The Ruined Waistband

1 Thus the LORD said to me, “Go and buy yourself a linen waistband and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water. 2 So I bought the waistband in accordance with the word of the LORD and put it around my waist. 3 Then the word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, 4 “Take the waistband that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice of the rock. 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD had commanded me. 6 After many days the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from there the waistband which I commanded you to hide there. 7 Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the waistband from the place where I had hidden it; and lo, the waistband was ruined, it was totally worthless.

 8 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 9 “Thus says the LORD, `Just so will I destroy the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 `This wicked people, who refuse to listen to My words, who walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have gone after other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this waistband which is totally worthless. 11 `For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah cling to Me,’ declares the LORD, `that they might be for Me a people, for renown, for praise and for glory; but they did not listen.’

Captivity Threatened

 12 “Therefore you are to speak this word to them, `Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Every jug is to be filled with wine.’ And when they say to you, `Do we not very well know that every jug is to be filled with wine?’ 13 then say to them, `Thus says the LORD, “Behold I am about to fill all the inhabitants of this land–the kings that sit for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem–with drunkenness! 14 “I will dash them against each other, both the fathers and the sons together, declares the LORD. “I will not show pity nor be sorry nor have compassion so as not to destroy them.’

 15
Listen and give heed, do not be haughty,
For the LORD has spoken. 16
Give glory to the LORD your God,
Before He brings darkness
And before your feet stumble
On the dusky mountains,
And while you are hoping for light
He makes it into deep darkness,
{And} turns {it} into gloom. 17
But if you will not listen to it,
My soul will sob in secret for {such} pride;
And my eyes will bitterly weep
And flow down with tears,
Because the flock of the LORD has been taken captive. 18
Say to the king and the queen mother,
“Take a lowly seat,
For your beautiful crown
Has come down from your head. 19
The cities of the Negev have been locked up,
And there is no one to open {them;}
All Judah has been carried into exile,
Wholly carried into exile.

 20
“Lift up your eyes and see
Those coming from the north.
Where is the flock that was given you,
Your beautiful sheep? 21
“What will you say when He appoints over you–
And you yourself had taught them–
Former companions to be head over you?
Will not pangs take hold of you
Like a woman in childbirth? 22
“If you say in your heart,
`Why have these things happened to me?’
Because of the magnitude of your iniquity
Your skirts have been removed
And your heels have been exposed. 23
“Can the Ethiopian change his skin
Or the leopard his spots?
{Then} you also can do good
Who are accustomed to doing evil. 24
“Therefore I will scatter them like drifting straw
To the desert wind. 25
“This is your lot, the portion measured to you
From Me, declares the LORD,
“Because you have forgotten Me
And trusted in falsehood. 26
“So I Myself have also stripped your skirts off over your face,
That your shame may be seen. 27
“As for your adulteries and your {lustful} neighings,
The lewdness of your prostitution
On the hills in the field,
I have seen your abominations.
Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
How long will you remain unclean?

Jeremiah’s Prayer

1
Righteous are You, O LORD, that I would plead {my} case with You;
Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with You:
Why has the way of the wicked prospered?
{Why} are all those who deal in treachery at ease? 2
You have planted them, they have also taken root;
They grow, they have even produced fruit.
You are near to their lips
But far from their mind. 3
But You know me, O LORD;
You see me;
And You examine my heart’s {attitude} toward You.
Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter
And set them apart for a day of carnage! 4
How long is the land to mourn
And the vegetation of the countryside to wither?
For the wickedness of those who dwell in it,
Animals and birds have been snatched away,
Because {men} have said, “He will not see our latter ending.

 5
“If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out,
Then how can you compete with horses?
If you fall down in a land of peace,
How will you do in the thicket of the Jordan? 6
“For even your brothers and the household of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously with you,
Even they have cried aloud after you.
Do not believe them, although they may say nice things to you.

God’s Answer

 7
“I have forsaken My house,
I have abandoned My inheritance;
I have given the beloved of My soul
Into the hand of her enemies. 8
“My inheritance has become to Me
Like a lion in the forest;
She has roared against Me;
Therefore I have come to hate her. 9
“Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me?
Are the birds of prey against her on every side?
Go, gather all the beasts of the field,
Bring them to devour! 10
“Many shepherds have ruined My vineyard,
They have trampled down My field;
They have made My pleasant field
A desolate wilderness. 11
“It has been made a desolation,
Desolate, it mourns before Me;
The whole land has been made desolate,
Because no man lays it to heart. 12
“On all the bare heights in the wilderness
Destroyers have come,
For a sword of the LORD is devouring
From one end of the land even to the other;
There is no peace for anyone. 13
“They have sown wheat and have reaped thorns,
They have strained themselves to no profit.
But be ashamed of your harvest
Because of the fierce anger of the LORD.

 14 Thus says the LORD concerning all My wicked neighbors who strike at the inheritance with which I have endowed My people Israel, “Behold I am about to uproot them from their land and will uproot the house of Judah from among them. 15 “And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will again have compassion on them; and I will bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. 16 “Then if they will really learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, `As the LORD lives,’ even as they taught My people to swear by Baal, they will be built up in the midst of My people. 17 “But if they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it, declares the LORD.

The Broken Covenant

1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 “Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3 and say to them, `Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant 4 which I commanded your forefathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, `Listen to My voice, and do according to all which I command you; so you shall be My people, and I will be your God,’ 5 in order to confirm the oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as {it is} this day.’ Then I said, “Amen, O LORD.

 6 And the LORD said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, `Hear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 `For I solemnly warned your fathers in the day that I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, warning persistently, saying, “Listen to My voice. 8 `Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked, each one, in the stubbornness of his evil heart; therefore I brought on them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded {them} to do, but they did not.’

 9 Then the LORD said to me, “A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 “They have turned back to the iniquities of their ancestors who refused to hear My words, and they have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My covenant which I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore thus says the LORD, “Behold I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape; though they will cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them. 12 “Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they surely will not save them in the time of their disaster. 13 “For your gods are as many as your cities, O Judah; and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal.

 14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster. 15
“What right has My beloved in My house
When she has done many vile deeds?
Can the sacrificial flesh take away from you your disaster,
So {that} you can rejoice? 16
The LORD called your name,
“A green olive tree, beautiful in fruit and form;
With the noise of a great tumult
He has kindled fire on it,
And its branches are worthless.

 17 The LORD of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me by offering up sacrifices to Baal.

Plots against Jeremiah

 18
Moreover, the LORD made it known to me and I knew it;
Then You showed me their deeds. 19
But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter;
And I did not know that they had devised plots against me, {saying,}
“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
And let us cut him off from the land of the living,
That his name be remembered no more. 20
But, O LORD of hosts, who judges righteously,
Who tries the feelings and the heart,
Let me see Your vengeance on them,
For to You have I committed my cause.

 21 Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, so that you will not die at our hand; 22 therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, “Behold, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine; 23 and a remnant will not be left to them, for I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth–the year of their punishment.

A Satire on Idolatry

1 Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the LORD,
“Do not learn the way of the nations,
And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens
Although the nations are terrified by them; 3
For the customs of the peoples are delusion;
Because it is wood cut from the forest,
The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool. 4
“They decorate {it} with silver and with gold;
They fasten it with nails and with hammers
So that it will not totter. 5
“Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field are they,
And they cannot speak;
They must be carried,
Because they cannot walk!
Do not fear them,
For they can do no harm,
Nor can they do any good.

 6
There is none like You, O LORD;
You are great, and great is Your name in might. 7
Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?
Indeed it is Your due!
For among all the wise men of the nations
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You. 8
But they are altogether stupid and foolish
{In their} discipline of delusion–their idol is wood! 9
Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,
And gold from Uphaz,
The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith;
Violet and purple are their clothing;
They are all the work of skilled men. 10
But the LORD is the true God;
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
At His wrath the earth quakes,
And the nations cannot endure His indignation.

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

 12
{It is} He who made the earth by His power,
Who established the world by His wisdom;
And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. 13
When He utters His voice, {there is} a tumult of waters in the heavens,
And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain,
And brings out the wind from His storehouses. 14
Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge;
Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols;
For his molten images are deceitful,
And there is no breath in them. 15
They are worthless, a work of mockery;
In the time of their punishment they will perish. 16
The portion of Jacob is not like these;
For the Maker of all is He,
And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;
The LORD of hosts is His name.

 17
Pick up your bundle from the ground,
You who dwell under siege!

 18 For thus says the LORD,
“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land
At this time,
And will cause them distress,
That they may be found.

 19
Woe is me, because of my injury!
My wound is incurable.
But I said, “Truly this is a sickness,
And I must bear it. 20
My tent is destroyed,
And all my ropes are broken;
My sons have gone from me and are no more.
There is no one to stretch out my tent again
Or to set up my curtains. 21
For the shepherds have become stupid
And have not sought the LORD;
Therefore they have not prospered,
And all their flock is scattered. 22
The sound of a report! Behold, it comes–
A great commotion out of the land of the north–
To make the cities of Judah
A desolation, a haunt of jackals.

 23
I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not in himself,
Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps. 24
Correct me, O LORD, but with justice;
Not with Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing. 25
Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You
And on the families that do not call Your name;
For they have devoured Jacob;
They have devoured him and consumed him
And have laid waste his habitation.

A Lament over Zion

1
Oh that my head were waters
And my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
For the slain of the daughter of my people!2
Oh that I had in the desert
A wayfarers’ lodging place;
That I might leave my people
And go from them!
For all of them are adulterers,
An assembly of treacherous men.3
“They bend their tongue {like} their bow;
Lies and not truth prevail in the land;
For they proceed from evil to evil,
And they do not know Me, declares the LORD.4
“Let everyone be on guard against his neighbor,
And do not trust any brother;
Because every brother deals craftily,
And every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.5
“Everyone deceives his neighbor
And does not speak the truth,
They have taught their tongue to speak lies;
They weary themselves committing iniquity.6
“Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit;
Through deceit they refuse to know Me, declares the LORD.

7 Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts,
“Behold, I will refine them and assay them;
For what {else} can I do, because of the daughter of My people?8
“Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
It speaks deceit;
With his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor,
But inwardly he sets an ambush for him.9
“Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD.
“On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?

10
“For the mountains I will take up a weeping and wailing,
And for the pastures of the wilderness a dirge,
Because they are laid waste so that no one passes through,
And the lowing of the cattle is not heard;
Both the birds of the sky and the beasts have fled; they are gone.11
“I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
A haunt of jackals;
And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.

12 Who is the wise man that may understand this? And {who is} he to whom the mouth of the LORD has spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined, laid waste like a desert, so that no one passes through?13 The LORD said, “Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it,14 but have walked after the stubbornness of their heart and after the Baals, as their fathers taught them,15 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.16 “I will scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them until I have annihilated them.

17 Thus says the LORD of hosts,
“Consider and call for the mourning women, that they may come;
And send for the wailing women, that they may come!18
“Let them make haste and take up a wailing for us,
That our eyes may shed tears
And our eyelids flow with water.19
“For a voice of wailing is heard from Zion,
`How are we ruined!
We are put to great shame,
For we have left the land,
Because they have cast down our dwellings.’20
Now hear the word of the LORD, O you women,
And let your ear receive the word of His mouth;
Teach your daughters wailing,
And everyone her neighbor a dirge.21
For death has come up through our windows;
It has entered our palaces
To cut off the children from the streets,
The young men from the town squares.22
Speak, “Thus says the LORD,
`The corpses of men will fall like dung on the open field,
And like the sheaf after the reaper,
But no one will gather {them.}’

23 Thus says the LORD, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;24 but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things, declares the LORD.

25 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, “that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised–26 Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.

The Sin and Treachery of Judah

1 “At that time, declares the LORD, “they will bring out the bones of the kings of Judah and the bones of its princes, and the bones of the priests and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves.2 “They will spread them out to the sun, the moon and to all the host of heaven, which they have loved and which they have served, and which they have gone after and which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered or buried; they will be as dung on the face of the ground.3 “And death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family, that remains in all the places to which I have driven them, declares the LORD of hosts.

4 “You shall say to them, `Thus says the LORD,
“Do {men} fall and not get up again?
Does one turn away and not repent?5
“Why then has this people, Jerusalem,
Turned away in continual apostasy?
They hold fast to deceit,
They refuse to return.6
“I have listened and heard,
They have spoken what is not right;
No man repented of his wickedness,
Saying, `What have I done?’
Everyone turned to his course,
Like a horse charging into the battle.7
“Even the stork in the sky
Knows her seasons;
And the turtledove and the swift and the thrush
Observe the time of their migration;
But My people do not know
The ordinance of the LORD.

8
“How can you say, `We are wise,
And the law of the LORD is with us’?
But behold, the lying pen of the scribes
Has made {it} into a lie.9
“The wise men are put to shame,
They are dismayed and caught;
Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD,
And what kind of wisdom do they have?10
“Therefore I will give their wives to others,
Their fields to new owners;
Because from the least even to the greatest
Everyone is greedy for gain;
From the prophet even to the priest
Everyone practices deceit.11
“They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially,
Saying, `Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.12
“Were they ashamed because of the abomination they had done?
They certainly were not ashamed,
And they did not know how to blush;
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time of their punishment they shall be brought down,
Says the LORD.

13
“I will surely snatch them away, declares the LORD;
“There will be no grapes on the vine
And no figs on the fig tree,
And the leaf will wither;
And what I have given them will pass away.’14
Why are we sitting still?
Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities
And let us perish there,
Because the LORD our God has doomed us
And given us poisoned water to drink,
For we have sinned against the LORD.15
{We} waited for peace, but no good {came;}
For a time of healing, but behold, terror!16
From Dan is heard the snorting of his horses;
At the sound of the neighing of his stallions
The whole land quakes;
For they come and devour the land and its fullness,
The city and its inhabitants.17
“For behold, I am sending serpents against you,
Adders, for which there is no charm,
And they will bite you, declares the LORD.

18
My sorrow is beyond healing,
My heart is faint {within me!}19
Behold, listen! The cry of the daughter of my people from a distant land:
“Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King not within her?
“Why have they provoked Me with their graven images, with foreign idols?20
“Harvest is past, summer is ended,
And we are not saved.21
For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am broken;
I mourn, dismay has taken hold of me.22
Is there no balm in Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored?

Message at the Temple Gate

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,2 “Stand in the gate of the LORD’S house and proclaim there this word and say, `Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the LORD!’3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place.4 “Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, `This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’5 “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor,6 {if} you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin,7 then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

8 “Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail.9 “Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery and swear falsely, and offer sacrifices to Baal and walk after other gods that you have not known,10 then come and stand before Me in this house, which is called by My name, and say, `We are delivered!’–that you may do all these abominations?11 “Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen {it,} declares the LORD.

12 “But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.13 “And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear, and I called you but you did not answer,14 therefore, I will do to the house which is called by My name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, as I did to Shiloh.15 “I will cast you out of My sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, all the offspring of Ephraim.

16 “As for you, do not pray for this people, and do not lift up cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with Me; for I do not hear you.17 “Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?18 “The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and {they} pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to spite Me.19 “Do they spite Me? declares the LORD. “Is it not themselves {they spite,} to their own shame?20 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and on beast and on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and not be quenched.

21 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat flesh.22 “For I did not speak to your fathers, or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.23 “But this is what I commanded them, saying, `Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’24 “Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in {their own} counsels {and} in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward.25 “Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets, daily rising early and sending {them.}26 “Yet they did not listen to Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck; they did more evil than their fathers.

27 “You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you.28 “You shall say to them, `This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the LORD their God or accept correction; truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth.29
`Cut off your hair and cast {it} away,
And take up a lamentation on the bare heights;
For the LORD has rejected and forsaken
The generation of His wrath.’

30 “For the sons of Judah have done that which is evil in My sight, declares the LORD, “they have set their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it.31 “They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, and it did not come into My mind.

32 “Therefore, behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, “when it will no longer be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of the Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth because there is no {other} place.33 “The dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the beasts of the earth; and no one will frighten {them away.}34 “Then I will make to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land will become a ruin.

Destruction of Jerusalem Impending

1
“Flee for safety, O sons of Benjamin,
From the midst of Jerusalem!
Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa
And raise a signal over Beth-haccerem;
For evil looks down from the north,
And a great destruction.2
“The comely and dainty one, the daughter of Zion, I will cut off.3
“Shepherds and their flocks will come to her,
They will pitch {their} tents around her,
They will pasture each in his place.4
“Prepare war against her;
Arise, and let us attack at noon.
Woe to us, for the day declines,
For the shadows of the evening lengthen!5
“Arise, and let us attack by night
And destroy her palaces!

6 For thus says the LORD of hosts,
“Cut down her trees
And cast up a siege against Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished,
In whose midst there is only oppression.7
“As a well keeps its waters fresh,
So she keeps fresh her wickedness.
Violence and destruction are heard in her;
Sickness and wounds are ever before Me.8
“Be warned, O Jerusalem,
Or I shall be alienated from you,
And make you a desolation,
A land not inhabited.

9
Thus says the LORD of hosts,
“They will thoroughly glean as the vine the remnant of Israel;
Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer
Over the branches.10
To whom shall I speak and give warning
That they may hear?
Behold, their ears are closed
And they cannot listen.
Behold, the word of the LORD has become a reproach to them;
They have no delight in it.11
But I am full of the wrath of the LORD;
I am weary with holding {it} in.
“Pour {it} out on the children in the street
And on the gathering of young men together;
For both husband and wife shall be taken,
The aged and the very old.12
“Their houses shall be turned over to others,
Their fields and their wives together;
For I will stretch out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land, declares the LORD.13
“For from the least of them even to the greatest of them,
Everyone is greedy for gain,
And from the prophet even to the priest
Everyone deals falsely.14
“They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially,
Saying, `Peace, peace,’
But there is no peace.15
“Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done?
They were not even ashamed at all;
They did not even know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time that I punish them,
They shall be cast down, says the LORD.

16
Thus says the LORD,
“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths,
Where the good way is, and walk in it;
And you will find rest for your souls.
But they said, `We will not walk {in it.}’17
“And I set watchmen over you, {saying,}
`Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, `We will not listen.’18
“Therefore hear, O nations,
And know, O congregation, what is among them.19
“Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,
The fruit of their plans,
Because they have not listened to My words,
And as for My law, they have rejected it also.20
“For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba
And the sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable
And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.

21 Therefore, thus says the LORD,
“Behold, I am laying stumbling blocks before this people.
And they will stumble against them,
Fathers and sons together;
Neighbor and friend will perish.

The Enemy from the North

22
Thus says the LORD,
“Behold, a people is coming from the north land,
And a great nation will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.23
“They seize bow and spear;
They are cruel and have no mercy;
Their voice roars like the sea,
And they ride on horses,
Arrayed as a man for the battle
Against you, O daughter of Zion!24
We have heard the report of it;
Our hands are limp.
Anguish has seized us,
Pain as of a woman in childbirth.25
Do not go out into the field
And do not walk on the road,
For the enemy has a sword,
Terror is on every side.26
O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth
And roll in ashes;
Mourn as for an only son,
A lamentation most bitter.
For suddenly the destroyer
Will come upon us.

27
“I have made you an assayer {and} a tester among My people,
That you may know and assay their way.28
All of them are stubbornly rebellious,
Going about as a talebearer.
{They are} bronze and iron;
They, all of them, are corrupt.29
The bellows blow fiercely,
The lead is consumed by the fire;
In vain the refining goes on,
But the wicked are not separated.30
They call them rejected silver,
Because the LORD has rejected them.

Jerusalem’s Godlessness

1
“Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
And look now and take note.
And seek in her open squares,
If you can find a man,
If there is one who does justice, who seeks truth,
Then I will pardon her.2
“And although they say, `As the LORD lives,’
Surely they swear falsely.3
O LORD, do not Your eyes {look} for truth?
You have smitten them,
{But} they did not weaken;
You have consumed them,
But they refused to take correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
They have refused to repent.

4
Then I said, “They are only the poor,
They are foolish;
For they do not know the way of the LORD
{Or} the ordinance of their God.5
“I will go to the great
And will speak to them,
For they know the way of the LORD
{And} the ordinance of their God.
But they too, with one accord, have broken the yoke
{And} burst the bonds.6
Therefore a lion from the forest will slay them,
A wolf of the deserts will destroy them,
A leopard is watching their cities.
Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces,
Because their transgressions are many,
Their apostasies are numerous.

7
“Why should I pardon you?
Your sons have forsaken Me
And sworn by those who are not gods.
When I had fed them to the full,
They committed adultery
And trooped to the harlot’s house.8
“They were well-fed lusty horses,
Each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife.9
“Shall I not punish these {people,} declares the LORD,
“And on a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?

10
“Go up through her vine rows and destroy,
But do not execute a complete destruction;
Strip away her branches,
For they are not the LORD’S.11
“For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously with Me, declares the LORD.12
They have lied about the LORD
And said, “Not He;
Misfortune will not come on us,
And we will not see sword or famine.13
“The prophets are {as} wind,
And the word is not in them.
Thus it will be done to them!

Judgment Proclaimed

14
Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts,
“Because you have spoken this word,
Behold, I am making My words in your mouth fire
And this people wood, and it will consume them.15
“Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel, declares the LORD.
“It is an enduring nation,
It is an ancient nation,
A nation whose language you do not know,
Nor can you understand what they say.16
“Their quiver is like an open grave,
All of them are mighty men.17
“They will devour your harvest and your food;
They will devour your sons and your daughters;
They will devour your flocks and your herds;
They will devour your vines and your fig trees;
They will demolish with the sword your fortified cities in which you trust.

18 “Yet even in those days, declares the LORD, “I will not make you a complete destruction.19 “It shall come about when they say, `Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, `As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’

20
“Declare this in the house of Jacob
And proclaim it in Judah, saying,21
`Now hear this, O foolish and senseless people,
Who have eyes but do not see;
Who have ears but do not hear.22
`Do you not fear Me?’ declares the LORD.
`Do you not tremble in My presence?
For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it.
Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;
Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.23
`But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
They have turned aside and departed.24
`They do not say in their heart,
“Let us now fear the LORD our God,
Who gives rain in its season,
Both the autumn rain and the spring rain,
Who keeps for us
The appointed weeks of the harvest.25
`Your iniquities have turned these away,
And your sins have withheld good from you.26
`For wicked men are found among My people,
They watch like fowlers lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch men.27
`Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.28
`They are fat, they are sleek,
They also excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper;
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.29
`Shall I not punish these {people?}’ declares the LORD,
`On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?’

30
“An appalling and horrible thing
Has happened in the land:31
The prophets prophesy falsely,
And the priests rule on their {own} authority;
And My people love it so!
But what will you do at the end of it?

Judah Threatened with Invasion

1
“If you will return, O Israel, declares the LORD,
“{Then} you should return to Me.
And if you will put away your detested things from My presence,
And will not waver,2
And you will swear, `As the LORD lives,’
In truth, in justice and in righteousness;
Then the nations will bless themselves in Him,
And in Him they will glory.

3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,
“Break up your fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns.4
“Circumcise yourselves to the LORD
And remove the foreskins of your heart,
Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Or else My wrath will go forth like fire
And burn with none to quench it,
Because of the evil of your deeds.

5
Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,
“Blow the trumpet in the land;
Cry aloud and say,
`Assemble yourselves, and let us go
Into the fortified cities.’6
“Lift up a standard toward Zion!
Seek refuge, do not stand {still,}
For I am bringing evil from the north,
And great destruction.7
“A lion has gone up from his thicket,
And a destroyer of nations has set out;
He has gone out from his place
To make your land a waste.
Your cities will be ruins
Without inhabitant.8
“For this, put on sackcloth,
Lament and wail;
For the fierce anger of the LORD
Has not turned back from us.

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

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

11 In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness in the direction of the daughter of My people–not to winnow and not to cleanse,12 a wind too strong for this–will come at My command; now I will also pronounce judgments against them.13
“Behold, he goes up like clouds,
And his chariots like the whirlwind;
His horses are swifter than eagles.
Woe to us, for we are ruined!

14
Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem,
That you may be saved.
How long will your wicked thoughts
Lodge within you?15
For a voice declares from Dan,
And proclaims wickedness from Mount Ephraim.16
“Report {it} to the nations, now!
Proclaim over Jerusalem,
`Besiegers come from a far country,
And lift their voices against the cities of Judah.17
`Like watchmen of a field they are against her round about,
Because she has rebelled against Me,’ declares the LORD.18
“Your ways and your deeds
Have brought these things to you.
This is your evil. How bitter!
How it has touched your heart!

Lament over Judah’s Devastation

19
My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart!
My heart is pounding in me;
I cannot be silent,
Because you have heard, O my soul,
The sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.20
Disaster on disaster is proclaimed,
For the whole land is devastated;
Suddenly my tents are devastated,
My curtains in an instant.21
How long must I see the standard
And hear the sound of the trumpet?22
“For My people are foolish,
They know Me not;
They are stupid children
And have no understanding.
They are shrewd to do evil,
But to do good they do not know.

23
I looked on the earth, and behold, {it was}  formless and void;
And to the heavens, and they had no light.24
I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
And all the hills moved to and fro.25
I looked, and behold, there was no man,
And all the birds of the heavens had fled.26
I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness,
And all its cities were pulled down
Before the LORD, before His fierce anger.

27
For thus says the LORD,
“The whole land shall be a desolation,
Yet I will not execute a complete destruction.28
“For this the earth shall mourn
And the heavens above be dark,
Because I have spoken, I have purposed,
And I will not change My mind, nor will I turn from it.29
At the sound of the horseman and bowman every city flees;
They go into the thickets and climb among the rocks;
Every city is forsaken,
And no man dwells in them.30
And you, O desolate one, what will you do?
Although you dress in scarlet,
Although you decorate {yourself with} ornaments of gold,
Although you enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you make yourself beautiful.
{Your} lovers despise you;
They seek your life.31
For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor,
The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
The cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
Stretching out her hands, {saying,}
“Ah, woe is me, for I faint before murderers.