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True Worship and False Gods

10 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O people of Israel. The Lord says, “Do not learn the way of the nations. And do not be afraid of the things seen in the heavens, even if the nations are afraid of them. For the ways of the people are of no use. They cut wood from the trees. A workman cuts it with an ax. They make it beautiful with silver and gold. They put it together with nails so that it cannot fall apart. Their false gods are like a wooden man set up in a vegetable field to make birds be afraid and stay away. They cannot speak. They must be carried, because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot hurt you. And they cannot help you.”

There is no one like You, O Lord. You are great, and Your name is great in power. Who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For You should be honored with fear. Among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their lands, there is no one like You. They are all poor thinkers and foolish. What can they learn from a false god of wood? Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. They are the work of an able workman and of one who works with gold. Their clothing is blue and purple. They are all the work of able workmen. 10 But the Lord is the true God. He is the living God and the King Who lives forever. The earth shakes at His anger. And the nations cannot last when He is angry.

11 This is what you should say to them: “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will be destroyed from the earth and from under the heavens.”

A Song of Praise

12 It is He Who made the earth by His power, and the world by His wisdom. By His understanding He has spread out the heavens. 13 When He speaks, there is a storm of waters in the heavens. He makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and brings out the wind from His store-houses. 14 Every man is a poor thinker and without learning. Every one who works with gold is put to shame by his false gods. For his objects of worship fool people. There is no breath in them. 15 They are without worth, and make fun of the truth. In the time of their punishment, they will be destroyed. 16 He Who is the God of Jacob is not like these, for He has made all things. And Israel is His chosen family. The Lord of All is His name.

People of Jerusalem Will Be Taken Away

17 Pick up your load from the ground, you who are shut in by armies! 18 For the Lord says, “See, I am throwing out the people of the land at this time. And I will trouble them, that they may feel it.”

19 It is bad for me because I am hurt! My sore cannot be healed. But I said, “For sure this sickness is mine, and I must suffer with it.” 20 My tent is destroyed and all my ropes are broken. My sons have gone from me and are no more. There is no one to put up my tent again or to set up my curtains. 21 For the shepherds are poor thinkers and have not asked for the Lord’s help. So they have not done well, and all their flock is sent different places. 22 Listen, the sound of news! See, it comes! Much noise of moving is coming out of the land of the north to destroy the cities of Judah, and to make it a place where wild dogs live.

Jeremiah’s Prayer

23 O Lord, I know that a man’s way is not known by himself. It is not in man to lead his own steps. 24 Punish me when I need it, O Lord, but be fair. Do not punish me in Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing. 25 Pour out Your anger on the nations that do not know You, and on the families that do not call on Your name. For they have destroyed Jacob. They have destroyed him and have laid waste his land.

The Agreement Is Broken

11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “Hear the words of this agreement, and speak to the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Cursed is the man who does not listen to the words of this agreement which I told to your fathers before you when I brought them out of the land of Egypt. I brought them from the land that was like an iron stove. I said to them, ‘Listen to My voice, and do all that I tell you. Then you will be My people and I will be your God.’ And so I will keep the promise I made to your fathers before you, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.”’” Then I answered and said, “Let it be so, O Lord.”

The Lord said to me, “Make these words known in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Hear the words of this agreement and do them. For by My strong words I told your fathers of the danger when I brought them up from the land of Egypt. I kept telling them even to this day, saying, “Listen to My voice.” Yet they did not obey or listen. Every one walked in his own strong-will because of his sinful heart. So I brought upon them all the words of this agreement, which I told them to do, but they did not.’”

Then the Lord said to me, “Sinful plans have been made by the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the sins of their fathers before them who would not listen to My words. And they have gone to serve other gods. The people of Israel and Judah have broken the agreement I made with their fathers.” 11 So the Lord says, “See, I am bringing much trouble on them. They will not be able to get away from it. Even when they cry to Me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry to the gods to whom they burn special perfume. But they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 For your gods are as many as your cities, O Judah. And your altars you have set up to burn special perfume to the false god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.

14 “So do not pray for these people. Do not lift up a cry or prayer for them. For I will not listen when they call to Me because of their trouble. 15 What right has My loved one to be in My house when she has done many sinful acts? Can animals killed on My altar take your trouble away from you? Can you then find joy?” 16 The Lord called you, “A green olive tree, beautiful and with good fruit.” But with a noise like thunder He set fire to it, and its branches were destroyed. 17 The Lord of All, Who planted you, has said that bad will come to you because of the sin of the people of Israel and of the people of Judah. They have done wrong to make Me angry by burning special perfume to the false god Baal.

Men of Anathoth Want to Kill Jeremiah

18 The Lord made it known to me and I knew it. You showed me the sinful things they did. 19 But I was like a gentle lamb led to be killed. I did not know that they had made plans against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit. Let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.” 20 But, O Lord of All, Who is right as He judges, Who tests the heart and the mind, let me see You punish them. For I have put my cause before You.

21 So the Lord speaks about the men of Anathoth who want to kill you. These men say, “Do not speak in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand.” 22 So the Lord of All says, “See, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword. And their sons and daughters will die from hunger. 23 None of them will be left. For I will bring much trouble to the men of Anathoth, in the year of their punishment.”

Jeremiah’s Question

12 You are right and good, O Lord, when I complain to You about my trouble. Yet I would like to talk with You about what is fair. Why does the way of the sinful go well? Why do all those who cannot be trusted have it so easy? You have planted them, and they have taken root. They grow and have given fruit. You are near on their lips but far from their heart. But You know me, O Lord. You see me. And You test how my heart is with You. Take them off like sheep to be killed. Set them apart for the day of killing. How long will the land be filled with sorrow? How long will the grass of every field dry up? For the sin of those who live in it, animals and birds have been taken away, because men have said, “He will not see what happens to us.”

God’s Answer

“If you have run with men on foot and they have made you tired, then how can you run as fast as horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, how will you do among all the trees beside the Jordan? For even your brothers and those of your father’s house have not been faithful to you. They have cried to you in a loud voice. Do not believe them, even if they say pleasing things to you.”

The Lord’s Sorrow for Israel

“I have left My house. I have left My chosen nation. I have given the loved one of My soul into the hand of those who hate her. My chosen nation has become to Me like a lion among the trees. She has raised her voice against Me, so I hate her. Is My chosen nation like a spot-covered, flesh-eating bird to Me? Are the flesh-eating birds against her on every side? Go, gather all the wild animals of the field, and bring them to eat. 10 Many shepherds have destroyed My grape-field. They have crushed My field under foot. They have turned My good field to an empty desert. 11 It has been laid waste. Destroyed and empty, it cries with sorrow before Me. The whole land has been laid waste, because no one cares. 12 On all the open hill-tops in the desert, destroyers have come. For the sword of the Lord destroys from one end of the land to the other. There is no peace for anyone. 13 They have planted grain and have gathered thorns. They have worked hard, but have nothing. Be ashamed of what you gather because of the burning anger of the Lord.”

Israel’s Neighbors

14 This is what the Lord says about all My sinful neighbors who take the gift I have given to My people Israel: “See, I am about to pull them up by the roots from their land. And I will pull up the people of Judah by the roots from among them. 15 But after I have pulled them up by the roots, I will have loving-pity on them again, and will bring them back. I will return each one to what he has been given and to his land. 16 Then if they will for sure learn the ways of My people, and promise by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught My people to promise by Baal, then they will be built up among My people. 17 But if they will not listen, then I will pull that nation up by the roots and destroy it,” says the Lord.

The Linen Belt

13 The Lord said to me, “Go and buy a linen belt, and put it around yourself. But do not put it in water.” So I bought the belt as the Lord had said and put it around me. Then the Word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “Take the belt that you have bought and are wearing, get up, and go to the Euphrates. Hide it there in a hole in the rock.” So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord had told me. After many days the Lord said to me, “Get up and go to the Euphrates and get the belt which I told you to hide there.” Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the belt from the place where I had hidden it. And I saw that the belt was worth nothing.

Then the Word of the Lord came to me, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘In this way I will destroy the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 These sinful people would not listen to My words. They walk in the strong-will of their own hearts and have gone to serve and worship other gods. So let them be just like this linen belt, which is good for nothing. 11 For as the belt holds on to a man’s body, so I made the whole family of Israel and the whole family of Judah hold on to Me,’ says the Lord. ‘This was so that they might be for Me a people, a name, a praise, and an honor. But they would not listen.’

The Wine Bottles

12 “So you are to tell this to them: ‘The Lord, the God of Israel, says, “Every jar is to be filled with wine.”’ And when they say to you, ‘Do we not know very well that every jar is to be filled with wine?’ 13 then tell them, ‘The Lord says, “I am about to fill all the people of this land, the kings who sit on David’s throne, the religious leaders, the men of God, and all the people of Jerusalem with too much drink. 14 And I will throw them against each other, both the fathers and sons together,” says the Lord. “I will not let pity or sorrow or loving-kindness keep Me from destroying them.”’”

Pride Comes before Punishment

15 Listen and hear. Do not be proud, for the Lord has spoken. 16 Give honor to the Lord your God before He brings darkness and before you slip and fall on the dark mountains. You hope for light, but He will turn it into darkness and it will be very dark. 17 But if you will not listen, my soul will cry in secret because of your pride. My eyes will cry with a bitter cry and tears will flow down, because the Lord’s people have been taken away in chains. 18 Say to the king and the queen mother, “Come down from your throne. Your beautiful crown has been taken from your head.” 19 The cities of the Negev have been locked up, and there is no one to open them. All Judah has been taken away. All the people of Judah have been taken to another land.

20 “Look up and see those who are coming from the north. Where is the flock that was given to you, your beautiful sheep? 21 What will you say when He sets over you those whom you have taught and who were your friends? Will not pain take hold of you, like a woman giving birth? 22 And if you say in your heart, ‘Why have these things happened to me?’ It is because of your many sins that your clothing has been torn off and you suffer punishment. 23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good who are used to doing wrong. 24 I will cause you to go everywhere like straw blown by the desert wind. 25 This is what you get, the share given to you from Me,” says the Lord, “because you have forgotten Me and trusted in lies. 26 So I will pull your clothing up over your face, that your shame may be seen. 27 As for your sex sins and cries of desire, your sinful sex acts on the hills in the field, I have seen your hated sins. It is bad for you, O Jerusalem! How long will you be unclean?”