Jeremiah 22 - 26
O Land, Hear Yahweh
22Thus says Yahweh, “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there you shall speak this word 2and say, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, O king of Judah, who asits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates. 3‘Thus says Yahweh, “aDo justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his boppressor. Also cdo not mistreat or do violence to the sojourner, the orphan, or the widow; and do not dshed innocent blood in this place. 4“For if you men will indeed do this thing, then akings will enter the gates of this house, sitting for David on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people. 5“aBut if you will not obey these words, I bswear by Myself,” declares Yahweh, “that this house will become a waste place.”’” 6For thus says Yahweh concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are like aGilead to Me,Like the summit of Lebanon;Yet most assuredly I will make you like a bwilderness,Like cities which are not inhabited.
7“For I will set apart adestroyers against you,Each with his weapons;And they will bcut down your choicest cedarsAnd cthrow them on the fire.8“Many nations will pass by this city; and they will asay to one another, ‘Why has Yahweh done thus to this great city?’ 9“Then they will say, ‘Because they aforsook the covenant of Yahweh their God and worshiped other gods and served them.’”
10aDo not weep for the dead or console him,But weep continually for the one who goes away,For bhe will never returnOr see the land of his birth.11For thus says Yahweh in regard to 1,aShallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in the place of Josiah his father, who went forth from this place, “He will never return there; 12but in the place where they took him away into exile, there he will adie and not see this land again.
13“Woe to him who builds his house awithout righteousnessAnd his 1upper rooms without justice,Who uses his neighbor’s services without payAnd bdoes not give him his wages,14Who says, ‘I will abuild myself a roomy houseWith spacious 1upper roomsAnd cut out its windows,2Paneling it with bcedar and painting it 3bright red.’15“Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar?Did not your father eat and drinkAnd ado justice and righteousness?Then it was bwell with him.16“He pled the cause of the aafflicted and needy;Then it was well.bIs not that what it means to know Me?”Declares Yahweh.17“But your eyes and your heartAre set on nothing except your own agreedy gainAnd on bshedding innocent bloodAnd on doing oppression and extortion.”18Therefore thus says Yahweh in regard to aJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, “They will not blament for him:‘cAlas, my brother!’ or, ‘Alas, sister!’They will not lament for him:‘Alas for the master!’ or, ‘Alas for his splendor!’
19“He will be aburied with a donkey’s burial,Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.20“Go up to Lebanon and cry out,And lift up your voice in Bashan;Cry out also from aAbarim,For all your blovers have been broken.21“I spoke to you in your prosperity,But ayou said, ‘I will not listen!’bThis has been your way cfrom your youth,That you have not listened to My voice.22“The wind will sweep away all your ashepherds,And your blovers will go into captivity;Then you will surely be cashamed and feel dishonorBecause of all your evil.23“You who inhabit Lebanon,Nested in the cedars,How you will groan when pangs come upon you,aPain like a woman in childbirth!24“As I live,” declares Yahweh, “even though 1,aConiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were a bsignet ring on My right hand, yet I would pull 2you 3off; 25and I will agive you over into the hand of those who are seeking your life, indeed, into the hand of those whom you dread, even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26“I will ahurl you and your bmother who bore you into another land—there you were not born, but there you will die. 27“But as for the land to which their soul desires to return, they will not return to it.
28“Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered jar?Or is he an aundesirable vessel?Why have he and his seed been bhurled outAnd cast into a cland that they had not known?29“aO land, land, land,Hear the word of Yahweh!30“Thus says Yahweh, ‘Write this man down achildless,A man who will bnot succeed in his days;For no man of his cseed will succeedSitting on the throne of DavidOr ruling again in Judah.’”
The Righteous Branch
23“aWoe to the shepherds who are 1,bdestroying and scattering the csheep of My pasture!” declares Yahweh. 2Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who are shepherding My people: “You have scattered My flock and banished them and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to aattend to you for the bevil of your deeds,” declares Yahweh. 3“Then I Myself will agather the remnant of My flock out of all the land where I have banished them and cause them to return to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. 4“I will also raise up ashepherds over them, and they will 1shepherd them; and they will bnot be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, cnor will any be left unattended,” declares Yahweh.
5“Behold, the adays are coming,” declares Yahweh,“When I will raise up for David a righteous 1,bBranch;And He will creign as king and 2prosperAnd ddo justice and righteousness in the land.6“In His days Judah will be saved,And aIsrael will dwell securely;And this is His bname by which He will be called,‘cYahweh our righteousness.’7“aTherefore behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when they will no longer say, ‘As Yahweh lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ 8abut, ‘As Yahweh lives, who bbrought up and brought back the seed of the household of Israel from the north land and from all the lands where I had banished them.’ Then they will live on their own soil.”
False Prophets Condemned
9As for the prophets:My aheart is broken within me;All my bones tremble;I have become like a drunken man,Even like a man overcome with wine,Because of YahwehAnd because of His holy words.10For the land is full of aadulterers;For the land bmourns because of the curse.The cpastures of the wilderness have dried up.Their course also is evil,And their might is not right.11“For aboth prophet and priest are polluted;Even in My house I have found their evil,” declares Yahweh.12“Therefore their way will be like aslippery paths to them;They will be driven away into the bthick darkness and fall down in it;For I will bring their cevil upon them,The year of their 1punishment,” declares Yahweh.13“Moreover, among the prophets of Samaria I saw an aoffensive thing:They bprophesied by Baal and cled My people Israel astray.14“Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen an aappalling thing:The committing of badultery and walking in lying;And they strengthen the hands of cevildoers,So that no one has turned back from his evil.All of them have become to Me like dSodom,And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.15“Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts concerning the prophets, ‘Behold, I am going to afeed them wormwoodAnd make them drink 1poisoned water,For from the prophets of JerusalemPollution has gone forth into all the land.’”
16Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “aDo not listen to the words of the prophets who are prophesying to you.They are bleading you into vanity;They speak a cvision of their own heart,Not dfrom the mouth of Yahweh.
17“They keep saying to those who aspurn Me,‘Yahweh has said, “bYou will have peace”’;And as for everyone who walks in the cstubbornness of his own heart,They say, ‘dEvil will not come upon you.’18“But awho has stood in the council of Yahweh,That he should see and hear His word?Who has given bheed to 1His word and heard?19“Behold, the astorm of Yahweh has gone forth in wrath,Even a whirling storm;It will whirl down on the head of the wicked.20“The aanger of Yahweh will not turn backUntil He has bdone and established the purposes of His heart;cIn the last days you will clearly understand it.21“aI did not send these prophets,But they ran.I did not speak to them,But they prophesied.22“But if they had astood in My council,Then they would have bcaused My words to be heard by My peopleAnd would have turned them back from their evil wayAnd from the evil of their deeds.23“Am I a God who is anear,” declares Yahweh,“And not a God far off?24“Can a man ahide himself in hiding placesSo I do not see him?” declares Yahweh.“bDo I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares Yahweh.25“I have aheard what the prophets have said who bprophesy a lie in My name, saying, ‘I had a cdream, I had a dream!’ 26“How long? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy a lie, even these prophets of the adeception of their own heart, 27who intend to amake My people forget My name by their dreams which they recount to one another, just as their fathers bforgot My name because of Baal? 28“The prophet who has a dream may recount his dream, but let him who has aMy word speak My word in truth. bWhat does straw have in common with grain?” declares Yahweh. 29“Is not My word like afire?” declares Yahweh, “and like a bhammer which shatters a rock? 30“Therefore behold, aI am against the prophets,” declares Yahweh, “who steal My words from each other. 31“Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares Yahweh, “who take their tongues and declare, ‘Yahweh declares.’ 32“Behold, I am against those who have prophesied alying dreams,” declares Yahweh, “and who recounted them and led My people astray by their lying and breckless boasting; yet cI did not send them, and I did not command them, and they do not dfurnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares Yahweh.
33“Now when this people or the prophet or a priest asks you, saying, ‘What is the 1,aoracle of Yahweh?’ then you shall say to them, ‘What oracle?’ Yahweh declares, ‘I will babandon you.’ 34“Then as for the prophet or the priest or the people who say, ‘The aoracle of Yahweh,’ I will bring punishment upon that man and his household. 35“Thus will each of you say to his neighbor and to his brother, ‘aWhat has Yahweh answered?’ or, ‘What has Yahweh spoken?’ 36“For you will no longer remember the oracle of Yahweh because every man’s own word will become the oracle, and you have aperverted the words of the bliving God, Yahweh of hosts, our God. 37“Thus you will say to that prophet, ‘What has Yahweh answered you?’ and, ‘What has Yahweh spoken?’ 38“For if you all say, ‘The oracle of Yahweh!’ surely thus says Yahweh, ‘Because you said this word, “The oracle of Yahweh!” I have also sent to you, saying, “You shall not say, ‘The oracle of Yahweh!’”’ 39“Therefore behold, aI will surely forget you and abandon you, along with the city which I gave you and your fathers, so that you are out of My presence. 40“I will put an everlasting areproach on you and an everlasting humiliation which will not be forgotten.”
The Good and the Rotten Figs
24After aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken away into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon, Yahweh showed me: behold, two bbaskets of figs set before the temple of Yahweh! 2One basket had very good figs, like afirst-ripe figs, and the other basket had bvery rotten figs which could not be eaten due to rottenness. 3Then Yahweh said to me, “aWhat do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the rotten figs, very rotten, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness.”
4Then the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, 5“Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘Like these good figs, so I will recognize aas good the exiles of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. 6‘For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will areturn them to this land; and I will bbuild them up and not pull them down, and I will cplant them and not uproot them. 7‘I will give them a aheart to know Me, for I am Yahweh; and they will be bMy people, and I will be their God, for they will creturn to Me with their whole heart.
8‘But like the arotten figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness—indeed, thus says Yahweh—so I will give over bZedekiah king of Judah and his officials and the cremnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and the ones who inhabit the land of dEgypt. 9‘I will agive them over to be a terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a breproach and a proverb, a byword and a ccurse in all places where I will banish them. 10‘I will send the asword, the famine, and the pestilence upon them until they come to an end from being upon the land which I gave to them and their fathers.’”
Seventy Years of Captivity
25The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the afourth year of bJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the cfirst year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the apeople of Judah and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, 3“From the athirteenth year of bJosiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, 1these ctwenty-three years the word of Yahweh has come to me, and I have spoken to you, 2,drising up early and speaking, but you have not listened. 4“And Yahweh has sent to you all His aslaves the prophets, rising up early and sending, but you have not listened nor inclined your ear to hear, 5saying, ‘aTurn now everyone from his evil way and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the ground which Yahweh has given to you and your fathers bforever and ever; 6and ado not walk after other gods to 1serve them and to 2worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands, and I will bring no evil against you.’ 7“Yet you have not listened to Me,” declares Yahweh, “in order that you might aprovoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own evil demise.
8“Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘Because you have not listened to My words, 9behold, I will asend and take all the families of the north,’ declares Yahweh, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, bMy servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will 1devote them to destruction and cmake them an object of horror and of hissing and an everlasting waste place. 10‘Moreover, I will 1,amake the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the bsound of the millstones and the light of the lamp, to perish from them. 11‘aThis whole land will be a waste place and an object of horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon bseventy years.
Punishment Against Babylon
12‘Then it will be awhen seventy years are fulfilled, that I will bpunish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares Yahweh, ‘for their iniquity, even the land of the Chaldeans; and cI will make it an everlasting desolation. 13‘I will bring upon that land all My words which I have spoken against it, all that is written in athis book which Jeremiah has prophesied against ball the nations. 14‘—1For amany nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will brepay them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands—’”
15For thus Yahweh, the God of Israel, says to me, “Take this acup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. 16“They will adrink and stagger and go mad because of the sword that I will send among them.”
17Then I took the cup from the hand of Yahweh and amade all the nations to whom Yahweh sent me drink it: 18aJerusalem and the cities of Judah and its kings and its princes, to make them a waste place, an object of horror, an object of hissing, and a curse, as it is this day; 19aPharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his princes, and all his people, 20and all the 1,aforeign people, all the kings of the bland of Uz, all the kings of the land of the cPhilistines (even Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of dAshdod), 21aEdom, bMoab, and the sons of cAmmon, 22and all the kings of aTyre, all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of bthe coastlands which are beyond the sea, 23and aDedan, Tema, bBuz, and all who ccut 1the corners of their hair, 24and all the kings of aArabia and all the kings of the 1,bforeign people who dwell in the desert, 25and all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of aElam, and all the kings of bMedia, 26and all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and aall the kingdoms of the earth which are upon the face of the ground, and the king of 1,bSheshach shall drink after them.
27“You shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “aDrink, be drunk, vomit, fall, and rise no more because of the bsword which I will send among you.”’ 28“And it will be, if they arefuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, then you will say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “bYou shall surely drink! 29“For behold, I am abeginning to bring evil against this city which is bcalled by My name. But shall you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment, for cI am calling for a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares Yahweh of hosts.’
30“Therefore you shall prophesy against them all these words, and you shall say to them, ‘aYahweh will broar from on highAnd give forth His voice from His holy habitation;He will roar mightily against His 1pasture.He will bellow a shout like those who tread the grapes,Against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31‘A rumbling has come to the end of the earthBecause Yahweh has aa contention against the nations.He is entering into bjudgment with all flesh;As for the wicked, He has given them to the sword,’ declares Yahweh.”32Thus says Yahweh of hosts, “Behold, evil is going forthFrom anation to nation,And a great bstorm is being stirred upFrom the remotest parts of the earth.
33“Those aslain by Yahweh on that day will be from one end of the earth to the 1other. They will bnot be lamented, gathered, or buried; they will be like cdung on the face of the ground.
34“Wail, you shepherds, and cry out;And aroll yourselves in ashes, you masters of the flock;For the days of your bslaughter and your scatterings are being fulfilled,And you will fall like a desirable vessel.35“aRefuge will perish from the shepherdsAnd escape from the mighty ones of the flock.36“Hear the sound of the cry of the shepherds,And the wailing of the mighty ones of the flock!For Yahweh is destroying their pasture,37And the peaceful apastures are made silentBecause of the bburning anger of Yahweh.38“He has forsaken His hiding place alike the lion;For their land has become an object of horrorBecause of the burning desire of 1the oppressorAnd because of His burning anger.”The Words of Yahweh Against Judah
26In the beginning of the reign of aJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from Yahweh, saying, 2“Thus says Yahweh, ‘aStand in the court of the house of Yahweh, and you shall speak to all the cities of Judah who have bcome to worship in the house of Yahweh call the words that I have commanded you to speak to them. dDo not take away a word! 3‘aPerhaps they will listen and everyone will turn from his evil way, that bI may 1relent of the evil which I am devising to 2bring against them because of the evil of their deeds.’ 4“And you will say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh, “aIf you will not listen to Me, to bwalk in My law which I have given before you, 5to listen to the words of aMy slaves the prophets, whom I have been sending to you, rising up early and sending, but you have not listened, 6then I will make this house like aShiloh, and this city I will make a bcurse to all the nations of the earth.”’”
Plot to Murder Jeremiah
7The apriests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Yahweh. 8Now it happened that when Jeremiah finished speaking all that Yahweh had commanded him to speak to all the people, the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, saying, “aYou must surely die! 9“Why have you prophesied in the name of Yahweh saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh, and this city will be alaid waste, without inhabitant’?” And ball the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of Yahweh.
10When the aofficials of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king’s house to the house of Yahweh and sat in the bentrance of the New Gate of the house of Yahweh. 11Then the priests and the prophets aspoke to the officials and to all the people, saying, “A bjudgment of death for this man! For he has prophesied cagainst this city as you have heard in your hearing.”
12Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials and to all the people, saying, “aYahweh sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that you have heard. 13“So now, amake good your ways and your deeds and listen to the voice of Yahweh your God; and Yahweh will 1relent of the evil demise which He has spoken against you. 14“But as for me, behold, aI am in your hands; do with me as is good and right in your eyes. 15“Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring ainnocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on its inhabitants; for truly Yahweh has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”
Jeremiah Spared from Death
16Then the officials and all the people asaid to the priests and to the prophets, “No bjudgment of death for this man! For he has spoken to us in the name of Yahweh our God.” 17Then asome of the elders of the land rose up and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying, 18“1,aMicah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah; and he spoke to all the people of Judah, saying, ‘Thus Yahweh of hosts has said, “bZion will be plowed as a field,And Jerusalem will become a heap of ruins,And the cmountain of the house will become 2the high places of a forest.”’
19“Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him to death? Did he not afear Yahweh and entreat the favor of Yahweh, and bYahweh 1relented of the evil demise which He had spoken against them? But we are ccommitting a great evil against ourselves.”
20Indeed, there was also a man who prophesied in the name of Yahweh, Uriah the son of Shemaiah from aKiriath-jearim; and he prophesied against this city and against this land words similar to all those of Jeremiah. 21And King Jehoiakim and all his mighty men and all the officials heard his words. So the aking sought to put him to death; but Uriah heard it, and he was afraid and bfled and went to Egypt. 22Then King Jehoiakim sent men to Egypt: aElnathan the son of Achbor and certain men with him went into Egypt. 23And they brought Uriah out from Egypt and led him to King Jehoiakim, who astruck him down with a sword and cast his dead body into the 1burial place of the 2common people.