Jeremiah 1 - 6 - Legacy Standard Bible

Jeremiah 1 - 6

Yahweh Sends Jeremiah the Prophet

The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, 2 to whom the word of Yahweh came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 And it came in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month. 4 Now the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 5

“Before I formed you in the innermost parts I knew you,

And before you came out from the womb I set you apart;

I have given you as a prophet to the nations.”

Then I said, “Alas, Lord Yahweh!

Behold, I do not know how to speak

Because I am a youth.”

But Yahweh said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’

Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,

And all that I command you, you shall speak.

Do not be afraid of them,

For I am with you to deliver you,” declares Yahweh.

9 Then Yahweh sent forth His hand and touched my mouth, and Yahweh said to me,

“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,

To uproot and to tear down,

To cause to perish and to pull down,

To build and to plant.”

The Almond Rod and Boiling Pot

11 Now the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a rod of an almond tree.” 12 Then Yahweh said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to do it.” 13 The word of Yahweh came to me a second time saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” 14 Then Yahweh said to me, “From the north the evil will break open on all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares Yahweh; “and they will come, and each one of them will put his throne at the opening of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah. 16 I will speak My judgments on them concerning all their evil, whereby they have forsaken Me and have burned incense to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. 17 Now, gird up your loins and arise and speak to them all which I command you. Do 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 I am with you to deliver you,” declares Yahweh.

Judah Transgresses Against Yahweh

Now the word of Yahweh came to me saying, 2 “Go and call out in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh,

“I remember concerning you the lovingkindness of your youth,

The love of your betrothals,

Your walking after Me in the wilderness,

Through a land not sown.

Israel was holy to Yahweh,

The first of His produce.

All who ate of it became guilty;

Evil came upon them,” declares Yahweh.’”

4 Hear the word of Yahweh, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says Yahweh,

“What injustice did your fathers find in Me,

That they went far from Me

And walked after vanity and became vain?

They did not say, ‘Where is Yahweh

Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt,

Who led 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 crossed

And where no man inhabited?’

I brought you into the fruitful land

To eat its fruit and its good things.

But you came and defiled My land,

And My inheritance you made an abomination.

The priests did not say, ‘Where is Yahweh?’

And those who handle the law did not know Me;

The shepherds also transgressed against Me,

And the prophets prophesied by Baal

And walked after things that did not profit.

“Therefore I will yet contend with you,” declares Yahweh,

“And with your sons’ sons I will contend.

For cross to the coastlands of Kittim and see,

And send to Kedar and perceive closely

And see if there has been such a thing as this!

Has a nation changed gods

Though they were not gods?

But My people have changed their glory

For that which does not profit.

Be appalled, O heavens, at this,

And be horribly afraid, be very devastated,” declares Yahweh.

“For My people have done two evils:

They have forsaken Me,

The fountain of living waters,

To hew for themselves cisterns,

Broken cisterns

That can hold no water.

“Is Israel a slave? Or is he a homeborn slave?

Why has he become plunder?

The young lions have roared at him;

They have given forth their voice.

And they have made his land a desolation;

His cities have been turned into ruin, without inhabitant.

Also the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes

Have shaved the top of your head.

Have you not done this to yourself

By your forsaking Yahweh your God

When He led you in the way?

But now what are you doing on the road to Egypt,

To drink the waters of the Nile?

Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,

To drink the waters of the River?

Your own evil will chastise you,

And your acts of faithlessness will reprove you;

Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter

For you to forsake Yahweh your God,

And the dread of Me is not in you,” declares Lord Yahweh of hosts.

“For long ago I broke your yoke

And tore off your bonds;

But you said, ‘I will not serve!’

For on every high hill

And under every green tree

You have lain down as a harlot.

Yet I planted you a choice vine,

A completely true seed.

How then have you turned yourself before Me

Into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?

Although you wash yourself with lye

And use much soap,

The stain of your iniquity is before Me,” declares Lord Yahweh.

“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled;

I have not walked after the Baals’?

Look at your way in the valley!

Know what you have done!

You are a swift young camel entangling her ways,

A wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,

That sniffs the wind in her passion.

In the time of her heat who can turn her away?

All who seek her will not become weary;

In her month they will find her.

Keep your feet from being barefoot

And your throat from thirst;

But you said, ‘It is hopeless!

No! For I have loved strangers,

And after them I will walk.’

“As the thief is shamed when he is found,

So the house of Israel is shamed;

They, their kings, their princes,

And their priests and their prophets,

Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’

And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’

For they have turned their back to Me

And not their face;

But in the time when their evil comes they will say,

‘Arise and save us.’

But where are your gods

Which you made for yourself?

Let them arise, if they can save you

In the time when your evil comes;

For according to the number of your cities

Are your gods, O Judah.

“Why do you contend with Me?

You have all transgressed against Me,” declares Yahweh.

“In vain I have struck your sons;

They received no discipline.

Your sword has devoured your prophets

Like a destroying lion.

O generation, behold the word of Yahweh.

Have I been a wilderness to Israel

Or a land of thick darkness?

Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam;

We will no longer come to You’?

Can a virgin forget her ornaments,

Or a bride her attire?

Yet My people have forgotten Me

Days without number.

How well you prepare your way

To seek love!

Therefore even the wicked women

You have taught your ways.

Also on your skirts is found

The lifeblood of the innocent needy;

You did not find them breaking in.

But in spite of all these things,

Yet you said, ‘I am innocent;

Surely His anger is turned away from me.’

Behold, I will enter into judgment with you

Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

Why do you despise Him so much

In changing your way?

Also, you will be put to shame by Egypt

As you were put to shame by Assyria.

From this place also you will go out

With your hands on your head;

For Yahweh has rejected those in whom you trust,

And you will not succeed with them.”

The Polluted Land

God says, “If a husband divorces his wife

And she goes from him

And belongs to another man,

Will he still return to her?

Will not that land be completely polluted?

But you are a harlot with many lovers;

Yet you turn to Me,” declares Yahweh.

“Lift up your eyes to the bare heights and see;

Where have you not been ravished?

By the roads you have sat for them

Like an Arab in the wilderness,

And you have polluted a land

With your harlotry and with your evil.

Therefore the showers have been withheld,

And the late rain has not come.

Yet you had a harlot’s forehead;

You refused to feel dishonor.

Have you not just now called to Me,

‘My Father, You are the close companion of my youth?

Will He be angry forever?

Will He keep it to the end?’

Behold, you have spoken

And have done evil things,

And you have had your way.”

Faithless Israel Called to Repentance

6 Then Yahweh said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. 7 I said, ‘After she has done all these things, she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a certificate of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. 9 So it was, because of the lightness of her harlotry, that she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. 10 Yet in spite of all this, her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in lying,” declares Yahweh. 11 And Yahweh said to me, “Faithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and call out these words toward the north and say,

‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares Yahweh;

‘I will not look upon you in anger.

For I am One of lovingkindness,’ declares Yahweh;

‘I will not be angry forever.

Only acknowledge your iniquity,

That you have transgressed against Yahweh your God

And have scattered your ways of harlotry to the strangers under every green tree,

And you have not listened to My voice,’ declares Yahweh.

‘Return, O faithless sons,’ declares Yahweh;

‘For I am a master to you,

And I will take you one from a city and two from a family,

And I will bring you to Zion.’

15 “Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will shepherd you on knowledge and understanding. 16 It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and fruitful in the land,” declares Yahweh, “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of Yahweh.’ And it will not come upon the heart, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of Yahweh,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of Yahweh; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance. 19 “Then I said,

‘How I would set you among My sons

And give you a pleasant land,

The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’

And I said, ‘You shall call Me, “My Father,”

And not turn away from following Me.’

Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her lover,

So you have dealt treacherously with Me,

O house of Israel,” declares Yahweh.

A voice is heard on the bare heights,

The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel;

Because they have perverted their way,

They have forgotten Yahweh their God.

“Return, O faithless sons;

I will heal your faithlessness.”

“Behold, we come to You,

For You are Yahweh our God.

Surely, the hills are a lie,

A tumult on the mountains.

Surely in Yahweh our God

Is the salvation of Israel.

24 “But the shameful thing has devoured the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us; for we have sinned against Yahweh our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. And we have not listened to the voice of Yahweh our God.”

Yahweh Calls Israel to Return to Him

“If you will return, O Israel,” declares Yahweh,

“Then you should return to Me.

And if you will put away your detested things from My presence

And will not waver

And you will swear, ‘As Yahweh lives,’

In truth, in justice, and in righteousness;

Then the nations will be blessed in Him,

And in Him they will boast.”

3 For thus says Yahweh to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,

“Break up your fallow ground,

And do not sow among thorns.

Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh

And remove the foreskins of your heart,

Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

Lest My wrath go forth like fire

And burn with none to quench it

Because of the evil of your deeds.”

Evil from the North

Declare in Judah and make it heard in Jerusalem and say,

“Blow the trumpet in the land;

Call out, make your voice full, and say,

‘Gather yourselves, and let us go

Into the fortified cities.’

Lift up a standard toward Zion!

Seek safety, do not stand still,

For I am bringing evil from the north,

And great destruction.

A lion has gone up from his thicket,

And a destroyer of nations has set out;

He has gone out from his place

To make your land a desolation.

Your cities will be turned into ruins

Without inhabitant.

For this, I gird myself with sackcloth,

Lament and wail;

For the burning anger of Yahweh

Has not turned back from us.”

9 “It will be in that day,” declares Yahweh, “that the heart of the king and the heart of the princes will perish; and the priests will be appalled, and the prophets will be astonished.” 10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Surely You have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘You will have peace’; whereas a sword touches the throat.” 11 In that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A scorching wind from the bare heights in the wilderness along the way of the daughter of My people—not to winnow and not to cleanse, 12 a wind too full for these things—will come for My purpose; now I will also speak judgments against them. 13

Behold, he goes up like clouds,

And his chariots like the whirlwind;

His horses are swifter than eagles.

Woe to us, for we are devastated!”

Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem,

That you may be saved.

How long will your wicked thoughts

Lodge within you?

For a voice declares from Dan,

And makes wickedness heard from Mount Ephraim.

“Make mention of it to the nations, saying, ‘Behold!’

Make it heard over Jerusalem,

‘Besiegers come from a far country,

And give forth their voices against the cities of Judah.

Like watchmen of a field they are against her round about

Because she has rebelled against Me,’ declares Yahweh.

Your ways and your deeds

Have done these things to you.

This is your evil. How bitter!

How it has touched your heart!”

Anguish over Judah’s Desolation

My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart!

My heart is pounding in me;

I cannot be silent

Because you have heard, O my soul,

The sound of the trumpet,

The shout of war.

Destruction upon destruction is called out,

For the whole land is devastated;

Suddenly my tents are devastated,

My curtains in an instant.

How long must I see the standard

And hear the sound of the trumpet?

“For My people are ignorant fools,

They know Me not;

They are simpleminded children

And have no understanding.

They are wise to do evil,

But to do good they do not know.”

I saw on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void;

And to the heavens, and they had no light.

I saw on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,

And all the hills moved to and fro.

I saw, and behold, there was no man,

And all the birds of the sky had fled.

I saw, and behold, the fruitful orchard was a wilderness,

And all its cities were torn down

Before Yahweh, before His burning anger.

27 For thus says Yahweh,

“The whole land shall be a desolation,

Yet I will not execute a complete destruction.

For this the earth shall mourn

And the heavens above be dark

Because I have spoken; I have purposed,

And I will not relent, nor will I turn from it.”

At the sound of the horseman and bowman every city flees;

They go into the thickets and climb up among the rocks;

Every city is forsaken,

And no man inhabits them.

And you, O devastated one, what will you do?

Although you dress in scarlet,

Although you decorate yourself with ornaments of gold,

Although you enlarge your eyes with paint,

In vain you make yourself beautiful.

Your lovers despise you;

They seek your life.

For I heard a sound as of a woman in labor pains,

The distress as of one giving birth to her first child,

The sound of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,

Stretching out her hands, saying,

“Ah, woe is me, for my soul faints before murderers.”

Jerusalem Refuses to Repent

“Roam to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,

And see now and know,

And seek in her open squares,

If you can find a man,

If there is one who does justice, who seeks faithfulness,

Then I will pardon her.

And if they say, ‘As Yahweh lives,’

Then they swear to a lie.”

O Yahweh, do not Your eyes look for faithfulness?

You have struck them,

But they did not weaken;

You have consumed them,

But they refused to receive discipline.

They have made their faces stronger than rock;

They have refused to repent.

Then I said, “They are only the poor;

They are foolish;

For they do not know the way of Yahweh

Or the legal judgment of their God.

Let me go to the great

And let me speak to them,

For they know the way of Yahweh

And the legal judgment of their God.”

But they too, altogether, have broken the yoke

And torn apart the bonds.

Therefore a lion from the forest will strike them down;

A wolf of the deserts will devastate them;

A leopard is watching their cities.

Everyone who goes out of them will be torn in pieces

Because their transgressions are many;

Their acts of faithlessness are mighty.

“Why should I pardon you?

Your sons have forsaken Me

And sworn by those who are not gods.

I had satisfied them to the full,

Then they committed adultery

And trooped to the harlot’s house.

They were well‑fed lusty horses,

Each one neighing after his neighbor’s wife.

Shall I not punish these people,” declares Yahweh,

“And on a nation such as this

Shall I not avenge Myself?

“Go up through her vine rows and make them a ruin,

But do not make a complete destruction;

Remove her branches,

For they are not Yahweh’s.

For the house of Israel and the house of Judah

Have dealt very treacherously with Me,” declares Yahweh.

They have dealt falsely about Yahweh

And said, “Not He;

Calamity will not come on us,

And we will not see sword or famine.

The prophets are as wind,

And the word is not in them.

Thus it will be done to them!”

A Stubborn and Rebellious People

14 Therefore, thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts,

“Because you have spoken this word,

Behold, I am making My words in your mouth fire

And this people wood, and it will devour them.

Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” declares Yahweh.

“It is an enduring nation;

It is an ancient nation,

A nation whose tongue you do not know,

Nor can you understand what they say.

Their quiver is like an open grave;

All of them are mighty men.

They will devour your harvest and your food;

They will devour your sons and your daughters;

They will devour your flocks and your herds;

They will devour your vines and your fig trees;

They will demolish with the sword your fortified cities in which you trust.

18 “Yet even in those days,” declares Yahweh, “I will not make you a complete destruction. 19 It shall come about when they say, ‘Why has Yahweh our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’ 20

“Declare this in the house of Jacob

And cause it to be heard in Judah, saying,

‘Now hear this, O people who are simpleminded fools and without a heart of wisdom,

Who have eyes but do not see,

Who have ears but do not hear.

Do you not fear Me?’ declares Yahweh.

‘Do you not tremble in My presence?

For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,

A perpetual statute, so it cannot cross over it.

Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail;

Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.

But this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;

They have turned aside and gone away.

They do not say in their heart,

“Let us now fear Yahweh our God,

Who gives rain in its season,

Both the early rain and the late rain,

Who keeps for us

The appointed weeks of the harvest.”

Your iniquities have turned these away,

And your sins have withheld good from you.

For wicked men are found among My people;

They watch like fowlers lying in wait;

They set a trap;

They catch men.

Like a cage full of birds,

So their houses are full of deceit;

Therefore they have become great and rich.

They are fat, they are sleek;

They also excel in deeds of evil;

They do not plead the cause,

The cause of the orphan, that they may succeed;

And they do not render justice for the poor.

Shall I not punish these people?’ declares Yahweh,

‘On a nation such as this

Shall I not avenge Myself?’

“A horrible and appalling thing

Has happened in the land:

The prophets prophesy with lying,

And the priests have dominion by their own hand;

And My people love it so!

But what will you do at the end of it?

Yahweh Disciplines Israel

“Flee for safety, O sons of Benjamin,

From the midst of Jerusalem!

Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa

And raise a signal over Beth‑haccerem,

For evil looks down from the north,

As well as great destruction.

The comely and delicate one, the daughter of Zion, I will ruin.

Shepherds and their flocks will come to her;

They will pitch their tents around her;

They will pasture each in his place.

Set yourselves apart for war against her;

Arise, and let us go up at noon.

Woe to us, for the day declines,

For the shadows of the evening stretch out!

Arise, and let us go up by night

And destroy her palaces!”

For thus says Yahweh of hosts,

“Cut down her trees

And cast up a siege against Jerusalem.

This is the city to be punished,

In whose midst there is only oppression.

Like a well keeps its waters fresh,

So she keeps fresh her evil.

Violence and devastation are heard in her;

Sickness and wounds are continually before Me.

Heed discipline, O Jerusalem,

Lest My soul become disgusted at you,

Lest I make you a desolation,

A land not inhabited.”

9 Thus says Yahweh of hosts,

“They will thoroughly glean as the vine the remnant of Israel;

Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer

Over the branches.”

To whom shall I speak and give warning

That they may hear?

Behold, their ears are uncircumcised,

And they cannot give heed.

Behold, the word of Yahweh has become a reproach to them;

They have no delight in it.

But I am full of the wrath of Yahweh;

I am weary of holding it in.

“Pour it out on the infants in the street

And on the gathering of choice men together;

For both husband and wife shall be captured,

The aged with the one full of days.

Their houses shall be turned over to others,

Their fields and their wives together,

For I will stretch out My hand

Against the inhabitants of the land,” declares Yahweh.

“For from the least of them even to the greatest of them,

Everyone is greedy for gain,

And from the prophet even to the priest

Everyone practices lying.

They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially,

Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’

But there is no peace.

Were they ashamed because of the abomination they have done?

They were not even ashamed at all;

They did not even know how to feel dishonor.

Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;

At the time that I punish them,

They shall be cast down,” says Yahweh.

16 Thus says Yahweh,

“Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths,

Where the good way is, and walk in it;

And you will find rest for your souls.

But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

And I set watchmen over you, saying,

‘Give heed to the sound of the trumpet!’

But they said, ‘We will not give heed.’

Therefore hear, O nations,

And know, O congregation, what is among them.

Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing evil on this people,

The fruit of their plans,

Because they have not given heed to My words,

And as for My law, they have rejected it also.

For what purpose does frankincense come to Me from Sheba

And the sweet cane from a distant land?

Your burnt offerings are not acceptable,

And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me.”

Therefore, thus says Yahweh,

“Behold, I am laying stumbling blocks before this people.

And they will stumble against them,

Fathers and sons together;

Neighbor and friend will perish.”

Mourn the Coming Destroyer

22 Thus says Yahweh,

“Behold, a people is coming from the land of the north,

And a great nation will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.

They take hold of bow and spear;

They are cruel and have no compassion;

Their voice roars like the sea,

And they ride on horses,

Arranged as a man for the battle

Against you, O daughter of Zion!”

We have heard the report of it;

Our hands are limp.

Distress has taken hold of us,

Pain as of a woman in childbirth.

Do not go out into the field

And do not walk on the road,

For the enemy has a sword;

Terror is on every side.

O daughter of my people, gird yourself with sackcloth

And roll in ashes;

Mourn as for an only son,

A lamentation most bitter.

For suddenly the destroyer

Will come upon us.

“I have made you a tester of metals and an assayer among My people,

That you may know and test their way.”

All of them are rebelliously stubborn,

Going about as a slanderer.

They are bronze and iron;

They, all of them, are corrupt.

The bellows blow fiercely;

The lead is consumed by the fire;

In vain the refining goes on,

But the evil ones are not separated.

They call them rejected silver

Because Yahweh has rejected them.