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Jeremiah 1

The Call of Jeremiah

 ⁵ "Before I formed you in the womb I knew ^[a] you,
       before you were born I set you apart;
       I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

 ⁶ "Ah, Sovereign LORD," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."

 ⁷ But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. ⁸ Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.

 ⁹ Then the LORD reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now, I have put my words in your mouth. ¹⁰ See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."

 ¹¹ The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you see, Jeremiah?"
      "I see the branch of an almond tree," I replied.

 ¹² The LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching ^[b] to see that my word is fulfilled."

 ¹³ The word of the LORD came to me again: "What do you see?"
      "I see a boiling pot, tilting away from the north," I answered.

 ¹⁴ The LORD said to me, "From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. ¹⁵ I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms," declares the LORD.
       "Their kings will come and set up their thrones
       in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
       they will come against all her surrounding walls
       and against all the towns of Judah.

 ¹⁶ I will pronounce my judgments on my people
       because of their wickedness in forsaking me,
       in burning incense to other gods
       and in worshiping what their hands have made.

 ¹⁷ "Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. ¹⁸ Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. ¹⁹ They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 2

Israel Forsakes God

 ³ Israel was holy to the LORD,
       the firstfruits of his harvest;
       all who devoured her were held guilty,
       and disaster overtook them,' "
       declares the LORD.

 ⁴ Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob,
       all you clans of the house of Israel.

 ⁵ This is what the LORD says:
       "What fault did your fathers find in me,
       that they strayed so far from me?
       They followed worthless idols
       and became worthless themselves.

 ⁶ They did not ask, 'Where is the LORD,
       who brought us up out of Egypt
       and led us through the barren wilderness,
       through a land of deserts and rifts,
       a land of drought and darkness, ^[c]
       a land where no one travels and no one lives?'

 ⁷ I brought you into a fertile land
       to eat its fruit and rich produce.
       But you came and defiled my land
       and made my inheritance detestable.

 ⁸ The priests did not ask,
       'Where is the LORD ?'
       Those who deal with the law did not know me;
       the leaders rebelled against me.
       The prophets prophesied by Baal,
       following worthless idols.

 ⁹ "Therefore I bring charges against you again,"
       declares the LORD.
       "And I will bring charges against your children's children.

 ¹⁰ Cross over to the coasts of Kittim ^[d] and look,
       send to Kedar ^[e] and observe closely;
       see if there has ever been anything like this:

 ¹¹ Has a nation ever changed its gods?
       (Yet they are not gods at all.)
       But my people have exchanged their ^[f] Glory
       for worthless idols.

 ¹² Be appalled at this, O heavens,
       and shudder with great horror,"
       declares the LORD.

 ¹³ "My people have committed two sins:
       They have forsaken me,
       the spring of living water,
       and have dug their own cisterns,
       broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

 ¹⁴ Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth?
       Why then has he become plunder?

 ¹⁵ Lions have roared;
       they have growled at him.
       They have laid waste his land;
       his towns are burned and deserted.

 ¹⁶ Also, the men of Memphis ^[g] and Tahpanhes
       have shaved the crown of your head. ^[h]

 ¹⁷ Have you not brought this on yourselves
       by forsaking the LORD your God
       when he led you in the way?

 ¹⁸ Now why go to Egypt
       to drink water from the Shihor ^[i] ?
       And why go to Assyria
       to drink water from the River ^[j] ?

 ¹⁹ Your wickedness will punish you;
       your backsliding will rebuke you.
       Consider then and realize
       how evil and bitter it is for you
       when you forsake the LORD your God
       and have no awe of me,"
       declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.

 ²⁰ "Long ago you broke off your yoke
       and tore off your bonds;
       you said, 'I will not serve you!'
       Indeed, on every high hill
       and under every spreading tree
       you lay down as a prostitute.

 ²¹ I had planted you like a choice vine
       of sound and reliable stock.
       How then did you turn against me
       into a corrupt, wild vine?

 ²² Although you wash yourself with soda
       and use an abundance of soap,
       the stain of your guilt is still before me,"
       declares the Sovereign LORD.

 ²³ "How can you say, 'I am not defiled;
       I have not run after the Baals'?
       See how you behaved in the valley;
       consider what you have done.
       You are a swift she-camel
       running here and there,

 ²⁴ a wild donkey accustomed to the desert,
       sniffing the wind in her craving—
       in her heat who can restrain her?
       Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
       at mating time they will find her.

 ²⁵ Do not run until your feet are bare
       and your throat is dry.
       But you said, 'It's no use!
       I love foreign gods,
       and I must go after them.'

 ²⁶ "As a thief is disgraced when he is caught,
       so the house of Israel is disgraced—
       they, their kings and their officials,
       their priests and their prophets.

 ²⁷ They say to wood, 'You are my father,'
       and to stone, 'You gave me birth.'
       They have turned their backs to me
       and not their faces;
       yet when they are in trouble, they say,
       'Come and save us!'

 ²⁸ Where then are the gods you made for yourselves?
       Let them come if they can save you
       when you are in trouble!
       For you have as many gods
       as you have towns, O Judah.

 ²⁹ "Why do you bring charges against me?
       You have all rebelled against me,"
       declares the LORD.

 ³⁰ "In vain I punished your people;
       they did not respond to correction.
       Your sword has devoured your prophets
       like a ravening lion.

 ³¹ "You of this generation, consider the word of the LORD :
       "Have I been a desert to Israel
       or a land of great darkness?
       Why do my people say, 'We are free to roam;
       we will come to you no more'?

 ³² Does a maiden forget her jewelry,
       a bride her wedding ornaments?
       Yet my people have forgotten me,
       days without number.

 ³³ How skilled you are at pursuing love!
       Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.

 ³⁴ On your clothes men find
       the lifeblood of the innocent poor,
       though you did not catch them breaking in.
       Yet in spite of all this

 ³⁵ you say, 'I am innocent;
       he is not angry with me.'
       But I will pass judgment on you
       because you say, 'I have not sinned.'

 ³⁶ Why do you go about so much,
       changing your ways?
       You will be disappointed by Egypt
       as you were by Assyria.

 ³⁷ You will also leave that place
       with your hands on your head,
       for the LORD has rejected those you trust;
       you will not be helped by them.

Jeremiah 3

 ¹ "If a man divorces his wife
       and she leaves him and marries another man,
       should he return to her again?
       Would not the land be completely defiled?
       But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers—
       would you now return to me?"
       declares the LORD.

 ² "Look up to the barren heights and see.
       Is there any place where you have not been ravished?
       By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers,
       sat like a nomad ^[k] in the desert.
       You have defiled the land
       with your prostitution and wickedness.

 ³ Therefore the showers have been withheld,
       and no spring rains have fallen.
       Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute;
       you refuse to blush with shame.

 ⁴ Have you not just called to me:
       'My Father, my friend from my youth,

 ⁵ will you always be angry?
       Will your wrath continue forever?'
       This is how you talk,
       but you do all the evil you can."

Unfaithful Israel

 ¹¹ The LORD said to me, "Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah. ¹² Go, proclaim this message toward the north:
       " 'Return, faithless Israel,' declares the LORD,
       'I will frown on you no longer,
       for I am merciful,' declares the LORD,
       'I will not be angry forever.

 ¹³ Only acknowledge your guilt—
       you have rebelled against the LORD your God,
       you have scattered your favors to foreign gods
       under every spreading tree,
       and have not obeyed me,' "
       declares the LORD.

 ¹⁴ "Return, faithless people," declares the LORD, "for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. ¹⁵ Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. ¹⁶ In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land," declares the LORD, "men will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. ¹⁷ At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. ¹⁸ In those days the house of Judah will join the house of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your forefathers as an inheritance.

 ¹⁹ "I myself said,
       " 'How gladly would I treat you like sons
       and give you a desirable land,
       the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.'
       I thought you would call me 'Father'
       and not turn away from following me.

 ²⁰ But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,
       so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,"
       declares the LORD.

 ²¹ A cry is heard on the barren heights,
       the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel,
       because they have perverted their ways
       and have forgotten the LORD their God.

 ²² "Return, faithless people;
       I will cure you of backsliding."
       "Yes, we will come to you,
       for you are the LORD our God.

 ²³ Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills
       and mountains is a deception;
       surely in the LORD our God
       is the salvation of Israel.

 ²⁴ From our youth shameful gods have consumed
       the fruits of our fathers' labor—
       their flocks and herds,
       their sons and daughters.

 ²⁵ Let us lie down in our shame,
       and let our disgrace cover us.
       We have sinned against the LORD our God,
       both we and our fathers;
       from our youth till this day
       we have not obeyed the LORD our God."

Jeremiah 4

 ¹ "If you will return, O Israel,
       return to me,"
       declares the LORD.
       "If you put your detestable idols out of my sight
       and no longer go astray,

 ² and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
       you swear, 'As surely as the LORD lives,'
       then the nations will be blessed by him
       and in him they will glory."

 ³ This is what the LORD says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem:
       "Break up your unplowed ground
       and do not sow among thorns.

 ⁴ Circumcise yourselves to the LORD,
       circumcise your hearts,
       you men of Judah and people of Jerusalem,
       or my wrath will break out and burn like fire
       because of the evil you have done—
       burn with no one to quench it.

Disaster From the North

 ⁶ Raise the signal to go to Zion!
       Flee for safety without delay!
       For I am bringing disaster from the north,
       even terrible destruction."

 ⁷ A lion has come out of his lair;
       a destroyer of nations has set out.
       He has left his place
       to lay waste your land.
       Your towns will lie in ruins
       without inhabitant.

 ⁸ So put on sackcloth,
       lament and wail,
       for the fierce anger of the LORD
       has not turned away from us.

 ⁹ "In that day," declares the LORD,
       "the king and the officials will lose heart,
       the priests will be horrified,
       and the prophets will be appalled."

 ¹⁰ Then I said, "Ah, Sovereign LORD, how completely you have deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, 'You will have peace,' when the sword is at our throats."

 ¹¹ At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, "A scorching wind from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; ¹² a wind too strong for that comes from me. ^[l] Now I pronounce my judgments against them."

 ¹³ Look! He advances like the clouds,
       his chariots come like a whirlwind,
       his horses are swifter than eagles.
       Woe to us! We are ruined!

 ¹⁴ O Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved.
       How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?

 ¹⁵ A voice is announcing from Dan,
       proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.

 ¹⁶ "Tell this to the nations,
       proclaim it to Jerusalem:
       'A besieging army is coming from a distant land,
       raising a war cry against the cities of Judah.

 ¹⁷ They surround her like men guarding a field,
       because she has rebelled against me,' "
       declares the LORD.

 ¹⁸ "Your own conduct and actions
       have brought this upon you.
       This is your punishment.
       How bitter it is!
       How it pierces to the heart!"

 ¹⁹ Oh, my anguish, my anguish!
       I writhe in pain.
       Oh, the agony of my heart!
       My heart pounds within me,
       I cannot keep silent.
       For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;
       I have heard the battle cry.

 ²⁰ Disaster follows disaster;
       the whole land lies in ruins.
       In an instant my tents are destroyed,
       my shelter in a moment.

 ²¹ How long must I see the battle standard
       and hear the sound of the trumpet?

 ²² "My people are fools;
       they do not know me.
       They are senseless children;
       they have no understanding.
       They are skilled in doing evil;
       they know not how to do good."

 ²³ I looked at the earth,
       and it was formless and empty;
       and at the heavens,
       and their light was gone.

 ²⁴ I looked at the mountains,
       and they were quaking;
       all the hills were swaying.

 ²⁵ I looked, and there were no people;
       every bird in the sky had flown away.

 ²⁶ I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;
       all its towns lay in ruins
       before the LORD, before his fierce anger.

 ²⁷ This is what the LORD says:
       "The whole land will be ruined,
       though I will not destroy it completely.

 ²⁸ Therefore the earth will mourn
       and the heavens above grow dark,
       because I have spoken and will not relent,
       I have decided and will not turn back."

 ²⁹ At the sound of horsemen and archers
       every town takes to flight.
       Some go into the thickets;
       some climb up among the rocks.
       All the towns are deserted;
       no one lives in them.

 ³⁰ What are you doing, O devastated one?
       Why dress yourself in scarlet
       and put on jewels of gold?
       Why shade your eyes with paint?
       You adorn yourself in vain.
       Your lovers despise you;
       they seek your life.

 ³¹ I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,
       a groan as of one bearing her first child—
       the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
       stretching out her hands and saying,
       "Alas! I am fainting;
       my life is given over to murderers."

Jeremiah 5

Not One Is Upright

 ² Although they say, 'As surely as the LORD lives,'
       still they are swearing falsely."

 ³ O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth?
       You struck them, but they felt no pain;
       you crushed them, but they refused correction.
       They made their faces harder than stone
       and refused to repent.

 ⁴ I thought, "These are only the poor;
       they are foolish,
       for they do not know the way of the LORD,
       the requirements of their God.

 ⁵ So I will go to the leaders
       and speak to them;
       surely they know the way of the LORD,
       the requirements of their God."
       But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke
       and torn off the bonds.

 ⁶ Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them,
       a wolf from the desert will ravage them,
       a leopard will lie in wait near their towns
       to tear to pieces any who venture out,
       for their rebellion is great
       and their backslidings many.

 ⁷ "Why should I forgive you?
       Your children have forsaken me
       and sworn by gods that are not gods.
       I supplied all their needs,
       yet they committed adultery
       and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.

 ⁸ They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
       each neighing for another man's wife.

 ⁹ Should I not punish them for this?"
       declares the LORD.
       "Should I not avenge myself
       on such a nation as this?

 ¹⁰ "Go through her vineyards and ravage them,
       but do not destroy them completely.
       Strip off her branches,
       for these people do not belong to the LORD.

 ¹¹ The house of Israel and the house of Judah
       have been utterly unfaithful to me,"
       declares the LORD.

 ¹² They have lied about the LORD;
       they said, "He will do nothing!
       No harm will come to us;
       we will never see sword or famine.

 ¹³ The prophets are but wind
       and the word is not in them;
       so let what they say be done to them."

 ¹⁴ Therefore this is what the LORD God Almighty says:
       "Because the people have spoken these words,
       I will make my words in your mouth a fire
       and these people the wood it consumes.

 ¹⁵ O house of Israel," declares the LORD,
       "I am bringing a distant nation against you—
       an ancient and enduring nation,
       a people whose language you do not know,
       whose speech you do not understand.

 ¹⁶ Their quivers are like an open grave;
       all of them are mighty warriors.

 ¹⁷ They will devour your harvests and food,
       devour your sons and daughters;
       they will devour your flocks and herds,
       devour your vines and fig trees.
       With the sword they will destroy
       the fortified cities in which you trust.

 ¹⁸ "Yet even in those days," declares the LORD, "I will not destroy you completely. ¹⁹ And when the people ask, 'Why has the LORD our God done all this to us?' you will tell them, 'As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners in a land not your own.'

 ²⁰ "Announce this to the house of Jacob
       and proclaim it in Judah:

 ²¹ Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,
       who have eyes but do not see,
       who have ears but do not hear:

 ²² Should you not fear me?" declares the LORD.
       "Should you not tremble in my presence?
       I made the sand a boundary for the sea,
       an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
       The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
       they may roar, but they cannot cross it.

 ²³ But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;
       they have turned aside and gone away.

 ²⁴ They do not say to themselves,
       'Let us fear the LORD our God,
       who gives autumn and spring rains in season,
       who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.'

 ²⁵ Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
       your sins have deprived you of good.

 ²⁶ "Among my people are wicked men
       who lie in wait like men who snare birds
       and like those who set traps to catch men.

 ²⁷ Like cages full of birds,
       their houses are full of deceit;
       they have become rich and powerful

 ²⁸ and have grown fat and sleek.
       Their evil deeds have no limit;
       they do not plead the case of the fatherless to win it,
       they do not defend the rights of the poor.

 ²⁹ Should I not punish them for this?"
       declares the LORD.
       "Should I not avenge myself
       on such a nation as this?

 ³⁰ "A horrible and shocking thing
       has happened in the land:

 ³¹ The prophets prophesy lies,
       the priests rule by their own authority,
       and my people love it this way.
       But what will you do in the end?

Listen to this passage

Lamentations 3

 ^{1 [a]} I am the man who has seen affliction
       by the rod of his wrath.

 ² He has driven me away and made me walk
       in darkness rather than light;

 ³ indeed, he has turned his hand against me
       again and again, all day long.

 ⁴ He has made my skin and my flesh grow old
       and has broken my bones.

 ⁵ He has besieged me and surrounded me
       with bitterness and hardship.

 ⁶ He has made me dwell in darkness
       like those long dead.

 ⁷ He has walled me in so I cannot escape;
       he has weighed me down with chains.

 ⁸ Even when I call out or cry for help,
       he shuts out my prayer.

 ⁹ He has barred my way with blocks of stone;
       he has made my paths crooked.

 ¹⁰ Like a bear lying in wait,
       like a lion in hiding,

 ¹¹ he dragged me from the path and mangled me
       and left me without help.

 ¹² He drew his bow
       and made me the target for his arrows.

 ¹³ He pierced my heart
       with arrows from his quiver.

 ¹⁴ I became the laughingstock of all my people;
       they mock me in song all day long.

 ¹⁵ He has filled me with bitter herbs
       and sated me with gall.

 ¹⁶ He has broken my teeth with gravel;
       he has trampled me in the dust.

 ¹⁷ I have been deprived of peace;
       I have forgotten what prosperity is.

 ¹⁸ So I say, "My splendor is gone
       and all that I had hoped from the LORD."

 ¹⁹ I remember my affliction and my wandering,
       the bitterness and the gall.

 ²⁰ I well remember them,
       and my soul is downcast within me.

 ²¹ Yet this I call to mind
       and therefore I have hope:

 ²² Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
       for his compassions never fail.

 ²³ They are new every morning;
       great is your faithfulness.

 ²⁴ I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;
       therefore I will wait for him."

 ²⁵ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,
       to the one who seeks him;

 ²⁶ it is good to wait quietly
       for the salvation of the LORD.

 ²⁷ It is good for a man to bear the yoke
       while he is young.

 ²⁸ Let him sit alone in silence,
       for the LORD has laid it on him.

 ²⁹ Let him bury his face in the dust—
       there may yet be hope.

 ³⁰ Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,
       and let him be filled with disgrace.

 ³¹ For men are not cast off
       by the Lord forever.

 ³² Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,
       so great is his unfailing love.

 ³³ For he does not willingly bring affliction
       or grief to the children of men.

 ³⁴ To crush underfoot
       all prisoners in the land,

 ³⁵ to deny a man his rights
       before the Most High,

 ³⁶ to deprive a man of justice—
       would not the Lord see such things?

 ³⁷ Who can speak and have it happen
       if the Lord has not decreed it?

 ³⁸ Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
       that both calamities and good things come?

 ³⁹ Why should any living man complain
       when punished for his sins?

 ⁴⁰ Let us examine our ways and test them,
       and let us return to the LORD.

 ⁴¹ Let us lift up our hearts and our hands
       to God in heaven, and say:

 ⁴² "We have sinned and rebelled
       and you have not forgiven.

 ⁴³ "You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us;
       you have slain without pity.

 ⁴⁴ You have covered yourself with a cloud
       so that no prayer can get through.

 ⁴⁵ You have made us scum and refuse
       among the nations.

 ⁴⁶ "All our enemies have opened their mouths
       wide against us.

 ⁴⁷ We have suffered terror and pitfalls,
       ruin and destruction."

 ⁴⁸ Streams of tears flow from my eyes
       because my people are destroyed.

 ⁴⁹ My eyes will flow unceasingly,
       without relief,

 ⁵⁰ until the LORD looks down
       from heaven and sees.

 ⁵¹ What I see brings grief to my soul
       because of all the women of my city.

 ⁵² Those who were my enemies without cause
       hunted me like a bird.

 ⁵³ They tried to end my life in a pit
       and threw stones at me;

 ⁵⁴ the waters closed over my head,
       and I thought I was about to be cut off.

 ⁵⁵ I called on your name, O LORD,
       from the depths of the pit.

 ⁵⁶ You heard my plea: "Do not close your ears
       to my cry for relief."

 ⁵⁷ You came near when I called you,
       and you said, "Do not fear."

 ⁵⁸ O Lord, you took up my case;
       you redeemed my life.

 ⁵⁹ You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me.
       Uphold my cause!

 ⁶⁰ You have seen the depth of their vengeance,
       all their plots against me.

 ⁶¹ O LORD, you have heard their insults,
       all their plots against me-

 ⁶² what my enemies whisper and mutter
       against me all day long.

 ⁶³ Look at them! Sitting or standing,
       they mock me in their songs.

 ⁶⁴ Pay them back what they deserve, O LORD,
       for what their hands have done.

 ⁶⁵ Put a veil over their hearts,
       and may your curse be on them!

 ⁶⁶ Pursue them in anger and destroy them
       from under the heavens of the LORD.