Jeremiah 14; Jeremiah 15; Jeremiah 16; Jeremiah 17

1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:

2 Judah mourns; her gates languish. [Her people] are on the ground in mourning; Jerusalem's cry rises up.

3 Their nobles send their servants for water. They go to the cisterns; they find no water; their containers return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.

4 The ground is cracked since no rain [has fallen] on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.

5 Even the doe in the field gives birth and abandons [her fawn] since there is no grass.

6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights panting for air like jackals. Their eyes fail because there are no green plants.

7 Though our guilt testifies against us, Lord, act for Your name's sake. Indeed, our rebellions are many; we have sinned against You.

8 Hope of Israel, its Savior in time of distress, why are You like an alien in the land, like a traveler stopping only for the night?

9 Why are You like a helpless man, like a warrior unable to save? Yet You are among us, Lord, and we are called by Your name. Don't leave us!

10 This is what the Lord says concerning these people: Truly they love to wander; they never rest their feet. So the Lord does not accept them. Now He will remember their guilt and punish their sins.

11 Then the Lord said to me, "Do not pray for the well-being of these people.

12 If they fast, I will not hear their cry of despair. If they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. Rather, I will finish them off by sword, famine, and plague."

13 And I replied, "Oh no, Lord God ! The prophets are telling them, 'You won't see sword or suffer famine. I will certainly give you true peace in this place.' "

14 But the Lord said to me, "These prophets are prophesying a lie in My name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, worthless divination, the deceit of their own minds.

15 "Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, though I did not send them, and who say: There will never be sword or famine in this land: By sword and famine these prophets will meet their end.

16 The people they are prophesying to will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword. There will be no one to bury them-they, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. I will pour out their own evil on them."

17 You are to speak this word to them: Let my eyes overflow with tears; day and night may [they] not stop, for the virgin daughter of my people has been destroyed by a great disaster, an extremely severe wound.

18 If I go out to the field, look-those slain by the sword! If I enter the city, look-those ill from famine! For both prophet and priest travel to a land they do not know.

19 Have You completely rejected Judah? Do You detest Zion? Why do You strike us with no hope of healing for us? We hoped for peace, but there was nothing good; for a time of healing, but there was only terror.

20 We acknowledge our wickedness, Lord, the guilt of our fathers; indeed, we have sinned against You.

21 Because of Your name, don't despise [us]. Don't disdain Your glorious throne. Remember Your covenant with us; do not break it.

22 Can any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Or can the skies alone give showers? Are You not the Lord our God? We therefore put our hope in You, for You have done all these things.

1 Then the Lord said to me: "Even if Moses and Samuel should stand before Me, My compassions would not [reach out] to these people. Send them from My presence, and let them go.

2 If they ask you: Where will we go? you must tell them: This is what the Lord says: Those [destined] for death, to death; those [destined] for the sword, to the sword. Those [destined] for famine, to famine; those [destined] for captivity, to captivity.

3 "I will ordain four kinds [of judgment] for them"-[this is] the Lord's declaration-"the sword to kill, the dogs to drag away, and the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land to devour and destroy.

4 I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

5 Who will have pity on you, Jerusalem? Who will show sympathy toward you? Who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?

6 You have left Me. [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration. You have turned your back, so I have stretched out My hand against you and destroyed you. I am tired of showing compassion.

7 I scattered them with a winnowing fork at the gates of the land. I made [them] childless; I destroyed My people. They would not turn from their ways.

8 I made their widows more numerous than the sand of the seas. I brought against the mother of young men a destroyer at noon. I suddenly released on her agitation and terrors.

9 The mother of seven grew faint; she breathed her [last] breath. Her sun set while it was still day; she was ashamed and humiliated. The rest of them I will give over to the sword in the presence of their enemies." [This is] the Lord's declaration.

10 Woe is me, my mother, that you gave birth to me, a man who incites dispute and conflict in all the land. I did not lend or borrow, yet everyone curses me.

11 The Lord said: Assuredly, I will set you free and care for you. Assuredly, I will intercede for you in a time of trouble, in your time of distress, with the enemy.

12 Can anyone smash iron, iron from the north, or bronze?

13 Your wealth and your treasures I will give as plunder, without cost, for all your sins, and within all your borders.

14 Then I will make you serve your enemies in a land you do not know, for My anger will kindle a fire that will burn against you.

15 You know, Lord; remember me and take note of me. Avenge me against my persecutors. In Your patience, don't take me away. Know that I suffer disgrace for Your honor.

16 Your words were found, and I ate them. Your words became a delight to me and the joy of my heart, for I am called by Your name, Lord God of Hosts.

17 I never sat with the band of revelers, and I did not celebrate [with them]. Because Your hand was [on me], I sat alone, for You filled me with indignation.

18 Why has my pain become unending, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? You truly have become like a mirage to me- water that is not reliable.

19 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: If you return, I will restore you; you will stand in My presence. And if you speak noble [words], rather than worthless ones, you will be My spokesman. It is they who must return to you; you must not return to them.

20 Then I will make you a fortified wall of bronze to this people. They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you to save you and deliver you. [This is]*The bracketed text has been added for clarity. the Lord's declaration.

21 I will deliver you from the power of evil people and redeem you from the control of the ruthless.

1 The word of the Lord came to me:

2 "You must not marry or have sons or daughters in this place.

3 For this is what the Lord says concerning sons and daughters born in this place as well as concerning the mothers who bear them and the fathers who father them in this land:

4 They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like manure on the face of the earth. They will be finished off by sword and famine. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.

5 "For this is what the Lord says: Don't enter a house where a mourning feast is taking place. Don't go to lament or sympathize with them, for I have removed My peace from these people"-[this is] the Lord's declaration-"[as well as My] faithful love and compassion.

6 Both great and small will die in this land without burial. No lament will be made for them, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.

7 Food won't be provided for the mourner to comfort him because of the dead. A cup of consolation won't be given him because of [the loss of] his father or mother.

8 You must not enter the house where feasting is taking place to sit with them to eat and drink.

9 For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am about to eliminate from this place, before your very eyes and in your time, the sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the bride.

10 "When you tell these people all these things, they will say to you: Why has the Lord declared all this great disaster against us? What is our guilt? What is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?

11 Then you will answer them: Because your fathers abandoned Me"-the Lord's declaration-"and followed other gods, served them, and worshiped them. Indeed, they abandoned Me and did not keep My law.

12 You did more evil than your fathers. Look, each one of you was following the stubbornness of his evil heart, not obeying Me.

13 So I will hurl you from this land into a land that you and your fathers are not familiar with. There you will worship other gods both day and night, for I will not grant you grace.

14 "However, take note! The days are coming"-the Lord's declaration-"when it will no longer be said: As the Lord lives who brought the Israelites from the land of Egypt,

15 but rather: As the Lord lives who brought the Israelites from the land of the north and from all the other lands where He had banished them. For I will return them to their land that I gave to their ancestors.

16 "I am about to send for many fishermen"-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,

17 for My gaze takes in all their ways. They are not concealed from Me, and their guilt is not hidden from My sight.

18 I will first repay them double for their guilt and sin because they have polluted My land. They have filled My inheritance with the lifelessness of their detestable and abhorrent idols."

19 Lord, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in a time of distress, the nations will come to You from the ends of the earth, and they will say, "Our fathers inherited only lies, worthless idols of no benefit at all."

20 Can one make gods for himself? But they are not gods.

21 "Therefore, I am about to inform them, and this time I will make them know My power and My might; then they will know that My name is Yahweh."

1 The sin of Judah is written with an iron stylus. With a diamond point it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of their altars,

2 while their children remember their altars and their Asherah poles, by the green trees on the high hills-

3 My mountains in the countryside. Your wealth and all your treasures I will give up as plunder because of the sin of your high places within all your borders.

4 You will, of yourself, relinquish your inheritance that I gave you. I will make you serve your enemies in a land you do not know, for you have set My anger on fire; it will burn forever.

5 This is what the Lord says: Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind, who makes [human] flesh his strength and turns his heart from the Lord.

6 He will be like a juniper in the Arabah; he cannot see when good comes but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land where no one lives.

7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord.

8 He will be like a tree planted by water: it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn't fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green. It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.

9 The heart is more deceitful than anything else and desperately sick-who can understand it?

10 I, the Lord, examine the mind, I test the heart to give to each according to his way, according to what his actions deserve.

11 He who makes a fortune unjustly is [like] a partridge that hatches eggs it didn't lay. In the middle of his days [his riches] will abandon him, so in the end he will be a fool.

12 A throne of glory on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary,

13 Lord, the hope of Israel, all who abandon You will be put to shame. All who turn away from Me will be written in the dirt, for they have abandoned the fountain of living water, the Lord.

14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me, and I will be saved, for You are my praise.

15 Hear how they keep challenging me, "Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come!"

16 But I have not run away from being Your shepherd, and I have not longed for the fatal day. You know my words were spoken in Your presence.

17 Don't become a terror to me. You are my refuge in the day of disaster.

18 Let my persecutors be put to shame, but don't let me be put to shame. Let them be terrified, but don't let me be terrified. Bring on them the day of disaster; shatter them with total destruction.

19 This is what the Lord said to me, "Go and stand in the People's Gate, through which the kings of Judah enter and leave, and in all the gates of Jerusalem.

20 Announce to them: Hear the word of the Lord, kings of Judah, all Judah, and all the residents of Jerusalem who enter through these gates.

21 This is what the Lord says: Watch yourselves; do not pick up a load and bring it in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.

22 You must not carry a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day or do any work, but you must consecrate the Sabbath day, just as I commanded your ancestors.

23 They wouldn't listen or pay attention but became obstinate, not listening or accepting discipline.

24 "However, if you listen to Me, says the Lord, and do not bring loads through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day and consecrate the Sabbath day and do no work on it,

25 kings and princes will enter through the gates of this city. They will sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses with their officials, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem. This city will be inhabited forever.

26 Then [people] will come from the cities of Judah and from the area around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the Judean foothills, from the hill country and from the Negev bringing burnt offerings and sacrifice, grain offerings and frankincense, and thank offerings to the house of the Lord.

27 If you do not listen to Me to consecrate the Sabbath day by not carrying a load while entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, I will set fire to its gates, and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem and not be extinguished."