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Jeremiah 14-17
Easy-to-Read Version
Jeremiah 14-17
Easy-to-Read Version
Drought and False Prophets
14 This is the Lord’s message to Jeremiah about the drought[a]:
2 “The nation of Judah cries for people who have died.
The people in the cities of Judah grow weaker and weaker.
They lie on the ground.
People in Jerusalem, cry to God for help.
3 The leaders of the people send their servants to get water.
The servants go to the water storage places,
but they don’t find any water.
The servants come back with empty jars,
so they are ashamed and embarrassed.
They cover their heads from shame.
4 No one prepares the ground for crops.[b]
No rain falls on the land.
The farmers are depressed.
So they cover their heads from shame.
5 Even the mother deer in the field leaves her newborn baby alone,
because there is no grass.
6 Wild donkeys stand on the bare hills.
They sniff the wind like jackals.
But their eyes cannot find any food,
because there are no plants to eat.
7 “We know that this is our fault.
We are now suffering because of our sins.
Lord, do something to help us for the good of your name.
We admit that we have left you many times.
We have sinned against you.
8 God, you are the hope of Israel!
You save Israel in times of trouble.
But now it seems like you are a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who only stays one night.
9 You seem like a man who has been attacked by surprise,
like a soldier who does not have the power to save anyone.
But, Lord, you are with us.
We are called by your name, so don’t leave us without help!”
10 This is what the Lord says about the people of Judah: “The people of Judah really love to leave me. They don’t stop themselves from leaving me. So now the Lord will not accept them. Now he will remember the evil they do. He will punish them for their sins.”
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, don’t pray for good things to happen to the people of Judah. 12 They might begin to fast and pray to me, but I will not listen to their prayers. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings to me, I will not accept them. I will destroy the people of Judah with war. I will take away their food, and they will starve. And I will destroy them with terrible diseases.”
13 But I said, “Lord God, the prophets were telling the people something different. They were telling the people of Judah, ‘You will not suffer from war or from hunger. The Lord will give you peace in this land.’”
14 Then the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, those prophets are telling lies in my name. I did not send them or command them or speak to them. Their prophecies came from false visions, worthless magic, and their own wishful thinking. 15 So this is what I, the Lord, say about the prophets who are speaking in my name. I did not send them. They said, ‘No enemy will ever attack this country. There will never be hunger in this land.’ So those prophets will die from hunger or by an enemy’s sword. 16 And the people they spoke to will be thrown into the streets. The people will die from hunger and war. I will punish them, and no one will be there to bury them, their wives, their sons, or their daughters.
17 “Jeremiah, speak this message to the people of Judah:
‘My eyes fill with tears
night and day without stopping.
I cry for my virgin daughter,[c] and for my dear people,
because someone hit them and crushed them.
They have been hurt very badly.
18 If I go into the country,
I see the bodies of those killed in war.
If I go into the city,
I see people sick from hunger.
The priests and prophets continue their work,
but they don’t understand what is happening.’”
19 Lord, have you completely rejected the nation of Judah?
Do you hate Zion?
You hurt us so badly that we cannot be made well again.
Why did you do that?
We were hoping for peace,
but nothing good has come.
We were hoping for a time of healing,
but only terror came.
20 Lord, we know that we are wicked.
We know that our ancestors did evil things.
Yes, we sinned against you.
21 For the good of your name, don’t push us away.
Don’t take away the honor from your glorious throne.
Remember your agreement with us
and do not break it.
22 Foreign idols don’t have the power to bring rain.
The sky does not have the power to send down showers of rain.
You, the Lord our God, are our only hope.
You are the one who made all these things.
15 The Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, even if Moses and Samuel were here to pray for the people of Judah, I would not feel sorry for them. Send the people of Judah away from me! Tell them to go! 2 They might ask you, ‘Where will we go?’ Tell them this is what the Lord says:
“‘I have chosen some people to die.
They will die.
I have chosen some to be killed with swords.
They will be killed with swords.
I have chosen some to die from hunger.
They will die from hunger.
I have chosen some to be taken away to a foreign country.
They will be prisoners there.
3 I will send four kinds of destroyers against them.’
This message is from the Lord.
‘I will send the enemy with a sword to kill.
I will send the dogs to drag their bodies away.
I will send birds of the air and wild animals
to eat and destroy their bodies.
4 I will make the people of Judah
an example of something terrible for all the people on earth.
I will do this to the people of Judah
because of what Manasseh[d] did in Jerusalem.
Manasseh was the son of King Hezekiah.
Manasseh was a king of Judah.’
5 “No one will feel sorry for you, city of Jerusalem.
No one will be sad and cry for you.
No one will go out of their way to even ask how you are.
6 Jerusalem, you left me.”
This message is from the Lord.
“Again and again you left me!
So I will punish and destroy you.
I am tired of holding back your punishment.
7 I will separate the people of Judah with my pitchfork.[e]
I will scatter them at the city gates of the land.
My people have not changed,
so I will destroy them.
I will take away their children.
8 Many women will lose their husbands.
There will be more widows than there is sand in the sea.
I will bring a destroyer at noontime.
The destroyer will attack the mothers of the young men of Judah.
I will bring pain and fear on the people of Judah.
I will make this happen very quickly.
9 The enemy will attack with swords and kill the people.
They will kill the survivors from Judah.
A woman with seven children will lose them.
She will cry until she becomes weak and struggles to breathe.
She will be upset and confused,
because her bright day has become dark.”
This message is from the Lord.
Jeremiah Complains to God Again
10 Mother, I am sorry
that you gave birth to me.
I am the one who must accuse
and criticize the whole land.
I have not loaned or borrowed anything,
but everyone curses me.
11 Surely, Lord, I have served you well.
In times of disaster and trouble,
I prayed to you about my enemies.
God Answers Jeremiah
12 “Jeremiah, you know that no one
can shatter a piece of iron.
I mean the kind of iron that is from the north.[f]
And no one can shatter a piece of bronze either.
13 The people of Judah have many treasures.
I will give these riches to other people.
They will not have to buy them,
because Judah has many sins.
The people sinned in every part of Judah.
14 People of Judah, I will make you slaves of your enemies.
You will be slaves in a land that you never knew.
I am very angry.
My anger is like a hot fire,
and you will be burned.”
15 Lord, you understand me.
Remember me and take care of me.
People are hurting me.
Give them the punishment they deserve.
You are being patient with them.
But don’t destroy me while you remain patient with them.
Think about me.
Think about the pain I suffer for you.
16 Your words came to me, and I ate them up.
They made me very happy.
I was glad to be called by your name,
Lord God All-Powerful.
17 I never sat with the crowd
as they laughed and had fun.
I sat by myself because of your influence on me.
You filled me with anger at the evil around me.
18 I don’t understand why I still hurt.
I don’t understand why my wound is not cured and cannot be healed.
I think you have changed.
You are like a spring of water that became dry.
You are like a spring whose water has stopped flowing.
19 Then the Lord said, “Jeremiah, if you change and come back to me,
I will not punish you.
If you change and come back to me,
then you may serve me.
If you speak important things, not worthless words,
then you may speak for me.
The people of Judah should change and come back to you.
But don’t you change and be like them.
20 I will make you strong.
The people will think you are strong,
like a wall made of bronze.
The people of Judah will fight against you,
but they will not defeat you.
They will not defeat you,
because I am with you.
I will help you, and I will save you.”
This message is from the Lord.
21 “I will save you from these evil people.
They frighten you, but I will save you from them.”
The Day of Disaster
16 The Lord’s message came to me: 2 “Jeremiah, you must not get married. You must not have sons or daughters in this place.”
3 This is what the Lord says about the sons and daughters who are born in the land of Judah and about their mothers and fathers: 4 “They will die from terrible disease. And no one will cry for them or bury them. Their bodies will lie on the ground like dung. Or they will die in war or starve to death. Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth.”
5 So the Lord says, “Jeremiah, don’t go into a house where people are eating a funeral meal. Don’t go there to cry for the dead or to show your sorrow. Don’t do these things, because I have taken back my blessing. I will not be kind to the people of Judah. I will not feel sorry for them.” This message is from the Lord.
6 “Important people and common people will die in the land of Judah. No one will bury them or cry for them. No one will cut himself or shave his head to show sorrow for them. 7 No one will bring food to those who are crying for the dead. No one will comfort those whose mother or father has died. No one will offer a drink to comfort those who are crying for the dead.
8 “Jeremiah, don’t go into a house where the people are having a party. Don’t go into that house and sit down to eat and drink. 9 This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel says: I will soon stop the sounds of people having fun. I will stop the happy sounds of people enjoying a wedding party. This will happen during your lifetime. I will do these things very soon.
10 “Jeremiah, you will tell the people of Judah these things, and the people will ask you, ‘Why has the Lord said these terrible things to us? What have we done wrong? What sin have we done against the Lord our God?’ 11 You must tell them: ‘Terrible things will happen to you because your ancestors stopped following me.’ This message is from the Lord. ‘They stopped following me and began to follow and serve other gods. They worshiped those other gods. Your ancestors left me and stopped obeying my law. 12 But you people have sinned more than your ancestors. You are very stubborn, and you are doing only what you want to do. You are not obeying me. Because you do only what you want to do, 13 I will throw you out of this country. I will force you to go to a foreign land. You will go to a land that you and your ancestors never knew. There you can serve false gods all you want to. I will not help you or show you any favors.’
14 “People make promises and say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives—the Lord who brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt ….’ But the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when people will not say that. 15 They will say something new. They will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives—the Lord who brought the Israelites out of the northern land, who brought them out of all the countries where he had sent them ….’ Why will they say that? Because I will bring the Israelites back to the land that I gave to their ancestors.
16 “I will soon send for many fishermen to come to this land.” This message is from the Lord. “They will catch the people of Judah. After that happens, I will send for many hunters[g] to come to this land. They will hunt the people of Judah on every mountain and hill and in the cracks of the rocks. 17 I see everything they do. The people of Judah cannot hide the things they do. Their sin is not hidden from me. 18 I will pay the people of Judah back for the evil things they did—I will punish them two times for every sin. I will do this because they have made my land ‘dirty.’ They made my land ‘dirty’ with their terrible idols. I hate those idols, but they have filled my country with their idols.”
19 Lord, you are my strength and my protection.
You are a safe place to run to in time of trouble.
The nations will come to you from all around the world.
They will say, “Our fathers had false gods.
They worshiped those worthless idols,
but the idols did not help them.
20 Can people make real gods for themselves?
No, they can only make statues that are not really gods.”
21 “So I will teach those who make idols.
Right now I will teach them about my power and my strength.
Then they will know that I am God.
They will know that I am the Lord.
Guilt Written on the Heart
17 “The sins of Judah are written where they cannot be erased—
cut into stone with an iron pen,
cut deep with a hard tip into the stone that is the hearts of the people.
Their sins are carved into the horns of their altars.[h]
2 Their children remember the altars
that were dedicated to false gods.
They remember the wooden poles
that were dedicated to Asherah.
They remember those things
under the green trees and on the hills.
3 They remember those things
on the mountains in the open country.
The people of Judah have many treasures.
I will give those things to other people.
People will destroy all the high places in your country.
You worshiped there, and that was a sin.
4 You will lose the land I gave you.
I will let your enemies take you to be their slaves.
That is because I am very angry.
My anger is like a hot fire, and you will be burned forever.”
Trusting in People and Trusting in God
5 This is what the Lord says:
“Bad things will happen to those who put their trust in people.
Bad things will happen to those who depend on human strength.
That is because they have stopped trusting the Lord.
6 They are like a bush in a desert where no one lives.
It is in a hot and dry land.
It is in bad soil.
That bush does not know about the good things that God can give.
7 “But those who trust in the Lord will be blessed.
They know that the Lord will do what he says.
8 They will be strong like trees planted near a stream
that send out roots to the water.
They have nothing to fear when the days get hot.
Their leaves are always green.
They never worry, even in a year that has no rain.
They always produce fruit.
9 “Nothing can hide its evil as well as the human mind.
It can be very sick,
and no one really understands it.
10 But I am the Lord,
and I can look into a person’s heart.
I can test a person’s mind and decide what each one should have.
I can give each person the right payment for what they do.
11 Sometimes a bird will hatch an egg that it did not lay.
Those who cheat to get money are like that bird.
But when their lives are half finished, they will lose the money.
At the end of their lives, it will be clear that they were fools.”
12 From the very beginning, our Temple
has been a glorious throne for God.
It is a very important place.
13 Lord, you are the hope of Israel.
You are like a spring of living water.
Those who stop following the Lord
will have a very short life.[i]
Jeremiah’s Third Complaint
14 Lord, if you heal me, I surely will be healed.
Save me, and I surely will be saved.
Lord, I praise you!
15 The people of Judah continue to ask me questions.
They say, “Jeremiah, what about the message from the Lord?
Let’s see that message come true.”
16 Lord, I did not run away from you.
I followed you.
I became the shepherd[j] you wanted.
I did not want the terrible day to come.
You know what I said.
You see all that is happening.
17 Please don’t make me afraid of you.
I depend on you in times of trouble.
18 People are hurting me.
Make them ashamed,
but don’t disappoint me.
Let them be filled with fear,
but don’t give me any reason to fear.
Bring the terrible day of disaster to my enemies.
Break them, and break them again.
Keeping the Sabbath Day Holy
19 This is what the Lord said to me: “Jeremiah, go and stand at the People’s Gate,[k] where the kings of Judah go in and out. Tell the people my message, and then go to all the other gates of Jerusalem and do the same.”
20 Say to the people, “Listen to this message from the Lord. Listen, kings of Judah. Listen, all you people of Judah. All you who come through these gates into Jerusalem, listen to me! 21 This is what the Lord says: ‘Be careful that you don’t carry a load on the Sabbath day. And don’t bring a load through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. 22 Don’t bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day. Don’t do any work on that day. You must make the Sabbath day a holy day. I gave this same command to your ancestors, 23 but they did not obey me. They did not pay attention to me. Your ancestors were very stubborn. I punished them, but it did not do any good. They did not listen to me. 24 But you must be careful to obey me, says the Lord. You must not bring a load through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath. You must make the Sabbath day a holy day. You will do this by not doing any work on that day.
25 “‘If you obey this command, the kings and leaders will be from David’s family. It will be the kings who sit on David’s throne and the leaders from Judah and Jerusalem who come through the gates of Jerusalem riding on chariots and on horses. And Jerusalem will have people living in it forever. 26 People will come to Jerusalem from the towns and villages of Judah, from the land where the tribe of Benjamin lives,[l] from the western foothills, from the hill country, and from the Negev. All these people will bring burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings, incense, and thank offerings to the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.
27 “‘But if you don’t listen to me and obey me, bad things will happen. If you carry loads into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, you are not keeping it as a holy day. So I will start a fire that cannot be put out. That fire will start at the gates of Jerusalem, and it will burn until it burns even the palaces.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 14:1 drought A time when no rain falls and the crops become dry and die.
- Jeremiah 14:4 No one … crops This follows the ancient Greek version. The Hebrew text here is hard to understand.
- Jeremiah 14:17 virgin daughter Another name for Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 15:4 Manasseh Manasseh was the most evil king of Judah according to 2 Kings 21:1-16. He worshiped many gods.
- Jeremiah 15:7 pitchfork A tool with sharp points for throwing hay from one place to another.
- Jeremiah 15:12 north The Babylonian army came from this direction to attack Judah. Armies from countries north and east of Israel often came this way to attack Judah and Israel.
- Jeremiah 16:16 fishermen … hunters This means the enemy soldiers from Babylon.
- Jeremiah 17:1 horns of their altars The corners of altars were shaped like horns, and the blood of sacrifices was smeared on them. So Jeremiah may mean that the people’s sins have made their altars unfit for sacrifices.
- Jeremiah 17:13 will have a very short life Literally, “he will be written in the dirt.” This might mean that a person’s name was written on a list of people who would soon die, or that a person’s life will soon be gone—like a name written in the sand.
- Jeremiah 17:16 shepherd God’s people are sometimes called his “sheep,” and the person who takes care of them is called the “shepherd.”
- Jeremiah 17:19 People’s Gate This might be one of the gates into Jerusalem or perhaps one of the southern gates into the Temple area used by those who were not priests.
- Jeremiah 17:26 the land where … Benjamin lives The land of Benjamin was just north of the land of Judah.
Jeremiah 14-17
New International Version
Jeremiah 14-17
New International Version
Drought, Famine, Sword
14 This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:(A)
2 “Judah mourns,(B)
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.(C)
They return with their jars unfilled;
dismayed and despairing,
they cover their heads.(D)
4 The ground is cracked
because there is no rain in the land;(E)
the farmers are dismayed
and cover their heads.
5 Even the doe in the field
deserts her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.(F)
6 Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights(G)
and pant like jackals;
their eyes fail
for lack of food.”(H)
7 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.
8 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?
9 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! 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;(BM)
those for starvation, to starvation;(BN)
those for captivity, to captivity.’(BO)
3 “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) 4 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.
5 “Who will have pity(BX) on you, Jerusalem?
Who will mourn for you?
Who will stop to ask how you are?
6 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)
7 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)
8 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)
9 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: 2 “You must not marry(DT) 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:(DU) 4 “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)
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(DZ) from this people,” declares the Lord. 6 “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. 7 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.
8 “And do not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink.(EH) 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(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.
2 Even their children remember
their altars and Asherah poles[c](FV)
beside the spreading trees
and on the high hills.(FW)
3 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)
4 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.”
5 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)
6 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.
7 “But blessed(GI) is the one who trusts(GJ) in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
8 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)
9 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
- 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
- Jeremiah 17:2 That is, wooden symbols of the goddess Asherah
- Jeremiah 17:3 Or hills / 3 and the mountains of the land. / Your
- Jeremiah 17:19 Or Army
Jeremiah 14-17
King James Version
Jeremiah 14-17
King James Version
14 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth.
2 Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
3 And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.
4 Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.
5 Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass.
6 And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.
7 O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name's sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.
8 O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that turneth aside to tarry for a night?
9 Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou, O Lord, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.
10 Thus saith the Lord unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the Lord doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.
11 Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not for this people for their good.
12 When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
13 Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place.
14 Then the Lord said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.
15 Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed.
16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will pour their wickedness upon them.
17 Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.
18 If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.
19 Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!
20 We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.
21 Do not abhor us, for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.
22 Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Lord our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.
15 Then said the Lord unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people: cast them out of my sight, and let them go forth.
2 And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith the Lord; Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for the captivity, to the captivity.
3 And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the Lord: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy.
4 And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem.
5 For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside to ask how thou doest?
6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.
7 And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people since they return not from their ways.
8 Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.
9 She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the Lord.
10 Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; yet every one of them doth curse me.
11 The Lord said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat thee well in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.
12 Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel?
13 Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, even in all thy borders.
14 And I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger, which shall burn upon you.
15 O Lord, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke.
16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.
17 I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou hast filled me with indignation.
18 Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, which refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be altogether unto me as a liar, and as waters that fail?
19 Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.
20 And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
21 And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.
16 The word of the Lord came also unto me, saying,
2 Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place.
3 For thus saith the Lord concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land;
4 They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.
5 For thus saith the Lord, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the Lord, even lovingkindness and mercies.
6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them:
7 Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.
8 Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink.
9 For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.
10 And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?
11 Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the Lord, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;
12 And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me:
13 Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.
14 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that it shall no more be said, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
15 But, The Lord liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.
16 Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
17 For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.
18 And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things.
19 O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.
20 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?
21 Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The Lord.
17 The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;
2 Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.
3 O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance and all thy treasures to the spoil, and thy high places for sin, throughout all thy borders.
4 And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, which shall burn for ever.
5 Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.
6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
7 Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.
8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
11 As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not; so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.
12 A glorious high throne from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters.
14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
15 Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now.
16 As for me, I have not hastened from being a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was right before thee.
17 Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil.
18 Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction.
19 Thus said the Lord unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;
20 And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:
21 Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;
22 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.
23 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.
24 And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;
25 Then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain for ever.
26 And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the Lord.
27 But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
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