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Jeremiah 18-22
New American Standard Bible
Jeremiah 18-22
New American Standard Bible
The Potter and the Clay
18 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, 2 “Arise and (A)go down to the potter’s house, and there I will announce My words to you.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something on the wheel. 4 But the vessel that he was making of clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter; so he remade it into another vessel, as it pleased the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 6 “Am I not able, house of Israel, to deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the (B)clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, house of Israel. 7 At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to (C)uproot it, to tear it down, or to destroy it; 8 (D)if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will (E)relent of the disaster that I planned to bring on it. 9 Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to (F)build up or to plant it; 10 if it does (G)evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will (H)relent of the good with which I said [a]that I would bless it. 11 So now, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am (I)forming a disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Now (J)turn back, each of you from his evil way, and [b]correct your ways and your deeds!”’ 12 But (K)they will say, ‘It’s hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will [c]persist in the (L)stubbornness of his evil heart.’
13 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:
‘(M)Just ask among the nations,
Who ever heard anything like [d]this?
The (N)virgin of Israel
Has done a most (O)appalling thing.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave the rock of the open country alone?
Or is the cold flowing water from a foreign land ever dried up?
15 For (P)My people have forgotten Me,
(Q)They burn incense [e]to worthless gods.
And they [f]have stumbled in their ways,
In the (R)ancient roads,
To walk on paths,
Not on a (S)highway,
16 To make their land a (T)desolation,
An object of perpetual (U)hissing;
Everyone who passes by it will be astonished
And (V)shake his head.
17 Like an (W)east wind I will (X)scatter them
Before the enemy;
I will [g]show them (Y)My back and not My face
(Z)In the day of their disaster.’”
18 Then they said, “Come and let’s (AA)devise plans against Jeremiah. Certainly the (AB)Law is not going to be lost by the priest, nor (AC)advice by the wise, nor the divine (AD)word by the prophet! Come, and let’s (AE)strike at him with our tongue, and let’s (AF)pay no attention to any of his words.”
19 Give Your attention to me, Lord,
And listen to [h]what my opponents are saying!
20 (AG)Should good be repaid with evil?
For they have (AH)dug a pit for [i]me.
Remember how I (AI)stood before You
To speak good in their behalf,
So as to turn Your wrath away from them.
21 Therefore, (AJ)give their children over to famine
And turn them over to the [j]power of the sword;
And let their wives become (AK)childless and (AL)widowed.
Let their men also be slaughtered to death,
Their (AM)young men struck and killed by the sword in battle.
22 May a (AN)cry be heard from their houses
When You suddenly bring raiders upon them;
(AO)For they have dug a pit to capture me
And (AP)hidden snares for my feet.
23 But You, Lord, know
All their [k]deadly schemes against me;
(AQ)Do not [l]forgive their wrongdoing
Or wipe out their sin from Your sight.
But may they be [m](AR)overthrown before You;
Deal with them in the (AS)time of Your anger!
The Broken Jar
19 This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a (AT)potter’s earthenware (AU)jar, and take some of the (AV)elders of the people and some of the [n](AW)senior priests. 2 Then go out to the (AX)Valley of Ben-hinnom, which is by the entrance of the [o]Potsherd Gate, and (AY)proclaim there the words that I tell you, 3 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you (AZ)kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: “Behold I am going to bring a (BA)disaster upon this place, at which the (BB)ears of everyone that hears of it will tingle. 4 Since they have (BC)abandoned Me and have (BD)made this place foreign, and have burned [p]sacrifices in it to (BE)other gods that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and since they have filled this place with the (BF)blood of the innocent 5 and have built the (BG)high places of Baal to burn their (BH)sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I did not command nor speak of, nor did it ever enter My [q]mind; 6 therefore, behold, (BI)days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this place will no longer be called (BJ)Topheth or (BK)the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the Valley of Slaughter. 7 And I will (BL)frustrate the planning of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and (BM)I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their life; and I will make their (BN)carcasses food for the birds of the sky and the animals of the earth. 8 I will also turn this city into an object of (BO)horror and [r]hissing; (BP)everyone who passes by it will be appalled and [s]hiss because of all its [t]disasters. 9 And I will make them (BQ)eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh during the siege and in the hardship with which their enemies and those who seek their life will torment them.”’
10 “Then you are to break the (BR)jar in the sight of the men who accompany you, 11 and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “To the same extent I will (BS)break this people and this city, just as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot again be repaired; and they will (BT)bury their dead in Topheth, [u]because there is no other place for burial. 12 This is how I will treat this place and its inhabitants,” declares the Lord, “so as to make this city like Topheth. 13 The (BU)houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be (BV)defiled like the place Topheth, because of all the (BW)houses on whose rooftops they burned [v]sacrifices to (BX)all the heavenly [w]lights and (BY)poured out drink offerings to other gods.”’”
14 Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the (BZ)courtyard of the Lord’s house and said to all the people, 15 “This is what the Lord of armies, the God of Israel says: ‘Behold, I am going to bring on this city and all its towns the entire disaster that I have declared against it, because they have (CA)stiffened their necks so (CB)as not to listen to My words.’”
Pashhur Persecutes Jeremiah
20 When Pashhur the priest, the son of (CC)Immer, who was (CD)chief overseer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, 2 Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet (CE)beaten and put him in the (CF)stocks that were at the upper (CG)Benjamin Gate, which was by the house of the Lord. 3 Then on the next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “Pashhur is not the name the Lord has (CH)called you, but rather [x](CI)Magor-missabib. 4 For this is what the Lord says: ‘Behold, I am going to make you a (CJ)horror to yourself and to all your friends; and while (CK)your eyes look on, they will fall by the sword of their enemies. So I will (CL)hand all Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will take them away as (CM)exiles to Babylon and will kill them with the sword. 5 I will also give all the (CN)wealth of this city, all its produce and all its valuable things—even all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will (CO)hand over to their enemies, and they will plunder them, take them away, and bring them to Babylon. 6 And you, (CP)Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into captivity; and you will enter Babylon, and there you will die and there you will be buried, you and all your (CQ)friends to whom you have (CR)falsely prophesied.’”
Jeremiah’s Complaint
7 Lord, You persuaded me and I let myself be persuaded;
You have (CS)overcome me and prevailed.
I have become a (CT)laughingstock all day long;
Everyone (CU)mocks me.
8 For each time I speak, I cry aloud;
I (CV)proclaim violence and destruction,
Because for me the (CW)word of the Lord has [y]resulted
In taunting and derision all day long.
9 But if I say, “I will not (CX)remember Him
Nor speak anymore in His name,”
Then in (CY)my heart it becomes like a burning fire
Shut up in my bones;
And I am tired of holding it in,
And (CZ)I cannot endure it.
10 For (DA)I have heard the whispering of many,
“(DB)Terror on every side!
(DC)Denounce him; let’s denounce him!”
[z]All my (DD)trusted friends,
Watching for my fall, say:
“Perhaps he will be persuaded, so that we may (DE)prevail against him
And take our revenge on him.”
11 But the (DF)Lord is with me like a powerful champion;
Therefore my (DG)persecutors will stumble and not prevail.
They will be put to great shame because they have [aa]failed,
An (DH)everlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.
12 Yet, Lord of armies, who (DI)tests the righteous,
Who sees the [ab]mind and the heart;
Let me (DJ)see Your vengeance on them,
For (DK)to You I have disclosed my cause.
13 (DL)Sing to the Lord, praise the Lord!
For He has (DM)saved the soul of the needy one
From the hand of evildoers.
14 Cursed be the (DN)day when I was born;
May the day when my mother gave birth to me not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought the news
To my father, saying,
“A [ac](DO)boy has been born to you!”
And made him very happy.
16 But may that man be like the cities
Which the Lord (DP)overthrew without [ad]relenting,
And may he hear an (DQ)outcry in the morning
And [ae]an alarm for war at noon;
17 Because he did not (DR)kill me [af]before birth,
So that my mother would have been my grave,
And her womb forever pregnant.
18 Why did I ever come out of the womb
To (DS)look at trouble and sorrow,
So that my (DT)days have been spent in (DU)shame?
Jeremiah’s Message for Zedekiah
21 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord when (DV)King Zedekiah sent to him (DW)Pashhur the son of Malchijah and (DX)Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, 2 “Please (DY)inquire of the Lord in our behalf, because (DZ)Nebuchadnezzar king of (EA)Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the Lord will deal with us (EB)in accordance with all His [ag]wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us.”
3 But Jeremiah said to them, “You shall say to Zedekiah as follows: 4 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I am going to (EC)turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you are making war against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will (ED)gather them into the middle of this city. 5 And I (EE)Myself will make war against you with an (EF)outstretched hand and a mighty arm, and in (EG)anger, wrath, and great indignation. 6 I will also strike the inhabitants of this city, both the people and the animals; they will die of a great (EH)plague. 7 Then afterward,” declares the Lord, “(EI)I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, that is, those who survive in this city from the plague, the sword, and the famine, over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to their enemies, and to those who seek their lives; and he will strike and kill them with the edge of the sword. He (EJ)will not spare them nor have pity nor compassion.”’
8 “You shall also say to this people, ‘This is what the Lord says: “Behold, I am (EK)setting before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 Anyone who (EL)stays in this city will die by the (EM)sword, by famine, or by plague; but anyone who leaves and goes over to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as plunder. 10 For I have (EN)set My face against this city for harm and not for good,” declares the Lord. “It will be (EO)handed over to the king of Babylon and he will (EP)burn it with fire.”’
11 “Then say to the household of the (EQ)king of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, 12 (ER)house of David, this is what the Lord says:
“(ES)Administer justice [ah]every (ET)morning;
And save the person who has been robbed from the [ai]power of his oppressor,
(EU)So that My wrath will not spread like fire
And (EV)burn, with no one to extinguish it,
Because of the evil of their deeds.
13 “Behold, (EW)I am against you, you inhabitant of the (EX)valley,
You [aj]rocky plain,” declares the Lord,
“You who say, ‘(EY)Who will come down against us?
Or who will enter our dwellings?’
14 But I will punish you (EZ)according to the [ak]results of your deeds,” declares the Lord,
“And I will (FA)kindle a fire in its forest
So that it may devour all its surroundings.”’”
Warning of Jerusalem’s Fall
22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and there speak this word, 2 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who (FB)sits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates. 3 This is what the Lord says: “(FC)Do justice and righteousness, and save one who has been robbed from the power of his (FD)oppressor. And (FE)do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not (FF)shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you will indeed perform this [al]instruction, then (FG)kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting [am]in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, the king himself, his servants, and his people. 5 (FH)But if you will not obey these words, I (FI)swear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a place of ruins.”’” 6 For this is what the Lord says concerning the house of the king of Judah:
“You are like (FJ)Gilead to Me,
Like the summit of Lebanon;
Yet most assuredly I will make you a (FK)wilderness,
Cities that are not inhabited.
7 For I will set apart (FL)destroyers against you,
Each with his weapons;
And they will (FM)cut down your choicest cedars
And (FN)throw them on the fire.
8 “Many nations will pass by this city; and they will (FO)say to one another, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this great city?’ 9 Then they will [an]answer, ‘Because they (FP)abandoned the covenant of the Lord their God and bowed down to other gods and served them.’”
10 (FQ)Do not weep for the dead or mourn for him,
But weep deeply for the one who goes away;
For (FR)he will never return
Or see his native land.
11 For this is what the Lord says regarding [ao](FS)Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of his father Josiah, who went out from this place: “He will never return there; 12 but in the place where they took him into exile, there he will (FT)die and he will not see this land again.
Messages about the Kings
13 “Woe to him who builds his house (FU)without righteousness,
And his upstairs rooms without justice,
Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay
And (FV)does not give him his wages,
14 Who says, ‘I will (FW)build myself a large house
With spacious upstairs rooms,
And cut out its windows,
[ap]Paneling it with (FX)cedar and painting it [aq]bright red.’
15 Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar?
Did your father not eat and drink
And (FY)do justice and righteousness?
Then it was (FZ)well for him.
16 He pled the cause of the (GA)afflicted and the poor,
Then it was well.
(GB)Is that not what it means to know Me?”
Declares the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
Are intent only upon your own (GC)dishonest gain,
And on (GD)shedding innocent blood,
And on practicing oppression and extortion.”
18 Therefore this is what the Lord says regarding (GE)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
“They will not (GF)mourn for him:
‘(GG)Oh, my brother!’ or, ‘Oh, sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
‘Oh, for the master!’ or, ‘Oh, for his splendor!’
19 He will be (GH)buried with a donkey’s burial,
Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
And raise your voice in Bashan;
Cry out also from (GI)Abarim,
For all your (GJ)lovers have been crushed.
21 I spoke to you in your prosperity;
But (GK)you said, ‘I will not listen!’
(GL)This has been your way (GM)from your youth,
That you have not obeyed My voice.
22 The wind will sweep away all your (GN)shepherds,
And your (GO)lovers will go into captivity;
Then you will certainly be (GP)ashamed and humiliated
Because of all your wickedness.
23 You who live in Lebanon,
Nested in the cedars,
How you will groan when sharp pains come on you,
(GQ)Pain like a woman in childbirth!
24 “As I live,” declares the Lord, “even if [ar](GR)Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a (GS)signet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull [as]you [at]off; 25 and I will (GT)hand you over to those who are seeking your life, yes, to those of whom you are frightened, that is, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Chaldeans. 26 I will (GU)hurl you and your (GV)mother who gave birth to you into another country where you were not born, and there you will die. 27 But as for the land to which they long to return, they will not return to it.
28 Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar?
Or is he an (GW)undesirable vessel?
Why have he and his descendants been (GX)hurled out
And cast into a (GY)land that they had not known?
29 (GZ)O land, land, land,
Hear the word of the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says:
‘Write this man down as (HA)childless,
A man who will (HB)not prosper in his days;
For no man among his (HC)descendants will prosper
Sitting on the throne of David
Or ruling again in Judah.’”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 18:10 Lit to do it good
- Jeremiah 18:11 Lit make good
- Jeremiah 18:12 Lit do the
- Jeremiah 18:13 Lit these
- Jeremiah 18:15 Lit to worthlessness
- Jeremiah 18:15 As in ancient versions; MT caused them to
- Jeremiah 18:17 As in ancient versions; MT look them in the back and not in the face
- Jeremiah 18:19 Lit the voice of my opponents
- Jeremiah 18:20 Lit my soul
- Jeremiah 18:21 Lit hands of
- Jeremiah 18:23 Lit unto death
- Jeremiah 18:23 Lit cover over, atone for
- Jeremiah 18:23 Lit ones made to stumble
- Jeremiah 19:1 Or elders of the
- Jeremiah 19:2 I.e., pottery fragment
- Jeremiah 19:4 Or incense
- Jeremiah 19:5 Lit heart
- Jeremiah 19:8 Or whistling
- Jeremiah 19:8 Or whistle
- Jeremiah 19:8 Lit wounds
- Jeremiah 19:11 Or until there is no place left to bury
- Jeremiah 19:13 Or incense
- Jeremiah 19:13 Lit host; i.e., sun, stars, etc.
- Jeremiah 20:3 I.e., horror on every side
- Jeremiah 20:8 Lit become
- Jeremiah 20:10 Lit Every man of my peace
- Jeremiah 20:11 Lit not succeeded; or not acted wisely
- Jeremiah 20:12 Lit kidneys
- Jeremiah 20:15 Lit male child
- Jeremiah 20:16 Lit being sorry
- Jeremiah 20:16 Or a trumpet blast
- Jeremiah 20:17 Lit from the womb
- Jeremiah 21:2 Or miracles
- Jeremiah 21:12 Or in the
- Jeremiah 21:12 Lit hand
- Jeremiah 21:13 Lit rock of the level place
- Jeremiah 21:14 Lit fruit
- Jeremiah 22:4 Lit word
- Jeremiah 22:4 Lit for David
- Jeremiah 22:9 Lit say
- Jeremiah 22:11 I.e., Jehoahaz
- Jeremiah 22:14 Or Paneled
- Jeremiah 22:14 Or vermilion
- Jeremiah 22:24 I.e., Jehoiachin
- Jeremiah 22:24 I.e., Jehoiachin
- Jeremiah 22:24 Lit off from there
Jeremiah 18-22
New International Version
Jeremiah 18-22
New International Version
At the Potter’s House
18 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” 3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. 4 But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
5 Then the word of the Lord came to me. 6 He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay(A) in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand,(B) Israel. 7 If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted,(C) torn down and destroyed, 8 and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent(D) and not inflict on it the disaster(E) I had planned. 9 And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built(F) up and planted, 10 and if it does evil(G) in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider(H) the good I had intended to do for it.(I)
11 “Now therefore say to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look! I am preparing a disaster(J) for you and devising a plan(K) against you. So turn(L) from your evil ways,(M) each one of you, and reform your ways and your actions.’(N) 12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use.(O) We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.(P)’”
13 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“Inquire among the nations:
Who has ever heard anything like this?(Q)
A most horrible(R) thing has been done
by Virgin(S) Israel.
14 Does the snow of Lebanon
ever vanish from its rocky slopes?
Do its cool waters from distant sources
ever stop flowing?[a]
15 Yet my people have forgotten(T) me;
they burn incense(U) to worthless idols,(V)
which made them stumble(W) in their ways,
in the ancient paths.(X)
They made them walk in byways,
on roads not built up.(Y)
16 Their land will be an object of horror(Z)
and of lasting scorn;(AA)
all who pass by will be appalled(AB)
and will shake their heads.(AC)
17 Like a wind(AD) from the east,
I will scatter them before their enemies;
I will show them my back and not my face(AE)
in the day of their disaster.”
18 They said, “Come, let’s make plans(AF) against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest(AG) will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise,(AH) nor the word from the prophets.(AI) So come, let’s attack him with our tongues(AJ) and pay no attention to anything he says.”
19 Listen to me, Lord;
hear what my accusers(AK) are saying!
20 Should good be repaid with evil?(AL)
Yet they have dug a pit(AM) for me.
Remember that I stood(AN) before you
and spoke in their behalf(AO)
to turn your wrath away from them.
21 So give their children over to famine;(AP)
hand them over to the power of the sword.(AQ)
Let their wives be made childless and widows;(AR)
let their men be put to death,
their young men(AS) slain by the sword in battle.
22 Let a cry(AT) be heard from their houses
when you suddenly bring invaders against them,
for they have dug a pit(AU) to capture me
and have hidden snares(AV) for my feet.
23 But you, Lord, know
all their plots to kill(AW) me.
Do not forgive(AX) their crimes
or blot out their sins from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.(AY)
19 This is what the Lord says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter.(AZ) Take along some of the elders(BA) of the people and of the priests 2 and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom,(BB) near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, 3 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, you kings(BC) of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster(BD) on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle.(BE) 4 For they have forsaken(BF) me and made this a place of foreign gods(BG); they have burned incense(BH) in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.(BI) 5 They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children(BJ) in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.(BK) 6 So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call this place Topheth(BL) or the Valley of Ben Hinnom,(BM) but the Valley of Slaughter.(BN)
7 “‘In this place I will ruin[b] the plans(BO) of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies,(BP) at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses(BQ) as food(BR) to the birds and the wild animals. 8 I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn;(BS) all who pass by will be appalled(BT) and will scoff because of all its wounds.(BU) 9 I will make them eat(BV) the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies(BW) will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them.’
10 “Then break the jar(BX) while those who go with you are watching, 11 and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord Almighty says: I will smash(BY) this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury(BZ) the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 12 This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the Lord. I will make this city like Topheth. 13 The houses(CA) in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled(CB) like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs(CC) to all the starry hosts(CD) and poured out drink offerings(CE) to other gods.’”
14 Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court(CF) of the Lord’s temple and said to all the people, 15 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster(CG) I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked(CH) and would not listen(CI) to my words.’”
Jeremiah and Pashhur
20 When the priest Pashhur son of Immer,(CJ) the official(CK) in charge of the temple of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, 2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten(CL) and put in the stocks(CM) at the Upper Gate of Benjamin(CN) at the Lord’s temple. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord’s name(CO) for you is not Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side.(CP) 4 For this is what the Lord says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes(CQ) you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will give(CR) all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will carry(CS) them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. 5 I will deliver all the wealth(CT) of this city into the hands of their enemies—all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away(CU) as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. 6 And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied(CV) lies.’”
Jeremiah’s Complaint
7 You deceived[c](CW) me, Lord, and I was deceived[d];
you overpowered(CX) me and prevailed.
I am ridiculed(CY) all day long;
everyone mocks(CZ) me.
8 Whenever I speak, I cry out
proclaiming violence and destruction.(DA)
So the word of the Lord has brought me
insult and reproach(DB) all day long.
9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word
or speak anymore in his name,”(DC)
his word is in my heart like a fire,(DD)
a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in;(DE)
indeed, I cannot.
10 I hear many whispering,
“Terror(DF) on every side!
Denounce(DG) him! Let’s denounce him!”
All my friends(DH)
are waiting for me to slip,(DI) saying,
“Perhaps he will be deceived;
then we will prevail(DJ) over him
and take our revenge(DK) on him.”
11 But the Lord(DL) is with me like a mighty warrior;
so my persecutors(DM) will stumble and not prevail.(DN)
They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced;(DO)
their dishonor will never be forgotten.
12 Lord Almighty, you who examine the righteous
and probe the heart and mind,(DP)
let me see your vengeance(DQ) on them,
for to you I have committed(DR) my cause.
13 Sing(DS) to the Lord!
Give praise to the Lord!
He rescues(DT) the life of the needy
from the hands of the wicked.(DU)
14 Cursed be the day I was born!(DV)
May the day my mother bore me not be blessed!
15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news,
who made him very glad, saying,
“A child is born to you—a son!”
16 May that man be like the towns(DW)
the Lord overthrew without pity.
May he hear wailing(DX) in the morning,
a battle cry at noon.
17 For he did not kill me in the womb,(DY)
with my mother as my grave,
her womb enlarged forever.
18 Why did I ever come out of the womb(DZ)
to see trouble(EA) and sorrow
and to end my days in shame?(EB)
God Rejects Zedekiah’s Request
21 The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord when King Zedekiah(EC) sent to him Pashhur(ED) son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah(EE) son of Maaseiah. They said: 2 “Inquire(EF) now of the Lord for us because Nebuchadnezzar[e](EG) king of Babylon(EH) is attacking us. Perhaps the Lord will perform wonders(EI) for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.”
3 But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, 4 ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn(EJ) against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians[f] who are outside the wall besieging(EK) you. And I will gather them inside this city. 5 I myself will fight(EL) against you with an outstretched hand(EM) and a mighty arm(EN) in furious anger and in great wrath. 6 I will strike(EO) down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague.(EP) 7 After that, declares the Lord, I will give Zedekiah(EQ) king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague,(ER) sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon(ES) and to their enemies(ET) who want to kill them.(EU) He will put them to the sword;(EV) he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’(EW)
8 “Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life(EX) and the way of death. 9 Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague.(EY) But whoever goes out and surrenders(EZ) to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives.(FA) 10 I have determined to do this city harm(FB) and not good, declares the Lord. It will be given into the hands(FC) of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’(FD)
11 “Moreover, say to the royal house(FE) of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord. 12 This is what the Lord says to you, house of David:
“‘Administer justice(FF) every morning;
rescue from the hand of the oppressor(FG)
the one who has been robbed,
or my wrath will break out and burn like fire(FH)
because of the evil(FI) you have done—
burn with no one to quench(FJ) it.
13 I am against(FK) you, Jerusalem,
you who live above this valley(FL)
on the rocky plateau, declares the Lord—
you who say, “Who can come against us?
Who can enter our refuge?”(FM)
14 I will punish you as your deeds(FN) deserve,
declares the Lord.
I will kindle a fire(FO) in your forests(FP)
that will consume everything around you.’”
Judgment Against Wicked Kings
22 This is what the Lord says: “Go down to the palace of the king(FQ) of Judah and proclaim this message there: 2 ‘Hear(FR) the word of the Lord to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne(FS)—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates.(FT) 3 This is what the Lord says: Do what is just(FU) and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor(FV) the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow,(FW) and do not shed innocent blood(FX) in this place. 4 For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings(FY) who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. 5 But if you do not obey(FZ) these commands, declares the Lord, I swear(GA) by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”
6 For this is what the Lord says about the palace of the king of Judah:
“Though you are like Gilead(GB) to me,
like the summit of Lebanon,(GC)
I will surely make you like a wasteland,(GD)
like towns not inhabited.
7 I will send destroyers(GE) against you,
each man with his weapons,
and they will cut(GF) up your fine cedar beams
and throw them into the fire.(GG)
8 “People from many nations will pass by this city and will ask one another, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?’(GH) 9 And the answer will be: ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshiped and served other gods.(GI)’”
10 Do not weep for the dead(GJ) king or mourn(GK) his loss;
rather, weep bitterly for him who is exiled,
because he will never return(GL)
nor see his native land again.
11 For this is what the Lord says about Shallum[g](GM) son of Josiah, who succeeded his father as king of Judah but has gone from this place: “He will never return. 12 He will die(GN) in the place where they have led him captive; he will not see this land again.”
13 “Woe(GO) to him who builds(GP) his palace by unrighteousness,
his upper rooms by injustice,
making his own people work for nothing,
not paying(GQ) them for their labor.
14 He says, ‘I will build myself a great palace(GR)
with spacious upper rooms.’
So he makes large windows in it,
panels it with cedar(GS)
and decorates it in red.(GT)
15 “Does it make you a king
to have more and more cedar?
Did not your father have food and drink?
He did what was right and just,(GU)
so all went well(GV) with him.
16 He defended the cause of the poor and needy,(GW)
and so all went well.
Is that not what it means to know(GX) me?”
declares the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
are set only on dishonest gain,(GY)
on shedding innocent blood(GZ)
and on oppression and extortion.”(HA)
18 Therefore this is what the Lord says about Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah:
“They will not mourn(HB) for him:
‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’
They will not mourn for him:
‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’
19 He will have the burial(HC) of a donkey—
dragged away and thrown(HD)
outside the gates of Jerusalem.”
20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry out,(HE)
let your voice be heard in Bashan,(HF)
cry out from Abarim,(HG)
for all your allies(HH) are crushed.
21 I warned you when you felt secure,(HI)
but you said, ‘I will not listen!’
This has been your way from your youth;(HJ)
you have not obeyed(HK) me.
22 The wind(HL) will drive all your shepherds(HM) away,
and your allies(HN) will go into exile.
Then you will be ashamed and disgraced(HO)
because of all your wickedness.
23 You who live in ‘Lebanon,[h](HP)’
who are nestled in cedar buildings,
how you will groan when pangs come upon you,
pain(HQ) like that of a woman in labor!
24 “As surely as I live,” declares the Lord, “even if you, Jehoiachin[i](HR) son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring(HS) on my right hand, I would still pull you off. 25 I will deliver(HT) you into the hands of those who want to kill you, those you fear—Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Babylonians.[j] 26 I will hurl(HU) you and the mother(HV) who gave you birth into another country, where neither of you was born, and there you both will die. 27 You will never come back to the land you long to return(HW) to.”
28 Is this man Jehoiachin(HX) a despised, broken pot,(HY)
an object no one wants?
Why will he and his children be hurled(HZ) out,
cast into a land(IA) they do not know?
29 O land,(IB) land, land,
hear the word of the Lord!
30 This is what the Lord says:
“Record this man as if childless,(IC)
a man who will not prosper(ID) in his lifetime,
for none of his offspring(IE) will prosper,
none will sit on the throne(IF) of David
or rule anymore in Judah.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 18:14 The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.
- Jeremiah 19:7 The Hebrew for ruin sounds like the Hebrew for jar (see verses 1 and 10).
- Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded
- Jeremiah 20:7 Or persuaded
- Jeremiah 21:2 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Jeremiah and Ezekiel
- Jeremiah 21:4 Or Chaldeans; also in verse 9
- Jeremiah 22:11 Also called Jehoahaz
- Jeremiah 22:23 That is, the palace in Jerusalem (see 1 Kings 7:2)
- Jeremiah 22:24 Hebrew Koniah, a variant of Jehoiachin; also in verse 28
- Jeremiah 22:25 Or Chaldeans
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