[27] Therefore thou shalt speak this word to them; [28] This is the nation which has not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, nor received correction: truth has failed from their mouth.
[29] Cut off thine hair, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on thy lips; for the Lord has reprobated and rejected the generation that does these things. [30] For the children of Juda have wrought evil before me, saith the Lord; they have set their abominations in the house on which my name is called, to defile it. [31] And they have built the altar of Tapheth, which is in the valley of the son of Ennom, to burn their sons and their daughters with fire; which I did not command them to do, neither did I design it in my heart.
[32] Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when they shall no more say, The altar of Tapheth, and the valley of the son of Ennom, but, The valley of the slain; and they shall bury in Tapheth, for want of room. [33] And the dead bodies of this people shall be for food to the birds of the sky, and to the wild beasts of the earth; and there shall be none to drive them away. [34] And I will destroy out of the cities of Juda, and the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of them that make merry, and the voice of them that rejoice, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride; for the whole land shall become a desolation.
Chapter 8
[1] At that time, saith the Lord, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Juda, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves; [2] and they shall spread them out to the sun, and the moon, and to all the stars, and to all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and to which they have held, and which they have worshipped; they shall not be mourned for, neither shall they be buried; but they shall be for an example on the face of the earth, [3] because they chose death rather than life, even to all the remnant that are left of that family, in every place whither I shall drive them out.
[4] For thus saith the Lord, Shall not he that falls arise? or he that turns away, shall he not turn back again? [5] Wherefore has this my people turned away with a shameless revolting, and strengthened themselves in their willfulness, and refused to return? [6] Hearken, I pray you, and hear: will they not speak thus, There is no man that repents of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? the runner has failed from his course, as a tired horse in his neighing. [7] Yea, the stork in the heaven knows her time, also the turtle-dove and wild swallow; the sparrows observe the times of their coming in; but this my people knows not the judgments of the Lord.
[8] How will ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? In vain have the scribes used a false pen. [9] The wise men are ashamed, and alarmed, and taken; because they have rejected the word of the Lord; what wisdom is there in them? [10] Therefore will I give their wives to others, and their fields to new inheritors; and they shall gather their fruits, saith the Lord. [11] 12 [13] There are no grapes on the vines, and there are no figs on the fig-trees, and the leaves have fallen off.
[14] Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the strong cities, and let us be cast out there: for God has cast us out, and made us drink water of gall, because we have sinned before him. [15] We assembled for peace, but there was no prosperity; for a time of healing, but behold anxiety.
[16] We shall hear the neighing of his swift horses out of Dan: the whole land quaked at the sound of the neighing of his horses; and he shall come, and devour the land and the fullness of it; the city, and them that dwell in it. [17] For, behold, I send forth against you deadly serpents, which cannot be charmed, and they shall bite you [18] mortally with the pain of your distressed heart.
[19] Behold, there is a sound of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land afar off: Is not the Lord in Sion? is there not a king there? because they have provoked me with their graven images, and with strange vanities. [20] The summer is gone, the harvest is past, and we are not saved.
[21] For the breach of the daughter of my people I have been saddened: in my perplexity pangs have seized upon me as of a woman in travail. [22] And is there no balm in Galaad, or is there no physician there? why has not the healing of the daughter of my people taken place?
Chapter 9
[1] Who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes? then would I weep for this my people day and night, even for the slain of the daughter of my people.
[2] Who would give me a most distant lodge in the wilderness, that I might leave my people, and depart from them? for they all commit adultery, an assembly of treacherous men. [3] And they have bent their tongue like a bow: falsehood and not faithfulness has prevailed upon the earth; for they have gone on from evil to evil, and have not known me, saith the Lord. [4] Beware ye each of his neighbour, and trust ye not in your brethren: for every one will surely supplant, and every friend will walk craftily. [5] Every one will mock his friend; they will not speak truth: their tongue has learned to speak falsehoods; they have committed iniquity, they ceased not, so as to return. [6] There is usury upon usury, and deceit upon deceit: they would not know me, saith the Lord.
[7] Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will try them with fire, and prove them; for I will do thus because of the wickedness of the daughter of my people. [8] Their tongue is a wounding arrow; the words of their mouth are deceitful: one speaks peaceably to his neighbour, but in himself retains enmity. [9] Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a people as this? [10] Take up a lamentation for the mountains, and a mournful dirge for the paths of the wilderness, for they are desolate for want of men; they heard not the sound of life from the birds of the sky, nor the cattle: they were amazed, they are gone. [11] And I will remove the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and make it a dwelling-place of dragons; and I will utterly waste the cities of Juda, so that they shall not be inhabited.
[12] Who is the wise man, that he may understand this? and he that has the word of the mouth of the Lord addressed to him, let him tell you wherefore the land has been destroyed, has been ravaged by fire like a desert, so that no one passes through it. [13] And the Lord said to me, Because they have forsaken my law, which I set before them, and have not hearkened to my voice; [14] but went after the lusts of their evil heart, and after the idols which their fathers taught them to worship: [15] therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them with trouble and will cause them to drink water of gall: [16] and I will scatter them among the nations, to them whom neither they nor their fathers knew; and I will send a sword upon them, until I have consumed them with it.
[17] Thus saith the Lord, Call ye the mourning women, and let them come; and send to the wise women, and let them utter their voice; [18] and let them take up a lamentation for you, and let your eyes pour down tears, and your eyelids drop water. [19] For a voice of lamentation has been heard in Sion, How are we become wretched! we are greatly ashamed, for we have forsaken the land, and have abandoned our tabernacles! [20] Hear now, ye women, the word of God, and let your ears receive the words of his mouth, and teach your daughters lamentation, and every woman her neighbour a dirge. [21] For death has come up through your windows, it has entered into our land, to destroy the infants without, and the young men from the streets. [22] And the carcases of the men shall be for an example on the face of the field of your land, like grass after the mower, and there shall be none to gather them.
[23] Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, and let not the strong man boast in his strength, and let not the rich man boast in his wealth; [24] but let him that boasts boast in this, the understanding and knowing that I am the Lord that exercise mercy, and judgment, and righteousness, upon the earth; for in these things is my pleasure, saith the Lord.
[25] Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will visit upon all the circumcised their uncircumcision; [26] on Egypt, and on Idumea, and on Edom, and on the ch
ildren of Ammon, and on the children of Moab, and on every one that shaves his face round about, even them that dwell in the wilderness; for all the Gentiles are uncircumcised in flesh, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in their hearts.
Chapter 10
[1] Hear ye the word of the Lord, which he has spoken to you, O house of Israel.
[2] Thus saith the Lord, Learn ye not the ways of the heathen, and be not alarmed at the signs of the sky; for they are alarmed at them, falling on their faces. [3] For the customs of the nations are vain; it is a tree cut out of the forest, the work of the carpenter, or a molten image. [4] They are beautified with silver and gold, they fix them with hammers and nails; [5] they will set them up that they may not move; it is wrought silver, they will not walk, it is forged silver They must certainly be borne, for they cannot ride of themselves. Fear them not; for they cannot do any evil, and there is no good in them. [6] 7 [8] 9 brought from Tharsis, gold will come from Mophaz, and the work of goldsmiths: they are all the works of craftsmen, they will clothe themselves with blue and scarlet.
[10] 11 Thus shall ye say to them, Let the gods which have not made heaven and earth perish from off the earth, and from under this sky. [12] It is the Lord that made the earth by his strength, who set up the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the sky, [13] and set abundance of waters in the sky, and brought up clouds from the ends of the earth; he made lightnings for the rain, and brought forth light out of his treasures. [14] Every man is deprived of knowledge, every goldsmith is confounded because of his graven images; for he has cast false gods, there is no breath in them. [15] They are vain works, wrought in mockery; in the time of their visitation they shall perish. [16] Such is not the portion of Jacob; for he that formed all things, he is his inheritance; the Lord is his name.
[17] He has gathered thy substance from without the lodged in choice vessels. [18] For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will overthrow the inhabitants of this land with affliction, that thy plague may be discovered.
[19] Alas for thy ruin! thy plague is grievous: and I said, Surely this is thy wound, and it has overtaken thee. [20] Thy tabernacle is in a ruinous state, it has perished; and all thy curtains have been torn asunder: my children and my cattle are no more: there is no more any place for my tabernacle, nor place for my curtains. [21] For the shepherds have become foolish, and have not sought the Lord; therefore the whole pasture has failed, and the sheep have been scattered. [22] Behold, there comes a sound of a noise, and a great earthquake from the land of the north, to make the cities of Juda a desolation, and a resting-place for ostriches.
[23] I know, O Lord, that man’s way is not his own; neither shall a man go, and direct his going. [24] Chasten us, O Lord, but with judgment; and not in wrath, lest thou make us few. [25] Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that have not known thee, and upon the families that have not called upon thy name: for they have devoured Jacob, and consumed him, and have made his pasture desolate.
Chapter 11
[1] The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
[2] Hear ye the words of this covenant, and thou shalt speak to the men of Juda, and to the dwellers in Jerusalem; [3] and thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Cursed is the man, who shall not hearken to the words of this covenant, [4] which I commanded your fathers, in the day wherein I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, saying, Hearken to my voice, and do all things that I shall command you; so shall ye be to me a people, and I will be to you a God; [5] that I may confirm mine oath, which I sware to your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then I answered and said, So be it, O Lord. [6] And the Lord said to me, Read these words in the cities of Juda, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them. [7] 8 But they did them not.
[9] And the Lord said to me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Juda, and among the dwellers in Jerusalem. [10] They are turned aside to the iniquities of their fathers that were of old, who would not hearken to my words: and, behold, they go after strange gods, to serve them: and the house of Israel and the house of Juda have broken my covenant, which I made with their fathers.
[11] Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I bring evils upon this people, out of which they shall not be able to come forth; and they shall presently cry to me, but I will not hearken to them. [12] And the cities of Juda and the dwellers in Jerusalem shall go, and cry to the gods to whom they burn incense; which shall not deliver them in the time of their troubles. [13] For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Juda; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to burn incense to Baal.
[14] And thou, pray not for this people, and intercede not for them in supplication and prayer: for I will not hear in the day in which they call upon me, in the day of their affliction. [15] Why has my beloved wrought abomination in my house? will prayers and holy offerings take away thy wickedness from thee, or shalt thou escape by these things? [16] The Lord called thy name a fair olive tree, of a goodly shade in appearance, at the noise of its being lopped, fire was kindled against it; great is the affliction coming upon thee: her branches are become good for nothing. [17] And the Lord that planted thee has pronounced evils against thee, because of the iniquity of the house of Israel and the house of Juda, whatsoever they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger by burning incense to Baal.
[18] O Lord, teach me, and I shall know: then I saw their practices. [19] But I as an innocent lamb led to the slaughter, knew not: against me they devised an evil device, saying, Come and let us put wood into his bread, and let us utterly destroy him from off the land of the living, and let his name not be remembered any more. [20] O Lord, that judgest righteously, trying the reins and hearts, let me see thy vengeance taken upon them, for to thee I have declared my cause.
[21] Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, that seek my life, that say, Thou shalt not prophesy at all in the name of the Lord, but if thou dost, thou shalt die by our hands: [22] behold, I will visit them: their young men shall die by the sword; and their sons and their daughters shall die of famine: [23] and there shall be no remnant left of them; for I will bring evil upon the dwellers in Anathoth, in the year of their visitation.
Chapter 12
[1] Righteous art thou, O Lord, that I may make my defence to thee, yea, I will speak to thee of judgments. Why is it that the way of ungodly men prospers? that all hat deal very treacherously are flourishing? [2] Thou hast planted them, and they have taken root; they have begotten children, and become fruitful; thou art near to their mouth, and far from their reins. [3] But thou, Lord, knowest me; thou hast proved my heart before thee; purify them for the day of their slaughter. [4] How long shall the land mourn, and the grass of the field wither, for the wickedness of them, that dwell in it? the beasts and birds are utterly destroyed; because the people said, God shall not see our ways.
[5] Thy feet run, and they cause thee to faint; how wilt thou prepare to ride upon horses? and thou hast been confident in the land of thy peace? how wilt thou do in the roaring of Jordan? [6] For even thy brethren and the house of thy father, even these have dealt treacherously with thee; and they have cried out, they are gathered together in pursuit of thee; trust not thou in them, though they shall speak fair words to thee.
[7] I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given my beloved one into the hands of her enemies. [8] My inheritance has become to me as a lion in a forest; she has uttered her voice against me; therefore have I hated her. [9] Is not my inheritance to me a hyaena’s cave, or a cave round about her? Go ye, gather together all the wild beasts of the field, and let them come to devour her.
[10] Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have defiled my portion, they have made my desirable portion a trackless wilderness; [11] it is made a complete ruin: for my sake the whole land has been utterly ru
ined, because there is none that lays the matter to heart. [12] The ravagers are come to every passage in the wilderness: for the sword of the Lord will devour from one end of the land to the other: no flesh has any peace. [13] Sow wheat, and reap thorns; their portions shall not profit them: be ashamed of your boasting, because of reproach before the Lord.
[14] For thus saith the Lord, concerning all the evil neighbours that touch mine inheritance, which I have divided to my people Israel; Behold, I will draw them away from their land, and I will cast out Juda from the midst of them.
[15] And it shall come to pass, after I have cast them out, that I will return, and have mercy upon them, and will cause them to dwell every one in his inheritance, and every one is his land. [16] And it shall be, if they will indeed learn the way of my people, to swear by my name, saying, The Lord lives; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall that nation be built in the midst of my people. [17] But if they will not return, then will I cut off that nation with utter ruin and destruction.
Chapter 13
[1] Thus saith the Lord, Go and procure for thyself a linen girdle, and put it about thy loins, and let it not be put in water. [2] So I procured the girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it about my loins. [3] And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, [4] Take the girdle that is upon thy loins, and arise, and go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. [5] So I went, and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. [6] And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said to me, Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take thence the girdle, which I commanded thee to hide there. [7] So I went to the river Euphrates, and dug, and took the girdle out of the place where I had buried it: and, behold, it was rotten, utterly good for nothing.
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