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1 The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 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. 3 It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

The Call of Jeremiah

4 Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

5  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 7 But the LORD said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,
and whatever I command you, you shall speak.
8  Do not be afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
    declares the LORD.”

9 Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me,

“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
10  See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”

11 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond ^{1 1:11 Almond sounds like the Hebrew for watching (compare verse 12)} branch.” 12 Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

13 The word of the LORD came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” 14 Then the LORD said to me, “Out of the north disaster ^{2 1:14 The Hebrew word can mean evil, harm, or disaster, depending on the context; so throughout Jeremiah} shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the LORD, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. 17 But you, dress yourself for work; ^{3 1:17 Hebrew gird up your loins} arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. 18 And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. 19 They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the LORD, to deliver you.”

Israel Forsakes the LORD

1 The word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the LORD,

I remember the devotion of your youth,
    your love as a bride,
how you followed me in the wilderness,
    in a land not sown.
3  Israel was holy to the LORD,
    the firstfruits of his harvest.
All who ate of it incurred guilt;
    disaster came upon them,
    declares the LORD.”

4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the LORD:

“What wrong did your fathers find in me
    that they went far from me,
and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?
6  They did not say, ‘Where is the LORD
    who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us in the wilderness,
    in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
    in a land that none passes through,
    where no man dwells?’
7  And I brought you into a plentiful land
    to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, you defiled my land
    and made my heritage an abomination.
8  The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’
    Those who handle the law did not know me;
the shepherds ^{4 2:8 Or rulers} transgressed against me;
    the prophets prophesied by Baal
    and went after things that do not profit.

9  Therefore I still contend with you,
    declares the LORD,
    and with your children's children I will contend.
10  For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see,
    or send to Kedar and examine with care;
    see if there has been such a thing.
11  Has a nation changed its gods,
    even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
    for that which does not profit.
12  Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
    be shocked, be utterly desolate,
    declares the LORD,
13  for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
    the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
    broken cisterns that can hold no water.

14  Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
    Why then has he become a prey?
15  The lions have roared against him;
    they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
    his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.
16  Moreover, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
    have shaved ^{5 2:16 Hebrew grazed} the crown of your head.
17  Have you not brought this upon yourself
    by forsaking the LORD your God,
    when he led you in the way?
18  And now what do you gain by going to Egypt
    to drink the waters of the Nile?
Or what do you gain by going to Assyria
    to drink the waters of the Euphrates? ^{6 2:18 Hebrew the River}
19  Your evil will chastise you,
    and your apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and bitter
    for you to forsake the LORD your God;
    the fear of me is not in you,
    declares the Lord God of hosts.

20  For long ago I broke your yoke
    and burst your bonds;
    but you said, ‘I will not serve.’
Yes, on every high hill
    and under every green tree
    you bowed down like a whore.
21  Yet I planted you a choice vine,
    wholly of pure seed.
How then have you turned degenerate
    and become a wild vine?
22  Though you wash yourself with lye
    and use much soap,
    the stain of your guilt is still before me,
    declares the Lord God.
23  How can you say, ‘I am not unclean,
    I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way in the valley;
    know what you have done—
a restless young camel running here and there,
24      a wild donkey used to the wilderness,
in her heat sniffing the wind!
    Who can restrain her lust?
None who seek her need weary themselves;
    in her month they will find her.
25  Keep your feet from going unshod
    and your throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless,
    for I have loved foreigners,
    and after them I will go.’

26  As a thief is shamed when caught,
    so the house of Israel shall be shamed:
they, their kings, their officials,
    their priests, and their prophets,
27  who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
    and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their back to me,
    and not their face.
But in the time of their trouble they say,
    ‘Arise and save us!’
28  But where are your gods
    that you made for yourself?
Let them arise, if they can save you,
    in your time of trouble;
for as many as your cities
    are your gods, O Judah.

29  Why do you contend with me?
    You have all transgressed against me,
    declares the LORD.
30  In vain have I struck your children;
    they took no correction;
your own sword devoured your prophets
    like a ravening lion.
31  And you, O generation, behold the word of the LORD.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
    or a land of thick darkness?
Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,
    we will come no more to you’?
32  Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
    or a bride her attire?
Yet my people have forgotten me
    days without number.

33  How well you direct your course
    to seek love!
So that even to wicked women
    you have taught your ways.
34  Also on your skirts is found
    the lifeblood of the guiltless poor;
you did not find them breaking in.
    Yet in spite of all these things
35  you say, ‘I am innocent;
    surely his anger has turned from me.’
Behold, I will bring you to judgment
    for saying, ‘I have not sinned.’
36  How much you go about,
    changing your way!
You shall be put to shame by Egypt
    as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37  From it too you will come away
    with your hands on your head,
for the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust,
    and you will not prosper by them.

1  If ^{7 3:1 Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew Saying, If} a man divorces his wife
    and she goes from him
and becomes another man's wife,
    will he return to her?
Would not that land be greatly polluted?
You have played the whore with many lovers;
    and would you return to me?
    declares the LORD.
2  Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see!
    Where have you not been ravished?
By the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers
    like an Arab in the wilderness.
You have polluted the land
    with your vile whoredom.
3  Therefore the showers have been withheld,
    and the spring rain has not come;
yet you have the forehead of a whore;
    you refuse to be ashamed.
4  Have you not just now called to me,
    ‘My father, you are the friend of my youth—
5  will he be angry forever,
    will he be indignant to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken,
    but you have done all the evil that you could.”

Faithless Israel Called to Repentance

6 The LORD said to me in the days of King Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore? 7 And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore. 9 Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. 10 Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the LORD.”

11 And the LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say,

‘Return, faithless Israel,
    declares the LORD.
I will not look on you in anger,
    for I am merciful,
    declares the LORD;
I will not be angry forever.
13  Only acknowledge your guilt,
    that you rebelled against the LORD your God
and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree,
    and that you have not obeyed my voice,
    declares the LORD.
14  Return, O faithless children,
    declares the LORD;
    for I am your master;
I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
    and I will bring you to Zion.

15 ‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the LORD, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the LORD.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. 17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.

19  ‘I said,
    How I would set you among my sons,
and give you a pleasant land,
    a heritage most beautiful of all nations.
And I thought you would call me, My Father,
    and would not turn from following me.
20  Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband,
    so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel,
    declares the LORD.’”

21  A voice on the bare heights is heard,
    the weeping and pleading of Israel's sons
because they have perverted their way;
    they have forgotten the LORD their God.
22  “Return, O faithless sons;
    I will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to you,
    for you are the LORD our God.
23  Truly the hills are a delusion,
    the orgies ^{8 3:23 Hebrew commotion} on the mountains.
Truly in the LORD our God
    is the salvation of Israel.

24 But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”

1  “If you return, O Israel,
    declares the LORD,
    to me you should return.
If you remove your detestable things from my presence,
    and do not waver,
2  and if you swear, ‘As the LORD lives,’
    in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
then nations shall bless themselves in him,
    and in him shall they glory.”

3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Break up your fallow ground,
    and sow not among thorns.
4  Circumcise yourselves to the LORD;
    remove the foreskin of your hearts,
    O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;
lest my wrath go forth like fire,
    and burn with none to quench it,
    because of the evil of your deeds.”

Disaster from the North

5 Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say,

“Blow the trumpet through the land;
    cry aloud and say,
‘Assemble, and let us go
    into the fortified cities!’
6  Raise a standard toward Zion,
    flee for safety, stay not,
for I bring disaster from the north,
    and great destruction.
7  A lion has gone up from his thicket,
    a destroyer of nations has set out;
    he has gone out from his place
to make your land a waste;
    your cities will be ruins
    without inhabitant.
8  For this put on sackcloth,
    lament and wail,
for the fierce anger of the LORD
    has not turned back from us.”

9 “In that day, declares the LORD, courage shall fail both king and officials. The priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded.” 10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, surely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ whereas the sword has reached their very life.”

11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from the bare heights in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse, 12 a wind too full for this comes for me. Now it is I who speak in judgment upon them.”

13  Behold, he comes up like clouds;
    his chariots like the whirlwind;
his horses are swifter than eagles—
    woe to us, for we are ruined!
14  O Jerusalem, wash your heart from evil,
    that you may be saved.
How long shall your wicked thoughts
    lodge within you?
15  For a voice declares from Dan
    and proclaims trouble from Mount Ephraim.
16  Warn the nations that he is coming;
    announce to Jerusalem,
“Besiegers come from a distant land;
    they shout against the cities of Judah.
17  Like keepers of a field are they against her all around,
    because she has rebelled against me,
    declares the LORD.
18  Your ways and your deeds
    have brought this upon you.
This is your doom, and it is bitter;
    it has reached your very heart.”

Anguish over Judah's Desolation

19  My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain!
    Oh the walls of my heart!
My heart is beating wildly;
    I cannot keep silent,
for I hear the sound of the trumpet,
    the alarm of war.
20  Crash follows hard on crash;
    the whole land is laid waste.
Suddenly my tents are laid waste,
    my curtains in a moment.
21  How long must I see the standard
    and hear the sound of the trumpet?

22  “For my people are foolish;
    they know me not;
they are stupid children;
    they have no understanding.
They are ‘wise’—in doing evil!
    But how to do good they know not.”

23  I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void;
    and to the heavens, and they had no light.
24  I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
    and all the hills moved to and fro.
25  I looked, and behold, there was no man,
    and all the birds of the air had fled.
26  I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a desert,
    and all its cities were laid in ruins
    before the LORD, before his fierce anger.

27 For thus says the LORD, “The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.

28  For this the earth shall mourn,
    and the heavens above be dark;
for I have spoken; I have purposed;
    I have not relented, nor will I turn back.”

29  At the noise of horseman and archer
    every city takes to flight;
they enter thickets; they climb among rocks;
    all the cities are forsaken,
    and no man dwells in them.
30  And you, O desolate one,
what do you mean that you dress in scarlet,
    that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
    that you enlarge your eyes with paint?
In vain you beautify yourself.
    Your lovers despise you;
    they seek your life.
31  For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor,
    anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
    stretching out her hands,
“Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers.”

Jerusalem Refused to Repent

1  Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
    look and take note!
Search her squares to see
    if you can find a man,
one who does justice
    and seeks truth,
that I may pardon her.
2  Though they say, “As the LORD lives,”
    yet they swear falsely.
3  O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth?
You have struck them down,
    but they felt no anguish;
you have consumed them,
    but they refused to take correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
    they have refused to repent.

4  Then I said, “These are only the poor;
    they have no sense;
for they do not know the way of the LORD,
    the justice of their God.
5  I will go to the great
    and will speak to them,
for they know the way of the LORD,
    the justice of their God.”
But they all alike had broken the yoke;
    they had burst the bonds.

6  Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down;
    a wolf from the desert shall devastate them.
A leopard is watching their cities;
    everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,
because their transgressions are many,
    their apostasies are great.

7  “How can I pardon you?
    Your children have forsaken me
    and have sworn by those who are no gods.
When I fed them to the full,
    they committed adultery
    and trooped to the houses of whores.
8  They were well-fed, lusty stallions,
    each neighing for his neighbor's wife.
9  Shall I not punish them for these things?
    declares the LORD;
    and shall I not avenge myself
    on a nation such as this?

10  Go up through her vine rows and destroy,
    but make not a full end;
strip away her branches,
    for they are not the LORD's.
11  For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
    have been utterly treacherous to me,
    declares the LORD.
12  They have spoken falsely of the LORD
    and have said, ‘He will do nothing;
no disaster will come upon us,
    nor shall we see sword or famine.
13  The prophets will become wind;
    the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done to them!’”

The LORD Proclaims Judgment

14  Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts:
“Because you have spoken this word,
behold, I am making my words in your mouth a fire,
    and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them.
15  Behold, I am bringing against you
    a nation from afar, O house of Israel,
    declares the LORD.
It is an enduring nation;
    it is an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know,
    nor can you understand what they say.
16  Their quiver is like an open tomb;
    they are all mighty warriors.
17  They shall eat up your harvest and your food;
    they shall eat up your sons and your daughters;
they shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
    they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
your fortified cities in which you trust
    they shall beat down with the sword.”

18 “But even in those days, declares the LORD, I will not make a full end of you. 19 And when your people say, ‘Why has the LORD our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’”

20  Declare this in the house of Jacob;
    proclaim it in Judah:
21  “Hear this, O foolish and senseless people,
    who have eyes, but see not,
    who have ears, but hear not.
22  Do you not fear me? declares the LORD.
    Do you not tremble before me?
I placed the sand as the boundary for the sea,
    a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;
though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;
    though they roar, they cannot pass over it.
23  But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
    they have turned aside and gone away.
24  They do not say in their hearts,
    ‘Let us fear the LORD our God,
who gives the rain in its season,
    the autumn rain and the spring rain,
and keeps for us
    the weeks appointed for the harvest.’
25  Your iniquities have turned these away,
    and your sins have kept good from you.
26  For wicked men are found among my people;
    they lurk like fowlers lying in wait. ^{9 5:26 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain}
They set a trap;
    they catch men.
27  Like a cage full of birds,
    their houses are full of deceit;
therefore they have become great and rich;
28      they have grown fat and sleek.
They know no bounds in deeds of evil;
    they judge not with justice
the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper,
    and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
29  Shall I not punish them for these things?
    declares the LORD,
    and shall I not avenge myself
    on a nation such as this?”

30  An appalling and horrible thing
    has happened in the land:
31  the prophets prophesy falsely,
    and the priests rule at their direction;
my people love to have it so,
    but what will you do when the end comes?

Impending Disaster for Jerusalem

1  Flee for safety, O people of Benjamin,
    from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in Tekoa,
    and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem,
for disaster looms out of the north,
    and great destruction.
2  The lovely and delicately bred I will destroy,
    the daughter of Zion. ^{10 6:2 Or I have likened the daughter of Zion to the loveliest pasture}
3  Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her;
    they shall pitch their tents around her;
    they shall pasture, each in his place.
4  “Prepare war against her;
    arise, and let us attack at noon!
Woe to us, for the day declines,
    for the shadows of evening lengthen!
5  Arise, and let us attack by night
    and destroy her palaces!”

6  For thus says the LORD of hosts:
“Cut down her trees;
    cast up a siege mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be punished;
    there is nothing but oppression within her.
7  As a well keeps its water fresh,
    so she keeps fresh her evil;
violence and destruction are heard within her;
    sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8  Be warned, O Jerusalem,
    lest I turn from you in disgust,
lest I make you a desolation,
    an uninhabited land.”

9  Thus says the LORD of hosts:
“They shall glean thoroughly as a vine
    the remnant of Israel;
like a grape gatherer pass your hand again
    over its branches.”
10  To whom shall I speak and give warning,
    that they may hear?
Behold, their ears are uncircumcised,
    they cannot listen;
behold, the word of the LORD is to them an object of scorn;
    they take no pleasure in it.
11  Therefore I am full of the wrath of the LORD;
    I am weary of holding it in.
“Pour it out upon the children in the street,
    and upon the gatherings of young men, also;
both husband and wife shall be taken,
    the elderly and the very aged.
12  Their houses shall be turned over to others,
    their fields and wives together,
for I will stretch out my hand
    against the inhabitants of the land,”
    declares the LORD.
13  “For from the least to the greatest of them,
    everyone is greedy for unjust gain;
and from prophet to priest,
    everyone deals falsely.
14  They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
    saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
    when there is no peace.
15  Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
    No, they were not at all ashamed;
    they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
    at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,”
    says the LORD.

16  Thus says the LORD:
“Stand by the roads, and look,
    and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
    and find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17  I set watchmen over you, saying,
    ‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’
18  Therefore hear, O nations,
    and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
19  Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people,
    the fruit of their devices,
because they have not paid attention to my words;
    and as for my law, they have rejected it.
20  What use to me is frankincense that comes from Sheba,
    or sweet cane from a distant land?
Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,
    nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21  Therefore thus says the LORD:
‘Behold, I will lay before this people
    stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble;
fathers and sons together,
    neighbor and friend shall perish.’”

22  Thus says the LORD:
“Behold, a people is coming from the north country,
    a great nation is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth.
23  They lay hold on bow and javelin;
    they are cruel and have no mercy;
    the sound of them is like the roaring sea;
they ride on horses,
    set in array as a man for battle,
    against you, O daughter of Zion!”
24  We have heard the report of it;
    our hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
    pain as of a woman in labor.
25  Go not out into the field,
    nor walk on the road,
for the enemy has a sword;
    terror is on every side.
26  O daughter of my people, put on sackcloth,
    and roll in ashes;
make mourning as for an only son,
    most bitter lamentation,
for suddenly the destroyer
    will come upon us.

27  “I have made you a tester of metals among my people,
    that you may know and test their ways.
28  They are all stubbornly rebellious,
    going about with slanders;
they are bronze and iron;
    all of them act corruptly.
29  The bellows blow fiercely;
    the lead is consumed by the fire;
in vain the refining goes on,
    for the wicked are not removed.
30  Rejected silver they are called,
    for the LORD has rejected them.”