Jeremiah 1 - 2 — Legacy Standard Bible

Yahweh Sends Jeremiah the Prophet

1The words of ^aJeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in ^bAnathoth in the land of Benjamin, ²to whom the word of ¹Yahweh came in the days of ^aJosiah the son of ^bAmon, king of Judah, in the ^cthirteenth year of his reign. ³And it came in the days of ^aJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of ^bZedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

⁴Now the word of Yahweh came to me saying,

⁵“Before I ^aformed you in the ¹innermost parts I knew you,And ^bbefore you came out from the womb I set you apart;I have ^cgiven you as a prophet to the nations.”⁶Then ^aI said, “Alas, Lord Yahweh!Behold, I do not know how to speakBecause ^bI am a youth.”⁷But Yahweh said to me,“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’^aBecause everywhere I send you, you shall go,And ^ball that I command you, you shall speak.⁸“^aDo not be afraid of them,For ^bI am with you to deliver you,” declares Yahweh.

⁹Then Yahweh sent forth His hand and ^atouched my mouth, and Yahweh said to me, “Behold, I have ^bput My words in your mouth.

¹⁰“See, ^aI have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,^bTo uproot and to tear down,To cause to perish and to pull down,^cTo build and to plant.”

The Almond Rod and Boiling Pot

¹¹Now the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “What do you see, ^aJeremiah?” And I said, “I see a rod of an ¹almond tree.” ¹²Then Yahweh said to me, “You have seen well, for ^aI am ¹watching over My word to do it.”

¹³The word of Yahweh came to me a second time saying, “^aWhat do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling ^bpot, facing away from the north.” ¹⁴Then Yahweh said to me, “^aFrom the north the evil ¹will break open on all the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁵“For, behold, I am calling ^aall the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares Yahweh; “and they will come, and each one of them will ^bput his throne at the opening of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the ^ccities of Judah. ¹⁶“I will speak My judgments on them concerning all their evil, whereby they have ^aforsaken Me and have ^bburned incense to other gods and worshiped the ^cworks of their own hands. ¹⁷“Now, ^agird up your loins and arise and speak to them all which I command you. ^bDo not be dismayed before them, lest I dismay you before them. ¹⁸“Now behold, I have given you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests, and to the people of the land. ¹⁹“And they will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for ^aI am with you to deliver you,” declares Yahweh.

Judah Transgresses Against Yahweh

2Now the word of Yahweh came to me saying, ²“Go and ^acall out in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “I remember concerning you the ^blovingkindness of your youth,The love of your betrothals,^cYour walking after Me in the wilderness,Through a land not sown.

³“Israel was ^aholy to Yahweh,The ^bfirst of His produce.^cAll who ate of it became guilty;Evil came upon them,” declares Yahweh.’”

⁴Hear the word of Yahweh, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. ⁵Thus says Yahweh, “^aWhat injustice did your fathers find in Me,That they went far from MeAnd walked after ^bvanity and became vain?

⁶“They did not say, ‘Where is YahwehWho ^abrought us up out of the land of Egypt,Who ^bled us through the wilderness,Through a land of deserts and of pits,Through a land of drought and of the shadow of death,Through a land that no one crossedAnd where no man inhabited?’⁷“I brought you into the ^afruitful landTo eat its fruit and its good things.But you came and ^bdefiled My land,And My inheritance you made an abomination.⁸“The ^apriests did not say, ‘Where is Yahweh?’And those who handle the law ^bdid not know Me;The ¹shepherds also transgressed against Me,And the ^cprophets prophesied by BaalAnd walked after ^dthings that did not profit.⁹“Therefore I will yet ^acontend with you,” declares Yahweh,“And with your sons’ sons I will contend.¹⁰“For ^across to the coastlands of ¹Kittim and see,And send to ^bKedar and perceive closelyAnd see if there has been such a thing as this!¹¹“Has a nation changed godsThough ^athey were not gods?But My people have ^bchanged their gloryFor that which does not profit.¹²“Be appalled, ^aO heavens, at this,And be horribly afraid, be very devastated,” declares Yahweh.¹³“For My people have done two evils:They have forsaken Me,The ^afountain of living waters,To hew for themselves ^bcisterns,Broken cisternsThat can hold no water.¹⁴“Is Israel ^aa slave? Or is he a homeborn slave?Why has he become plunder?¹⁵“The young ^alions have roared at him;They have given forth their voice.And they have ^bmade his land a desolation;His cities have been turned into ruin, without inhabitant.¹⁶“Also the ¹men of ^aMemphis and TahpanhesHave ²shaved the ^btop of your head.¹⁷“Have you not ^adone this to yourselfBy your forsaking Yahweh your GodWhen He ^bled you in the way?¹⁸“But now what are you doing ^aon the road to Egypt,To drink the waters of the ¹^,^bNile?Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,To drink the waters of the ²River?¹⁹“^aYour own evil will chastise you,And your ^bacts of faithlessness will reprove you;Know therefore and see that it is evil and ^cbitterFor you to forsake Yahweh your God,And ^dthe dread of Me is not in you,” declares Lord Yahweh of hosts.²⁰“For long ago ¹^,^aI broke your yokeAnd tore off your bonds;But you said, ‘I will not serve!’For on every ^bhigh hillAnd under every green treeYou have lain down as a harlot.²¹“Yet I ^aplanted you a choice vine,A completely true seed.How then have you turned yourself before MeInto the ^bdegenerate shoots of a foreign vine?²²“Although you ^awash yourself with lyeAnd ¹use much soap,The ^bstain of your iniquity is before Me,” declares Lord Yahweh.²³“^aHow can you say, ‘I am not defiled;I have not walked after the ^bBaals’?Look at your way in the ^cvalley!Know what you have done!You are a swift young camel ^dentangling her ways,²⁴A ^awild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,That sniffs the wind in her passion.In the time of her ¹heat who can turn her away?All who seek her will not become weary;In her month they will find her.²⁵“Keep your feet from being barefootAnd your throat from thirst;But you said, ‘^aIt is ¹hopeless!No! For I have ^bloved strangers,And after them I will walk.’²⁶“As the ^athief is shamed when he is found,So the house of Israel is shamed;They, their kings, their princes,And their priests and their prophets,²⁷Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’For they have turned their ^aback to MeAnd not their face;But in the ^btime when their evil comes they will say,‘Arise and save us.’²⁸“But where are your ^agodsWhich you made for yourself?Let them arise, if they can ^bsave youIn the time when your evil comes;For ^caccording to the number of your citiesAre your gods, O Judah.²⁹“Why do you contend with Me?You have ^aall transgressed against Me,” declares Yahweh.³⁰“^aIn vain I have struck your sons;They received no discipline.Your ^bsword has devoured your prophetsLike a destroying lion.³¹“O generation, ¹behold the word of Yahweh.Have I been a wilderness to IsraelOr a ^aland of thick darkness?Why do My people say, ‘^bWe are free to roam;We will no longer come to You’?³²“Can a virgin forget her ornaments,Or a bride her attire?Yet My people have ^aforgotten MeDays without number.³³“How well you prepare your wayTo seek love!Therefore even ¹the wicked womenYou have taught your ways.³⁴“Also on your skirts is foundThe ^alifeblood of the innocent needy;You did not find them ^bbreaking in.But in spite of all these things,³⁵Yet you said, ‘I am innocent;Surely His anger is turned away from me.’Behold, I will ^aenter into judgment with youBecause you ^bsay, ‘I have not sinned.’³⁶“Why do you ^adespise Him so muchIn changing your way?Also, ^byou will be put to shame by EgyptAs you were put to shame by ^cAssyria.³⁷“From this place also you will go outWith ^ayour hands on your head;For Yahweh has rejected ^bthose in whom you trust,And you will not succeed with them.”