The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah
Chapter 1 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 Ammon, 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. But 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 worship 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 brazen 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. Jeremiah Chapter 2 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 he entered, he defiled my land and made mine heritage an
abomination. The priests said not, Where is
the Lord? And they that handled the law
knew me not. The pastors also transgressed
against me, and the prophets prophesied by bail, 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 Sea, and send
unto Cheda, 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
home-born 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 Tarponese 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 Sihur?
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 all 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 wander'st, 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 niter, 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 Balaam? 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 stalk,
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. Jeremiah chapter 3 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.
Get return again to me, saith the Lord. Lift up thine eyes
unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lain
with. In the ways thou hast 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 refusest to be ashamed. Will 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 couldst. 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 faintly, 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 departed from her husband, so
have he 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. Jeremiah chapter 4 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 towards 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 ye 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 fool-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 Jeremiah chapter 5 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, then they committed adultery, and assembled themselves
by troops in the harlot's houses. They were as fed horses in the
morning. Everyone neighed after his neighbor'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 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 trustest 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 hath 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? Jeremiah chapter 6 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 Bethacharim. 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 holy 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 grape-gatherer 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 stumbling blocks before this
people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon
them, the neighbor 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 Jeremiah chapter 7 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 truly amend your ways
and your doings, if ye truly execute judgment between a man
and his neighbor, 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 said 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 Topheth, 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 Topheth, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the
valley of slaughter. For they shall bury in Tophet
till there is no place, and the carcasses 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 Jeremiah chapter 8 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 to
seat, 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? Everyone 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 everyone
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 defense cities and let us be silent there for
the Lord our God has 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? Jeremiah chapter 9 Oh, that my head were waters,
and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night
for the slain of the daughter of my people! 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
the 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 neighbor, and trust ye not in any brother. For every
brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbor will walk
with slanders. And they will deceive every one
his neighbor, and will not speak the truth. They have taught their
tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit iniquity.
Thy inhabitation is in the midst of deceit. Through deceit they
refuse to know me, said 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 weight. 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 beasts
are fled, they are gone. And I will make Jerusalem heaps,
and a den of dragons. 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 Balaam, which their fathers taught
them. Therefore 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 neighbor lamentation. For death has come up into our
windows, and has 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 carcasses 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
exercised 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. Jeremiah chapter 10 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 born, 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 Ufaz, the work of the workmen
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 nation shall not be able to abide his indignation. Thus shall he 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 Bruet 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. Jeremiah chapter 11 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 refuse 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 he 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 call 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 planteth
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 show'st 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 in 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. Jeremiah chapter 12 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 trustest, 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
underfoot. 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 neighbors 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.