Add parallel Print Page Options

Destruction on the horizon

14 The Lord’s word to Jeremiah concerning the droughts:

Judah mourns;
    her gates wither away.
The people fall to the ground in sorrow,
    as sobs of Jerusalem ascend.
The rich send their servants for water,
    but the wells run dry.
They return with empty jars,
    ashamed, bewildered, and in despair.
Because the ground is cracked due to lack of rain,
    the farmers too are ashamed;
    they cover their heads.
Even the doe in the field
    abandons her newborn,
    for there’s no grass.
The wild donkeys stand on the well-traveled paths,
    panting like thirsty dogs;
        they go blind
        since there’s nothing to eat.

Even though our sins testify against us,
    help us, Lord, for your name’s sake.
We have turned away from you
    and sinned against you time and again.
You are the hope of Israel,
    its savior in times of trouble.
Why are you like a stranger in the land,
    like a tourist spending only the night?
Why are you like one taken by surprise,
    like a warrior unable to act?
Yet you are in our midst, Lord;
    we are called by your name.
    Don’t give up on us.

10 This is what the Lord proclaims about this people:
Since they have loved to wander off
    and haven’t restrained themselves,
        I[a] won’t accept them.
Now I will recall their wrongdoing
    and punish their sin.

11 The Lord said to me: Don’t pray for the safety of these people. 12 When they fast, I won’t pay attention to their pleas, and when they offer entirely burned offerings and grain offerings, I won’t accept them. Instead, I will devour them with war, famine, and disease.

13 I replied, “Lord God, the prophets are telling them: ‘You won’t see war or famine, for I will give you lasting peace in this place.’”

14 Then the Lord said to me: The prophets are telling lies in my name. I haven’t sent them. I haven’t commanded them. I haven’t spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, worthless predictions, and deceit they have made up on their own. 15 Therefore, this is what the Lord proclaims concerning the prophets who are speaking in my name when I didn’t send them, and who are telling you that war or famine will never come to this land: Those very prophets will die in war and by famine! 16 And the people they are prophesying to will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and war. There will be no one to bury them or their wives and children. I will pour out on them their own wickedness.

17 So deliver this word to them:
My eyes well up with tears;
    I can’t stop weeping—day and night,
    because my virgin daughter, my people,
        has suffered a crushing blow
        and is mortally wounded.
18 If I go into the fields,
    I see only the slain in battle.
If I enter the city,
    I see only those suffering from famine.
Even both prophet and priest
    wander about aimlessly in ignorance.
19 Have you completely rejected Judah?
    Do you hate Zion?
        Why then have you mortally wounded us?
We look for peace,
        but nothing good comes of it;
    for a time of healing,
        only to be terrorized.
20 We acknowledge our sin, Lord,
    the wrongdoing of our ancestors,
        because we have sinned against you.
21 For your name’s sake, don’t reject us,
    don’t scorn your glorious throne.
Remember your covenant with us;
    don’t break it.
22 Can any of the false gods of the nations make it rain?
    Can the sky by itself bring showers?
Aren’t you the Lord, our God?
    You are our hope,
        since only you can do such things.

Lamenting Jerusalem’s dire circumstances

15 The Lord said to me: Even if Moses and Samuel stood before me, I wouldn’t change my mind about these people. Send them away from me. Let them go! And if they say, “Go where?” tell them, This is what the Lord proclaims:

Those marked for death—to death,
those marked for war—to war,
those marked for famine—to famine, and those marked for exile—to exile.

I will appoint over them four agents[b] of death, declares the Lord: soldiers to kill, dogs to drag off, and vultures and wild animals to devour and destroy. Because of what Judah’s King Manasseh, Hezekiah’s son, has done in Jerusalem, I will make them an object of horror to all nations on earth.

Who will pity you, Jerusalem?
    Who will shed tears over you?
    Who will stop and ask how you’re doing?
You have deserted me,
        declares the Lord.
    You have turned your back on me.
    So I will turn my hand against you
        and destroy you.
I’m tired of holding back.
    I will winnow them with a winnowing fork
        at the gates of their country.
I will bereave and destroy my people
    because they haven’t changed their ways.
Their widows will outnumber
    the sand on the shore.
I will bring a destroyer in broad daylight
    against the mothers of young men.[c]
Suddenly I will bring distress
    and terror upon them.
The mother of seven
    will grow weak and gasp for air;
        her sun will set while it is yet day;
        she will be ashamed and disgraced.
    I will deliver the survivors to the sword,
    to the power of their enemies,
        declares the Lord.

10 I wish I had never been born! I have become a source of conflict and dissension in my own country. Even though I haven’t lent or borrowed, still everyone curses me.

11 The Lord said:
Haven’t I taken care of you?
    Haven’t I helped you with your enemies
        in time of trouble and distress?[d]
12 Can a person shatter iron,
    iron from the north, or bronze?
13 Your wealth and belongings
    I will deliver as plunder,
        without a fee,
        because of all your sins
        throughout your territory.
14 I will make you serve your enemies
    in a land you don’t know,
        for my anger blazes like a fire
        that won’t go out.

15 You understand, Lord!
    Remember me and act on my behalf.
Bring judgment on those who torment me.
    In your mercy, spare my life.[e]
    Consider how I’m insulted on your account.
16 When your words turned up, I feasted on them;
    and they became my joy, the delight of my heart,
        because I belong to you,
        Lord God of heavenly forces.
17 I didn’t join the festive occasions;
    I took no delight in them.
    I sat alone
        because your hand was upon me
        and you had filled me with curses.
18 Why am I always in pain?
    Why is my wound incurable,
        so far beyond healing?
You have become for me as unreliable
    as a spring gone dry!

19 Therefore, the Lord proclaims:
If you return to me, I will take you back
    and let you stand before me.
If you utter what is worthwhile,
        not what is worthless,
    you will be my spokesman.
They will turn to you,
    not you to them!
20 I will make you a sturdy bronze wall
    against these people.
They will attack you,
        but they won’t triumph,
    because I am with you
        to protect and rescue you,
            declares the Lord.
21 I will rescue you from the hand of the wicked;
    I will redeem you from the grasp of the violent.

Loss of hope

16 The Lord’s word came to me: Don’t marry or have children in this place. This is what the Lord proclaims concerning children who are born in this place and their mothers and fathers who give birth to them in this place:

They will die of horrible diseases.
        No one will mourn for them or bury them.
They will be like refuse lying on the ground.
    They will die from the sword and by famine,
        and their corpses will be food for birds and wild animals.
This is what the Lord says:
Don’t enter a house where there is mourning;
    don’t grieve or lament for them,
    for I have taken away my blessing, kindness, and mercy from this people,
        declares the Lord.
From the least to the greatest,
    all will die in this land,
        and there will be no funerals or time of mourning.
    No one will gash themselves in grief
        or shave their heads in sorrow.
    No one will bring food[f] for the mourner
        as comfort for the dead.
    No one will offer a cup of consolation
        for the loss of father or mother.

Don’t enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink. This is what the Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, proclaims:

Before your very eyes and in your own lifetime, I will silence in this place the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bridegroom and the bride.

10 When you proclaim all these things to the people, and they ask you, “Why has the Lord pronounced such massive devastation against us? What have we done wrong? How have we sinned against the Lord our God?” 11 then you should tell them: It’s because your ancestors have deserted me and followed other gods, declares the Lord. They have served and worshipped them, while abandoning me and refusing to keep my Instruction. 12 And you, you have acted worse than your ancestors, each of you following your own willful, evil hearts and paying no attention to me. 13 So I will banish you from this land to a place that neither you nor your ancestors have known, and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no mercy.

14 But the time is coming, declares the Lord, when no one will say, “As the Lord lives who brought up the Israelites from the land of Egypt”; 15 instead, they will say, “As the Lord lives who brought up the Israelites from the land of the north and from all the lands where he has banished them.” I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors.

16 I’m going to send hordes of fishermen to catch them, declares the Lord. Afterward I will send a party of hunters to hunt them down on every mountain, hill, and cave. 17 I am watching their every move; not one is hidden from me. Nor is their sin concealed from my sight. 18 I will initially pay them back double for their evil and sin, because they have corrupted my land with their disgusting, lifeless idols and have filled my inheritance with their detestable practices.

19 Lord, you are my strength and my stronghold;
    you are my refuge in time of trouble.
The nations will flock to you
    from the ends of the earth,
    and they will say:
        “Our ancestors have inherited utter lies,
        things that are hollow and useless.”
20 Can humans make their own gods?
    If so, they are not gods at all!
21 Therefore, I will teach them;
    this time I will teach them
        my power and my might.
    They will understand that I am the Lord.

17 Judah’s sin is engraved
    with an iron pen.
It’s etched with a diamond point
    on the tablets of their hearts
        and on the horns of their altars.
Their children remember their altars and sacred poles[g]
    by the lush trees and high hills.

Because you have committed such sins throughout your country,
    I will give to your enemies
        my mountain in the land,
        as well as your wealth and all that you treasure.[h]
You will lose the inheritance that I gave you.
    I will make you slaves of your enemies
        in a land you don’t know,
            for my anger blazes like a fire
            that won’t go out.

The Lord proclaims:
Cursed are those who trust in mere humans,
    who depend on human strength
    and turn their hearts from the Lord.
They will be like a desert shrub
    that doesn’t know when relief comes.
They will live in the parched places of the wilderness,
    in a barren land where no one survives.
Happy are those who trust in the Lord,
    who rely on the Lord.
They will be like trees planted by the streams,
    whose roots reach down to the water.
They won’t fear drought when it comes;
    their leaves will remain green.
They won’t be stressed in the time of drought
    or fail to bear fruit.

The most cunning heart—
    it’s beyond help.
        Who can figure it out?
10 I, the Lord, probe the heart
    and discern hidden motives,
        to give everyone what they deserve,
        the consequences of their deeds.

11 Like a partridge gathering a brood that is not its own,
    so are those who acquire their wealth corruptly.
        By midlife it will be gone;
        afterward they will look like fools.

12 Splendid and exalted throne,
    the place of our sanctuary
        from the beginning!
13 Lord, the hope of Israel,
        all who forsake you will suffer disgrace;
    those who turn away from you[i] in the land
        will be written off,[j]
    for they have abandoned the Lord,
        the fountain of living water.

14 Heal me, Lord, and I’ll be healed.
    Save me and I’ll be saved,
        for you are my heart’s desire.
15 See how they harass me:
    “Where’s the Lord’s word?
        Let it come now!”
16 Yet I didn’t urge you to bring disaster;[k]
    I didn’t want the calamity to happen.
You know what comes out of my mouth;
    it’s always before you.
17 Don’t terrorize me;
    you are my refuge in time of disaster.
18 Let my tormentors be disgraced, but not me;
    let them be terrorized, but not me.
Bring on them the time of disaster,
    as they deserve; destroy them repeatedly.

19 The Lord proclaimed to me: Go and stand by the People’s Gate where Judah’s kings go in and out, and then by all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say to them: Listen to the Lord’s word, you kings of Judah, all you people of Judah, and anyone living in Jerusalem who passes through these gates. 21 The Lord says: Be on guard not to carry a load on the Sabbath day or conduct business at the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Don’t carry a load from your houses or do any kind of work on the Sabbath day. Rather, keep the Sabbath day holy as I commanded your ancestors, 23 although they didn’t listen or pay attention. They were stubborn and wouldn’t obey or accept correction. 24 If you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and don’t conduct business at the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, if you keep the Sabbath day holy by not working, 25 then through the gates of this city will come kings who occupy the throne of David and their officers, all riding on chariots and horses. They will be accompanied by the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. And this city will always be inhabited. 26 Others will come from the towns of Judah and Benjamin, from all around Jerusalem, and from the western foothills, the highlands, and the arid southern plain—they will come bringing entirely burned offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, incense, and thanksgiving offerings to the Lord’s temple. 27 But if you don’t obey me by keeping the Sabbath day holy, if you carry your loads and conduct your business at the gates of Jerusalem as usual, then I will set fire to those gates that will completely engulf the fortresses of Jerusalem; it will not be put out.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 14:10 Or the Lord
  2. Jeremiah 15:3 Or families
  3. Jeremiah 15:8 Heb uncertain
  4. Jeremiah 15:11 Heb uncertain
  5. Jeremiah 15:15 Heb uncertain
  6. Jeremiah 16:7 LXX; Heb break for them
  7. Jeremiah 17:2 Heb asherim; perhaps objects devoted to the worship of Asherah
  8. Jeremiah 17:3 Heb uncertain
  9. Jeremiah 17:13 Or me
  10. Jeremiah 17:13 Heb uncertain
  11. Jeremiah 17:16 LXX; Heb uncertain

Drought, Famine, Sword

14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:(A)

“Judah mourns,(B)
    her cities languish;
they wail for the land,
    and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
The nobles send their servants for water;
    they go to the cisterns
    but find no water.(C)
They return with their jars unfilled;
    dismayed and despairing,
    they cover their heads.(D)
The ground is cracked
    because there is no rain in the land;(E)
the farmers are dismayed
    and cover their heads.
Even the doe in the field
    deserts her newborn fawn
    because there is no grass.(F)
Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights(G)
    and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
    for lack of food.”(H)

Although our sins testify(I) against us,
    do something, Lord, for the sake of your name.(J)
For we have often rebelled;(K)
    we have sinned(L) against you.
You who are the hope(M) of Israel,
    its Savior(N) in times of distress,(O)
why are you like a stranger in the land,
    like a traveler who stays only a night?
Why are you like a man taken by surprise,
    like a warrior powerless to save?(P)
You are among(Q) us, Lord,
    and we bear your name;(R)
    do not forsake(S) us!

10 This is what the Lord says about this people:

“They greatly love to wander;
    they do not restrain their feet.(T)
So the Lord does not accept(U) them;
    he will now remember(V) their wickedness
    and punish them for their sins.”(W)

11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray(X) for the well-being of this people. 12 Although they fast, I will not listen to their cry;(Y) though they offer burnt offerings(Z) and grain offerings,(AA) I will not accept(AB) them. Instead, I will destroy them with the sword,(AC) famine(AD) and plague.”(AE)

13 But I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! The prophets(AF) keep telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine.(AG) Indeed, I will give you lasting peace(AH) in this place.’”

14 Then the Lord said to me, “The prophets are prophesying lies(AI) in my name. I have not sent(AJ) them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions,(AK) divinations,(AL) idolatries[a] 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(AM) by sword and famine.(AN) 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(AO) them, their wives, their sons and their daughters.(AP) I will pour out on them the calamity they deserve.(AQ)

17 “Speak this word to them:

“‘Let my eyes overflow with tears(AR)
    night and day without ceasing;
for the Virgin(AS) Daughter, my people,
    has suffered a grievous wound,
    a crushing blow.(AT)
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.(AU)
Both prophet and priest
    have gone to a land they know not.(AV)’”

19 Have you rejected Judah completely?(AW)
    Do you despise Zion?
Why have you afflicted us
    so that we cannot be healed?(AX)
We hoped for peace
    but no good has come,
for a time of healing
    but there is only terror.(AY)
20 We acknowledge(AZ) our wickedness, Lord,
    and the guilt of our ancestors;(BA)
    we have indeed sinned(BB) against you.
21 For the sake of your name(BC) do not despise us;
    do not dishonor your glorious throne.(BD)
Remember your covenant(BE) with us
    and do not break it.
22 Do any of the worthless idols(BF) of the nations bring rain?(BG)
    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.(BH)

15 Then the Lord said to me: “Even if Moses(BI) and Samuel(BJ) were to stand before me, my heart would not go out to this people.(BK) Send them away from my presence!(BL) Let them go! 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;(BM)
those for starvation, to starvation;(BN)
those for captivity, to captivity.’(BO)

“I will send four kinds of destroyers(BP) against them,” declares the Lord, “the sword(BQ) to kill and the dogs(BR) to drag away and the birds(BS) and the wild animals to devour and destroy.(BT) I will make them abhorrent(BU) to all the kingdoms of the earth(BV) because of what Manasseh(BW) son of Hezekiah king of Judah did in Jerusalem.

“Who will have pity(BX) on you, Jerusalem?
    Who will mourn for you?
    Who will stop to ask how you are?
You have rejected(BY) me,” declares the Lord.
    “You keep on backsliding.
So I will reach out(BZ) and destroy you;
    I am tired of holding back.(CA)
I will winnow(CB) them with a winnowing fork
    at the city gates of the land.
I will bring bereavement(CC) and destruction on my people,(CD)
    for they have not changed their ways.(CE)
I will make their widows(CF) more numerous
    than the sand of the sea.
At midday I will bring a destroyer(CG)
    against the mothers of their young men;
suddenly I will bring down on them
    anguish and terror.(CH)
The mother of seven will grow faint(CI)
    and breathe her last.(CJ)
Her sun will set while it is still day;
    she will be disgraced(CK) and humiliated.
I will put the survivors to the sword(CL)
    before their enemies,”(CM)
declares the Lord.

10 Alas, my mother, that you gave me birth,(CN)
    a man with whom the whole land strives and contends!(CO)
I have neither lent(CP) nor borrowed,
    yet everyone curses(CQ) me.

11 The Lord said,

“Surely I will deliver you(CR) for a good purpose;
    surely I will make your enemies plead(CS) with you
    in times of disaster and times of distress.

12 “Can a man break iron—
    iron from the north(CT)—or bronze?

13 “Your wealth(CU) and your treasures
    I will give as plunder,(CV) without charge,(CW)
because of all your sins
    throughout your country.(CX)
14 I will enslave you to your enemies
    in[b] a land you do not know,(CY)
for my anger will kindle a fire(CZ)
    that will burn against you.”

15 Lord, you understand;
    remember me and care for me.
    Avenge me on my persecutors.(DA)
You are long-suffering(DB)—do not take me away;
    think of how I suffer reproach for your sake.(DC)
16 When your words came, I ate(DD) them;
    they were my joy and my heart’s delight,(DE)
for I bear your name,(DF)
    Lord God Almighty.
17 I never sat(DG) in the company of revelers,
    never made merry with them;
I sat alone because your hand(DH) was on me
    and you had filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain unending
    and my wound grievous and incurable?(DI)
You are to me like a deceptive brook,
    like a spring that fails.(DJ)

19 Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“If you repent, I will restore you
    that you may serve(DK) me;
if you utter worthy, not worthless, words,
    you will be my spokesman.(DL)
Let this people turn to you,
    but you must not turn to them.
20 I will make you a wall(DM) to this people,
    a fortified wall of bronze;
they will fight against you
    but will not overcome(DN) you,
for I am with you
    to rescue and save you,”(DO)
declares the Lord.
21 “I will save(DP) you from the hands of the wicked(DQ)
    and deliver(DR) you from the grasp of the cruel.”(DS)

Day of Disaster

16 Then the word of the Lord came to me: “You must not marry(DT) and have sons or daughters in this place.” 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:(DU) “They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried(DV) but will be like dung lying on the ground.(DW) They will perish by sword and famine,(DX) and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.”(DY)

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(DZ) from this people,” declares the Lord. “Both high and low will die in this land.(EA) They will not be buried or mourned,(EB) and no one will cut(EC) themselves or shave(ED) their head for the dead. No one will offer food(EE) to comfort those who mourn(EF) for the dead—not even for a father or a mother—nor will anyone give them a drink to console(EG) them.

“And do not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink.(EH) 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(EI) of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride(EJ) and bridegroom in this place.(EK)

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?’(EL) 11 then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors forsook me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped(EM) them. They forsook me and did not keep my law.(EN) 12 But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors.(EO) See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts(EP) instead of obeying me. 13 So I will throw you out of this land(EQ) into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known,(ER) and there you will serve other gods(ES) day and night, for I will show you no favor.’(ET)

14 “However, the days are coming,”(EU) declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’(EV) 15 but it will be said, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north(EW) and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’(EX) For I will restore(EY) them to the land I gave their ancestors.(EZ)

16 “But now I will send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will catch them.(FA) After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt(FB) them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks.(FC) 17 My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden(FD) from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.(FE) 18 I will repay(FF) them double(FG) for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land(FH) with the lifeless forms of their vile images(FI) and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols.(FJ)(FK)

19 Lord, my strength and my fortress,
    my refuge(FL) in time of distress,
to you the nations will come(FM)
    from the ends of the earth and say,
“Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods,(FN)
    worthless idols(FO) that did them no good.(FP)
20 Do people make their own gods?
    Yes, but they are not gods!”(FQ)

21 “Therefore I will teach them—
    this time I will teach them
    my power and might.
Then they will know
    that my name(FR) is the Lord.

17 “Judah’s sin is engraved with an iron tool,(FS)
    inscribed with a flint point,
on the tablets of their hearts(FT)
    and on the horns(FU) of their altars.
Even their children remember
    their altars and Asherah poles[c](FV)
beside the spreading trees
    and on the high hills.(FW)
My mountain in the land
    and your[d] wealth and all your treasures
I will give away as plunder,(FX)
    together with your high places,(FY)
    because of sin throughout your country.(FZ)
Through your own fault you will lose
    the inheritance(GA) I gave you.
I will enslave you to your enemies(GB)
    in a land(GC) you do not know,
for you have kindled my anger,
    and it will burn(GD) forever.”

This is what the Lord says:

“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,(GE)
    who draws strength from mere flesh
    and whose heart turns away from the Lord.(GF)
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands;
    they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places(GG) of the desert,
    in a salt(GH) land where no one lives.

“But blessed(GI) is the one who trusts(GJ) in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.(GK)
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought(GL)
    and never fails to bear fruit.”(GM)

The heart(GN) is deceitful above all things
    and beyond cure.
    Who can understand it?

10 “I the Lord search the heart(GO)
    and examine the mind,(GP)
to reward(GQ) each person according to their conduct,
    according to what their deeds deserve.”(GR)

11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay
    are those who gain riches by unjust means.
When their lives are half gone, their riches will desert them,
    and in the end they will prove to be fools.(GS)

12 A glorious throne,(GT) exalted from the beginning,
    is the place of our sanctuary.
13 Lord, you are the hope(GU) of Israel;
    all who forsake(GV) you will be put to shame.
Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust(GW)
    because they have forsaken the Lord,
    the spring of living water.(GX)

14 Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed;(GY)
    save(GZ) me and I will be saved,
    for you are the one I praise.(HA)
15 They keep saying to me,
    “Where is the word of the Lord?
    Let it now be fulfilled!”(HB)
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd;
    you know I have not desired the day of despair.
    What passes my lips(HC) is open before you.
17 Do not be a terror(HD) to me;
    you are my refuge(HE) in the day of disaster.(HF)
18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,
    but keep me from shame;
let them be terrified,
    but keep me from terror.
Bring on them the day of disaster;
    destroy them with double destruction.(HG)

Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy

19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and stand at the Gate of the People,[e] through which the kings of Judah go in and out; stand also at all the other gates of Jerusalem.(HH) 20 Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah and all people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem(HI) who come through these gates.(HJ) 21 This is what the Lord says: Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath(HK) day or bring it through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors.(HL) 23 Yet they did not listen or pay attention;(HM) they were stiff-necked(HN) and would not listen or respond to discipline.(HO) 24 But if you are careful to obey me, declares the Lord, and bring no load through the gates of this city on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy(HP) by not doing any work on it, 25 then kings who sit on David’s throne(HQ) will come through the gates of this city with their officials. They and their officials will come riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by the men of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever.(HR) 26 People will come from the towns of Judah and the villages around Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin and the western foothills, from the hill country and the Negev,(HS) bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not obey(HT) me to keep the Sabbath(HU) day holy by not carrying any load as you come through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle an unquenchable fire(HV) in the gates of Jerusalem that will consume her fortresses.’”(HW)

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 14:14 Or visions, worthless divinations
  2. 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
  3. Jeremiah 17:2 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
  4. Jeremiah 17:3 Or hills / and the mountains of the land. / Your
  5. Jeremiah 17:19 Or Army