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Jeremiah 13-16
New American Standard Bible
Jeremiah 13-16
New American Standard Bible
The Ruined Undergarment
13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and (A)buy yourself a linen undergarment and put it around your waist, but do not put it in water.” 2 So I bought the undergarment in accordance with the (B)word of the Lord, and put it around my waist. 3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, 4 “Take the undergarment that you bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the (C)Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, (D)as the Lord had commanded me. 6 After many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates and take from there the undergarment which I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the undergarment from the place where I had hidden it; and behold, the undergarment was ruined, it was completely useless.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “This is what the Lord says: ‘To the same extent I will destroy the (E)pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This wicked people, who (F)refuse to listen to My words, who (G)walk in the stubbornness of their hearts and have followed other gods to serve them and to bow down to them, let them be just like this undergarment which is completely useless. 11 For as the undergarment clings to the waist of a man, so I made the entire household of Israel and the entire household of Judah (H)cling to Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘so that they might be My people, for [a](I)renown, for (J)praise, and for glory; but they (K)did not listen.’
Captivity Threatened
12 “Therefore you are to speak this word to them. ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: “Every jug is to be filled with wine.”’ And when they say to you, ‘Do we not very well know that every jug is to be filled with wine?’ 13 then say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am going to fill all the inhabitants of this land—the kings who sit for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with (L)drunkenness! 14 Then I will (M)smash them against each other, both the (N)fathers and the sons together,” declares the Lord. “I will (O)not have compassion nor be troubled nor take pity so as to keep from destroying them.”’”
15 Listen and pay attention, do not be (P)haughty;
For the Lord has spoken.
16 (Q)Give glory to the Lord your God
Before He brings (R)darkness
And before your (S)feet stumble
On the mountains in the dark,
And while you are hoping for light
He makes it into (T)gloom,
And turns it into thick darkness.
17 But (U)if you do not listen to it,
My soul will (V)weep in secret for such pride;
And my eyes will shed
And stream down tears,
Because the (W)flock of the Lord has been taken captive.
18 Say to the (X)king and the queen mother,
“(Y)Take a lowly seat,
For your beautiful (Z)crown
Has come down from your head.”
19 The (AA)cities of the Negev have been locked up,
And there is no one to open them;
All (AB)Judah has been taken into exile,
Wholly taken into exile.
20 “Raise your eyes and see
Those coming (AC)from the north.
Where is the (AD)flock that was given you,
Your beautiful sheep?
21 What will you say when He appoints over you—
And you yourself had taught them—
Former (AE)companions to be head over you?
Will (AF)sharp pains not take hold of you
Like a woman in childbirth?
22 If you (AG)say in your heart,
‘(AH)Why have these things happened to me?’
Because of the (AI)magnitude of your wrongdoing
(AJ)Your skirts have been removed
And your [b]heels have suffered violence.
23 (AK)Can the Ethiopian change his skin,
Or the leopard his spots?
Then you as well can (AL)do good
Who are accustomed to doing evil.
24 Therefore I will (AM)scatter them like drifting straw
To the desert (AN)wind.
25 This is your (AO)lot, the portion measured to you
From Me,” declares the Lord,
“Because you have (AP)forgotten Me
And trusted in falsehood.
26 So I Myself have (AQ)stripped your skirts off over your face,
So that your shame will be seen.
27 As for your (AR)adulteries and your lustful neighings,
The (AS)outrageous sin of your prostitution
On the (AT)hills in the field,
I have seen your abominations.
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
(AU)How long will you remain unclean?”
Drought and a Prayer for Mercy
14 That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah regarding the (AV)drought:
2 “Judah mourns
And (AW)her gates languish;
Her people sit on the ground (AX)in mourning garments,
And the (AY)cry of Jerusalem has ascended.
3 Their nobles have (AZ)sent their [c]servants for water;
They have come to the (BA)cisterns and found no water.
They have returned with their containers empty;
They have been (BB)put to shame and humiliated,
And they (BC)cover their heads,
4 Because the (BD)ground is [d]cracked,
For there has been (BE)no rain on the land.
The (BF)farmers have been put to shame,
They have covered their heads.
5 For even the doe in the field has given birth only to abandon her young,
Because there is (BG)no grass.
6 The (BH)wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;
They pant for air like jackals,
Their eyes fail
Because there is (BI)no vegetation.
7 Though our (BJ)wrongdoings testify against us,
Lord, act (BK)for the sake of Your name!
Our (BL)apostasies have indeed been many,
We have (BM)sinned against You.
8 (BN)Hope of Israel,
Its (BO)Savior in (BP)time of distress,
Why are You like a stranger in the land,
Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night?
9 Why are You like a confused person,
Like a warrior who (BQ)cannot save?
Yet (BR)You are in our midst, Lord,
And we are (BS)called by Your name;
Do not leave us!”
10 This is what the Lord says to this people: “So much they have (BT)loved to wander; they have not (BU)restrained their feet. Therefore the Lord does (BV)not accept them; now He will (BW)remember their wrongdoing and call their sins to account.” 11 So the Lord said to me, “(BX)Do not pray for a good outcome on behalf of this people. 12 When they fast, I am (BY)not going to listen to their cry; and when they offer (BZ)burnt offering and grain offering, I am not going to accept them. Rather, I am going to (CA)put an end to them by the (CB)sword, famine, and plague.”
False Prophets
13 But I said, “Oh, Lord [e]God! Behold, the prophets are telling them, ‘You (CC)will not see a sword, nor will you have famine; on the contrary, I will give you lasting (CD)peace in this place.’” 14 Then the Lord said to me, “The (CE)prophets are prophesying falsehood in My name. (CF)I have neither sent them nor commanded them, nor spoken to them; they are prophesying to you a (CG)false vision, divination, futility, and the deception of their own [f]minds. 15 Therefore this is what the Lord says concerning the prophets who are prophesying in My name, although it was not I who sent them—yet they keep saying: ‘There will be no sword or famine in this land’—(CH)by sword and famine those prophets shall meet their end! 16 And the people to whom they are prophesying will be (CI)thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and there will be no one to (CJ)bury them—neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters. For I will (CK)pour out their own wickedness upon them.
17 You will say this word to them,
‘(CL)Let my eyes stream down tears night and day,
And let them not cease;
For the virgin (CM)daughter of my people has been crushed with a mighty blow,
With a sorely (CN)infected wound.
18 If I (CO)go out to the country,
There are those killed by the sword!
Or if I enter the city,
There are diseases from famine!
For (CP)both prophet and priest
Have wandered around in the land that they do not know.’”
19 Have You completely (CQ)rejected Judah?
Or have [g]You loathed Zion?
Why have You stricken us so that we (CR)are beyond healing?
We (CS)waited for peace, but nothing good came;
And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!
20 We (CT)know our wickedness, Lord,
The wrongdoing of our fathers, for (CU)we have sinned against You.
21 Do not despise us, (CV)for the sake of Your own name;
Do not disgrace the (CW)throne of Your glory.
Remember and do not annul Your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the [h](CX)idols of the nations who (CY)give rain?
Or can the heavens grant showers?
Is it not You, Lord our God?
Therefore we (CZ)wait for You,
For You are the one who has done all these things.
Judgment Must Come
15 Then the Lord said to me, “Even (DA)if (DB)Moses and (DC)Samuel were to (DD)stand before Me, My [i]heart would not be [j]with this people. (DE)Send them away from My presence and have them go! 2 And it shall be that when they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“Those destined (DF)for death, to death;
And those destined for the sword, to the sword;
And those destined for famine, to famine;
And those destined for captivity, to captivity.”’
3 And I will (DG)appoint over them four kinds of doom,” declares the Lord: “the sword to kill, the (DH)dogs to drag away, and the (DI)birds of the sky and the animals of the earth to devour and destroy. 4 I will (DJ)make them an object of terror among all the kingdoms of the earth because of (DK)Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.
5 “Indeed, who will have (DL)pity on you, Jerusalem,
Or who will (DM)mourn for you,
Or who will turn aside to ask about your welfare?
6 You who have (DN)forsaken Me,” declares the Lord,
“You keep (DO)going backward.
So I will (DP)stretch out My hand against you and destroy you;
I am (DQ)tired of relenting!
7 I will (DR)winnow them with a winnowing fork
At the gates of the land;
I will (DS)bereave them of children, I will destroy My people;
(DT)They did not [k]repent of their ways.
8 Their (DU)widows will be more numerous before Me
Than the sand of the seas;
I will bring against them, against the mother of a young man,
A (DV)destroyer at noon;
I will suddenly bring down on her
Shock and horror.
9 She who (DW)gave birth to seven sons withers away;
[l]Her breathing is labored.
Her (DX)sun has set while it was still day;
She has been (DY)shamed and humiliated.
So I will (DZ)turn over their survivors to the sword
Before their enemies,” declares the Lord.
10 (EA)Woe to me, my mother, that you have given birth to me
As a (EB)man of strife and a man of contention to all the land!
I have not (EC)lent, nor have people lent money to me,
Yet everyone curses me.
11 The Lord said, “I will certainly (ED)set you free for purposes of good;
I will certainly make the (EE)enemy plead with you
In a time of disaster and a time of distress.
12 “Can anyone smash iron,
(EF)Iron from the north, or bronze?
13 I will give your (EG)wealth and your treasures
As plunder (EH)without cost,
For all your sins
And within all your borders.
14 Then I will make your enemies bring your possessions
Into a (EI)land that you do not know;
For a (EJ)fire has been kindled in My anger,
And it will burn upon you.”
Jeremiah’s Prayer and God’s Answer
15 (EK)You know, Lord;
Remember me, take notice of me,
And (EL)take vengeance for me on my persecutors.
Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away;
Know that (EM)for Your sake I endure reproach.
16 Your words were found and I (EN)ate them,
And Your (EO)words became a joy to me and the delight of my heart;
For I have been (EP)called by Your name,
Lord God of armies.
17 I (EQ)did not sit in a circle of revelers and celebrate.
Because of Your hand upon me I sat (ER)alone,
For You (ES)filled me with indignation.
18 Why has my pain been endless
And my (ET)wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Will You indeed be to me (EU)like a deceptive stream
With water that is unreliable?
19 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
“(EV)If you return, then I will restore you—
(EW)You will stand before Me;
And (EX)if you extract the precious from the worthless,
You will become [m]My spokesman.
They, for their part, may turn to you,
But as for you, you are not to turn to them.
20 Then I will (EY)make you to this people
A fortified wall of bronze;
And though they fight against you,
They will not prevail over you;
For (EZ)I am with you to save you
And rescue you,” declares the Lord.
21 “So I will (FA)rescue you from the hand of the wicked,
And I will (FB)redeem you from the [n]grasp of the violent.”
Distresses Foretold
16 The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, 2 “You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.” 3 For this is what the Lord says concerning the sons and daughters born in this place, and concerning their (FC)mothers who give birth to them, and their (FD)fathers who father them in this land: 4 “They will (FE)die of deadly diseases, they (FF)will not be mourned or buried; they will be like (FG)dung on the surface of the ground. And they will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the (FH)birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth.”
5 For this is what the Lord says: “Do not enter a house of (FI)mourning, or go to mourn or to console them; for I have (FJ)withdrawn My peace from this people,” declares the Lord, “and My (FK)favor and compassion. 6 Both (FL)great people and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, people will not mourn for them, nor will anyone (FM)make cuts on himself or have his head (FN)shaved for them. 7 People will not (FO)break bread in mourning for them, to comfort anyone for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone’s father or mother. 8 Moreover, you shall (FP)not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.” 9 For this is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to (FQ)eliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your time, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of joy, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.
10 “Now it will happen that, when you tell this people all these words, they will say to you, ‘(FR)For what reason has the Lord declared all this great disaster against us? And what is our wrongdoing, or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ 11 Then you are to say to them, ‘It is (FS)because your forefathers have abandoned Me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and have followed (FT)other gods, and served and worshiped them; but they have abandoned Me and have not kept My Law. 12 You too have done evil, even (FU)more than your forefathers; for behold, each one of you is following the (FV)stubbornness of his own (FW)evil heart, without listening to Me. 13 So I will (FX)hurl you off this land to the (FY)land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will (FZ)serve other gods day and night, because I will show you no compassion.’
God Will Restore Them
14 “(GA)Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives, who (GB)brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15 but, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the (GC)land of the north and from all the lands where He had banished them.’ For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.
16 “Behold, I am going to send for many (GD)fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will fish for them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they will (GE)hunt them (GF)from every mountain and every hill and from the clefts of the rocks. 17 (GG)For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, (GH)nor is their wrongdoing concealed from My eyes. 18 I will first repay them (GI)double for their wrongdoing and their sin, because they have (GJ)defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their (GK)detestable idols and their abominations.”
19 Lord, my (GL)strength and my stronghold,
And my (GM)refuge in the day of distress,
To You the (GN)nations will come
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Our fathers have inherited nothing but (GO)falsehood,
Futility, and [o](GP)things of no benefit.”
20 Can a person make gods for himself?
But they are (GQ)not gods!
21 “Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—
This time I will (GR)make them know
My [p]power and My might;
And they will (GS)know that My name is the Lord.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 13:11 Lit a name
- Jeremiah 13:22 I.e., a euphemism for private parts
- Jeremiah 14:3 Lit little ones
- Jeremiah 14:4 Lit shattered
- Jeremiah 14:13 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
- Jeremiah 14:14 Lit heart
- Jeremiah 14:19 Lit Your soul
- Jeremiah 14:22 Lit futilities
- Jeremiah 15:1 Lit soul
- Jeremiah 15:1 Lit toward
- Jeremiah 15:7 Lit turn back from
- Jeremiah 15:9 Or She has breathed out her soul
- Jeremiah 15:19 Lit as My mouth
- Jeremiah 15:21 Lit palm
- Jeremiah 16:19 Lit there is nothing profitable in them
- Jeremiah 16:21 Lit hand
Jeremiah 13-16
New International Version
Jeremiah 13-16
New International Version
A Linen Belt
13 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” 2 So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.
3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time:(A) 4 “Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath[a](B) and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.” 5 So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me.(C)
6 Many days later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.” 7 So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride(D) of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen(E) to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts(F) and go after other gods(G) to serve and worship them,(H) will be like this belt—completely useless!(I) 11 For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown(J) and praise and honor.(K) But they have not listened.’(L)
Wineskins
12 “Say to them: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And if they say to you, ‘Don’t we know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ 13 then tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am going to fill with drunkenness(M) all who live in this land, including the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all those living in Jerusalem. 14 I will smash them one against the other, parents and children alike, declares the Lord. I will allow no pity(N) or mercy or compassion(O) to keep me from destroying(P) them.’”
Threat of Captivity
15 Hear and pay attention,
do not be arrogant,
for the Lord has spoken.(Q)
16 Give glory(R) to the Lord your God
before he brings the darkness,
before your feet stumble(S)
on the darkening hills.
You hope for light,
but he will turn it to utter darkness
and change it to deep gloom.(T)
17 If you do not listen,(U)
I will weep in secret
because of your pride;
my eyes will weep bitterly,
overflowing with tears,(V)
because the Lord’s flock(W) will be taken captive.(X)
18 Say to the king(Y) and to the queen mother,(Z)
“Come down from your thrones,
for your glorious crowns(AA)
will fall from your heads.”
19 The cities in the Negev will be shut up,
and there will be no one to open them.
All Judah(AB) will be carried into exile,
carried completely away.
20 Look up and see
those who are coming from the north.(AC)
Where is the flock(AD) that was entrusted to you,
the sheep of which you boasted?
21 What will you say when the Lord sets over you
those you cultivated as your special allies?(AE)
Will not pain grip you
like that of a woman in labor?(AF)
22 And if you ask yourself,
“Why has this happened to me?”(AG)—
it is because of your many sins(AH)
that your skirts have been torn off(AI)
and your body mistreated.(AJ)
23 Can an Ethiopian[b] change his skin
or a leopard its spots?
Neither can you do good
who are accustomed to doing evil.(AK)
24 “I will scatter you like chaff(AL)
driven by the desert wind.(AM)
25 This is your lot,
the portion(AN) I have decreed for you,”
declares the Lord,
“because you have forgotten(AO) me
and trusted in false gods.(AP)
26 I will pull up your skirts over your face
that your shame may be seen(AQ)—
27 your adulteries and lustful neighings,
your shameless prostitution!(AR)
I have seen your detestable acts
on the hills and in the fields.(AS)
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
How long will you be unclean?”(AT)
Drought, Famine, Sword
14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:(AU)
2 “Judah mourns,(AV)
her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
3 The nobles send their servants for water;
they go to the cisterns
but find no water.(AW)
They return with their jars unfilled;
dismayed and despairing,
they cover their heads.(AX)
4 The ground is cracked
because there is no rain in the land;(AY)
the farmers are dismayed
and cover their heads.
5 Even the doe in the field
deserts her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.(AZ)
6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights(BA)
and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
for lack of food.”(BB)
7 Although our sins testify(BC) against us,
do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.(BD)
For we have often rebelled;(BE)
we have sinned(BF) against you.
8 You who are the hope(BG) of Israel,
its Savior(BH) in times of distress,(BI)
why are you like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who stays only a night?
9 Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
like a warrior powerless to save?(BJ)
You are among(BK) us, Lord,
and we bear your name;(BL)
do not forsake(BM) us!
10 This is what the Lord says about this people:
“They greatly love to wander;
they do not restrain their feet.(BN)
So the Lord does not accept(BO) them;
he will now remember(BP) their wickedness
and punish them for their sins.”(BQ)
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray(BR) for the well-being of this people. 12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry;(BS) though they offer burnt offerings(BT) and grain offerings,(BU) I will not accept(BV) them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword,(BW) famine(BX) and plague.”(BY)
13 But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets(BZ) keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine.(CA) Indeed, I will give you lasting peace(CB) in this place.’”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies(CC) in my name. I have not sent(CD) them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions,(CE) divinations,(CF) idolatries[c] and the delusions of their own minds. 15 Therefore this is what the Lord says about the prophets who are prophesying in my name: I did not send them, yet they are saying, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ Those same prophets will perish(CG) by sword and famine.(CH) 16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and sword. There will be no one to bury(CI) them, their wives, their sons and their daughters.(CJ) I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.(CK)
17 “Speak this word to them:
“‘Let my eyes overflow with tears(CL)
night and day without ceasing;
for the Virgin(CM) Daughter, my people,
has suffered a grievous wound,
a crushing blow.(CN)
18 If I go into the country,
I see those slain by the sword;
if I go into the city,
I see the ravages of famine.(CO)
Both prophet and priest
have gone to a land they know not.(CP)’”
19 Have you rejected Judah completely?(CQ)
Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
so that we cannot be healed?(CR)
We hoped for peace
but no good has come,
for a time of healing
but there is only terror.(CS)
20 We acknowledge(CT) our wickedness, Lord,
and the guilt of our ancestors;(CU)
we have indeed sinned(CV) against you.
21 For the sake of your name(CW) do not despise us;
do not dishonor your glorious throne.(CX)
Remember your covenant(CY) with us
and do not break it.
22 Do any of the worthless idols(CZ) of the nations bring rain?(DA)
Do the skies themselves send down showers?
No, it is you, Lord our God.
Therefore our hope is in you,
for you are the one who does all this.(DB)
15 Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses(DC) and Samuel(DD) were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people.(DE) Send them away from my presence!(DF) Let them go! 2 And if they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ tell them, ‘This is what the Lord says:
“‘Those destined for death, to death;
those for the sword, to the sword;(DG)
those for starvation, to starvation;(DH)
those for captivity, to captivity.’(DI)
3 “I will send four kinds of destroyers(DJ) against them,” declares the Lord, “the sword(DK) to kill and the dogs(DL) to drag away and the birds(DM) and the wild animals to devour and destroy.(DN) 4 I will make them abhorrent(DO) to all the kingdoms of the earth(DP) because of what Manasseh(DQ) son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.
5 “Who will have pity(DR) on you, Jerusalem?
Who will mourn for you?
Who will stop to ask how you are?
6 You have rejected(DS) me,” declares the Lord.
“You keep on backsliding.
So I will reach out(DT) and destroy you;
I am tired of holding back.(DU)
7 I will winnow(DV) them with a winnowing fork
at the city gates of the land.
I will bring bereavement(DW) and destruction on my people,(DX)
for they have not changed their ways.(DY)
8 I will make their widows(DZ) more numerous
than the sand of the sea.
At midday I will bring a destroyer(EA)
against the mothers of their young men;
suddenly I will bring down on them
anguish and terror.(EB)
9 The mother of seven will grow faint(EC)
and breathe her last.(ED)
Her sun will set while it is still day;
she will be disgraced(EE) and humiliated.
I will put the survivors to the sword(EF)
before their enemies,”(EG)
declares the Lord.
10 Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth,(EH)
a man with whom the whole land strives and contends!(EI)
I have neither lent(EJ) nor borrowed,
yet everyone curses(EK) me.
11 The Lord said,
“Surely I will deliver you(EL) for a good purpose;
surely I will make your enemies plead(EM) with you
in times of disaster and times of distress.
12 “Can a man break iron—
iron from the north(EN)—or bronze?
13 “Your wealth(EO) and your treasures
I will give as plunder,(EP) without charge,(EQ)
because of all your sins
throughout your country.(ER)
14 I will enslave you to your enemies
in[d] a land you do not know,(ES)
for my anger will kindle a fire(ET)
that will burn against you.”
15 Lord, you understand;
remember me and care for me.
Avenge me on my persecutors.(EU)
You are long-suffering(EV)—do not take me away;
think of how I suffer reproach for your sake.(EW)
16 When your words came, I ate(EX) them;
they were my joy and my heart’s delight,(EY)
for I bear your name,(EZ)
Lord God Almighty.
17 I never sat(FA) in the company of revelers,
never made merry with them;
I sat alone because your hand(FB) was on me
and you had filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unending
and my wound grievous and incurable?(FC)
You are to me like a deceptive brook,
like a spring that fails.(FD)
19 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“If you repent, I will restore you
that you may serve(FE) me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
you will be my spokesman.(FF)
Let this people turn to you,
but you must not turn to them.
20 I will make you a wall(FG) to this people,
a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you
but will not overcome(FH) you,
for I am with you
to rescue and save you,”(FI)
declares the Lord.
21 “I will save(FJ) you from the hands of the wicked(FK)
and deliver(FL) you from the grasp of the cruel.”(FM)
Day of Disaster
16 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “You must not marry(FN) and have sons or daughters in this place.” 3 For this is what the Lord says about the sons and daughters born in this land and about the women who are their mothers and the men who are their fathers:(FO) 4 “They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried(FP) but will be like dung lying on the ground.(FQ) They will perish by sword and famine,(FR) and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.”(FS)
5 For this is what the Lord says: “Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal; do not go to mourn or show sympathy, because I have withdrawn my blessing, my love and my pity(FT) from this people,” declares the Lord. 6 “Both high and low will die in this land.(FU) They will not be buried or mourned,(FV) and no one will cut(FW) themselves or shave(FX) their head for the dead. 7 No one will offer food(FY) to comfort those who mourn(FZ) for the dead—not even for a father or a mother—nor will anyone give them a drink to console(GA) them.
8 “And do not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink.(GB) 9 For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Before your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds(GC) of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride(GD) and bridegroom in this place.(GE)
10 “When you tell these people all this and they ask you, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the Lord our God?’(GF) 11 then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors forsook me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped(GG) them. They forsook me and did not keep my law.(GH) 12 But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors.(GI) See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts(GJ) instead of obeying me. 13 So I will throw you out of this land(GK) into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known,(GL) and there you will serve other gods(GM) day and night, for I will show you no favor.’(GN)
14 “However, the days are coming,”(GO) declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’(GP) 15 but it will be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north(GQ) and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’(GR) For I will restore(GS) them to the land I gave their ancestors.(GT)
16 “But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them.(GU) After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt(GV) them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.(GW) 17 My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden(GX) from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.(GY) 18 I will repay(GZ) them double(HA) for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land(HB) with the lifeless forms of their vile images(HC) and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.(HD)”(HE)
19 Lord, my strength and my fortress,
my refuge(HF) in time of distress,
to you the nations will come(HG)
from the ends of the earth and say,
“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,(HH)
worthless idols(HI) that did them no good.(HJ)
20 Do people make their own gods?
Yes, but they are not gods!”(HK)
21 “Therefore I will teach them—
this time I will teach them
my power and might.
Then they will know
that my name(HL) is the Lord.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 13:4 Or possibly to the Euphrates; similarly in verses 5-7
- Jeremiah 13:23 Hebrew Cushite (probably a person from the upper Nile region)
- Jeremiah 14:14 Or visions, worthless divinations
- Jeremiah 15:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint and Syriac (see also 17:4); most Hebrew manuscripts I will cause your enemies to bring you / into
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