And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The LORD liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people.

And if they do not hearken, Then I have plucked up that nation, Plucking up and destroying, An affirmation of Jehovah!'

Thus said Jehovah unto me, 'Go, and thou hast got for thee a girdle of linen, and hast placed it on thy loins, and into water thou dost not cause it to enter:'

So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put it on my loins.

Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying,

Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.

So I went and put it in a secret place by Parah, as the Lord had said to me.

And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there.

Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

Thus do I mar the excellency of Judah, And the great excellency of Jerusalem.

This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing.

For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.

Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?

Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to fill with drunkenness all the people of this land, even the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all the people of Jerusalem.

And I will dash them one against another, both the fathers and the sons together, saith Jehovah; I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy so as not to destroy them.

Listen and pay close attention, do not be haughty and overconfident,
For the Lord has spoken [says Jeremiah].

Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.

And if ye do not hear it, In secret places doth my soul weep, because of pride, Yea, it weepeth sore, And the tear cometh down mine eyes, For the flock of Jehovah hath been taken captive.

Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.

The cities of the South are shut up, and there is none to open them: Judah is carried away captive, all of it; it is wholly carried away captive.

Lift up your eyes, and see those coming in from the north, Where is the drove given to thee, thy beautiful flock?

What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?

And if you say in your heart, 'Why have these [things] happened to me?' Because of the greatness of your iniquity your skirts are uncovered; your heels have endured violence.

Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

“Therefore I will scatter them like drifting straw
To the desert wind.

“This is your destiny, the portion [of judgment] measured to you
From Me,” says the Lord,
“Because you have forgotten Me
And trusted in [pagan] lies [the counterfeit gods, and the pretense of alliance].”

So I will pull your skirt up over your face and expose you to shame like a disgraced adulteress!

Thine adulteries, and thy neighings, The wickedness of thy whoredom, on heights in a field, I have seen thine abominations. Woe to thee, O Jerusalem, Thou art not cleansed, after when is it again?

The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth.

Mourned hath Judah, and her gates have languished, They have mourned to the earth, And the cry of Jerusalem hath gone up.

And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.

Because of the ground which is cracked, for that no rain hath been in the land, the plowmen are put to shame, they cover their heads.

For even the hind in the field hath brought forth -- to forsake it! For there hath been no grass.

And the asses of the field on the open hilltops are opening their mouths wide like jackals to get air; their eyes are hollow because there is no grass.

O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.

O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?

Why art Thou as one dumb? As a mighty one not able to save? And Thou art in our midst, O Jehovah, And Thy name over us is called, leave us not.

Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.

So the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for good things for this people.

When they fast, I hearken not unto their cry, And when they cause to ascend burnt-offering and present, I accept them not, For by sword, and by famine, And by pestilence, I am consuming them.

And I say, 'Ah, Lord Jehovah, Lo, the prophets are saying to them: Ye do not see a sword, yea, famine is not to you, For true peace I give to you in this place.'

And Jehovah saith unto me: Falsehood the prophets are prophesying in My name, I did not send them, nor command them, Nor have I spoken unto them: A false vision, and divination, and vanity, And the deceit of their own heart, they are prophesying to you.

Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, and I didn't send them, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land: By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.

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, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.

Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.

If I have gone forth to the field, Then, lo, the pierced of the sword! And if I have entered the city, Then, lo, the diseased of famine! For both prophet and priest have gone up and down Unto a land that they knew not.

Hast Thou utterly rejected Judah? Zion hath Thy soul loathed? Wherefore hast Thou smitten us, And there is no healing to us? Looking for peace, and there is no good, And for a time of healing, and lo, terror.

We knew, O Jehovah, our evil, the iniquity of our fathers: for we sinned to thee.

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

Are there among the vanities of the nations any causing rain? And do the heavens give showers? Art not Thou He, O Jehovah our God? And we wait for thee, for Thou -- Thou hast done all these!

Then the Lord said to me, “Even though Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me [interceding for them], My heart would still not be [turned with favor] toward this people [Judah]. Send them away from My presence and out of My sight and let them go!

And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.

And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.

And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.

For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?

I, the Lord, say: 'You people have deserted me! You keep turning your back on me.' So I have unleashed my power against you and have begun to destroy you. I have grown tired of feeling sorry for you!"

I have winnowed them with a fan in the gates of the land; I have bereaved [them] of children, I have destroyed my people; they didn't return from their ways.

Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.

She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD.

Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me.

The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.

Is it possible for iron to be broken; even iron from the north, and brass?

Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders.

And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.

O Lord, You know and understand;
Remember me [thoughtfully], take notice of me,
take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away;
Know that for Your sake I endure [continual] rebuke and dishonor.

Thy words have been found, and I eat them, And Thy word is to me for a joy, And for the rejoicing of my heart, For Thy name is called on me, O Jehovah, God of Hosts.

I have not sat in an assembly of deriders, Nor do I exult, because of thy hand, -- Alone I have sat, For with indignation Thou hast filled me.

Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?

Therefore, thus says the Lord [to Jeremiah],
“If you repent [and give up this mistaken attitude of despair and self-pity], then I will restore you [to a state of inner peace]
So that you may stand before Me [as My obedient representative];
And if you separate the precious from the worthless [examining yourself and cleansing your heart from unwarranted doubt concerning My faithfulness],
You will become My spokesman.
Let the people turn to you [and learn to value My values]—
But you, you must not turn to them [with regard for their idolatry and wickedness].

And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD.

And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,

Thou dost not take to thee a wife, Nor hast thou sons and daughters in this place.

For thus says Yahweh concerning the sons and concerning the daughters born in this place, and concerning their mothers who gave birth to them, and concerning their fathers who fathered them in this land:

They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies.

Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them:

Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.

Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink.

For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.

And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God?

Then thou hast said unto them: Because that your fathers have forsaken Me, An affirmation of Jehovah, And go after other gods, and serve them, And they bow themselves to them, And Me have forsaken, and My law not kept,

and you, ye have done still worse than your fathers; and there ye are walking every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, not to hearken unto me:

Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.

But, 'Jehovah liveth, who brought up The sons of Israel out of the land of the north, And out of all the lands whither He drove them,' And I have brought them back to their land, That I gave to their fathers.

“I am about to send for many fishermen”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and they will fish for them. Then I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and out of the clefts of the rocks,

For I see everything they do. Their wicked ways are not hidden from me. Their sin is not hidden away where I cannot see it.

I will first doubly repay and punish them for their wickedness and their sin [before I return them to their land], because they have profaned My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable idols and with their abominations.”

O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.

Shall a man make to himself gods, which yet are no gods?

Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The LORD.

The sin of Judah is recorded with a pen of iron, and with the sharp point of a jewel it is cut on their hearts of stone, and on the horns of their altars for a sign to them:

Their children are always thinking about their altars and their sacred poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, set up beside the green trees on the high hills

O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders.

And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.

He will be like a bush in the desert, and he won't see when good comes. He will dwell in parched places in the wilderness, a land of salt, without inhabitants.

Blessed is the man Who trusteth in Yahweh, To whom Yahweh is his ground of confidence;

For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out its roots by the stream, and he shall not see when heat cometh, but his leaf shall be green; and in the year of drought he shall not be careful, neither shall he cease to yield fruit.

The heart is a twisted thing, not to be searched out by man: who is able to have knowledge of it?

I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.