Category: Jeremiah

Jeremiah’s Call and Commission

1 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,

2 to whom the word of the Lordcame in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

4 Now the word of the Lordcame to me saying,

5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

And before you were born I consecrated you;

I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

6 Then I said, “Alas, Lord God!

Behold, I do not know how to speak,

Because I am a youth.”

7 But the Lordsaid to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’

Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,

And all that I command you, you shall speak.

8 Do not be afraid of them,

For I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.

9 Then the Lordstretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lordsaid to me,

“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

10 See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,

To pluck up and to break down,

To destroy and to overthrow,

To build and to plant.”

The Almond Rod and Boiling Pot

11 The word of the Lordcame to me saying, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a rod of an almond tree.”

12 Then the Lordsaid to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.”

13 The word of the Lordcame to me a second time saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.”

14 Then the Lordsaid to me, “Out of the north the evil will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land.

15 For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the Lord; “and they will come and they will set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah.

16 I will pronounce My judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.

17 Now, gird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them.

18 Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land.

19 They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JER/1-fa79aa2c33acc51838978045c856b2a5.mp3?version_id=100—

Judah’s Apostasy

1 Now the word of the Lordcame to me saying,

2 “Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord,

“I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth,

The love of your betrothals,

Your following after Me in the wilderness,

Through a land not sown.

3 Israel was holy to the Lord,

The first of His harvest.

All who ate of it became guilty;

Evil came upon them,” declares the Lord.’ ”

4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.

5 Thus says the Lord,

“What injustice did your fathers find in Me,

That they went far from Me

And walked after emptiness and became empty?

6 They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord

Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt,

Who led us through the wilderness,

Through a land of deserts and of pits,

Through a land of drought and of deep darkness,

Through a land that no one crossed

And where no man dwelt?’

7 I brought you into the fruitful land

To eat its fruit and its good things.

But you came and defiled My land,

And My inheritance you made an abomination.

8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’

And those who handle the law did not know Me;

The rulers also transgressed against Me,

And the prophets prophesied by Baal

And walked after things that did not profit.

9 “Therefore I will yet contend with you,” declares the Lord,

“And with your sons’ sons I will contend.

10 For cross to the coastlands of Kittim and see,

And send to Kedar and observe closely

And see if there has been sucha thingas this!

11 Has a nation changed gods

When they were not gods?

But My people have changed their glory

For that which does not profit.

12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this,

And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.

13 “For My people have committed two evils:

They have forsaken Me,

The fountain of living waters,

To hew for themselves cisterns,

Broken cisterns

That can hold no water.

14 “Is Israel a slave? Or is he a homeborn servant?

Why has he become a prey?

15 The young lions have roared at him,

They have roared loudly.

And they have made his land a waste;

His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.

16 Also the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes

Have shaved the crown of your head.

17 Have you not done this to yourself

By your forsaking the Lordyour God

When He led you in the way?

18 But now what are you doing on the road to Egypt,

To drink the waters of the Nile?

Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,

To drink the waters of the Euphrates?

19 Your own wickedness will correct you,

And your apostasies will reprove you;

Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter

For you to forsake the Lordyour God,

And the dread of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord Godof hosts.

20 “For long ago I broke your yoke

Andtore off your bonds;

But you said, ‘I will not serve!’

For on every high hill

And under every green tree

You have lain down as a harlot.

21 Yet I planted you a choice vine,

A completely faithful seed.

How then have you turned yourself before Me

Into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?

22 Although you wash yourself with lye

And use much soap,

The stain of your iniquity is before Me,” declares the Lord God.

23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled,

I have not gone after the Baals’?

Look at your way in the valley!

Know what you have done!

You are a swift young camel entangling her ways,

24 A wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,

That sniffs the wind in her passion.

Inthe time ofher heat who can turn her away?

All who seek her will not become weary;

In her month they will find her.

25 Keep your feet from being unshod

And your throat from thirst;

But you said, ‘It is hopeless!

No! For I have loved strangers,

And after them I will walk.’

26 “As the thief is shamed when he is discovered,

So the house of Israel is shamed;

They, their kings, their princes

And their priests and their prophets,

27 Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’

And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’

For they have turnedtheirback to Me,

And nottheirface;

But in the time of their trouble they will say,

‘Arise and save us.’

28 But where are your gods

Which you made for yourself?

Let them arise, if they can save you

In the time of your trouble;

Foraccording tothe number of your cities

Are your gods, O Judah.

29 “Why do you contend with Me?

You have all transgressed against Me,” declares the Lord.

30 “In vain I have struck your sons;

They accepted no chastening.

Your sword has devoured your prophets

Like a destroying lion.

31 O generation, heed the word of the Lord.

Have I been a wilderness to Israel,

Or a land of thick darkness?

Why do My people say, ‘Weare free toroam;

We will no longer come to You’?

32 Can a virgin forget her ornaments,

Or a bride her attire?

Yet My people have forgotten Me

Days without number.

33 How well you prepare your way

To seek love!

Therefore even the wicked women

You have taught your ways.

34 Also on your skirts is found

The lifeblood of the innocent poor;

You did not find them breaking in.

But in spite of all these things,

35 Yet you said, ‘I am innocent;

Surely His anger is turned away from me.’

Behold, I will enter into judgment with you

Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

36 Why do you go around so much

Changing your way?

Also, you will be put to shame by Egypt

As you were put to shame by Assyria.

37 From thisplacealso you will go out

With your hands on your head;

For the Lordhas rejected those in whom you trust,

And you will not prosper with them.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JER/2-eb513bf3fe39f70249c1c1c952a949bb.mp3?version_id=100—

The Polluted Land

1 Godsays, “If a husband divorces his wife

And she goes from him

And belongs to another man,

Will he still return to her?

Will not that land be completely polluted?

But you are a harlotwithmany lovers;

Yet you turn to Me,” declares the Lord.

2 “Lift up your eyes to the bare heights and see;

Where have you not been violated?

By the roads you have sat for them

Like an Arab in the desert,

And you have polluted a land

With your harlotry and with your wickedness.

3 Therefore the showers have been withheld,

And there has been no spring rain.

Yet you had a harlot’s forehead;

You refused to be ashamed.

4 Have you not just now called to Me,

‘My Father, You are the friend of my youth?

5 Will He be angry forever?

Will He be indignant to the end?’

Behold, you have spoken

And have done evil things,

And you have had your way.”

Faithless Israel

6 Then the Lordsaid to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there.

7 I thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.

8 And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also.

9 Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.

10 Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception,” declares the Lord.

God Invites Repentance

11 And the Lordsaid to me, “Faithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.

12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say,

‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord;

‘I will not look upon you in anger.

For I am gracious,’ declares the Lord;

‘I will not be angry forever.

13 Only acknowledge your iniquity,

That you have transgressed against the Lordyour God

And have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree,

And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the Lord.

14 ‘Return, O faithless sons,’ declares the Lord;

‘For I am a master to you,

And I will take you one from a city and two from a family,

And I will bring you to Zion.’

15 “Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding.

16 It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land,” declares the Lord, “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they missit,nor will it be made again.

17 At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of the Lord,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart.

18 In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.

19 “Then I said,

‘How I would set you among My sons

And give you a pleasant land,

The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’

And I said, ‘You shall call Me, My Father,

And not turn away from following Me.’

20 Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her lover,

So you have dealt treacherously with Me,

O house of Israel,” declares the Lord.

21 A voice is heard on the bare heights,

The weepingandthe supplications of the sons of Israel;

Because they have perverted their way,

They have forgotten the Lordtheir God.

22 “Return, O faithless sons,

I will heal your faithlessness.”

“Behold, we come to You;

For You are the Lordour God.

23 Surely, the hills are a deception,

A tumultonthe mountains.

Surely in the Lordour God

Is the salvation of Israel.

24 “But the shameful thing has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

25 Let us lie down in our shame, and let our humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the Lordour God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the Lordour God.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JER/3-47e8baedcce3d0916a83581560e428cb.mp3?version_id=100—

Judah Threatened with Invasion

1 “If you will return, O Israel,” declares the Lord,

“Thenyou should return to Me.

And if you will put away your detested things from My presence,

And will not waver,

2 And you will swear, ‘As the Lordlives,’

In truth, in justice and in righteousness;

Then the nations will bless themselves in Him,

And in Him they will glory.”

3 For thus says the Lordto the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,

“Break up your fallow ground,

And do not sow among thorns.

4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord

And remove the foreskins of your heart,

Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

Or else My wrath will go forth like fire

And burn with none to quench it,

Because of the evil of your deeds.”

5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,

“Blow the trumpet in the land;

Cry aloud and say,

‘Assemble yourselves, and let us go

Into the fortified cities.’

6 Lift up a standard toward Zion!

Seek refuge, do not standstill,

For I am bringing evil from the north,

And great destruction.

7 A lion has gone up from his thicket,

And a destroyer of nations has set out;

He has gone out from his place

To make your land a waste.

Your cities will be ruins

Without inhabitant.

8 For this, put on sackcloth,

Lament and wail;

For the fierce anger of the Lord

Has not turned back from us.”

9 “It shall come about in that day,” declares the Lord, “that the heart of the king and the heart of the princes will fail; and the priests will be appalled and the prophets will be astounded.”

10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace’; whereas a sword touches the throat.”

11 In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness in the direction of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse,

12 a wind too strong for this—will come at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.

13 Behold, he goes up like clouds,

And his chariots like the whirlwind;

His horses are swifter than eagles.

Woe to us, for we are ruined!”

14 Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem,

That you may be saved.

How long will your wicked thoughts

Lodge within you?

15 For a voice declares from Dan,

And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.

16 “Reportitto the nations, now!

Proclaim over Jerusalem,

‘Besiegers come from a far country,

And lift their voices against the cities of Judah.

17 Like watchmen of a field they are against her round about,

Because she has rebelled against Me,’ declares the Lord.

18 Your ways and your deeds

Have brought these things to you.

This is your evil. How bitter!

How it has touched your heart!”

Lament over Judah’s Devastation

19 My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart!

My heart is pounding in me;

I cannot be silent,

Because you have heard, O my soul,

The sound of the trumpet,

The alarm of war.

20 Disaster on disaster is proclaimed,

For the whole land is devastated;

Suddenly my tents are devastated,

My curtains in an instant.

21 How long must I see the standard

And hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 “For My people are foolish,

They know Me not;

They are stupid children

And have no understanding.

They are shrewd to do evil,

But to do good they do not know.”

23 I looked on the earth, and behold,it wasformless and void;

And to the heavens, and they had no light.

24 I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,

And all the hills moved to and fro.

25 I looked, and behold, there was no man,

And all the birds of the heavens had fled.

26 I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness,

And all its cities were pulled down

Before the Lord, before His fierce anger.

27 For thus says the Lord,

“The whole land shall be a desolation,

Yet I will not execute a complete destruction.

28 For this the earth shall mourn

And the heavens above be dark,

Because I have spoken, I have purposed,

And I will not change My mind, nor will I turn from it.”

29 At the sound of the horseman and bowman every city flees;

They go into the thickets and climb among the rocks;

Every city is forsaken,

And no man dwells in them.

30 And you, O desolate one, what will you do?

Although you dress in scarlet,

Although you decorateyourself withornaments of gold,

Although you enlarge your eyes with paint,

In vain you make yourself beautiful.

Yourlovers despise you;

They seek your life.

31 For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor,

The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,

The cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,

Stretching out her hands,saying,

“Ah, woe is me, for I faint before murderers.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JER/4-bb4436595fd69697d4805111791ddd34.mp3?version_id=100—

Jerusalem’s Godlessness

1 “Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,

And look now and take note.

And seek in her open squares,

If you can find a man,

If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth,

Then I will pardon her.

2 And although they say, ‘As the Lordlives,’

Surely they swear falsely.”

3 O Lord, do not Your eyeslookfor truth?

You have smitten them,

Butthey did not weaken;

You have consumed them,

But they refused to take correction.

They have made their faces harder than rock;

They have refused to repent.

4 Then I said, “They are only the poor,

They are foolish;

For they do not know the way of the Lord

Orthe ordinance of their God.

5 I will go to the great

And will speak to them,

For they know the way of the Lord

Andthe ordinance of their God.”

But they too, with one accord, have broken the yoke

Andburst the bonds.

6 Therefore a lion from the forest will slay them,

A wolf of the deserts will destroy them,

A leopard is watching their cities.

Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces,

Because their transgressions are many,

Their apostasies are numerous.

7 “Why should I pardon you?

Your sons have forsaken Me

And sworn by those who are not gods.

When I had fed them to the full,

They committed adultery

And trooped to the harlot’s house.

8 They were well-fed lusty horses,

Each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife.

9 Shall I not punish thesepeople,” declares the Lord,

“And on a nation such as this

Shall I not avenge Myself?

10 “Go up through her vine rows and destroy,

But do not execute a complete destruction;

Strip away her branches,

For they are not the Lord’s.

11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah

Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares the Lord.

12 They have lied about the Lord

And said, “Not He;

Misfortune will not come on us,

And we will not see sword or famine.

13 The prophets areaswind,

And the word is not in them.

Thus it will be done to them!”

Judgment Proclaimed

14 Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts,

“Because you have spoken this word,

Behold, I am making My words in your mouth fire

And this people wood, and it will consume them.

15 Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord.

“It is an enduring nation,

It is an ancient nation,

A nation whose language you do not know,

Nor can you understand what they say.

16 Their quiver is like an open grave,

All of them are mighty men.

17 They will devour your harvest and your food;

They will devour your sons and your daughters;

They will devour your flocks and your herds;

They will devour your vines and your fig trees;

They will demolish with the sword your fortified cities in which you trust.

18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not make you a complete destruction.

19 It shall come about when they say, ‘Why has the Lordour God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’

20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob

And proclaim it in Judah, saying,

21 ‘Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people,

Who have eyes but do not see;

Who have ears but do not hear.

22 Do you not fear Me?’ declares the Lord.

‘Do you not tremble in My presence?

For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,

An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it.

Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;

Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.

23 But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;

They have turned aside and departed.

24 They do not say in their heart,

“Let us now fear the Lordour God,

Who gives rain in its season,

Both the autumn rain and the spring rain,

Who keeps for us

The appointed weeks of the harvest.”

25 Your iniquities have turned these away,

And your sins have withheld good from you.

26 For wicked men are found among My people,

They watch like fowlers lying in wait;

They set a trap,

They catch men.

27 Like a cage full of birds,

So their houses are full of deceit;

Therefore they have become great and rich.

28 They are fat, they are sleek,

They alsoexcel in deeds of wickedness;

They do not plead the cause,

The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper;

And they do not defend the rights of the poor.

29 Shall I not punish thesepeople?’ declares the Lord,

‘On a nation such as this

Shall I not avenge Myself?’

30 “An appalling and horrible thing

Has happened in the land:

31 The prophets prophesy falsely,

And the priests rule on theirownauthority;

And My people love it so!

But what will you do at the end of it?

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JER/5-19a752829f5c846015efca36c0fb5854.mp3?version_id=100—

Destruction of Jerusalem Impending

1 “Flee for safety, O sons of Benjamin,

From the midst of Jerusalem!

Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa

And raise a signal overBeth-haccerem;

For evil looks down from the north,

And a great destruction.

2 The comely and dainty one, the daughter of Zion, I will cut off.

3 Shepherds and their flocks will come to her,

They will pitchtheirtents around her,

They will pasture each in his place.

4 Prepare war against her;

Arise, and let us attack at noon.

Woe to us, for the day declines,

For the shadows of the evening lengthen!

5 Arise, and let us attack by night

And destroy her palaces!”

6 For thus says the Lordof hosts,

“Cut down her trees

And cast up a siege against Jerusalem.

This is the city to be punished,

In whose midst there is only oppression.

7 As a well keeps its waters fresh,

So she keeps fresh her wickedness.

Violence and destruction are heard in her;

Sickness and wounds are ever before Me.

8 Be warned, O Jerusalem,

Or I shall be alienated from you,

And make you a desolation,

A land not inhabited.”

9 Thus says the Lordof hosts,

“They will thoroughly glean as the vine the remnant of Israel;

Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer

Over the branches.”

10 To whom shall I speak and give warning

That they may hear?

Behold, their ears are closed

And they cannot listen.

Behold, the word of the Lordhas become a reproach to them;

They have no delight in it.

11 But I am full of the wrath of the Lord;

I am weary with holdingitin.

“Pouritout on the children in the street

And on the gathering of young men together;

For both husband and wife shall be taken,

The aged and the very old.

12 Their houses shall be turned over to others,

Their fields and their wives together;

For I will stretch out My hand

Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord.

13 “For from the least of them even to the greatest of them,

Everyone is greedy for gain,

And from the prophet even to the priest

Everyone deals falsely.

14 They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially,

Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’

But there is no peace.

15 Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done?

They were not even ashamed at all;

They did not even know how to blush.

Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;

At the time that I punish them,

They shall be cast down,” says the Lord.

16 Thus says the Lord,

“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths,

Where the good way is, and walk in it;

And you will find rest for your souls.

But they said, ‘We will not walkin it.’

17 And I set watchmen over you,saying,

‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’

But they said, ‘We will not listen.’

18 Therefore hear, O nations,

And know, O congregation, what is among them.

19 Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,

The fruit of their plans,

Because they have not listened to My words,

And as for My law, they have rejected it also.

20 For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba

And the sweet cane from a distant land?

Your burnt offerings are not acceptable

And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”

21 Therefore, thus says the Lord,

“Behold, I am laying stumbling blocks before this people.

And they will stumble against them,

Fathers and sons together;

Neighbor and friend will perish.”

The Enemy from the North

22 Thus says the Lord,

“Behold, a people is coming from the north land,

And a great nation will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.

23 They seize bow and spear;

They are cruel and have no mercy;

Their voice roars like the sea,

And they ride on horses,

Arrayed as a man for the battle

Against you, O daughter of Zion!”

24 We have heard the report of it;

Our hands are limp.

Anguish has seized us,

Pain as of a woman in childbirth.

25 Do not go out into the field

And do not walk on the road,

For the enemy has a sword,

Terror is on every side.

26 O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth

And roll in ashes;

Mourn as for an only son,

A lamentation most bitter.

For suddenly the destroyer

Will come upon us.

27 “I have made you an assayeranda tester among My people,

That you may know and assay their way.”

28 All of them are stubbornly rebellious,

Going about as a talebearer.

They arebronze and iron;

They, all of them, are corrupt.

29 The bellows blow fiercely,

The lead is consumed by the fire;

In vain the refining goes on,

But the wicked are not separated.

30 They call them rejected silver,

Because the Lordhas rejected them.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JER/6-23c2c55c85764dfd9202b7dd4328768f.mp3?version_id=100—

Message at the Temple Gate

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

2 “Stand in the gate of the Lord’shouse and proclaim there this word and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the Lord!’ ”

3 Thus says the Lordof hosts, the God of Israel, “Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place.

4 Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’

5 For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor,

6 ifyou do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin,

7 then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

8 “Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail.

9 Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known,

10 then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—that you may do all these abominations?

11 Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seenit,” declares the Lord.

12 “But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.

13 And now, because you have done all these things,” declares the Lord, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you but you did not answer,

14 therefore, I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, as I did to Shiloh.

15 I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, all the offspring of Ephraim.

16 “As for you, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for I do not hear you.

17 Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

18 The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; andtheypour out drink offerings to other gods in order to spite Me.

19 Do they spite Me?” declares the Lord. “Is it not themselvesthey spite,to their own shame?”

20 Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and on beast and on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and not be quenched.”

21 Thus says the Lordof hosts, the God of Israel, “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat flesh.

22 For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.

23 But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’

24 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked intheir owncounselsandin the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward.

25 Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets, daily rising early and sendingthem.

26 Yet they did not listen to Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck; they did more evil than their fathers.

27 “You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you.

28 You shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lordtheir God or accept correction; truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.

29 Cut off your hair and castitaway,

And take up a lamentation on the bare heights;

For the Lordhas rejected and forsaken

The generation of His wrath.’

30 For the sons of Judah have done that which is evil in My sight,” declares the Lord, “they have set their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it.

31 They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, and it did not come into My mind.

32 “Therefore, behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of the Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth because there is nootherplace.

33 The dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth; and no one will frightenthem away.

34 Then I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land will become a ruin.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JER/7-03fee6cf99f9c71122234be1b7322c7b.mp3?version_id=100—

The Sin and Treachery of Judah

1 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “they will bring out the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves.

2 They will spread them out to the sun, the moon and to all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served, and which they have gone after and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered or buried; they will be as dung on the face of the ground.

3 And death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family, that remains in all the places to which I have driven them,” declares the Lordof hosts.

4 “You shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord,

“Domenfall and not get up again?

Does one turn away and not repent?

5 Why then has this people, Jerusalem,

Turned away in continual apostasy?

They hold fast to deceit,

They refuse to return.

6 I have listened and heard,

They have spoken what is not right;

No man repented of his wickedness,

Saying, ‘What have I done?’

Everyone turned to his course,

Like a horse charging into the battle.

7 Even the stork in the sky

Knows her seasons;

And the turtledove and the swift and the thrush

Observe the time of their migration;

But My people do not know

The ordinance of the Lord.

8 “How can you say, ‘We are wise,

And the law of the Lordis with us’?

But behold, the lying pen of the scribes

Has madeitinto a lie.

9 The wise men are put to shame,

They are dismayed and caught;

Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord,

And what kind of wisdom do they have?

10 Therefore I will give their wives to others,

Their fields to new owners;

Because from the least even to the greatest

Everyone is greedy for gain;

From the prophet even to the priest

Everyone practices deceit.

11 They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially,

Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’

But there is no peace.

12 Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done?

They certainly were not ashamed,

And they did not know how to blush;

Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;

At the time of their punishment they shall be brought down,”

Says the Lord.

13 “I will surely snatch them away,” declares the Lord;

“There will be no grapes on the vine

And no figs on the fig tree,

And the leaf will wither;

And what I have given them will pass away.” ’ ”

14 Why are we sitting still?

Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities

And let us perish there,

Because the Lordour God has doomed us

And given us poisoned water to drink,

For we have sinned against the Lord.

15 Wewaited for peace, but no goodcame;

For a time of healing, but behold, terror!

16 From Dan is heard the snorting of his horses;

At the sound of the neighing of his stallions

The whole land quakes;

For they come and devour the land and its fullness,

The city and its inhabitants.

17 “For behold, I am sending serpents against you,

Adders, for which there is no charm,

And they will bite you,” declares the Lord.

18 My sorrow is beyond healing,

My heart is faintwithin me!

19 Behold, listen! The cry of the daughter of my people from a distant land:

“Is the Lordnot in Zion? Is her King not within her?”

“Why have they provoked Me with their graven images, with foreign idols?”

20 “Harvest is past, summer is ended,

And we are not saved.”

21 For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am broken;

I mourn, dismay has taken hold of me.

22 Is there no balm in Gilead?

Is there no physician there?

Why then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored?

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JER/8-b5b219f183968bb64dd75cede65c3499.mp3?version_id=100—

A Lament over Zion

1 Oh that my head were waters

And my eyes a fountain of tears,

That I might weep day and night

For the slain of the daughter of my people!

2 Oh that I had in the desert

A wayfarers’ lodging place;

That I might leave my people

And go from them!

For all of them are adulterers,

An assembly of treacherous men.

3 “They bend their tongueliketheir bow;

Lies and not truth prevail in the land;

For they proceed from evil to evil,

And they do not know Me,” declares the Lord.

4 “Let everyone be on guard against his neighbor,

And do not trust any brother;

Because every brother deals craftily,

And every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.

5 Everyone deceives his neighbor

And does not speak the truth,

They have taught their tongue to speak lies;

They weary themselves committing iniquity.

6 Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit;

Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the Lord.

7 Therefore thus says the Lordof hosts,

“Behold, I will refine them and assay them;

For whatelsecan I do, because of the daughter of My people?

8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow;

It speaks deceit;

With his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor,

But inwardly he sets an ambush for him.

9 Shall I not punish them for these things?” declares the Lord.

“On a nation such as this

Shall I not avenge Myself?

10 “For the mountains I will take up a weeping and wailing,

And for the pastures of the wilderness a dirge,

Because they are laid waste so that no one passes through,

And the lowing of the cattle is not heard;

Both the birds of the sky and the beasts have fled; they are gone.

11 I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,

A haunt of jackals;

And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”

12 Who is the wise man that may understand this? Andwho ishe to whom the mouth of the Lordhas spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined, laid waste like a desert, so that no one passes through?

13 The Lordsaid, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it,

14 but have walked after the stubbornness of their heart and after the Baals, as their fathers taught them,”

15 therefore thus says the Lordof hosts, the God of Israel, “behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.

16 I will scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them until I have annihilated them.”

17 Thus says the Lordof hosts,

“Consider and call for the mourning women, that they may come;

And send for the wailing women, that they may come!

18 Let them make haste and take up a wailing for us,

That our eyes may shed tears

And our eyelids flow with water.

19 For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion,

‘How are we ruined!

We are put to great shame,

For we have left the land,

Because they have cast down our dwellings.’ ”

20 Now hear the word of the Lord, O you women,

And let your ear receive the word of His mouth;

Teach your daughters wailing,

And everyone her neighbor a dirge.

21 For death has come up through our windows;

It has entered our palaces

To cut off the children from the streets,

The young men from the town squares.

22 Speak, “Thus says the Lord,

‘The corpses of men will fall like dung on the open field,

And like the sheaf after the reaper,

But no one will gatherthem.’ ”

23 Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;

24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lordwho exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord.

25 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised—

26 Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JER/9-91fff9046eb514fd6d4a30a743adadaa.mp3?version_id=100—

A Satire on Idolatry

1 Hear the word which the Lordspeaks to you, O house of Israel.

2 Thus says the Lord,

“Do not learn the way of the nations,

And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens

Although the nations are terrified by them;

3 For the customs of the peoples are delusion;

Because it is wood cut from the forest,

The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.

4 They decorateitwith silver and with gold;

They fasten it with nails and with hammers

So that it will not totter.

5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they,

And they cannot speak;

They must be carried,

Because they cannot walk!

Do not fear them,

For they can do no harm,

Nor can they do any good.”

6 There is none like You, O Lord;

You are great, and great is Your name in might.

7 Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?

Indeed it is Your due!

For among all the wise men of the nations

And in all their kingdoms,

There is none like You.

8 But they are altogether stupid and foolish

In theirdiscipline of delusion—their idol is wood!

9 Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,

And gold from Uphaz,

The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith;

Violet and purple are their clothing;

They are all the work of skilled men.

10 But the Lordis the true God;

He is the living God and the everlasting King.

At His wrath the earth quakes,

And the nations cannot endure His indignation.

11 Thus you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”

12 It isHe who made the earth by His power,

Who established the world by His wisdom;

And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens.

13 When He utters His voice,there isa tumult of waters in the heavens,

And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth;

He makes lightning for the rain,

And brings out the wind from His storehouses.

14 Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge;

Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols;

For his molten images are deceitful,

And there is no breath in them.

15 They are worthless, a work of mockery;

In the time of their punishment they will perish.

16 The portion of Jacob is not like these;

For the Maker of all is He,

And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;

The Lordof hosts is His name.

17 Pick up your bundle from the ground,

You who dwell under siege!

18 For thus says the Lord,

“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land

At this time,

And will cause them distress,

That they may be found.”

19 Woe is me, because of my injury!

My wound is incurable.

But I said, “Truly this is a sickness,

And I must bear it.”

20 My tent is destroyed,

And all my ropes are broken;

My sons have gone from me and are no more.

There is no one to stretch out my tent again

Or to set up my curtains.

21 For the shepherds have become stupid

And have not sought the Lord;

Therefore they have not prospered,

And all their flock is scattered.

22 The sound of a report! Behold, it comes—

A great commotion out of the land of the north—

To make the cities of Judah

A desolation, a haunt of jackals.

23 I know, O Lord, that a man’s way is not in himself,

Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.

24 Correct me, O Lord, but with justice;

Not with Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.

25 Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You

And on the families that do not call Your name;

For they have devoured Jacob;

They have devoured him and consumed him

And have laid waste his habitation.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/80/32k/JER/10-44f91c45050b42c7ad1f52d3ce7ace8c.mp3?version_id=100—