But thou O Yahweh, knowest me, Wilt thou observe me and try my heart towards thee? Drag them away, as sheep for slaughter, And hallow them for the day when they are to be slain.

How long, shall the land mourn, And, the herbage of the whole field, wither? For the wickedness of them that dwell therein, beast and bird, have perished, For say they, He will not see our latter end!

For even thy brethren and the house of thy father, Even they! have betrayed thee, Even they, have cried after thee with full voice, - Do not trust in them, though they speak unto thee fair words.

Mine inheritance, hath become to me as a lion in a jungle, - She hath given forth against me her voice, For this cause, have I hated her.

It hath been made a desolation, It hath mourned unto me as desolate, - All the land hath become a desolation, For, no man, layeth it to heart.

On all the bare heights in the wilderness, have come despoilers, For the sword of Yahweh hath devoured from one end of the land unto the other, - There is peace for no flesh!

Thus, said Yahweh unto me, - Go and buy for thyself a linen girdle, and put upon thy loins, - but in water, shalt thou not place it.

So I went to the Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle out of the place where I had hidden it, - and lo! the girdle was spoiled, it was good for nothing, s

This wicked people who are refusing to hear my words, who are walking in the stubbornness of their heart, and have gone after other gods, to serve them and to bow down to them, yea let them be like this girdle, which is good for nothing.

For as a girdle cleaveth unto the loins of a man, so caused I to cleave unto me - the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah Declareth Yahweh, to become mine - For a people, and For a name, and For a praise and For an adorning, - but they hearkened not.

Then shalt thou say unto them - Thus, saith Yahweh - Behold me! filling all the inhabitants of this land Even the kings that are sitting for David upon his throne and the priests and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem - with drunkenness;

Hear ye and give ear, be not haughty, - For Yahweh, hath spoken.

Give ye to Yahweh your God - glory, Before he cause darkness, and Before your feet stumble upon the twilight mountains; Lest, when ye wait for light, He turn it into the shadow of death, And change it for thick darkness.

Say thou to the king and to the queen-mother, Abase yourselves - Sit down, - For descended have your Head-tires, your Crown of adornment.

But if thou say in thy heart, Wherefore have these things befallen me? For the greatness of thine iniquity have Thy skirts been turned aside Thy heels suffered violence!

This is thy lot Thy measured portion from me, Declareth Yahweh; For that thou didst forget me, And confide in falsehood:

Because the ground, is cracked, For there hath been no rain in the land, The plowmen are pale They have covered their heads.

For, even the hind of the field hath calved and forsaken, Because there is no young herbage;

Yea, wild asses stand still on the bare heights, They pant for air like jackals, - Dimmed are their eyes Because there is no grass.

Though, our iniquities, have testified against us, O Yahweh, effectually work thou for the sake of thy Name, - For our apostasies have abounded Against thee, have we sinned.

Thou Hope of Israel, His Saviour in the time of distress, - Wherefore shouldst thou be as a sojourner in the and? Or as a wayfarer, who hath turned aside to lodge for the night?

And Yahweh said unto me, - Do not pray for this people for blessing;

Though they fast, I am not going to hearken unto their loud cry, and Though they offer ascending-sacrifice and meal-offering, I am not going to accept them, - For with sword and with famine and with pestilence, am, I, about to consume them.

Then said I, Ah, My Lord Yahweh! Lo! the prophets, are saying to them - Ye shall not see the sword And famine, shall ye not have, - For prosperity in truth, will I give you, in this place.

Therefore shalt thou say unto them this word, Let mine eyes, run down with tears night and day, And let them not rest, - For with a grievous injury, hath been injured the virgin the daughter of my people, With a wound, severe indeed!

If I have gone out into the field, Then lo! the slain of the sword! And if have entered the city, Then lo! the diseases of famine! For, both prophet and priest, have trafficked against the land unnoticed.

Hast thou, utterly rejected, Judah? Zion itself, hath thy soul loathed? Why, hast thou smitten us so that there is for us no healing? A waiting For prosperity, but no welfare, and For a time of healing, but lo! terror!

We acknowledge O Yahweh Our own lawlessness The iniquity of our fathers, - For we have sinned against thee.

Do not despise - for the sake of thy Name, Do not treat with contempt - the throne of thy glory, - Remember! - do not break thy covenant with us.

Are there, among the vanities of the nations senders of rain? Or can, the heavens themselves, give myriad drops? Art not, thou, he, O Yahweh our God? Therefore will we wait for thee, For, thou, hast made all these.

And it shall come to pass when they say unto thee Whither shall we go? Then shalt, thou say unto them, Thus saith Yahweh - Such as are for death, to death, and Such as are for t he sword, to the sword, and Such as are for famine, to the famine, and Such as are for captivity, to captivity.

And I will set in charge over them - four species Declareth Yahweh, The sword to slay, and The dogs to trail along, - and The bird of the heavens and The beast of the earth to devour and to destroy.

And I will make them a terror, to all the kingdoms of the earth, - On account of Manasseh son of Hezekiah king of Judah, For what he did in Jerusalem.

For who shall have pity upon thee O Jerusalem? And who shall lament for thee? And who shall turn aside, to ask for thy welfare?

Said Yahweh, - Verily, I will loose thee, for good! Verily, I will intercede for thee In the time of calamity, and In the time of distress with the enemy!

Thy substance and thy treasures - for a prey, will I give, without price, - Even for all thy sins and in all thy bounds:

Therefore will I make thee pass, with thine enemies into a land thou knowest not, - For, a fire, hath been kindled in mine anger Upon you, shall it burn.

Thou knowest - O Yahweh Remember me and visit me and avenge me upon my persecutors, Do not of thy longsuffering, take me away, - Know - I have borne for thy sake, reproach.

Thy words, were found, and I did eat them, Then became thy words unto me the joy and gladness of my heart, - For thy Name hath been called upon me, O Yahweh God of hosts!

I sat not in the circle of mockers, Nor became I uproarious, - Because of thy hand, by myself did I sit, For with indignation, hadst thou filled me.

So will I make thee to this people a wall of bronze, fortified, When they fight against thee, they shall not prevail against thee, - For with thee, am, I, to save thee and to deliver thee, Declareth Yahweh;

For, Thus, saith Yahweh, Concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are being horn in this place, - and concerning their mothers who do bear them, and concerning their fathers who do beget them, in this land,

For, Thus, saith Yahweh - Do not thou enter into the house of crying, Neither do thou go to lament, nor do thou bemoan for them, - For I have withdrawn my blessing from this people, Declareth Yahweh, Both lovingkindness and compassion.

So shall great and small die in this land, They shall not be buried, - Neither shall men lament for them Nor cut themselves, Nor make themselves bald for them;

For, Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, Behold me! causing to cease out of this place, Before your eyes, And in your days, The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride,

And it shall be when thou shalt declare to this people, all these words, - and they shall say unto thee - For what reason, hath Yahweh pronounced against us all this great calamity? Or what is our iniquity, or what our sin, which we have sinned against Yahweh our God?

Then shalt thou say unto them, - For that your fathers forsook, me, Declareth Yahweh, And walked after other gods, and served them, and bowed down to them, - Whereas me, they forsook And my law, kept they not;

And, ye, have done more wickedly than your fathers, - for look at you! walking every man after the stubbornness of his wicked heart, so as not to hearken unto me,

Behold me! sending for many fishers Declareth Yahweh, And they shall catch them, - and thereafter will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from off every mountain and from off every hill, and out of the clefts of the crags.

For mine own eyes are upon all their ways, they have not been hid from my face - neither hath their iniquity been concealed from being straight before mine eyes.

Shall a son of earth, make for himself gods, Seeing that, they, are no-gods?

O my mountain in the field Thy substance all thy treasures, for a prey, will I give: Thy high places for sin, within all thy bounds.

So shalt thou even of thyself, suffer to rest the inheritance which I gave thee, Seeing that I will cause thee to serve thine enemies, in the land which thou knowest not; For, a fire, have ye kindled in mine anger, Unto times age-abiding, shall it burn.

For he shall become like a tree planted by waters, And, by a stream, shall he send out his roots, Neither shall he perceive when heat cometh, But, his leaf shall continue green: Even in a year of dearth, shall he not be anxious, Neither shall he cease from hearing fruit.

Thou hope of Israel Yahweh, All who forsake thee, shall turn pale, - Yea, all who depart from me, in the ground, shall be written, For they have forsaken a fountain of living water, even Yahweh.

Heal thou me O Yahweh, that I may be healed, Save me that I may be saved, - For, my praise, thou art!

But as for me, I have neither forced myself away from tending the flock after thee, Nor yet for the woeful day, have I longed - thou, knowest, - That which came out of my lips, before thy face, was uttered.

But, if ye will not hearken unto me - To hallow the sabbath day, And to bear no burden and bring in through the gates of Jerusalem, on the sabbath day, Then will I kindle a fire within her gates, And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, And shall not be quenched.

And, since they will say, Hopeless! For after our own devices, will we walk, And, very one, the stubbornness of his own wicked heart, will we do!

Then said they, - Come ye and let us devise against Jeremiah devices, For the law shall not perish from the priest, Nor, counsel, from the wise, Nor, the word from the prophet: Come and let as smite him with the tongue, And let us not give ear to any of his words!

Shall, evil, be recompensed for good? For they have digged a pit for my life, - Remember how I stood before thee To speak in their behalf what was good! To turn back thine indignation from them.

Let there be heard a cry out of their houses, When thou shalt bring in upon them a troop, suddenly, - Because they digged a pit to capture me, And snares, did they hide for my feet.

And have built the high places of Baal for burning up their sons in the fire as ascending-sacrifices to Baal, - Which I commanded not, Nor spake, Neither came it up on my heart,

And I will give their dead bodies for food, to the bird of the heavens and to the beast of the earth; And I will make this city a desolation and a hissing, - every one that passeth by it, shall be astonished and hiss over all her wounds;

and shalt say unto them - Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts - Thus and thus, will I break this people, and this city, As one breaketh the vessel of a potter, which cannot be made whole any more, - And in Topheth, shall they bury, for want of place to bury.

For, Thus, saith Yahweh - Behold me! making thee a terror to thyself and to all who love thee, and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, thine own eyes also, beholding, And all Judah, will I deliver into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will carry them captive to Babylon and smite them with the sword.

For, as often as I speak, I make outcry, Violence and wasting, I proclaim, - Yea the word of Yahweh hath become to me a reproach and derision lull the day

Therefore I say - I will not mention him Neither will I speak any more in his name, But then it becometh in my heart as a fire that burneth, Shut up in my bones, - And I am weary of restraint and cannot refrain.

Because I have heard the whispering of many - "A terror round about!" Tell ye say they , that we may tell of him, All the men I am wont to salute do watch for my halting, - Peradventure he will be persuaded, and we shall prevail over him, and take our vengeance upon him.

But, Yahweh, is with me, as a mighty one striking terror, For this cause, shall my persecutors stumble and not prevail, - They have turned very pale, For they have not prospered, Confusion age-abiding, it shall not be forgotten!

But O Yahweh of hosts - Testing the righteous Beholding the affections and the heart, - Let me see thine avenging upon them, For unto thee, have I laid bare my cause.

Sing ye to Yahweh! Praise ye Yahweh! For he hath delivered the soul of the needy, out of the hand of evildoers.

Because I was not slain from the womb, - Nor did my mother become my grave, Nor was her womb great for ever!

Enquire for us I pray thee of Yahweh, in that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, maketh war against us, - Peradventure Yahweh will deal with us according to all his wonders, as that he go up from us.

For I have set my face against this city, for calamity and not for blessing, Declareth Yahweh, - Into the hand of the king of Babylon, shall it be given up, and he will burn it with fire.

O house of David! Thus, saith Yahweh, Administer justice betimes, And deliver the robbed out of the hand of the oppressor, - Lest mine indignation come forth like fire And burn and there be none to quench it, Because of the wickedness of your doings:

Yet will I bring punishment upon you according to the fruit of your doings, Declareth Yahweh, - and will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all things round about her.

For if ye, indeed do, this thing, then shall there enter into the gates of this house - kings, sitting for David upon his throne riding in chariots and on horses, he and his servants, and his people.

For Thus, saith Yahweh Concerning the house of the king of Judah, - Though thou wast Gilead, to me, The summit of Lebanon, Yet surely I will make thee, A wilderness, Cities, not habitable;

And I will hallow against thee Destroyers Every man with his weapons, - And they shall cut down of the choicest of thy cedars, and cast upon the fire.

Then shall many nations pass by this city, - and shall say, every man to his neighbour, For what cause, hath Yahweh done thus, unto this great city?

Do not ye lament for him that is dead Neither bemoan ye, him, But weep ye - weep on - for him that is going away, For he shall not return any more Nor see the land of his birth.

For Thus, saith Yahweh - Touching Shallum, son of Josiah king of Judah, That reigneth instead of Josiah his father, Who hath gone forth out of this place, He shall not return thither any more;

For in the place whither they have taken him captive, There, shall he die, - And this land, shall he see no more.

Alas! for him who buildeth his house without righteousness, And his roof-chambers without justice, - Of his neighbour, taketh service for nought, And recompense for his work, giveth him not.

Verily thou hast neither eyes nor heart, save for thy plundering and for thy shedding of innocent blood, and for oppression and for crushing to do them!

Therefore - Thus, saith Yahweh, Touching Jehoiakim son of Josiah King of Judah, They shall not cry in lament for him Alas my brother! or Alas sister! They shall not cry in lament for him Alas lord! or Alas! his renown!

Ascend the Lebanon and make outcry, And in Bashan, put forth thy voice, - And make outcry from Abarim, For all thy lovers are torn in pieces.

and I would give thee into the hand of them who seek thy life and into the hand of them from the face of whom, thou dost shrink in fear, - even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans;

Thus, saith Yahweh, - Register ye this man, childless, A man who shall not prosper in his days, - For there shall prosper of his seed No man sitting upon the throne of David, Or ruling any more over Judah.

Alas for the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture Declareth Yahweh.

As for the prophets, - Broken is my heart within me Trembled have all my bones, I have become as a drunken man, And as a strong man whom wine hath overcome, - Because of Yahweh, And because of his holy words.

For with adulterers, is the land filled, Yea because of cursing, cloth the land mourn, Dried up are the oases of the desert, - And, their oppression hath become wicked, And, their might is not right.

For both prophet and priest, are profane, - Even in my house, have I found their wickedness, Declareth Yahweh.

Therefore, shall their way become to them like slippery places in darkness, They shall be driven on and shall fall therein, - For I will bring in upon them calamity - The year of their visitation, Declareth Yahweh.

Therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts Concerning the prophets, - Behold me! Feeding them with wormwood, And I will cause them to drink poisoned water, - For from the prophets of Jerusalem, hath there gone forth profanity unto all the land.

For who hath stood in the council of Yahweh, that he should see and hear his word? Who hath given ear to his word and heard it?

Who lay a plot to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they relate every man to his neighbour, - Just as their fathers forgat, my name, for Baal.

Is not my word, like this, Like fire? Demandeth Yahweh, - And like a hammer, that breaketh in pieces a cliff?

but the oracle of Yahweh, shall ye not mention, any more, - for, every man's oracle, shall be his own word, because ye have perverted the words of a Living God, Yahweh of hosts our God.