The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth
in the land of Benjamin: To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of
Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It
came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the
end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto the
carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Before I formed thee in the
belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified
thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Then said I, Ah, Lord
GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I
shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not
afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD. Then
the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto
me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee
over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to
destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest
thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree. Then said the LORD unto me,
Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it. And the word of
the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said,
I see a seething pot; and the face thereof is toward the north. Then the LORD
said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the
inhabitants of the land. For, lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the
north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his
throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls
thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah. And I will utter my
judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken
me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of
their own hands.
Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I
command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before
them. For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron
pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah,
against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the
people of the land. And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail
against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.
Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, Go and cry in the ears of
Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy
youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the
wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and
the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come
upon them, saith the LORD. Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob,
and all the families of the house of Israel:
Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they
are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of
Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of
pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land
that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? And I brought you
into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but
when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an
abomination. The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle
the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the
prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children's
children will I plead. For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto
Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing. Hath a nation
changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their
glory for that which doth not profit. Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and
be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. For my people have
committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and
hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled? The young lions
roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are
burned without inhabitant. Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have
broken the crown of thy head. Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in
that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way? And
now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or
what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?
Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove
thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast
forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD
of hosts.
For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I
will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree
thou wanderest, playing the harlot. Yet I had planted thee a noble vine,
wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a
strange vine unto me? For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee
much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD. How
canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in
the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing
her ways; A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her
pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will
not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her. Withhold thy foot
from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no
hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go. As the thief is
ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their
kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, Saying to a stock,
Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have
turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble
they will say, Arise, and save us. But where are thy gods that thou hast made
thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for
according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.
Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith
the LORD. In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction:
your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto
Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will
come no more unto thee? Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her
attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number. Why trimmest
thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones
thy ways. Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor
innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these. Yet thou
sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I
will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned. Why gaddest
thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt,
as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and
thine hands upon thine head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and
thou shalt not prosper in them.
They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become
another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly
polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again
to me, saith the LORD. Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where
thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the
Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy
whoredoms and with thy wickedness. Therefore the showers have been
withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's
forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed. Wilt thou not from this time cry
unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth? Will he reserve his anger
for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil
things as thou couldest.
The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that
which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain
and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. And I said after
she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And
her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And I saw, when for all the causes
whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given
her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and
played the harlot also. And it came to pass through the lightness of her
whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones
and with stocks. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not
turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD. And the
LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than
treacherous Judah.
Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou
backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon
you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only
acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy
God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree,
and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. Turn, O backsliding
children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of
a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: And I will give you
pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and
understanding. And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and
increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more,
The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither
shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done
any more. At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all
the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem:
neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. In
those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they
shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given
for an inheritance unto your fathers. But I said, How shall I put thee among
the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of
nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away
from me.
Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt
treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD. A voice was heard
upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for
they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God.
Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we
come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God. Truly in vain is salvation hoped
for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our
God is the salvation of Israel. For shame hath devoured the labour of our
fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their
daughters. We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we
have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth
even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.
If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt
put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in
righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall
they glory.
For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your
fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD,
and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants
of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can
quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet
in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go
into the defenced cities. Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I
will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction. The lion is come up
from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone
forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid
waste, without an inhabitant. For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and
howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us. And it shall
come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall
perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and
the prophets shall wonder. Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly
deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the
sword reacheth unto the soul. At that time shall it be said to this people and
to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the
daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, Even a full wind from those
places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.
Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind:
his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled. O
Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved.
How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? For a voice declareth
from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim. Make ye mention
to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a
far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah. As keepers of
a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious
against me, saith the LORD. Thy way and thy doings have procured these
things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it
reacheth unto thine heart.
My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a
noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the
sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war. Destruction upon destruction is
cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my
curtains in a moment. How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound
of the trumpet? For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are
sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil,
but to do good they have no knowledge. I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was
without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the
mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld,
and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld,
and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were
broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. For thus
hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full
end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because
I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn
back from it. The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and
bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city
shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein. And when thou art spoiled,
what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou
deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with
painting, in vain shalt thou make thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they
will seek thy life. For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the
anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter
of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me
now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.
Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know,
and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that
executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it. And though
they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely. O LORD, are not thine eyes
upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast
consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made
their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. Therefore I said,
Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD,
nor the judgment of their God. I will get me unto the great men, and will
speak unto them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment
of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.
Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings
shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth
out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many,
and their backslidings are increased.
How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn
by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then
committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots'
houses. They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his
neighbour's wife. Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall not
my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her
battlements; for they are not the LORD's. For the house of Israel and the
house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD. They
have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us;
neither shall we see sword nor famine: And the prophets shall become wind,
and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. Wherefore thus
saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make
my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it
is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou
knowest not, neither understandest what they say. Their quiver is as an open
sepulchre, they are all mighty men. And they shall eat up thine harvest, and
thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy
flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall
impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.
Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you.
And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our
God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have
forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve
strangers in a land that is not yours.
Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, Hear now
this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see
not; which have ears, and hear not: Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not
tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea
by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof
toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not
pass over it? But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are
revolted and gone. Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD
our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he
reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden
good things from you. For among my people are found wicked men: they lay
wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men. As a cage is
full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become
great, and waxen rich. They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the
deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet
they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge. Shall I not visit for
these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as
this?
A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land; The prophets
prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people
love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of
Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem:
for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction. I have
likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate woman. The shepherds
with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her
round about; they shall feed every one in his place. Prepare ye war against
her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for
the shadows of the evening are stretched out. Arise, and let us go by night,
and let us destroy her palaces.
For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount
against Jerusalem: this is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the
midst of her. As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her
wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in her; before me continually is grief
and wounds. Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee;
lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel
as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets. To whom
shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is
uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is
unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. Therefore I am full of the
fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the
children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the
husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.
And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their fields and wives
together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith
the LORD. For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every
one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest
every one dealeth falsely. They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of
my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace. Were they
ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all
ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that
fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD. Thus
saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths,
where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.
But they said, We will not walk therein. Also I set watchmen over you, saying,
Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.
Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their
thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law,
but rejected it. To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba,
and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not
acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me. Therefore thus saith the LORD,
Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the
sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.
Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a
great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. They shall lay hold on
bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the
sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O
daughter of Zion. We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble:
anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail. Go not
forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear
is on every side.
O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in
ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter lamentation: for
the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us. I have set thee for a tower and a
fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way. They are
all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are
all corrupters. The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the
founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away. Reprobate
silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Stand in the gate of
the LORD's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the
LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD. Thus
saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings,
and I will cause you to dwell in this place. Trust ye not in lying words, saying,
The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are
these. For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly
execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; If ye oppress not the
stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this
place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: Then will I cause you to
dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, and
commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk
after other gods whom ye know not; And come and stand before me in this
house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these
abominations? Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of
robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD. But go ye
now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and
see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. And now, because
ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up
early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;
Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye
trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have
done to Shiloh. And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your
brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for
them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.
Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of
Jerusalem? The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the
women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to
pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.
Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves
to the confusion of their own faces? Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD;
Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon
man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of
the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto
your sacrifices, and eat flesh. For I spake not unto your fathers, nor
commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt,
concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: But this thing commanded I them,
saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and
walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto
you. But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the
counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and
not forward. Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of
Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets,
daily rising up early and sending them: Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor
inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.
Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not
hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee.
But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of
the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off
from their mouth.
Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on
high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his
wrath. For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD:
they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to
pollute it. And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley
of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire;
which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be
called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter:
for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place. And the carcases of this
people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the
earth; and none shall fray them away. Then will I cause to cease from the
cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the
voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for
the land shall be desolate.
At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of
Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the
bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of
their graves: And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and
all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served,
and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom
they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall
be for dung upon the face of the earth. And death shall be chosen rather
than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which
remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.
Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and
not arise? shall he turn away, and not return? Why then is this people of
Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they
refuse to return. I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man
repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned
to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle. Yea, the stork in the
heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the
swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the
judgment of the LORD. How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is
with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain. The
wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected
the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in them? Therefore will I give their
wives unto others, and their fields to them that shall inherit them: for every
one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the
prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely. For they have healed
the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when
there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed
abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush:
therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation
they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the
vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have
given them shall pass away from them. Why do we sit still? assemble
yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be silent
there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall
to drink, because we have sinned against the LORD. We looked for peace, but
no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble! The snorting of
his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the
neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land,
and all that is in it; the city, and those that dwell therein. For, behold, I will
send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they
shall bite you, saith the LORD.
When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me. Behold
the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell
in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they
provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. For the hurt
of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken
hold on me. Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is
not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might
weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! Oh that I had
in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my
people, and go from them! for they be all adulterers, an assembly of
treacherous men. And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they
are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil,
and they know not me, saith the LORD. Take ye heed every one of his
neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will utterly
supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders. And they will deceive
every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their
tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity. Thine
habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me,
saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt
them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people? Their
tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to
his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.
Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be
avenged on such a nation as this? For the mountains will I take up a weeping
and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because
they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men
hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are
fled; they are gone. And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons;
and I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and who is he to whom the
mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land
perisheth and is burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth through? And
the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them,
and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; But have walked after
the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers
taught them: Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel;
Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them
water of gall to drink. I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom
neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them,
till I have consumed them.
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women,
that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come: And
let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run
down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters. For a voice of wailing
is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because
we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out. Yet hear
the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his
mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour
lamentation. For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our
palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the
streets. Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of men shall fall as
dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none
shall gather them.
Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the
mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let
him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I
am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in
the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all them which are
circumcised with the uncircumcised; Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the
children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that
dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the
house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.
Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus
saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the
signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them. For the customs of
the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the
hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold;
they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are upright
as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they
cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in
them to do good. Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art
great, and thy name is great in might. Who would not fear thee, O King of
nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men
of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee. But they
are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a doctrine of vanities. Silver
spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work
of the workman, and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple is their
clothing: they are all the work of cunning men. But the LORD is the true God,
he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall
tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. Thus shall
ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth,
even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens. He hath
made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom,
and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion. When he uttereth his
voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the
vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain,
and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures. Every man is brutish in his
knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten
image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. They are vanity, and the
work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. The portion of
Jacob is not like them: for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the rod of
his inheritance: The LORD of hosts is his name.
Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress. For thus
saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once,
and will distress them, that they may find it so.
Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief,
and I must bear it. My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my
children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth
my tent any more, and to set up my curtains. For the pastors are become
brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and
all their flocks shall be scattered. Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a
great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah
desolate, and a den of dragons.
O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that
walketh to direct his steps. O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in
thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing. Pour out thy fury upon the
heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name:
for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and
have made his habitation desolate.
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Hear ye the words of
this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem; And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed
be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant, Which I commanded
your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt,
from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all
which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God: That I
may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a
land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said,
So be it, O LORD. Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the
cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of
this covenant, and do them. For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the
day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising
early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice. Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined
their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart:
therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I
commanded them to do; but they did them not. And the LORD said unto me, A
conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of
Jerusalem. They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which
refused to hear my words; and they went 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.
Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they
shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not
hearken unto them. Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of
Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they
shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble. For according to the
number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of
the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even
altars to burn incense unto Baal. Therefore pray not thou for this people,
neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that
they cry unto me for their trouble. What hath my beloved to do in mine
house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is
passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest. The LORD called
thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great
tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken. For the
LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the
evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done
against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.
And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then thou
shewedst me their doings. But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the
slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying,
Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the
land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered. But, O LORD of
hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see
thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause. Therefore
thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying,
Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand:
Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will punish them: the young
men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by
famine: And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the
men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.
Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee
of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore
are all they happy that deal very treacherously? Thou hast planted them, yea,
they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in
their mouth, and far from their reins. But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou
hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for
the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter. How long shall the
land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them
that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they
said, He shall not see our last end.
If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how
canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou
trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?
For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt
treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe
them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.
I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly
beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. Mine heritage is unto me as
a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it. Mine
heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her;
come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour. Many pastors
have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they
have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. They have made it
desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made
desolate, because no man layeth it to heart. The spoilers are come upon all
high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the LORD shall devour
from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall
have peace. They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put
themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your
revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
Thus saith the LORD against all mine evil neighbours, that touch the
inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will
pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among
them. And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will
return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man
to his heritage, and every man to his land. And it shall come to pass, if they
will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The LORD
liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in
the midst of my people. But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and
destroy that nation, saith the LORD.
Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon
thy loins, and put it not in water. So I got a girdle according to the word of the
LORD, and put it on my loins. And the word of the LORD came unto me the
second time, saying, Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy
loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. So I
went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. And it came to
pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and
take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee to hide there. Then I
went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I
had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.
Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, After
this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.
This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the
imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to
worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. For as
the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me
the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that
they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for
a glory: but they would not hear.
Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of
Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do
we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine? Then shalt
thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants
of this land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and
the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. And I
will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,
saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.
Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken. Give glory to
the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble
upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the
shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. But if ye will not hear it, my
soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore,
and run down with tears, because the LORD's flock is carried away captive. Say
unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your
principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory. The cities of the
south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away
captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive. Lift up your eyes, and
behold them that come from the north: where is the flock that was given
thee, thy beautiful flock? What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for
thou hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not
sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?
And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For
the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts discovered, and thy heels made
bare. Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye
also do good, that are accustomed to do evil. Therefore will I scatter them as
the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness. This is thy lot,
the portion of thy measures from me, saith the LORD; because thou hast
forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood. Therefore will I discover thy skirts
upon thy face, that thy shame may appear. I have seen thine adulteries, and
thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the
hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean?
when shall it once be?
The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. Judah
mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground;
and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. And their nobles have sent their little
ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned
with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered
their heads. Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth,
the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. Yea, the hind also
calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass. And the wild
asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons;
their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.
O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake:
for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee. O the hope of
Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a
stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a
night? Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that
cannot save? yet thou, O LORD, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy
name; leave us not.
Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they
have not refrained their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will
now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. Then said the LORD unto me,
Pray not for this people for their good. When they fast, I will not hear their
cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept
them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the
pestilence.
Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not
see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace
in this place. Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my
name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto
them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of
nought, and the deceit of their heart. Therefore thus saith the LORD
concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet
they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine
shall those prophets be consumed. And the people to whom they prophesy
shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the
sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their
sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.
Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with
tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my
people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow. If I go forth
into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city,
then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the
priest go about into a land that they know not. Hast thou utterly rejected
Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no
healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of
healing, and behold trouble! We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and
the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee. Do not abhor us,
for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember,
break not thy covenant with us. Are there any among the vanities of the
Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou
he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all
these things.
Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet
my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let
them go forth. And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall
we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as are for
death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are
for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the
captivity. And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to
slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the
earth, to devour and destroy. And I will cause them to be removed into all
kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of
Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. For who shall have pity upon thee,
O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how
thou doest? Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward:
therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am
weary with repenting. And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I
will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not
from their ways. Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the
seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a
spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors
upon the city. She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the
ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and
confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their
enemies, saith the LORD.
Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of
contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have
lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me. The LORD said,
Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat
thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction. Shall iron break the
northern iron and the steel? Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the
spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders. And I will
make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for
a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.
O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my
persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I
have suffered rebuke. Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy
word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy
name, O LORD God of hosts. I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor
rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with
indignation. Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which
refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as
waters that fail?
Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and
thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile,
thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou
unto them. And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and
they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am
with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the LORD. And I will deliver
thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of
the terrible.
The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying, Thou shalt not take thee a
wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. For thus saith
the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in
this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning
their fathers that begat them in this land; They shall die of grievous deaths;
they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as
dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword,
and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and
for the beasts of the earth. For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house
of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away
my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies.
Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried,
neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves
bald for them: Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning, to
comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of
consolation to drink for their father or for their mother. Thou shalt not also
go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink. For thus
saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of
this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of
gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.
And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words,
and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this
great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have
committed against the LORD our God? Then shalt thou say unto them,
Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked
after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and
have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; And ye have done worse than
your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil
heart, that they may not hearken unto me: Therefore will I cast you out of this
land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall
ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be
said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of
Egypt; But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the
land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I
will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.
Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them;
and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every
mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. For mine
eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their
iniquity hid from mine eyes. And first I will recompense their iniquity and
their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine
inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things. O
LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the
Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say,
Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no
profit. Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? Therefore,
behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine
hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The LORD.
The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond:
it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;
Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green
trees upon the high hills. O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance
and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all
thy borders. And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage
that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land
which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall
burn for ever.
Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh
flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD. For he shall be like
the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall
inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is. For
he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots
by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green;
and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from
yielding fruit.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know
it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man
according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. As the
partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches,
and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall
be a fool.
A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. O
LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that
depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the
LORD, the fountain of living waters. Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now. As
for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I
desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was
right before thee. Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.
Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded:
let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day
of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
Thus said the LORD unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the
people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out,
and in all the gates of Jerusalem; And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the
LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
that enter in by these gates: Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves,
and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of
Jerusalem; Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath
day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded
your fathers. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their
neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction. And it shall come
to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden
through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day,
to do no work therein; Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings
and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses,
they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem:
and this city shall remain for ever. And they shall come from the cities of
Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin,
and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing
burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing
sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD. But if ye will not hearken unto
me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at
the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates
thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be
quenched.
The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down
to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. Then I
went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the
wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the
potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to
make it. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel,
cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the
potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. At what instant I shall
speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to
pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced,
turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a
kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my
voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and
devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and
make your ways and your doings good. And they said, There is no hope: but
we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination
of his evil heart. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the
heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very
horrible thing. Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the
rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another
place be forsaken? Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned
incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from
the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up; To make their land
desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be
astonished, and wag his head. I will scatter them as with an east wind before
the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their
calamity.
Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law
shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word
from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not
give heed to any of his words. Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the
voice of them that contend with me. Shall evil be recompensed for good? for
they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to
speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them. Therefore
deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force
of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be
widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the
sword in battle. Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a
troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid
snares for my feet. Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to
slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but
let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine
anger.
Thus saith the LORD, Go and get a potter's earthen bottle, and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients of the priests; And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee, And say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle. Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter. And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hands of them that seek their lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof. And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them. Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee, And shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there be no place to bury. Thus will I do unto this place, saith the LORD, and to the inhabitants thereof, and even make this city as Tophet: And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet, because of all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offerings unto other gods. Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the LORD's house; and said to all the people, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words.
Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the
house of the LORD, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. Then Pashur
smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high
gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the LORD. And it came to pass on
the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said
Jeremiah unto him, The LORD hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magor-missabib.
For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself,
and to all thy friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and
thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of
Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them
with the sword. Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the
labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of
the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil
them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon. And thou, Pashur, and all
that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to
Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy
friends, to whom thou hast prophesied lies.
O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I,
and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me. For since I
spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD
was made a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily. Then I said, I will not
make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in
mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with
forbearing, and I could not stay.
For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, say they, and we
will report it. All my familiars watched for my halting, saying, Peradventure he
will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we shall take our
revenge on him. But the LORD is with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore
my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly
ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never
be forgotten. But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, and seest the
reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I
opened my cause. Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath
delivered the soul of the poor from the hand of evildoers.
Cursed be the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother
bare me be blessed. Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father,
saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad. And let that man
be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear
the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide; Because he slew me
not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her
womb to be always great with me. Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to
see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?
The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent
unto him Pashur the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah
the priest, saying, Enquire, I pray thee, of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar
king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the LORD will deal with us
according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.
Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah: Thus saith the
LORD God of Israel; Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in
your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the
Chaldeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them
into the midst of this city. And I myself will fight against you with an
outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in
great wrath. And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast:
they shall die of a great pestilence. And afterward, saith the LORD, I will deliver
Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left
in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the
hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies,
and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with
the edge of the sword; he shall not spare them, neither have pity, nor have
mercy.
And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before
you the way of life, and the way of death. He that abideth in this city shall die
by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out,
and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall
be unto him for a prey. For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not
for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon,
and he shall burn it with fire.
And touching the house of the king of Judah, say, Hear ye the word of the
LORD; O house of David, thus saith the LORD; Execute judgment in the
morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest
my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil
of your doings. Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, and rock
of the plain, saith the LORD; which say, Who shall come down against us? or
who shall enter into our habitations? But I will punish you according to the
fruit of your doings, saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire in the forest thereof,
and it shall devour all things round about it.
Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak
there this word, And say, Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, that
sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that
enter in by these gates: Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and
righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and
do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow,
neither shed innocent blood in this place. For if ye do this thing indeed, then
shall there enter in by the gates of this house kings sitting upon the throne of
David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.
But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this
house shall become a desolation. For thus saith the LORD unto the king's
house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely
I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited. And I will
prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall
cut down thy choice cedars, and cast them into the fire. And many nations
shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour,
Wherefore hath the LORD done thus unto this great city? Then they shall
answer, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and
worshipped other gods, and served them.
Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: but weep sore for him that
goeth away: for he shall return no more, nor see his native country. For thus
saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which
reigned instead of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He
shall not return thither any more: But he shall die in the place whither they
have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers
by wrong; that useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him
not for his work; That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers,
and cutteth him out windows; and it is cieled with cedar, and painted with
vermilion. Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar? did not thy
father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice, and then it was well with
him? He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him:
was not this to know me? saith the LORD. But thine eyes and thine heart are
not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood, and for
oppression, and for violence, to do it. Therefore thus saith the LORD
concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament
for him, saying, Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him,
saying, Ah lord! or, Ah his glory! He shall be buried with the burial of an ass,
drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the
passages: for all thy lovers are destroyed. I spake unto thee in thy prosperity;
but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy youth, that
thou obeyedst not my voice. The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy
lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and
confounded for all thy wickedness. O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy
nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee,
the pain as of a woman in travail! As I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the
son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, yet would
I pluck thee thence; And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy
life, and into the hand of them whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. And I
will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where
ye were not born; and there shall ye die. But to the land whereunto they
desire to return, thither shall they not return. Is this man Coniah a despised
broken idol? is he a vessel wherein is no pleasure? wherefore are they cast
out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? O earth,
earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD. Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this
man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days: for no man of his seed
shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.
Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!
saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors
that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and
have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings,
saith the LORD. And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries
whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they
shall be fruitful and increase. And I will set up shepherds over them which
shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall
they be lacking, saith the LORD.
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous
Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and
justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell
safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR
RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they
shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out
of the land of Egypt; But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the
seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries
whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake;
I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because
of the LORD, and because of the words of his holiness. For the land is full of
adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places
of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not
right. For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found
their wickedness, saith the LORD. Wherefore their way shall be unto them as
slippery ways in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I
will bring evil upon them, even the year of their visitation, saith the LORD. And I
have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and
caused my people Israel to err. I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem
an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen also
the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness: they are
all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will
feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from
the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. Thus
saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that
prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own
heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD. They say still unto them that
despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every
one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come
upon you. For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived
and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it? Behold, a
whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall
fall grievously upon the head of the wicked. The anger of the LORD shall not
return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his
heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. I have not sent these
prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if
they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words,
then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of
their doings. Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Can
any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do
not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. I have heard what the prophets
said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea,
they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; Which think to cause my
people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his
neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal. The prophet
that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him
speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. Is not
my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the
rock in pieces? Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD,
that steal my words every one from his neighbour. Behold, I am against the
prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. Behold, I
am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell
them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I
sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this
people at all, saith the LORD.
And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What
is the burden of the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will
even forsake you, saith the LORD. And as for the prophet, and the priest, and
the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD, I will even punish that man
and his house. Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to
his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken?
And the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word
shall be his burden; for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of the
LORD of hosts our God. Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the
LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken? But since ye say, The
burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word,
The burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say,
The burden of the LORD; Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you,
and I will forsake you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, and cast
you out of my presence: And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you,
and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.
The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the
temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried
away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of
Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought
them to Babylon. One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are
first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be
eaten, they were so bad. Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou,
Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that
cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Thus saith the LORD, the
God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried
away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the
Chaldeans for their good. For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I
will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them
down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. And I will give them an
heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will
be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.
And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith
the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the
residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land
of Egypt: And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the
earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all
places whither I shall drive them. And I will send the sword, the famine, and
the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I
gave unto them and to their fathers.
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the
fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year
of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; The which Jeremiah the prophet spake
unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,
From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto
this day, that is the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD hath come
unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have
not hearkened. And the LORD hath sent unto you all his servants the
prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor
inclined your ear to hear. They said, Turn ye again now every one from his
evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD
hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever: And go not after
other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger
with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. Yet ye have not
hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with
the works of your hands to your own hurt.
Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words,
Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and
Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against
this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations
round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment,
and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the
voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and
the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle.
And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these
nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will
punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity,
and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. And I
will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it,
even all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against
all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of
them also: and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and
according to the works of their own hands.
For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury
at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And
they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will
send among them. Then took I the cup at the LORD's hand, and made all the
nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me: To wit, Jerusalem, and the
cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them
a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as it is this day;
Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people;
And all the mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the
kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and
the remnant of Ashdod, Edom, and Moab, and the children of Ammon, And
all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isles
which are beyond the sea, Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all that are in the
utmost corners, And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled
people that dwell in the desert, And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of
Elam, and all the kings of the Medes, And all the kings of the north, far and
near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon
the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.
Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of
Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more,
because of the sword which I will send among you. And it shall be, if they
refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them,
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. For, lo, I begin to bring
evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly
unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all
the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.
Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them,
The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation;
he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that
tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come
even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the
nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the
sword, saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth
from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the
coasts of the earth. And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one
end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be
lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.
Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal
of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are
accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel. And the shepherds shall
have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. A voice of the cry
of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard:
for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture. And the peaceable habitations are cut
down because of the fierce anger of the LORD. He hath forsaken his covert, as
the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor,
and because of his fierce anger.
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah
came this word from the LORD, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court
of the LORD's house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to
worship in the LORD's house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto
them; diminish not a word: If so be they will hearken, and turn every man
from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto
them because of the evil of their doings. And thou shalt say unto them, Thus
saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set
before you, To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I
sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not
hearkened; Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a
curse to all the nations of the earth.
So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking
these words in the house of the LORD.
Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that
the LORD had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests
and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.
Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the LORD, saying, This house shall
be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all
the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the
king's house unto the house of the LORD, and sat down in the entry of the
new gate of the LORD's house. Then spake the priests and the prophets unto
the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he
hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.
Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The
LORD sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the
words that ye have heard. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings,
and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the
evil that he hath pronounced against you. As for me, behold, I am in your
hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you. But know ye for
certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon
yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a
truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.
Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets;
This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the
LORD our God. Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all
the assembly of the people, saying, Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the
days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying,
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem
shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a
forest. Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did
he not fear the LORD, and besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of
the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure
great evil against our souls. And there was also a man that prophesied in the
name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, who
prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of
Jeremiah: And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the
princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when
Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt; And Jehoiakim
the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain
men with him into Egypt. And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and
brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast
his dead body into the graves of the common people. Nevertheless the hand
of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give
him into the hand of the people to put him to death.
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah
came this word unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Thus saith the LORD to
me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and put them upon thy neck, And send
them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the
Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of
the messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah; And
command them to say unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the
God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your masters; I have made the earth, the
man and the beast that are upon the ground, by my great power and by my
outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me.
And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the
king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also
to serve him. And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son,
until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great kings
shall serve themselves of him. And it shall come to pass, that the nation and
kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon,
and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that
nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and
with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. Therefore
hearken not ye to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers,
nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying,
Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: For they prophesy a lie unto you, to
remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye
should perish. But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the
king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land,
saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying,
Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and
his people, and live. Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by
the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation
that will not serve the king of Babylon? Therefore hearken not unto the words
of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of
Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. For I have not sent them, saith the
LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my name; that I might drive you out, and that
ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you. Also I spake to
the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to
the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the
vessels of the LORD's house shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon:
for they prophesy a lie unto you. Hearken not unto them; serve the king of
Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste? But if they be
prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with them, let them now make
intercession to the LORD of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house
of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, go not to
Babylon.
For thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the
sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that
remain in this city, Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not, when he
carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from
Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; Yea, thus
saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain
in the house of the LORD, and in the house of the king of Judah and of
Jerusalem; They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the
day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore
them to this place.
And it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah
king of Judah, in the fourth year, and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the
son of Azur the prophet, which was of Gibeon, spake unto me in the house of
the LORD, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, Thus
speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke
of the king of Babylon. Within two full years will I bring again into this place all
the vessels of the LORD's house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took
away from this place, and carried them to Babylon: And I will bring again to
this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of
Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the LORD: for I will break the yoke of the
king of Babylon.
Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence
of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of
the LORD, Even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD
perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of
the LORD's house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this
place. Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in
the ears of all the people; The prophets that have been before me and before
thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great
kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. The prophet which
prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then
shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.
Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's
neck, and brake it. And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people,
saying, Thus saith the LORD; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years.
And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.
Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the prophet, after that
Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet
Jeremiah, saying, Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast
broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron. For
thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon
the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of
Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field
also.
Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now,
Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust
in a lie. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face
of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion
against the LORD. So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh
month.
Now these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from
Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders which were carried away captives,
and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom
Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon; (After
that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah
and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from
Jerusalem;) By the hand of Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son
of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent unto Babylon to
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the
God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to
be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; Build ye houses, and dwell in
them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; Take ye wives, and beget
sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to
husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased
there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city whither I have
caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in
the peace thereof shall ye have peace.
For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and
your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to
your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto
you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the LORD.
For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I
will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to
return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the
LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then
shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken
unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me
with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn
away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the
places whither I have driven you, saith the LORD; and I will bring you again
into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; Know
that thus saith the LORD of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and
of all the people that dwelleth in this city, and of your brethren that are not
gone forth with you into captivity; Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will
send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make
them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. And I will persecute
them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will
deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse,
and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations
whither I have driven them: Because they have not hearkened to my words,
saith the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up
early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD.
Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye of the captivity, whom I have
sent from Jerusalem to Babylon: Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of
Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah,
which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the
hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your
eyes; And of them shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which
are in Babylon, saying, The LORD make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab,
whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; Because they have committed
villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives,
and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded
them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the LORD.
Thus shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, Thus
speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent
letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to
Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, The
LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should
be officers in the house of the LORD, for every man that is mad, and maketh
himself a prophet, that thou shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks.
Now therefore why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, which
maketh himself a prophet to you? For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon,
saying, This captivity is long: build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant
gardens, and eat the fruit of them. And Zephaniah the priest read this letter
in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.
Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, Send to all them of
the captivity, saying, Thus saith the LORD concerning Shemaiah the
Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you, and I sent
him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie: Therefore thus saith the LORD;
Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not
have a man to dwell among this people; neither shall he behold the good that
I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he hath taught rebellion
against the LORD.
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Thus speaketh the
LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto
thee in a book. For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again
the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause
them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess
it.
And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and
concerning Judah. For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of
trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth
travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins,
as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness? Alas! for that
day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he
shall be saved out of it. For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of
hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds,
and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: But they shall serve the
LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be
dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the
land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be
quiet, and none shall make him afraid. For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to
save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered
thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure,
and will not leave thee altogether unpunished. For thus saith the LORD, Thy
bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous. There is none to plead thy
cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines. All thy
lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with
the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the
multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased. Why criest thou
for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity:
because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.
Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine
adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil
thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey. For I will
restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD;
because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man
seeketh after.
Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents,
and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her
own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof. And out of
them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and
I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and
they shall not be small. Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their
congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that
oppress them. And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor
shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and
he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to
approach unto me? saith the LORD. And ye shall be my people, and I will be
your God. Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a
continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. The
fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have done it, and until he
have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.
At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel,
and they shall be my people. Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left
of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause
him to rest. The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved
thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn
thee. Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou
shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of
them that make merry. Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of
Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things. For
there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry,
Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God. For thus saith the
LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations:
publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.
Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the
coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with
child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return
thither. They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them:
I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein
they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off,
and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd
doth his flock. For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from
the hand of him that was stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and
sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD,
for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the
herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow
any more at all. Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men
and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort
them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. And I will satiate the soul of
the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
saith the LORD.
Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter
weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her
children, because they were not. Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from
weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the
LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is
hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their
own border.
I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised
me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou
me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God. Surely after that I
was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my
thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach
of my youth. Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake
against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are
troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD. Set thee
up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway,
even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to
these thy cities.
How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath
created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man. Thus saith
the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the
land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity;
The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness. And
there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together,
husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks. For I have satiated the weary
soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul. Upon this I awaked, and
beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and
the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. And it
shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to
break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch
over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD. In those days they shall say
no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are
set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that
eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with
the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the
covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the
hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake,
although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the
LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and
will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more
every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD:
for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them,
saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no
more.
Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the
ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth
the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: If those
ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also
shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the LORD; If
heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched
out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have
done, saith the LORD.
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD
from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. And the measuring
line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass
about to Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes,
and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate
toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor
thrown down any more for ever.
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah
king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. For then the
king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was
shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house. For
Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou
prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the
hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; And Zedekiah king of Judah
shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be
delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him
mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; And he shall lead
Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the LORD:
though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.
And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Behold,
Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy
thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.
So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison
according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray
thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of
inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I
knew that this was the word of the LORD. And I bought the field of Hanameel
my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even
seventeen shekels of silver. And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and
took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances. So I took the
evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law
and custom, and that which was open: And I gave the evidence of the
purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of
Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that
subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court
of the prison.
And I charged Baruch before them, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the
God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both
which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen
vessel, that they may continue many days. For thus saith the LORD of hosts,
the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again
in this land.
Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son
of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying, Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast
made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm,
and there is nothing too hard for thee: Thou shewest lovingkindness unto
thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of
their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his
name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all
the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and
according to the fruit of his doings: Which hast set signs and wonders in the
land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and
hast made thee a name, as at this day; And hast brought forth thy people
Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong
hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror; And hast given
them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land
flowing with milk and honey; And they came in, and possessed it; but they
obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all
that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil
to come upon them: Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take
it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it,
because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what
thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it. And thou hast
said unto me, O Lord GOD, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses;
for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.
Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, Behold, I am the LORD,
the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? Therefore thus saith
the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into
the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it: And the
Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and
burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto
Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to
anger. For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil
before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me
to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD. For this city hath been
to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they
built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face,
Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah,
which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes,
their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants
of Jerusalem. And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face:
though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not
hearkened to receive instruction. But they set their abominations in the
house, which is called by my name, to defile it. And they built the high places
of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and
their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded
them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this
abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city,
whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by
the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; Behold, I will gather
them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in
my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I
will cause them to dwell safely: And they shall be my people, and I will be
their God: And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me
for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: And I will
make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them,
to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not
depart from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant
them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. For
thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people,
so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them. And fields
shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or
beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. Men shall buy fields for
money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the
land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of
Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in
the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the LORD.
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while
he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying, Thus saith the LORD the
maker thereof, the LORD that formed it, to establish it; the LORD is his name;
Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things,
which thou knowest not. For thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel,
concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of
Judah, which are thrown down by the mounts, and by the sword; They come
to fight with the Chaldeans, but it is to fill them with the dead bodies of men,
whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for all whose
wickedness I have hid my face from this city. Behold, I will bring it health and
cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace
and truth. And I will cause the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to
return, and will build them, as at the first. And I will cleanse them from all
their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their
iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed
against me.
And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the
nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and
they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that
I procure unto it.
Thus saith the LORD; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say
shall be desolate without man and without beast, even in the cities of Judah,
and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without
inhabitant, and without beast, The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the
voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that
shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth
for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of
the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first,
saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Again in this place, which is
desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be
an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down. In the cities of the
mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and in the
land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of
Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth them,
saith the LORD. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that
good thing which I have promised unto the house of Israel and to the house
of Judah.
In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to
grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the
land. In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely: and
this is the name wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness.
For thus saith the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne
of the house of Israel; Neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before
me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and to do sacrifice
continually.
And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; If
ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that
there should not be day and night in their season; Then may also my
covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to
reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. As the
host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured:
so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister
unto me. Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying,
Considerest thou not what this people have spoken, saying, The two families
which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast them off? thus they have
despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them. Thus
saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not
appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; Then will I cast away the seed
of Jacob, and David my servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be
rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their
captivity to return, and have mercy on them.
The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar
king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his
dominion, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all the
cities thereof, saying, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go and speak to
Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give
this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:
And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and
delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of
Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to
Babylon. Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith
the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword: But thou shalt die in peace:
and with the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings which were before
thee, so shall they burn odours for thee; and they will lament thee, saying, Ah
lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD. Then Jeremiah the
prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,
When the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem, and against all
the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for
these defenced cities remained of the cities of Judah.
This is the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king
Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people which were at Jerusalem,
to proclaim liberty unto them; That every man should let his manservant, and
every man his maidservant, being an Hebrew or an Hebrewess, go free; that
none should serve himself of them, to wit, of a Jew his brother. Now when all
the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard
that every one should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go
free, that none should serve themselves of them any more, then they
obeyed, and let them go. But afterward they turned, and caused the servants
and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them
into subjection for servants and for handmaids.
Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Thus
saith the LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the
day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of
bondmen, saying, At the end of seven years let ye go every man his brother
an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee
six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened
not unto me, neither inclined their ear. And ye were now turned, and had
done right in my sight, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and
ye had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:
But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man his servant, and
every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to
return, and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for
handmaids. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me,
in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his
neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the LORD, to the sword,
to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into
all the kingdoms of the earth. And I will give the men that have transgressed
my covenant, which have not performed the words of the covenant which
they had made before me, when they cut the calf in twain, and passed
between the parts thereof, The princes of Judah, and the princes of
Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which
passed between the parts of the calf; I will even give them into the hand of
their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life: and their dead
bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the heaven, and to the beasts of
the earth. And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give into the hand
of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the
hand of the king of Babylon's army, which are gone up from you. Behold, I
will command, saith the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they
shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities
of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.
The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim
the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, Go unto the house of the Rechabites,
and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of
the chambers, and give them wine to drink. Then I took Jaazaniah the son of
Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the
whole house of the Rechabites; And I brought them into the house of the
LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of
God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber
of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door: And I set before the
sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said
unto them, Drink ye wine. But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab
the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine,
neither ye, nor your sons for ever: Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed,
nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that
ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers. Thus have we
obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath
charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our
daughters; Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard,
nor field, nor seed: But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done
according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. But it came to pass,
when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said,
Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and
for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.
Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of
hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the
LORD. The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons
not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey
their father's commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising
early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me. I have sent also unto you
all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return
ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after
other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to
you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened
unto me. Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the
commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this people
hath not hearkened unto me: Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the
God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have
spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but
they have not answered.
And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of
hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of
Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all
that he hath commanded you: Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the
God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand
before me for ever.
And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of
Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Take thee a
roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee
against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I
spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. It may be that
the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that
they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity
and their sin. Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch
wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD, which he had
spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book. And Jeremiah commanded Baruch,
saying, I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of the LORD: Therefore go
thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words
of the LORD in the ears of the people in the LORD's house upon the fasting day:
and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their
cities. It may be they will present their supplication before the LORD, and will
return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the
LORD hath pronounced against this people. And Baruch the son of Neriah did
according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the
book the words of the LORD in the LORD's house.
And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of
Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all
the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of
Judah unto Jerusalem. Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in
the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the
scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the new gate of the LORD's house, in
the ears of all the people.
When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of
the book all the words of the LORD, Then he went down into the king's house,
into the scribe's chamber: and, lo, all the princes sat there, even Elishama the
scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor,
and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all
the princes. Then Michaiah declared unto them all the words that he had
heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people. Therefore all the
princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of
Cushi, unto Baruch, saying, Take in thine hand the roll wherein thou hast
read in the ears of the people, and come. So Baruch the son of Neriah took
the roll in his hand, and came unto them. And they said unto him, Sit down
now, and read it in our ears. So Baruch read it in their ears. Now it came to
pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and
other, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words.
And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these
words at his mouth? Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these
words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book. Then
said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah; and let no
man know where ye be.
And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the
chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king.
So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of Elishama the
scribe's chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of
all the princes which stood beside the king. Now the king sat in the
winterhouse in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning
before him. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four
leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the
hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet
they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his
servants that heard all these words. Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and
Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll:
but he would not hear them. But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of
Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel,
to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them.
Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned
the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,
Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in
the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned. And thou shalt
say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast burned this
roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall
certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence
man and beast? Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He
shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be
cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. And I will punish
him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon
them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all
the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not.
Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of
Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the
book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were
added besides unto them many like words.
And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of
Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of
Judah. But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did
hearken unto the words of the LORD, which he spake by the prophet
Jeremiah. And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and
Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying,
Pray now unto the LORD our God for us. Now Jeremiah came in and went out
among the people: for they had not put him into prison. Then Pharaoh's
army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged
Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Thus
saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that
sent you unto me to enquire of me; Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come
forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land. And the Chaldeans
shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.
Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall
surely depart from us: for they shall not depart. For though ye had smitten
the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained
but wounded men among them, yet should they rise up every man in his tent,
and burn this city with fire.
And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up
from Jerusalem for fear of Pharaoh's army, Then Jeremiah went forth out of
Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to separate himself thence in the
midst of the people. And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of
the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of
Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the
Chaldeans. Then said Jeremiah, It is false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But
he hearkened not to him: so Irijah took Jeremiah, and brought him to the
princes. Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah, and smote him,
and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made
that the prison.
When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and
Jeremiah had remained there many days; Then Zedekiah the king sent, and
took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and said, Is there
any word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt
be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. Moreover Jeremiah said
unto king Zedekiah, What have I offended against thee, or against thy
servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison? Where are
now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon
shall not come against you, nor against this land? Therefore hear now, I pray
thee, O my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before
thee; that thou cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe,
lest I die there. Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit
Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a
piece of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city were
spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and
Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words
that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD, He
that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the
pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall
have his life for a prey, and shall live. Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely
be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it.
Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be
put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain
in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto
them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. Then
Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that
can do any thing against you. Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the
dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the
prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was
no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the
king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then
sitting in the gate of Benjamin; Ebed-melech went forth out of the king's
house, and spake to the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done
evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast
into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for
there is no more bread in the city. Then the king commanded Ebed-melech
the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up
Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. So Ebed-melech
took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the
treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them
down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian
said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine
armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. So they drew up Jeremiah
with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in
the court of the prison.
Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into
the third entry that is in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto
Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me. Then Jeremiah said
unto Zedekiah, If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death?
and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? So Zedekiah the
king sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, As the LORD liveth, that made us
this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of
these men that seek thy life. Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith
the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth
unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall
not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: But if thou wilt
not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into
the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not
escape out of their hand. And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am
afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into
their hand, and they mock me. But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee.
Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it
shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live. But if thou refuse to go forth,
this is the word that the LORD hath shewed me: And, behold, all the women
that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of
Babylon's princes, and those women shall say, Thy friends have set thee on,
and have prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are
turned away back. So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the
Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by
the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this city to be burned
with fire.
Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and
thou shalt not die. But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and
they come unto thee, and say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast
said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also
what the king said unto thee: Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my
supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to
Jonathan's house, to die there. Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and
asked him: and he told them according to all these words that the king had
commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not
perceived. So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that
Jerusalem was taken: and he was there when Jerusalem was taken.
In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they
besieged it. And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the
ninth day of the month, the city was broken up. And all the princes of the king
of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergal-sharezer,
Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, with all the
residue of the princes of the king of Babylon.
And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all
the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the
way of the king's garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out
the way of the plain. But the Chaldeans' army pursued after them, and
overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him,
they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land
of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him. Then the king of Babylon
slew the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon
slew all the nobles of Judah. Moreover he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and bound
him with chains, to carry him to Babylon.
And the Chaldeans burned the king's house, and the houses of the people,
with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem. Then Nebuzar-adan the
captain of the guard carried away captive into Babylon the remnant of the
people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to him,
with the rest of the people that remained. But Nebuzar-adan the captain of
the guard left of the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of
Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time.
Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to
Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard, saying, Take him, and look well to
him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee. So
Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rab-saris,
and Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, and all the king of Babylon's princes; Even
they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed
him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should
carry him home: so he dwelt among the people.
Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the
court of the prison, saying, Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian,
saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my
words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished
in that day before thee. But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD: and
thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. For
I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall
be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.
The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after that Nebuzar-adan the
captain of the guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him
being bound in chains among all that were carried away captive of Jerusalem
and Judah, which were carried away captive unto Babylon. And the captain of
the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The LORD thy God hath
pronounced this evil upon this place. Now the LORD hath brought it, and done
according as he hath said: because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have
not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is come upon you. And now,
behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which were upon thine hand. If it
seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come; and I will look
well unto thee: but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon,
forbear: behold, all the land is before thee: whither it seemeth good and
convenient for thee to go, thither go. Now while he was not yet gone back, he
said, Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, whom
the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell
with him among the people: or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto
thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a reward, and
let him go. Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah;
and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.
Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, even they
and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of
Ahikam governor in the land, and had committed unto him men, and women,
and children, and of the poor of the land, of them that were not carried away
captive to Babylon; Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the
son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah
the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah
the son of a Maachathite, they and their men. And Gedaliah the son of
Ahikam the son of Shaphan sware unto them and to their men, saying, Fear
not to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon,
and it shall be well with you. As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah to serve
the Chaldeans, which will come unto us: but ye, gather ye wine, and summer
fruits, and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities that ye
have taken. Likewise when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the
Ammonites, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, heard that the
king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them
Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan; Even all the Jews returned
out of all places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to
Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits very much.
Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that
were in the fields, came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, And said unto him, Dost thou
certainly know that Baalis the king of the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the
son of Nethaniah to slay thee? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam believed them
not. Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah secretly,
saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah,
and no man shall know it: wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews
which are gathered unto thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah
perish? But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto Johanan the son of Kareah,
Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.
Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah
the son of Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten
men with him, came unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there
they did eat bread together in Mizpah. Then arose Ishmael the son of
Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son
of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king
of Babylon had made governor over the land. Ishmael also slew all the Jews
that were with him, even with Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that
were found there, and the men of war. And it came to pass the second day
after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it, That there came certain
from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, even fourscore men, having
their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with
offerings and incense in their hand, to bring them to the house of the LORD.
And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went forth from Mizpah to meet them,
weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met them, he said
unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. And it was so, when they
came into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them,
and cast them into the midst of the pit, he, and the men that were with him.
But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for
we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of oil, and of
honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren. Now the pit
wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain
because of Gedaliah, was it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha
king of Israel: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with them that were
slain. Then Ishmael carried away captive all the residue of the people that
were in Mizpah, even the king's daughters, and all the people that remained in
Mizpah, whom Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had committed to
Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them
away captive, and departed to go over to the Ammonites.
But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that
were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had
done, Then they took all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of
Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that are in Gibeon. Now it
came to pass, that when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan
the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, then
they were glad. So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from
Mizpah cast about and returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah.
But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped from Johanan with eight men, and
went to the Ammonites. Then took Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the
captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom
he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after that
he had slain Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, even mighty men of war, and the
women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought again
from Gibeon: And they departed, and dwelt in the habitation of Chimham,
which is by Beth-lehem, to go to enter into Egypt, Because of the Chaldeans:
for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain
Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the
land.
Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and
Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the
greatest, came near, And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech
thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us unto the LORD
thy God, even for all this remnant; (for we are left but a few of many, as thine
eyes do behold us:) That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we
may walk, and the thing that we may do. Then Jeremiah the prophet said
unto them, I have heard you; behold, I will pray unto the LORD your God
according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the
LORD shall answer you, I will declare it unto you; I will keep nothing back from
you. Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness
between us, if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD
thy God shall send thee to us. Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we
will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to whom we send thee; that it may be
well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.
And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto
Jeremiah. Then called he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of
the forces which were with him, and all the people from the least even to the
greatest, And said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto
whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him; If ye will still abide
in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you,
and not pluck you up: for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. Be
not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him,
saith the LORD: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his
hand. And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you,
and cause you to return to your own land.
But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD
your God, Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see
no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and
there will we dwell: And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant
of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your
faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; Then it shall come to pass,
that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt,
and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in
Egypt; and there ye shall die. So shall it be with all the men that set their faces
to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine,
and by the pestilence: and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil
that I will bring upon them. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel;
As mine anger and my fury hath been poured forth upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter
into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse,
and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more.
The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah; Go ye not into
Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day. For ye dissembled
in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us
unto the LORD our God; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall
say, so declare unto us, and we will do it. And now I have this day declared it
to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of the LORD your God, nor any thing
for the which he hath sent me unto you. Now therefore know certainly that
ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place
whither ye desire to go and to sojourn.
And it came to pass, that when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto
all the people all the words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their
God had sent him to them, even all these words, Then spake Azariah the son
of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying
unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God hath not sent thee to
say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there: But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth
thee on against us, for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they
might put us to death, and carry us away captives into Babylon. So Johanan
the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people,
obeyed not the voice of the LORD, to dwell in the land of Judah. But Johanan
the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of
Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to
dwell in the land of Judah; Even men, and women, and children, and the king's
daughters, and every person that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard had
left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the
prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriah. So they came into the land of Egypt:
for they obeyed not the voice of the LORD: thus came they even to Tahpanhes.
Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, Take
great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the clay in the brickkiln, which is
at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of
Judah; And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel;
Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant,
and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread
his royal pavilion over them. And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of
Egypt, and deliver such as are for death to death; and such as are for captivity
to captivity; and such as are for the sword to the sword. And I will kindle a fire
in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them
away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a
shepherd putteth on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace.
He shall break also the images of Beth-shemesh, that is in the land of Egypt;
and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the
land of Egypt, which dwell at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in
the country of Pathros, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel;
Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the
cities of Judah; and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man
dwelleth therein, Because of their wickedness which they have committed to
provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense, and to serve other
gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers. Howbeit I sent
unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying,
Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate. But they hearkened not, nor
inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto
other gods. Wherefore my fury and mine anger was poured forth, and was
kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are
wasted and desolate, as at this day. Therefore now thus saith the LORD, the
God of hosts, the God of Israel; Wherefore commit ye this great evil against
your souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of
Judah, to leave you none to remain; In that ye provoke me unto wrath with
the works of your hands, burning incense unto other gods in the land of
Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off, and that
ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? Have
ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings
of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and
the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of
Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem? They are not humbled even unto this
day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I
set before you and before your fathers.
Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will set my
face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah. And I will take the remnant
of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn
there, and they shall all be consumed, and fall in the land of Egypt; they shall
even be consumed by the sword and by the famine: they shall die, from the
least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine: and they shall
be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach. For I will
punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by
the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: So that none of the remnant
of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape
or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to the which they
have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall
escape.
Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other
gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people
that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, As for
the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the LORD, we will not
hearken unto thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever thing goeth forth out
of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour
out drink offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings,
and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: for then
had we plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we left off
to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto
her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and
by the famine. And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and
poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her,
and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?
Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to
all the people which had given him that answer, saying, The incense that ye
burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your
fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the
LORD remember them, and came it not into his mind? So that the LORD could
no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the
abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation,
and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.
Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against the
LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in
his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you,
as at this day. Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the
women, Hear the word of the LORD, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt:
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives have
both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We will
surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen
of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish
your vows, and surely perform your vows. Therefore hear ye the word of the
LORD, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt; Behold, I have sworn by my
great name, saith the LORD, that my name shall no more be named in the
mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD
liveth. Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the
men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword
and by the famine, until there be an end of them. Yet a small number that
escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah,
and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn
there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs.
And this shall be a sign unto you, saith the LORD, that I will punish you in this
place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil:
Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give Pharaoh-hophra king of Egypt into the
hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave
Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his
enemy, and that sought his life.
The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah,
when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the
fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying, Thus saith the
LORD, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch; Thou didst say, Woe is me now!
for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find
no rest.
Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, that which I have
built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this
whole land. And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for,
behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give
unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.
The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the
Gentiles; Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh-necho king of Egypt,
which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king
of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of
Judah. Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle. Harness the
horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with your helmets; furbish
the spears, and put on the brigandines. Wherefore have I seen them
dismayed and turned away back? and their mighty ones are beaten down,
and are fled apace, and look not back: for fear was round about, saith the
LORD. Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall
stumble, and fall toward the north by the river Euphrates. Who is this that
cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers? Egypt riseth up
like a flood, and his waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up,
and will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.
Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come
forth; the Ethiopians and the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians,
that handle and bend the bow. For this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a
day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries: and the sword
shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood: for the
Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt
thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.
The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the land: for the
mighty man hath stumbled against the mighty, and they are fallen both
together.
The word that the LORD spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar
king of Babylon should come and smite the land of Egypt. Declare ye in Egypt,
and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand
fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee. Why are
thy valiant men swept away? they stood not, because the LORD did drive them.
He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another: and they said, Arise, and let
us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the
oppressing sword. They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt is but a noise; he
hath passed the time appointed. As I live, saith the King, whose name is the
LORD of hosts, Surely as Tabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel by the
sea, so shall he come. O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go
into captivity: for Noph shall be waste and desolate without an inhabitant.
Egypt is like a very fair heifer, but destruction cometh; it cometh out of the
north. Also her hired men are in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they
also are turned back, and are fled away together: they did not stand, because
the day of their calamity was come upon them, and the time of their
visitation. The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with
an army, and come against her with axes, as hewers of wood. They shall cut
down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they
are more than the grasshoppers, and are innumerable. The daughter of
Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people
of the north. The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish
the multitude of No, and Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings;
even Pharaoh, and all them that trust in him: And I will deliver them into the
hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king
of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be
inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the LORD.
But fear not thou, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel: for,
behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their
captivity; and Jacob shall return, and be in rest and at ease, and none shall
make him afraid. Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I am
with thee; for I will make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven
thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct thee in measure; yet
will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.
The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before that Pharaoh smote Gaza. Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood, and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl. At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong horses, at the rushing of his chariots, and at the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to their children for feebleness of hands; Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines, and to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of Caphtor. Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant of their valley: how long wilt thou cut thyself? O thou sword of the LORD, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard, rest, and be still. How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea shore? there hath he appointed it.
Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo!
for it is spoiled: Kiriathaim is confounded and taken: Misgab is confounded
and dismayed. There shall be no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have
devised evil against it; come, and let us cut it off from being a nation. Also
thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee. A voice of
crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction. Moab is
destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard. For in the going up
of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim
the enemies have heard a cry of destruction. Flee, save your lives, and be like
the heath in the wilderness.
For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt
also be taken: and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity with his priests and
his princes together. And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city
shall escape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed, as
the LORD hath spoken. Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away:
for the cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein. Cursed
be he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed be he that
keepeth back his sword from blood.
Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and
hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into
captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will send unto him
wanderers, that shall cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and
break their bottles. And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of
Israel was ashamed of Beth-el their confidence.
How say ye, We are mighty and strong men for the war? Moab is spoiled, and
gone up out of her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the
slaughter, saith the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts. The calamity of
Moab is near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast. All ye that are about
him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong staff
broken, and the beautiful rod! Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come
down from thy glory, and sit in thirst; for the spoiler of Moab shall come upon
thee, and he shall destroy thy strong holds. O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by
the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, and say, What
is done? Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in
Arnon, that Moab is spoiled, And judgment is come upon the plain country;
upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath, And upon Dibon, and
upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim, And upon Kiriathaim, and upon
Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon, And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and
upon all the cities of the land of Moab, far or near. The horn of Moab is cut
off, and his arm is broken, saith the LORD.
Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the LORD: Moab also
shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision. For was not Israel a
derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of
him, thou skippedst for joy. O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and
dwell in the rock, and be like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the
hole's mouth. We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his
loftiness, and his arrogancy, and his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart. I
know his wrath, saith the LORD; but it shall not be so; his lies shall not so effect
it. Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; mine heart
shall mourn for the men of Kir-heres. O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee
with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the sea, they reach even to
the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon thy
vintage. And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the
land of Moab; and I have caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall
tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no shouting. From the cry of
Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz, have they uttered their
voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an heifer of three years old: for the
waters also of Nimrim shall be desolate. Moreover I will cause to cease in
Moab, saith the LORD, him that offereth in the high places, and him that
burneth incense to his gods. Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like
pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes for the men of Kir-heres:
because the riches that he hath gotten are perished. For every head shall be
bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands shall be cuttings, and upon
the loins sackcloth. There shall be lamentation generally upon all the
housetops of Moab, and in the streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a
vessel wherein is no pleasure, saith the LORD. They shall howl, saying, How is it
broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! so shall Moab be
a derision and a dismaying to all them about him. For thus saith the LORD;
Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab. Kerioth
is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men's hearts in
Moab at that day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. And Moab
shall be destroyed from being a people, because he hath magnified himself
against the LORD. Fear, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O
inhabitant of Moab, saith the LORD. He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into
the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for I
will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the LORD.
They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but
a fire shall come forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon,
and shall devour the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the
tumultuous ones. Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh
perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters captives.
Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD.
Thus far is the judgment of Moab.
Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he
no heir? why then doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his
cities? Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an
alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a
desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with fire: then shall Israel
be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD. Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai
is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament, and
run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, and his
priests and his princes together. Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy
flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in her treasures, saying,
Who shall come unto me? Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord
GOD of hosts, from all those that be about thee; and ye shall be driven out
every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that wandereth. And
afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the
LORD.
Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; Is wisdom no more in Teman?
is counsel perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished? Flee ye, turn
back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau
upon him, the time that I will visit him. If grapegatherers come to thee, would
they not leave some gleaning grapes? if thieves by night, they will destroy till
they have enough. But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret
places, and he shall not be able to hide himself: his seed is spoiled, and his
brethren, and his neighbours, and he is not. Leave thy fatherless children, I
will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me. For thus saith the
LORD; Behold, they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup have
assuredly drunken; and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou
shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink of it. For I have sworn by
myself, saith the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a
waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall be perpetual wastes. I have
heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen,
saying, Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, and despised among men.
Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, and the pride of thine heart, O thou that
dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though
thou shouldest make thy nest as high as the eagle, I will bring thee down
from thence, saith the LORD. Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that
goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all the plagues thereof. As in
the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof,
saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in
it. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the
habitation of the strong: but I will suddenly make him run away from her: and
who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for who is like me? and
who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd that will stand
before me? Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken
against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the
inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely
he shall make their habitations desolate with them. The earth is moved at the
noise of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea.
Behold, he shall come up and fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over
Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty men of Edom be as the
heart of a woman in her pangs.
Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have
heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot
be quiet. Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath
seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy! Therefore her young men
shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day,
saith the LORD of hosts. And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it
shall consume the palaces of Ben-hadad.
Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go
up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east. Their tents and their flocks shall
they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their
vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear is on every side.
Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the LORD; for
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath
conceived a purpose against you. Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation,
that dwelleth without care, saith the LORD, which have neither gates nor bars,
which dwell alone. And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of
their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into all winds them that are in the utmost
corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides thereof, saith the LORD.
And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, and a desolation for ever: there
shall no man abide there, nor any son of man dwell in it.
The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the
beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD
of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. And
upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and
will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither
the outcasts of Elam shall not come. For I will cause Elam to be dismayed
before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil
upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword
after them, till I have consumed them: And I will set my throne in Elam, and
will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD.
But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity
of Elam, saith the LORD.
The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the
Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet. Declare ye among the nations, and
publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is
taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are
confounded, her images are broken in pieces. For out of the north there
cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and
none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and
beast.
In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall
come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall
go, and seek the LORD their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their
faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a
perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten. My people hath been lost
sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned
them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they
have forgotten their restingplace. All that found them have devoured them:
and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against
the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers.
Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the
Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks.
For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great
nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against
her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty
expert man; none shall return in vain. And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that
spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the LORD. Because ye were glad, because ye
rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the
heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls; Your mother shall be sore confounded;
she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the hindermost of the nations
shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert. Because of the wrath of the
LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every one that
goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues. Put
yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow,
shoot at her, spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the LORD. Shout
against her round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations are fallen,
her walls are thrown down: for it is the vengeance of the LORD: take
vengeance upon her; as she hath done, do unto her. Cut off the sower from
Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear of
the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall
flee every one to his own land.
Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of
Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon
hath broken his bones. Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of
Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as I have
punished the king of Assyria. And I will bring Israel again to his habitation,
and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon
mount Ephraim and Gilead. In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD,
the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins
of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon them whom I reserve.
Go up against the land of Merathaim, even against it, and against the
inhabitants of Pekod: waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the LORD,
and do according to all that I have commanded thee. A sound of battle is in
the land, and of great destruction. How is the hammer of the whole earth cut
asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the
nations! I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and
thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast
striven against the LORD. The LORD hath opened his armoury, and hath
brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for this is the work of the Lord
GOD of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans. Come against her from the utmost
border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly:
let nothing of her be left. Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the
slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.
The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare
in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his temple. Call
together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against
it round about; let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her
work; according to all that she hath done, do unto her: for she hath been
proud against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel. Therefore shall her
young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that
day, saith the LORD. Behold, I am against thee, O thou most proud, saith the
Lord GOD of hosts: for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee. And the
most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will
kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah
were oppressed together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they
refused to let them go. Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of hosts is his
name: he shall throughly plead their cause, that he may give rest to the land,
and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of
Babylon, and upon her princes, and upon her wise men. A sword is upon the
liars; and they shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men; and they shall be
dismayed. A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all
the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as
women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed. A drought is
upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven
images, and they are mad upon their idols. Therefore the wild beasts of the
desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall
dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be
dwelt in from generation to generation. As God overthrew Sodom and
Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man
abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein. Behold, a people
shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised
up from the coasts of the earth. They shall hold the bow and the lance: they
are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they
shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against
thee, O daughter of Babylon. The king of Babylon hath heard the report of
them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of
a woman in travail. Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of
Jordan unto the habitation of the strong: but I will make them suddenly run
away from her: and who is a chosen man, that I may appoint over her? for
who is like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who is that shepherd
that will stand before me? Therefore hear ye the counsel of the LORD, that he
hath taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against
the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out:
surely he shall make their habitation desolate with them. At the noise of the
taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.
Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them
that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;
And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her
land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about. Against
him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth
himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye
utterly all her host. Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and
they that are thrust through in her streets. For Israel hath not been forsaken,
nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with
sin against the Holy One of Israel. Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and
deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of
the LORD's vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence. Babylon hath
been a golden cup in the LORD's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the
nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad. Babylon is
suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be
she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed:
forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment
reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies. The LORD hath
brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of
the LORD our God. Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath
raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against
Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance
of his temple. Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch
strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both
devised and done that which he spake against the inhabitants of Babylon. O
thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is
come, and the measure of thy covetousness. The LORD of hosts hath sworn by
himself, saying, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillers; and they
shall lift up a shout against thee. He hath made the earth by his power, he
hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heaven
by his understanding. When he uttereth his voice, there is a multitude of
waters in the heavens; and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends
of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out
of his treasures. Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is
confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and
there is no breath in them. They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of
their visitation they shall perish. The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is
the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of
hosts is his name. Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee
will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; And
with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I
break in pieces the chariot and his rider; With thee also will I break in pieces
man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with
thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid; I will also break in
pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in
pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in
pieces captains and rulers. And I will render unto Babylon and to all the
inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight,
saith the LORD. Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the
LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon
thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt
mountain. And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for
foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD. Set ye up a
standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the
nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni,
and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up
as the rough caterpillers. Prepare against her the nations with the kings of
the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of
his dominion. And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of
the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a
desolation without an inhabitant. The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to
fight, they have remained in their holds: their might hath failed; they became
as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken. One
post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew
the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end, And that the passages are
stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are
affrighted. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of
Babylon is like a threshingfloor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and
the time of her harvest shall come. Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath
devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he
hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates,
he hath cast me out. The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon
Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood upon the inhabitants
of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say. Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will
plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and
make her springs dry. And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for
dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant. They shall
roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions' whelps. In their heat I will
make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and
sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD. I will bring them down
like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats. How is Sheshach taken!
and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become
an astonishment among the nations! The sea is come up upon Babylon: she
is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof. Her cities are a
desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth,
neither doth any son of man pass thereby. And I will punish Bel in Babylon,
and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath swallowed up: and
the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of
Babylon shall fall. My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye
every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD. And lest your heart
faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour
shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumour,
and violence in the land, ruler against ruler. Therefore, behold, the days
come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon: and her
whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon:
for the spoilers shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD. As
Babylon hath caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain
of all the earth. Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still:
remember the LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind. We are
confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our
faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD's house.
Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will do judgment
upon her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan.
Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify
the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the
LORD. A sound of a cry cometh from Babylon, and great destruction from the
land of the Chaldeans: Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed
out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise
of their voice is uttered: Because the spoiler is come upon her, even upon
Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken:
for the LORD God of recompences shall surely requite. And I will make drunk
her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty
men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King,
whose name is the LORD of hosts. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad
walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned
with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they
shall be weary.
The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah,
the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into
Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince. So
Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, even all
these words that are written against Babylon. And Jeremiah said to Seraiah,
When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these words;
Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off,
that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be
desolate for ever. And it shall be, when thou hast made an end of reading this
book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of
Euphrates: And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise
from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are
the words of Jeremiah.
Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he
reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal the
daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did that which was evil in the eyes of
the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. For through the anger of
the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out
from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the
tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and
all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts against it
round about. So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king
Zedekiah. And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine
was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land.
Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out
of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was
by the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about:) and
they went by the way of the plain.
But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook Zedekiah
in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. Then they
took the king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the
land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him. And the king of Babylon
slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew also all the princes of
Judah in Riblah. Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of
Babylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in
prison till the day of his death.
Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the
nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan,
captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem, And
burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house; and all the houses of
Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, burned he with fire: And all
the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, brake
down all the walls of Jerusalem round about. Then Nebuzar-adan the captain
of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor of the people, and the
residue of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that
fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude. But Nebuzar-adan
the captain of the guard left certain of the poor of the land for vinedressers
and for husbandmen. Also the pillars of brass that were in the house of the
LORD, and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD,
the Chaldeans brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon. The
caldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the
spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they
away. And the basons, and the firepans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and
the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups; that which was of gold in gold,
and that which was of silver in silver, took the captain of the guard away. The
two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that were under the bases, which
king Solomon had made in the house of the LORD: the brass of all these
vessels was without weight. And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar
was eighteen cubits; and a fillet of twelve cubits did compass it; and the
thickness thereof was four fingers: it was hollow. And a chapiter of brass was
upon it; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits, with network and
pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all of brass. The second pillar
also and the pomegranates were like unto these. And there were ninety and
six pomegranates on a side; and all the pomegranates upon the network were
an hundred round about.
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the
second priest, and the three keepers of the door: He took also out of the city
an eunuch, which had the charge of the men of war; and seven men of them
that were near the king's person, which were found in the city; and the
principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and
threescore men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the
city. So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them
to the king of Babylon to Riblah. And the king of Babylon smote them, and
put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried
away captive out of his own land. This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar
carried away captive: in the seventh year three thousand Jews and three and
twenty: In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away captive
from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons: In the three and
twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard
carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons: all the
persons were four thousand and six hundred.
And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of
Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth day of
the month, that Evil-merodach king of Babylon in the first year of his reign
lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought him forth out of
prison, And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the
kings that were with him in Babylon, And changed his prison garments: and
he did continually eat bread before him all the days of his life. And for his
diet, there was a continual diet given him of the king of Babylon, every day a
portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.