"How can you say, 'I have not made myself unclean. I have not paid allegiance to the gods called Baal.' Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom! Think about the things you have done there! You are like a flighty, young female camel that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path.

Just as a thief has to suffer dishonor when he is caught, so the people of Israel will suffer dishonor for what they have done. So will their kings and officials, their priests and their prophets.

How you go about so much changing your way! Also by Egypt you will be put to shame, just as you were put to shame by Assyria.

“Will you not just now call out to Me,
‘My Father, you were the guide and companion of my youth?

And Jehovah said unto me, Backsliding Israel hath shewn herself more just than treacherous Judah.

Yes, the Lord has this to say to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: "Like a farmer breaking up hard unplowed ground, you must break your rebellious will and make a new beginning; just as a farmer must clear away thorns lest the seed is wasted, you must get rid of the sin that is ruining your lives.

Just as ritual circumcision cuts away the foreskin as an external symbol of dedicated covenant commitment, you must genuinely dedicate yourselves to the Lord and get rid of everything that hinders your commitment to me, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. If you do not, my anger will blaze up like a flaming fire against you that no one will be able to extinguish. That will happen because of the evil you have done."

Then I said, “[Surely] these are only the poor (uneducated);
They are [sinfully] foolish and have no [spiritual] understanding,
For they do not know the way of the Lord
Or the ordinance of their God [and the requirements of His just and righteous law].

“I will go to the great [men]
And speak to them,
For they [must] know the way of the Lord,
The ordinance of their God.”
But [I found the reverse to be true, that] they too had all alike broken the yoke [of God’s law]
And had burst the bonds [of obedience to Him].

When people ask, ‘For what offense has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ You will respond to them: Just as you abandoned Me and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

Are they ashamed because they have done such shameful things? No, they are not at all ashamed. They do not even know how to blush! So they will die, just like others have died. They will be brought to ruin when I punish them," says the Lord.

"'But just look at you! You are putting your confidence in a false belief that will not deliver you.

Therefore will I do to the house Whereon my Name hath been called Wherein, ye, are trusting, Even to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, - Just as I did unto Shiloh;

And I will cast you {out of my sight} just as I cast out all of your blood relatives, all of the offspring of Ephraim." '

Children are gathering firewood, fathers are building fires with it, and women are mixing dough to bake cakes to offer to the goddess they call the Queen of Heaven. They are also pouring out drink offerings to other gods. They seem to do all this just to trouble me.

Even the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times, And the turtle and the swallow and the crane, observe the season for coming; But my people know not the just sentence of Yahweh.

Are they ashamed because they have done such disgusting things? No, they are not at all ashamed! They do not even know how to blush! So they will die just like others have died. They will be brought to ruin when I punish them, says the Lord.

Why are we just sitting here?
Gather together; let us enter the fortified cities
and perish there,
for the Lord our God has destroyed us.
He has given us poisoned water to drink,
because we have sinned against the Lord.

O Lord, correct me [along with Your people], but with mercy and in just measure—
Not in Your anger, or You will crush me and bring me to nothing.

As a result, I'll fulfill the oath that I made with your ancestors to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, just as is the case today."'" Then I answered, "So be it, LORD."

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."

You, O Lord are [uncompromisingly] righteous and consistently just when I plead my case with You;
Yet let me discuss issues of justice with You:
Why has the way of the wicked prospered?
Why are those who deal in treachery (deceit) at ease and thriving?

If they will diligently learn the ways of My people—to swear by My name, ‘As Yahweh lives,’ just as they taught My people to swear by Baal—they will be built up among My people.

So I went and hid it by [the] Euphrates just as Yahweh had commanded me.

“This is what the Lord says: Just like this I will ruin the great pride of both Judah and Jerusalem.

These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said. They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance to other gods by worshiping and serving them. So they will become just like these linen shorts which are good for nothing.

Just as underwear clings to one’s waist, so I fastened the whole house of Israel and of Judah to Me”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“so that they might be My people for My fame, praise, and glory, but they would not obey.

And you must not carry a burden from your houses on the day of the Sabbath, and you must not do any work. But you must declare holy the day of Sabbath, just as I commanded your ancestors.

“House of Israel, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay?”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, house of Israel.

"Now say to the people of Judah and to the residents of Jerusalem, "This is what the LORD says: "Look, I'm designing a disaster just for you, and I'm making plans against you. Each one of you must repent from his evil way. Make your ways and deeds right."'

But they just keep saying, 'We do not care what you say! We will do whatever we want to do! We will continue to behave wickedly and stubbornly!'"

Should good be paid back with evil? Yet they are virtually digging a pit to kill me. Just remember how I stood before you pleading on their behalf to keep you from venting your anger on them.

and say to them, "This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "In this same way I'll break this people and this city, just as someone breaks a potter's vessel which he then cannot put back together again. They'll bury corpses in Topheth until there is no more room to bury anyone.

The houses in Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled by dead bodies just like this place, Topheth. For they offered sacrifice to the stars and poured out drink offerings to other gods on the roofs of those houses.'"

I hear many whispering words of intrigue against me. Those who would cause me terror are everywhere! They are saying, "Come on, let's publicly denounce him!" All my so-called friends are just watching for something that would lead to my downfall. They say, "Perhaps he can be enticed into slipping up, so we can prevail over him and get our revenge on him.

And Jehovah of armies trying the just, seeing the reins and the heart, I shall see thy vengeance of them: for to thee I uncovered my cause.

The Lord says, "Do what is just and right. Deliver those who have been robbed from those who oppress them. Do not exploit or mistreat foreigners who live in your land, children who have no fathers, or widows. Do not kill innocent people in this land.

Does it make you any more of a king that you outstrip everyone else in building with cedar? Just think about your father. He was content that he had food and drink. He did what was just and right. So things went well with him.

He will be left unburied just like a dead donkey. His body will be dragged off and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.'"

"I, the Lord, promise that a new time will certainly come when I will raise up for them a righteous branch, a descendant of David. He will rule over them with wisdom and understanding and will do what is just and right in the land.

But I see the prophets of Jerusalem doing something just as shocking. They are unfaithful to me and continually prophesy lies. So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil, with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom, and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah.

But just watch! The wrath of the Lord will come like a storm! Like a raging storm it will rage down on the heads of those who are wicked.

Those prophets are just prophesying lies. They are prophesying the delusions of their own minds.

who think that they can make My people forget My Name by their [contrived] dreams which each one tells another, just as their fathers forgot My Name because of Baal?

But just suppose you continue to say, 'The message of the Lord is burdensome.' Here is what the Lord says will happen: 'I sent word to you that you must not say, "The Lord's message is burdensome." But you used the words "The Lord's message is burdensome" anyway.

"I, the Lord, also solemnly assert: 'King Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the people who remain in Jerusalem or who have gone to live in Egypt are like those bad figs. I consider them to be just like those bad figs that are so bad they cannot be eaten.

Jeremiah had just barely finished saying all the Lord had commanded him to say to all the people. All at once some of the priests, the prophets, and the people grabbed him and shouted, "You deserve to die!

Now there was another man who prophesied as the Lord's representative against this city and this land just as Jeremiah did. His name was Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath Jearim.

But just listen to what the Lord has to say about the king who occupies David's throne and all your fellow countrymen who are still living in this city of Jerusalem and were not carried off into exile with you.

For I am with you, says the LORD, to save you: though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet will I not make a full end of you: but I will correct you in just measure, and will not leave you altogether unpunished.

Just watch! The wrath of the Lord will come like a storm. Like a raging storm it will rage down on the heads of those who are wicked.

Just as I watched over them to uproot and to tear them down, to demolish and to destroy, and to cause disaster, so will I be attentive to build and to plant them,” says the Lord.

"Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard just as the LORD had said, and he told me, "Please buy my field in Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin because you have the right to possess it, and the right to redeem it belongs to you. Buy it for yourself.' So I knew that this was a message from the LORD.

You are great in regards to your purposes and mighty in regards to your works. Your eyes are open to everything that people do, and will reward each one according to their ways and just as their actions deserve.

"For thus says Yahweh, 'Just as I have brought to this people all this great disaster, so I [will] bring upon them all the good that I promise to them.

In those days and at that time I will raise up for them a righteous descendant of David. "'He will do what is just and right in the land.

Just as surely as I have done this, so surely will I never reject the descendants of Jacob. Nor will I ever refuse to choose one of my servant David's descendants to rule over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Indeed, I will restore them and show mercy to them."

you will die peacefully. There will be a burning ceremony for you just like the burning ceremonies for your fathers, the former kings who preceded you. ‘Our king is dead!’ will be the lament for you, for I have spoken this word.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

And, though, ye, just now turned and did that which was right in mine eyes, by proclaiming liberty, every man to his neighbour, - and solemnised a covenant before me, in the house on which my Name hath been called,

So Neriah's son Baruch did just as Jeremiah the prophet instructed him, reading the words of the LORD from the scroll at the LORD's Temple.

Then all the princes (court officials) came to Jeremiah and asked him [just what King Zedekiah had anticipated they would ask], and he reported to them in accordance with all that the king had commanded. So they stopped questioning him, since the conversation [with the king] had not been overheard.

Take him and, thine eyes, set thou upon him, and do not unto him any harmful thing, - but just as he shall speak unto thee, so, shalt thou do with him.

and [now] he has brought [it about], and Yahweh has done {just as} he threatened. Because you sinned against Yahweh and did not listen to his voice, so this thing [has] happened to you.

and said unto Jeremiah the prophet - Let our supplication we beseech thee fall prostrate before thee, and pray thou in our behalf unto Yahweh thy God, in behalf of all this remnant, - for we are left a few out of many, just as thine own eyes do behold us:

Jeremiah the prophet told them, "I've heard, and I'm going to pray to the LORD your God just as you have requested. Whatever the LORD answers, I'll tell you. I won't withhold anything from you."

They answered Jeremiah, "May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not do just as the Lord sends you to tell us to do.

"If you will just remain in this land, I'll build you up and not pull you down. I'll plant you and not uproot you, for I'm sorry about the disaster I've brought on you.

“For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Just as My anger and fury were poured out on Jerusalem’s residents, so will My fury pour out on you if you go to Egypt. You will become an object of cursing, scorn, execration, and disgrace, and you will never see this place again.’

Then he will kindle a fire in the {temples} of the gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them captive. And he will wrap up the land of Egypt just as the shepherd wraps up his cloak. And he will go forth from there in peace.

So I will punish those who live in the land of Egypt just as I have punished Jerusalem, with the sword, with the famine, and with the plague.

But certainly we will do {everything} that went out from our mouths, to make smoke offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out to her libations just as we did, we, and our ancestors, our kings, and our officials, in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, [for] then {we had enough to eat}, and we were well-off, and we did not see disaster.

Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life.’”

There they'll cry out, "Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is just a big noise. He has let the appointed time pass by.'

“Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,” says the Lord,
“For I am with you.
For I will make a full and complete end of all the nations
To which I have driven you;
Yet I will not make a full end of you.
But I will discipline and correct you appropriately
And by no means will I declare you guiltless or leave you unpunished.”

Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, just as the house of Israel were ashamed of Bethel, their trust.

I will weep for the grapevines of Sibmah just like the town of Jazer weeps over them. Their branches once spread as far as the Dead Sea. They reached as far as the town of Jazer. The destroyer will ravage her fig, date, and grape crops.

“Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai [in Ammon] has been destroyed!
Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah!
Wrap yourselves with sackcloth and lament (cry out in grief),
And rush back and forth inside the enclosures;
For Malcam [your powerless god] will go into exile
Together with his priests and his princes.

Just like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors," says the LORD, "no one will live there. No human being will reside in it.

Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I will visit (inspect, examine) and punish the king of Babylon and his land, just as I visited and punished the king of Assyria.

The Lord says, "Attack the land of Merathaim and the people who live in Pekod! Pursue, kill, and completely destroy them! Do just as I have commanded you!

“Call together many [archers] against Babylon,
All those who bend the bow.
Encamp against her on every side;
Let no one from there escape.
Repay her according to her actions;
Just as she has done, do to her.
For she has been proudly defiant and presumptuous against the Lord,
Against the Holy One of Israel.

Just as God demolished Sodom and Gomorrah
and their neighboring towns—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
so no one will live there;
no human being will even stay in it
as a temporary resident.

Flee out of the middle of Babylon, and each man deliver his soul. Be not cut off in her iniquity, for this is the time of Jehovah's vengeance; He will give to her a just reward.

For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, "The daughter of Babylon [is] like a threshing floor [at the] time it [is] trodden down, {just a little while} and the time of the harvest will come for her."

"Babylon must fall because of the Israelites she has killed, just as the earth's mortally wounded fell because of Babylon.

and say, ‘Just so shall Babylon sink down and not rise again because of the calamity that I am going to bring upon her; and they will become exhausted.’” Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.

Zedekiah did what was evil in the Lord’s sight just as Jehoiakim had done.