1“If you, Israel, will return,

then return to me,”

declares the Lord.

“If you put your detestable idols out of my sight

and no longer go astray,

2and if in a truthful, just and righteous way

you swear, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’

then the nations will invoke blessings by him

and in him they will boast.”

3This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:

“Break up your unplowed ground

and do not sow among thorns.

4Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,

circumcise your hearts,

you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

or my wrath will flare up and burn like fire

because of the evil you have done—

burn with no one to quench it.

Disaster From the North

5“Announce in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem and say:

‘Sound the trumpet throughout the land!’

Cry aloud and say:

‘Gather together!

Let us flee to the fortified cities!’

6Raise the signal to go to Zion!

Flee for safety without delay!

For I am bringing disaster from the north,

even terrible destruction.”

7A lion has come out of his lair;

a destroyer of nations has set out.

He has left his place

to lay waste your land.

Your towns will lie in ruins

without inhabitant.

8So put on sackcloth,

lament and wail,

for the fierce anger of the Lord

has not turned away from us.

9“In that day,” declares the Lord,

“the king and the officials will lose heart,

the priests will be horrified,

and the prophets will be appalled.”

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

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

13Look! He advances like the clouds,

his chariots come like a whirlwind,

his horses are swifter than eagles.

Woe to us! We are ruined!

14Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved.

How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?

15A voice is announcing from Dan,

proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.

16“Tell this to the nations,

proclaim concerning Jerusalem:

‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,

raising a war cry against the cities of Judah.

17They surround her like men guarding a field,

because she has rebelled against me,’ ”

declares the Lord.

18“Your own conduct and actions

have brought this on you.

This is your punishment.

How bitter it is!

How it pierces to the heart!”

19Oh, my anguish, my anguish!

I writhe in pain.

Oh, the agony of my heart!

My heart pounds within me,

I cannot keep silent.

For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;

I have heard the battle cry.

20Disaster follows disaster;

the whole land lies in ruins.

In an instant my tents are destroyed,

my shelter in a moment.

21How long must I see the battle standard

and hear the sound of the trumpet?

22“My people are fools;

they do not know me.

They are senseless children;

they have no understanding.

They are skilled in doing evil;

they know not how to do good.”

23I looked at the earth,

and it was formless and empty;

and at the heavens,

and their light was gone.

24I looked at the mountains,

and they were quaking;

all the hills were swaying.

25I looked, and there were no people;

every bird in the sky had flown away.

26I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;

all its towns lay in ruins

before the Lord, before his fierce anger.

27This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,

though I will not destroy it completely.

28Therefore the earth will mourn

and the heavens above grow dark,

because I have spoken and will not relent,

I have decided and will not turn back.”

29At the sound of horsemen and archers

every town takes to flight.

Some go into the thickets;

some climb up among the rocks.

All the towns are deserted;

no one lives in them.

30What are you doing, you devastated one?

Why dress yourself in scarlet

and put on jewels of gold?

Why highlight your eyes with makeup?

You adorn yourself in vain.

Your lovers despise you;

they want to kill you.

31I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,

a groan as of one bearing her first child—

the cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,

stretching out her hands and saying,

“Alas! I am fainting;

my life is given over to murderers.”

1“If a man divorces his wife

and she leaves him and marries another man,

should he return to her again?

Would not the land be completely defiled?

But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers—

would you now return to me?”

declares the Lord.

2“Look up to the barren heights and see.

Is there any place where you have not been ravished?

By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers,

sat like a nomad in the desert.

You have defiled the land

with your prostitution and wickedness.

3Therefore the showers have been withheld,

and no spring rains have fallen.

Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute;

you refuse to blush with shame.

4Have you not just called to me:

‘My Father, my friend from my youth,

5will you always be angry?

Will your wrath continue forever?’

This is how you talk,

but you do all the evil you can.”

Unfaithful Israel

6During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. 7I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. 8I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. 9Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. 10In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the Lord.

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

“ ‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord,

‘I will frown on you no longer,

for I am faithful,’ declares the Lord,

‘I will not be angry forever.

13Only acknowledge your guilt—

you have rebelled against the Lord your God,

you have scattered your favors to foreign gods

under every spreading tree,

and have not obeyed me,’ ”

declares the Lord.

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

the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’

I thought you would call me ‘Father’

and not turn away from following me.

20But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,

so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,”

declares the Lord.

21A cry is heard on the barren heights,

the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel,

because they have perverted their ways

and have forgotten the Lord their God.

22“Return, faithless people;

I will cure you of backsliding.”

“Yes, we will come to you,

for you are the Lord our God.

23Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills

and mountains is a deception;

surely in the Lord our God

is the salvation of Israel.

24From our youth shameful gods have consumed

the fruits of our ancestors’ labor—

their flocks and herds,

their sons and daughters.

25Let us lie down in our shame,

and let our disgrace cover us.

We have sinned against the Lord our God,

both we and our ancestors;

from our youth till this day

we have not obeyed the Lord our God.”

Israel Forsakes God

1The word of the Lord came to me: 2“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:

“This is what the Lord says:

“ ‘I remember the devotion of your youth,

how as a bride you loved me

and followed me through the wilderness,

through a land not sown.

3Israel was holy to the Lord,

the first fruits of his harvest;

all who devoured her were held guilty,

and disaster overtook them,’ ”

declares the Lord.

4Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob,

all you clans of Israel.

5This is what the Lord says:

“What fault did your ancestors find in me,

that they strayed so far from me?

They followed worthless idols

and became worthless themselves.

6They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord,

who brought us up out of Egypt

and led us through the barren wilderness,

through a land of deserts and ravines,

a land of drought and utter darkness,

a land where no one travels and no one lives?’

7I brought you into a fertile land

to eat its fruit and rich produce.

But you came and defiled my land

and made my inheritance detestable.

8The priests did not ask,

‘Where is the Lord?’

Those who deal with the law did not know me;

the leaders rebelled against me.

The prophets prophesied by Baal,

following worthless idols.

9“Therefore I bring charges against you again,”

declares the Lord.

“And I will bring charges against your children’s children.

10Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and look,

send to Kedar and observe closely;

see if there has ever been anything like this:

11Has a nation ever changed its gods?

(Yet they are not gods at all.)

But my people have exchanged their glorious God

for worthless idols.

12Be appalled at this, you heavens,

and shudder with great horror,”

declares the Lord.

13“My people have committed two sins:

They have forsaken me,

the spring of living water,

and have dug their own cisterns,

broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

14Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth?

Why then has he become plunder?

15Lions have roared;

they have growled at him.

They have laid waste his land;

his towns are burned and deserted.

16Also, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes

have cracked your skull.

17Have you not brought this on yourselves

by forsaking the Lord your God

when he led you in the way?

18Now why go to Egypt

to drink water from the Nile?

And why go to Assyria

to drink water from the Euphrates?

19Your wickedness will punish you;

your backsliding will rebuke you.

Consider then and realize

how evil and bitter it is for you

when you forsake the Lord your God

and have no awe of me,”

declares the Lord, the LordAlmighty.

20“Long ago you broke off your yoke

and tore off your bonds;

you said, ‘I will not serve you!’

Indeed, on every high hill

and under every spreading tree

you lay down as a prostitute.

21I had planted you like a choice vine

of sound and reliable stock.

How then did you turn against me

into a corrupt, wild vine?

22Although you wash yourself with soap

and use an abundance of cleansing powder,

the stain of your guilt is still before me,”

declares the Sovereign Lord.

23“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled;

I have not run after the Baals’?

See how you behaved in the valley;

consider what you have done.

You are a swift she-camel

running here and there,

24a wild donkey accustomed to the desert,

sniffing the wind in her craving—

in her heat who can restrain her?

Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;

at mating time they will find her.

25Do not run until your feet are bare

and your throat is dry.

But you said, ‘It’s no use!

I love foreign gods,

and I must go after them.’

26“As a thief is disgraced when he is caught,

so the people of Israel are disgraced—

they, their kings and their officials,

their priests and their prophets.

27They say to wood, ‘You are my father,’

and to stone, ‘You gave me birth.’

They have turned their backs to me

and not their faces;

yet when they are in trouble, they say,

‘Come and save us!’

28Where then are the gods you made for yourselves?

Let them come if they can save you

when you are in trouble!

For you, Judah, have as many gods

as you have towns.

29“Why do you bring charges against me?

You have all rebelled against me,”

declares the Lord.

30“In vain I punished your people;

they did not respond to correction.

Your sword has devoured your prophets

like a ravenous lion.

31“You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord:

“Have I been a desert to Israel

or a land of great darkness?

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

we will come to you no more’?

32Does a young woman forget her jewelry,

a bride her wedding ornaments?

Yet my people have forgotten me,

days without number.

33How skilled you are at pursuing love!

Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.

34On your clothes is found

the lifeblood of the innocent poor,

though you did not catch them breaking in.

Yet in spite of all this

35you say, ‘I am innocent;

he is not angry with me.’

But I will pass judgment on you

because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

36Why do you go about so much,

changing your ways?

You will be disappointed by Egypt

as you were by Assyria.

37You will also leave that place

with your hands on your head,

for the Lord has rejected those you trust;

you will not be helped by them.

1The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. 2The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, 3and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.

The Call of Jeremiah

4The word of the Lord came to me, saying,

5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

before you were born I set you apart;

I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

6“Alas, Sovereign Lord,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.”

7But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

9Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, “I have put my words in your mouth. 10See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.”

11The word of the Lord came to me: “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

“I see the branch of an almond tree,” I replied.

12The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”

13The word of the Lord came to me again: “What do you see?”

“I see a pot that is boiling,” I answered. “It is tilting toward us from the north.”

14The Lord said to me, “From the north disaster will be poured out on all who live in the land. 15I am about to summon all the peoples of the northern kingdoms,” declares the Lord.

“Their kings will come and set up their thrones

in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;

they will come against all her surrounding walls

and against all the towns of Judah.

16I will pronounce my judgments on my people

because of their wickedness in forsaking me,

in burning incense to other gods

and in worshiping what their hands have made.

17“Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them. 18Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land. 19They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.

Jerusalem

1Woe to the city of oppressors,

rebellious and defiled!

2She obeys no one,

she accepts no correction.

She does not trust in the Lord,

she does not draw near to her God.

3Her officials within her

are roaring lions;

her rulers are evening wolves,

who leave nothing for the morning.

4Her prophets are unprincipled;

they are treacherous people.

Her priests profane the sanctuary

and do violence to the law.

5The Lord within her is righteous;

he does no wrong.

Morning by morning he dispenses his justice,

and every new day he does not fail,

yet the unrighteous know no shame.

Jerusalem Remains Unrepentant

6“I have destroyed nations;

their strongholds are demolished.

I have left their streets deserted,

with no one passing through.

Their cities are laid waste;

they are deserted and empty.

7Of Jerusalem I thought,

‘Surely you will fear me

and accept correction!’

Then her place of refuge would not be destroyed,

nor all my punishments come upon her.

But they were still eager

to act corruptly in all they did.

8Therefore wait for me,”

declares the Lord,

“for the day I will stand up to testify.

I have decided to assemble the nations,

to gather the kingdoms

and to pour out my wrath on them—

all my fierce anger.

The whole world will be consumed

by the fire of my jealous anger.

Restoration of Israel’s Remnant

9“Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,

that all of them may call on the name of the Lord

and serve him shoulder to shoulder.

10From beyond the rivers of Cush

my worshipers, my scattered people,

will bring me offerings.

11On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame

for all the wrongs you have done to me,

because I will remove from you

your arrogant boasters.

Never again will you be haughty

on my holy hill.

12But I will leave within you

the meek and humble.

The remnant of Israel

will trust in the name of the Lord.

13They will do no wrong;

they will tell no lies.

A deceitful tongue

will not be found in their mouths.

They will eat and lie down

and no one will make them afraid.”

14Sing, Daughter Zion;

shout aloud, Israel!

Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,

Daughter Jerusalem!

15The Lord has taken away your punishment,

he has turned back your enemy.

The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you;

never again will you fear any harm.

16On that day

they will say to Jerusalem,

“Do not fear, Zion;

do not let your hands hang limp.

17The Lord your God is with you,

the Mighty Warrior who saves.

He will take great delight in you;

in his love he will no longer rebuke you,

but will rejoice over you with singing.”

18“I will remove from you

all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,

which is a burden and reproach for you.

19At that time I will deal

with all who oppressed you.

I will rescue the lame;

I will gather the exiles.

I will give them praise and honor

in every land where they have suffered shame.

20At that time I will gather you;

at that time I will bring you home.

I will give you honor and praise

among all the peoples of the earth

when I restore your fortunes

before your very eyes,”

says the Lord.

Judah Summoned to Repent

1Gather together, gather yourselves together,

you shameful nation,

2before the decree takes effect

and that day passes like windblown chaff,

before the Lord’s fierce anger

comes upon you,

before the day of the Lord’s wrath

comes upon you.

3Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land,

you who do what he commands.

Seek righteousness, seek humility;

perhaps you will be sheltered

on the day of the Lord’s anger.

Philistia

4Gaza will be abandoned

and Ashkelon left in ruins.

At midday Ashdod will be emptied

and Ekron uprooted.

5Woe to you who live by the sea,

you Kerethite people;

the word of the Lord is against you,

Canaan, land of the Philistines.

He says, “I will destroy you,

and none will be left.”

6The land by the sea will become pastures

having wells for shepherds

and pens for flocks.

7That land will belong

to the remnant of the people of Judah;

there they will find pasture.

In the evening they will lie down

in the houses of Ashkelon.

The Lord their God will care for them;

he will restore their fortunes.

Moab and Ammon

8“I have heard the insults of Moab

and the taunts of the Ammonites,

who insulted my people

and made threats against their land.

9Therefore, as surely as I live,”

declares the LordAlmighty,

the God of Israel,

“surely Moab will become like Sodom,

the Ammonites like Gomorrah—

a place of weeds and salt pits,

a wasteland forever.

The remnant of my people will plunder them;

the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.”

10This is what they will get in return for their pride,

for insulting and mocking

the people of the LordAlmighty.

11The Lord will be awesome to them

when he destroys all the gods of the earth.

Distant nations will bow down to him,

all of them in their own lands.

Cush

12“You Cushites,too,

will be slain by my sword.”

Assyria

13He will stretch out his hand against the north

and destroy Assyria,

leaving Nineveh utterly desolate

and dry as the desert.

14Flocks and herds will lie down there,

creatures of every kind.

The desert owl and the screech owl

will roost on her columns.

Their hooting will echo through the windows,

rubble will fill the doorways,

the beams of cedar will be exposed.

15This is the city of revelry

that lived in safety.

She said to herself,

“I am the one! And there is none besides me.”

What a ruin she has become,

a lair for wild beasts!

All who pass by her scoff

and shake their fists.

1The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:

Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the Lord

2“I will sweep away everything

from the face of the earth,”

declares the Lord.

3“I will sweep away both man and beast;

I will sweep away the birds in the sky

and the fish in the sea—

and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”

“When I destroy all mankind

on the face of the earth,”

declares the Lord,

4“I will stretch out my hand against Judah

and against all who live in Jerusalem.

I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,

the very names of the idolatrous priests—

5those who bow down on the roofs

to worship the starry host,

those who bow down and swear by the Lord

and who also swear by Molek,

6those who turn back from following the Lord

and neither seek the Lord nor inquire of him.”

7Be silent before the Sovereign Lord,

for the day of the Lord is near.

The Lord has prepared a sacrifice;

he has consecrated those he has invited.

8“On the day of the Lord’s sacrifice

I will punish the officials

and the king’s sons

and all those clad

in foreign clothes.

9On that day I will punish

all who avoid stepping on the threshold,

who fill the temple of their gods

with violence and deceit.

10“On that day,”

declares the Lord,

“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,

wailing from the New Quarter,

and a loud crash from the hills.

11Wail, you who live in the market district;

all your merchants will be wiped out,

all who trade with silver will be destroyed.

12At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps

and punish those who are complacent,

who are like wine left on its dregs,

who think, ‘The Lord will do nothing,

either good or bad.’

13Their wealth will be plundered,

their houses demolished.

Though they build houses,

they will not live in them;

though they plant vineyards,

they will not drink the wine.”

14The great day of the Lord is near—

near and coming quickly.

The cry on the day of the Lord is bitter;

the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.

15That day will be a day of wrath—

a day of distress and anguish,

a day of trouble and ruin,

a day of darkness and gloom,

a day of clouds and blackness—

16a day of trumpet and battle cry

against the fortified cities

and against the corner towers.

17“I will bring such distress on all people

that they will grope about like those who are blind,

because they have sinned against the Lord.

Their blood will be poured out like dust

and their entrails like dung.

18Neither their silver nor their gold

will be able to save them

on the day of the Lord’s wrath.”

In the fire of his jealousy

the whole earth will be consumed,

for he will make a sudden end

of all who live on the earth.