The Covenant Is Broken

1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2“Listen to the terms of this covenant and tell them to the people of Judah and to those who live in Jerusalem. 3Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant— 4the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.’ I said, ‘Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. 5Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’—the land you possess today.”

I answered, “Amen, Lord.”

6The Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Listen to the terms of this covenant and follow them. 7From the time I brought your ancestors up from Egypt until today, I warned them again and again, saying, “Obey me.” 8But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubbornness of their evil hearts. So I brought on them all the curses of the covenant I had commanded them to follow but that they did not keep.’ ”

9Then the Lord said to me, “There is a conspiracy among the people of Judah and those who live in Jerusalem. 10They have returned to the sins of their ancestors, who refused to listen to my words. They have followed other gods to serve them. Both Israel and Judah have broken the covenant I made with their ancestors. 11Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them. 12The towns of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods to whom they burn incense, but they will not help them at all when disaster strikes. 13You, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’

14“Do not pray for this people or offer any plea or petition for them, because I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their distress.

15“What is my beloved doing in my temple

as she, with many others, works out her evil schemes?

Can consecrated meat avert your punishment?

When you engage in your wickedness,

then you rejoice.”

16The Lord called you a thriving olive tree

with fruit beautiful in form.

But with the roar of a mighty storm

he will set it on fire,

and its branches will be broken.

17The LordAlmighty, who planted you, has decreed disaster for you, because the people of both Israel and Judah have done evil and aroused my anger by burning incense to Baal.

Plot Against Jeremiah

18Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing. 19I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against me, saying,

“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;

let us cut him off from the land of the living,

that his name be remembered no more.”

20But you, LordAlmighty, who judge righteously

and test the heart and mind,

let me see your vengeance on them,

for to you I have committed my cause.

21Therefore this is what the Lord says about the people of Anathoth who are threatening to kill you, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord or you will die by our hands”— 22therefore this is what the LordAlmighty says: “I will punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters by famine. 23Not even a remnant will be left to them, because I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”

God and Idols

1Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. 2This is what the Lord says:

“Do not learn the ways of the nations

or be terrified by signs in the heavens,

though the nations are terrified by them.

3For the practices of the peoples are worthless;

they cut a tree out of the forest,

and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel.

4They adorn it with silver and gold;

they fasten it with hammer and nails

so it will not totter.

5Like a scarecrow in a cucumber field,

their idols cannot speak;

they must be carried

because they cannot walk.

Do not fear them;

they can do no harm

nor can they do any good.”

6No one is like you, Lord;

you are great,

and your name is mighty in power.

7Who should not fear you,

King of the nations?

This is your due.

Among all the wise leaders of the nations

and in all their kingdoms,

there is no one like you.

8They are all senseless and foolish;

they are taught by worthless wooden idols.

9Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish

and gold from Uphaz.

What the craftsman and goldsmith have made

is then dressed in blue and purple—

all made by skilled workers.

10But the Lord is the true God;

he is the living God, the eternal King.

When he is angry, the earth trembles;

the nations cannot endure his wrath.

11“Tell them this: ‘These gods, who did not make the heavens and the earth, will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.’ ”

12But God made the earth by his power;

he founded the world by his wisdom

and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

13When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;

he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.

He sends lightning with the rain

and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

14Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;

every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.

The images he makes are a fraud;

they have no breath in them.

15They are worthless, the objects of mockery;

when their judgment comes, they will perish.

16He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,

for he is the Maker of all things,

including Israel, the people of his inheritance—

the LordAlmighty is his name.

Coming Destruction

17Gather up your belongings to leave the land,

you who live under siege.

18For this is what the Lord says:

“At this time I will hurl out

those who live in this land;

I will bring distress on them

so that they may be captured.”

19Woe to me because of my injury!

My wound is incurable!

Yet I said to myself,

“This is my sickness, and I must endure it.”

20My tent is destroyed;

all its ropes are snapped.

My children are gone from me and are no more;

no one is left now to pitch my tent

or to set up my shelter.

21The shepherds are senseless

and do not inquire of the Lord;

so they do not prosper

and all their flock is scattered.

22Listen! The report is coming—

a great commotion from the land of the north!

It will make the towns of Judah desolate,

a haunt of jackals.

Jeremiah’s Prayer

23 Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own;

it is not for them to direct their steps.

24Discipline me, Lord, but only in due measure—

not in your anger,

or you will reduce me to nothing.

25Pour out your wrath on the nations

that do not acknowledge you,

on the peoples who do not call on your name.

For they have devoured Jacob;

they have devoured him completely

and destroyed his homeland.

1Oh, that my head were a spring of water

and my eyes a fountain of tears!

I would weep day and night

for the slain of my people.

2Oh, that I had in the desert

a lodging place for travelers,

so that I might leave my people

and go away from them;

for they are all adulterers,

a crowd of unfaithful people.

3“They make ready their tongue

like a bow, to shoot lies;

it is not by truth

that they triumph in the land.

They go from one sin to another;

they do not acknowledge me,”

declares the Lord.

4“Beware of your friends;

do not trust anyone in your clan.

For every one of them is a deceiver,

and every friend a slanderer.

5Friend deceives friend,

and no one speaks the truth.

They have taught their tongues to lie;

they weary themselves with sinning.

6You live in the midst of deception;

in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me,”

declares the Lord.

7Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says:

“See, I will refine and test them,

for what else can I do

because of the sin of my people?

8Their tongue is a deadly arrow;

it speaks deceitfully.

With their mouths they all speak cordially to their neighbors,

but in their hearts they set traps for them.

9Should I not punish them for this?”

declares the Lord.

“Should I not avenge myself

on such a nation as this?”

10I will weep and wail for the mountains

and take up a lament concerning the wilderness grasslands.

They are desolate and untraveled,

and the lowing of cattle is not heard.

The birds have all fled

and the animals are gone.

11“I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,

a haunt of jackals;

and I will lay waste the towns of Judah

so no one can live there.”

12Who is wise enough to understand this? Who has been instructed by the Lord and can explain it? Why has the land been ruined and laid waste like a desert that no one can cross?

13The Lord said, “It is because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them; they have not obeyed me or followed my law. 14Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts; they have followed the Baals, as their ancestors taught them.” 15Therefore this is what the LordAlmighty, the God of Israel, says: “See, I will make this people eat bitter food and drink poisoned water. 16I will scatter them among nations that neither they nor their ancestors have known, and I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end of them.”

17This is what the LordAlmighty says:

“Consider now! Call for the wailing women to come;

send for the most skillful of them.

18Let them come quickly

and wail over us

till our eyes overflow with tears

and water streams from our eyelids.

19The sound of wailing is heard from Zion:

‘How ruined we are!

How great is our shame!

We must leave our land

because our houses are in ruins.’ ”

20Now, you women, hear the word of the Lord;

open your ears to the words of his mouth.

Teach your daughters how to wail;

teach one another a lament.

21Death has climbed in through our windows

and has entered our fortresses;

it has removed the children from the streets

and the young men from the public squares.

22Say, “This is what the Lord declares:

“ ‘Dead bodies will lie

like dung on the open field,

like cut grain behind the reaper,

with no one to gather them.’ ”

23This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom

or the strong boast of their strength

or the rich boast of their riches,

24but let the one who boasts boast about this:

that they have the understanding to know me,

that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,

justice and righteousness on earth,

for in these I delight,”

declares the Lord.

25“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh— 26Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab and all who live in the wilderness in distant places. For all these nations are really uncircumcised, and even the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”

1“ ‘At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings and officials of Judah, the bones of the priests and prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be removed from their graves. 2They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens, which they have loved and served and which they have followed and consulted and worshiped. They will not be gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground. 3Wherever I banish them, all the survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, declares the LordAlmighty.’

Sin and Punishment

4“Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“ ‘When people fall down, do they not get up?

When someone turns away, do they not return?

5Why then have these people turned away?

Why does Jerusalem always turn away?

They cling to deceit;

they refuse to return.

6I have listened attentively,

but they do not say what is right.

None of them repent of their wickedness,

saying, “What have I done?”

Each pursues their own course

like a horse charging into battle.

7Even the stork in the sky

knows her appointed seasons,

and the dove, the swift and the thrush

observe the time of their migration.

But my people do not know

the requirements of the Lord.

8“ ‘How can you say, “We are wise,

for we have the law of the Lord,”

when actually the lying pen of the scribes

has handled it falsely?

9The wise will be put to shame;

they will be dismayed and trapped.

Since they have rejected the word of the Lord,

what kind of wisdom do they have?

10Therefore I will give their wives to other men

and their fields to new owners.

From the least to the greatest,

all are greedy for gain;

prophets and priests alike,

all practice deceit.

11They dress the wound of my people

as though it were not serious.

“Peace, peace,” they say,

when there is no peace.

12Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?

No, they have no shame at all;

they do not even know how to blush.

So they will fall among the fallen;

they will be brought down when they are punished,

says the Lord.

13“ ‘I will take away their harvest,

declares the Lord.

There will be no grapes on the vine.

There will be no figs on the tree,

and their leaves will wither.

What I have given them

will be taken from them.’ ”

14Why are we sitting here?

Gather together!

Let us flee to the fortified cities

and perish there!

For the Lord our God has doomed us to perish

and given us poisoned water to drink,

because we have sinned against him.

15We hoped for peace

but no good has come,

for a time of healing

but there is only terror.

16The snorting of the enemy’s horses

is heard from Dan;

at the neighing of their stallions

the whole land trembles.

They have come to devour

the land and everything in it,

the city and all who live there.

17“See, I will send venomous snakes among you,

vipers that cannot be charmed,

and they will bite you,”

declares the Lord.

18You who are my Comforter in sorrow,

my heart is faint within me.

19Listen to the cry of my people

from a land far away:

“Is the Lord not in Zion?

Is her King no longer there?”

“Why have they aroused my anger with their images,

with their worthless foreign idols?”

20“The harvest is past,

the summer has ended,

and we are not saved.”

21Since my people are crushed, I am crushed;

I mourn, and horror grips me.

22Is there no balm in Gilead?

Is there no physician there?

Why then is there no healing

for the wound of my people?

False Religion Worthless

1This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2“Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message:

“ ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. 3This is what the LordAlmighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” 5If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. 8But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.

9“ ‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? 11Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.

12“ ‘Go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for my Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of my people Israel. 13While you were doing all these things, declares the Lord, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you, but you did not answer. 14Therefore, what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears my Name, the temple you trust in, the place I gave to you and your ancestors. 15I will thrust you from my presence, just as I did all your fellow Israelites, the people of Ephraim.’

16“So do not pray for this people nor offer any plea or petition for them; do not plead with me, for I will not listen to you. 17Do you not see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. They pour out drink offerings to other gods to arouse my anger. 19But am I the one they are provoking? declares the Lord. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?

20“ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: My anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place—on man and beast, on the trees of the field and on the crops of your land—and it will burn and not be quenched.

21“ ‘This is what the LordAlmighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves! 22For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. 24But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward. 25From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again I sent you my servants the prophets. 26But they did not listen to me or pay attention. They were stiff-necked and did more evil than their ancestors.’

27“When you tell them all this, they will not listen to you; when you call to them, they will not answer. 28Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction. Truth has perished; it has vanished from their lips.

29“ ‘Cut off your hair and throw it away; take up a lament on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned this generation that is under his wrath.

The Valley of Slaughter

30“ ‘The people of Judah have done evil in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols in the house that bears my Name and have defiled it. 31They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind. 32So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 33Then the carcasses of this people will become food for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away. 34I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem, for the land will become desolate.

Jerusalem Under Siege

1“Flee for safety, people of Benjamin!

Flee from Jerusalem!

Sound the trumpet in Tekoa!

Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem!

For disaster looms out of the north,

even terrible destruction.

2I will destroy Daughter Zion,

so beautiful and delicate.

3Shepherds with their flocks will come against her;

they will pitch their tents around her,

each tending his own portion.”

4“Prepare for battle against her!

Arise, let us attack at noon!

But, alas, the daylight is fading,

and the shadows of evening grow long.

5So arise, let us attack at night

and destroy her fortresses!”

6This is what the LordAlmighty says:

“Cut down the trees

and build siege ramps against Jerusalem.

This city must be punished;

it is filled with oppression.

7As a well pours out its water,

so she pours out her wickedness.

Violence and destruction resound in her;

her sickness and wounds are ever before me.

8Take warning, Jerusalem,

or I will turn away from you

and make your land desolate

so no one can live in it.”

9This is what the LordAlmighty says:

“Let them glean the remnant of Israel

as thoroughly as a vine;

pass your hand over the branches again,

like one gathering grapes.”

10To whom can I speak and give warning?

Who will listen to me?

Their ears are closed

so they cannot hear.

The word of the Lord is offensive to them;

they find no pleasure in it.

11But I am full of the wrath of the Lord,

and I cannot hold it in.

“Pour it out on the children in the street

and on the young men gathered together;

both husband and wife will be caught in it,

and the old, those weighed down with years.

12Their houses will be turned over to others,

together with their fields and their wives,

when I stretch out my hand

against those who live in the land,”

declares the Lord.

13“From the least to the greatest,

all are greedy for gain;

prophets and priests alike,

all practice deceit.

14They dress the wound of my people

as though it were not serious.

‘Peace, peace,’ they say,

when there is no peace.

15Are they ashamed of their detestable conduct?

No, they have no shame at all;

they do not even know how to blush.

So they will fall among the fallen;

they will be brought down when I punish them,”

says the Lord.

16This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look;

ask for the ancient paths,

ask where the good way is, and walk in it,

and you will find rest for your souls.

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

17I appointed watchmen over you and said,

‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’

But you said, ‘We will not listen.’

18Therefore hear, you nations;

you who are witnesses,

observe what will happen to them.

19Hear, you earth:

I am bringing disaster on this people,

the fruit of their schemes,

because they have not listened to my words

and have rejected my law.

20What do I care about incense from Sheba

or sweet calamus from a distant land?

Your burnt offerings are not acceptable;

your sacrifices do not please me.”

21Therefore this is what the Lordsays:

“I will put obstacles before this people.

Parents and children alike will stumble over them;

neighbors and friends will perish.”

22This is what the Lord says:

“Look, an army is coming

from the land of the north;

a great nation is being stirred up

from the ends of the earth.

23They are armed with bow and spear;

they are cruel and show no mercy.

They sound like the roaring sea

as they ride on their horses;

they come like men in battle formation

to attack you, Daughter Zion.”

24We have heard reports about them,

and our hands hang limp.

Anguish has gripped us,

pain like that of a woman in labor.

25Do not go out to the fields

or walk on the roads,

for the enemy has a sword,

and there is terror on every side.

26Put on sackcloth, my people,

and roll in ashes;

mourn with bitter wailing

as for an only son,

for suddenly the destroyer

will come upon us.

27“I have made you a tester of metals

and my people the ore,

that you may observe

and test their ways.

28They are all hardened rebels,

going about to slander.

They are bronze and iron;

they all act corruptly.

29The bellows blow fiercely

to burn away the lead with fire,

but the refining goes on in vain;

the wicked are not purged out.

30They are called rejected silver,

because the Lord has rejected them.”

Not One Is Upright

1“Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem,

look around and consider,

search through her squares.

If you can find but one person

who deals honestly and seeks the truth,

I will forgive this city.

2Although they say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’

still they are swearing falsely.”

3 Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?

You struck them, but they felt no pain;

you crushed them, but they refused correction.

They made their faces harder than stone

and refused to repent.

4I thought, “These are only the poor;

they are foolish,

for they do not know the way of the Lord,

the requirements of their God.

5So I will go to the leaders

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.

6Therefore a lion from the forest will attack them,

a wolf from the desert will ravage them,

a leopard will lie in wait near their towns

to tear to pieces any who venture out,

for their rebellion is great

and their backslidings many.

7“Why should I forgive you?

Your children have forsaken me

and sworn by gods that are not gods.

I supplied all their needs,

yet they committed adultery

and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.

8They are well-fed, lusty stallions,

each neighing for another man’s wife.

9Should I not punish them for this?”

declares the Lord.

“Should I not avenge myself

on such a nation as this?

10“Go through her vineyards and ravage them,

but do not destroy them completely.

Strip off her branches,

for these people do not belong to the Lord.

11The people of Israel and the people of Judah

have been utterly unfaithful to me,”

declares the Lord.

12They have lied about the Lord;

they said, “He will do nothing!

No harm will come to us;

we will never see sword or famine.

13The prophets are but wind

and the word is not in them;

so let what they say be done to them.”

14Therefore this is what the LordGod Almighty says:

“Because the people have spoken these words,

I will make my words in your mouth a fire

and these people the wood it consumes.

15People of Israel,” declares the Lord,

“I am bringing a distant nation against you—

an ancient and enduring nation,

a people whose language you do not know,

whose speech you do not understand.

16Their quivers are like an open grave;

all of them are mighty warriors.

17They will devour your harvests and food,

devour your sons and daughters;

they will devour your flocks and herds,

devour your vines and fig trees.

With the sword they will destroy

the fortified cities in which you trust.

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

20“Announce this to the descendants of Jacob

and proclaim it in Judah:

21Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,

who have eyes but do not see,

who have ears but do not hear:

22Should you not fear me?” declares the Lord.

“Should you not tremble in my presence?

I made the sand a boundary for the sea,

an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.

The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;

they may roar, but they cannot cross it.

23But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;

they have turned aside and gone away.

24They do not say to themselves,

‘Let us fear the Lord our God,

who gives autumn and spring rains in season,

who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’

25Your wrongdoings have kept these away;

your sins have deprived you of good.

26“Among my people are the wicked

who lie in wait like men who snare birds

and like those who set traps to catch people.

27Like cages full of birds,

their houses are full of deceit;

they have become rich and powerful

28and have grown fat and sleek.

Their evil deeds have no limit;

they do not seek justice.

They do not promote the case of the fatherless;

they do not defend the just cause of the poor.

29Should I not punish them for this?”

declares the Lord.

“Should I not avenge myself

on such a nation as this?

30“A horrible and shocking thing

has happened in the land:

31The prophets prophesy lies,

the priests rule by their own authority,

and my people love it this way.

But what will you do in the end?