but they went after the stubbornness of their heart, and after the Baals, which their ancestors taught them."

and I will scatter them among the nations that they have not known, they and their ancestors, and I will send the sword after them until I bring them to an end."

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 quickly make cries of sorrow for us, so that drops may be flowing from our eyes till they are streaming with water.

For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion, 'How we are devastated! We are very ashamed because we have left the land, because they have overthrown our dwelling places.'

Tell your daughters and neighbors, 'The Lord says, "The dead bodies of people will lie scattered everywhere like manure scattered on a field. They will lie scattered on the ground like grain that has been cut down but has not been gathered."'"

The Lord says, "Wise people should not boast that they are wise. Powerful people should not boast that they are powerful. Rich people should not boast that they are rich.

If people want to boast, they should boast about this: They should boast that they understand and know me. They should boast that they know and understand that I, the Lord, act out of faithfulness, fairness, and justice in the earth and that I desire people to do these things," says the Lord.

Thus says the Lord,

“Do not learn the way of the [pagan] nations,
And do not be terrified and distressed by the signs of the heavens
Although the pagans are terrified by them;

For the religion of these people is worthless. They cut down a tree in the forest, and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools.

He decorates it with silver and gold, they strengthen it with nails and hammers, so that it does not stagger.

They [are] like scarecrows in a cucumber field, they cannot speak. Indeed, they must be carried, for they cannot march. You must not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil; furthermore, to do good [is] not in them."

{At the same time} they are stupid and foolish, [in the] instruction of idols, it [is] wood.

There is silver beaten into plates, which is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the artificer and of the hands of the goldsmith; blue and purple for their clothing; they are all the work of skilful men.

Thus shall you say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.

His wisdom maketh all men fools. And confounded be all casters of images, for that they cast is but a vain thing, and hath no life.

They [are] vanity, a work of mockery, at the time of their punishment, they will perish.

For thus says Yahweh, "Look, I [am] about to sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I will bring distress to them, so that they may feel it."

My tent is devastated, and all my tent cords are torn. My children have gone out [from] me, and they are not. There is no [one who] pitches my tent again, or [one who] puts up my tent curtains.

For the shepherds have become stupid, they do not seek Yahweh. {Therefore} they do not have insight, and all of their flock are scattered.

Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not know you, and on [the] peoples that do not call on your name, for they have devoured Jacob, they have devoured and consumed him, and they have caused his settlement to be desolate.

But they did not obey and they did not incline their ear. Instead each one walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore, I brought on them all the words of this covenant which I commanded [them] to do, and they did not [do it].'"

They have turned back to the iniquities of their former ancestors, who refused to obey my words, and they have gone after other gods, to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I {made} with their ancestors."

{Therefore} thus says Yahweh, "I [am] about to bring on them disaster from which they will not be able to escape. Though they cry out to me, yet I will not listen to them.

Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods [to] whom they [are] making smoke offerings, but they will certainly not save them in the time of their trouble.

This is in spite of the fact that the people of Judah have as many gods as they have towns and the citizens of Jerusalem have set up as many altars to sacrifice to that disgusting god, Baal, as they have streets in the city!'

Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them; for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me because of their trouble.

What is to my beloved in my house making mischief to many, and they shall cause the holy flesh to pass away from thee? for thou didst evil, then wilt thou exult

And Yahweh of hosts, the [one who] planted you, has spoken evil against you, because of the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, that they have done to themselves, to provoke me to anger by making smoke offerings to Baal."

And I [was] like a gentle ram-lamb that is brought to slaughter, and I did not know that they planned plans against me, [saying], "Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from [the] land of [the] living, so that his name will no longer be remembered."

So I said to the Lord, "O Lord who rules over all, you are a just judge! You examine people's hearts and minds. I want to see you pay them back for what they have done because I trust you to vindicate my cause."

Therefore, here is what the Lord says concerning the people of Anathoth who want to take your life. They warn, “You must not prophesy in the name of Yahweh, or you will certainly die at our hand.”

They will have no remnant, for I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”

Righteous art thou, O Jehovah, when I contend with thee; yet would I reason the cause with thee: wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they at ease that deal very treacherously?

Not only do you plant them, they take root. They grow, but also they produce fruit. You [are] near in their mouths, but far from their {inmost beings}.

But you, Lord, know all about me. You watch me and test my devotion to you. Drag these wicked men away like sheep to be slaughtered! Appoint a time when they will be killed!

{How long} will the land mourn, and the vegetation of every field dry up, because of the wickedness of those who live in it? [The] animals and [the] birds are swept away, because they have said, "He does not see our future."

"If you run with foot soldiers and they have made you weary, then how will you compete with horses? If you have fallen in {a peaceful land}, then how will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?

For even your relatives, and the house of your father, even they have dealt treacherously with you, even they call {loudly} after you. You must not trust in them, though they speak kindly to you.

The people I call my own have turned on me like a lion in the forest. They have roared defiantly at me. So I will treat them as though I hate them.

Mine heritage is unto me, as a speckled bird; a bird of divers colors is upon it. Go hence, and gather all the beasts of the field together, that they may eat it up.

Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trampled down my plot of land. They have made {my pleasant field} like the desert of desolation.

They have made it a desolation. Desolate, it mourns to me. All the land is made desolate, but there is no person taking [it] to heart.

They spoiling came upon all the hills of the desert: for the sword of Jehovah consumed from the extremity of the land even to extremity of the land: no peace to all flesh.

They have sown wheat and they have reaped thorns. They are exhausted, they do not profit. And they will be ashamed of your produce, because of {the burning anger} of Yahweh."

And it will come about that, after they have been uprooted, I will again have pity on them; and I will take them back, every man to his heritage and every man to his land.

{And then}, if they diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, '{as Yahweh lives},' even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, then they will live in the midst of my people.

But if they do not listen, then {I will completely uproot and destroy that nation}." {declares} Yahweh.

So I went to Perath and dug up the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found that they were ruined; they were good for nothing.

These evil people who say they will not give ear to my words, who go on in the pride of their hearts and have become servants and worshippers of other gods, will become like this band which is of no use for anything.

For as the loincloth clings to [the] loins of a person, so I caused to cling to me all the house of Israel and all the house of Judah,' {declares} Yahweh, 'to be for me a people, and a name, and a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.'

"Therefore, you shall say to them this word, 'Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel: "Every jar must be filled with wine." ' And they will say to you, 'Do we not certainly know that every jar should be filled with wine?'

But if you will not listen to it, my inner self will weep in secret places, because of {the presence of} [your] pride. And my eyes will weep bitterly, and they will melt [in] tears, because the flock of Yahweh has been taken captive.

The gates of the towns in southern Judah will be shut tight. No one will be able to go in or out of them. All Judah will be carried off into exile. They will be completely carried off into exile.'"

"Lift up your eyes, and behold them, that come from the North: Like a fat flock shall they fall upon thee.

What will you say when He appoints
close friends as leaders over you,
ones you yourself trained?
Won’t labor pains seize you,
as they do a woman in labor?

"Judah mourns, and her gates languish, they are in mourning on the ground, and the cry of lament of Jerusalem goes up.

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.

Because of the ground, [which] is cracked because there was no rain on the ground. [The] farmers are ashamed, they cover their heads.

And wild asses stand on [the] barren heights, they gasp [for] breath like the jackals. Their eyes fail because there is no vegetation."

You have been the object of Israel's hopes. You have saved them when they were in trouble. Why have you become like a resident foreigner in the land? Why have you become like a traveler who only stops in to spend the night?

Thus says Yahweh concerning this people: "They have loved so much to wander, they have not spared their feet. Therefore Yahweh is not favorable to them, now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins."

Although they fast, I [am] not listening to their cry of entreaty. And although they present burnt offering and grain offering, I [am] not favorable to them. But by the sword, and by the famine, and by the plague, I [am] about to destroy them."

And Yahweh said to me, "The prophets [are] prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them, and I have not commanded them, and I have not spoken to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, and a divination, worthless, and the deceitfulness of their {minds}."

{Therefore} thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets who prophecy in my name though I have not sent them, yet they [are] saying, "Sword and famine will not be in this land." "By the sword and by the famine those prophets will perish.

And the people [to] whom they [are] prophesying will be cast out into the streets of Jerusalem {because of} the famine and the sword. And there will be no [one who] buries them, their wives, or their sons, or their daughters. And I will pour out on them their wickedness.

You are to speak this word to them:
Let my eyes overflow with tears;
day and night may they not stop,
for the virgin daughter of my people
has been destroyed by a great disaster,
an extremely severe wound.

If I go out [into] the field, then look, those slain by [the] sword. And if I enter the city, then look, the sickness of [the] famine. For both prophet and priest wander around through the land, {they do not know what is going on}.'"

And Jehovah saith unto me: Though Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My soul is not toward this people, Send from before My face, and they go out.

{And then} if they say to you, 'Where shall we go?' Then you shall say to them, 'Thus says Yahweh, "[Those] who [are destined] for the plague, to the plague, and [those] who [are destined] for the sword, to the sword, and [those] who [are destined] for the famine, to the famine, and [those] who [are destined] for the captivity, to the captivity." '

And I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork in the gates of the land. I am bereaved. I have destroyed my people. They did not turn back from their ways.

Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole land! I have not lent on usury, nor have they lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me.

They will go away with your haters into a land which is strange to you: for my wrath is on fire with a flame which will be burning on you.

As your words came to me I drank them in, and they filled my heart with joy and happiness because I belong to you.

I did not spend my time in the company of other people, laughing and having a good time. I stayed to myself because I felt obligated to you and because I was filled with anger at what they had done.

Shall my heaviness endure forever? Are my plagues then so great, that they may never be healed? Wilt thou be as a water that faileth, and cannot continue?"

Therefore thus says Yahweh, "If you turn back, then I will take you back. You will stand {before me}. And if you utter [what is] precious and not [what is] worthless, you will be as my mouth. They will turn back to you, and you will not turn back to them.

And I will make you to this people a wall of fortified bronze, and they will fight against you, but they will not prevail over you, for I [am] with you, to save you, and to deliver you," {declares} Yahweh.

"They will die by diseases, they will not be mourned, and they will not be buried. They will be as dung on the face of the earth. And they will perish by the sword and they will perish by the famine. And their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the air, and for the wild animals of the earth."

"Moreover I, the Lord, tell you: 'Do not go into a house where they are having a funeral meal. Do not go there to mourn and express your sorrow for them. For I have stopped showing them my good favor, my love, and my compassion. I, the Lord, so affirm it!

Both the great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried, and they will not mourn for them, and no one will cut himself with a blade, and no one will shave himself for them.

And they will not break bread for [the] mourning ceremony for them, to comfort him because of [the] dead. And they will not give drink to them, [the] cup of desolation, for their fathers, or for their mothers.

{And then} when you tell this people all these words and they ask you, '{Why} has Yahweh pronounced against us all this great evil, and what [is] our iniquity, and what [is] our sin that we have sinned against Yahweh our God?'

Then you shall say to them, '{Because} your ancestors have forsaken me,' {declares} Yahweh, 'and they have gone after other gods, and they have served them, and they have bowed down in worship to them, and they have forsaken me, and they have not kept my laws.

And you have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, you walk everyone after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:

But in that time they will affirm them with 'I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them.' At that time I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors."

Look, I [am] sending for many fishermen,' {declares} Yahweh, 'and they will fish them out, and {afterward} I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and from the clefts of the cliffs.

For my eyes [are] on all their ways, they are not hidden {from before me}, and their iniquity is not concealed from before my eyes.

And {I will first doubly repay} their iniquity and their sin because of their profaning my land with the dead bodies of their abhorrences, and [with] their abominations they have filled up my inheritance.'"

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.

Can a human make for himself gods? Yet they [are] not gods!"

"{Therefore} look, I [am] about to let them know, this time I am going to let them know my {power} and my might, and they will know that my name [is] Yahweh."

As they remember their children,
So they remember their altars and their Asherim
By green trees on the high hills.

They will be like a shrub in the desert. They will not experience good things even when they happen. It will be as though they were growing in the desert, in a salt land where no one can live.

They will be like a tree planted near a stream whose roots spread out toward the water. It has nothing to fear when the heat comes. Its leaves are always green. It has no need to be concerned in a year of drought. It does not stop bearing fruit.

I, the Lord, probe into people's minds. I examine people's hearts. I deal with each person according to how he has behaved. I give them what they deserve based on what they have done.

As the partridge that sitteth on eggs which she hath not laid, so is he that getteth riches, and not by right; in the midst of his days they shall leave him, and at his end he shall be a fool.

Yahweh, the hope of Israel, all [those who] forsake you will be put to shame, and [those who] turn aside from you in the earth will be recorded, for they have forsaken the fountain of living water, Yahweh.

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

They pursuing me shall be ashamed, and I shall not be ashamed: they shall be dismayed, and I shall not be dismayed: bring upon them the evil day, and break them with a double breaking.