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No Water—No Food

14 The Word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah when there was no water: “Judah is full of sorrow and her gates are weak. Her people sit on the ground in sorrow, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem. Their men of honor have sent their servants for water. They have come to the wells and found no water, and returned with their jars empty. They have been put to shame and troubled, and covered their heads. The ground is dried up because there has been no rain on the land. The farmers have been put to shame and have covered their heads. Even the deer in the field leaves her young one which has just been born, because there is no grass. The wild donkeys stand on the open hill-tops. They breathe hard for air like wild dogs. Their eyes become weak because there is nothing to eat.

“Even when our sins speak against us, O Lord, do something for the good of Your name. For we have fallen away from You many times. We have sinned against You. You are the Hope of Israel, the One Who saves it in time of trouble. Why are You like a stranger in the land? Why are You like a traveler who has set up his tent for the night? Why are You like a man surprised, like a strong man who cannot save? Yet You are among us, O Lord, and we are called by Your name. Do not leave us!”

10 The Lord says this about these people, “They have loved to go their own way. They have not held their feet back. So the Lord is not pleased with them. Now He will remember their wrong-doing and punish their sins.” 11 The Lord said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of these people. 12 When they go without food, I will not listen to their cry. And when they give burnt gifts and grain gifts, I will not receive them. But I will destroy them by the sword, hunger and disease.”

13 Then I said, “O Lord God, the ones who speak in Your name are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword and you will not go hungry. But I will give you lasting peace in this place.’” 14 Then the Lord said to me, “Those men are speaking lies in My name. I have not sent them, or told them, or spoken to them. They are telling you a false dream of a false future that means nothing. They are speaking the lies of their own hearts. 15 So this is what the Lord says about those men who tell what is going to happen in the future using My name. I did not send them, yet they keep saying, ‘There will be no sword or hunger in this land.’ So by the sword and by hunger those false teachers will be destroyed! 16 And the people they tell these things to will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem because of hunger and the sword. There will be no one to bury them, or their wives, or their sons, or their daughters. For I will pour out their own sin upon them. 17 You will say to them, ‘Let my eyes flow with tears without stopping night and day. For my people have been crushed with a very hard beating. 18 If I go out to the country, I see those killed by the sword! Or if I go into the city, I see diseases because of hunger! For both the man who speaks for God and the religious leader have gone around and around in the land they do not know.’”

The People Cry to the Lord

19 Have You nothing at all to do with Judah any more? Do You hate Zion? Why have You punished us so that we cannot be healed? We waited for peace, but nothing good came. We waited for a time of healing, but there is much trouble. 20 We know that we are sinful, O Lord, and we know the sin of our fathers. For we have sinned against You. 21 For the good of Your name do not hate us. Do not put to shame the throne of Your shining-greatness. Remember and do not break Your agreement with us. 22 Are there any among the false gods of the nations who give rain? Or can the heavens give rain? Is it not You, O Lord our God? So we hope in You. For You are the One Who has done all these things.

Troubles for Judah

15 Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were to stand before Me, My heart would not be with these people. Send them away from Me and let them go! And when they ask you, ‘Where should we go?’ then tell them, ‘The Lord says, “Those who are to die, to death, and those who are to be killed by the sword, to the sword. Those who are to go hungry, to hunger, and those who are to be taken away as prisoners, to be taken away.’ I will set over them four kinds of destroyers,” says the Lord: “The sword to kill, the dogs to take away, and the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the earth to eat and destroy. I will make them an object of much fear and hate among all the nations of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

“Who will have pity on you, O Jerusalem, or who will have sorrow for you? Who will turn aside to ask about your well-being? You have turned away from Me,” says the Lord. “You keep going back into sin. So I will put out My hand against you and destroy you. I am tired of having pity on you! I will throw them to the wind like straw at the gates of the land. I will take their children from them. I will destroy My people. For they did not turn from their ways. Their women whose husbands have died will be as many as the sand of the seas. At noon I will bring a destroyer against the mothers of young men. I will bring suffering and fear to them all at once. She who gave birth to seven sons will become weak and die. Her sun will set while it is still day, and she will be put to shame. I will give the rest of them to the sword in front of those who hate them,” says the Lord.

Jeremiah Complains

10 It is bad for me, my mother, that you have given birth to me! I am a man of trouble and fighting to all the land. No one owes money to me, and I do not owe money to others, yet every one curses me. 11 The Lord said, “For sure I will set you free for a good reason. For sure I will make those who hate you ask of you in times of trouble and suffering.

12 “Can anyone crush iron, iron from the north, or brass? 13 I will give your money and riches to those who fight against you, without a price, because of all your sins in all your land. 14 I will make those who hate you bring your riches into a land you do not know. For My anger has started a fire that will burn you.”

15 O Lord, You understand. Remember me and visit me. And punish those who make it hard for me. Do not take me away, for You are slow to be angry. Know that because of You I suffer and am put to shame. 16 Your words were found and I ate them. And Your words became a joy to me and the happiness of my heart. For I have been called by Your name, O Lord God of All. 17 I did not sit with those who were having fun, and I was not full of joy. I sat alone because Your hand was upon me. For You had filled me with hate for their sin. 18 Why is there no end to my pain? And why will my hurt not be healed? Will You be to me like a river that flows with water some of the time and is dry at other times?

The Lord’s Answer

19 So the Lord says, “If you return, then I will let you take your place again, standing before Me. And if you take out what is of worth from what is of no worth, then you will speak for Me. Let these people turn to you, but you must not turn to them. 20 Then I will make you like a strong wall of brass to these people. Even if they fight against you, they will not get power over you. For I am with you to save you and bring you out of trouble,” says the Lord. 21 “I will take you from the hand of the sinful. And I will free you from the hand of those who would hurt you.”

16 The Word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Do not get married or 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 their mothers who give birth to them, and their fathers who gave them life in this land: “They will die of bad diseases. No one will cry for them or bury them. They will be as animal waste on the ground, destroyed by sword and hunger. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the earth.”

For the Lord says, “Do not go into a house where the people have lost a loved one. Do not go to cry or to comfort them. For I have taken My peace, My loving-kindness and My pity from these people,” says the Lord. “Both great men and small will die in this land. They will not be buried. No one will cry for them. And no one will cut himself or cut off his hair for them. No one will give food to comfort those who sorrow for the dead. And no one will give them the cup of comfort to drink even for the death of their father or mother. Do not go into a house where they are eating much and sit with them to eat and drink.” For the Lord of All, the God of Israel, says, “Before your eyes and in your time, I am going to bring an end to the voice of joy, the voice of happiness, the voice of the man to be married and the voice of the bride in this place.

10 “When you tell these people all these words, they will say to you, ‘Why has the Lord said all these bad things will happen to us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done against the Lord our God?’ 11 Then you tell them, ‘It is because your fathers before you have turned away from Me,’ says the Lord. ‘They have followed other gods and served them and worshiped them. But they have left Me and have not kept My Law. 12 And you have sinned even more than your fathers before you. For see, each one of you is following the strong-will of his own sinful heart instead of listening to Me. 13 So I will throw you out of this land into a land which you and your fathers have not known. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’

God Will Bring Israel Back

14 “So the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives, Who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.’ 15 But it will be said, ‘As the Lord lives, Who brought the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had sent them.’ For I will return them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.

The Punishment That Is Coming

16 “See, I am going to send for many fishermen,” says the Lord, “and they will fish for them. After this I will send for many men who hunt. And they will hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes in the rocks. 17 For I see all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, and their sin is not hidden from My eyes. 18 And I will pay them back twice as much for their wrong-doing and their sin, because they have made My land unclean. They have filled My land with the bodies of their hated false gods and with sinful things offered to them.”

Jeremiah’s Prayer

19 O Lord, my strength and my strong-place, my safe place in the day of trouble, nations will come to You from the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers have received nothing but lies, only things that have no worth and do not help them.” 20 Can man make his own gods? What man makes is not gods!

21 “So I am going to make them know. This time I will make them know My power and My strength. And they will know that My name is the Lord.”

Judah’s Sin and the Punishment

17 The sin of Judah is written down with pen of iron and with a sharp diamond. It is written on their hearts and on the horns of their altars. Even their children remember their altars and their wooden female goddesses of Asherah by green trees and on the high hills. O My mountain in the country, I will give your money and all your riches to those who fight against you. I will give your high places as the price of your sin through all your land. And you yourself will let your land go that I gave you. I will make you serve those who hate you in a land which you do not know. For you have made My an-ger start a fire which will burn forever.

The Lord says, “Cursed is the man who trusts in man, who trusts in the flesh for his strength, and whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when good comes. He will live in dry wastes in the desert, in a land of salt where no other people live. Good will come to the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. He will be like a tree planted by the water, that sends out its roots by the river. It will not be afraid when the heat comes but its leaves will be green. It will not be troubled in a dry year, or stop giving fruit.

“The heart is fooled more than anything else, and is very sinful. Who can know how bad it is? 10 I the Lord look into the heart, and test the mind. I give to each man what he should have because of his ways and because of the fruit that comes from his works. 11 As a bird that sits on eggs which it has not laid, so is he who gets rich by doing wrong. When his life is half over, they will leave him, and in the end he will be a fool.”

12 A beautiful throne on high from the beginning is our holy place. 13 O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who leave You will be put to shame. Those who turn away from You will be written in the earth, because they have left the Lord, the well of living water.

Jeremiah Prays for Help

14 Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed. Save me and I will be saved. For You are my praise. 15 They say to me, “Where is the Word of the Lord? Let it come now!” 16 But as for me, I have not run away from being a shepherd who follows You. And I have not been hoping for the day of trouble. You know what I said was spoken in front of You. 17 Do not make me afraid of You. You are my safe place in the day of trouble. 18 Let those who make it hard for me be put to shame, but do not let me be put to shame. Let them be afraid, but do not let me be afraid. Bring on them a day of trouble, and destroy them with twice as much!

Keeping the Day of Rest Holy

19 The Lord said to me, “Go and stand in the people’s gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, and also in all the gates of Jerusalem. 20 And say to them, ‘Listen to the Word of the Lord, kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all people of Jerusalem who come in through these gates. 21 The Lord says, “Be careful for your lives. Do not carry any load on the Day of Rest or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Do not bring a load out of your houses on the Day of Rest or do any work. But keep the Day of Rest holy, as I told your fathers before you. 23 Yet they did not listen or hear, but made their necks hard and would not change their ways.

24 “Listen to Me,” says the Lord, “and bring no load through the city gates on the Day of Rest. Keep the Day of Rest holy by doing no work on it. 25 Then kings and their sons will come through the city gates who will sit on the throne of David. They will come in war-wagons and on horses, with the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. And people will live in this city forever. 26 People will come in from the cities of Judah and from the places around Jerusalem. They will come from the land of Benjamin, from the valleys, from the hill country, and from the Negev. They will bring burnt gifts, animals to kill on the altar in worship, grain gifts, special perfume, and gifts of thanks to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not listen to Me, to keep the Day of Rest holy by not carrying a load when coming through the gates of Jerusalem on the Day of Rest, then I will start a fire in its gates. And it will burn up the beautiful houses of the kings of Jerusalem and will not be stopped.”’”

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