I will take up a weeping and a wailing for the mountains, and a mourning for the pastures of the wilderness; because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; nor can men hear the voice of the cattle. Both the birds of the heavens and the beast have fled; they are gone.

So says Jehovah of Hosts, Think carefully, and call for the wailers, that they may come. And send for the wise women, that they may come;

and let them make haste and take up a weeping for us, so that our eyes may run down with tears, and waters flow from our eyelids.

For a voice of weeping is heard out of Zion. How are we plundered! We are greatly ashamed, because we have forsaken the land, because they have thrown down our tents.

For death has come up into our windows, and has entered into our houses, to cut off the children from outside and the young men from the streets.

but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am Jehovah, doing kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth; for in these I delight, says Jehovah.

Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the sons of Ammon, and Moab, and all who are in the outermost corners, who dwell in the wilderness. For all these nations are not circumcised, and all the house of Israel, those not circumcised in heart.

So says Jehovah, Do not learn the way of the nations, and do not be terrified at the signs of the heavens; for the nations are terrified at them.

For the customs of the people are vain; for one cuts a tree out of the forest with the axe, the work of the hands of the workman.

They are like a rounded post, and they cannot speak. They must surely be lifted, because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them; for they cannot do evil nor good, for it is not in them.

Who would not fear You, O King of nations? For fear belongs to You, because among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.

Every man is stupid for lack of knowledge; every refiner is put to shame by the graven image; for his molten image is a lie, and no breath is in them.

The Portion of Jacob is not like them; for He is the Maker of all things; and Israel is the rod of His inheritance. Jehovah of Hosts is His name.

For so says Jehovah, Behold, I will sling out the people of the land at this time, and will distress them, so that they may find Me.

Woe to me for my breaking! My wound is grievous; but I said, Truly this is a malady, and I must bear it.

For the pastors have become stupid, and have not sought Jehovah, therefore they shall not be blessed, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

Pour out Your fury on the nations who do not know You, and on the families who do not call on Your name; for they have eaten up Jacob and have devoured him, and have destroyed him, and have made his dwelling desolate.

For I earnestly testified to your fathers in the day I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even to this day, rising early and testifying, saying, Obey My voice.

For according to the number of your cities were your gods, O Judah. And according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem you have set up altars to that shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal.

And you, do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them. For I will not hear them in the time they cry to Me for their trouble.

Jehovah called your name, a green olive tree, fair, with fine fruit. With the sound of a great storm He has set fire to it, and its branches are worthless.

And Jehovah of Hosts who planted you has spoken evil against you, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done to themselves to provoke Me to anger by offering incense to Baal.

But, O Jehovah of Hosts who judges rightly, who tries the heart and the mind, let me see Your vengeance on them. For to You I have revealed my cause.

and there shall be no remnant of them. For I will bring evil on the men of Anathoth, the year of their judgment.

You have planted them; yea, they take root. They grow, yea, they make fruit. You are near in their mouth and far from their reins.

But You, O Jehovah, know me. You have seen me and tried my heart toward You. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and devote them for the day of slaughter.

For even your brothers and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you. Yea, they have called a multitude after you. Do not believe them, though they speak good things to you.

The ravagers have come on all high places through the wilderness; for the sword of Jehovah shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land. No flesh shall have peace.

So says Jehovah to me, Go and buy for yourself a linen girdle, and put it on your loins, and do not put it in water.

Then I went to Euphrates and dug, and took the girdle from the place where I had hidden it. And, behold, the girdle was rotted; it was not good for anything.

This evil people, who refuse to hear My Words, who walk in the stubbornness of their heart and walk after other gods to serve them and to worship them, shall even be like this girdle, which is good for nothing.

For as the girdle holds fast to the loins of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me, says Jehovah; so that they might be to Me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory; but they would not hear.

Hear and give ear; do not be proud; for Jehovah has spoken.

Give glory to Jehovah your God, before He causes darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and, while you look for light, He turns it into the shadow of death, setting up deep gloom.

But if you will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride. And my eye shall weep sore and run down with tears, because Jehovah's flock was captured.

Say to the king and to the queen mother, Humble yourselves, sit down; for your greatness shall come down, even the crown of your glory.

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?

Because the ground was cracked, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed; they covered their heads.

O Jehovah, though our iniquities testify against us, act for Your name's sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against You.

Then Jehovah said to me, Do not pray for this people for good.

And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, either them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters. For I will pour their evil on them.

And you shall speak this word to them: Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and do not let them cease. For the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great break, with a very grievous blow.

Have You utterly rejected Judah? Or has Your soul hated Zion? Why have You stricken us, and there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but no good came; and for the time of healing, and behold, trouble!

We acknowledge, O Jehovah, our wickedness, the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against You.

Do not abhor us for Your name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of Your glory; remember, do not break Your covenant with us.

Are there any among the vanities of the nations who make rain fall? Or can the heavens give showers? Is it not You, O Jehovah our God? Then we will wait on You; for You do all these things.

And it will be, if they say to you, Where shall we go? Then you shall tell them, So says Jehovah: Those who are for death, go to death; and those for the sword, to the sword; and those for the famine, to the famine; and those for the captivity, to the captivity.

And I will set over them four kinds, says Jehovah; the sword to kill, and the dogs to tear, and the birds of the heaven and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy.

And I will make them a horror to all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

For who shall have pity on you, O Jerusalem? Or who shall weep over you? Or who shall turn aside to ask your welfare?

Jehovah said, Truly I will free you for good. Truly I will cause the enemy to entreat you in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.

Your wealth and your treasures I will give for prey, not for price, but for all your sins, even in all your borders.

And I will make you pass with your enemies into a land which you do not know. For a fire has been kindled in My anger; it shall burn against you.

O Jehovah, You know; remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on those who seek to hurt me. Do not take me away in Your long-suffering; know that for Your sake I have suffered rebuke.

Your Words were found, and I ate them; and Your Word was to me the joy and gladness of my heart; for I am called by Your name, O Jehovah, the God of Hosts.

I did not sit in the circle of mockers, nor rejoice; I sat alone because of Your hand; for You have filled me with indignation.

And I will make you to this people a fortified wall of bronze; and they shall fight against you, but they shall not overcome you; for I am with you to save you and to deliver you, says Jehovah.

You shall not take a wife for yourself, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.

For so says Jehovah concerning the sons and concerning the daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them, and concerning their fathers who fathered them in this land:

They shall die from deaths of diseases; they shall not be mourned, nor shall they be buried. But they shall be as dung on the face of the earth. And they shall be destroyed by the sword and by famine; and their bodies shall be food for the birds of the heavens and for the beasts of the earth.

For so says Jehovah, Do not enter into the house of mourning; do not go to weep nor moan over them. For I have taken away My peace from this people, says Jehovah, even loving-kindness and mercies.

Both the great and the small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried, nor shall men mourn for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.

Nor shall anyone tear themselves for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead. Nor shall anyone give them the cup of comfort to drink for their father or for their mother.

For so says Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will cause the voice of mirth to cease out of this place before your eyes, and in your days, and the voice of gladness, and the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

And you have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, you walk each one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, without listening to Me;

Behold, I will send for many fishermen, says Jehovah, and they will fish them. And afterwards I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.

For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes.

O My mountain in the field, I will give your wealth and all your treasures for prey, and your high places for sin, throughout all your borders.

And you, even through yourself, have let go of the inheritance which I gave you; and I will cause you to serve your enemies in a land which you do not know. For you have kindled a fire in My anger, which shall burn forever.

For he shall be like a juniper in the desert, and shall not see when good comes. But he shall live in the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land that is not inhabited.

For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters; it sends out its roots by the river, and it shall not fear when the heat comes, but its foliage shall be green; and he is not worried in the year of drought, nor will it cease from yielding fruit.

Heal me, O Jehovah, and I shall be healed, save me, and I shall be saved; for You are my praise.

But if you will not listen to me to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to carry a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it will not be put out.

Then they said, Come and let us plot schemes against Jeremiah. For the Law shall not perish from the priest, nor wisdom from the wise, nor the Word from the prophet. Come and let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.

Should evil be repaid for good? For they have dug a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before You to do good for them, and to turn away Your wrath from them.

Let a cry be heard from their houses, when You suddenly bring a raiding party on them. For they have dug a pit to take me, and have hidden snares for my feet.

They have also built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I never commanded nor spoke, nor did it come into My mind.

And I will make the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem come to nothing in this place, and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of those who seek their lives. And I will give their dead bodies to be food for the birds of the heavens, and for the animals of the earth.

For so says Jehovah, Behold, I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. And they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and your eyes shall behold it. And I will give all Judah into the king of Babylon's hand, and he will exile them into Babylon, and kill them with the sword.

For whenever I speak, I cry out, I cry violence and ruin; for the Word of Jehovah has been a reproach and a cause of mocking to me all day.

Then I said, I will not mention Him, nor speak in His name any more. But His Word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with holding in, and I could not stop.

For I heard the slanders of many, Terror is all around! Expose! Yea, let us expose him! Every man of my peace is watching for my fall, saying, Perhaps he will be lured away, and we shall prevail over him, and we shall take our revenge on him.

But Jehovah is with me like a mighty, awesome one. Therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not overcome me. They shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not be blessed. Their everlasting shame shall never be forgotten.

But, O Jehovah of Hosts, who tries the righteous and sees the reins and the heart, let me see Your vengeance on them. For I have committed my cause to You.

Sing to Jehovah, praise Jehovah; for He has delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.

Please inquire of Jehovah for us. For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is warring against us. Perhaps Jehovah will deal with us according to all His wonderful works, that he may go up from us.

For I have set My face against this city for evil, and not for good, says Jehovah. It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.

O house of David, so says Jehovah: Do judgment in the morning, and deliver him who is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor, lest My fury go out like fire, and burn so that none can put it out, because of the evil of your doings.

But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, says Jehovah; and I will kindle a fire in the forest of it, and it shall devour all things around it.

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

For so says Jehovah to the king of Judah's house, You are Gilead to Me, and the head of Lebanon. Yet surely I will make you a wilderness, cities with no people.

And I will prepare destroyers against you, each one with his weapons. And they shall cut down your choice cedars, and throw them into the fire.

Weep not for the dead, nor moan for him; but weep bitterly for him who goes away. For he shall return no more, nor see his native country.

For so says Jehovah concerning Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, who reigned in the place of Josiah his father, who went forth out of this place: he shall not return there any more.

Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness and his upper rooms without justice; his neighbor serves without pay, and he does not give him for his work;

who says, I will build myself a wide house and large rooms, and cuts out windows for himself, and puts in a cedar ceiling, and paints it with vermilion.

But your eyes and your heart are for nothing but your unjust gain, and to shed innocent blood, and for cruelty, and to do violence.

Therefore so says Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, They shall not mourn for him, saying, Ah, my brother! or, Ah, sister! They shall not mourn for him, saying, Ah, lord! or, Ah, his glory!

Go up to Lebanon, and cry. And lift up your voice in Bashan, and cry from Abarim, for all your lovers are destroyed.

I spoke to you in your prosperity; but you said, I will not hear. This has been your way from your youth, for you have not obeyed My voice.