"Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, in garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in such splendor, marching in his great might? It is I, speaking in vindication, mighty to save.

"Why is your clothing red, and your garments like those worn by the ones who tread in the winepress?

"I have trodden the winepress alone, and from my people no one was with me, I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their lifeblood spattered on my garments, and I stained all my clothing.

"For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year for my redeeming work had come.

I looked, but there was no helper, I was appalled that there was no one to give support; so my own arm brought me victory, and as for my wrath, it supported me.

I trampled people in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and I poured out their lifeblood on the ground."

For he said, "Surely they are my people, children who won't act falsely." And so he became their savior.

In all their distress he wasn't distressed, but the angel of his presence saved them; in his acts of love and in his acts of pity he redeemed them; he carried them and lifted them up all the days of old.

Then they remembered the days of old, of Moses his servant. Where is the one who brought up out of the sea the shepherds of his flock? Where is the one who put his Holy Spirit among them,

and who made his glorious arm march at Moses' right hand, who divided the waters in front of them to win an everlasting name,

who led them through the depths? Like a horse in the open desert, they did not stumble;

like cattle that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest. For you led your people, to win for yourself a glorious name.

When you did awesome deeds that we expected, you came down, and the mountains shuddered before you.

Since ancient times no one has heard, and no ear has perceived, and no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.

You come to the aid of those who gladly do what's right, To those who remember you in your ways. See, you were angry, and we sinned against them for a long time, but we will be saved.

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a filthy rag; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind, our iniquities sweep us away.

There is no one who calls on your name or rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have given us into the control of our iniquity.

"I let myself be sought by those who didn't ask for me; I let myself be found by those who didn't seek me. I said, "Here I am! Here I am!' to a nation that didn't call on my name.

I held out my hands all day long to a disobedient people, who walk in a way that isn't good, following their own inclinations

a people who continually provoke me to my face; they keep sacrificing in gardens and waving their hands over stone altars;

who sit among graves, and spend the night in secret places; who eat pigs' meat, with the broth of detestable things in their pots;

who say, "Keep to yourself!' "Don't touch me!' and "I am too holy for you!' "Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day long.

Watch out! It stands written before me: "I won't keep silent, but I will pay back in full; I'll indeed repay into their laps

both your iniquities and your ancestors' iniquities together,'' says the LORD. "Because they offered incense on the mountains and insulted me on hills, I'll measure into their laps full payment for their earlier actions."

This is what the LORD says: "Just as new wine is found in the cluster, and people have said, "Don't destroy it, for there is a gift in it,' so I'll act for my servants' sake, by not destroying them all.

I'll consign you to the sword, and all of you will bend down for the slaughter because when I called, you didn't answer, when I spoke, you didn't listen; but you did what was evil in my sight, and chose what I took no pleasure in."

My servants will sing in gladness of heart, but you'll cry for help from anguish of heart, and you'll howl from brokenness of spirit.

Then whoever takes an oath by the God of faithfulness, and whoever takes an oath in the land, will swear by the God of faithfulness, because the former troubles are forgotten and are hidden from my eyes.

Take notice! I'm about to create new heavens and a new earth; the former things won't be remembered, nor will they come to mind.

But be glad and rejoice forever in what I am creating, for I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight.

I'll rejoice over Jerusalem, and take delight in my people; no longer will the sound of weeping be heard in it, nor the cry of distress.

"And there will no longer be in it a young boy who lives only a few days, or an old person who does not live out his days; for one who dies at a hundred years will be thought a mere youth, and one who falls short of a hundred years will be considered accursed.

People will build houses and live in them; They'll plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

They won't build for others to inhabit; they won't plant for others to eat for like the lifetime of a tree, so will the lifetime of my people be, and my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands.

They won't toil in vain nor bear children doomed to misfortune, for they will be offspring blessed by the LORD, they and their descendants with them.

"The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; but as for the serpent its food will be dust! They won't harm or destroy on my entire holy mountain," says the LORD.

All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came into being," declares the LORD. "But this is the one to whom I will look favorably: to the one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at my message.

"Whoever slaughters an ox is just like one who kills a human being; whoever sacrifices a lamb is just like one who breaks a dog's neck; whoever makes a grain offering is just like one who offers pig's blood; and whoever makes a memorial offering of frankincense is just like one who blesses an idol. Yes, these have chosen their own ways, and they take delight in their contaminated actions.

Therefore I, too, will choose harsh treatment for them, and will bring upon them what they dread. For when I called, no one answered; when I spoke, they didn't listen; but they did what I consider to be evil, and chose what doesn't please me."

"Hear this message from the LORD, you who tremble at his words: "Your own brothers who hate you and exclude you because of my name have said: "Let the LORD be glorified; he will see your joy,' yet it is they who will be put to shame.

"Listen to that uproar in the city! Listen to that noise from the Temple! It is the sound of the LORD paying back retribution to his enemies!

Who has ever heard of such a thing? And who ever sees such things? Can a country be born in a single day, or can a nation be brought forth in a single moment? Yet no sooner was Zion in labor than she delivered her children.

Am I to open the womb and not deliver?" asks the LORD. "And when I bring to delivery, am I to close the womb?" asks your God.

"Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be happy for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in gladness, all you who mourn over her,

This is what the LORD says: "See, I will extend prosperity to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; and you will nurse, and you will be carried on her hip, and bounced upon her knees.

Like a child whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; and you will be comforted in Jerusalem.

And when you look, your hearts will rejoice and your bodies will flourish like grass; and it will be made known that the LORD's hand is with his servants, but his fury is with his enemies.

"Take notice! The LORD will come with fire, and his chariot will be like a whirlwind, to pay back his anger yes, his anger! in fury, and his menacing rebukes in flames of fire.

For with fire and with his sword the LORD will proceed to judgment on all humanity, and those slain by the LORD will be many."

"Those who consecrate and purify themselves to enter the groves, following the one at the center of those who eat the meat of pigs, disgusting things, and rats, are all alike," says the LORD.

They will bring all yes, all! of your kindred from all the nations to my holy mountain Jerusalem as an offering to the LORD on horses, in chariots, in wagons, and on mules yes, even on mules! and on camels," says the LORD, "just as the Israelis bring a grain offering in a clean vessel to the LORD's house.

"Then they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of the people who rebelled against me. For their worm will not die, nor will their fire be extinguished, and they will remain an object of revulsion to all humanity."

The words of Hilkiah's son Jeremiah, who was one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin.

and during the reign of Josiah's son Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and continued until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month, at the end of the eleventh year of the reign of Josiah's son Zedekiah, the king of Judah.

"I knew you before I formed you in the womb; I set you apart for me before you were born; I appointed you to be a prophet to the nations."

The LORD stretched out his hand, touched my mouth, and then told me, "Look, I've put my words in your mouth.

This message from the LORD came to me, asking, "What do you see, Jeremiah?" I replied, "I see an almond branch."

Then the LORD told me, "From the north disaster will pour out on all who live in the land,

because I'm about to summon all the families and kingdoms from the north," declares the LORD. "They'll come and each one will set up his seat at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all of its surrounding walls, and against all of the towns of Judah.

"I'll pronounce my judgments against them because of all their wickedness. They have forsaken me, they have burned incense to other gods, and they have bowed down in worship to the works of their own hands."

"As for you, get ready! Stand up and tell them everything that I've commanded you. Don't be frightened as you face them, or I'll frighten you right in front of them.

"As for me, today I'm making you a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall against the whole land against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.

They'll fight against you, but they won't prevail against you, because I am with you," declares the LORD, "to deliver you."

"Go and announce to Jerusalem: "This is what the LORD says: "I remember the loyal devotion of your youth, your love as a bride. You followed me in the desert, in a land that was not planted.

Israel was consecrated to the LORD, she was the first fruits of his produce. All who devoured her became guilty and disaster came on them," declares the LORD.'"

"They didn't ask, "Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through the land of desert and pits, through the land of dryness and deep darkness, a land that people don't pass through, and where no one lives?'

"I brought you into the fruitful land to eat its fruit and its good things. But you came in, defiled my land, and made my inheritance into an abomination.

Has a nation ever changed gods when they aren't even gods? But my people have exchanged their glory for that which does not profit.

You have done this to yourselves, have you not, by forsaking the LORD your God, when he is the one who led you on the way?

Now, what are you doing on the road to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Nile? And what are you doing on the road to Assyria, to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

Your wickedness will be punished, and you will be corrected due to your acts of apostasy. Know and see that it's evil and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God, but the fear of me is not in you," declares the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies.

"For long ago I broke your yoke and tore off your bonds, But you said, "I won't serve you!' Instead, on every high hill and under every green tree, you bend down to commit fornication.

"How can you say, "I'm not defiled. I haven't gone after the Baals.'? Look at what you've done in the valley. Know what you have done. You are a swift young camel galloping aimlessly;

a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her passion. When she's in heat, who can turn her away? None of the males who pursue her need to tire themselves out, for in her month they'll find her."

"As a thief is disgraced when he's caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets,

who say to a tree, "You are my father,' and to a stone, "You gave birth to me.' They have turned their back to me, but not their faces. In the time of their trouble, they'll say, "Rise up! Deliver us!'"

"But where are your gods that you made for yourselves? Let them rise up, if they can deliver you in the time of your trouble. You have as many gods as you have towns, Judah.

"You, generation, pay attention to this message from the LORD! Am I the desert to Israel, or a land of gloom? Why do my people say, "We're free to roam? We won't come to you anymore.'

On your skirts is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor, even though you didn't catch them breaking in. Yet despite all these things,

You will also go out from this place with your hands over your heads. For the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust, and you won't prosper through them."

"When a man divorces his wife, she leaves him and becomes another man's wife, will the first husband return to her again? The land would be deeply polluted, would it not? Since you have committed fornication with many lovers, would you now return to me?" declares the LORD.

"Look up to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been ravished? You have sat beside the road, waiting for them like a nomad in the desert. And you have polluted the land with your fornication and your wickedness.

will he hold on to his anger forever, will he persist in his wrath to the end?' Look, you have spoken and done evil things, and you have succeeded in it."

In the time of King Josiah the LORD told me, "Have you seen what unfaithful Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she committed fornication there.

Yet in all this her treacherous sister Judah didn't return to me with her whole heart, but rather deceptively," declares the LORD.

Go, proclaim these words to the north, and say, "Return, unfaithful Israel,' declares the LORD. "I won't look on you in anger, for I am gracious,' declares the LORD. "I won't remain angry forever.

"Return, unfaithful people," declares the LORD, "for I am your husband. I'll take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I'll bring you to Zion.

I'll give you shepherds after my own heart, and they'll shepherd you with knowledge and good sense."

"And in those days when you increase in numbers and multiply in the land," declares the LORD, "people will no longer say, "The Ark of the Covenant of the LORD,' and it won't come to mind, and they won't remember it or miss it, nor will it be made again.

At that time people will call Jerusalem, "The Throne of the LORD," and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem. They'll no longer stubbornly follow their own evil desires.

In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and together they'll come to the land that I gave your ancestors as an inheritance."

"I said, "How I wanted to treat you like children, and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful inheritance of the nations.' I said, "You will call me, my father, and won't turn back from following me.'

Instead, like an unfaithful wife leaves her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, house of Israel," declares the LORD.

"A voice is heard on the barren heights, the weeping and pleading of the children of Israel because they have perverted their way. They have forgotten the LORD their God."

Truly the hills are a deception, and the mountains are confusion. Truly, in the LORD our God is Israel's salvation."

"Let us lie down in our shame, and let our humiliation cover us, because both we and our ancestors have sinned against the LORD our God from our youth until this present time. We haven't obeyed the LORD our God."

If you swear, "as surely as the LORD lives,' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness, then nations will be blessed by him, and in him they will boast."

Circumcise yourselves to the LORD and remove the foreskin of your heart, you men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem, or else my wrath will break out like fire and burn with no one to put it out, because of your evil deeds."

Declare in Judah, make known in Jerusalem, by saying, "Blow the trumpet in the land, cry out, and say, "Gather together and let's go to the fortified cities!'

Raise a standard in the direction of Zion. Flee! Don't stand around! For I'm bringing calamity from the north, along with great destruction.