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“If a man divorces a woman
    and she goes and marries someone else,
he will not take her back again,
    for that would surely corrupt the land.
But you have prostituted yourself with many lovers,
    so why are you trying to come back to me?”
    says the Lord.
“Look at the shrines on every hilltop.
    Is there any place you have not been defiled
    by your adultery with other gods?
You sit like a prostitute beside the road waiting for a customer.
    You sit alone like a nomad in the desert.
You have polluted the land with your prostitution
    and your wickedness.
That’s why even the spring rains have failed.
    For you are a brazen prostitute and completely shameless.
Yet you say to me,
    ‘Father, you have been my guide since my youth.
Surely you won’t be angry forever!
    Surely you can forget about it!’
So you talk,
    but you keep on doing all the evil you can.”

Judah Follows Israel’s Example

During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what fickle Israel has done? Like a wife who commits adultery, Israel has worshiped other gods on every hill and under every green tree. I thought, ‘After she has done all this, she will return to me.’ But she did not return, and her faithless sister Judah saw this. She saw[a] that I divorced faithless Israel because of her adultery. But that treacherous sister Judah had no fear, and now she, too, has left me and given herself to prostitution. Israel treated it all so lightly—she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been polluted. 10 But despite all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Hope for Wayward Israel

11 Then the Lord said to me, “Even faithless Israel is less guilty than treacherous Judah! 12 Therefore, go and give this message to Israel.[b] This is what the Lord says:

“O Israel, my faithless people,
    come home to me again,
for I am merciful.
    I will not be angry with you forever.
13 Only acknowledge your guilt.
    Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God
and committed adultery against him
    by worshiping idols under every green tree.
Confess that you refused to listen to my voice.
    I, the Lord, have spoken!

14 “Return home, you wayward children,”
    says the Lord,
    “for I am your master.
I will bring you back to the land of Israel[c]
    one from this town and two from that family—
    from wherever you are scattered.
15 And I will give you shepherds after my own heart,
    who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.

16 “And when your land is once more filled with people,” says the Lord, “you will no longer wish for ‘the good old days’ when you possessed the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant. You will not miss those days or even remember them, and there will be no need to rebuild the Ark. 17 In that day Jerusalem will be known as ‘The Throne of the Lord.’ All nations will come there to honor the Lord. They will no longer stubbornly follow their own evil desires. 18 In those days the people of Judah and Israel will return together from exile in the north. They will return to the land I gave your ancestors as an inheritance forever.

19 “I thought to myself,
    ‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’
I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land—
    the finest possession in the world.
I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’
    and I wanted you never to turn from me.
20 But you have been unfaithful to me, you people of Israel!
    You have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband.
    I, the Lord, have spoken.”

21 Voices are heard high on the windswept mountains,
    the weeping and pleading of Israel’s people.
For they have chosen crooked paths
    and have forgotten the Lord their God.

22 “My wayward children,” says the Lord,
    “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.”

“Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply,
    “for you are the Lord our God.
23 Our worship of idols on the hills
    and our religious orgies on the mountains
    are a delusion.
Only in the Lord our God
    will Israel ever find salvation.
24 From childhood we have watched
    as everything our ancestors worked for—
their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters—
    was squandered on a delusion.
25 Let us now lie down in shame
    and cover ourselves with dishonor,
for we and our ancestors have sinned
    against the Lord our God.
From our childhood to this day
    we have never obeyed him.”

“O Israel,” says the Lord,
    “if you wanted to return to me, you could.
You could throw away your detestable idols
    and stray away no more.
Then when you swear by my name, saying,
    ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’
you could do so
    with truth, justice, and righteousness.
Then you would be a blessing to the nations of the world,
    and all people would come and praise my name.”

Coming Judgment against Judah

This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Plow up the hard ground of your hearts!
    Do not waste your good seed among thorns.
O people of Judah and Jerusalem,
    surrender your pride and power.
Change your hearts before the Lord,[d]
    or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire
    because of all your sins.

“Shout to Judah, and broadcast to Jerusalem!
    Tell them to sound the alarm throughout the land:
‘Run for your lives!
    Flee to the fortified cities!’
Raise a signal flag as a warning for Jerusalem[e]:
    ‘Flee now! Do not delay!’
For I am bringing terrible destruction upon you
    from the north.”

A lion stalks from its den,
    a destroyer of nations.
It has left its lair and is headed your way.
    It’s going to devastate your land!
Your towns will lie in ruins,
    with no one living in them anymore.
So put on clothes of mourning
    and weep with broken hearts,
for the fierce anger of the Lord
    is still upon us.

“In that day,” says the Lord,
    “the king and the officials will tremble in fear.
The priests will be struck with horror,
    and the prophets will be appalled.”

10 Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord,
    the people have been deceived by what you said,
for you promised peace for Jerusalem.
    But the sword is held at their throats!”

11 The time is coming when the Lord will say
    to the people of Jerusalem,
“My dear people, a burning wind is blowing in from the desert,
    and it’s not a gentle breeze useful for winnowing grain.
12 It is a roaring blast sent by me!
    Now I will pronounce your destruction!”

13 Our enemy rushes down on us like storm clouds!
    His chariots are like whirlwinds.
His horses are swifter than eagles.
    How terrible it will be, for we are doomed!
14 O Jerusalem, cleanse your heart
    that you may be saved.
How long will you harbor
    your evil thoughts?
15 Your destruction has been announced
    from Dan and the hill country of Ephraim.

16 “Warn the surrounding nations
    and announce this to Jerusalem:
The enemy is coming from a distant land,
    raising a battle cry against the towns of Judah.
17 They surround Jerusalem like watchmen around a field,
    for my people have rebelled against me,”
    says the Lord.
18 “Your own actions have brought this upon you.
    This punishment is bitter, piercing you to the heart!”

Jeremiah Weeps for His People

19 My heart, my heart—I writhe in pain!
    My heart pounds within me! I cannot be still.
For I have heard the blast of enemy trumpets
    and the roar of their battle cries.
20 Waves of destruction roll over the land,
    until it lies in complete desolation.
Suddenly my tents are destroyed;
    in a moment my shelters are crushed.
21 How long must I see the battle flags
    and hear the trumpets of war?

22 “My people are foolish
    and do not know me,” says the Lord.
“They are stupid children
    who have no understanding.
They are clever enough at doing wrong,
    but they have no idea how to do right!”

Jeremiah’s Vision of Coming Disaster

23 I looked at the earth, and it was empty and formless.
    I looked at the heavens, and there was no light.
24 I looked at the mountains and hills,
    and they trembled and shook.
25 I looked, and all the people were gone.
    All the birds of the sky had flown away.
26 I looked, and the fertile fields had become a wilderness.
    The towns lay in ruins,
    crushed by the Lord’s fierce anger.

27 This is what the Lord says:
“The whole land will be ruined,
    but I will not destroy it completely.
28 The earth will mourn
    and the heavens will be draped in black
because of my decree against my people.
    I have made up my mind and will not change it.”

29 At the noise of charioteers and archers,
    the people flee in terror.
They hide in the bushes
    and run for the mountains.
All the towns have been abandoned—
    not a person remains!
30 What are you doing,
    you who have been plundered?
Why do you dress up in beautiful clothing
    and put on gold jewelry?
Why do you brighten your eyes with mascara?
    Your primping will do you no good!
The allies who were your lovers
    despise you and seek to kill you.

31 I hear a cry, like that of a woman in labor,
    the groans of a woman giving birth to her first child.
It is beautiful Jerusalem[f]
    gasping for breath and crying out,
    “Help! I’m being murdered!”

The Sins of Judah

“Run up and down every street in Jerusalem,” says the Lord.
    “Look high and low; search throughout the city!
If you can find even one just and honest person,
    I will not destroy the city.
But even when they are under oath,
    saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’
    they are still telling lies!”

Lord, you are searching for honesty.
You struck your people,
    but they paid no attention.
You crushed them,
    but they refused to be corrected.
They are determined, with faces set like stone;
    they have refused to repent.

Then I said, “But what can we expect from the poor?
    They are ignorant.
They don’t know the ways of the Lord.
    They don’t understand God’s laws.
So I will go and speak to their leaders.
    Surely they know the ways of the Lord
    and understand God’s laws.”
But the leaders, too, as one man,
    had thrown off God’s yoke
    and broken his chains.
So now a lion from the forest will attack them;
    a wolf from the desert will pounce on them.
A leopard will lurk near their towns,
    tearing apart any who dare to venture out.
For their rebellion is great,
    and their sins are many.

“How can I pardon you?
    For even your children have turned from me.
They have sworn by gods that are not gods at all!
    I fed my people until they were full.
But they thanked me by committing adultery
    and lining up at the brothels.
They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
    each neighing for his neighbor’s wife.
Should I not punish them for this?” says the Lord.
    “Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?

10 “Go down the rows of the vineyards and destroy the grapevines,
    leaving a scattered few alive.
Strip the branches from the vines,
    for these people do not belong to the Lord.
11 The people of Israel and Judah
    are full of treachery against me,”
    says the Lord.
12 “They have lied about the Lord
    and said, ‘He won’t bother us!
No disasters will come upon us.
    There will be no war or famine.
13 God’s prophets are all windbags
    who don’t really speak for him.
    Let their predictions of disaster fall on themselves!’”

14 Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies says:

“Because the people are talking like this,
    my messages will flame out of your mouth
    and burn the people like kindling wood.
15 O Israel, I will bring a distant nation against you,”
    says the Lord.
“It is a mighty nation,
    an ancient nation,
a people whose language you do not know,
    whose speech you cannot understand.
16 Their weapons are deadly;
    their warriors are mighty.
17 They will devour the food of your harvest;
    they will devour your sons and daughters.
They will devour your flocks and herds;
    they will devour your grapes and figs.
And they will destroy your fortified towns,
    which you think are so safe.

18 “Yet even in those days I will not blot you out completely,” says the Lord. 19 “And when your people ask, ‘Why did the Lord our God do all this to us?’ you must reply, ‘You rejected him and gave yourselves to foreign gods in your own land. Now you will serve foreigners in a land that is not your own.’

A Warning for God’s People

20 “Make this announcement to Israel,[g]
    and say this to Judah:
21 Listen, you foolish and senseless people,
    with eyes that do not see
    and ears that do not hear.
22 Have you no respect for me?
    Why don’t you tremble in my presence?
I, the Lord, define the ocean’s sandy shoreline
    as an everlasting boundary that the waters cannot cross.
The waves may toss and roar,
    but they can never pass the boundaries I set.
23 But my people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.
    They have turned away and abandoned me.
24 They do not say from the heart,
    ‘Let us live in awe of the Lord our God,
for he gives us rain each spring and fall,
    assuring us of a harvest when the time is right.’
25 Your wickedness has deprived you of these wonderful blessings.
    Your sin has robbed you of all these good things.

26 “Among my people are wicked men
    who lie in wait for victims like a hunter hiding in a blind.
They continually set traps
    to catch people.
27 Like a cage filled with birds,
    their homes are filled with evil plots.
    And now they are great and rich.
28 They are fat and sleek,
    and there is no limit to their wicked deeds.
They refuse to provide justice to orphans
    and deny the rights of the poor.
29 Should I not punish them for this?” says the Lord.
    “Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?
30 A horrible and shocking thing
    has happened in this land—
31 the prophets give false prophecies,
    and the priests rule with an iron hand.
Worse yet, my people like it that way!
    But what will you do when the end comes?

Footnotes

  1. 3:8 As in Dead Sea Scrolls, one Greek manuscript, and Syriac version; Masoretic Text reads I saw.
  2. 3:12 Hebrew toward the north.
  3. 3:14 Hebrew to Zion.
  4. 4:4 Hebrew Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and take away the foreskins of your heart.
  5. 4:6 Hebrew Zion.
  6. 4:31 Hebrew the daughter of Zion.
  7. 5:20 Hebrew to the house of Jacob. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.

“If a man divorces(A) his wife
    and she leaves him and marries another man,
should he return to her again?
    Would not the land be completely defiled?(B)
But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers(C)
    would you now return to me?”(D)
declares the Lord.
“Look up to the barren heights(E) and see.
    Is there any place where you have not been ravished?
By the roadside(F) you sat waiting for lovers,
    sat like a nomad in the desert.
You have defiled the land(G)
    with your prostitution(H) and wickedness.
Therefore the showers have been withheld,(I)
    and no spring rains(J) have fallen.
Yet you have the brazen(K) look of a prostitute;
    you refuse to blush with shame.(L)
Have you not just called to me:
    ‘My Father,(M) my friend from my youth,(N)
will you always be angry?(O)
    Will your wrath continue forever?’
This is how you talk,
    but you do all the evil you can.”

Unfaithful Israel

During the reign of King Josiah,(P) the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what faithless(Q) Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree(R) and has committed adultery(S) there. I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister(T) Judah saw it.(U) I gave faithless Israel(V) her certificate of divorce(W) and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear;(X) she also went out and committed adultery. Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land(Y) and committed adultery(Z) with stone(AA) and wood.(AB) 10 In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return(AC) to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,(AD)” declares the Lord.(AE)

11 The Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel is more righteous(AF) than unfaithful(AG) Judah.(AH) 12 Go, proclaim this message toward the north:(AI)

“‘Return,(AJ) faithless(AK) Israel,’ declares the Lord,
    ‘I will frown on you no longer,
for I am faithful,’(AL) declares the Lord,
    ‘I will not be angry(AM) forever.
13 Only acknowledge(AN) your guilt—
    you have rebelled against the Lord your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods(AO)
    under every spreading tree,(AP)
    and have not obeyed(AQ) me,’”
declares the Lord.

14 “Return,(AR) faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband.(AS) I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds(AT) after my own heart,(AU) who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. 16 In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land,” declares the Lord, “people will no longer say, ‘The ark(AV) of the covenant of the Lord.’ It will never enter their minds or be remembered;(AW) it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne(AX) of the Lord, and all nations(AY) will gather in Jerusalem to honor(AZ) the name of the Lord. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.(BA) 18 In those days the people of Judah will join the people of Israel,(BB) and together(BC) they will come from a northern(BD) land to the land(BE) I gave your ancestors as an inheritance.

19 “I myself said,

“‘How gladly would I treat you like my children
    and give you a pleasant land,(BF)
    the most beautiful inheritance(BG) of any nation.’
I thought you would call me ‘Father’(BH)
    and not turn away from following me.
20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,
    so you, Israel, have been unfaithful(BI) to me,”
declares the Lord.

21 A cry is heard on the barren heights,(BJ)
    the weeping(BK) and pleading of the people of Israel,
because they have perverted their ways
    and have forgotten(BL) the Lord their God.

22 “Return,(BM) faithless people;
    I will cure(BN) you of backsliding.”(BO)

“Yes, we will come to you,
    for you are the Lord our God.
23 Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills(BP)
    and mountains is a deception;
surely in the Lord our God
    is the salvation(BQ) of Israel.
24 From our youth shameful(BR) gods have consumed
    the fruits of our ancestors’ labor—
their flocks and herds,
    their sons and daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame,(BS)
    and let our disgrace cover us.
We have sinned(BT) against the Lord our God,
    both we and our ancestors;(BU)
from our youth(BV) till this day
    we have not obeyed(BW) the Lord our God.”

“If you, Israel, will return,(BX)
    then return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“If you put your detestable idols(BY) out of my sight
    and no longer go astray,
and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
    you swear,(BZ) ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’(CA)
then the nations will invoke blessings(CB) by him
    and in him they will boast.(CC)

This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:

“Break up your unplowed ground(CD)
    and do not sow among thorns.(CE)
Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
    circumcise your hearts,(CF)
    you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
or my wrath(CG) will flare up and burn like fire(CH)
    because of the evil(CI) you have done—
    burn with no one to quench(CJ) it.

Disaster From the North

“Announce in Judah and proclaim(CK) in Jerusalem and say:
    ‘Sound the trumpet(CL) throughout the land!’
Cry aloud and say:
    ‘Gather together!
    Let us flee to the fortified cities!’(CM)
Raise the signal(CN) to go to Zion!
    Flee for safety without delay!
For I am bringing disaster(CO) from the north,(CP)
    even terrible destruction.”

A lion(CQ) has come out of his lair;(CR)
    a destroyer(CS) of nations has set out.
He has left his place
    to lay waste(CT) your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins(CU)
    without inhabitant.
So put on sackcloth,(CV)
    lament(CW) and wail,
for the fierce anger(CX) of the Lord
    has not turned away from us.

“In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “the king and the officials will lose heart,(CY)
the priests will be horrified,
    and the prophets will be appalled.”(CZ)

10 Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely you have deceived(DA) this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’(DB) when the sword is at our throats!”

11 At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind(DC) from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; 12 a wind(DD) too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments(DE) against them.”

13 Look! He advances like the clouds,(DF)
    his chariots(DG) come like a whirlwind,(DH)
his horses(DI) are swifter than eagles.(DJ)
    Woe to us! We are ruined!(DK)
14 Jerusalem, wash(DL) the evil from your heart and be saved.(DM)
    How long(DN) will you harbor wicked thoughts?
15 A voice is announcing from Dan,(DO)
    proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.(DP)
16 “Tell this to the nations,
    proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,(DQ)
    raising a war cry(DR) against the cities of Judah.(DS)
17 They surround(DT) her like men guarding a field,
    because she has rebelled(DU) against me,’”
declares the Lord.
18 “Your own conduct and actions(DV)
    have brought this on you.(DW)
This is your punishment.
    How bitter(DX) it is!
    How it pierces to the heart!”

19 Oh, my anguish, my anguish!(DY)
    I writhe in pain.(DZ)
Oh, the agony of my heart!
    My heart pounds(EA) within me,
    I cannot keep silent.(EB)
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;(EC)
    I have heard the battle cry.(ED)
20 Disaster follows disaster;(EE)
    the whole land lies in ruins.(EF)
In an instant my tents(EG) are destroyed,
    my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle standard(EH)
    and hear the sound of the trumpet?(EI)

22 “My people are fools;(EJ)
    they do not know me.(EK)
They are senseless children;
    they have no understanding.(EL)
They are skilled in doing evil;(EM)
    they know not how to do good.”(EN)

23 I looked at the earth,
    and it was formless and empty;(EO)
and at the heavens,
    and their light(EP) was gone.
24 I looked at the mountains,
    and they were quaking;(EQ)
    all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and there were no people;
    every bird in the sky had flown away.(ER)
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;(ES)
    all its towns lay in ruins(ET)
    before the Lord, before his fierce anger.(EU)

27 This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,(EV)
    though I will not destroy(EW) it completely.
28 Therefore the earth will mourn(EX)
    and the heavens above grow dark,(EY)
because I have spoken and will not relent,(EZ)
    I have decided and will not turn back.(FA)

29 At the sound of horsemen and archers(FB)
    every town takes to flight.(FC)
Some go into the thickets;
    some climb up among the rocks.(FD)
All the towns are deserted;(FE)
    no one lives in them.

30 What are you doing,(FF) you devastated one?
    Why dress yourself in scarlet
    and put on jewels(FG) of gold?
Why highlight your eyes with makeup?(FH)
    You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers(FI) despise you;
    they want to kill you.(FJ)

31 I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,(FK)
    a groan as of one bearing her first child—
the cry of Daughter Zion(FL) gasping for breath,(FM)
    stretching out her hands(FN) and saying,
“Alas! I am fainting;
    my life is given over to murderers.”(FO)

Not One Is Upright

“Go up and down(FP) the streets of Jerusalem,
    look around and consider,(FQ)
    search through her squares.
If you can find but one person(FR)
    who deals honestly(FS) and seeks the truth,
    I will forgive(FT) this city.
Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’(FU)
    still they are swearing falsely.(FV)

Lord, do not your eyes(FW) look for truth?
    You struck(FX) them, but they felt no pain;
    you crushed them, but they refused correction.(FY)
They made their faces harder than stone(FZ)
    and refused to repent.(GA)
I thought, “These are only the poor;
    they are foolish,(GB)
for they do not know(GC) the way of the Lord,
    the requirements of their God.
So I will go to the leaders(GD)
    and speak to them;
surely they know the way of the Lord,
    the requirements of their God.”
But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke
    and torn off the bonds.(GE)
Therefore a lion from the forest(GF) will attack them,
    a wolf from the desert will ravage(GG) them,
a leopard(GH) will lie in wait near their towns
    to tear to pieces any who venture out,
for their rebellion is great
    and their backslidings many.(GI)

“Why should I forgive you?
    Your children have forsaken me
    and sworn(GJ) by gods that are not gods.(GK)
I supplied all their needs,
    yet they committed adultery(GL)
    and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.(GM)
They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
    each neighing for another man’s wife.(GN)
Should I not punish them for this?”(GO)
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge(GP) myself
    on such a nation as this?

10 “Go through her vineyards and ravage them,
    but do not destroy them completely.(GQ)
Strip off her branches,
    for these people do not belong to the Lord.
11 The people of Israel and the people of Judah
    have been utterly unfaithful(GR) to me,”
declares the Lord.

12 They have lied(GS) about the Lord;
    they said, “He will do nothing!
No harm will come to us;(GT)
    we will never see sword or famine.(GU)
13 The prophets(GV) are but wind(GW)
    and the word is not in them;
    so let what they say be done to them.”

14 Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty says:

“Because the people have spoken these words,
    I will make my words in your mouth(GX) a fire(GY)
    and these people the wood it consumes.(GZ)
15 People of Israel,” declares the Lord,
    “I am bringing a distant nation(HA) against you—
an ancient and enduring nation,
    a people whose language(HB) you do not know,
    whose speech you do not understand.
16 Their quivers(HC) are like an open grave;
    all of them are mighty warriors.
17 They will devour(HD) your harvests and food,
    devour(HE) your sons and daughters;
they will devour(HF) your flocks and herds,
    devour your vines and fig trees.(HG)
With the sword(HH) they will destroy
    the fortified cities(HI) in which you trust.(HJ)

18 “Yet even in those days,” declares the Lord, “I will not destroy(HK) you completely. 19 And when the people ask,(HL) ‘Why has the Lord our God done all this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods(HM) in your own land, so now you will serve foreigners(HN) in a land not your own.’

20 “Announce this to the descendants of Jacob
    and proclaim(HO) it in Judah:
21 Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,(HP)
    who have eyes(HQ) but do not see,
    who have ears but do not hear:(HR)
22 Should you not fear(HS) me?” declares the Lord.
    “Should you not tremble(HT) in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,(HU)
    an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
    they may roar,(HV) but they cannot cross it.
23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious(HW) hearts;
    they have turned aside(HX) and gone away.
24 They do not say to themselves,
    ‘Let us fear(HY) the Lord our God,
who gives autumn and spring rains(HZ) in season,
    who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’(IA)
25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
    your sins have deprived you of good.(IB)

26 “Among my people are the wicked(IC)
    who lie in wait(ID) like men who snare birds
    and like those who set traps(IE) to catch people.
27 Like cages full of birds,
    their houses are full of deceit;(IF)
they have become rich(IG) and powerful
28     and have grown fat(IH) and sleek.
Their evil deeds have no limit;
    they do not seek justice.
They do not promote the case of the fatherless;(II)
    they do not defend the just cause of the poor.(IJ)
29 Should I not punish them for this?”
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge(IK) myself
    on such a nation as this?

30 “A horrible(IL) and shocking thing
    has happened in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy lies,(IM)
    the priests(IN) rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
    But what will you do in the end?(IO)