This is the smoke of my wrath, a fire burns with it continually. [6] Behold, it is written before me: I will not be silent until I have recompensed into their bosom, [7] their sins and the sins of their fathers, saith the Lord, who have burnt incense on the mountains, and reproached me on the hills: I will recompense their works into their bosom.
[8] Thus saith the Lord, As a grape-stone shall be found in the cluster, and they shall say, Destroy it not; for a blessing is in it: so will I do for the sake of him that serves me, for his sake I will not destroy them all. [9] And I will lead forth the seed that came of Jacob and of Juda, and they shall inherit my holy mountain: and mine elect and my servants shall inherit it, and shall dwell there. [10] And there shall be in the forest folds of flocks, and the valley of Achor shall be for a resting-place of herds for my people, who have sought me.
[11] But ye are they that have left me, and forget my holy mountain, and prepare a table for the devil, and fill up the drink-offering to Fortune. [12] I will deliver you up to the sword, ye shall all fall by slaughter: for I called you, and ye hearkened not; I spoke, and ye refused to hear; and ye did evil in my sight, and chose the things wherein I delighted not. [13] Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall hunger: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall thirst: behold my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: [14] behold, my servants shall exult with joy, but ye shall cry for the sorrow of your heart, and shall howl for the vexation of your spirit. [15] For ye shall leave your name for a loathing to my chosen, and the Lord shall destroy you: but my servants shall be called by a new name, [16] which shall be blessed on the earth; for they shall bless the true God: and they that swear upon the earth shall swear by the true God; for they shall forget the former affliction, it shall not come into their mind.
[17] For there shall be a new heaven and a new earth: and they shall not at all remember the former, neither shall they at all come into their mind. [18] But they shall find in her joy and exultation; for, behold, I make Jerusalem a rejoicing, and my people a joy. [19] And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and will be glad in my people: and there shall no more be heard in her the voice of weeping, or the voice of crying. [20] Neither shall there be there any more a child that dies untimely, or an old man who shall not complete his time: for the youth shall be a hundred years old, and the sinner who dies at a hundred years shall also be accursed: [21] and they shall build houses, and themselves shall dwell in them; and they shall plant vineyards, and themselves shall eat the fruit thereof. [22] They shall by no means build, and others inhabit; and they shall by no means plant, and others eat: for as the days of the tree of life shall be the days of my people, they shall long enjoy the fruits of their labours. [23] My chosen shall not toil in vain, neither shall they beget children to be cursed; for they are a seed blessed of God, and their offspring with them.
[24] And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will hearken to them; while they are yet speaking, I will say, What is it? [25] Then wolves and lambs shall feed together, and the lion shall eat chaff like the ox, and the serpent earth as bread. They shall not injure nor destroy in my holy mountain, saith the Lord.
Chapter 66
[1] Thus saith the Lord, Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: what kind of a house will ye build me? and of what kind is to be the place of my rest? [2] For all these things are mine, saith the Lord: and to whom will I have respect, but to the humble and meek, and the man that trembles at my words?
[3] But the transgressor that sacrifices a calf to me, is as he that kills a dog; and he that offers fine flour, as one that offers swine’s blood; he that gives frankincense for a memorial, is as a blasphemer.
Yet they have chosen their own ways, and their soul has delighted in their abominations. [4] I also will choose their mockeries, and will recompense their sins upon them; because I called them, and they did not hearken to me; I spoke, and they heard not: and they did evil before me, and chose the things wherein I delighted not.
[5] Hear the words of the Lord, ye that tremble at his word; speak ye, our brethren, to them that hate you and abominate you, that the name of the Lord may be glorified, and may appear their joy; but they shall be ashamed.
[6] A voice of a cry from the city, a voice from the temple, a voice of the Lord rendering recompence to his adversaries. [7] Before she that travailed brought forth, before the travail-pain came on, she escaped it and brought forth a male. [8] Who has heard such a thing? and who has seen after this manner? Has the earth travailed in one day? or has even a nation been born at once, that Sion has travailed, and brought forth her children? [9] But I have raised this expectation, yet thou hast not remembered me, saith the Lord: behold, have not I made the bearing and barren woman? saith thy God.
[10] Rejoice, O Jerusalem, and all ye that love her hold in her a general assembly: rejoice greatly with her, all that now mourn over her: [11] that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breast of her consolation; that ye may milk out, and delight yourselves with the influx of her glory.
[12] For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I turn toward them as a river of peace, and as a torrent bringing upon them in a flood the glory of the Gentiles: their children shall be borne upon the shoulders, and comforted on the knees. [13] As if his mother should comfort one, so will I also comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. [14] And ye shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall thrive like grass: and the hand of the Lord shall be known to them that fear him, and he shall threaten the disobedient.
[15] For, behold, the Lord will come as fire, and his chariots as a storm, to render his vengeance with wrath, and his rebuke with a flame of fire. [16] For with the fire of the Lord all the earth shall be judged, and all flesh with his sword: many shall be slain by the Lord.
[17] They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves in the gardens, and eat swine’s flesh in the porches, and the abominations, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord. [18] And I know their works and their imagination. I am going to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. [19] And I will leave a sign upon them, and I will send forth them that have escaped of them to the nations, to Tharsis, and Phud, and Lud, and Mosoch, and to Thobel, and to Greece, and to the isles afar off, to those who have not heard my name, nor seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. [20] And they shall bring your brethren out of all nations for a gift to the Lord with horses, and chariots, in litters drawn by mules with awnings, to the holy city Jerusalem, said the Lord, as though the children of Israel should bring their sacrifices to me with psalms into the house of the Lord. [21] And I will take of them priests and Levites, saith the Lord.
[22] For as the new heaven and the new earth, which I make, remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name continue. [23] And it shall come to pass from month to month, and from sabbath to sabbath, that all flesh shall come to worship before me in Jerusalem, saith the Lord. [24] And they shall go forth, and see the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched; and they shall be a spectacle to all flesh.
Jeremiah
Chapter 1
[1] The word of God which came to Jeremiah the son of Chelcias, of the priests, who dwelt in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: [2] accordingly as the word of God came to him in the days of Josias son of Amos king of Juda, in the thirteenth year of his reign. [3] And it was in the days of Joakim, son of Josias king of Juda, until the eleventh year of Sedekias king of Juda, even until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
[4] And the word of the Lord came to him, saying, [5] Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee; and before thou camest forth from the womb, I sanctified thee; I appointed thee a prophet to the nations.
[6] And I said, O Lord, thou that art supreme Lord, behold, I know not how to speak, for I am a child. [7] And the Lord said to me, Say not, I am a ch
ild: for thou shalt go to all to whomsoever I shall send thee, and according to all the words that I shall command thee, thou shalt speak. [8] Be not afraid before them: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. [9] And the Lord stretched forth his hand to me, and touched my mouth: and the Lord said to me, Behold, I have put my words into thy mouth.
[10] Behold, I have appointed thee this day over nations and over kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to rebuild, and to plant.
[11] And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, What seest thou? And I said, A rod of an almond tree. [12] And the Lord said to me, Thou hast well seen: for I have watched over my words to perform them. [13] And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, A caldron on the fire; and the face of it is toward the north. [14] And the Lord said to me, From the north shall flame forth evils upon all the inhabitants of the land. [15] For, behold, I call together all the kingdoms of the earth from the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and shall set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls round about her, and against all the cities of Juda. [16] And I will speak to them in judgment, concerning all their iniquity, forasmuch as they have forsaken me, and sacrificed to strange gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
[17] And do thou gird up thy loins, and stand up, and speak all the words that I shall command thee: be not afraid of their face, neither be thou alarmed before them; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. [18] Behold, I have made thee this day as a strong city, and as a brazen wall, strong against all the kings of Juda, and the princes thereof, and the people of the land. [19] And they shall fight against thee; but they shall by no means prevail against thee; because I am with thee, to deliver thee, saith the Lord.
Chapter 2
[1] And he said, Thus saith the Lord, [2] I remember the kindness of thy youth, and the love of thine espousals, [3] in following the Holy One of Israel, saith the Lord, Israel was the holy people to the Lord, and the first-fruits of his increase: al that devoured him shall offend; evils shall come upon them, saith the Lord.
[4] Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and every family of the house of Israel. [5] Thus saith the Lord, What trespass have your fathers found in me, that they have revolted far from me, and gone after vanities, and become vain? [6] And they said not, Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who guided us in the wilderness, in an untried and trackless land, in a land which no man at all went through, and no man dwelt there? [7] And I brought you to Carmel, that ye should eat the fruits thereof, and the good thereof; and ye went in, and defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. [8] The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that held by the law knew me not: the shepherds also sinned against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after that which profited not.
[9] Therefore I will yet plead with you, and will plead with your children’s children. [10] For go to the isles of the Chettians, and se; and send to Kedar, and observe accurately, and see if such things have been done; [11] if the nations will change their gods, though they are not gods: but my people have changed their glory, for that from which they shall not be profited. [12] The heaven is amazed at this, and is very exceedingly horror-struck, saith the Lord. [13] For my people has committed two faults, and evil ones: they have forsaken me, the fountain of water of life, and hewn out for themselves broken cisterns, which will not be able to hold water.
[14] Is Israel a servant, or a home-born slave? why has he become a spoil? [15] The lions roared upon him, and uttered their voice, which have made his land a wilderness: and his cities are broken down, that they should not be inhabited. [16] Also the children of Memphis and Taphnas have known thee, and mocked thee. [17] Has not thy forsaking me brought these things upon thee? saith the Lord thy God.
[18] And now what hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the water of Geon? and what hast thou to do with the way of the Assyrians, to drink the water of rivers? [19] Thine apostasy shall correct thee, and thy wickedness shall reprove thee: know then, and see, that thy forsaking me has been bitter to thee, saith the Lord thy God; and I have taken no pleasure in thee, saith the Lord thy God.
[20] For of old thou hast broken thy yoke, and plucked asunder thy bands; and thou has said, I will not serve thee, but will go upon every high hill, and under every shady tree, there will I indulge in my fornication. [21] Yet I planted thee a fruitful vine, entirely of the right sort: how art thou a strange vine turned to bitterness! [22] Though thou shouldest wash thyself with nitre, and multiply to thyself soap, still thou art stained by thine iniquities before me, saith the Lord.
[23] How wilt thou say, I am not polluted, and have not gone after Baal? behold thy ways in the burial-ground, and know what thou hast done: her voice has howled in the evening: [24] she has extended her ways over the waters of the desert; she was hurried along by the lusts of her soul; she is given up to them, who will turn her back? none that seek her shall be weary; at the time of her humiliation they shall find her. [25] Withdraw thy foot from a rough way, and they throat from thirst: but she said I will strengthen myself: for she loved strangers, and went after them.
[26] As is the shame of a thief when he is caught, so shall the children of Israel be ashamed; they, and their kings, and their princes, and their priests, and their prophets. [27] They said to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou has begotten me: and they have turned their backs to me, and not their faces: yet in the time of their afflictions they will say, Arise, and save us. [28] And where are thy gods, which thou madest for thyself? will they arise and save in the time of thine affliction? for according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Juda; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem they sacrificed to Baal. [29] Wherefore do ye speak unto me? ye all have been ungodly, and ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord. [30] In vain have I smitten your children; ye have not received correction: a sword has devoured your prophets as a destroying lion; yet ye feared not.
[31] Hear ye the word of the Lord: thus saith the Lord, Have I been a wilderness or a dry land to Israel? wherefore has my people said, We will not be ruled over, and will not come to thee any more? [32] Will a bride forget her ornaments, or a virgin her girdle? but my people has forgotten me days without number. [33] What fair device wilt thou yet employ in thy ways, so as to seek love? it shall not be so; moreover thou has done wickedly in corrupting thy ways; [34] and in thine hands has been found the blood of innocent souls; I have not found them in holes, but on every oak. [35] Yet thou saidst, I am innocent: only let his wrath be turned away from me.
Behold, I will plead with thee, whereas thou sayest, I have not sinned. [36] For thou has been so exceedingly contemptuous as to repeat thy ways; but thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assur. [37] For thou shalt go forth thence also with thine hands upon thine head; for the Lord has rejected thine hope, and thou shalt not prosper in it.
Chapter 3
[1] If a man put away his wife, and she depart from him, and become another man’s, shall she return to him any more at all? shall not that woman be utterly defiled? ye thou hast gone a-whoring with many shepherds, and hast returned to me, saith the Lord. [2] Lift up thine eyes to look straight forward, and see where thou hast not been utterly defiled. Thou hast sat for them by the wayside as a deserted crow, and hast defiled the land with thy fornications and thy wickedness. [3] And thou didst retain many shepherds for a stumbling-block to thyself: thou hadst a whore’s face, thou didst become shameless toward all.
[4] Hast thou not called me as it were a home, and the father and guide of thy virgin-time? [5] Will God’s anger continue for ever, or be preserved to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done these bad things, and hadst power to do them.
[6] And the Lord said to me in the days of Josias the king, Hast thou seen what things the house of Israel has done to me? they have gon
e on every high mountain, and under every shady tree, and have committed fornication there. [7] And I said after she had committed all these acts of fornication, Turn again to me. Yet she returned not. And faithless Juda saw her faithlessness. [8] And I saw that (for all the sins of which she was convicted, wherein the house of Israel committed adultery, and I put her away, and gave into her hands a bill of divorcement,) yet faithless Juda feared not, but went and herself also committed fornication. [9] And her fornication was nothing accounted of; and she committed adultery with wood and stone. [10] And for all these things faithless Juda turned not to me with all her heart, but falsely.
[11] And the Lord said to me, Israel has justified himself more than faithless Juda. [12] Go and read these words toward the north, and thou shalt say, Return to me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not set my face against you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not be angry with you for ever. [13] Nevertheless, know thine iniquity, that thou hast sinned against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to strangers under every shady tree, but thou didst not hearken to my voice, saith the Lord. [14] Turn, ye children that have revolted, saith the Lord; for I will rule over you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you in to Sion: [15] and I will give you shepherds after my heart, and they shall certainly tend you with knowledge.
[16] And it shall come to pass that when ye are multiplied and increased upon the land, saith the Lord, in those days they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Holy One of Israel: it shall not come to mind; it shall not be named; neither shall it be visited; nor shall this be done any more. [17] In those days and at that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered to it: and they shall not walk any more after the imaginations of their evil heart.
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