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1 wish my head were made of water and my eyes were a fountain of tears, so that I could cry day and night over the slain of the daughter of my people!

2 I wish I were out in the desert, in some travelers' lodge then I could get away from my people and distance myself from them! "Indeed they are all adulterers, a band of traitors is what they are.

3 They bend their tongues, their 'bow' of falsehood, and hold sway in the land, but not for truth. For they go from evil to evil, and me they do not know," says ADONAI.

4 Everyone, be on guard against your neighbor, don't trust even a brother; for every brother is out to trick you, and every neighbor goes around gossiping.

5 Everyone deceives his neighbor, no one speaks the truth; they have taught their tongues to lie, they wear themselves out with sinning.

6 "You inhabit a world of deceit; deceitfully they refuse to know me," says ADONAI.

7 "Therefore," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, "I will refine them and test them. What else can I do with the daughter of my people?

8 Their tongues are sharpened arrows; with their mouths they speak deceit - they say nice words to their neighbors, while inwardly plotting against them.

9 Should I not punish them for these things?" asks ADONAI. "Should I not take vengeance on such a nation?"

10 I weep and wail for the mountains and lament over the desert pastures, because they have been burned up; no one passes through; they no longer hear the sound of cattle; the birds and wild animals have fled, are gone.

11 "I will make Yerushalayim a heap of ruins, turn it into a lair for jackals, and make the cities of Y'hudah desolate, with no one living there."

12 Who is wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of ADONAI spoken, so that he can proclaim it? Why has the land perished and been laid waste like a desert, so that no one passes through?

13 ADONAI answers: "Because they abandoned my Torah, which I set before them, and neither listened to what I said nor lived accordingly,

14 but have lived by their own hearts' stubbornness and by the ba'alim, as their ancestors taught them

15 therefore," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el: "I will feed this people bitter wormwood and give them poisonous water to drink.

16 I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known. I will send the sword after them until I have wiped them out."

17 Thus says ADONAI-Tzva'ot: "Mark this, then summon the mourning women, so that they will come; send for those who are best [at mourning], so that they will come:

18 'Have them hurry and wail for us, so our eyes will be wet from crying, and our eyelids gush with tears.'

19 For the sound of wailing is heard from Tziyon: 'We are utterly ruined, we are completely ashamed, because we have left the land, and our homes have been torn down!'"

20 You women, hear the word of ADONAI! Let your ears receive the words from his mouth. Teach your daughters how to wail, have each teach her friend how to lament:

21 "Death has come up through our windows, it has entered our palaces, it has cut down children in the streets and young people in the public places."

22 Say: "Here is what ADONAI says: 'The corpses of people are scattered like dung in an open field, like sheaves left behind by the reaper with no one to gather them.'"

23 Here is what ADONAI says: "The wise man should not boast of his wisdom, the powerful should not boast of his power, the wealthy should not boast of his wealth;

24 instead, let the boaster boast about this: that he understands and knows me - that I am ADONAI, practicing grace, justice and righteousness in the land; for in these things I take pleasure," says ADONAI.

25 "The days are coming," says ADONAI, "when I will punish all those who have been circumcised in their uncircumcision -

26 Egypt, Y'hudah, Edom, the people of 'Amon and Mo'av, and all those living in the desert who cut the edges [of their beard]: "For although all the Goyim are uncircumcised, all the house of Isra'el have uncircumcised hearts."

1 Hear the word ADONAI speaks to you, house of Isra'el!

2 Here is what ADONAI says: "Don't learn the way of the Goyim, don't be frightened by astrological signs, even if the Goyim are afraid of them;

3 for the customs of the peoples are nothing. They cut down a tree in the forest; a craftsman works it with his axe;

4 they deck it with silver and gold. They fix it with hammer and nails, so that it won't move.

5 Like a scarecrow in a cucumber patch, it cannot speak. It has to be carried, because it cannot walk. Do not be afraid of it it can do nothing bad; likewise it is unable to do anything good!"

6 There is no one like you, ADONAI! You are great, and your name is great and mighty.

7 Who would not fear you, king of the nations? For it is your due! - since among all the wise of the nations and among all their royalty, there is no one like you.

8 One and all they are boorish and stupid; the teaching of their nothings is a piece of wood!

9 Silver is beaten into plates, then imported from Tarshish. Gold from Ufaz is worked by a craftsman and shaped by the hands of a goldsmith. They are clothed in blue and purple, all the work of skillful men.

10 But ADONAI, God, is the true God, the living God, the everlasting king. At his anger, the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his fury.

11 "This is what you must say to them: 'The gods that did not make heaven and earth will perish from earth and from under heaven.'"

12 God made the earth by his power, established the world by his wisdom spread out the sky by his understanding.

13 When he thunders, the waters in heaven roar, he raises clouds from the ends of the earth, he makes the lightning flash in the rain and brings the wind out from his storehouses.

14 At this, everyone is proved stupid, ignorant, every goldsmith put to shame by his idol! The figures he casts are a fraud; there is no breath in them;

15 they are nothings, ridiculous objects; when the day for their punishment comes, they will perish.

16 Ya'akov's portion is not like these, for he is the one who formed all things. Isra'el is the tribe he claims as his heritage; ADONAI-Tzva'ot is his name.

17 You who are living under the siege, gather your belongings off the ground,

18 for here is what ADONAI says: "At this time I am slinging away the inhabitants of the land; I will distress them, so that they will feel it."

19 Woe to me because of my wound! My injury is incurable! I used to say, "It's only an illness, and I can bear it."

20 But now my tent is ruined, all its cords are severed; my children have left me and are no more; there is no one to set up my tent again, no one to raise its curtains.

21 The shepherds have become stupid, they have not consulted ADONAI. This is why they have not prospered, and all their flocks are scattered.

22 Listen! A noise! It's coming closer! A great uproar from the land to the north, to make the cities of Y'hudah desolate, a place for jackals to live.

23 ADONAI, I know that the way of humans is not in their control, humans are not able to direct their steps as they walk.

24 ADONAI, correct me, but in moderation, not in your anger, or you'll reduce me to nothing.

25 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you, also on the families that do not call on your name. For they have consumed Ya'akov - consumed him and finished him off, and laid waste to his home.

1 Here is the word that came to Yirmeyahu from ADONAI:

2 "Listen to the words of this covenant; then speak to the people of Y'hudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim;

3 tell them that ADONAI the God of Isra'el says: 'A curse on anyone who does not pay attention to the words of this covenant,

4 which I enjoined on your ancestors at the time that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of that iron-smelter. I said, "Listen to my voice, and carry out all my orders; then you will be my people, and I will be your God;

5 so that I can fulfill the oath that I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is today."'" Then I responded, "Amen, ADONAI."

6 ADONAI said to me, "Proclaim all these words in the cities of Y'hudah and in the streets of Yerushalayim: 'Listen to the words of this covenant, and obey them.

7 For I solemnly warned your ancestors at the time when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; and until this day I have frequently warned them, "Listen to my voice!"

8 But they have not listened or paid attention; instead, each one has lived according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart. For this reason I have brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I ordered them to obey, but which they did not obey.'"

9 Then ADONAI said to me, "The men of Y'hudah and the people living in Yerushalayim have formed a conspiracy.

10 They have returned to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to hear my words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Isra'el and the house of Y'hudah have broken my covenant which I made with their ancestors."

11 Therefore ADONAI says, "I am going to bring on them a disaster which they will not be able to escape; and even if they cry to me, I will not listen to them.

12 Then the cities of Y'hudah and the people living in Yerushalayim will go and cry to the gods to whom they are making offerings; but they will not save them at all in their time of trouble.

13 For you have as many gods, Y'hudah, as you have towns; and you have erected as many altars for sacrificing to that shameful thing, Ba'al, as there are streets in Yerushalayim.

14 "So you, [Yirmeyahu,] don't pray for this people! Don't cry or pray on their behalf, because I won't listen to them when they cry to me because of their troubles.

15 What right does my beloved have to be in my house, when she has behaved so shamelessly with so many? Offerings of consecrated meat can no longer help, because it is when you are doing evil that you are happy."

16 ADONAI once called you an olive tree, beautiful, full of leaves and good fruit. Now with the roar of a violent storm, he has set it on fire; and its branches will be consumed.

17 For ADONAI-Tzva'ot, who planted you, has decreed evil for you. "It is because of the evil which the house of Isra'el and the house of Y'hudah did to themselves, provoking me with their offerings of incense to Ba'al."

18 ADONAI made this known to me, and then I knew - you showed me what they were doing.

19 But I was like a tame lamb led to be slaughtered; I did not know that they were plotting schemes against me - "Let's destroy the tree with its fruit, we'll cut him off from the land of the living, so that his name will be forgotten."

20 ADONAI-Tzva'ot, righteous judge, tester of motives and thoughts, I have committed my cause to you; so let me see your vengeance on them.

21 Therefore, here is what ADONAI says concerning the men from 'Anatot who seek your life and who tell you, "Stop prophesying in the name of ADONAI, or we will kill you ourselves" -

22 this is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot says: "I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine.

23 None of them will remain, for I will bring disaster on the men from 'Anatot when the year comes for them to be punished."

1 ADONAI, although you would be in the right if I were to dispute with you, nevertheless I want to discuss some points of justice with you: Why do the wicked prosper? Why do the treacherous all thrive?

2 You planted them, and they took root; they grow, and they bear fruit. You are near in their mouths, though far from their hearts.

3 But, ADONAI, you know me and see me; you test my devotion to you; drag them away like sheep to be slaughtered, and set them apart for the day of slaughter.

4 How long must the land mourn and the grass in all the fields wither? The wild animals and birds are consumed because of the wickedness of those who live there; for they say, "He will not see how we end up."

5 If racing men on foot exhausts you, how will you compete against horses? You may feel secure in a land at peace, but how will you do in the Yarden's thick brush?

6 For even your own brothers and your father's family are betraying you; they are in full cry after you. Despite all their nice speech, don't believe them.

7 "I have abandoned my house, I have rejected my heritage, I have given my heart's beloved over to the hands of her foes.

8 For me, my heritage has become like a lion in the forest - she roared out against me; so now I hate her.

9 For me, my heritage is like a speckled bird of prey - other birds of prey surround her and attack her. Go, gather all the wild animals, and bring them to devour her.

10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trampled my plot of land, they have turned my desirable property into a desert waste.

11 Yes, they have made it a waste; wasted, it mourns to me; the whole land is wasted, because nobody really cares."

12 On all the desert's bare hills plunderers have come; yes, the sword of ADONAI devours the land from one end to the other; nothing alive is safe.

13 They sowed wheat and reaped thorns, they wore themselves out and gained nothing. So be ashamed of your [tiny] harvest, the result of ADONAI's fierce anger.

14 Here is what ADONAI says: "As for all my evil neighbors who encroach on the heritage I gave to my people Isra'el as their possession, I will uproot them from their own land, and I will uproot Y'hudah from among them.

15 Then, after I have uprooted them, I will take pity on them again and bring them back, each one to his inheritance, each one to his own land.

16 Then, if they will carefully learn my people's ways, swearing by my name, 'As ADONAI lives,' just as they taught my people to swear by Ba'al, they will be built up among my people.

17 But if they refuse to listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it," says ADONAI.

1 ADONAI said to me, "Go, buy yourself a linen loincloth, and wrap it around your body; but don't soften it in water."

2 So I bought a loincloth, as ADONAI had said, and put it on.

3 Then the word of ADONAI came to me a second time:

4 "Take the loincloth you bought and are wearing, get up, go to Parah, and hide it there in a hole in the rock."

5 So I went and hid it in Parah, as ADONAI had ordered me.

6 A long time afterwards, ADONAI said to me, "Get up, go to Parah, and recover the loincloth I ordered you to hide there."

7 So I went to Parah and dug up the loincloth; but when I took it from the place where I had hidden it, I saw that it was ruined and useless for anything.

8 Then the word of ADONAI came to me:

9 "Here is what ADONAI says: 'This is how I will ruin what makes Y'hudah so proud and Yerushalayim so very proud:

10 I will ruin this evil people, who refuse to hear my words and live according to their own stubborn inclinations, who go after other gods to serve and worship them. They will be like this loincloth, which is useless for anything.

11 For just as a loincloth clings to a man's body, I made the whole house of Isra'el and the whole house of Y'hudah cling to me,' says ADONAI, 'so that they could be my people, building me a name and becoming for me a source of praise and honor. But they would not listen.

12 So you are to tell them, "This is what ADONAI the God of Isra'el says: 'Every bottle is filled with wine.'" Then when they ask you, "Don't we already know that every bottle is filled with wine?"

13 you are to answer them, "This is what ADONAI says: 'I am going to fill all the inhabitants of this land - including the kings sitting on the throne of David, the cohanim, the prophets and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim - with drunkenness.

14 Then I will smash them one against another, even fathers and sons together,' says ADONAI 'I will show neither pity nor compassion, but I will destroy them relentlessly.'"'"

15 Listen and pay attention; don't be proud! For ADONAI has spoken.

16 Give glory to ADONAI your God before the darkness falls, before your feet stumble on the mountains in the twilight, and, while you are seeking light, he turns it into deathlike shadows and makes it completely dark.

17 But if you will not hear this warning, I will weep secretly because of your pride; my eyes will weep bitterly, streaming with tears, because ADONAI's flock is carried away captive.

18 Tell the king and the queen mother, "Come down from your thrones, for your magnificent crowns are falling from your heads."

19 The cities of the Negev are besieged, and no one can relieve them; all of Y'hudah is carried into exile, completely swept into exile.

20 Raise your eyes, and you will see them coming from the north. Where is the flock once entrusted to you, the sheep that were your pride?

21 When he sets over you as rulers those you trained to be allies, what will you say? Won't pains seize you like those of a woman in labor?

22 And if you ask yourself, "Why have these things happened to me?" it is because of your many sins that your skirts are pulled up and you have been violated.

23 Can an Ethiopian change his skin? or a leopard its spots? If they can, then you can do good, who are so accustomed to doing evil.

24 "So I will scatter them like chaff that flies away in the desert wind.

25 This is what you get," says ADONAI, "the portion I measure out to you, because you have forgotten me and trusted in the lie.

26 I myself will lift your skirts above your face, and your privates will be exposed.

27 On the hills and in the fields, I have seen your abominations - your adulteries, your lustful neighings your shameless prostitution. Woe to you, Yerushalayim! You refuse to be purified! Won't you ever allow it?"

1 The word of ADONAI that came to Yirmeyahu concerning the drought:

2 "Y'hudah is mourning, her gates are languishing; they sit on the ground in gloom; Yerushalayim sends up a cry of anguish.

3 Her nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns but find no water, so they return with empty jars. Ashamed and dismayed, they cover their heads.

4 Because of the ground, which is cracked, since it has not rained in the land, the farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.

5 The doe in the countryside, giving birth, abandons her young for lack of grass.

6 The wild donkeys standing on the bare heights gasp for air like jackals; their eyes grow dim from trying to spot any vegetation."

7 Although our crimes witness against us, take action, ADONAI, for your name's sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you.

8 You, hope of Isra'el, its savior in time of trouble, why should you be like a stranger in the land, like a traveler turning aside for the night?

9 Why should you be like a man in shock, like a champion unable to save? You, ADONAI, are right here with us; we bear your name - don't leave us!

10 Here is what ADONAI says to this people: "They so love to wander, they don't restrain their feet; so ADONAI does not want them. Now he will remember their crimes, and he will punish their sins."

11 Then ADONAI said to me, "Don't pray for this people or for their welfare.

12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; when they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Rather, I will destroy them with war, famine and disease."

13 Then I said, "ADONAI, God! The prophets are telling them, 'You won't see war, and you won't have famine; but I will give you secure peace in this place.'"

14 ADONAI replied, "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I didn't send them, order them or speak to them. They are prophesying false visions to you, worthless divinations, the delusions of their own minds.

15 Therefore," ADONAI says, "concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name, whom I did not send, yet they say, 'There will be neither war nor famine in this land' - it will be war and famine that will destroy those prophets.

16 And the people to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Yerushalayim because of the famine and war, with no one to bury them - them, or their wives, or their sons, or their daughters - because I will pour their own wickedness out upon them.

17 You are to give them this message: 'Let my eyes stream with tears night and day, unceasingly, because the virgin daughter of my people has been severely broken; she has been dealt a crushing blow.

18 If I go out in the field, I see those slain with the sword. If I enter the city, I see the victims of famine. Meanwhile, prophets and cohanim ply their trade in the land, knowing nothing.'"

19 Have you rejected Y'hudah completely? Is Tziyon loathsome to you? Why have you struck us irreparably? We looked for peace, but to no avail; for a time of healing, but instead found terror!

20 We confess our rebellion, ADONAI, also the crimes of our ancestors; yes, we have sinned against you.

21 For your name's sake, do not spurn us; do not dishonor your glorious throne. Remember your covenant with us; do not break it.

22 Among the nations' idols, can any make it rain? Can the skies, of themselves, send showers? Aren't you the one, ADONAI, our God? Don't we look to you? For you do all these things.

1 Then ADONAI said to me, "Even if Moshe and Sh'mu'el were standing in front of me, my heart would not turn toward this people! Drive them out of my sight, get them out of here!

2 And when they ask you where they should go, tell them that this is what ADONAI 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 assign them four kinds [of scourges]," says ADONAI, "the sword to kill, dogs to drag away, birds in the air and wild animals to devour and destroy.

4 I will make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of M'nasheh the son of Hizkiyahu king of Y'hudah, because of what he did in Yerushalayim.

5 "Who will take pity on you, Yerushalayim? Who will grieve for you? Who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?

6 You have rejected me," says ADONAI. "You are heading backward. So I am stretching out my hand against you; tired of sparing you, I am destroying you.

7 With a winnowing fork I am scattering them to the wind at the gates of the land; I am bereaving them, destroying my people, because they will not return from their ways.

8 Their widows increase in number more than the sand of the seas; At midday I am bringing the destroyer on the mothers of young men, causing anguish and terror suddenly to fall upon her.

9 The mother of seven sons grows faint, panting in despair; her sun has gone down while it's still daytime; she is left disgraced and bewildered. And the rest of them I will give to the sword, to their enemies," says ADONAI.

10 Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth, a man who is the object of strife and controversy throughout the land! I neither lend nor borrow, yet all of them curse me.

11 ADONAI said, "I promise to release you for good, I promise to make your enemies appeal to you when calamity and trouble come.

12 "Can iron break iron and bronze from the north?

13 I will give away your wealth and your treasures as plunder, and you will not be paid for them, because of all your sins throughout your territory;

14 and I will make you pass together with your enemies into a land you do not know. For my anger has become a blazing fire, and it will flare up against you."

15 ADONAI, you know. Remember me, think of me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. Because you are patient, don't banish me; know that for your sake I suffer insults.

16 When I found your words, I devoured them; your words made me glad, they gave me joy; because, ADONAI-Tzva'ot, you had me bear your name.

17 I have never kept company with merrymakers, I could not celebrate; with your hand on me I sat by myself, for you filled me with indignation.

18 Why is my pain unending, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will you be for me like a deceptive vadi, which is only sometimes filled with water?

19 This is ADONAI's answer: "If you return - if I bring you back you will stand before me. If you separate the precious from the base, you will be my spokesman. It will then be they who turn to you, not you who turn to them.

20 Toward this people I will make you a fortified wall of bronze they will fight against you but not prevail against you; for I am with you to save you and rescue you," says ADONAI.

21 "I will free you from the grasp of the wicked and redeem you from the clutches of the ruthless."

1 This word of ADONAI came to me:

2 "You are not to marry or have sons and daughters in this place.

3 For this is what ADONAI says concerning the sons and daughters born here, as well as their mothers who gave birth to them and their fathers who conceived them in this land:

4 'They will die terrible deaths without being mourned or buried; they will be left on the ground like dung. They will die by the sword and by famine, and their corpses will be food for the birds in the air and the wild animals.'

5 "For here is what ADONAI says: 'Do not enter any house where there is mourning; don't lament them, and don't grieve for them; for I have removed my shalom from this people, as well as my grace and compassion,' says ADONAI.

6 'Great and small alike will die in this land; they will not be buried, people will not lament them; nor will they cut their flesh or shave their heads for them.

7 No one will prepare a meal for those in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; and no one will give them a cup to drink, to console them for their father or mother.'

8 And you are not to go into any house where there is celebrating to sit with them, eating and drinking.

9 For here is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says: 'In this place, while you are still alive, before your very eyes, I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bridegroom and bride.'

10 "When you tell this people all that I have said, and they ask you, 'Why has ADONAI decreed all this terrible disaster against us? What is our iniquity, what is our sin, that we have committed against ADONAI our God?'

11 then you are to say to them, 'It is because your ancestors abandoned me, says ADONAI, and went after other gods, serving and worshipping them, but abandoned me and did not keep my Torah.

12 And you have done worse than your ancestors, for - look! - each of you lives according to the stubbornness of his own evilheart, so that you don't listen to me.

13 Therefore I am thrusting you out of this land into a land you have not known, neither you nor your ancestors; and there you will serve other gods day and night; for I will show you no favor.'

14 "'Therefore,' says ADONAI, 'the day will come when people will no longer swear, "As ADONAI lives, who brought the people of Isra'el out of the land of Egypt,"

15 but, "As ADONAI lives, who brought the people of Isra'el out of the land to the north and out of all the countries where he drove them"; for I will bring them back to their own land, which I gave to their ancestors.

16 "'Look,' says ADONAI, 'I will send for many fishermen, and they will fish for them. Afterwards, I will send for many hunters; and they will hunt them from every mountain and hill and out of caves in the rocks.

17 For I see all their ways; they are not hidden from me; their crimes are not concealed from my eyes.

18 First, I will pay them back double for their crimes and sins; because they have defiled the land which is mine; they have filled my heritage with the corpses of their horrors and abominations.'"

19 ADONAI, my strength, my fortress, my refuge in time of trouble, the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth, saying, "Our ancestors inherited nothing but lies, futile idols, completely useless."

20 Can a person make himself gods? (In fact they aren't gods at all.)

21 "Therefore, I will make them know, once and for all, I will make them know my power and my might. Then they will know that my name is ADONAI.

1 "Y'hudah's sin is written with an iron pen; with a diamond point it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts and on the horns of your altars.

2 As they remember their children, so they remember their altars and their sacred poles by the green trees on the high hills.

3 My mountain in the field, your wealth and all your treasures will be plundered; because of the sin of your high places throughout your territory.

4 You will relinquish your hold on your heritage which I gave you. I will make you serve your enemies in a land you do not know. For you have kindled my fiery anger, and it will burn forever."

5 Here is what ADONAI says: "A curse on the person who trusts in humans, who relies on merely human strength, whose heart turns away from ADONAI.

6 He will be like a tamarisk in the 'Aravah - when relief comes, it is unaffected; for it lives in the sun-baked desert, in salty, uninhabited land.

7 Blessed is the man who trusts in ADONAI; ADONAI will be his security.

8 He will be like a tree planted near water; it spreads out its roots by the river; it does not notice when heat comes; and its foliage is luxuriant; it is not anxious in a year of drought but keeps on yielding fruit.

9 "The heart is more deceitful than anything else and mortally sick. Who can fathom it?

10 I, ADONAI, search the heart; I test inner motivations; in order to give to everyone what his actions and conduct deserve."

11 A partridge hatches eggs it did not lay; like this are those who get rich unjustly: in the prime of life their wealth will desert them; in the end they will prove to be fools.

12 Throne of Glory, exalted from the beginning! Our Holy Sanctuary,

13 Hope of Isra'el, ADONAI! All who abandon you will be ashamed, those who leave you will be inscribed in the dust, because they have abandoned ADONAI, the source of living water.

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

15 They keep asking me, "Where is the word of ADONAI? Let it come now."

16 As for me, I have not run away from being a shepherd who follows you; you know I didn't want this fatal day; what came from my lips has been clear to you.

17 So do not be my ruin, you, my refuge on the day of disaster.

18 Let my persecutors be ashamed, not me; let them be terrified, not me. Bring on them the day of disaster, destroy them with double destruction.

19 Then ADONAI said this to me: "Go, and stand at the People's Gate, where the kings of Y'hudah go in and out, and at all the gates of Yerushalayim;

20 and say to them: 'Kings of Y'hudah, all Y'hudah and all living in Yerushalayim who enter through these gates, hear the word of ADONAI!

21 Here is what ADONAI says: "If you value your lives, don't carry anything on Shabbat or bring it in through the gates of Yerushalayim;

22 don't carry anything out of your houses on Shabbat; and don't do any work. Instead, make Shabbat a holy day. I ordered your ancestors to do this,

23 but they neither listened nor paid attention; rather, they stiffened their necks, so that they wouldn't have to hear or receive instruction.

24 However, if you will pay careful heed to me," says ADONAI "and carry nothing through the gates of this city on Shabbat, but instead make Shabbat a day which is holy and not for doing work;

25 then kings and princes occupying the throne of David will enter through the gates of this city, riding in chariots and on horses. They, their princes, the people of Y'hudah and the inhabitants of Yerushalayim will enter; and this city will be inhabited forever.

26 They will come from the cities of Y'hudah, from the places surrounding Yerushalayim, from the land of Binyamin, from the Sh'felah, from the hills and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, frankincense and thanksgiving sacrifices to the house of ADONAI.

27 But if you will not obey me and make Shabbat a holy day and not carry loads through the gates of Yerushalayim on Shabbat, then I will set its gates on fire; it will burn up the palaces of Yerushalayim and not be quenched."'"

1 This word came to Yirmeyahu from ADONAI:

2 "Get up, and go down to the potter's house; there I will tell you more."

3 So I went down to the house of the potter; and there he was, working at the wheels.

4 Whenever a pot he made came out imperfect, the potter took the clay and made another pot with it, in whatever shape suited him.

5 Then the word of ADONAI came to me:

6 "House of Isra'el, can't I deal with you as the potter deals with his clay? - says ADONAI. Look! You, house of Isra'el, are the same in my hand as the clay in the potter's hand.

7 At one time, I may speak about uprooting, breaking down and destroying a nation or kingdom;

8 but if that nation turns from their evil, which prompted me to speak against it, then I relent concerning the disaster I had planned to inflict on it.

9 Similarly, at another time, I may speak about building and planting a nation or kingdom;

10 but if it behaves wickedly from my perspective and doesn't listen to what I say, then I change my mind and don't do the good I said I would do that would have helped it.

11 "So now, tell the people of Y'hudah and those living in Yerushalayim that this is what ADONAI says: 'I am designing disaster for you, working out my plan against you. Turn, each of you, from his evil ways; improve your conduct and actions.'

12 "But they will answer, 'It's hopeless! We will stick to our own plans; each of us will stubbornly follow his own evil desires!'

13 "Therefore, ADONAI says this: 'Ask among the nations who has heard anything like this. The virgin Isra'el has done a most horrible thing.

14 Does the snow of the L'vanon disappear from the mountain crags? Do the cold waters of foreign lands ever run dry?

15 No, but my people have forgotten me and offer incense to nothings. This causes them to stumble as they walk the ancient paths; they leave the highway to walk on side-trails.

16 Thus they make their land an object of horror and ongoing ridicule. Passers-by shake their heads, appalled, every one.

17 Like a strong east wind, I will scatter them before the enemy. I will see their back, not their face, on their day of disaster.'"

18 Then they said, "Let's develop a plan for dealing with Yirmeyahu. Torah won't be lost from the cohanim, or counsel from the wise, or words from the prophets. So come, let's destroy him with slander; and meanwhile, we won't pay attention to anything he says."

19 Pay attention to me, ADONAI! Listen to what my opponents are saying!

20 Is good to be repaid with evil? For they have dug a pit [to trap] me. Remember how I stood before you and spoke well of them, in order to turn your anger away from them?

21 Therefore, hand their sons over to famine, hurl them into the power of the sword, let their wives be made childless and widows, let their husbands be slain by disease, let their young men be slain by the sword in battle,

22 let screams be heard from their houses when you bring raiders on them without warning. For they have dug a pit to catch me and have laid snares for my feet.

23 Nevertheless, ADONAI, you know all their plans against me to stop me. Do not forgive their crime, do not blot out their sin from your sight; but let them be made to stumble before you; deal with them when you are angry.

1 ADONAI then said, "Go; buy a clay jar from the potter; take some of the people's leaders and some of the leading cohanim;

2 and go out into the Ben-Hinnom Valley, by the entry to the Potsherd Gate. There you are to proclaim the words I am about to tell you.

3 Say: 'Hear the word of ADONAI, kings of Y'hudah and inhabitants of Yerushalayim! This is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says: "I am about to bring disaster on this place that will make the ears of whoever hears about it ring.

4 This is because they have abandoned me and alienated this place. In it they have offered to other gods that neither they nor their ancestors have known, nor the kings of Y'hudah. They have filled this place with the blood of innocent people.

5 They have built the high places of Ba'al, in order to burn up their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Ba'al - something I never ordered or said; it never even entered my mind.

6 "'"Therefore the time is coming," says ADONAI, "when this place will no longer be called either Tofet or the Ben-Hinnom Valley, but the Valley of Slaughter.

7 I will nullify the plans of Y'hudah and Yerushalayim in this place. I will have them fall by the sword before their enemies and at the hand of those seeking their lives, and I will give their corpses as food for the birds in the air and the wild animals.

8 I will make this city an object of horror and ridicule; everyone passing by will be horrified and will ridicule it because of all its wounds.

9 I will cause them to eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters; everyone will be eating the flesh of his friends during the siege, because of the shortage imposed on them by their enemies and those set on killing them."'

10 "Then you are to smash the jar in front of the people who went with you,

11 and say to them, 'ADONAI-Tzva'ot says that this is how I will break this people and this city, just as one smashes a potter's vessel beyond the possibility of repair. The dead will be buried in Tofet, because there will be no space left for burial [anywhere else].

12 That is what I will do to this place,' says ADONAI 'and to its inhabitants; I will make it like Tofet.

13 The houses of Yerushalayim and those of the kings of Y'hudah will be defiled like this place Tofet - yes, all the houses on whose roofs they have offered to all the stars in heaven and poured out drink offerings to other gods.'"

14 Then Yirmeyahu returned from Tofet, where ADONAI had sent him to prophesy, stood in the courtyard of ADONAI's house and said to all the people,

15 "This is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says: 'I am bringing on this city and all its surrounding villages all the disaster I have pronounced against it; because they have stiffened their necks and refused to pay attention to my words.'"

1 Now when the cohen Pash'chur son of Immer, chief official in the house of ADONAI, heard Yirmeyahu prophesying these things,

2 he had him flogged and put him in the stocks at the Upper Binyamin Gate of the house of ADONAI.

3 The following morning, when Pash'chur led Yirmeyahu out of the stocks, Yirmeyahu said to him, "ADONAI no longer calls you Pash'chur but Magor-Missaviv [terror on every side].

4 For this is what ADONAI says: 'I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends. They will fall by the sword of their enemies, while you watch. I will hand over all of Y'hudah to the king of Bavel, and he will carry them off captive to Bavel and put them to the sword.

5 Moreover, I will hand over everything stored in this city, all its valuables, all its wealth, indeed all the treasures of the kings of Y'hudah, to their enemies, who will plunder them, take them and carry them to Bavel.

6 And you, Pash'chur, along with your entire household, will go into captivity; you will go to Bavel, where you will die and be buried - you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.'"

7 You fooled me, ADONAI; I have been your dupe. You overpowered me, and you have prevailed. All day long I'm a laughingstock; everyone makes fun of me.

8 Whenever I speak, I have to cry out; I shout, "Violence!" and "Destruction!" Thus the word of ADONAI becomes for me the cause of reproach and derision all day!

9 But if I say, "I won't think about him, I won't speak in his name any more," then it seems as though a fire is burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I wear myself out trying to hold it in, but I just can't do it.

10 I have heard many whispering their plot: "'Terror in every direction'? Denounce him! Let's denounce him!" Even all my close friends are watching for me to make a false step - "Maybe he can be tricked, then we'll get the better of him, then we'll take our revenge on him."

11 But ADONAI is with me like a dreaded warrior; so my persecutors will stumble, defeated, greatly ashamed because of their failure; their lasting disgrace will not be forgotten.

12 ADONAI-Tzva'ot, you who test the righteous and see people's hearts and thoughts, let me see you take vengeance on them, for I have committed my cause to you.

13 Sing to ADONAI! Praise ADONAI! For he rescues those in need from the clutches of evildoers.

14 A curse on the day I was born! The day my mother gave birth to me - let it not be blessed!

15 A curse on the man who brought the news to my father, "A son has been born to you!" - thus making him very happy.

16 Let that man be like the cities ADONAI overthrew without mercy! Let him hear cries of alarm in the morning and the sound of battle at noon,

17 because God did not put me to death in the womb and let my mother become my grave, her womb forever filled with me.

18 Why did I have to emerge from the womb, just to see toil and sorrow, and end my days in shame?

1 This is the word that came to Yirmeyahu from ADONAI when King Tzidkiyahu sent to him Pash'chur the son of Malkiyah and Tz'fanyah the son of Ma'aseiyah with this message:

2 "Please consult ADONAI for us, because N'vukhadretzar king of Bavel is making war on us. Maybe ADONAI will perform a miracle for us and cause him to withdraw."

3 Yirmeyahu answered them, "Here is what you are to tell Tzidkiyahu:

4 'This is what ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, says: "I will make the weapons of war that you have in your hands ineffectual in your fight against the king of Bavel and the Kasdim who are outside the walls besieging you. Instead, I will gather them inside this city;

5 and I myself will fight against you with my hand stretched out and with a strong arm, in anger, rage and great fury.

6 I will strike the inhabitants of this city, humans and animals alike, and they will die of a terrible plague.

7 Afterwards," says ADONAI "I will hand over Tzidkiyahu king of Y'hudah, his servants, the people, and anyone remaining alive in this city after the plague, war and famine, to N'vukhadretzar king of Bavel and to their enemies, to those who seek their lives; and he will put them to the sword. He will not spare them; he will have no pity, no compassion."'

8 "And here is what you are to tell this people: 'ADONAI says: "Look! I am presenting you with the way of life and the way of death.

9 Anyone who stays in this city will die by sword, famine and plague. But he who leaves and surrenders to the Kasdim besieging you will stay alive; his own life will be his only 'spoils of war.'

10 For I have determined absolutely that this city will have evil, not good," says ADONAI. "It is going to be handed over to the king of Bavel, and he will burn it to the ground."'

11 "To the royal house of Y'hudah say: 'Hear the word of ADONAI;

12 house of David, this is what ADONAI says: "Judge fairly every morning, rescue the wronged from their oppressors; or my fury will lash out like fire, burning so hot that no one can quench it, because of how evil your actions are."

13 ADONAI says, "I am against you, [Yerushalayim,] situated in a valley like a rock on a plain. You who say, 'Who can come down against us? Who can enter our lairs?'

14 I will punish you," says ADONAI, "as your deeds deserve. I will set its forest on fire, and it will devour everything around it."'"

1 ADONAI said, "Go down to the house of the king of Y'hudah and there speak this word:

2 'King of Y'hudah occupying David's throne, hear the word of ADONAI - you, your servants and your people who enter through these gates.

3 This is what ADONAI says: "Do what is right and just; rescue the wronged from their oppressors; do nothing wrong or violent to the stranger, orphan or widow; don't shed innocent blood in this place.

4 "'"If you are careful to do this, then future kings occupying David's throne will enter these palace gates riding in chariots and on horses - he, his servants and his people.

5 But if you will not pay attention to these words, then I swear by myself," says ADONAI, "that this palace will become a ruin."'

6 "For here is what ADONAI says concerning the palace of the king of Y'hudah: 'You are like Gil'ad to me, like the peak of the L'vanon; yet I will turn you into a desert, uninhabited cities.

7 I will designate men to destroy you, each one with his weapons; they will chop down your choice cedars and throw them in the fire.'

8 "Many nations will pass by this city, and they will say to one another, 'Why has ADONAI done such a thing to this great city?'

9 The answer will be, 'Because they abandoned the covenant of ADONAI their God and worshipped other gods, serving them.'"

10 Do not weep for [the king] who has died, do not mourn for him [Yoshiyahu]. But weep for him who departs [to Egypt], for he will never return or see his native land again.

11 For this is what ADONAI says about Shalum the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y'hudah, who succeeded Yoshiyahu his father as king: "He has left this place, never to return;

12 but he will die in the place where they have led him captive, without seeing this land again.

13 "Woe to him who builds his palace unfairly, its upper rooms by injustice; who makes his neighbor work for free and will not give him his wages;

14 who says, 'I will build me a spacious palace with airy upper rooms,' then makes windows and cedar panels painted with vermilion!

15 Your cedar may be excellent, but that doesn't make you a better king. True, your father ate and drank, but he also did what was right and just, so things went well with him.

16 He upheld the cause of the poor and the weak, so everything went well. Isn't that what knowing me is all about?" says ADONAI.

17 "In contrast, your eyes and heart are controlled entirely by your greed, your desire for shedding innocent blood, oppressing and extorting."

18 Therefore here is what ADONAI says concerning Y'hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y'hudah: "There will be no one to mourn for him, 'Oh! My brother!' or 'Oh! My sister!' There will be no one to mourn for him, 'Oh! My master!' or 'Oh! His glory!'

19 He will be given a donkey's 'burial' - dragged out the gates of Yerushalayim and thrown away [to rot].

20 Climb up to the L'vanon and cry out, raise your voice in Bashan, cry out from 'Avarim, for all your lovers are broken.

21 I spoke to you in your times of prosperity, but you said, 'I won't listen.' This has been your pattern since you were young - you pay no attention to what I say.

22 The wind will shepherd all your shepherds away, and your lovers will go into captivity. Then you will be ashamed and disgraced for all your wicked deeds.

23 You who live in the L'vanon, nesting in the cedars, how gracious will you be when pains come on you like a woman in labor?

24 "As I live," says ADONAI, "even if Koniyahu the son of Y'hoyakim king of Y'hudah were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off

25 and hand you over to those who seek your life, to those you fear, N'vukhadretzar king of Bavel and the Kasdim.

26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave birth to you into a country different from the one you were born in, and you will die there.

27 They will not return to the country to which they long to return."

28 Is this man Koniyahu a despised, broken pot, an instrument nobody wants? Why are they being thrown out? Why are he and his offspring thrown out into a country they do not know?

29 Oh, land, land, land! Hear the word of ADONAI!

30 This what ADONAI says: "List this man as childless; he is a lifetime failure - none of his offspring will succeed, none will sit on David's throne or rule again in Y'hudah."

1 "Oh no! The shepherds are destroying and scattering the sheep in my pasture!" says ADONAI.

2 Therefore this is what ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, says against the shepherds who shepherd my people: "You have scattered my flock, driven them away and not taken care of them. So I will 'take care of' you because of your evil deeds," says ADONAI.

3 "I myself will gather what remains of my flock from all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their homes, and they will be fruitful and increase their numbers.

4 I will appoint shepherds over them who will shepherd them; then they will no longer be afraid or disgraced; and none will be missing," says ADONAI

5 "The days are coming," says ADONAI when I will raise a righteous Branch for David. He will reign as king and succeed, he will do what is just and right in the land.

6 In his days Y'hudah will be saved, Isra'el will live in safety, and the name given to him will be ADONAI Tzidkenu [ADONAI our righteousness].

7 "Therefore," says ADONAI, "the day will come when people no longer swear, 'As ADONAI lives, who brought the people of Isra'el out of the land of Egypt,'

8 but, 'As ADONAI lives, who brought the descendants of the house of Isra'el up from the land to the north' and from all the countries where I drove them. Then they will live in their own land."

9 Concerning the prophets: My heart within me is broken, all my bones are shaking; I am like a drunk, like a man overcome by wine, because of ADONAI, because of his holy words.

10 For the land is full of adulterers; because of a curse the land is in mourning - the desert pastures have dried up. Their course is evil, their power misused.

11 "Both prophet and cohen are godless; In my own house I find their wickedness," says ADONAI.

12 "Therefore their way will be slippery for them; they will be driven into darkness and fall there. For I will bring disaster upon them, their year of punishment," says ADONAI.

13 "I have seen inappropriate conduct in the prophets of Shomron - they prophesied by Ba'al and led my people Isra'el astray.

14 But in the prophets of Yerushalayim I have seen a horrible thing - they commit adultery, live in lies, so encouraging evildoers that none returns from his sin. For me they have all become like S'dom, its inhabitants like 'Amora.

15 Therefore, this is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot says concerning the prophets: "I will feed them bitter wormwood and make them drink poisonous water, for ungodliness has spread through all the land from the prophets of Yerushalayim."

16 ADONAI-Tzva'ot says: "Don't listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you. They are making you act foolishly, telling you visions from their own minds and not from the mouth of ADONAI.

17 They keep reassuring those who despise me, 'ADONAI says you will be safe and secure,' and saying to all living by their own stubborn hearts, 'Nothing bad will happen to you.'

18 But which of them has been present at the council of ADONAI to see and hear his word? Who has paid attention to his word enough to hear it?"

19 Look! The storm of ADONAI, bursting out in fury, a whirling storm, whirling down upon the heads of the wicked

20 ADONAI's anger will not abate till he fully accomplishes the purpose in his heart. In the acharit-hayamim, you will understand everything.

21 "I did not send these prophets; yet they ran. I did not speak to them; yet they prophesied

22 If they have been present at my council, they should let my people hear my words and turn them from their evil way and the evil of their actions.

23 Am I God only when near," asks ADONAI, "and not when far away?

24 Can anyone hide in a place so secret that I won't see him?" asks ADONAI. ADONAI says, "Do I not fill heaven and earth?

25 "I have heard what these prophets prophesying lies in my name are saying: 'I've had a dream! I've had a dream!'

26 How long will this go on? Is [my word] in the hearts of prophets who are prophesying lies, who are prophesying the deceit of their own minds?

27 With their dreams that they keep telling each other, they hope to cause my people to forget my name; just as their ancestors forgot my name when they worshipped Ba'al.

28 "If a prophet has a dream, let him tell it as a dream. But someone who has my word should speak my word faithfully. What do chaff and wheat have in common?" asks ADONAI.

29 "Isn't my word like fire," asks ADONAI, "like a hammer shattering rocks?

30 So, I am against the prophets," says ADONAI, "who steal my words from each other.

31 Yes, I am against the prophets," says ADONAI, "who speak their own words, then add, 'He says.'

32 "I am against those who concoct prophecies out of fake dreams," says ADONAI. "They tell them, and by their lies and arrogance they lead my people astray. I didn't send them, I didn't commission them, and they don't do this people any good at all," says ADONAI.

33 "When [someone from] this people, a prophet or a cohen asks you, 'What is the burden of ADONAI?' you are to answer them, 'What burden? I am throwing you off,' says ADONAI.

34 As for a prophet, cohen or [someone else from] this people who speaks about 'the burden of ADONAI,' I will punish him and his household."

35 So, when you speak with your neighbor or brother, ask, "What answer has ADONAI given?" or "What has ADONAI said?"

36 Don't use the expression, "burden of ADONAI" any more; for every person's own word will be his burden. Must you twist the words of the living God, of ADONAI-Tzva'ot, our God

37 So, when speaking to a prophet, ask, "What answer has ADONAI given you?" or "What did ADONAI say?"

38 But if you talk about "the burden of ADONAI," then here is what ADONAI says: "Because you use this expression, 'the burden of ADONAI,' after I have already sent you the order not to say, 'the burden of ADONAI,

39 I will lift you up, burden that you are, and throw you off, away from my presence - you and the city I gave you and your ancestors.

40 Then I will subject you to everlasting disgrace - eternal, unforgettable shame."

1 It was after N'vukhadretzar king of Bavel had carried Y'khanyahu the son of Y'hoyakim, king of Y'hudah, along with the leaders of Y'hudah, the artisans and the skilled workers into exile from Yerushalayim and brought them to Bavel, that ADONAI gave me a vision. There, in front of the temple of ADONAI, two baskets of figs were placed.

2 One of the baskets had in it very good figs, like those that ripen first; while the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they were inedible.

3 Then ADONAI asked me, "Yirmeyahu, what do you see?" I answered, "Figs - the good figs are very good; but the bad ones are very bad, so bad they are inedible."

4 The word of ADONAI came to me:

5 "Here is what ADONAI the God of Isra'el says: 'I will regard the exiles from Y'hudah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Kasdim, as good, just as I do these good figs.

6 "'I will look after them for their good, I will bring them back to this land; I will build them up and not tear them down, plant them and not pull them up.

7 I will give them a heart to know me that I am ADONAI. They will be my people, and I will be their God; for they will return to me with all their heart.'

8 "But concerning the bad figs that are so bad as to be inedible, ADONAI says: 'I will make Tzidkiyahu the king of Y'hudah and his leaders resemble them, likewise the rest of Yerushalayim remaining in this land and those living in the land of Egypt.

9 Everywhere I drive them I will make them an object of horror, repulsive to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace, a byword, a laughingstock and a curse;

10 and I will send sword, famine and plague among them until they have disappeared from the land I gave them and their ancestors.'"

1 This is the word that came to Yirmeyahu concerning all the people of Y'hudah in the fourth year of Y'hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y'hudah; this was also the first year of N'vukhadretzar king of Bavel.

2 Yirmeyahu the prophet proclaimed it before all the people of Y'hudah and all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim:

3 "For twenty-three years, since the thirteenth year of Yoshiyahu the son of Amon, king of Y'hudah, until today, the word of ADONAI has come to me; and I have proclaimed it to you on numerous occasions; but you haven't listened.

4 Moreover, ADONAI sent you all his servants the prophets - again, on numerous occasions - but you didn't listen or pay attention.

5 The message was always: 'Every one of you, turn back from his evil way, from the evil of your actions. Then you will live in the land ADONAI gave you and your ancestors forever and ever.

6 Don't follow other gods by serving and worshipping them. "Don't provoke my anger with things your own hands have made; then I will do you no harm.

7 But you wouldn't listen to me," says ADONAI, "so that you could provoke me with the products of your hands, to your own harm."

8 "Therefore, here is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot says: 'Because you haven't paid attention to what I've been saying,

9 I'm going to send for all the families of the north,' says ADONAI, 'and for my servant N'vukhadretzar the king of Bavel, and bring them against this land, against its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them, making them an object of horror and ridicule, a perpetual ruin.

10 Moreover, I will silence among them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bridegroom and bride, the grinding of millstones and the light of lamps.

11 This entire land will become a ruin, a waste; and these nations will serve the king of Bavel for seventy years.

12 But when the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Bavel and that nation for their sin,' says ADONAI, 'and I will turn the land of the Kasdim into everlasting ruins.

13 I will inflict on that land all my words that I have decreed against it, everything written in this book, in which Yirmeyahu has prophesied against all the nations.

14 For they too will become slaves to many nations and to powerful kings; I will pay them back according to their deeds and the work of their own hands.'

15 "For here is what ADONAI the God of Isra'el says to me: 'Take this cup of the wine of fury from my hand, and make all the nations where I am sending you drink it.

16 They will drink, stagger to and fro and behave like crazy people because of the sword that I will send among them.'"

17 Then I took the cup from ADONAI's hand and made all the nations drink, where ADONAI had sent me -

18 Yerushalayim and the cities of Y'hudah, along with their kings and leaders, to make them a ruin and an object of horror, ridicule and cursing, as it is today;

19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, with his servants and leaders and all his people, both native

20 and foreign; all the kings of the land of 'Utz; all the kings of the land of the P'lishtim, Ashkelon, 'Azah, 'Ekron and those remaining in Ashdod;

21 Edom, Mo'av, and the people of 'Amon;

22 all the kings of Tzor, of Tzidon and of the coastlands across the sea;

23 D'dan, Teima, Buz and all who cut the corners of their beards;

24 all the kings of Arabia and of the mixed peoples living in the desert;

25 all the kings of Zimri, of 'Eilam and of the Medes;

26 and all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another - indeed, all the kingdoms of the world that there are on the surface of the earth. And the king of Sheshakh will drink last of all.

27 "You are to say to them, 'Here is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says: Drink until you're so drunk that you throw up, fall down, and never get up again, because of the sword I am sending among you!'

28 If they refuse to take the cup from your hand and drink it, then say to them, 'Here is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot says: You must drink!

29 For, look! - if I am bringing disaster on the city that bears my own name, do you expect to go unpunished? Yes, I will summon a sword for all the inhabitants of the earth,' says ADONAI.

30 "As for you, [Yirmeyahu,] prophesy all these words against them; say to them, 'ADONAI is roaring from on high, raising his voice from his holy dwelling, roaring with might against his own habitation, shouting out loud, like those who tread grapes, against everyone living on earth.

31 The sound resounds to the ends of the earth, for ADONAI is indicting the nations, about to pass judgment on all humankind; the wicked he has handed over to the sword,' says ADONAI."

32 Thus says ADONAI-Tzva'ot: "Disaster is spreading from nation to nation, a mighty tempest is being unleashed from the farthest ends of the earth."

33 On that day, those killed by ADONAI will be strewn from one end of the earth to the other; they will not be mourned or gathered or buried, but will lie on the ground like dung.

34 "Wail, shepherds! Cry! Wallow in the dust, you lords of the flock! For the days for your slaughter have come. I will break you in pieces, and like a prized vase you will fall."

35 The shepherds have no way to flee, the lords of the flock no way to escape.

36 Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wails of the lords of the flock! For ADONAI is destroying their pasture,

37 the peaceful grazing grounds are silenced, because of ADONAI's fierce anger.

38 Like a lion, he has abandoned his lair; for their land has become desolate because of the oppressor's fierce sword and because of ADONAI's fierce anger.

1 At the beginning of the reign of Y'hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y'hudah, this word came from ADONAI:

2 "ADONAI says: 'Stand in the courtyard of ADONAI's house and speak to the people from all the cities in Y'hudah who come to worship at ADONAI's house; say everything I order you to say to them, and don't leave out a word.

3 Maybe they will listen, and each of them turn from his evil way; then I will be able to relent from the disaster I intend to bring on them because of how evil their deeds are.

4 So tell them that this is what ADONAI says: "If you will not pay attention to me and live according to my Torah, which I have given you,

5 and listen to what my servants the prophets, whom I send to you, say - I have sent them frequently, but you haven't listened -

6 then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city an object of cursing for all the nations of the earth."'"

7 The cohanim, the prophets and all the people heard Yirmeyahu speaking these words in the house of ADONAI.

8 When Yirmeyahu had finished saying everything ADONAI had ordered him to say to all the people, the cohanim, prophets and all the people seized him, shouting, "You will die for this!

9 Why have you prophesied in the name of ADONAI, 'This house will become like Shiloh,' and, 'This city will become uninhabited ruins'?" The people all crowded in on Yirmeyahu in ADONAI's house.

10 When the officials of Y'hudah heard about it, they came up from the king's palace to ADONAI's house and sat at the entrance to the New Gate of ADONAI's house.

11 The cohanim and prophets said to the officials and all the people, "This man deserves a death sentence, because he has prophesied against this city; you have heard it with your own ears."

12 Then Yirmeyahu said to the officials and all the people, "ADONAI sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words you have heard.

13 Therefore now, improve your ways and your doings; and listen to the voice of ADONAI your God; then ADONAI will relent from the disaster he has decreed against you.

14 But as for me, here, I am in your hands; do with me whatever seems good and right to you.

15 Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood on yourselves, on this city and on its inhabitants; because the fact is that ADONAI sent me to you to speak all these words, so that you could hear them."

16 The officials and all the people then said to the cohanim and prophets, "This man does not deserve a death sentence, because he has spoken to us in the name of ADONAI our God."

17 At this point some of the leaders of the land stood up and addressed all the people assembled:

18 "Back in the time of Hizkiyahu king of Y'hudah, Mikhah from Moreshet was a prophet. He told all the people of Y'hudah, 'ADONAI-Tzva'ot says, "Tziyon will be plowed under like a field, Yerushalayim will become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the house like a forested height."'

19 "Did Hizkiyahu king of Y'hudah and all Y'hudah put him to death? Not at all. Rather, he feared ADONAI, and prayed for ADONAI's favor; and ADONAI relented from the disaster he had pronounced against them. So [if we put Yirmeyahu to death,] we might bring great disaster on ourselves."

20 On the other hand, there was also a man who prophesied in the name of ADONAI, Uriyahu the son of Sh'ma'yahu from Kiryat-Ye'arim, who prophesied against this city and against this land exactly what Yirmeyahu is saying.

21 When Y'hoyakim the king, with all his military men and other officials, heard what he was saying, the king wanted to have him killed. On hearing of this, Uriyahu became frightened, fled and went to Egypt.

22 Y'hoyakim the king sent men to Egypt - Elnatan the son of 'Akhbor and some others.

23 They brought Uriyahu back from Egypt and took him to Y'hoyakim the king, who put him to the sword and threw his corpse into the burial-ground of the common people.

24 But in this situation concerning Yirmeyahu, Achikam the son of Shafan used his influence to help him, so that he was not handed over to the people to be put to death.

1 At the beginning of the reign of Y'hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y'hudah, this word came to Yirmeyahu from ADONAI:

2 "ADONAI says this to me: 'Make yourself a yoke of straps and crossbars, and put it on your neck.

3 Send [similar yokes] to the kings of Edom, of Mo'av, of the people of 'Amon, of Tzor, and of Tzidon by means of the envoys they send to Yerushalayim, and to Tzidkiyahu king of Y'hudah.

4 Give them this message for their masters by telling their envoys that ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says for them to tell their masters:

5 "'"I made the earth, humankind, and the animals on the earth by my great power and my outstretched arm; and I give it to whom it seems right to me.

6 For now, I have given over all these lands to my servant N'vukhadnetzar the king of Bavel; I have also given him the wild animals to serve him.

7 All the nations will serve him, his son and his grandson, until his own country gets its turn - at which time many nations and great kings will make him their slave.

8 The nation and kingdom that refuses to serve this N'vukhadnetzar king of Bavel, that will not put their necks under the yoke of the king of Bavel, I will punish," says ADONAI "with sword, famine and plague, until I have put an end to them through him.

9 "'"You, therefore, don't listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, magicians or sorcerers, when they tell you that you won't be subject to the king of Bavel;

10 for they are prophesying lies to you that will result in your being removed far from your land, with my driving you out, so that you perish.

11 But the nation that puts its neck under the yoke of the king of Bavel and serves him, that nation I will allow to remain on their own soil," says ADONAI. "They will farm it and live there."'"

12 Then I spoke to Tzidkiyahu king of Y'hudah in just the same way: "Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Bavel, serve him and his people, and you will live.

13 Why would you want to die, you and your people, by sword, famine and plague - which is what ADONAI has decreed for the nation that will not serve the king of Bavel?

14 Don't listen to the words of the prophets who say to you, 'You will not serve the king of Bavel'; because they are prophesying lies to you.

15 'For I have not sent them,' says ADONAI, 'and they are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out, and you will perish - you and the prophets prophesying to you.'"

16 I also spoke to the cohanim and to all this people; I said, "This is what ADONAI says: 'Don't listen to the words of the prophets prophesying to you that the articles from ADONAI's house will soon be returned from Bavel; because they are prophesying lies to you.

17 Don't listen to them. Serve the king of Bavel, and stay alive; why should this city become a ruin?'

18 But if they are in fact prophets, and if the word of ADONAI is with them, then let them now intercede with ADONAI-Tzva'ot that the articles still remaining in the house of ADONAI and in the palace of the king of Y'hudah will not go off to Bavel.

19 For this is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot says concerning the columns, the Sea, the bases and the rest of the articles still here in this city,

20 that N'vukhadnetzar, king of Bavel did not seize when he carried off captive Y'khanyahu the son of Y'hoyakim, king of Y'hudah, from Yerushalayim to Bavel, along with all the leading men of Y'hudah and Yerushalayim-

21 yes, this is what ADONAI Shaddai, the God of Isra'el, says about the things remaining in the house of ADONAI, in the palace of the king of Y'hudah and in Yerushalayim:

22 'They will be carried to Bavel; and there they will stay until the day I remember them, bring them back and restore them to this place,' says ADONAI."

1 That same year, at the beginning of the reign of Tzidkiyahu king of Y'hudah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananyah the son of 'Azur the prophet, from Giv'on, spoke to me in ADONAI's house in front of the cohanim and all the people, saying,

2 "This is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says: 'I have broken the yoke of the king of Bavel.

3 Within two years I will restore to this place all the articles from ADONAI's house that N'vukhadnetzar king of Bavel removed from this place and carried to Bavel.

4 Also I will bring back here Y'khanyah the son of Y'hoyakim, king of Y'hudah, along with all those from Y'hudah who were taken captive to Bavel,' says ADONAI, 'for I will break the yoke of the king of Bavel.'"

5 Then the prophet Yirmeyahu said to the prophet Hananyah in front of the cohanim and all the people standing in ADONAI's house -

6 the prophet Yirmeyahu said, "Amen! May ADONAI do it! May ADONAI fulfill the words you have prophesied and bring back from Bavel to this place the articles from ADONAI's house and all the people who were carried away captive!

7 Nevertheless, listen now to this word that I am speaking for you to hear and for all the people to hear.

8 The prophets who were here before me and before you prophesied in times past against many countries and against great kingdoms about war, disaster and plagues.

9 As for a prophet who prophesies peace - when the word of that prophet is fulfilled, it will be evident concerning that prophet that ADONAI indeed did send him."

10 At this point Hananyah the prophet took the crossbar off the prophet Yirmeyahu's neck and broke it.

11 Then Hananyah, in front of all the people, said, "Thus says ADONAI: 'In just this way will I break off the yoke of N'vukhadnetzar king of Bavel from the necks of all the nations within two years.'" The prophet Yirmeyahu left them;

12 but then this word of ADONAI came to Yirmeyahu, after Hananyah the prophet had broken off the crossbar from the neck of the prophet Yirmeyahu:

13 "Go and tell Hananyah that ADONAI:says, 'You have broken the crossbars of wood, but you will make in their place crossbars of iron.

14 For here is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says: "I have put a yoke of iron on the necks of all these nations, so that they can serve N'vukhadnetzar king of Bavel; and they will serve him; and I have given him the wild animals too."'"

15 Then the prophet Yirmeyahu said to Hananyah the prophet, "Listen here, Hananyah! ADONAI has not sent you! You are making these people trust in a lie!

16 Therefore, here is what ADONAI says: 'I am about to send you away from the face of the earth - this year you will die, because you have preached rebellion against ADONAI.'"

17 Hananyah the prophet died that same year, in the seventh month.

1 Following is the text of the letter Yirmeyahu the prophet sent from Yerushalayim to the leaders remaining in exile, as well as to the cohanim, the prophets and all the people N'vukhadnetzar had carried off captive from Yerushalayim to Bavel.

2 This was after Y'khanyah the king, the queen mother, the officers, the leaders of Y'hudah and Yerushalayim, and the artisans and skilled workers had left Yerushalayim.

3 The letter was entrusted to El'asah the son of Shafan and G'maryah the son of Hilkiyah; Tzidkiyah king of Y'hudah sent them to Bavel, to N'vukhadnetzar king of Bavel. The letter said:

4 "Here is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says to all those in exile, whom I have caused to be carried off captive from Yerushalayim to Bavel:

5 'Build yourselves houses, and live in them. Plant gardens, and eat what they produce.

6 Choose women to marry, and have sons and daughters. Choose wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage to men, so that they can have sons and daughters - increase your numbers there, don't decrease.

7 Seek the welfare of the city to which I have caused you to go in exile, and pray to ADONAI on its behalf; for your welfare is bound up in its welfare.'

8 For this is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says: 'Don't let your prophets who are living among you and your diviners deceive you, and don't pay attention to the dreams you urge them to dream.

9 For they are prophesying falsely in my name; I have not sent them,' says ADONAI.

10 "For here is what ADONAI says: 'After Bavel's seventy years are over, I will remember you and fulfill my good promise to you by bringing you back to this place.

11 For I know what plans I have in mind for you,' says ADONAI,'plans for well-being, not for bad things; so that you can have hope and a future.

12 When you call to me and pray to me, I will listen to you.

13 When you seek me, you will find me, provided you seek for me wholeheartedly;

14 and I will let you find me,' says ADONAI. 'Then I will reverse your exile. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have driven you,' says ADONAI, 'and bring you back to the place from which I exiled you.'

15 "You say that ADONAI has raised up prophets for you in Bavel.

16 But here is what ADONAI says about the king occupying David's throne and about all the people living in this city, your kinsmen who did not go into exile with you -

17 thus says ADONAI-Tzva'ot: 'I will attack them with sword, famine and plague; I will make them like bad figs, so bad they are inedible.

18 I will pursue them with sword, famine and plague and make them an object of horror to all the kingdoms of the earth; and they will bring on themselves cursing, astonishment, ridicule and reproach among all the nations where I have driven them;

19 because they have not paid attention to my words,' says ADONAI, 'which I sent to them through my servants the prophets. I sent them frequently, but you refused to listen,' says ADONAI.

20 "So pay attention now to the word of ADONAI, all of you in exile, whom I sent away from Yerushalayim to Bavel.

21 Here is what ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, says about Ach'av the son of Kolayah and Tzidkiyahu the son of Ma'aseiyah, who prophesy lies to you in my name: 'I will hand them over to N'vukhadretzar king of Bavel, and he will put them to death before your eyes.

22 In fact, all those exiled from Y'hudah who are in Bavel will take up this formula for cursing: "May ADONAI make you like Tzidkiyahu and Ach'av, whom the king of Bavel roasted in the fire!"

23 because they have done vile things in Isra'el, committing adultery with their neighbors' wives and speaking words in my name, falsely, which I did not order them to say. For I am he who knows; I am witness to this,' says ADONAI.

24 "To Sh'ma'yah the Nechelami you are to communicate this message:

25 'This is a word from ADONAI-Tzva'ot, the God of Isra'el, because of the letters you sent in your own name to all the people in Yerushalayim, including Tz'fanyah the son of Ma'aseiyah the cohen and all the cohanim.

26 Your letter said, "ADONAI has made you cohen in place of Y'hoyada the cohen, in order to have officials in ADONAI's house who will arrest any crazy person who makes himself out to be a prophet, so that you can restrain him in stocks and collar.

27 So why haven't you rebuked Yirmeyahu of 'Anatot, who makes himself out to be a prophet for you?

28 He even sends word to us in Bavel saying that the exile will last a long time; so build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat what they produce."

29 Tz'fanyah the cohen read this letter to Yirmeyahu the prophet, and afterwards

30 the word of ADONAI came to Yirmeyahu,

31 instructing him to send to all those in exile this message: "Here is what ADONAI says about Sh'ma'yah the Nechelami: 'This Sh'ma'yah has prophesied to you, even though I did not send him, and has caused you to put your trust in a lie.

32 Because of this,' ADONAI says, 'I will punish Sh'ma'yah the Nechelami and his offspring. He will not have a man to live among this people, and he will not see the good I am planning to do for my people,' says ADONAI, 'because he has preached rebellion against ADONAI.'"'"

1 This word came to Yirmeyahu from ADONAI:

2 "This is what ADONAI the God of Isra'el says: 'Write all the words I have spoken to you in a scroll.

3 For the day is coming,' says ADONAI, 'when I will reverse the exile of my people Isra'el and Y'hudah,' says ADONAI. 'I will cause them to return to the land I gave their ancestors, and they will take possession of it.'"

4 These are the words ADONAI spoke concerning Isra'el and Y'hudah:

5 Here is what ADONAI says: "We have heard a cry of terror, of fear and not of peace.

6 Ask now and see: can men give birth to children? Why, then, do I see all the men with their hands on their stomachs like women in labor, with every face turned pale?

7 How dreadful that day will be! - there has never been one like it: a time of trouble for Ya'akov, but out of it he will be saved.

8 "On that day," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, "I will break his yoke from off your neck, I will snap your chains. Foreigners will no longer enslave him.

9 Instead, they will serve ADONAI their God and David their king, whom I will raise up for them.

10 "So don't be afraid, Ya'akov my servant," says ADONAI, "or be alarmed, Isra'el; for I will return you from far away and your offspring from their country of exile. Ya'akov will again be quiet, at rest; and no one will make him afraid.

11 "For I am with you to save you," says ADONAI, "I will finish off all the nations where I have scattered you. However, you I will not finish off, but will discipline only as you deserve; I will not completely destroy you."

12 For here is what ADONAI says: "Your wound is past healing, your injury most severe;

13 no one thinks your wound can be bandaged; you have no medicines that can heal you.

14 All your friends have forgotten you, they no longer seek you out. I have struck you down as an enemy would, punished as a cruel man would, because of your great wickedness, because of your many sins.

15 Why cry that your wound and pain are past healing? I have done these things to you because of your great wickedness, because of your many sins.

16 "But all who devour you will be devoured, all your enemies will go into exile, those who plunder you will be plundered, those who pillage you will be pillaged.

17 For I will restore your health, I will heal you of your wounds," says ADONAI, "because they called you an outcast, Tziyon, with no one who cares about her."

18 Thus says ADONAI: "I will return Ya'akov's captives to their tents; I will take pity on his dwellings. Cities will be rebuilt on their own tels, with palaces where they're supposed to be.

19 From them will come thanksgiving and the sound of people celebrating. I will increase them; they will not be decreased; I will honor them; they will not be despised.

20 Their children will be as they used to be, their community confirmed in my presence; and I will punish everyone who oppresses them.

21 Their leader will be one of their own, their ruler will come from among them. I will cause him to come close and let him approach me; for, otherwise, who would guarantee his heart enough to approach me?" says ADONAI.

22 "You will be my people, and I will be your God."

23 Look! The storm of ADONAI, bursting out in fury, a sweeping storm, whirling down upon the heads of the wicked!

24 ADONAI's fierce anger will not abate till he accomplishes the purpose in his heart. In the acharit-hayamim, you will understand.

Jeremiah 9; Jeremiah 10; Jeremiah 11; Jeremiah 12; Jeremiah 13; Jeremiah 14; Jeremiah 15; Jeremiah 16; Jeremiah 17; Jeremiah 18; Jeremiah 19; Jeremiah 20; Jeremiah 21; Jeremiah 22; Jeremiah 23; Jeremiah 24; Jeremiah 25; Jeremiah 26; Jeremiah 27; Jeremiah 28; Jeremiah 29; Jeremiah 30

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Jeremiah 9

Jeremiah 10

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Jeremiah 30