out what is of value and not that which has no value, you will be as my mouth: let them come back to you, but do not go back to them.

For this is what the Lord has said about the sons and daughters who come to birth in this place, and about their mothers who have given them birth, and about their fathers who have given life to them in this land:

“They will die of deadly diseases, they will not be lamented or buried; they will be as dung on the surface of the ground and come to an end by sword and famine, and their carcasses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth.”

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.

And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt show this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath Jehovah pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against Jehovah our God?

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that it shall no more be said, As Jehovah liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in [the] day of distress, to you [the] nations will come from the ends of [the] earth, and they will say, "Our ancestors have inherited only lies, vanity, and there is no profit in them.

And he will be like a juniper in the wilderness, and he will not see when good comes, and he will dwell [in the] parched places in the desert, [in] a land of salt flats, where no one lives.

For he will be like a tree planted by water, and to [the] stream it sends its roots, and it will not fear when heat comes, and its leaves will be luxuriant, and in [the] year of drought it will not be anxious, and it will not cease from the bearing of fruit.

Look, they [are] saying to me, "Where [is] the word of Yahweh? Please let it come."

As for me, I have not said; Let the day of trouble come to them quickly; and I have not been hoping for the death-giving day; you have knowledge of what came from my lips; it was open before you.

Thus said Jehovah unto me: Go, and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

And say to them, Give ear to the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all the people of Jerusalem who come in by these doors:

And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith Jehovah, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but to hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;

Then through the doors of this town there will come kings and princes, seated on the seat of David, going in carriages and on horseback, they and their princes, and the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem: and this town will keep its place for ever.

And they will come from the towns of Judah, and from all around Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the Shephelah, and from the hill country, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and grain offerings, and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings [to] the house of Yahweh.

And if ye do not hearken unto me to sanctify the day of rest, And so as not to bear a burden, And to come in at the gates of Jerusalem on the day of rest, Then I have kindled a fire in its gates, And it hath consumed the high places of Jerusalem, And it is not quenched!'

Up! go down to the potter's house, and there I will let my words come to your ears.

Now, then, say to the men of Judah and to the people of Jerusalem, This is what the Lord has said: See, I am forming an evil thing against you, and designing a design against you: let every man come back now from his evil way, and let your ways and your doings be changed for the better.

Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which comes from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?

But my people hath so forgotten me, that they have made sacrifice unto vain gods. And while they followed their own ways they are come out of the high street, and gone into a foot way not used to be trodden.

Then they said, "Come and let us plan plans against Jeremiah, for instruction will not be lost from [the] priest, nor advice from [the] wise man, nor [the] word from [the] prophet. Come and {let us bring charges against him}, and let us not listen attentively to any of his words."

and they have built the high places of Baal, to burn their children in the fire, burnt offerings to Baal, which I commanded not, and I ordered not, and it did not come to my {mind}.

"{Therefore} look, days [are] about to come," {declares} Yahweh, "when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, {but} the Valley of the Slaughter.

I will make the purpose of Judah and Jerusalem come to nothing in this place; I will have them put to the sword by their haters, and by the hands of those who have designs on their life; and their dead bodies I will give to be food for the birds of heaven and the beasts of the earth.

The Lord continued, "Now break the jar in front of those who have come here with you.

And Jeremiah will come from Tophet where Jehovah sent him there to prophesy; and he will stand in the enclosure of the house of Jehovah and say to all the people,

For the Lord has said, See, I will make you a cause of fear to yourself and to all your friends: they will come to their death by the sword of their haters, and your eyes will see it: and I will give all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will take them away prisoners into Babylon and put them to the sword.

And thou, Pashhur, and all that dwell in thy house shall go into captivity; and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and there shalt thou be buried, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied falsely.

For numbers of them say evil secretly in my hearing (there is fear on every side): they say, Come, let us give witness against him; all my nearest friends, who are watching for my fall, say, It may be that he will be taken by deceit, and we will get the better of him and give him punishment.

But, O Lord of armies, testing the upright and seeing the thoughts and the heart, let me see your punishment come on them; for I have put my cause before you.

May that man be like the towns overturned by the Lord without mercy: let a cry for help come to his ears in the morning, and the sound of war in the middle of the day;

because he slew me not, as soon as I came out of my mother's womb, and because my mother was not my grave herself, that the birth might not have come out, but remained still in her.