The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah

1  1 The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests, who dwelt in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin; 2 to whom the word of Jehovah came in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign; 3 to whom it also 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 carrying away of Jerusalem into captivity in the fifth month. 4 The word of Jehovah came to me, saying: 5 Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee; and before thou camest into the world, I chose thee; I appointed thee to be a prophet to the nations. 6 Then said I, Alas, O Lord Jehovah! Behold, I am not able to speak; for I am a child. 7 But Jehovah said to me, Say not, I am a child; but go to whomever I send thee, and speak whatever I command thee! 8 Be not afraid of them! For I am with thee to help thee, saith Jehovah. 9 Then Jehovah put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. Jehovah also said to me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. 10 Behold, I have set thee this day over nations and over kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to overthrow; and to build, and to plant. 11 Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, I see a rod of almond-wood. 12 And Jehovah said to me, Thou hast seen right; for I am watchful over my word to perform it. 13 And the word of Jehovah came to me a second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a boiling pot, whose face is turned from the north. 14 And Jehovah said to me, From the north shall evil break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, behold, I will call all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, saith Jehovah; and they shall come, and shall set every one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all her walls around, and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And I will pronounce my judgments against them for all their wickedness, in that they have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, and worshipped the work of their own hands. 17 Thou, therefore, gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak to them all that I command thee; be not afraid of them, lest I confound thee before them. 18 For, behold, I make thee this day a fortified city, and a pillar of iron, and a wall of brass against all this land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. 19 They shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee; for I will be with thee, saith Jehovah, to help thee.

2  1 The word of Jehovah came to me, saying: 2 Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, Thus saith Jehovah: I remember the kindness shown thee in thy youth, The love with which I espoused thee, When thou wast led by me through the wilderness, Through a land that was not sown. 3 Israel was a sacred thing to Jehovah, His first ripe fruit. All that devoured him were held guilty; Evil came upon them, saith Jehovah. 4 Hear ye the word of Jehovah, O house of Jacob, And all the families of the house of Israel! 5 Thus saith Jehovah: What fault did your fathers find in me, That they went far from me, And walked after vanity, and practised folly? 6 They said not, Where is Jehovah, Who brought us up from the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and pits, Through a land of drought and deathlike gloom, Through a land which no man passed through, And where no man dwelt? 7 I brought you to a land of fruitful fields, To eat the fruit thereof, and the good thereof; But when ye had come in, ye defiled my land, And made my inheritance an abomination. 8 The priests said not, Where is Jehovah? And the teachers of the law knew me not; The rulers also rebelled against me; The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal, And walked after things that could not profit. 9 Therefore I will yet contend with you, saith Jehovah; Yea, with your children's children will I contend. 10 For pass over to the islands of the Chittaeans, and see; Send ye to Kedar, and inform yourselves well; And see if such a thing hath been done! 11 Hath any nation changed their gods, even those that are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which cannot profit. 12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this! Shudder, and be amazed! saith Jehovah. 13 For my people have committed two evils; Me have they forsaken, the fountain of living water, And they have hewn out for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns, that can hold no water. 14 Is Israel a slave? Is he a home-born servant? Why then hath he become a spoil? 15 The young lions roar over him; They lift up their voice; They have made his land a desolation; His cities are burned so as to be without an inhabitant. 16 Even the sons of Noph and Tahpanhes have consumed the crown of thy head. 17 Hath not this come upon thee, Because thou didst forsake Jehovah thy God, When he would have led thee in the way? 18 And now what hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, To drink the waters of the Nile? Or what hast thou to do with the way of Assyria, To drink the waters of the Euphrates? 19 Thy wickedness shall chasten thee, And thy transgressions reprove thee; And thou shalt know and see that it is an evil and bitter thing That thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, And that the fear of me is not with thee, Saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts. 20 Of old hast thou broken thy yoke, And burst thy bands, And said, “I will not be in subjection!” For upon every high hill, And under every green tree, Hast thou reclined, playing the harlot. 21 Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, Wholly a genuine seed; How then art thou changed to the degenerate shoot of a strange vine? 22 For though thou wash thee with nitre, And take thee much soap, Yet is thine iniquity black before me, saith Jehovah. 23 How canst thou say, “I am not polluted,” “I have not gone after Baals”? Behold thy way in the valley! Know what thou hast done, A swift young camel, traversing her ways. 24 A wild ass, used to the wilderness, That in her desire snuffeth up the wind, In her occasion, who can turn her aside? All that seek her do not weary themselves; In her month they will find her. 25 Withhold thy feet from being unshod, And thy throat from thirst! But thou sayest, There is no remedy! No! For I love strangers, And after them I will go. 26 As a thief is ashamed when he is taken, So is the house of Israel ashamed, They, their kings, and their princes, And their priests, and their prophets; 27 That say to a stock, Thou art my father, And to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth! For they turn the back to me, and not the face. Yet in the time of their trouble they say, Arise and save us! 28 But where are thy gods, which thou hast made thee? Let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble! For according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah! 29 Why do ye enter into controversy with me? Ye have all rebelled against me, saith Jehovah. 30 In vain have I smitten your children; They would receive no correction; Your own sword hath devoured your prophets, Like a destroying lion. 31 O generation! Behold ye the word of Jehovah! Have I been a wilderness to Israel? Or a land of darkness? Why then say my people, “We will rove at pleasure, We will come no more to thee”? 32 Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her belt? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number! 33 Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? On this account hast thou accustomed thy ways to wickedness. 34 Upon thy skirts is found the blood of the innocent poor, Whom thou didst not find committing violence. 35 But notwithstanding all this, thou sayest, I am innocent; Surely his anger is turned away from me. Behold, I will enter into judgment with thee, Because thou sayest, “I have not sinned.” 36 Why dost thou run so eagerly, changing thy way? By Egypt also shalt thou be put to shame, Even as thou hast been put to shame by Assyria. 37 From Egypt also shalt thou go forth With thy hands upon thy head. For Jehovah hath rejected the objects of thy confidence, Therefore shalt thou not prosper in them.

3  1 It is said, if a man put away his wife, And she go from him, and become another man's, Shall he return to her again? Shall not that land be polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; And shalt thou return to me, saith Jehovah? 2 Lift up thine eyes to the high places, and see! Where hast thou not been defiled? In the ways hast thou sat waiting, As the Arabian in the desert, And hast polluted the land by thy lewdness and thy wickedness. 3 And although the showers have been withholden, And there hath been no latter rain, Yet thou hast had a harlot's forehead; Thou hast refused to be ashamed. 4 Wilt thou not from this time cry to me, Thou art my father, Yea, the friend of my youth art thou? 5 Will he retain his anger forever? Will he keep it forevermore? Behold, thus dost thou speak, But thou doest evil with all thy might. 6 Jehovah said to me, in the time of King Josiah, Hast thou heard what rebellious Israel hath done? She hath gone upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. 7 And I said, after she had done all these things, Return thou to me! But she returned not. And her faithless sister Judah saw it. 8 And I saw, when, for all the adulteries which rebellious Israel had committed, I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce, that her faithless sister Judah was not afraid, but went and played the harlot also herself. 9 And when by the fame of her lewdness she had polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and wood, 10 yet for all this did not her faithless sister Judah return to me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith Jehovah. 11 Then said Jehovah to me, Rebellious Israel is less guilty than faithless Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north:—Return, O rebellious Israel, saith Jehovah! I will not turn a frowning face upon you; For I am merciful, saith Jehovah, I retain not anger forever. 13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, That thou hast rebelled against Jehovah thy God, And hast roved about to strangers Under every green tree, And hast not obeyed my voice, saith Jehovah. 14 Return, ye rebellious children! saith Jehovah; Though I have rejected you, Yet will I receive you again, One from a city, and two from a nation, And I will bring you to Zion. 15 And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, Who shall feed you with wisdom and discretion. 16 And when ye shall have multiplied and increased in the land, saith Jehovah, Then shall ye no more speak of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, Nor shall it come into your mind. None shall remember it; None shall care for it; It shall not be made any more. 17 For then shall Jerusalem be called the throne of Jehovah, And all the nations shall resort to it; They shall resort to Jehovah, to Jerusalem, And shall no more walk after the perverseness of their evil hearts. 18 In those days shall the house of Judah unite themselves with the house of Israel, And they shall come together from the north country, To the land which I caused your fathers to inherit. 19 Then I said, how will I place thee among my children, And give thee a pleasant land, A goodly inheritance among the hosts of nations! And I said, Thou wilt call me thy father; Thou wilt not turn aside from following me. 20 Yet as a woman is faithless to her husband, So have ye been faithless to me, O house of Israel! saith Jehovah. 21 A voice is heard upon the hills, The weeping and supplications of the children of Israel! For they have perverted their way; They have forgotten Jehovah their God. 22 Return, O revolted children! I will heal your rebellion. Behold, we come to thee, For thou art Jehovah our God! 23 Truly in vain from the hills, In vain from the mountains do we seek abundance; Only from Jehovah our God cometh salvation for Israel. 24 For the things of shame have devoured the substance of our fathers from our youth, Their sheep and their oxen, Their sons and their daughters. 25 We lie down in our shame, And our ignominy covereth us; For we have sinned against Jehovah our God, We and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, And have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God.

4  1 If thou wilt return to me, O Israel, saith Jehovah, Thou shalt return [[to thy land]]; If thou wilt put away thy abominations from my sight, Thou shalt no more be a wanderer [[in a foreign land]]. 2 If thou wilt swear, As Jehovah liveth! In truth, in justice, and in righteousness, Then shall the nations bless themselves by thee, And in thee shall they glory. 3 Thus saith Jehovah to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up your fallow ground, And sow not among thorns! 4 Circumcise yourselves to Jehovah; Yea, circumcise your hearts, Ye men of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Lest, for the evil of your doings, My fury break forth like fire, And burn so that none can quench it. 5 Declare ye in Judah, And proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land; Cry ye aloud, and say, Gather yourselves together, And let us go into the fortified cities; 6 Set up a standard toward Zion, Flee, make no stand! For I am about to bring evil from the north, Even great destruction. 7 The lion goeth up from his thicket, The destroyer of nations is on his way; He goeth forth from his place to make thy land desolate; Thy cities shall be laid waste so as to be without an inhabitant. 8 For this cause gird on sackcloth, Lament and howl! For the fierce anger of Jehovah is not turned away from us. 9 In that day, saith Jehovah, Shall the heart of the king perish, And the heart of the princes; The priests shall be amazed, And the prophets confounded. 10 Then said I, Alas, O Lord Jehovah! Surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem; Thou hast said, “Ye shall have peace”; And the sword reacheth to the very life! 11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem: A dry wind cometh from the hills of the desert, It cometh toward my people, Not to fan, nor to cleanse. 12 Yea, a wind stronger than this shall come; Now will I myself give sentence against them. 13 Behold, he cometh up like clouds, And his chariots are like a whirlwind; His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! for we are laid waste! 14 Wash thy heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, That thou mayst be saved! How long shall thy evil devices lodge within thee? 15 For a voice proclaimeth tidings from Dan, And announceth calamity from mount Ephraim. 16 Proclaim ye to the nations, Behold, publish ye to Jerusalem, “Watchmen are coming from a far country, And lift their voice against the cities of Judah.” 17 Like keepers of fields are they round about her Because she hath rebelled against me, saith Jehovah. 18 Thy way and thy doings have brought this upon thee; This is the fruit of thy wickedness; It is bitter; it reacheth to thy heart. 19 O my breast, my breast! I am pained in the walls of my heart; My heart trembleth within me; I cannot be silent; For thou hearest, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war! 20 There is a cry of destruction upon destruction; Yea, the whole land is laid waste; Suddenly are my tents destroyed, And my canopies in an instant. 21 How long shall I see the standard, Hear the sound of the trumpet? 22 My people is foolish, They have no regard to me; Stupid children are they, And have no understanding; They are wise to do evil, But for doing good they have no knowledge. 23 I look to the earth, and lo! emptiness and desolation; To the heavens, and there is no light. 24 I look to the mountains, and lo! they tremble, And all the hills shake. 25 I look, and lo! there is not a man, And all the birds of heaven are fled. 26 I look, and lo! Carmel is a desert, And all its cities are thrown down, Before the presence of Jehovah, Before the heat of his anger. 27 For thus saith Jehovah: The whole land shall be desolate, Yet will I not make a full end. 28 Therefore shall the earth mourn, And the heavens above be black, Because I have spoken, and I will not repent; I have purposed, and I will not recede from it. 29 At the noise of the horsemen and bowmen every city fleeth; They go into thickets, And climb up upon the rocks; All the cities are forsaken, And not a man dwelleth in them. 30 And thou, destined to perish, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothe thyself in scarlet, And deck thyself with ornaments of gold, And rend thine eyes with paint, In vain dost thou adorn thyself; Thy lovers despise thee; They seek thy life. 31 I hear a cry, as of a woman in travail, Anguish, as of her that bringeth forth her first child. The voice of the daughter of Zion. She sobbeth, she spreadeth out her hands, “Ah! woe is me! I am dying by murderers!”

5  1 Run ye through the streets of Jerusalem, [[saith Jehovah,]] And see now, and know, and seek in her broad places If ye can find a single man, If there be one that doeth justice, That seeketh uprightness, And I will forgive her. 2 Yea, though they say, “As Jehovah liveth!” Yet do they swear falsely. 3 Are not thine eyes upon the truth, O Jehovah! Thou hast smitten them, but they have not grieved; Thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction; They have made their faces harder than a rock; They have refused to return. 4 Then I said, These are only the poor; They are foolish, because they know not the way of Jehovah, The law of their God. 5 I will get me to the great ones, And I will speak to them; For they know the way of Jehovah, The law of their God. But these also have together broken the yoke; They have burst the bands. 6 Therefore the lion out of the forest shall slay them, And the evening wolf shall destroy them. The leopard shall keep watch upon their cities; Every one that goeth out from them shall be torn in pieces; Because their transgressions are multiplied, Their rebellions are increased. 7 How can I pardon thee for this? [[saith Jehovah;]] Thy children have forsaken me, And sworn by them that are no gods. I have fed them to the full, yet do they commit adultery, And assemble themselves in crowds in the house of the harlot. 8 They are as well-fed horses in the morning; Every one neigheth after his neighbor's wife. 9 Shall I not punish for these things, saith Jehovah? Shall I not avenge myself on such a nation as this? 10 Go ye up upon her walls and destroy! Yet make ye not a full end! Take ye away her branches, For they belong not to Jehovah! 11 For they have proved false to me, The house of Israel and the house of Judah, saith Jehovah. 12 They have denied Jehovah, And have said, “It is not He; Evil shall not come upon us, Nor shall we see sword or famine. 13 The prophets are but wind, And the word is not in them; Thus may it happen to them!” 14 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, God of hosts: Because ye say such things, Behold, I will make thy words in thy mouth fire, And this people wood, And it shall devour them. 15 Behold, I will bring against you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah; It is a mighty nation; It is an ancient nation; A nation whose language thou dost not know, And whose words thou canst not understand. 16 Their quiver is like an open sepulchre; They are all mighty men. 17 They shall consume thy harvest and thy bread; They shall consume thy sons and thy daughters; They shalt consume thy sheep and thy oxen; They shall consume thy vine and thy fig-tree; They shall destroy with the sword thy fortified cities, In which thou placest thy trust. 18 Yet even in those days, saith Jehovah, I will not make a full end with you. 19 And when they shall say, Wherefore hath Jehovah our God brought all these things upon us? Then shalt thou say to them, “As ye have forsaken me, And served strange gods in your land, So shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.” 20 Declare ye this in the house of Jacob, And publish it in Judah, saying: 21 Hear ye now this, O foolish people and without understanding, Who have eyes and see not, Who have ears and hear not! 22 Will ye not fear me, saith Jehovah? Will ye not tremble before me, Who appointed the sand a bound to the sea, A perpetual barrier, which it cannot pass? Though the waves thereof toss themselves, Yet do they not prevail, Though they roar, yet can they not pass over it. 23 But this people hath a revolting and rebellious heart; They revolt continually. 24 Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear Jehovah our God, Who giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in its season, And secureth to us the appointed weeks of the harvest. 25 Your iniquities have turned away these things, And your sins have withholden that which is good from you. 26 For among my people are found wicked men, Who lie on the watch like fowlers; They set a trap that they may catch men. 27 As a cage is full of birds, So are their houses full of fraud. Therefore are they grown great and rich; 28 They have become fat and shine; Yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked; They maintain no cause, No cause of the fatherless, and they prosper; And the right of the needy do they not defend. 29 Shall I not punish for these things, saith Jehovah? Shall I not be avenged on such a nation as this? 30 Astonishing and horrible is that which is done in this land; 31 The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule under their guidance, And my people love to have it so. But what will ye do in the end of it?

6  1 Flee, O ye sons of Benjamin, from Jerusalem, And blow ye the trumpet in Tekoa, And lift up the banner in Beth-haccerem! For evil threateneth from the North; Yea, great destruction. 2 O daughter of Zion, the comely and delicate, Thee have I doomed to destruction! 3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come to her; They shall pitch their tents against her round about; They shall feed each one in his place. 4 “Prepare ye war against her, [[shall they say;]] Arise, and let us go up at noonday; Alas for us! for the day goeth away, For the shadows of evening are lengthened. 5 Arise, and let us go up by night, And let us destroy her palaces!” 6 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Hew ye down trees, And raise a mound against Jerusalem! She is a city to be punished; She is full of oppression. 7 As a fountain sendeth forth its waters, So she sendeth forth her wickedness. Violence and rapine are heard within her; Before me continually are bruises and wounds. 8 Receive correction, O Jerusalem, Lest my soul be alienated from thee, Lest I make thee a desolation, A land not inhabited! 9 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: They shall thoroughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine; Turn thy hand like a grape-gatherer again to the baskets! 10 To whom shall I speak? To whom give warning, so that they shall hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, so that they cannot hearken; Behold, the word of Jehovah is to them a derision; They have no delight in it. 11 Therefore I am full of the fury of Jehovah; I am weary of holding it; I will pour it out alike upon the children in the street, And upon the assembly of the young men. Yea, also the husband with the wife shall be taken, The old man, and he that is full of days. 12 Their houses also shall be transferred to others, Their fields and their wives together, For I will stretch out my hand over the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah. 13 For from the least of them even to the greatest, Every one is greedy of gain; Prophet and priest alike, Every one of them practiseth deceit. 14 They heal the wound of my people slightly, Saying, Peace! peace! when there is no peace. 15 Are they ashamed that they have done abominable things? Nay, they are not at all ashamed; They know not how to blush; Therefore shall they fall with them that fall; At the time when I punish them, They shall be cast down, saith Jehovah. 16 Thus saith Jehovah: Stand ye upon the ways and look; And ask for the old paths, “Where is the good way?” Walk ye in it, and ye shall find for yourselves rest. But they say, We will not walk in it. 17 I have also set watchmen over you, [[saying,]] Hearken to the sound of the trumpet! But they say, We will not hearken. 18 Therefore hear, O ye nations, And know, ye assembled multitude, What shall come upon them! 19 Hear thou, O earth! Behold, I bring evil upon this people, The fruit of their devices; Because they have not hearkened to my words, And have even rejected my law. 20 To what purpose is incense brought to me from Sheba, And the sweet-smelling reed from a far country? Your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, Nor are your sacrifices sweet to me. 21 Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I lay stumbling-blocks before this people, Upon which fathers and sons shall stumble together, The neighbor and his friend, and shall perish. 22 Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a people cometh from the land of the North; A great nation riseth up from the extremities of the earth. 23 They bear the bow and the spear; They are cruel and show no mercy; Their voice roareth like the sea; And upon horses do they ride, Arrayed as a warrior against thee, O daughter of Zion. 24 We have heard the report thereof; Our hands lose their strength; Anguish hath taken hold of us, Pain, as of a woman in travail. 25 Go not forth into the field, Nor walk ye in the highway! For the sword of the enemy And terror are on every side. 26 O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, And roll thyself in ashes! Make thee mourning as for an only son, Most bitter lamentation! For suddenly shall the spoiler come upon us. 27 I have set thee, like a tower, for an assayer among my people, That thou mayst know and try their way. 28 They are all stubborn revolters, Slanderers are they, brass and iron; They are all corrupt. 29 The bellows burn; The lead is consumed by the fire; The refiner hath melted in vain, For the bad are not separated. 30 Rejected silver shall men call them, Because Jehovah hath rejected them.

7  1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying: 2 Stand in the gate of the house of Jehovah, and proclaim these words, and say:—Hear the word of Jehovah, all ye of Judah, Who enter in at these gates to worship Jehovah! 3 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, And I will suffer you to dwell in this place! 4 Trust ye not in lying words, when they say, “The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, The temple of Jehovah are these.” 5 Yet if ye will thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, And dispense justice between man and man, 6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, And shed not innocent blood in this place, And go not after other gods to your own hurt, 7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, In the land which I gave to your fathers, For ever and ever. 8 Behold, ye trust in lying words without profit. 9 Ye steal, and murder, and commit adultery, And swear falsely, and burn incense to Baal, And go after strange gods, which ye know not, 10 And then come and stand before me in this house, Which is called by my name, And say, “We are delivered!” Whilst ye practise all these abominations. 11 Is this house, which is called by my name, Become a den for robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, saith Jehovah. 12 But go now to my place, which was in Shiloh, Where I caused my name to dwell at the first, And see what I have done to it On account of the wickedness of my people Israel. 13 And now because ye have done all these works, saith Jehovah, And I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, But ye hearkened not, And I have called to you, But ye answered not, 14 Therefore will I do to the house which is called by my name, In which ye place your confidence, And to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, As I have done to Shiloh. 15 I will cast you out from my presence, As I have cast out all your brethren, The whole race of Ephraim. 16 And as for thee, pray not for this people, Nor lift up a cry or a prayer for them, Nor make intercession to me for them; For I will not hear thee. 17 Seest thou not what they do In the cities of Judah, and the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The sons gather the wood, And the fathers kindle the fire, And the women knead dough, To make cakes for the queen of heaven, And to pour out libations to strange gods, That they may vex me. 19 But do they vex me, saith Jehovah? Do they not rather vex themselves, to the confusion of their own faces? 20 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold my anger and my fury shall be poured out on this place, Upon man and upon beast; Upon the trees of the field, And upon the fruit of the ground; It shall burn and not be quenched. 21 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt-offerings to your sacrifices, And eat ye the flesh. 22 For I spake not to your fathers, nor commanded them Concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices, At the time when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; 23 But this command gave I to them: “Hearken,” said I, “to my voice, And I will be your God, And ye shall be my people. And walk ye in all the ways which I command you, That it may go well with you.” 24 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, But walked in the devices and obstinacy of their evil heart, Turning their backs and not their faces toward me. 25 From the day when your fathers came forth from the land of Egypt, Even to this day, I have also sent to you all my servants, the prophets, Daily rising early and sending. 26 But they have not hearkened to me, Nor have they inclined their ear; But they have hardened their neck, And acted more wickedly than their fathers. 27 And when thou shalt speak all these things to them, They will not hearken to thee; And when thou shalt call to them, They will make thee no answer. 28 Therefore shalt thou say to them, This is the nation that hearkeneth not to the voice of Jehovah their God, And taketh no correction; Truth hath failed, and is cut off from their mouth. 29 Cut off thy locks, O Jerusalem, and cast them away! Set up a lamentation upon the high place! For Jehovah hath rejected and forsaken the children Against which his wrath hath been kindled. 30 For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith Jehovah, They have set their abominations in the house Which is called by my name, to pollute it. 31 They have built the high places of Tophet, Which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, To burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, Which I commanded not, Which even came not into my mind. 32 Therefore behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, That it shall no more be called Tophet, Or the valley of the son of Hinnom, But the Valley of Slaughter; For they shall bury in Tophet till there be no room left. 33 And the dead bodies of this people shall be for meat To the birds of the air and to the beasts of the earth; And none shall scare them away. 34 And I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah, And from the streets of Jerusalem, The voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; For the land shall be desolate.

8  1 At that time, saith Jehovah, Shall the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of the princes, The bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, And the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Be cast forth from their graves; 2 And they shall be spread before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, Which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked; Which they have consulted and have worshipped; They shall not be gathered, nor be buried; They shall be as dung upon the face of the ground. 3 And death shall be chosen rather than life By all the residue of them that remain of this evil race, Which remain in all the places whither I have driver them, Saith Jehovah of hosts. 4 Thou shalt also say to them, Thus saith Jehovah, Doth a man fall, and not rise again? Doth one turn aside from the way, and not return, 5 Why then hath this people, Why hath Jerusalem, completely revolted? They hold fast deceit; They refuse to return. 6 I have listened and heard, But they speak not aright; No one repenteth of his wickedness, Saying, “What have I done?” Every one runneth at full speed in his rebellion, As a horse rusheth to the battle. 7 Even the stork in the heavens knoweth her times, And the turtle-dove and the swallow and the crane observe the season of their coming, But my people regard not the laws of Jehovah. 8 How is it that ye say, “We are wise, We possess the law of Jehovah”? Behold, the false pen of the scribes Hath turned it into falsehood. 9 The wise men shall be confounded; They shall be dismayed and ensnared; Behold, they have rejected the word of Jehovah, And what wisdom is there in them? 10 Therefore will I give their wives to others, And their fields to plunderers. For from the least of them even to the greatest, Every one is greedy of gain, Prophet and priest alike, Every one of them practiseth deceit. 11 They heal the wound of my people slightly, Saying, Peace! peace! when there is no peace. 12 Are they ashamed, that they have done abominable things? Nay, they are not at all ashamed; They know not how to blush. Therefore shall they fall with them that fall; At the time when I punish them, They shall be cast down, saith Jehovah. 13 I will utterly consume them, saith Jehovah; There shall be no grapes on the vine, Nor shall there be from the fig-tree; Even the leaf shall be withered; For I will send those that shall overrun them. 14 “Why do we remain here?” [[shall they say.]] “Assemble yourselves and let us go into the fortified cities. And let us there wait in silence! For Jehovah our God hath put us to silence, And given us the water of hemlock to drink, Because we have sinned against Jehovah. 15 We look for peace, but no good cometh; For a time of deliverance, and behold, terror!” 16 From Dan is heard the snorting of their horses, At the sound of the neighing of their steeds the whole land trembleth; They come and devour the land, and all that is in it; The city, and them that dwell therein. 17 Behold I send against you serpents, Basilisks, which cannot be charmed, And they shall bite you, saith Jehovah. 18 O where is consolation for my sorrow! My heart is faint within me. 19 Behold, the cry of the daughter of my people from a far country! “Is not Jehovah in Zion? Is her King there no more?” Why then have they provoked me by their graven images, And their foreign vanities? 20 The harvest is passed, the summer is ended, And we are not delivered. 21 For the wound of the daughter of my people am I wounded; I mourn; amazement hath taken hold of me. 22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then are not the wounds of my people healed?

9  1 O that my head were waters, And mine eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people! 2 O that I had a traveller's lodge in the wilderness, That I might leave my people, and go from them! For they are all adulterers; An assembly of revolters. 3 They bend their tongues, like their bows, for lies, And not by truth do they grow mighty in the earth; They proceed from wickedness to wickedness, And have no regard to me, saith Jehovah. 4 Be on your guard each one against his neighbor, And trust ye not in any brother; For every brother will supplant, And every neighbor will slander. 5 They deceive every one his neighbor, And do not speak the truth; They have accustomed their tongues to speak lies; They weary themselves in doing iniquity. 6 Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit, [[O prophet!]] Through deceit they refuse to know me, saith Jehovah. 7 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold I will melt them and try them; For what else can I do on account of the daughter of my people? 8 Their tongue is a deadly arrow; Every one of them speaketh treachery; With their mouth they speak peace to their neighbor, But in their heart they lay snares for him. 9 Shall I not punish them for these things? saith Jehovah; Shall I not be avenged on such a nation as this? 10 For the mountains will I lift up a weeping and wailing, And for the pastures of the plains a lamentation, For they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; No more is heard the voice of the cattle; Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled, and are gone. 11 I will make Jerusalem heaps of stones, The dwelling-place of jackals; And I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant. 12 Who is the wise man, that he may understand this, And he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it? Why is it that the land perisheth, That it is burned up like a desert, which none passeth through? 13 Jehovah himself hath said: It is because they have forsaken my law, Which I set before them, And have not hearkened to my voice, Nor walked according to it; 14 But have walked after the obstinacy of their own heart, And after the Baals, as their fathers taught them. 15 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with wormwood, And give them water of hemlock to drink. 16 I will also scatter them among nations Which neither they nor their fathers have known, And I will send after them the sword, Till I have made an end of them. 17 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come, And send to the skilful ones, that they may come; 18 Let them make haste, and lift up a wailing for us, That our eyes may run down with tears, And our eyelids gush forth with waters. 19 Behold, a voice of wailing is heard from Zion: “How are we spoiled! How are we put to shame! We must leave our native land; They have cast down our habitations.” 20 Hear, O ye women, the word of Jehovah! Let your ear receive the word of his mouth! Teach your daughters a lamentation, And every one her companion a mournful dirge! 21 For death cometh in through our windows, It entereth our palaces; It cutteth off the children from the street, And the young men from the public places. 22 Declare it, saith Jehovah! The dead bodies of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, And as the handful behind the reaper, Which none gathereth up. 23 Thus saith Jehovah: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Nor let the mighty glory in his might, Nor let the rich glory in his riches! 24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, That he hath regard to me, and knoweth me, That I am Jehovah, who exercise loving-kindness, Justice, and righteousness upon the earth; For in these do I delight, saith Jehovah. 25 Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, That I will punish all the circumcised with the uncircumcised, 26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, And the sons of Ammon and Moab, And all with shaven cheeks, that dwell in the wilderness. For all the nations are uncircumcised, And all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.

10  1 Hear ye the word which Jehovah speaketh to you, O house of Israel! 2 Thus saith Jehovah: Conform ye not to the way of the heathen, And be not dismayed at the signs of the heavens, Because the heathen are dismayed at them! 3 The customs of the nations are vanity. For a tree of the wood is cut down, It is wrought by the hands of the artificer with the axe, 4 It is decked with silver and gold, And with nails and with hammers is it fastened, That it may not totter. 5 They are like a turned palm-tree pillar, and cannot speak; They must be borne by men, for they cannot walk. Be not afraid of them, for they cannot hurt, Nor is it in their power to do good. 6 There is none like thee, O Jehovah! Thou art great, And great is thy name by mighty deeds. 7 Who shall not fear thee, O king of nations, For to thee doth it belong! For among all the wise men of the nations, And in all their kingdoms, there is none like thee. 8 They are all brutish and without understanding; A doctrine of vanities is the stock. 9 Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, And gold from Uphaz, The work of the artificer and the founder; Blue and purple is their clothing; The work of the skilful is it all. 10 But Jehovah is the true God, He is the living God, and an everlasting king; At his wrath the earth trembleth, And the nations are not able to abide his indignation. 11 [[Thus shall ye say to them: The gods, that have not made the heavens and the earth, Shall perish from the earth and from under these heavens.]] 12 He made the earth by his power; He established the world by his wisdom, And by his understanding he spread out the heavens. 13 When he uttereth his voice there is an abundance of water in the heavens; He causeth clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth; He maketh lightnings with rain; He bringeth the wind from his storehouses. 14 Brutish is every one who hath not this knowledge; By his image is every founder put to shame, For his molten-work is deceit; There is no breath in it. 15 They are vanity, deceptive work; In the time of their punishment shall they perish. 16 Not like them is He who is the portion of Jacob; He is the former of all things, And Israel is his allotted inheritance; Jehovah of hosts is his name. 17 Gather up thy goods out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress! 18 For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will sling forth the inhabitants of the land at this time; I will distress them, so that they shall be taken. 19 “Ah me! my wound!” [[saith the daughter of Zion;]] “My bruise is deadly; Yet I say, This is my affliction, and I must bear it! 20 My tent is torn down, And all my cords broken. My children are gone forth from me, and are no more; There is none to stretch forth my tent any more, Or to set up my curtains. 21 For the shepherds have become brutish; They have not sought Jehovah; Therefore have they not prospered, And all their flock is dispersed.” 22 [[Hark!]] the sound of tiding! Behold it cometh, And a great tumult from the land of the North, To make the cities of Judah desolate, A dwelling-place for jackals. 23 “I know, O Jehovah, that the way of a man is not within his power, That it is not within the power of a man that walketh to establish his steps. 24 Chasten me, O Jehovah, but in measure; Not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing! 25 Pour out thy wrath on the nations which acknowledge thee not, And on the kingdoms which call not on thy name! For they have devoured Jacob; They have devoured and consumed him, And laid waste his dwelling-place.”

11  1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying: 2 Hear ye the words of this covenant, And speak ye to the men of Judah, And the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 And say thou to them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Cursed is the man who will not obey the words of this covenant, 4 Which I commanded your fathers, When I brought them forth from the land of Egypt, From the iron furnace, saying, “Obey ye my voice, And do all which I command you; So shall ye be my people, And I will be your God; 5 So that I may perform the oath, Which I made to your fathers, To give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.” Then answered I, and said, So may it be, O Jehovah! 6 Then said Jehovah to me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, And the streets of Jerusalem, saying: Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them! 7 For I have earnestly admonished your fathers, From the time when I brought them up from the land of Egypt to this day, Rising early and admonishing them, saying, “Obey ye my voice!” 8 Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, But walked every one in the obstinacy of his evil heart; Therefore have I brought upon them all the words of this covenant, Which I commanded them to obey, And they obeyed not. 9 Jehovah also said to me: A conspiracy hath been found among the men of Judah, And the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They turn back to the iniquities of their forefathers, Who refused to hearken to my words; They go after strange gods and serve them; The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant Which I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold I bring upon them a calamity, From which they shall not be able to escape; And though they cry to me, I will not hear them. 12 Then may the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem go, And cry to the gods to whom they burn incense; But they shall not save them at all in the time of their calamity. 13 For according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah! According to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to a thing of shame, Altars for burning incense to Baal. 14 Therefore pray not thou for this people, Nor lift up a cry or a prayer for them; For I will not hear when they cry to me On account of their calamity. 15 What hath my beloved to do in my house, While many pollute it with wickedness? The holy flesh shall pass away from thee, For when thou doest evil, thou rejoicest. 16 Jehovah hath called thee an olive-tree, Green, fair, and of goodly fruit; With the noise of a great crackling doth he kindle a fire upon it, And the branches of it shall be broken. 17 For Jehovah of hosts, who planted thee, Hath pronounced evil against thee, On account of the wickedness of the house of Israel and of Judah, which they have committed In provoking me to anger by burning incense to Baal. 18 Jehovah made it known to me, and I knew it; Thou didst show me their machinations! 19 For I was like a tame lamb, that is led to the slaughter, And knew not that they had formed plots against me, [[saying,]] “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, Let us cut him off from the land of the living, That his name may no more be remembered!” 20 But, O Jehovah of hosts, the righteous judge, Who triest the reins and the heart, I shall see thy vengeance on them, For to thee have I revealed my cause! 21 Therefore thus saith Jehovah against the men of Anathoth, Who seek thy life, and say, “Prophesy not in the name of Jehovah, Lest thou die by our hand!” 22 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will punish them; Their young men shall die by the sword; Their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 There shall be none of them left; For I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, At the time of their punishment.

12  1 Righteous art thou, O Jehovah, when I contend with thee, Yet will I enter into controversy with thee. Why doth the way of the wicked prosper? Why are all the men of treachery at ease? 2 Thou hast planted them; yea, they have taken root; They grow, yea, they bring forth fruit; Thou art near to their mouth, But far from their hearts. 3 But thou, O Jehovah, knowest me; Thou hast seen me, and tried my heart, Whether it be devoted to thee. Tear them away, as sheep for slaughter; Separate them for the day of slaughter! 4 How long shall the land mourn, And the grass of every field wither? For the wickedness of them that dwell therein, The beasts are consumed, and the birds; For they say, “He will not see our latter end.” 5 If thou hast run with footmen, and they have wearied thee, Then how canst thou contend with horses? If it be so with thee in a land of peace, in which thou art secure, What wilt thou do in the glory of Jordan? 6 For even thy brethren and the house of thy father, Even these are treacherous toward thee, And raise a full cry after thee; Trust them not, though they speak fair words to thee! 7 I have forsaken my house, I have abandoned my inheritance, I have given the darling of my soul into the hand of her enemies. 8 My inheritance is become to me like a lion of the forest; She lifteth up her voice against me; Therefore do I hate her. 9 A rapacious beast, a hyena, is my inheritance become to me; Therefore shall the rapacious beasts rush upon her on all sides. Come, gather all the beasts of the field, Bring them to devour! 10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard; They have trodden my portion under foot; My pleasant portion have they made a desolate wilderness. 11 They have made it a desolation; Desolate it mourneth on account of me; The whole land is desolate, Because no man layeth my word to heart. 12 Upon all the high places in the desert do the plunderers come; Behold, the sword of Jehovah devoureth from one end of the land to the other; No man hath peace. 13 They sow wheat, but they reap thorns; They weary themselves, and are not profited; They shall be ashamed of their harvest, Because of the fierce anger of Jehovah. 14 Thus saith Jehovah against all my evil neighbors, Who seize the inheritance which I gave my people, Israel: Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, And the house of Judah will I pluck out from among them. 15 Yet after I have plucked them out of their land, I will again have compassion on them, and bring them back, Every one to his own possession, And every one to his own land. 16 And if they will indeed learn the ways of my people, And swear by my name, saying, As Jehovah liveth! As they taught my people to swear by Baal, Then shall they be built up in the midst of my people; 17 But if they will not hearken, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith Jehovah.

13  1 Thus saith Jehovah to me: Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it on thy loins, and put it not into water! 2 So I got a girdle according to the word of Jehovah, and put it on my loins. 3 Then the word of Jehovah came to me the second time, saying, 4 Take the girdle which thou hast gotten, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. 5 So I went and hid it near the Euphrates, as Jehovah commanded me. 6 And after many days Jehovah said to me. Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take thence the girdle which I commanded thee to hide there. 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hidden it; and, behold, the girdle was marred, so that it was good for nothing. 8 Then the word of Jehovah came to me, saying:— 9 Thus saith Jehovah: After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, And the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, Who refuse to hearken to my words, Who walk after the obstinacy of their heart, And walk after strange gods, To serve them and to worship them, Shall be like this girdle, Which is good for nothing. 11 For as a girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, So have I caused to cleave to me the whole house of Israel, And the whole house of Judah, saith Jehovah, That they might be to me a people, And a name, and a praise, and a glory; But they hearkened not to me. 12 Then shalt thou speak to them in this manner. Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Every flagon shall be filled with wine. And they will say to thee, “Do we not know that every flagon shall be filled with wine?” 13 Then shalt thou say to them, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, And the kings that sit upon David's throne, And the priests, and the prophets, And all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. 14 And I will dash them one against another, Even fathers and children together, saith Jehovah; I will not pity, nor spare, Nor show mercy, so as not to destroy them. 15 Hear ye, and attend! be not lifted up! For Jehovah speaketh. 16 Give glory to Jehovah, your God, Before he bring darkness, And your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, And, while ye look for light, He turn it into deathlike shade, And make it gross darkness. 17 But if ye will not hear, I will mourn in secret places for your pride, I will weep continually, And my eyes shall run down with tears, Because the flock of Jehovah is carried away captive. 18 Say to the king and to the queen, Sit ye down upon the ground, For your beautiful crown shall fall from your heads. 19 The cities of the South are shut up, and none openeth them; Judah is carried away captive, all of it, Every man of it is carried away captive. 20 Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the North! Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock? 21 What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? For thou thyself hast taught them to be lords over thee. Shall not sorrows seize thee, as a woman in travail? 22 And if thou say in thine heart, “Wherefore are these things coming upon me?” For the greatness of thy iniquity are thy skirts uncovered, And thy heels made bare. 23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin, Or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, Who have been accustomed to do evil. 24 Therefore will I scatter you like stubble, Which passeth away before the wind of the desert. 25 This is thy lot, The portion measured out for thee by me, saith Jehovah, Because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood. 26 Therefore will I lift up thy skirts over thy head, So that thy shame shall be seen. 27 Thine adulteries, thy neighings, The lewdness of thy whoredom on the hills, in the fields, All thy abominations, have I seen. Woe to thee, O Jerusalem! How long ere thou wilt become pure!

14  1 The word of Jehovah, which came to Jeremiah concerning a drought. 2 Judah mourneth, And the gates thereof languish; They are in deep mourning upon the ground. And the cry of Jerusalem goeth up. 3 The nobles send their younger ones for water; They come to the wells, they find none; They return with their vessels empty; They are ashamed and confounded; They cover their heads. 4 Because of the ground, which is in consternation, No rain falling upon the earth, The husbandmen are ashamed, They hide their heads. 5 Even the hind in the field is delivered, And deserteth her young, Because there is no grass. 6 The wild asses stand upon the hills, They snuff up the wind like jackals; Their eyes fail, Because there is no grass. 7 Though our iniquities testify against us, Yet do thou, O Jehovah, act from a regard to thine own name. For our transgressions have been many; We have sinned against thee. 8 O thou hope of Israel, His saviour in the time of trouble, Why wilt thou be as a stranger in the land, As a traveller who spreadeth his tent to pass the night? 9 Why wilt thou be as a man that is amazed, As a hero that cannot save? Thou art in the midst of us, O Jehovah, And we are called by thy name; Do not forsake us! 10 Thus saith Jehovah concerning this people: Thus they love to wander, They restrain not their feet; Therefore Jehovah doth not accept them; Now will he remember their iniquities, And punish their sins. 11 Then said Jehovah to me: Pray not for this people for their good! 12 Though they fast, I will not hear their cry; Though they offer burnt-offerings and flour-offerings, I will not accept them; But by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence, I will make an end of them. 13 Then said I, Alas! O Lord Jehovah! Behold, the prophets say to them, “Ye shall not see the sword, Nor shall famine come upon you; But Jehovah will give you lasting peace in this place.” 14 Then said Jehovah to me: The prophets prophesy lies in my name; I have not sent them, nor commissioned them, nor spoken to them; A false vision, and divination, and vanity, And the fraud of their hearts, do they prophesy to you. 15 Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the prophets Who prophesy in my name, though I sent them not, But who themselves say, “The sword and famine shall not be in this land”: By the sword and by famine shall those prophets be consumed. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy Shall be cast forth in the streets of Jerusalem By means of famine and the sword; And they shall have none to bury them,—They, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters; For I will pour their wickedness upon them. 17 Thus also shalt thou speak to them: My eyes shall run down with tears night and day; They shall not cease; For a deep wound hath she received, The virgin daughter of my people, A deadly blow. 18 If I go forth into the fields, Then behold them that are slain by the sword! And if I enter the city, Then behold them that pine with famine! Both prophet and priest wander about the land, they know not whither. 19 Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? Doth thy soul abhor Zion? Why hast thou smitten us, so that there is no healing for us! We look for peace, and there is no good, For a time of healing, and behold, terror! 20 We acknowledge, O Jehovah, our wickedness, And the iniquity of our fathers; For we have sinned against thee. 21 Do not spurn us, for thy name's sake! Do not dishonor thy glorious throne! Call to mind, break not, thy covenant with us! 22 Are there among the vanities of the nations any that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Art not thou he, O Jehovah, our God? Therefore in thee will we trust, For thou hast made all these things!

15  1 Then said Jehovah to me: Though Moses and Samuel should stand before me, Yet would I not be reconciled to this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go forth! 2 And if they say to thee, “Whither shall we go forth?” Then say thou to them, Thus saith Jehovah: They that are for the pestilence, to the pestilence, And they that are for the sword, to the sword. And they that are for famine, to famine, And they that are for captivity, to captivity. 3 I will commission against them four woes, saith Jehovah! The sword to slay, And the dogs to drag about, And the birds of heaven, and the beasts of the earth, To devour and destroy. 4 I will cause them to be harassed in all the kingdoms of the earth, On account of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, On account of all which he did in Jerusalem. 5 For who will have pity on thee, O Jerusalem? Or who condole with thee? Or who turn aside to ask thee of thy welfare? 6 Thou hast forsaken me, saith Jehovah; Thou hast gone backward; Therefore will I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary of relenting. 7 I will scatter them with a winnowing-fan through the gates of the land; I will bereave them of their sons; I will destroy my people, Since they return not from their ways. 8 Their widows shall be more numerous than the sand of the sea; Against the mother of the young men do I bring a spoiler at noonday; Suddenly will I bring alarm and terrors upon them. 9 She, that hath borne seven, languisheth; She is ready to expire; Her sun goeth down while it is yet day; She is ashamed and confounded. Their remnant will I also give to the sword Before their enemies, saith Jehovah. 10 Alas for me, my mother, that thou hast borne me, To live in strife and contention with all the land! I have neither borrowed nor lent money, Yet doth every one curse me! 11 Jehovah said: Surely I will deliver and prosper thee, Surely, in the time of trouble and in the time of distress, Will I cause the adversary to be a suppliant to thee. 12 Who is able to break iron, Iron from the North, and brass? 13 Thy substance and thy treasures will I give for spoil, without price, On account of all thy sins in all thy borders. 14 I will cause them to pass with thy enemies into a land which thou knowest not; For a fire is kindled in my anger, which shall burn against you. 15 Thou, O Jehovah, knowest all my concerns! O remember me, and have regard to me, And revenge me of my persecutors! Do not, through thy long-suffering, take me away! Consider that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke! 16 As soon as I found thy words, I devoured them; For thy words were the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by thy name, O Jehovah, God of hosts! 17 I have not sat in the assembly of them that made merry, nor rejoiced; On account of thy hand I have sat alone; For thou hast filled me with indignation. 18 Why is my pain perpetual, And my wound mortal, refusing to be healed? Thou hast been to me like a deceitful stream; Like waters that fail. 19 Then answered Jehovah thus: If thou wilt return, then will I restore thee, and thou shalt stand before me; And if thou wilt separate the precious from the vile, Thou shalt be as my mouth. They shall turn to thee, And thou shalt not turn to them. 20 I will make thee against this people a strong wall of brass; When they war against thee, they shall not prevail against thee, For I will be with thee to save thee, And to deliver thee, saith Jehovah. 21 I will rescue thee from the hand of the wicked, And I will redeem thee from the grasp of the violent.

16  1 The word of Jehovah came to me, saying: 2 Take thee not a wife; Have no sons or daughters in this place! 3 For thus saith Jehovah concerning the sons and the daughters That are born in this place, And concerning their mothers that bore them, And concerning their fathers that begat them in this land; 4 By deadly diseases shall they die; They shall not be lamented nor buried; They shall become dung upon the face of the earth; By the sword also and by famine shall they be consumed, And their carcasses shall be food for the birds of heaven And the beasts of the earth. 5 For thus saith Jehovah: Enter not into the house of wailing; Go not to lament; Comfort them not! For I have taken away my peace from this people, saith Jehovah, My kindness and mercy. 6 The great and the small in this land shall die; They shall not be buried nor lamented; No one shall cut himself for them, Nor shall any one make himself bald for them. 7 Men shall not break bread for them in their grief, To comfort them for the dead, Nor give them the cup of consolation to drink, On account of a lost father or mother. 8 Neither enter thou into the house of feasting, To sit down with them to eat and to drink! 9 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am about to cause to cease from this place, Before your eyes, in your days, The voice of joy and the voice of mirth, The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. 10 And when thou shalt have declared to this people all these things, and they shall say to thee, “Why hath Jehovah pronounced against us all this great evil? What is our iniquity, and what our sin, which we have committed against Jehovah our God?” 11 Then shalt thou say to them: Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith Jehovah, And have walked after strange gods, And have served them and worshipped them, And have forsaken me, and not kept my law. 12 And ye yourselves have done worse than your fathers; For, behold, ye walk every one after the perverseness of his evil heart, And do not hearken to me. 13 Therefore will I cast you forth from this land Into a land unknown to you and to your fathers; And there shall ye serve strange gods day and night; For I will show you no favor. 14 Yet behold the days shall come, saith Jehovah, When men shall no more say, “As Jehovah liveth Who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,” 15 But, “As Jehovah liveth Who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the North, And from all the lands whither he had driven them.” For I will bring them again into their own land, Which I gave to their fathers. 16 Behold, I will send many fishers, saith Jehovah, who shall fish them, And then will I send many hunters who shall hunt them From every mountain, and from every hill, and from the holes of the rocks. 17 For mine eyes are upon all their ways; They are not concealed from my view, Nor is their iniquity hidden from mine eyes. 18 And I will requite their former and their repeated iniquities and sins, Because they have polluted my land with carcasses offered to their idols, And filled my inheritance with their abominable things. 19 O Jehovah, my strength and my fortress, My refuge in the day of distress! To thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, And shall say, “Truly our fathers inherited delusion, Vain and unprofitable things. 20 Shall one make for himself gods Which are no gods?” 21 Therefore, behold, I will this time cause them to feel, I will cause them to feel my hand and my might, And they shall know that my name is Jehovah.

17  1 The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, With the point of a diamond is it engraved Upon the tablet of their hearts, Upon the horns of their altars. 2 While their children remember the altars, and the images of Astarte, Near the green trees, And upon the high hills. 3 My mountain in the field! thy substance and all thy treasures will I give up for spoil; Thy high places for sin in all thy borders. 4 Thou shalt of thyself cease to possess the inheritance which I gave thee, And I will cause thee to serve thy enemies in a land which thou knowest not; For ye have kindled a fire in my anger, Which shall burn forever. 5 Thus saith Jehovah: Cursed be the man who trusteth in man, And maketh flesh his arm, And whose heart departeth from Jehovah! 6 He shall be like a poor wanderer in the desert, Who seeth not when good cometh, But dwelleth in the parched places of the desert, In a salt land, and uninhabited. 7 Blessed is the man who trusteth in Jehovah; Who in Jehovah placeth his hope! 8 He shall be like a tree planted by the water-side, That spreadeth out her roots by the stream, That feeleth not when the heat cometh, But whose leaf is green; That careth not in the year of drought, Nor ceaseth from yielding fruit. 9 The heart is deceitful above all things; Yea, it is corrupt; who can know it? 10 I, Jehovah, search the heart, And try the reins, To give to every man according to his ways, And according to the fruit of his doings. 11 As the partridge sitteth on eggs which she hath not laid, So is he that getteth riches, and not by right; In the midst of his days shall he leave them, And in his latter end find himself a fool. 12 A glorious, lofty throne from the beginning Hath been the place of our sanctuary. 13 O thou hope of Israel, Jehovah! All that forsake thee shall be put to shame; Yea, all that depart from me shall be written in dust, Because they have forsaken the fountain of living water, they have forsaken Jehovah. 14 Heal me, O Jehovah, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved; For thou art my praise! 15 Behold, they say to me, “Where is the word of Jehovah? Let it come to pass!” 16 I have not refused to follow thee, as thy shepherd, Neither have I desired the day of woe, as thou knowest! That which came from my lips hath been before thine eyes. 17 Be not thou a terror to me, Thou, my refuge in the day of distress! Let my persecutors be confounded, but let not me be confounded! 18 Let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed! Bring upon them the day of calamity, And destroy them with double destruction! 19 Thus said Jehovah to me: Go and stand in the people's gate, Through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, And in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 And say to them, Hear the word of Jehovah, ye kings of Judah, All Judah, and all ye who dwell at Jerusalem, Who enter in through these gates! 21 Thus saith Jehovah: Take heed to yourselves, And carry no burden on the sabbath-day, And bring none through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 Bear no burden from your houses on the sabbath-day, And do no kind of work; But keep ye holy the sabbath-day, As I commanded your fathers. 23 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, But made their necks stiff, and refused to hear, And refused to receive instruction. 24 If ye will now diligently hearken to me, saith Jehovah, And bring no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath-day, But keep holy the sabbath-day, Doing no work therein, 25 Then shall enter the gates of this city kings and princes, Who sit upon the throne of David, Riding in chariots and on horses, They and their chieftains, The men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; And this city shall be inhabited forever. 26 Then from the cities of Judah, and the places around Jerusalem, From the land of Benjamin, and from the plain, From the mountains, and from the South, Shall they come bringing burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, And flour-offerings, and incense, And bringing thank-offerings to the house of Jehovah. 27 But if ye will not hearken to me, To keep holy the sabbath-day, And to carry no burden through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath-day, Then will I kindle in her gates an unquenchable fire, Which shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

18  1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying: 2 Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there will I cause thee to hear my words. 3 So I went down to the potter's house, and behold, he was at work at the wheel. 4 And the vessel which he was making of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he began anew and made it another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. 5 Then came the word of Jehovah to me, saying: 6 Cannot I do after the manner of this potter With respect to you. O house of Israel, saith Jehovah? Behold, as the clay is in the hand of the potter, So are ye in my hand, O house of Israel! 7 Whenever I speak concerning a nation or a kingdom, That I will pluck it up, cast it down, or destroy it, 8 If that nation shall turn from its wickedness On account of which I threatened it, Then will I repent of the evil which I purposed to do to it. 9 And whenever I speak concerning a nation or a kingdom, That I will build it, or plant it, 10 And it shall do that which is evil in my sight, And not hearken to my voice, Then will I repent of the good with which I promised to bless them. 11 And now speak to the men of Judah, And to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I am framing evil against you, And meditating a design against you; Return ye now every one from his evil way, And amend your ways and your doings. 12 But they say, “There is no remedy, For we will walk after our own devices, And we will practise every one the perverseness of his evil heart.” 13 Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Inquire ye now among the nations, Who hath heard such things as these? The virgin of Israel hath done a deed of horror. 14 Shall the snow from the rocks of Lebanon forsake my fields? Or shall the cold flowing waters, that come from afar, be dried up? 15 Yet my people have forgotten me, And burned incense to vanity; They stumble in their paths, the old ways, And walk in ways that have not been thrown up, 16 To make their land a desolation, A perpetual hissing; Every one that passeth through it shall be amazed, And shake his head. 17 I will scatter them before the enemy, as with the east wind; I will show them the back, and not the face, In the day of their calamity. 18 But they say, “Come, let us devise measures against Jeremiah; For the law shall not perish from the priest, Nor counsel from the wise, Nor the word from the prophet; Come, let us smite him with the tongue, And not give heed to any of his words.” 19 Give heed to me, O Jehovah, And hear the voice of my adversaries! 20 Shall evil be returned for good? For they have digged a pit for me. Remember how I have stood before thee, To announce good to them, And to turn away thy wrath from them! 21 Therefore give thou up their sons to famine, And deliver them to the edge of the sword! Let their wives be childless and widows, Let their men be slain by pestilence, And their young men fall by the sword in battle! 22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, When thou shalt bring a troop upon them suddenly! For they have digged a pit to take me, And hidden snares for my feet. 23 Thou, O Jehovah, knowest all their plots against my life! Cover not their iniquity, And blot not out their sin from thy sight! But let them be overthrown before thee; Deal with them in the time of thy wrath!

19  1 Thus saith Jehovah: Go and buy an earthen bottle of the potter, And take with thee the elders of the people, And the elders of the priests, 2 And go forth to the valley of the son of Hinnom, At the entrance of the pottery-gate, And proclaim there the words Which I shall speak to thee. 3 Say, Hear the word of Jehovah, Ye kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am about to bring such an evil upon this place, That whoever heareth of it, his ears shall tingle. 4 For they have forsaken me, And have alienated this place, And have burned incense in it to strange gods, Which neither they, nor their fathers, nor the kings of Judah have known, And have filled this place with the blood of innocent children, 5 And have built high places to Baal, To burn their sons in the fire for burnt-offerings to Baal; Which I ordained not, and commanded not, And which never came into my mind. 6 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, saith Jehovah, When this place shall no more be called Tophet, Nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, But the valley of Slaughter. 7 For I will in this place bring to naught the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, And I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, And by the hands of them that seek their lives; And their dead bodies will I give for food To the birds of heaven and the beasts of the earth. 8 And I will make this city a wonder and a hissing; Every one that passeth by it shall wonder and hiss, On account of all its plagues. 9 For I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and of their daughters, Yea, the flesh of each other shall they eat, In the straitness and the distress With which their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall press them. 10 Then break thou the bottle Before the eyes of the men that go with thee. 11 And say to them: Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, As one breaks a potter's vessel which cannot be made whole again; And they shall be buried in Tophet, till there is no room to bury. 12 Thus will I do to this place and to its inhabitants, saith Jehovah, And I will make this city itself like Tophet; 13 And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be unclean, like the place of Tophet, All the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense to all the host of heaven, And poured out drink-offerings to strange gods. 14 Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, Whither Jehovah had sent him to prophesy, And stood in the court of the house of Jehovah, And said to all the people: 15 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am about to bring upon this city, and upon all the cities belonging to it, All the evil which I have pronounced against it; For they have made their necks stiff, And refused to hearken to my words.

20  1 Now Pashur, the son of Immer, the priest, who was also chief overseer in the house of Jehovah, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2 Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks, that were at the high gate of Benjamin, which was in the house of Jehovah. 3 And on the next day Pashur took Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said Jeremiah to him, Jehovah calleth thee, not Pashur, but Magor-missabib [[not Safety on every side, but Terror on every side]]. 4 For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I am about to make thee a terror to thyself and to all thy friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, thine eyes looking on; and all Judah will I give into the hand of the king of Babylon, who shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall smite them with the sword. 5 And I will give all the wealth of this city, and all its possessions, and all its precious things, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give, into the hand of their enemies, and they shall spoil them, and take them and carry them to Babylon. 6 And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thy house, shall go into captivity; thou shalt go to Babylon, and there shalt thou die, and there shalt thou be buried, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied falsely. 7 Thou didst persuade me, O Jehovah, and I was persuaded; Thou wast stronger than I, and didst prevail. But I am in derision daily, Every one mocketh me. 8 For whenever I speak, I cry out on account of violence, And complain of oppression; For the word of Jehovah bringeth upon me reproach, And daily derision. 9 So I say, I will no more make mention of him, Nor speak any more in his name; But his word is in my heart like a burning fire, shut up in my bones, And I am weary with forbearing, And I cannot refrain. 10 For I hear the slander of many, terror on every side; “Tell us something against him, and we will denounce him.” All my familiar friends, they who leave not my side, [[say,]] “Perhaps he will be enticed, So that we may prevail against him, And take our revenge on him.” 11 But Jehovah is on my side, like a mighty champion, Therefore shall my persecutors stumble, and not prevail; They shall be covered with shame, because they act not wisely,—With everlasting shame, that shall not be forgotten. 12 O Jehovah of hosts, thou that provest the righteous, That seest the reins and the heart, Let me see thy vengeance on them, For to thee have I laid open my cause! 13 Sing to Jehovah! Praise ye Jehovah! For he delivereth the oppressed From the hand of evil-doers. 14 Cursed be the day on which I was born; Let not the day on which my mother bore me be blessed! 15 Cursed be the man who brought the tidings to my father, Saying, “A son is born to thee,” making him very glad! 16 Let that man be like the cities which Jehovah overthrew, and relented not; Let him hear an outcry in the morning, And an alarm at noontide; 17 Because he slew me not before I saw the light, So that my mother might have been my grave, And her womb have been great with me forever! 18 Wherefore came I forth from the womb, to see weariness and sorrow, And that my days might be consumed in shame?

21  1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashur, the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying: 2 Inquire, I pray thee, of Jehovah for us; for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, maketh war against us; whether Jehovah will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us. 3 And Jeremiah said to them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah: 4 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war which are in your hands, with which ye fight against the king of Babylon and the Chaldaeans, which besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them in the midst of this city. 5 And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand, and with a strong arm, with anger and fury and great wrath. 6 And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; by a great pestilence shall they die. 7 And after this, saith Jehovah, I will deliver Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and those in the city who shall be left alive by the pestilence, the sword, and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life; and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword. He shall not spare them, nor have pity, nor show mercy. 8 And to this people thou shalt say, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. 9 He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence; but he that goeth out and surrendereth himself to the Chaldaeans that besiege you, he shall live, and bear away his life as a prey. 10 For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith Jehovah. It shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 11 And to the house of the king of Judah: Hear ye the word of Jehovah, 12 O house of David! Thus saith Jehovah: Administer justice in season, and deliver him that is spoiled from the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings! 13 Behold, I am against thee, thou inhabitant of the valley, the rock of the plain, who sayest, “Who shall come down against us? Or who shall enter our habitations?” 14 But I will punish you with the fruit of your doings. I will kindle a fire in her forest, which shall consume all around her.

22  1 Thus said Jehovah: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak these words. 2 Hear the word of Jehovah, thou king of Judah, That sittest upon the throne of David, Thou, and thy servants, and thy people, Who go in and out through these gates! 3 Thus saith Jehovah: Do justice and righteousness; Deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor; To the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow Do no wrong, do no violence, And shed no innocent blood in this place! 4 For if ye shall do this, Then shall there enter in through the gates of this house Kings, who shall sit upon the throne of David, Riding in chariots and upon horses, Each one with his servants and his people. 5 But if ye will not hearken to these words, By myself do I swear, saith Jehovah, That this house shall become a desolation. 6 For thus saith Jehovah to the house of the king of Judah: Gilead art thou to me, yea, the summit of Lebanon; Yet will I make thee a desert, As cities not inhabited. 7 I will appoint against thee destroyers, Every one with his weapons; And they shall cut down thy choice cedars, And cast them into the fire. 8 And many nations shall pass by this city, And they shall say one to another, “Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus to this great city?” 9 Then shall they answer: “Because they forsook the covenant of Jehovah their God, And worshipped strange gods, And served them.” 10 Weep not for him that is dead, Make no lamentation for him! Weep, weep ye for him who is gone away; For he shall return no more, Nor see his native land! 11 For thus saith Jehovah Concerning Shallum, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, Who reigned instead of Josiah his father, Who went forth from this place: He shall return to it no more; 12 But in the place whither they have led him captive shall he die, And shall see this land no more. 13 Woe to him that buildeth his house with injustice, And his upper apartments with wrong; That exacteth a man's service without wages, And giveth him no recompense! 14 That saith, “I will build me a large house, And spacious apartments,” And that cutteth out windows, And ceileth it with cedar, And painteth it with vermilion! 15 Shalt thou reign because thou rivallest others in cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink? Yet he had regard to justice and equity; Therefore it was well, with him. 16 He maintained the cause of the poor and needy; Then was it well with him; Was not this to know me, saith Jehovah? 17 But thine eyes and thy heart are only upon thine own gain, And the shedding of innocent blood, And deeds of violence and oppression. 18 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, Concerning Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah: They shall not lament for him, saying, “Alas, my brother!” or, “Alas, sister!” They shall not lament for him, saying, “Alas, lord!” or, “Alas, his glory!” 19 With the burial of an ass shall he be buried, Dragged along and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. 20 Go thou up to Lebanon and cry, [[O Jerusalem!]] And upon Bashan lift up thy voice; Cry aloud from Abarim! For all thy lovers are fallen. 21 I spake to thee in thy prosperity, But thou saidst, “I will not hear.” This hath been thy manner from thy youth; Thou hast not obeyed my voice. 22 The wind shall consume all thy shepherds, And thy lovers shall go into captivity; Then shalt thou be ashamed And confounded for all thy wickedness. 23 O thou that dwellest in Lebanon, That makest thy nest in cedars, How wretched shalt thou be, when anguish cometh upon thee, Pain, as of a woman in travail! 24 As I live, saith Jehovah, Thou Coniah, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, Though thou wert the signet upon my right hand, Even thence would I pluck thee! 25 And I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, And into the hand of them that thou fearest, Even into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, And into the hand of the Chaldaeans. 26 And I will cast thee forth, And thy mother that bore thee, Into a foreign land, Where ye were not born; And there shall ye die. 27 To the land to which they desire to return, Thither shall they not return. 28 “Is then this man Coniah a contemptible broken vessel? Is he a vessel which no man careth for? Wherefore are he and his offspring cast forth, And thrown into a land which they know not?” 29 O land, land, land, hear the word of Jehovah! 30 Thus saith Jehovah: Write ye this man childless, A man that shall not be prosperous through his life; For none of his offspring shall prosper, So as to sit on the throne of David, And reign hereafter in Judah.

23  1 Woe to the shepherds, Who lose and scatter the sheep of my pasture, saith Jehovah. 2 For concerning the shepherds, the feeders of my people, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, And have not taken care of them. Behold, I am about to requite you For the evil of your doings, saith Jehovah. 3 But I will gather the remnant of my flock From all the countries whither I have driven them, And I will bring them back to their folds, And they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 And I will raise up shepherds over them, who shall feed them; They shall fear no more, nor be dismayed; Nor shall they be lost, saith Jehovah. 5 Behold, the days are coming, saith Jehovah, When I will raise up from David a righteous Branch, And a king shall reign and prosper, And shall maintain justice and equity in the land. 6 In his days Judah shall be saved, And Israel shall dwell securely; And this is the name which shall be given him, Jehovah-is-our-salvation. 7 Therefore, behold, the days shall come, saith Jehovah, When they shall no more say, “As Jehovah liveth Who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt!” 8 But, “As Jehovah liveth Who brought up and led the race of Israel from the north country, And from all the countries whither I had driven them!” And they shall dwell in their own land. 9 Concerning the Prophets. My heart is broken within me; All my bones tremble. I am become like a drunken man, Like a man whom wine hath overcome, Because of Jehovah, And because of his holy words. 10 For the land is full of adulteries; Because of a curse doth the land mourn; The pastures of the waste are dried up; For they run to do evil, And their might is without right. 11 Yea, both prophet and priest are profane; Even in my house have I found their wickedness, saith Jehovah. 12 Therefore shall their way become as slippery places in the dark; They shall be driven on and fall therein; For I will bring evil upon them In the time of their visitation, saith Jehovah. 13 In the prophets of Samaria have I seen folly; They prophesy in the name of Baal, and cause my people Israel to err. 14 In the prophets of Jerusalem also have I seen a horrible thing; They commit adultery, and walk in falsehood; They strengthen the hands of evil-doers, So that none doth turn from his iniquity. They have all become to me as Sodom, And her inhabitants as Gomorrah. 15 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, And give them the water of hemlock to drink; For from the prophets of Jerusalem Hath profaneness gone forth into all the land. 16 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Hearken not to the words of the prophets; They lead you to vanity; They utter the vision of their own heart, And not from the mouth of Jehovah. 17 To them that despise me they say continually, “Jehovah hath said, Ye shall have peace”; And to every one that walketh after the perverseness of his heart, “No evil shall come upon you.” 18 For who of them hath stood in the council of Jehovah, And hath seen and heard his word? Who hath listened to his word and heard it? 19 Behold a whirlwind from Jehovah goeth forth in fury, Even a rushing whirlwind; Upon the head of the wicked shall it rush. 20 The fierce anger of Jehovah shall not turn back, Until he shall have executed, until he shall have accomplished the purpose of his heart. In the latter days ye shall understand it fully. 21 I sent not these prophets, yet they ran; I spake not to them, yet they prophesied. 22 For if they had stood in my council, Then would they have caused my people to hear my words, And would have turned them from their evil way. And from the wickedness of their doings. 23 Am I a God near at hand, saith Jehovah, And not a God afar off? 24 Can any one hide himself in secret places, So that I shall not see him? saith Jehovah; Do I nor fill heaven and earth? saith Jehovah. 25 I have heard what the prophets say, Who prophesy falsehood in my name, Saying, “I have dreamed, I have dreamed.” 26 How long shall this be In the heart of the prophets, who prophesy falsehood, The prophets of the deceit of their own heart, 27 Who think to cause my people to forget my name By the dreams which they relate one to another, As their fathers forgot my name through Baal? 28 The prophet who hath a dream, let him tell a dream; And he that hath my word, let him speak my word truly! What is the chaff to the wheat? saith Jehovah. 29 Is not my word like fire, saith Jehovah, And like a hammer, that breaketh the rock in pieces? 30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith Jehovah, That steal my words one from another. 31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith Jehovah, That take their tongues and utter oracles. 32 Behold, I am against the prophets of false dreams, saith Jehovah, Who tell them, and cause my people to err By their lies and their arrogance. I have not sent them, nor commanded them, And they shall not profit this people at all, saith Jehovah. 33 And when this people, or a prophet, or a priest Shall ask thee, saying, “What is the burden from Jehovah?” Then say thou to them, “What is the burden?” That I will cast you away, saith Jehovah. 34 And the prophet, the priest, and the people, Who shall say, “The burden of Jehovah,” I will punish that man and his house. 35 Thus shall ye speak, one to another: “What hath Jehovah answered?” And, “What hath Jehovah spoken?” 36 And of a burden of Jehovah shall ye speak no more; Else shall every man's word be his burden, Because ye pervert the words of the living God, Of Jehovah of hosts, our God. 37 Thus shalt thou say to the prophet: “What hath Jehovah answered thee?” And, “What hath Jehovah spoken?” 38 If ye shall say, “The burden of Jehovah,” Then thus saith Jehovah: Because ye say, “The burden of Jehovah,” Although I sent to you and said, Ye shall not say, “The burden of Jehovah,” 39 Therefore, behold, I will utterly forget you, And I will cast you, and the city which I gave to your fathers, out of my presence; 40 And I will bring upon you an everlasting reproach, And a perpetual shame which shall not be forgotten.

24  1 Jehovah showed me this vision. Behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of Jehovah. This was after Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had carried away captive Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, and the artificers, and the smiths, from Jerusalem, and had led them to Babylon. 2 One of the baskets contained very good figs, like those which are first ripe. The other contained very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten. 3 And Jehovah said to me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said: Figs; the good figs, exceedingly good; and the bad, exceedingly bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten. 4 Then came the word of Jehovah to me, saying: 5 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: As these good figs, so will I regard the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of Chaldaea for their good; 6 yea, I will set my eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them up, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up. 7 And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am Jehovah; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God; for they shall return to me with their whole heart. 8 And as the bad figs, which are so bad that they cannot be eaten, saith Jehovah, so will I make Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, those that are left in this land, and those that dwell in the land of Egypt; 9 and I will give them up to oppression and affliction in all the kingdoms of the earth; yea, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them. 10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence among them, till they be consumed from the land, which I gave to them and to their fathers.

25  1 The word which came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon; 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spake to all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying:— 3 From the thirteenth year of Josiah, the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, for three and twenty years, the word of Jehovah hath come to me, and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened. 4 Also Jehovah hath sent to you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. 5 “Turn ye now,” said they, “every one from your evil way, and from your evil doings, and ye shall dwell in the land which Jehovah gave to you and to your fathers for ever and ever. 6 And go not after strange gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the work of your hands; and I will do you no hurt.” 7 But ye have not hearkened to me, saith Jehovah, that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your hands to your own hurt. 8 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Because ye have not hearkened to my words, 9 behold, I will send and take all the nations of the North, saith Jehovah, and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and a perpetual desolation. 10 Yea, I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the mill-stones, and the light of the lamp. 11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 But when seventy years shall have passed, I will punish the king of Babylon and his nation for their iniquity, saith Jehovah, and the land of the Chaldaeans, and I will make it a perpetual desolation. 13 And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied against all the nations. 14 For they, even they, shall be brought into subjection to many nations and great kings. I will render to them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands. 15 For thus hath Jehovah, the God of Israel, said to me: Take this cup of the wine of wrath from my hand; and let all the nations to which I shall send thee drink of it. 16 Let them drink, and stagger, and become mad because of the sword which I am about to send among them. 17 So I took the cup from the hand of Jehovah, and gave it to all the nations to drink, to which Jehovah sent me; 18 to Jerusalem and to the cities of Judah, and to the kings thereof, and the princes thereof, to make them a desolation, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a curse; [[as it is this day.]] 19 To Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and to his servants, and to his princes, and to all his people, 20 and all the allied people; and to all the kings of the land of Uz, and to all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and to Askelon, and to Gaza, and to Ekron, and to the remnant of Ashdod; 21 to Edom, and to Moab, and to the children of Ammon; 22 and to all the kings of Tyre, and to all the kings of Sidon, and to the kings of the lands which are beyond the sea; 23 to Dedan, and to Tema, and to Buz, and to all that shave the cheek; 24 and to all the kings of Arabia, and to all the kings of the allied people who dwell in the desert; 25 and to all the kings of Zimri, and to all the kings of Elam, and to all the kings of Media; 26 and to all the kings of the North, those that are near, and those that are afar off with respect to each other, and to all the kingdoms of the earth which are upon the face of the ground; and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them. 27 And say to them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Drink ye and be drunken, and vomit, and fall to rise no more because of the sword which I am about to send among you. 28 And if they refuse to take the cup from thy hand to drink, then say to them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Ye shall surely drink! 29 For behold, upon the city which is called by my name I begin to bring evil; and shall ye go wholly unpunished? Ye shall not go unpunished; for I am about to call the sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith Jehovah of hosts. 30 Therefore, prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:—Jehovah shall roar from on high, From his holy habitation shall he utter his voice; He shall roar aloud against his dwelling-place; A shout like that of vintagers shall he raise Against all the inhabitants of the earth. 31 An outcry shall reach to the ends of the earth; For Jehovah hath a controversy with the nations; He entereth into judgment with all flesh; The wicked will he give up to the sword, saith Jehovah. 32 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, And a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the extremities of the earth. 33 At that day shall the slain of Jehovah lie From one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; They shall not be lamented, nor gathered, nor buried; They shall be dung upon the ground. 34 Howl, O ye shepherds, and cry! Roll yourselves in the dust, ye leaders of the flock, For your time to be slaughtered has come! And I will scatter you, and ye shall fall like a goodly vessel. 35 The shepherds shall have no way to flee, Nor the leaders of the flock to escape. 36 [[Hark!]] the voice of the cry of the shepherds, And the wailing of the leaders of the flock, Because Jehovah layeth waste their pasture! 37 Yea, the peaceful pastures are destroyed Because of the fierce anger of Jehovah. 38 He hath left, like a lion, his covert; For their land is become desolate, Because of the wrath of the destroying sword, And because of the fierceness of his anger.

26  1 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word from Jehovah, saying:— 2 Thus saith Jehovah: Stand in the court of the house of Jehovah, and speak to those who come from all the cities of Judah to worship in the house of Jehovah all the words which I have commanded thee to speak to them; abate not a word. 3 If peradventure they will hearken and turn every one from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil which I purpose to do to them because of their evil doings. 4 And thou shalt say to them, Thus saith Jehovah: If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law which I have set before you, 5 to hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent to you, rising early and sending, and ye have not hearkened, 6 then will I make this house like Shiloh, and this city will I make a curse to all the nations of the earth. 7 And the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of Jehovah. 8 And when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that Jehovah had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people seized him, and said, Thou shalt surely die! 9 Why dost thou prophesy in the name of Jehovah, and say, This house shall be as Shiloh, and this city shall be made desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were assembled together against Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah. 10 When the princes of Judah heard these things, they went up from the king's house to the house of Jehovah, and sat in the entrance of the new gate of the house of Jehovah. 11 Then spake the priests and the prophets to the princes and to all the people, saying: This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears. 12 Then spake Jeremiah to all the princes and to all the people, saying: Jehovah hath sent me to prophesy against this house, and against this city, all the words which ye have heard. 13 But now amend ye your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of Jehovah, your God, and Jehovah will repent of the evil which he hath pronounced against you. 14 And as for me, behold, I am in your hands; do to me as it seemeth good and right in your eyes. 15 But know ye for certain that, if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and its inhabitants; for of a truth Jehovah hath sent me to you to speak all these words in your ears. 16 Then said the princes and all the people to the priests and the prophets: This man is not worthy to die, for he hath spoken to us in the name of Jehovah, our God. 17 Certain elders of the land also rose up, and spoke to all the assembly of the people, saying: 18 Micah, the Morasthite, prophesied in the days of Hezekiah, king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Zion shall be ploughed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps of stones, and the mountain of the house [[of Jehovah]] as the heights of a forest. 19 Did Hezekiah, king of Judah, and all Judah, put him to death? Did he not fear Jehovah, and beseech Jehovah, so that Jehovah repented of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Shall we then bring so great an evil upon ourselves? 20 There was also another man that prophesied in the name of Jehovah, Urijah, the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and this land, according to all the words of Jeremiah; 21 and when Jehoiakim the king, and all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled and went into Egypt. 22 But Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt, 23 and they brought Urijah out of Egypt, and carried him to King Jehoiakim, who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people. 24 Nevertheless, the hand of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, was with Jeremiah, that he should not be delivered into the hand of the people, to be put to death.

27  1 In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word to Jeremiah from Jehovah. 2 Thus said Jehovah to me: Make thee bands and yokes, and put them upon thy neck, 3 and send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the children of Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Zidon, by the hands of the messengers that are come to Jerusalem, to Zedekiah, king of Judah. 4 And command them to say to their masters, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Thus shall ye say to your masters: 5 The earth, and the men and the beasts which are upon the earth, have I made by my great power and my outstretched arm, and I give it to whomsoever it seemeth meet to me. 6 And now I give all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant; the beasts of the field also I give him to serve him. 7 And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the time of his land, even his, shall come, and then shall many nations and great kings make him their servant. 8 And the nation and the kingdom that will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon,—with the sword and with famine and with pestilence will I punish that nation, saith Jehovah, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9 Therefore hearken ye not to your prophets, and your diviners, and your dreamers, your soothsayers, and your sorcerers, who say to you, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon. 10 For they prophesy a lie to you, to remove you far from your land, and that I should drive you out, and that ye should perish. 11 But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those will I let remain still in their own land, saith Jehovah, and they shall till it, and dwell therein. 12 And to Zedekiah, king of Judah, also, spake I according to all these words, and said: Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. 13 Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, as Jehovah hath spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 Therefore hearken not to the prophets, that say to you, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon; for they prophesy a lie to you. 15 For I have not sent them, saith Jehovah; but they prophesy a lie in my name, that I may drive you out, and that ye may perish, ye and the prophets that prophesy to you. 16 To the priests, also, and to all the people; spake I, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Hearken not to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, and say, Behold the vessels of the house of Jehovah shall be brought back from Babylon now shortly; for they prophesy a lie to you. 17 Hearken ye not to them; serve the king of Babylon, and live! Why should this city become a desolation? 18 But if they be indeed prophets, and if the word of Jehovah be with them, let them now make intercession to Jehovah of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of Jehovah, and in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem, may not go to Babylon. 19 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that are let in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took not, when he carried away captive Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; 21 yea, thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of Jehovah, and in the house of the king of Judah and of Jerusalem: 22 They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until the day when I shall visit them, saith Jehovah. Then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.

28  1 And it came to pass in the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that Hananiah, the son of Azur the prophet, who was of Gibeon, spoke to me in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying, 2 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: “I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 Within two full years will I bring again to this place all the vessels of the house of Jehovah, which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon took from this place, and carried to Babylon. 4 And Jeconiah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the captives of Judah that went to Babylon, will I bring again to this place, saith Jehovah; for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.” 5 Then Jeremiah the prophet spake to Hananiah the prophet, in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of Jehovah. 6 And Jeremiah the prophet said, Amen! So may Jehovah do! May Jehovah fulfill thy words which thou hast prophesied, and bring back the vessels of the house of Jehovah, and all the captives from Babylon to this place! 7 Nevertheless, hear now this word, which I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people. 8 The prophets who have been before me and before thee from ancient times have also prophesied against many nations, and against great kingdoms, of war, of calamity, and of pestilence. 9 The prophet who prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall he be known as a prophet whom Jehovah hath truly sent. 10 Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and broke it. 11 And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: In this manner will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, from the neck of all the nations, within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way. 12 Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying: 13 Go and tell Hananiah, saying: Thou hast broken a yoke of wood, but thou shalt make instead of it a yoke of iron. 14 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: A yoke of iron do I put upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon; and they shall serve him. The beasts of the field also do I give to him. 15 Jeremiah the prophet said also to Hananiah the prophet: Hear now, Hananiah! Jehovah hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie. 16 Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will cast thee off from the face of the earth. This year thou shalt die; for thou hast spoken rebellion against Jehovah. 17 And Hananiah the prophet died in the same year, in the seventh month.

29  1 Now these are the words of the letter which Jeremiah the prophet sent to the residue of the elders of the captivity, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon, 2 after the departure of Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, and the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the artificers, and the smiths, from Jerusalem, 3 by the hand of Elasah, the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah, the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah, the king of Judah, sent to Babylon, to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon,) saying:— 4 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the captives whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 Build ye houses and dwell in them; and plant gardens and eat the fruit of them. 6 Take ye wives, and have sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and increase ye there, and be not diminished. 7 And seek ye the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray for it to Jehovah, for in its peace shall be your peace. 8 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Let not your prophets and your diviners, who are in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. 9 For they prophesy falsely to you in my name; I have not sent them, saith Jehovah. 10 For thus saith Jehovah: Surely, when seventy years shall be completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will perform for you my good promise, that I would bring you again to this place. 11 For I know the designs which I have in mind concerning you, designs of good and not of evil, to give you a happy end, and fulfill your hopes. 12 Then ye shall call upon me, and go in peace; ye shall pray to me, and I will hear you; 13 ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye search for me with all your heart. 14 And I will be found by you, saith Jehovah, and I will bring you back from captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith Jehovah; and I will bring you again to the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive. 15 Since ye say, Jehovah hath raised us up prophets in Babylon, 16 behold, thus saith Jehovah concerning the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and concerning all the people that dwell in this city, your brethren that went not forth with you into captivity,— 17 thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and I will make them like vile figs, which cannot be eaten for badness. 18 And I will persecute them with the sword, and with famine, and with pestilence, and I will give them up to oppression in all kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and a hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I drive them; 19 because they have not hearkened to my words, saith Jehovah, when I sent to them my servants, the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith Jehovah. 20 Hear ye, therefore, the word of Jehovah, all ye of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon. 21 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab, the son of Kolaiah, and concerning Zedekiah, the son of Maaseiah, who prophesy a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and he shall slay them before your eyes. 22 And from them shall be taken a curse among all the captives of Judah that are at Babylon, so that they shall say, “Jehovah make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!” 23 because they have practised villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbors' wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I commanded them not. But I know it, and am a witness, saith Jehovah. 24 And to Shemaiah, the Nehelamite, shalt thou say, 25 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Because thou hast sent letters in thy name to all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 Jehovah hath made thee priest in the room of Jehoiada the priest, that there should be officers in the house of Jehovah against every one that is mad and prophesieth, and that thou shouldst put him into the stocks, and into prison; 27 now, therefore, why hast thou not reproved Jeremiah of Anathoth, who prophesieth to you? 28 For he hath sent to us at Babylon, saying, This captivity is long. Build ye houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 29 And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah, saying: 31 Send to all those of the captivity, saying, Thus saith Jehovah concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah the prophet hath prophesied to you, and I sent him not, and he hath caused you to trust in a lie, 32 therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will punish Shemaiah, the Nehelamite, and his offspring. There shall descend from him not a man to dwell among this people, and he shall not behold the good which I will do for my people, saith Jehovah; for he hath spoken rebellion against Jehovah.

30  1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying:— 2 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Write thee all the words which I have spoken to thee in a book. 3 For behold the days come, saith Jehovah, when I will bring back the captives of my people Israel and Judah, saith Jehovah, and cause them to return to the land which I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. 4 And these are the words which Jehovah spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah. 5 Behold, thus saith Jehovah: The voice of trembling do we hear; There is alarm, and no peace. 6 Ask ye now and see, Whether a male doth bring forth? Why then do I see every man's hands upon his loins, like a woman in travail? And why are all faces turned into paleness? 7 Alas! that day is great, So that there is none like it; It is a time of trouble for Jacob, Yet shall he be saved from it. 8 For in that day, saith Jehovah of hosts, I will break his yoke from his neck, And his bands will I burst asunder, And he shall be subject to strangers no more. 9 But they shall serve Jehovah, their God, And David, their king, whom I will raise up for them. 10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith Jehovah, And be not thou dismayed, O Israel! For, behold, I will bring thee safe from afar, And thy posterity from the land of their captivity; And Jacob shall return, and be at rest; Yea, he shall be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. 11 For I will be with thee, saith Jehovah, to save thee; When I shall make a full end of all the nations Whither I have dispersed thee, Yet will I not make a full end of thee; I will correct thee in measure, Yet must I not leave thee wholly unpunished. 12 For thus saith Jehovah: Thy bruise is incurable; Thy wound is mortal. 13 No one offereth his help for thy cure; No healing medicines are applied to thee. 14 All thy lovers have forgotten thee; They inquire not after thee. For with the wound of an enemy have I smitten thee, With the chastisement of a cruel one, For the multitude of thine iniquities, Because thy sins were increased. 15 Why criest thou because of thy bruise? Thy pain is without remedy. For the multitude of thine iniquities, Because thy sins were increased, Have I done these things to thee. 16 Yet all they that devour thee shall be devoured, And all thine enemies, yea, all of them, shall go into captivity, And they that spoil thee shall become a spoil, And all that plunder thee will I give up to plunder. 17 For I will restore soundness to thee, And I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith Jehovah; For they have called thee the outcast, Zion, whom no man careth for. 18 Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will bring back the captives of the tents of Jacob, And I will have pity upon his dwelling-places, And the city shall be builded upon her heap, And the palace shall be inhabited as of old. 19 And out of them shall go forth thanksgiving, And the voice of them that make merry. And I will multiply them, and they shall not be few, And I will exalt them, and they shall not be low. 20 And their children shall be as aforetime, And their congregation shall be established before me, And I will punish all that oppress them. 21 And their princes shall be of themselves, And their governor shall proceed from the midst of them. And I will cause them to approach, and they shall come near to me; For who is he that would dare to come near to me? saith Jehovah. 22 And ye shall be my people, And I will be your God. 23 Behold, a whirlwind from Jehovah, Furious doth it go forth, Even a sweeping whirlwind; Upon the head of the wicked shall it rush. 24 The fierce anger of Jehovah shall not turn back Until he shall have executed, until he shall have accomplished, the purpose of his heart; In a future day ye shall understand it fully.

31  1 At that time, saith Jehovah, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, And they shall be my people. 2 Thus saith Jehovah: The people, escaped from the sword, hath found favor in the wilderness; I will go and give rest to Israel. 3 Jehovah appeared to me from afar, [[saying,]] With an everlasting love do I love thee, Therefore have I kept mercy for thee. 4 Again will I build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel! Again shalt thou adorn thy tabrets, And go forth in the dance of them that make merry. 5 Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria; The planters shall plant, and eat the fruit. 6 For the day is coming when the watchmen shall cry upon Mount Ephraim, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion, To Jehovah, our God. 7 For thus saith Jehovah: Sing with gladness for Jacob, And shout for the head of the nations! Publish ye, praise ye, and say: Jehovah, thou hast saved thy people, The remnant of Israel. 8 Behold, I will bring them from the land of the North, And gather them from the extremities of the earth; And with them shall be the blind and the lame, The woman with child, and she that is in travail with child together; A great company shall return thither. 9 They shall come with weeping, And amid supplications will I lead them; I will conduct them to streams of water, In a straight way, in which they shall not stumble. For I have become a father to Israel, And Ephraim is my first-born. 10 Hear the word of Jehovah, O ye nations, And proclaim it in the distant coasts, and say: “He that scattered Israel will gather him, And will guard him, as a shepherd his flock.” 11 For Jehovah hath redeemed Jacob, And ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. 12 And they shall come and sing upon the height of Zion; They shall exult in the bounty of Jehovah, The corn, and the new wine, and the oil, And the young of the flock, and of the herd; And they shall be as a well-watered garden, And they shall languish no more. 13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, And the young men and old men together, For I will change their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and cheer them after their sorrow. 14 And I will satisfy the priests with fatness, And my people shall be satisfied with my bounty, saith Jehovah. 15 Thus saith Jehovah: A voice hath been heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping; Rachel, weeping for her children, Refuseth to be comforted, because they are no more. 16 Thus saith Jehovah: Refrain thy voice from weeping, And thine eyes from tears, For thy labor shall be rewarded, saith Jehovah; They shall come again from the land of the enemy. 17 There is hope for thy future days, saith Jehovah; Thy children shall come again to their border. 18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself: “Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, Like a steer not broken. Turn thou me, and I shall be turned, For thou, O Jehovah, art my God! 19 Surely, after I returned, I repented, And after I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh; I was ashamed, yea, I was confounded, Because I bore the reproach of my youth.” 20 Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a beloved child? For as often as I speak of him, I do earnestly remember him still. My heart beateth for him; I will have mercy upon him, saith Jehovah. 21 Set thee up waymarks; Raise thee pillars; Have regard to the highway, the way that thou goest! Return, O virgin of Israel, Return to these thy cities! 22 How long wilt thou wander about, O rebellious daughter? Behold, Jehovah createth a new thing in the earth: The woman shall protect the man. 23 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Again shall they say in the land of Judah, And in the cities thereof, when I bring back their captives, “May Jehovah bless thee, O habitation of justice, O holy mountain!” 24 And Judah shall dwell in it, and all his cities together, Husbandmen, and they that go forth with their flocks. 25 For I will refresh him that is thirsty, And I will satisfy him that languisheth. 26 Upon this I awoke, and beheld, And my sleep was sweet to me. 27 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, That I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah. With the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. 28 And it shall be that as I have watched over them To pluck up, and to pull down, and to overthrow, And to destroy, and to afflict, So will I watch over them To build, and to plant, saith Jehovah. 29 In those days they shall no more say, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children's teeth are set on edge.” 30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity; Every man that eateth sour grapes, His teeth shall be set on edge. 31 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, That I will make with the house of Israel, And with the house of Judah, a new covenant; 32 Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, In the day when I took them by the hand To bring them out of the land of Egypt; Which covenant of mine they broke, And I rejected them, saith Jehovah. 33 But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, saith Jehovah, I will put my law into their inward parts, And upon their hearts will I write it; And I will be their God, And they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more, Every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, Saying, “Know ye Jehovah!” For they shall all know me, From the least of them even to the greatest of them, saith Jehovah; For I will forgive their iniquity, And I will remember their sin no more. 35 Thus saith Jehovah, Who made the sun for a light by day, And the ordinances of the moon and stars for a light by night, Who stirreth up the sea, so that the waves thereof roar, Jehovah of hosts is his name: 36 If these ordinances shall depart from before me, Then shall the race of Israel also cease from being a nation before me forever. 37 Thus saith Jehovah: If the heavens above can be measured, Or the foundations of the earth beneath searched out, Then will I cast off all the race of Israel For all which they have done, saith Jehovah. 38 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, That the city shall be built to Jehovah From the tower of Hananeel to the corner-gate. 39 And the measuring line shall go forth over against it even to the hill Gareb, And extend itself to Goath. 40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, And all the fields to the brook Kidron, Even to the corner of the horsegate toward the East, Shall be holy to Jehovah. No more shall it be plucked up, Or thrown down, forever.

32  1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah in the tenth year of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 And at that time the army of the king of Babylon was laying siege to Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the house of the king of Judah. 3 For Zedekiah, the king of Judah, had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, “Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I am about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it; 4 and Zedekiah, the king of Judah, shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldaeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; 5 and he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith Jehovah; though ye fight with the Chaldaeans, ye shall not prosper?” 6 Then said Jeremiah, The word of Jehovah came to me, and said: 7 Behold, Hanameel, the son of Shallum, thine uncle, will come to thee, and say, Buy thee my field which is in Anathoth, for thine is the redemption-right to buy it. 8 And so Hanameel, the son of my uncle, came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of Jehovah, and said to me: Buy, I pray thee, my field, which is in Anathoth, for thine is the right of inheritance and redemption; buy it for thyself! Then I knew that this was the word of Jehovah. 9 I bought, therefore, the field of Hanameel, my uncle's son, in Anathoth, and I paid him the money, seventeen shekels of silver. 10 And I wrote a deed, and sealed it, and took witnesses thereto, and weighed the silver in the balances. 11 And I took the purchase-deed, that which was sealed according to the law and the statutes, and that which was open, 12 and I gave the purchase-deed to Baruch, the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the presence of Hanameel, my uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses, who subscribed their names to the purchase-deed, and in the presence of all the Jews who sat in the court of the prison. 13 And I charged Baruch in their presence, saying, 14 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these writings, this sealed purchase-deed, and this open deed, and put them into an earthen vessel, that they may endure a great length of time. 15 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Yet again shall houses and fields and vineyards be bought in this land. 16 And when I had delivered the purchase-deed to Baruch, the son of Neriah, I prayed to Jehovah, saying, 17 Ah, Lord, Jehovah! Behold, thou hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and thy stretched-out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee. 18 Thou showest kindness to a thousand generations, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of the children who come after them. The great, the mighty God, Jehovah of hosts is his name, 19 great in counsel and mighty in work; for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men, to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings; 20 who hast displayed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt even to this day, and in Israel, and among other men, and hast made thee a name, as at this day; 21 and hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched-out arm, and with great terror, 22 and hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey; 23 and they have come in and possessed it; but they have not obeyed thy voice, nor walked according to thy law. They have done nothing of all which thou commandedst them to do. Therefore hast thou caused all this evil to come upon them. 24 Behold, the mounds of the enemy have already come up against the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldaeans, who fight against it by means of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence; and what thou hast spoken is come to pass, and, behold, thou seest it. 25 And yet hast thou said to me, O Lord Jehovah, “Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses thereto!” when the city is given into the hand of the Chaldaeans. 26 Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah, saying: 27 Behold, I, Jehovah, am the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me? 28 Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldaeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and he shall take it. 29 And the Chaldaeans who fight against this city shall come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses upon whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal, and poured out incense to other gods, to provoke me to anger. 30 For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil before me from their youth; yea, the children of Israel have but provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith Jehovah. 31 For this city hath been the object of my anger and my fury, from the day when they built it even to this day; that I might remove it from before my face, 32 because of all the wickedness of the children of Israel, and of the children of Judah, which they have committed to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 For they have turned to me the back, and not the face; though I have taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet have they not hearkened to receive instruction. 34 And they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it. 35 And they have built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Moloch, which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should practise their abomination, to cause Judah to sin. 36 Yet now thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel concerning this city, of which ye say, “It is delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.” 37 Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries whither I have driven them in my anger and my fury and my great wrath, and I will bring them back to this place, and I will cause them to dwell securely, 38 and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39 And I will give them one heart, and one way, to fear me continually, that it may be well with them, and with their children after them. 40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, nor cease to do them good; for I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. 41 Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land in truth, with my whole heart, and with my whole soul. 42 For thus saith Jehovah: As I have brought upon this people all this great evil, so will I bring upon them all the good which I have promised them. 43 And fields shall yet be bought in this land, of which ye say, “It is desolate, without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldaeans.” 44 Fields shall men buy for money, and subscribe deeds, and seal them, and take witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the hill-country, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south; for I will bring them back from their captivity, saith Jehovah.

33  1 The word of Jehovah came also to Jeremiah the second time, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, and said:— 2 Thus saith Jehovah, who doeth it, Jehovah who disposeth it, to establish it; Jehovah is his name. 3 Call to me, and I will answer thee, And I will show thee great things, And hidden things which thou knowest not. 4 For thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Concerning the houses of this city, And concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, Which are thrown down toward the mounds and the sword, 5 To fight with the Chaldaeans, And to fill them with the dead bodies of men, Whom I have smitten in mine anger and in my wrath, And for all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city: 6 Behold, I will bind up her wounds, and heal them, And I will reveal to them abundance of peace and stability. 7 And I will bring back the captives of Judah, And the captives of Israel, And I will build them, as at the first. 8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, Whereby they have sinned against me; And I will forgive all their iniquities, Whereby they have sinned, And have rebelled against me. 9 And it [[the city]] shall be to me a name of joy, A praise and a glory among all the nations of the earth, Who shall hear of all the good which I do to them. And they shall fear and tremble because of all the good, And because of all the prosperity, which I bestow upon it. 10 Thus saith Jehovah: Yet again shall be heard in this place, Of which ye say, “It is desolate, without man and without beast,” In the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, Which are desolate, without man, Even without an inhabitant and without beast, 11 The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, The voice of them that say, “Praise ye Jehovah of hosts, For Jehovah is good, For his mercy endureth forever!” And of them that bring an offering of praise to the house of Jehovah. For I will restore the captives of the land, As at the first, saith Jehovah. 12 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Yet again shall there be in this place, Which is desolate, without man and without beast, And in all the cities thereof, A habitation of shepherds, who shall cause their flocks to rest; 13 In the cities of the hill-country, and in the cities of the plain, And in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, And in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, Shall the flocks pass yet again Under the hands of him that numbereth them, saith Jehovah. 14 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, That I will perform that good thing Which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel, And concerning the house of Judah. 15 In those days and at that time Will I cause to grow up from David a righteous branch, Who shall maintain justice and equity in the land. 16 In those days shall Judah be saved, And Jerusalem shall dwell securely; And this is the name which shall be given her, Jehovah-is-our-salvation. 17 For thus saith Jehovah: There shall never fail from David A man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; 18 Neither from the priests and the Levites Shall a man fail before me, To offer burnt-offerings, and to kindle meat-offerings, And to perform sacrifice continually. 19 And the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah and said, 20 Thus saith Jehovah: If ye can break my covenant concerning the day, And my covenant concerning the night, So that there shall no more be day and night in their season, 21 Then also may my covenant with David my servant be broken, So that he shall not have a son to reign upon his throne, And with the Levites, the priests, my servants. 22 As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, Nor the sand of the sea measured, So will I multiply the posterity of David my servant, And the Levites who minister to me. 23 The word of Jehovah came also to Jeremiah, saying: 24 Seest thou not what this people speaketh, saying, “The two families, which Jehovah chose, he hath cast off”? Therefore they despise my people, So that they are no more a people in their eyes. 25 Thus saith Jehovah: If my covenant concerning the day and the night be not maintained, And if I have not established the ordinances of the heaven and the earth, 26 Then will I cast away the posterity of Jacob, and of David, my servant, So as not to take of his posterity to be rulers Over the posterity of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; For I will bring them back from their captivity, And have mercy upon them.

34  1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion, and all the nations, made war against Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying:— 2 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Go and speak to Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and say to him, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. 3 And thou shalt not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to Babylon. 4 Yet hear the word of Jehovah, O Zedekiah, king of Judah! Thus saith Jehovah concerning thee: Thou shalt not die by the sword; 5 in peace shalt thou die; and according to the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings, who were before thee, so shall they burn for thee; and they shall lament for thee, saying, “Ah, lord!” for I have spoken the word, saith Jehovah. 6 And Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words to Zedekiah, king of Judah, at Jerusalem. 7 And the army of the king of Babylon fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah; for these fortified cities remained of the cities of Judah. 8 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people that were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty to them, 9 that every one should let his man-servant or his maid-servant, being a Hebrew or Hebrewess, go free, that no one should retain his brother, a Jew, in servitude. 10 And all the princes, and all the people, who had entered into covenant to let every one his man-servant and every one his maid-servant go free, and retain them in servitude no longer, obeyed; they obeyed, and let them go. 11 But they returned afterwards, and took back the men-servants and the maid-servants whom they had let go free, and brought them into subjection as men-servants and as maid-servants. 12 Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, 13 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: I made a covenant with your fathers in the day when I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, and said, 14 “At the end of seven years ye shall let go every man his brother, a Hebrew, who shall have been sold to thee; when he shall have served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee.” But your fathers hearkened not to me, nor inclined their ear. 15 And when ye had turned at this time, and had done what was right in mine eyes, in proclaiming liberty every one to his neighbor, and had entered into a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name, 16 then ye returned and profaned my name, and took back every one his man-servant, and every one his maid-servant, whom he had set at liberty at their pleasure, and brought them into subjection to be men-servants and maid-servants to you. 17 Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Ye have not hearkened to me in proclaiming liberty every one to his brother, and every one to his neighbor. Behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith Jehovah, to the sword, to pestilence, and to famine, and I will give you up to oppression in all the kingdoms of the earth; 18 and I will make the men who have transgressed my covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before me, like the calf which they cut in twain, and passed between the parts thereof, 19 the princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, that passed between the parts of the calf. 20 I will give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life; and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth. 21 And Zedekiah, king of Judah, and his princes, will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, even into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which are gone up from you. 22 Behold, I will command, saith Jehovah, and cause them to return to this city, and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.

35  1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying: 2 Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak to them, and bring them into the house of Jehovah, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink. 3 Then I took Jaazaniah, the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites, 4 and brought them into the house of Jehovah, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah, the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door. 5 And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine and cups, and I said to them, “Drink ye wine.” 6 But they said, “We will not drink wine; for Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, ye nor your sons, forever; 7 neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any; but all your days ye shall dwell in tents, that ye may live long in the land wherein ye are strangers. 8 And we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, neither we, nor our wives, nor our sons, nor our daughters; 9 nor to build houses for us to dwell in; neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed; 10 but we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us. 11 But it came to pass when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldaeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians; so we dwell at Jerusalem.” 12 Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah, saying, 13 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: Will ye not receive instruction, to hearken to my words? saith Jehovah. 14 The words of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, in which he commanded his sons not to drink wine, have been performed; for they have drunk no wine to this day, but have obeyed the commandment of their father. I also have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking, but ye have not hearkened to me. 15 And I have sent to you all my servants, the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every one from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers; but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened to me. 16 Since then the sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, have performed the commandment of their father which he commanded them, and this people have not hearkened to me; 17 therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, all the evil which I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them, and they have not hearkened, and I have called to them, and they have not answered. 18 And to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said: Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab, your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according to all which he commanded you, 19 therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: There shall not fail in the land of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, men to stand before me forever.

36  1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying: 2 Take thee a book-roll, and write upon it all the words which I have spoken to thee concerning Israel, and concerning Judah, and concerning all the nations, from the day when I began to speak to thee even to this day. 3 It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do to them, and return every one from his evil way, so that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin. 4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch, the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of Jehovah which he had spoken to him, upon a book-roll. 5 And Jeremiah commanded Baruch and said: I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of Jehovah; 6 therefore, go thou, and read in the roll which thou hast written from my mouth the words of Jehovah, in the ears of the people, in the house of Jehovah, upon the fast-day; also in the ears of all Judah, that come out of their cities, shalt thou read them. 7 It may be that they will prostrate themselves in supplication before Jehovah, and will return every one from his evil way. For great is the anger and the indignation which Jehovah hath denounced against this people. 8 And Baruch, the son of Neriah, did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of Jehovah in the house of Jehovah. 9 And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people that came out of the cities of Judah, proclaimed a fast before Jehovah, in Jerusalem. 10 Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of Jehovah, in the chamber of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entrance of the new gate of the house of Jehovah, in the ears of all the people. 11 And when Micah, the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard from the book all the words of Jehovah, 12 he went down to the king's house, into the scribe's chamber; and lo, all the princes were sitting there, Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah, the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan, the son of Achbor, and Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah, the son of Hananiah, and all the princes. 13 Then Micah declared to them all the words which he had heard when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people. 14 Then all the princes sent Jehudi, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, and said, “Take in thy hand the roll wherein thou hast read in the ears of the people, and come.” So Baruch, the son of Neriah, took the roll in his hand, and came to them. 15 And they said to him, “Sit down now, and read it in our ears.” And Baruch read it in their ears. 16 And when they had heard all the words, they looked with consternation upon one another, and they said to Baruch, “We must tell the king of all these things.” 17 And they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us now, how didst thou write all these words from his mouth?” 18 And Baruch said to them, “With his mouth he pronounced to me all these words, and I wrote them on the book with ink.” 19 Then said the princes to Baruch, “Go, hide thee, thou and Jeremiah, and let no man know where ye are.” 20 And they went in to the king into the court; but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and they told all these things in the ears of the king. 21 Then the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe; and Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes who stood beside the king. 22 And the king was sitting in the winter-house, in the ninth month, and a brasier was burning before him. 23 And when Jehudi had read three or four sections, he [[the king]] cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire, into the brasier, until the whole roll was consumed in the fire in the brasier. 24 And they were not afraid, and rent not their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants, who heard all these words; 25 and although Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah interceded with the king not to burn the roll, yet he would not hearken to them. 26 And the king commanded Jerahmeel, the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah, the son of Azreel, and Shelemiah, the son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe, and Jeremiah the prophet; but Jehovah had hid them. 27 Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch had written from the mouth of Jeremiah, saying: 28 Take thee another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim, king of Judah, hath burned. 29 And concerning Jehoiakim, king of Judah, thou shalt say, Thou hast burned this roll, saying, “Why hast thou written therein and said, The king of Babylon shall surely come and shall destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from it man and beast?” 30 Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim, king of Judah: He shall have not one to sit upon the throne of David; and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. 31 And I will punish him, and his offspring, and his servants, for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil which I have pronounced against them, and they have not hearkened. 32 Then Jeremiah took another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim had burned in the fire; and there were added to them many words of the same kind.

37  1 Now King Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, reigned instead of Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, made king in the land of Judah. 2 But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land regarded the words of Jehovah, which he spake by the prophet Jeremiah. 3 And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah the priest, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Pray now to Jehovah our God for us.” 4 Now Jeremiah came in and went out among the people, for they had not cast him into prison. 5 And Pharaoh's army had come forth out of Egypt; and the Chaldaeans, who were besieging Jerusalem, having heard tidings of them, had departed from Jerusalem. 6 Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 7 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of me: Behold, the army of Pharaoh, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt, into their own land. 8 And the Chaldaeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire. 9 Thus saith Jehovah: Deceive not yourselves, saying, “The Chaldaeans shall surely depart from us”; for they shall not depart. 10 For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldaeans that fight against you, and there remained only wounded men among them, each one in his tent, yet should they rise up and burn this city with fire. 11 And it came to pass, when the army of the Chaldaeans had marched away from Jerusalem because of the army of Pharaoh, 12 that Jeremiah was going forth from Jerusalem, to go into the land of Benjamin, to receive thence his inheritance among the people. 13 And when he was in the gate of Benjamin, a captain of the ward was there, whose name was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah; and he seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Thou art going over to the Chaldaeans.” 14 And Jeremiah said, “It is false; I am not going over to the Chaldaeans.” But he hearkened not to him; so Irijah took Jeremiah and brought him to the princes. 15 And the princes were enraged against Jeremiah, and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made that a prison. 16 And when Jeremiah had gone into the dungeon, and into the cells, and had remained there a long time, 17 then Zedekiah the king sent and took him out; and the king asked him in his house privately, and said, “Hast thou any word from Jehovah?” And Jeremiah said, “I have.” And he said, “Into the hand of the king of Babylon shalt thou be delivered.” 18 And Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, What offence have I committed against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me in prison? 19 And where are your prophets, who prophesied to you, saying, “The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?” 20 But now hear, I pray thee, my lord the king! let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee, and cause me not to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there! 21 Then Zedekiah the king commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city should be consumed. And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

38  1 And Shephatiah, the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah, the son of Pashur, and Jucal, the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur, the son of Malchiah, heard the words which Jeremiah spoke to all the people, saying, 2 “Thus saith Jehovah: He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldaeans shall live, and he shall retain his life as a prey, and shall live. 3 Thus saith Jehovah: This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.” 4 Then said the princes to the king, “We beseech thee, let this man be put to death! for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words to them; for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but their hurt.” 5 Then Zedekiah the king said, “Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not one that can do anything in opposition to you.” 6 Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah, the son of Hammelech, which was in the court of the prison; and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but only mire; and Jeremiah sunk in the mire. 7 And Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was then in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the dungeon; and the king was sitting in the gate of Benjamin. 8 Then Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying, 9 “My lord the king! these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet whom they have cast into the dungeon; for he was already almost dead in his place for hunger; for there is no more bread in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, saying, “Take along with thee thirty men from hence, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die.” 11 And Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the king's house under the store-room, and took from thence torn rags and worn-out rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah. 12 And Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, said to Jeremiah, put now these torn and worn-out rags under thy knuckles under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. 13 And they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison. 14 And King Zedekiah sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet to him into the third entrance, which is in the house of Jehovah; and the king said to Jeremiah, “I will ask thee a question; hide nothing from me!” 15 And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “When I have told thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, thou wilt not hearken to me.” 16 Then King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in secret, saying, “As Jehovah liveth, who made for us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.” 17 Then said Jeremiah to Zedekiah, “Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: If thou wilt go forth to the chieftains of the king of Babylon, then shalt thou live; and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, thou and thine house. 18 But if thou wilt not go forth to the chieftains of the king of Babylon, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldaeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.” 19 And Zedekiah the king said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews who have gone over to the Chaldaeans, lest I should be delivered into their hand, and they should mock me.” 20 And Jeremiah said, “Thou shalt not be delivered up to them. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of Jehovah in what I speak to thee; so shall it be well with thee, and thou shalt live. 21 But if thou refuse to go forth, this is what Jehovah hath revealed to me. 22 Behold, all the women that are left in the house of the king of Judah shall be brought forth to the chieftains of the king of Babylon, and shall say, 'Thy friends have set thee on, and have prevailed against thee; thy feet are sunk in the mire; they go backward.' 23 And all thy wives and thy children shall they bring out to the Chaldaeans, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but by the hand of the king of Babylon shalt thou be taken; and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.” 24 Then said Zedekiah to Jeremiah, “Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die. 25 But if the princes shall hear that I have talked with thee, and shall come to thee, and say to thee, 'Tell us, we pray thee, what thou hast said to the king; hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; and what the king hath said to thee'; 26 then shalt thou say to them, 'I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan to die there.'” 27 Then came all the princes to Jeremiah, and asked him; and he told them according to all those words which the king had commanded. And they said no more to him, for the matter was not known. 28 And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison to the day when Jerusalem was taken.

39  1 And it came to pass, when Jerusalem was taken, (in the ninth year of Zedekiah, the king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and all his army, against Jerusalem, and besieged it; 2 and in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, was the city broken into,) 3 that all the chieftains of the king of Babylon came, and stationed themselves in the middle gate, Nergalsharezer, Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, prefect of the eunuchs, Nergalsharezer, prefect of the magians, and all the rest of the princes of the king of Babylon. 4 And when Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and all the men of war, saw them, they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, through the gate between the two walls; and they went forth toward the plain. 5 But the army of the Chaldaeans pursued them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and they took him, and brought him to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment concerning him. 6 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes; and all the nobles of Judah did the king of Babylon slay. 7 And he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, to carry him to Babylon. 8 And the Chaldaeans burned the king's house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 9 And the residue of the people that remained in the city, and the deserters who had come over to him, the residue of the people that remained, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carried away to Babylon. 10 But the poor of the people, who had nothing, Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, left in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at the same time. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, saying, 12 “Take him, and have thine eyes upon him, and do him no harm; but do to him even as he shall say to you.” 13 Then sent Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, and Nebushasban, prefect of the eunuchs, and Nergalsharezer, prefect of the magians, and all the princes of the king of Babylon, 14 they sent and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home; and he dwelt among the people. 15 Now the word of Jehovah had come to Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying: 16 Go and speak to Ebedmelech, the Ethiopian, and say: Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I bring my words upon this city for evil and not for good, and with thine own eyes shalt thou see it in that day. 17 But I will deliver thee in that day, saith Jehovah; and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou art afraid. 18 But I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be to thee as a prey; because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith Jehovah.

40  1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, after that Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, had let him go from Ramah. For he had taken him, and he had been bound with chains among all the captives of Jerusalem and Judah which were carried away captive to Babylon. 2 And the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said to him: “Jehovah, thy God, pronounced this evil against this place; 3 and now Jehovah hath brought it, and done according as he spake, because ye sinned against Jehovah, and obeyed not his voice; therefore hath this thing come upon you. 4 And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains upon thy hands. If it seem good to thee to come with me to Babylon, come; and I will set my eyes upon thee; but if it seem evil to thee to come with me to Babylon, forbear; behold, the whole land is before thee; whither it seemeth good and desirable for thee to go, thither go.” 5 And while he was not yet gone away [[he said]]: “Go to Gedaliah, the of son Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people; or go whithersoever it seemeth good to thee to go.” And the captain of the guard gave him provisions, and a present, and dismissed him. 6 And Jeremiah went to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, to Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land. 7 Now when all the captains of the forces which were in the fields, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, governor over the land, and had committed to his charge men and women and children, of the poor of the land, of them that were not carried away captive to Babylon, 8 then they came to Gedaliah, to Mizpah; namely, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan, the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah, the son of Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah, the son of the Maachathite, they and their men; 9 and Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, swore to them and to their men, saying, “Fear not to serve the Chaldaeans; dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you. 10 As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah, to stand before the Chaldaeans, who shall come to us; but ye, gather ye in wine, and summer fruits, and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities which ye have taken.” 11 Also when all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the children of Ammon, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant to Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, 12 then all the Jews returned from all the places whither they were driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, to Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer fruits in abundance. 13 And Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were in the fields, came to Gedaliah, to Mizpah, 14 and said to him, “Dost thou know that Baalis, the king of the children of Ammon, hath sent Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, to slay thee?” But Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, believed them not. 15 And Johanan, the son of Kareah, spake to Gedaliah in private at Mizpah, saying, “Let me go, I pray thee, and smite Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and no man shall know it. Wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered to thee should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish?” 16 But Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, said to Johanan, the son of Kareah, “Thou shalt not do this thing, for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.”

41  1 And it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of the blood royal, and one of the great officers of the king, and ten men with him, came to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, to Mizpah; and they ate bread there together in Mizpah. 2 Then Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, arose, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword, and slew him whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land. 3 And all the Jews that were with him, with Gedaliah at Mizpah, and the Chaldaeans that were found there, the men of war, did Ishmael smite. 4 And it came to pass, the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew it, 5 that there came certain men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, fourscore persons, having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with an oblation and incense in their hands, to bring to the house of Jehovah. 6 And Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, went forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went; and when he met them, he said to them, “Come ye to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam.” 7 And when they had come into the midst of the city, Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, slew them, and cast them into the pit, he and the men that were with him. 8 But ten men were found among them who said to Ishmael, “Slay us not, for we have hidden stores in the field, of wheat, and barley, and oil, and honey.” He forbore, therefore, and slew them not with their brethren. 9 Now the pit into which Ishmael cast all the dead bodies of the men whom he slew, together with Gedaliah, is the same which King Asa made on account of Baasha, king of Israel; and Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, filled it with them that were slain. 10 And Ishmael took captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, the king's daughters, and all the people that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, had committed to the charge of Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam; even Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, took them captive, and set forth to go over [[the Jordan]] to the children of Ammon. 11 But when Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, heard of all the evil which Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had done, 12 they took all the men, and went up to fight with Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, and came up with him at the great waters that are in Gibeon. 13 And when all the people which were with Ishmael saw Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, they were glad; 14 and all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah faced about and returned, and went to Johanan, the son of Kareah. 15 But Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, escaped from Johanan with eight men, and went to the children of Ammon. 16 Then took Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after he had slain Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, strong men, men of war, and women, and children, and eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon; 17 and they went, and tarried in the inn of Chimham, which is near Bethlehem, in order to flee into Egypt 18 from the Chaldaeans; for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah, had slain Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land.

42  1 And all the captains of the forces, and Johanan, the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah, the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people, from the least even to the greatest, came near, 2 and said to Jeremiah the prophet: “Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray for us to Jehovah, thy God, for all this remnant; (for we are left a few out of many, as thine eyes do behold us;) 3 that Jehovah, thy God, may show us the way wherein we shall walk, and the thing which we shall do.” 4 And Jeremiah the prophet said to them: “I have heard; behold, I will pray to Jehovah your God, according to your words, and all which Jehovah shall answer you I will declare to you; I will keep back nothing from you.” 5 Then they said to Jeremiah: “May Jehovah be our witness, a faithful and true witness! According to all for which Jehovah our God shall send thee to us, so will we do. 6 Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will obey the voice of Jehovah our God, to whom we send thee, that it may be well with us when we shall have obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God.” 7 And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah. 8 And he called Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which were with him, and all the people, from the least even to the greatest, 9 and said to them: “Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, to whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him: 10 If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I repent me of the evil which I have done to you. 11 Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith Jehovah; for I will be with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. 12 And I will show mercies to you, that he may have compassion upon you, and cause you to return to your own land. 13 But if ye say, 'We will not dwell in this land,' so as not to hearken to the voice of Jehovah your God, 14 saying, 'No! but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor be hungry for bread, and there will we dwell,— 15 now, therefore, hear the word of Jehovah, ye remnant of Judah! Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: If ye set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there, 16 then it shall come to pass that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, of which ye were afraid, shall follow close after you into Egypt, and there shall ye die. 17 So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there. They shall die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence, and not one of them shall remain, or escape from the evil which I bring upon them. 18 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: As my anger and my wrath have been poured forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so shall my wrath be poured forth upon you, when ye shall enter into Egypt; and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach; and ye shall see this place no more. 19 This is the word of Jehovah to you, ye remnant of Judah! Go ye not into Egypt; ye shall surely know that I have warned you this day. 20 Ye err to your own ruin; for ye sent me to Jehovah your God, saying, 'Pray for us to Jehovah our God, and according to all that Jehovah our God shall say, so declare to us, and we will do it'; 21 and now I have this day declared it to you, but ye have not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah your God, nor to anything for which he sent me to you. 22 Now, therefore, ye shall know assuredly, that by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence ye shall die, in the place whither ye have chosen to go and to sojourn.”

43  1 And it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking to all the people all the words of Jehovah their God, for which Jehovah their God had sent him to them, even all these words, 2 then spake Azariah, the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the proud men, saying to Jeremiah, “Thou speakest falsely; Jehovah our God hath not sent thee to say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there; 3 but Baruch, the son of Neriah, setteth thee on against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldaeans, that they may put us to death, and carry us away captive to Babylon.” 4 So Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all the people, obeyed not the voice of Jehovah, to remain in the land of Judah. 5 But Johanan, the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, who were returned from all the nations whither they had been driven to dwell in the land of Judah, 6 the men, and the women, and the children, and the king's daughters, and every person whom Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, had left with Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch, the son of Neriah; 7 and they went into the land of Egypt; for they obeyed not the voice of Jehovah; and they came to Tahpanhes. 8 Then came the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying: 9 Take in thy hand great stones, and hide them in the clay in the brick-kiln which is at the entrance of the house of Pharaoh in Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah, 10 and say to them: Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will send, and take Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne upon these stones which I have hidden, and he shall spread his royal canopy over them. 11 And he shall come and smite the land of Egypt, and deliver those that are for death to death, and those that are for captivity to captivity, and those that are for the sword to the sword. 12 And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and carry them away captive; and he shall wrap himself in the land of Egypt, as a shepherd wrappeth himself in his garment, and he shall go forth from thence in peace. 13 And he shall break in pieces the images of Bethshemesh in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of Egypt shall he burn with fire.

44  1 The word which came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews that dwelt in the land of Egypt, that dwelt at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the land of Pathros, saying: 2 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Ye have seen all the evil which I have brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah; and behold, this day they are a desolation, and no man dwelleth therein; 3 because of their wickedness, which they have committed, to provoke me to anger, in that they went to burn incense and to serve strange gods, whom they knew not, neither they, ye, nor your fathers; 4 and I sent to you all my servants, the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying: O do not this abominable thing, which I hate! 5 But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense to strange gods. 6 Therefore hath my fury been poured forth, and mine anger, and hath burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are become a desolation and a waste at this day. 7 And now thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Wherefore do ye commit this great evil against your own souls, that ye may cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, so as to leave yourselves no remnant? 8 Why do ye provoke me to wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense to strange gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye are gone to dwell, so that ye may cut yourselves off, and that ye may be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? 9 Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they have committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10 They have not been humbled even to this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, which I set before you, and before your fathers. 11 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I set my face against you for evil, even to cut off all Judah. 12 And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all be consumed; in the land of Egypt shall they fall; by the sword and by famine shall they be consumed, from the least to the greatest; by the sword and by famine shall they die; and they shall become an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach. 13 For I will punish them that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. 14 And none shall escape or remain of the remnant of Judah which are gone into the land of Egypt, to sojourn there, and to return into the land of Judah, to which they have a desire to return, to dwell there; for none shall return but a few fugitives that escape. 15 Then all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to strange gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, and in Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying: 16 “As for the word which thou hast spoken to us in the name of Jehovah, we will not hearken to thee, 17 But whatever hath gone forth from our mouth, that will we do, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings to her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then we had plenty of bread, and were prosperous, and saw no calamity. 18 But from the time we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings to her, we have been in want of all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by famine. 19 And when we [[said the women]] burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink-offerings to her, did we without the knowledge of our men make cakes to worship her, and pour out drink-offerings to her?” 20 Then spake Jeremiah to all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people who had given him that answer, saying: 21 “The incense which ye burned in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye and your fathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not Jehovah remember it, and came it not into his mind? 22 And Jehovah could no longer bear the evil of your doings, and the abominations which ye committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant at this day. 23 Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have sinned against Jehovah, and have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah, nor walked in his law, nor in his statutes, nor in his ordinances, therefore is this evil come upon you, at this day.” 24 And Jeremiah said to all the people and to all the women, Hear the word of Jehovah, all Judah, that are in the land of Egypt! 25 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Ye and your wives speak with your mouths, and fulfill with your hands; ye say, “We will keep our vows, which we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings to her”; ye will surely accomplish your vows; ye will surely perform your vows. 26 Therefore hear ye the word of Jehovah, all ye of Judah, that dwell in the land of Egypt! Behold, I swear by my great name, saith Jehovah, that my name shall no more be named in the mouth of any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “As the Lord Jehovah liveth!” 27 Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good; and all the men of Judah who are in the land of Egypt shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, until there be an end of them. 28 And they that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine or theirs. 29 And this shall be a sign to you, saith Jehovah, that I will punish you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil. 30 Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra, the king of Egypt, into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of them that seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah, the king of Judah, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, his enemy, that sought his life.”

45  1 The word which Jeremiah the prophet spake to Baruch, the son of Neriah, after he had written these words in a book from the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, saying:— 2 Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, to thee, O Baruch! 3 Thou sayest, “Woe now to me, for Jehovah hath added grief to my sorrow! I am weary with my sighing, and find no rest.” 4 Thus shalt thou say to him: Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, that which I myself have builded do I break down, and that which I myself have planted do I pluck up, even this whole land; 5 and seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not; for behold, I am about to bring evil upon all flesh, saith Jehovah; but thy life will I give thee, as a prey, in all places whither thou shalt go.

46  1 The word which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations. 2 Of Egypt. Concerning the army of Pharaoh-Necho, the king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates in Carchemish, which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, smote, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah. 3 Prepare ye the buckler and shield, And move on to battle! 4 Harness the horses, and mount, ye riders! Stand forth in your helmets; Make bright the spears, And put on the coats of mail! 5 Wherefore do I see them dismayed, and turned back? Even their mighty ones are smitten; They flee apace; they look not back. Terror is on every side, saith Jehovah. 6 Let not the swift attempt to flee away, Nor the mighty man to escape; Toward the North by the river Euphrates shall they stumble and fall. 7 Who is he that riseth up like the Nile, Whose waters swell like floods? 8 Egypt riseth up like the Nile, And like floods do his waters swell. He saith, “I will arise, I will cover the land, I will destroy the city, and them that dwell therein.” 9 Come up, ye horses, and rage, ye chariots! And let the mighty men go forth, The Ethiopians, and the Libyans, that bear the shield, And the Lydians, that bear and bend the bow! 10 This is the day of the Lord Jehovah of hosts, A day of vengeance, to avenge himself of his enemies; And the sword shall devour, and satiate itself, And it shall be made drunk with their blood. For Jehovah of hosts hath a sacrifice In the North country, by the river Euphrates. 11 Go up to Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, daughter of Egypt! In vain shalt thou use many medicines; There is no cure for thee! 12 The nations have heard of thy shame, And thy cry hath filled the earth; For they have stumbled, the mighty against the mighty, And they are fallen both together. 13 The word which Jehovah spake to Jeremiah the prophet, concerning the coming of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, to smite the land of Egypt. 14 Declare ye in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol, Proclaim ye also in Noph and Tahpanhes! Say ye, “Stand fast and prepare thyself, For the sword shall devour round about thee!” 15 Wherefore are thy mighty ones overthrown? They stood not, because Jehovah cast them down. 16 He caused many to fall; one fell upon another; And they said, “Arise, and let us go to our own people, And to the land of our nativity, from the overpowering sword.” 17 There they cry, “Pharaoh, king of Egypt, is undone! He hath let pass the appointed time.” 18 As I live, saith the King, Whose name is Jehovah of hosts: Like Tabor among the mountains, And like Carmel by the sea, he cometh! Prepare thyself travelling equipage, 19 Thou who dwellest in Egypt! For Noph shall become waste, Yea, desolate without an inhabitant. 20 Egypt is a fair heifer, But destruction cometh; it cometh from the North. 21 Her mercenaries also in the midst of her are like fatted bullocks; Yet they also turn back; they flee together; they stand not; For the day of their calamity is come upon them, And the time of their punishment. 22 Her voice shall be heard like that of a serpent, When they shall march against her with their forces, And come against her with axes like fellers of trees. 23 They shall cut down her forest, though it be impenetrable; For they exceed the locusts in multitude, And are innumerable. 24 The daughter of Egypt is brought to shame; She is given into the hand of the people of the North. 25 Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, saith: Behold, I will punish Ammon of No, And Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods and their kings; Even Pharaoh and all that trust in him. 26 And I will deliver them into the hands of those that seek their lives, And into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, And into the hand of his servants. But after this it shall be inhabited, As in the days of old, saith Jehovah. 27 But fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, And be not thou dismayed, O Israel! For, behold, I will bring thee safe from afar, And thy posterity from the land of their captivity; And Jacob shall return and be at rest, Yea, he shall be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. 28 Fear thou not, O Jacob, my servant, saith Jehovah, For I will be with thee; When I shall make a full end of all the nations Whither I have dispersed thee, Yet will I not make a full end of thee; I will correct thee in measure; Yet must I not leave thee wholly unpunished.

47  1 The word of Jehovah which came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the Philistines, before Pharaoh had smitten Gaza. 2 Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, waters rise up out of the North, And they shall become an overflowing torrent, And shall overflow the land, and all that is therein,—The city, and them that dwell therein; And the men shall cry aloud, And all the inhabitants of the land shall wail. 3 At the noise of the stamping of the horses, At the rattling of his chariots, And at the rumbling of his wheels, Fathers look not back for their children, For feebleness of hands, 4 Because of the day which cometh, To lay waste all the Philistines, To cut off from Tyre and from Sidon Every helper that remaineth. For Jehovah will lay waste the Philistines, The remnant of the country of Caphtor. 5 Baldness is come upon Gaza, Askelon is in ruins, And the remnant of their valley! How long wilt thou cut thyself? 6 Ah! sword of Jehovah, How long ere thou wilt be quiet? Retire into thy scabbard, Rest, and be still! 7 But how canst thou be at rest, Since Jehovah hath given thee a charge against Askelon, And against the coast of the sea? There hath he appointed it.

48  1 Concerning Moab. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Woe to Nebo, for it is laid waste! Kiriathaim is confounded, is taken. Misgab is confounded and dismayed. 2 Moab shall no more glory in Heshbon; They have devised evil against her; “Come, [[say they,]] and let us cut her off from being a nation!” Thou also shalt be cut down, O Madmena, The sword shall pursue thee! 3 A cry is heard from Horonaim, Desolation and great destruction. 4 Moab is destroyed; Her little ones raise a cry. 5 At the ascent of Luhith Weeping goeth up after weeping; At the descent of Horonaim is heard a bitter cry of despair. 6 Flee ye! save your lives! Be ye like one that has been stripped in the wilderness! 7 For, because thou hast trusted in thy substance and thy treasures, Thou also shalt be taken And Chemosh shall go into captivity, His priests and his princes together. 8 The spoiler shall come upon every city, And no city shall escape. The valley shall perish, And the plain shall be destroyed, As Jehovah hath spoken. 9 Give wings to Moab, That she may flee away; For her cities shall be a desolation, With none to dwell therein. 10 Cursed be he that doeth the work of Jehovah deceitfully, And cursed be he that keepeth back his sword from blood! 11 Moab hath been at ease from his youth, And he hath settled on his lees, And hath not been drawn off from vessel to vessel, Neither hath he gone into captivity; Therefore his taste hath remained in him, And his flavor hath not changed. 12 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, That I will send to him tilters, who shall tilt him up, And shall empty his vessels, and break his pitchers in pieces. 13 And Moab shall be ashamed of Chemosh, As the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel, their confidence. 14 How will ye say, “We are mighty, And strong men for war”? 15 Moab is destroyed; His cities have gone up in smoke, And his chosen young men have gone down to slaughter, Saith the King whose name is Jehovah of hosts. 16 The destruction of Moab is near at hand; His destruction hasteth fast. 17 All ye that are about him, bemoan him! And all ye that know him, say, “How is the strong sceptre broken, The splendid staff!” 18 Come down from thy glory and sit in thirst, O inhabitant of Dibon! For the destroyer of Moab shall come against thee! He shall destroy thy strongholds. Stand by the wayside, and look out, 19 O inhabitant of Aroer! Ask of him that fleeth, and of her that escapeth, And say, “What hath been done?” 20 Moab is confounded; for it is broken down; Howl ye, and cry! Tell ye it in Arnon, That Moab is destroyed! 21 And punishment hath come upon the plain country; Upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath, 22 And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim. 23 And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-meon, 24 And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, And upon all the cities of the land of Moab far and near. 25 The horn of Moab is cut off, And his arm is broken, saith Jehovah. 26 Make ye him drunken, for he hath exalted himself against Jehovah; That he also may wallow in his vomit, And be himself also in derision. 27 Was not Israel a derision to thee? Was he found among thieves, That, as often as thou spakest of him, thou shouldst shake thy head? 28 Leave the cities and dwell in the rock, O inhabitants of Moab! Be like the dove, that maketh her nest in the sides of the mouth of the pit! 29 We have heard of the pride of Moab; He hath been exceeding proud; His loftiness and his arrogance, His pride and the haughtiness of his heart. 30 I, too, know his insolence, saith Jehovah, And his vain boastings. They shall effect nothing. 31 Therefore will I wail for Moab, Even for all Moab will I cry out; For the men of Kir-heres shall there be mourning. 32 More than Jazer will I weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah! Thy branches have passed beyond the sea; They reach even to the sea of Jazer; Upon thy summer-fruits and thy vintage the spoiler falleth. 33 And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field; And from the land of Moab, And from the presses, have I caused the wine to fail: No more shall they tread with shouting; The shouting shall be no shouting. 34 From wailing Heshbon to Elealeh, Even to Jahaz, is their voice heard, From Zoar even to Horonaim, To Eglath-shelishijah; For even the waters of Nimrim are desolate. 35 And I will cause to cease in Moab, saith Jehovah, Him that offereth in the high places, And him that burneth incense to his gods. 36 Therefore doth my heart sound like a flute for Moab, And for the men of Ker-heres doth my heart sound like a flute; For the remnant of their substance is perished. 37 Every head is bald, And every beard shorn; Upon all hands are cutting, And upon the loins sackcloth. 38 Upon all the house-tops of Moab, and in her streets, All is lamentation. For I have broken Moab, like a useless vessel, saith Jehovah. 39 Howl ye! How is he broken down! How hath Moab turned the back with shame! A derision and a consternation is Moab To all that are round him. 40 For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, like an eagle flieth an enemy, And spreadeth his wings over Moab. 41 Kerioth is taken, And the strongholds are seized; The hearts of the heroes of Moab in that day Shall be like the heart of a woman in her pangs. 42 And Moab shall be destroyed so as to be no more a people, Because he exalted himself against Jehovah. 43 Terror and the pit and the snare are upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith Jehovah. 44 He that fleeth from the terror shall fall into the pit, And he that getteth up out of the pit shall be taken in the snare; For I will bring upon it, upon Moab, The year of their punishment, saith Jehovah. 45 In the valley of Heshbon the fugitives halted for want of strength; But a fire is gone forth from Heshbon, And a flame from the midst of Sihon, Which devoureth the region of Moab, And the heads of the sons of tumult. 46 Woe to thee, O Moab! Undone is the people of Chemosh! For thy sons are taken captives, And thy daughters are captives. 47 Yet will I bring back the captivity of Moab In future times, saith Jehovah. Thus far the judgment of Moab.

49  1 Concerning the children of Ammon. Thus saith Jehovah: Hath Israel no sons? Hath he not an heir? Why then doth Milcom inherit Gad, And his people dwell in his cities? 2 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, That I will cause a cry of war to be heard against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon, And she shall become a ruinous heap, And her daughters shall be burned with fire; And Israel shall take possession of their land, who took possession of his. 3 Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste! Cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, Gird yourselves with sackcloth, lament, And run ye to and fro within the fences! For Milcom goeth into captivity, His priests and his princes together. 4 Wherefore dost thou glory in the valleys? Thy valley shall flow [[with blood]], O perverse daughter, That gloriest in thy treasures, [[Saying,]] “Who shall come against me?” 5 Behold, I will bring a terror upon thee, saith Jehovah of hosts, From all those that are around thee, And ye shall be driven out, every one right forth, And there shall be none to gather up the fugitives. 6 But after this will I bring back the captivity of the sons of Ammon, saith Jehovah. 7 Concerning the Edomites. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Is wisdom no more in Teman? Is counsel passed away from the prudent? Is their wisdom vanished? 8 Flee ye, turn ye back, Dwell in deep places, O ye inhabitants of Dedan! For the destruction of Esau do I bring, The time of his punishment upon him. 9 If grape-gatherers had come upon thee, Would they not have left some gleanings? If thieves by night, They would have destroyed only till they had enough. 10 But I will make Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding-places, So that he shall not be able to hide himself. His offspring shall be destroyed, and his brethren, and his neighbors, And he shall be no more. 11 Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive, And thy widows, let them trust in me! 12 For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, they who ought not to have drunk the cup have deeply drunken, And shalt thou go altogether unpunished? Thou shalt not go unpunished; Thou shalt surely drink. 13 For by myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah, That Bozrah shall become an astonishment, A reproach, a desolation, and a curse; And all her cities shall be perpetual wastes. 14 I have heard a proclamation from Jehovah, And an ambassador hath been sent among the nations, [[Saying,]] “Assemble yourselves, and come against her, And arise to battle!” 15 For, behold, I will make thee small among the nations, Despised among men. 16 Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, The pride of thy heart, Because thou dwellest in the recesses of the rock, And holdest the height of the hill. Though thou set thy nest on high, like the eagle, From thence will I bring thee down, saith Jehovah. 17 And Edom shall be an astonishment: Every one that passeth by her shall be astonished, And shall hiss on account of all her plagues. 18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, And their neighboring cities, saith Jehovah, There shall not a man abide there, Nor a son of man dwell within her. 19 Behold, he [[the enemy]] cometh up like a lion from the pride of Jordan against the habitation of the rock; Suddenly will I drive him [[Edom]] thence, And him who is chosen by me will I set over her. For who is like me, Or who will summon me to trial? Or who is the shepherd that will stand up against me? 20 Therefore, hear ye the purpose of Jehovah, Which he hath formed against Edom, And the designs which he meditateth against the inhabitants of Teman! Surely he [[the enemy]] shall drag them forth like feeble sheep; Surely he shall come upon them, And make their pastures desolate. 21 At the noise of their fall the earth trembleth, Even to the Red Sea is their cry heard. 22 Behold, like an eagle, he [[the enemy]] cometh up, And spreadeth his wings over Bozrah; And the hearts of the heroes of Edom, in that day, Shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs. 23 Concerning Damascus. Hamath and Arpad are confounded; They faint, because they have heard evil tidings. There is anxiety at the sea; It cannot be at rest. 24 Damascus is faint-hearted; She turneth herself to flee; Trembling hath seized on her; Anguish and pangs have taken hold of her, as of a woman in travail. 25 “Why is not the praised city left, The city of my joy?” 26 Yea, her young men shall fall in her streets, And all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, Saith Jehovah of hosts. 27 Yea, I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, Which shall consume the palaces of Benhadad. 28 Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, smote. Thus saith Jehovah: Arise ye, go up against Kedar, And spoil the sons of the East! 29 Their tents and their flocks shall they take away; They shall take to themselves their curtains, and all their furniture, and their camels, And men shall cry to them, “Terror is on every side.” 30 Flee, get you far off, dwell in deep places, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith Jehovah. For Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, meditates a design against you, And has formed a purpose against you. 31 Arise ye, go up against a nation at ease, That dwelleth securely, saith Jehovah; Which hath neither gates nor bars; Which dwelleth alone. 32 And their camels shall be a booty, And the multitude of their cattle a spoil; And I will scatter to all the winds them that shave the cheeks, And from every side will I bring their calamity, saith Jehovah. 33 And Hazor shall be a dwelling for jackals, A desolation forever. There shall not a man abide there, Nor any son of man dwell therein. 34 The word of Jehovah which came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, saying:— 35 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I break the bow of Elam, The chief part of their strength. 36 And I will bring against Elam The four winds from the four extremities of the heavens, And I will scatter them to all these winds, And there shall be no nation To which the outcasts of Elam shall not come. 37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, And before them that seek their life. And I will bring evil upon them, The fierceness of my anger, saith Jehovah. And I will send after them the sword, Until I have consumed them. 38 And I will set up my throne in Elam, And I will destroy from thence king and princes, saith Jehovah. 39 But it shall come to pass in future times, That I will bring back the captivity of Elam, saith Jehovah.

50  1 The word which Jehovah spake concerning Babylon, and concerning the land of the Chaldaeans, by Jeremiah the prophet. 2 Tell ye among the nations, and proclaim, and lift up a standard! Proclaim ye; conceal it not; Say ye, “Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is in consternation, Her idols are confounded, Her images are in consternation.” 3 For out of the North cometh up against her a nation Which shall make her land desolate, So that none shall dwell therein; Both man and beast are fled, They are gone. 4 In those days, and at that time, saith Jehovah, The children of Israel shall come, They and the children of Judah together; They shall go weeping on their way, And shall seek Jehovah their God. 5 They shall ask the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward; They shall come, and shall join themselves to Jehovah In a perpetual covenant, that shall not be forgotten. 6 My people have been lost sheep; Their shepherds have caused them to go astray; They have caused them to wander upon the mountains; They have gone from mountain to hill, They have forgotten their fold. 7 All that found them devoured them; For their adversaries said, “We shall not be held guilty,” Because they had sinned against Jehovah, The fold of safety, and the hope of their fathers, Jehovah. 8 Flee ye out of Babylon, And go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, And be ye like he-goats before the flock! 9 For, behold, I will raise up and bring against Babylon An assembly of great nations from the land of the North, And they shall set themselves in array against her, And then shall she be taken; Their arrows shall be as those of an expert warrior; None shall return in vain. 10 And Chaldaea shall be a spoil; All that spoil her shall have their fill, saith Jehovah. 11 Because ye rejoiced and exulted, O ye plunderers of my inheritance, Because ye wantoned like a thrashing heifer, And neighed like a stallion, 12 Your mother is utterly confounded; She that bore you is put to shame. Behold, the end of the nations, A wilderness, a dry land, a desert! 13 Because of the wrath of Jehovah, she shall not be inhabited, She shall be wholly desolate; Every one that passeth by Babylon shall be amazed, And hiss on account of all her plagues. 14 Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: All ye that bend the bow, shoot at her; Spare not the arrows! For she hath sinned against Jehovah. 15 Raise the war-shout! She reacheth forth her hand; Her pillars are fallen; Her walls are thrown down; For it is the vengeance of Jehovah. Take ye vengeance upon her! As she hath done, do ye to her! 16 Cut ye off the sower from Babylon, And him that handleth the sickle in harvest-time! Because of the overpowering sword They shall turn every one to his own people, And they shall flee every one to his own land. 17 Israel hath been like scattered sheep, Which the lions have driven away; First the king of Assyria devoured him, And last, this Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, hath broken his bones. 18 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, As I have punished the king of Assyria. 19 And I will bring back Israel to his own pasture, And he shall feed upon Carmel and Bashan, And satiate himself upon mount Ephraim and Gilead. 20 In those days and at that time, saith Jehovah, The iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; And the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found; For I will pardon those whom I cause to be left. 21 Against the land of Rebellion go ye up, And against the inhabitants of Vengeance! Lay waste and utterly destroy after them, saith Jehovah, And do all which I have commanded thee! 22 The din of battle is in the land, And great destruction. 23 How is the battle-hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! How is Babylon become an astonishment to all the nations! 24 I have laid a snare for thee, And thou hast been caught, O Babylon, When thou wast not aware! Thou hast been found and taken, Because thou hast contended against Jehovah. 25 Jehovah hath opened his armory, And hath brought out the weapons of his indignation; For the Lord Jehovah of hosts performeth a work against the land of the Chaldaeans. 26 Come against her from the utmost border! Open ye her barns, Cast her up into heaps, And destroy her utterly; Let nothing of her be left! 27 Slay all her bullocks, Let them go down to the slaughter! Woe unto them, For their day is come, The time of their punishment! 28 The voice of them that flee and escape is heard from the land of Babylon, To make known to Zion the vengeance of Jehovah, our God, The vengeance for his temple. 29 Call together the archers against Babylon, All ye that bend the bow, encamp ye round about her; Let no one escape; Recompense her according to her work; According to all that she hath done, do ye to her! For she hath exalted herself against Jehovah, Against the Holy One of Israel. 30 Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, And all her men of war shall be cut off in that day, saith Jehovah. 31 Behold I am against thee, thou proud one, saith the Lord Jehovah of hosts; For thy day is come, The time of thy punishment. 32 And the proud one shall stumble and fall, And none shall raise him up; And I will kindle a fire in his cities, And it shall devour all round about him. 33 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together, And all that took them captives hold them fast; They refuse to let them go. 34 But their redeemer is strong; Jehovah of hosts is his name. He will maintain their cause, So as to give rest to the land, And confusion to the inhabitants of Babylon. 35 The sword shall be upon the Chaldaeans, saith Jehovah, And upon the inhabitants of Babylon; And upon her princes, And upon her wise men; 36 The sword upon her lying prophets, and they shall be fools; The sword upon her heroes, and they shall be dismayed; 37 The sword upon her horses, and upon her chariots, And against all the allied multitude that is within her, And they shall become women. The sword is upon their treasures, and they shall be plundered; 38 A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; For it is a land of graven images, And they put a mad trust in idols. 39 Therefore the wild beasts of the desert, with the jackals, shall dwell there, And therein shall the ostrich dwell. And it shall be no more inhabited forever, Neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation. 40 As it was when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and the neighboring cities, saith Jehovah, There shall not a man abide there, Nor any son of man dwell therein. 41 Behold, a nation cometh from the North, And a great people and many kings shall rise up from the extremities of the earth. 42 They bear the bow and the javelin; They are cruel, and show no mercy; Their voice roareth like the sea, And they ride upon horses, arrayed like a warrior, Against thee, O daughter of Babylon! 43 The king of Babylon heareth the rumor concerning them, And his hands become feeble; Anguish taketh hold of him, Trembling, as of a woman in travail. 44 Behold, like a lion from the pride of Jordan, he cometh up against the habitation of the rock; Suddenly will I drive them from her; And him who is chosen by me will I appoint over her; For who is like me? And who will summon me to trial? And who is the shepherd that will stand up against me? 45 Therefore hear ye the purpose of Jehovah, which he hath formed against Babylon, And the designs which he meditateth against the land of the Chaldaeans; Surely he [[the enemy]] shall drag them forth like feeble sheep, Surely he will come upon them, and make their pastures desolate. 46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon, the earth trembleth, And the cry is heard among the nations.

51  1 Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, And against them that dwell in the midst of mine adversaries, A destroying wind; 2 And I will send against Babylon winnowers, And they shall winnow her, and empty her land; For they shall come against her on every side. 3 Against him that bendeth, let the archer bend his bow, And against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine! And spare ye not her young men; Destroy ye utterly her whole host! 4 Thus shall they fall down slain in the land of the Chaldaeans, And thrust through in her streets. 5 For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah abandoned of his God, of Jehovah of hosts; For their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel. 6 Flee ye out of Babylon, And save ye every man his life, That ye be not cut off in her punishment! For this is the time of Jehovah's vengeance; He will render to her a recompense. 7 Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of Jehovah, That made all the earth drunken; The nations have drunken of her wine, Therefore the nations are mad. 8 Babylon is suddenly fallen, and broken; Howl ye over her; Bring ye balm for her wounds, If so be she may be healed. 9 “We would have healed Babylon, But she cannot be healed. Forsake her, and let us go every one to his own country! For her punishment reacheth to the heavens, And ascendeth even to the skies.” 10 Jehovah hath brought forth our deliverance; Come ye, and let us declare in Zion The work of Jehovah our God. 11 Make sharp the arrows; put on the shields! Jehovah hath roused up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; For his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it; For this is the vengeance of Jehovah, The vengeance for his temple. 12 Against the walls of Babylon set up a standard, Make strong the guard, appoint the watchmen, prepare the ambush! For Jehovah deviseth and doeth that which he spake Against the inhabitants of Babylon. 13 O thou that dwellest by great waters, That aboundest in treasures, Thine end is come; The measure of thy rapaciousness is full! 14 Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, [[saying,]] Surely I will fill thee with men, as with caterpillars, Who shall raise the war-shout against thee. 15 He made the earth by his power, He established the world by his wisdom, And by his understanding he spread out the heavens. 16 When he uttereth his voice there is an abundance of water in the heavens; He causeth clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth; He bringeth the wind from his storehouses. 17 Brutish is every man who hath not this knowledge; By his images is every founder put to shame; For his molten work is deceit; There is no breath in it. 18 They are vanity, deceptive work; In the time of their punishment shall they perish. 19 Not like them is he who is the portion of Jacob; He is the former of all things, And Israel is his allotted inheritance. Jehovah of hosts is his name. 20 Thou hast been to me my battle-hammer, My weapon of war. And with thee I broke in pieces the nations, And with thee I destroyed the kingdoms. 21 And with thee I broke in pieces the horse and his rider, And with thee I broke in pieces the chariot and its driver. 22 With thee I broke in pieces man and woman, And with thee I broke in pieces the old and the young, And with thee I broke in pieces the young man and the maiden. 23 With thee I broke in pieces the shepherd and his flock, And with thee I broke in pieces the husbandman and his team; And with thee I broke in pieces prefects and governors. 24 But now before your eyes will I repay to Babylon, And to all the inhabitants of Chaldaea, All the evil which they have done in Zion, saith Jehovah. 25 O thou destroying mountain, that destroyest the whole earth, Behold, I am against thee, saith Jehovah! And I will stretch out my hand against thee, And roll thee down from the rocks, And make thee a burnt mountain, 26 So that none shall take from thee a corner-stone, or a foundation-stone; But thou shalt be a perpetual desolation, saith Jehovah. 27 Set ye up a standard in the land, Sound a trumpet among the nations; Enlist the nations against Babylon, Call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; Appoint captains against her, Cause the horses to come up like the bristled locusts! 28 Enlist ye against her the nations, The kings of the Medes, and their prefects, And all their governors, And all the lands under their dominion, 29 So that the earth shall tremble and quake! For the purpose of Jehovah against Babylon is to be fulfilled, To make the land of Babylon a desolation, without an inhabitant. 30 The mighty men of Babylon refuse to fight; They remain in their stronghold; Their strength hath failed; They have become women; Her habitations are burned; Her bars are broken. 31 Courier runs to meet courier, And messenger to meet messenger, To make known to the king of Babylon, That his city is taken from end to end; 32 That the passages are taken, That the reeds are burned with fire, And that the men of war are struck with terror. 33 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon shall be like a thrashing-floor when it is thrashed; Yet a little while, and the time of harvest for her shall come. 34 Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, hath devoured us; He hath made an end of us; He hath made us empty vessels; He hath swallowed us up like a dragon; He hath filled his maw with our delicacies; He hath cast us out. 35 “The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon!” Shall the inhabitant of Zion say; And, “My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldaeans!” shall Jerusalem say. 36 Therefore, thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will maintain thy cause, And take vengeance for thee; And I will dry up her sea, And make her springs dry. 37 And Babylon shall become heaps, The dwelling-place of jackals, An astonishment and a hissing, Without an inhabitant. 38 Together shall they roar like lions; They shall yell like lions' whelps. 39 In their heat I will prepare them a drink, And will make them drunk, so that they shall rejoice, And then sleep an everlasting sleep, And awake no more, saith Jehovah. 40 I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, Like rams with he-goats. 41 How is Sheshach taken! How is the praise of the whole earth fallen! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! 42 The sea is come up over Babylon; With the roaring of its waves is she covered. 43 Her cities have become a desolation, A dry land and a desert, A land in which no man dwelleth, And which no son of man passeth through. 44 I will punish Bel at Babylon, And bring forth from his mouth that which he hath swallowed, And the nations shall flow to him no more; Even the wall of Babylon shall fall. 45 Go ye out of her, my people, And save ye every man his life From the fierce anger of Jehovah! 46 And let not your heart faint, And fear ye not on account of the rumors which are heard in the land, When in one year a rumor cometh, And after it in another year another rumor, And violence is in the land, Ruler against ruler. 47 Therefore, behold the days come When I will punish the graven images of Babylon, And her whole land shall be confounded; And all her slain shall fall in the midst of her. 48 Then the heavens shall shout over Babylon, And the earth and all that is therein; For out of the North come spoilers against her, saith Jehovah. 49 As Babylon caused the slain of Israel to fall, So at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the land. 50 Ye that have escaped her sword, go! Tarry not! Remember Jehovah afar off, And let Jerusalem come into your mind! 51 We have been confounded, because we have heard reproach; Shame hath covered our faces, For strangers have come into the sanctuaries of the house of Jehovah. 52 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, When I will punish her graven images, And through all her land shall the wounded groan. 53 Though Babylon should mount up to the heavens, And make inaccessible the height of her strength, Yet from me shall spoilers come upon her, saith Jehovah. 54 Hark! a cry from Babylon, Of great destruction from the land of the Chaldaeans! 55 For Jehovah destroyeth Babylon, And bringeth to silence her loud tumult; Their waves roar like great waters; Their tumultuous noise resounds. 56 For the spoiler is come upon her, upon Babylon; And their mighty men are taken, And all their bows are broken; For Jehovah is a God of retribution; He will surely requite. 57 And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, Her prefects, and her governors, and her mighty men; And they shall sleep an everlasting sleep, And shall no more awake, saith the King, Whose name is Jehovah of hosts. 58 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be razed to the foundations, And her high gates shall be burned with fire; So that nations shall have labored for naught, And kingdoms have wearied themselves for fire. 59 The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah, the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah, the king of Judah, into Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign. This Seraiah was chief chamberlain. 60 And Jeremiah wrote all the evil that was to come upon Babylon in one book, all these words that are written concerning Babylon. 61 And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, see that thou read all these words, 62 and say, O Jehovah, thou hast spoken against this place to destroy it, so that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall remain desolate forever! 63 And when thou hast made an end of reading this book, bind a stone upon it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, 64 and say: So shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again from the evil which I bring upon her. And they shall utterly fail. Thus far the words of Jeremiah.

52  1 Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. The name of his mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2 And he did that which was evil in the eyes of Jehovah, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 3 For, through the anger of Jehovah, it was so with Judah and Jerusalem that at length he cast them forth from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it, and built forts against it round about. 5 And the city was besieged until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 6 And in the fourth month, in the ninth day of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land. 7 And the city was broken into; and all the men of war fled, and went out of the city by night, by the way of the gate between the two walls, which is by the king's garden, (whilst the Chaldaeans were by the city round about,) and they went toward the plain. 8 But the army of the Chaldaeans pursued the king, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. 9 And they took the king, and carried him up to the king of Babylon, to Riblah, in the land of Hamath; where he gave judgment upon him. 10 And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes. He slew also all the princes or Judah, in Riblah. 11 And he put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him in chains; and the king of Babylon carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his death. 12 And in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, (it was the nineteenth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon,) came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, one that stood in the presence of the king of Babylon, to Jerusalem. 13 And he burned the house of Jehovah, and the king's house; and all the houses at Jerusalem, all the great houses, burned he with fire. 14 And all the army of the Chaldaeans that was with the captain of the guard brake down all the walls of Jerusalem round about. 15 And some of the poor of the people, and the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the deserters that had gone over to the king of Babylon, even the remainder of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, carry away captive. 16 But some of the poor of the land did Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, leave for vine-dressers and for husbandmen. 17 And the pillars of brass that were in the house of Jehovah, and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of Jehovah, the Chaldaeans brake, and carried all the brass of them to Babylon. 18 The caldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the pans, and all the vessels of brass which were used in ministering, did they take away. 19 And the basins, and the fire-pans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and the candlesticks, and the censers, and the cups, and whatever was of gold or silver, did the captain of the guard take away. 20 The two pillars, the sea, and the twelve brazen bulls that were under the bases, which King Solomon made in the house of Jehovah, the brass from all these was beyond weight. 21 For as to the pillars, eighteen cubits in height was the one pillar, and a line of twelve cubits measured it round, and their thickness was four fingers, being hollow. 22 And a chapiter of brass was upon them; and the height of one chapiter was five cubits; and there was network with pomegranates upon the chapiter all round, the whole of brass. The second pillar also, and the pomegranates, were like unto these. 23 And the pomegranates were ninety and six toward every wind; all the pomegranates were a hundred upon the network round about. 24 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah, the chief priest, and Zephaniah, the second priest, and the three keepers of the door; 25 and out of the city he took a eunuch who had charge over the men of war, and seven men of those that were near the king's person, who were found in the city, and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land, and threescore men of the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city; 26 these, Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, took, and brought to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus was Judah carried away captive out of their own land. 28 This is the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty-three Jews; 29 in the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar, he carried away captive from Jerusalem eight hundred and thirty-two persons; 30 in the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, carried away captive of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons. All the persons were four thousand and six hundred. 31 And it came to pass in the thirty and seventh year of the captivity of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-fifth day of the month, that Evil-merodach, the king of Babylon, in the first year of his reign, lifted up the head of Jehoiachin, king of Judah, and brought him forth out of prison, 32 and spoke kindly to him, and set his seat above the seat of the kings that were with him in Babylon, 33 and changed his prison garments; and he ate bread before him all the days of his life. 34 And a constant allowance was given him by the king of Babylon, a portion every day, until the day of his death, all the days of his life.