^3:1They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? Would not that land be utterly polluted? But thou hast committed fornication with many lovers; yet return to me, saith Jehovah. ^3:2Lift up thine eyes unto the heights and see, where hast thou not been lain with? In the ways hast thou sat for them, as an Arab in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy fornications and with thy wickedness. ^3:3And the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; but thou hast a harlot's forehead, thou refusest to be ashamed. ^3:4Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth? ^3:5Will he keep [his anger] for ever? Will he preserve it perpetually? Behold, thou hast spoken and hast done evil things, and thou art [so] determined. ^3:6And Jehovah said unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen what backsliding Israel hath done? She hath gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath committed fornication. ^3:7And I said, After she hath done all these [things], she will return unto me; but she returned not. And her sister Judah, the treacherous, saw [it]. ^3:8And I saw that when for all the causes wherein backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce, yet the treacherous Judah, her sister, feared not, but went and committed fornication also. ^3:9And it came to pass through the lightness of her fornication that she polluted the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. ^3:10And even for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not returned unto me with her whole heart, but with falsehood, saith Jehovah. ^3:11And Jehovah said unto me, Backsliding Israel hath shewn herself more just than treacherous Judah. ^3:12Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith Jehovah: I will not make my face dark upon you; for I am merciful, saith Jehovah; I will not keep [anger] for ever. ^3:13Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against Jehovah thy God, and hast turned thy ways hither and thither to the strangers under every green tree; and ye have not hearkened to my voice, saith Jehovah. ^3:14Return, backsliding children, saith Jehovah; for I am a husband unto you, and I will take you, one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion. ^3:15And I will give you shepherds according to my heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. ^3:16And it shall come to pass, when ye are multiplied in the land and become fruitful, in those days, saith Jehovah, they shall say no more, Ark of the covenant of Jehovah! neither shall it come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit [it]; neither shall it be done any more. ^3:17At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem; and they shall no more walk after the stubbornness of their evil heart. ^3:18In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel; and they shall come together out of the land of the north, to the land which I caused your fathers to inherit. ^3:19And as for me, I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee the pleasant land, the goodly inheritance of the hosts of the nations? And I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from following me. ^3:20Surely [as] a woman treacherously departeth from her companion, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah. ^3:21A voice is heard upon the heights, the weeping supplications of the children of Israel; for they have perverted their way, they have forgotten Jehovah their God. ^3:22Return, backsliding children; I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art Jehovah our God. ^3:23Truly in vain [is salvation looked for] from the hills, [and] the multitude of mountains; truly in Jehovah our God is the salvation of Israel. ^3:24But shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. ^3:25We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us; for we have sinned against Jehovah our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah our God.

^4:1If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith Jehovah, return unto me; and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not be a wanderer; ^4:2and thou shalt in truth, in justice, and in righteousness swear, [As] Jehovah liveth! and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory. ^4:3For thus saith Jehovah to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up for you a fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. ^4:4Circumcise yourselves for Jehovah, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my fury come forth like fire and burn, and there be none to quench it, because of the evil of your doings. ^4:5Declare ye in Judah, and cause it to be heard in Jerusalem, and say, and blow the trumpet in the land, cry aloud and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fenced cities. ^4:6Set up a banner toward Zion; take to flight, stay not! For I am bringing evil from the north, and a great destruction. ^4:7The lion is come up from his thicket, the destroyer of the nations is on his way; he is gone forth from his place, to make thy land desolate; thy cities shall be laid waste, without inhabitant. ^4:8For this, gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl! for the fierce anger of Jehovah is not turned away from us. ^4:9And it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall be amazed. ^4:10And I said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul. ^4:11At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A hot wind [cometh] from the heights in the wilderness, on the way of the daughter of my people, not for fanning, nor for cleansing. ^4:12A wind more vehement than that shall come from me: now will I also pronounce judgments against them. ^4:13Behold, he cometh up as clouds, and his chariots are as a whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are destroyed. ^4:14Wash thy heart, Jerusalem, from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee? ^4:15For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim. ^4:16Inform the nations; behold, make Jerusalem to hear: Besiegers come from a far country, and raise their voice against the cities of Judah. ^4:17As keepers of a field are they against her round about; for she hath been rebellious against me, saith Jehovah. ^4:18Thy way and thy doings have procured these [things] unto thee; this is thy wickedness, yea, it is bitter, yea, it reacheth unto thy heart. ^4:19My bowels! my bowels! I am in travail! [Oh,] the walls of my heart! My heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace: for thou hearest, my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the clamour of war. ^4:20Destruction upon destruction is proclaimed; for the whole land is wasted: suddenly are my tents laid waste, my curtains, in a moment. ^4:21How long shall I see the standard, [and] hear the sound of the trumpet? ^4:22For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have no intelligence; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. ^4:23I beheld the earth, and lo, it was waste and empty; and the heavens, and they had no light. ^4:24I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the hills shook violently. ^4:25I beheld, and lo, man was not, and all the fowl of the heavens were fled. ^4:26I beheld, and lo, the fruitful land was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down, before Jehovah, before his fierce anger. ^4:27For thus saith Jehovah: The whole land shall be a desolation; but I will not make a full end. ^4:28For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back therefrom. ^4:29At the noise of the horsemen and bowmen, every city fleeth; they go into the thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city is forsaken and no man dwelleth therein. ^4:30And thou, wasted one, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rendest thine eyes with paint, in vain dost thou make thyself fair: [thy] lovers despise thee, they seek thy life. ^4:31For I hear a voice, as of a woman in travail, anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion: she moaneth, she spreadeth forth her hands, [saying], Woe unto me! for my soul faileth because of murderers.

^5:1Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broadways thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be [any] that doeth justice, that seeketh fidelity; and I will pardon it. ^5:2And if they say, [As] Jehovah liveth! surely they swear falsely. ^5:3Jehovah, are not thine eyes upon fidelity? Thou hast smitten them, but they are not sore; thou hast consumed them, they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. ^5:4And I said, Surely these are the wretched ones, they are foolish; for they know not the way of Jehovah, the judgment of their God. ^5:5I will go unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they know the way of Jehovah, the judgment of their God; but these have altogether broken the yoke, have burst the bonds. ^5:6Therefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, a wolf of the evenings shall waste them; the leopard lurketh against their cities, every one that goeth out thence is torn in pieces: for their transgressions are multiplied, their backslidings are increased. ^5:7Wherefore should I pardon thee? Thy children have forsaken me, and swear by them that are not God. I have satiated them, and they have committed adultery, and they troop to the harlots' house. ^5:8[As] well fed horses, they roam about, every one neigheth after his neighbour's wife. ^5:9Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah, and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? ^5:10Go up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end; take away her battlements, for they are not Jehovah's. ^5:11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith Jehovah. ^5:12They have denied Jehovah, and say, He is not; and evil shall not come upon us, nor shall we see sword nor famine; ^5:13and the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them. ^5:14Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts: Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them. ^5:15Behold, I bring a nation upon you from afar, house of Israel, saith Jehovah: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest thou what they say. ^5:16Their quiver is as an open sepulchre; they are all mighty men. ^5:17And they shall eat up thy harvest and thy bread, they shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters, they shall eat up thy flocks and thy herds, they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig-trees; they shall destroy with the sword thy strong cities, wherein thou trustedst. ^5:18Nevertheless in those days, saith Jehovah, I will not make a full end with you. ^5:19And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore hath Jehovah our God done all these things unto 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. ^5:20Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying, ^5:21Hear now this, O foolish and heartless people, who have eyes and see not; who have ears, and hear not. ^5:22Will ye not fear me? saith Jehovah. Will ye not tremble at my presence, who have set the sand a bound for the sea by a perpetual decree, and it shall not pass it? and its waves toss themselves, but they do not prevail; and they roar, yet can they not pass over it? ^5:23But this people hath a stubborn and a rebellious heart; they have turned aside and are gone. ^5:24And they say not in their heart, Let us now fear Jehovah our God, that giveth rain, both the early and the latter, in its season; who preserveth unto us the appointed weeks of harvest. ^5:25Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden from you what is good. ^5:26For among my people are found wicked [men]: they lay wait, as fowlers stoop down; they set a trap, they catch men. ^5:27As a cage full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and have enriched themselves. ^5:28They are become fat, they shine, yea, they surpass in deeds of wickedness; they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, and they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not adjudge. ^5:29Shall I not visit for these things? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? ^5:30An appalling and horrible thing is committed in the land: ^5:31the prophets prophesy falsehood, and the priests rule by their means; and my people love [to have it] so. But what will ye do in the end thereof?

^6:1Flee for safety, ye children of Benjamin, out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a signal in Beth-haccerem; for evil appeareth out of the north, and a great destruction. ^6:2The comely and delicate one do I cut off, the daughter of Zion. ^6:3Shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch [their] tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place. ^6:4Prepare war against her. Arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day hath declined, for the shadows of the evening are lengthening. ^6:5Arise, and let us go up by night, and let us destroy her palaces. ^6:6For thus hath Jehovah of hosts said: Hew ye down trees, and cast a mound against Jerusalem. She is the city to be visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her. ^6:7As a well poureth forth her waters, so she poureth forth her wickedness: violence and destruction are heard in her; before me continually are grief and wounds. ^6:8Be thou instructed, Jerusalem, lest my soul be alienated from thee; lest I make thee a desolation, a land not inhabited. ^6:9Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: They shall thoroughly glean like a vine the remnant of Israel: turn back thy hand, as a grape-gatherer unto the baskets. ^6:10To whom shall I speak and testify, that they may hear? Behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of Jehovah is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it. ^6:11And I am full of the fury of Jehovah, I am weary with holding in. Pour it out upon the children in the street, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken; the aged with him [that is] full of days. ^6:12And their houses shall be turned unto others, [their] fields and wives together; for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah. ^6:13For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them, every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest, every one dealeth falsely. ^6:14And they have healed the breach of the daughter of my people lightly, saying, Peace, peace! when there is no peace. ^6:15Are they ashamed that they have committed abomination? Nay, they are not at all ashamed, neither know they what it is to blush. Therefore they shall fall among them that fall; at the time that I visit them they shall stumble, saith Jehovah. ^6:16Thus saith Jehovah: Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the ancient paths, which is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk [therein]. ^6:17Also I have set watchmen over you: Hearken ye to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken. ^6:18Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O assembly, what is among them. ^6:19Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, the fruit of their thoughts; for they have not hearkened unto my words, and as to my law, they have rejected it. ^6:20To what purpose should there come to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, nor are your sacrifices pleasing unto me. ^6:21Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will lay stumbling-blocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall over them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish. ^6:22Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation is stirred up from the uttermost parts of the earth. ^6:23They lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as a man for the battle, against thee, daughter of Zion. ^6:24We have heard the report thereof: our hands are grown feeble; anguish hath taken hold of us, pain as of a woman that travaileth. ^6:25Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for [there is] the sword of the enemy, terror is on every side. ^6:26Daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and roll thyself in ashes: make mourning, [as] for an only son bitter lamentation; for the spoiler cometh suddenly upon us. ^6:27I have set thee among my people as an assayer, a fortress, that thou mayest know and try their way. ^6:28They are all the most rebellious of rebels, going about with slander: they are bronze and iron; they are all corrupters. ^6:29The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed by the fire; they have melted, and melted in vain; and the bad are not plucked away. ^6:30Reprobate silver shall they call them, for Jehovah hath rejected them.

^7:1The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, ^7:2Stand in the gate of Jehovah's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear ye the word of Jehovah, all Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship Jehovah. ^7:3Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. ^7:4Confide ye not in words of falsehood, saying, Jehovah's temple, Jehovah's temple, Jehovah's temple is this. ^7:5But if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if ye really do justice between a man and his neighbour, ^7:6[if] ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed no innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt; ^7:7then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers from of old even for ever. ^7:8Behold, ye confide in words of falsehood that cannot profit. ^7:9What? steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not ^7:10then ye come and stand before me, in this house which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered, in order to do all these abominations! ^7:11Is this house, which is called by my name, a den of robbers in your eyes? Even I, behold, I have seen it, saith Jehovah. ^7:12For go now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at the first, and see what I did to it, for the wickedness of my people Israel. ^7:13And now, because ye have done all these works, saith Jehovah, and I spoke unto you, rising up early and speaking, and ye heard not, and I called you, and ye answered not; ^7:14I will even do unto the house which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh; ^7:15and I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, all the seed of Ephraim. ^7:16And thou, pray not for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, and make not intercession to me; for I will not hear thee. ^7:17Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem? ^7:18The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. ^7:19Is it I whom they provoke to anger? saith Jehovah; is it not themselves, to the shame of their own face? ^7:20Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place; upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched. ^7:21Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt-offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. ^7:22For I spoke not unto your fathers, nor commanded them concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices, in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt; ^7:23but I commanded them this thing, saying, Hearken unto my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people; and walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you. ^7:24But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels, in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward. ^7:25Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt, unto this day, have I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them; ^7:26but they have not hearkened unto me, nor inclined their ear; and they have hardened their neck: they have done worse than their fathers. ^7:27And thou shalt speak all these words unto them, but they will not hearken unto thee; and thou shalt call unto them, but they will not answer thee. ^7:28And thou shalt say unto them, This is the nation which hath not hearkened unto the voice of Jehovah their God, nor received correction; fidelity is perished, and is cut off from their mouth. ^7:29Cut off thy hair, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on the heights; for Jehovah hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath. ^7:30For 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 defile it. ^7:31And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded not, neither did it come up into my mind. ^7:32Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith Jehovah, when it shall no more be said, Topheth, and Valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter; for they shall bury in Topheth, till there be no place. ^7:33And the carcases of this people shall be food for the fowl of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall scare [them] away. ^7:34And I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land shall become a waste.

^8:1At that time, saith Jehovah, they shall bring forth the bones of the kings of Judah, 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; ^8:2and they shall spread them out to the sun and to the moon and to all the host of the heavens, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought, and which they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the ground. ^8:3And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue that remain of this evil family, in all the places whither I have driven those that remain, saith Jehovah of hosts. ^8:4And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah: Do [men] fall, and not rise up? Doth one turn away, and not return? ^8:5Why hath this people of Jerusalem slidden back with a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast deceit, they refuse to return. ^8:6I hearkened and heard: they speak not what is right; there is no man who repenteth him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? Every one turneth to his course, like a horse rushing into the battle. ^8:7Even a stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times, and the turtle-dove and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of Jehovah. ^8:8How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of Jehovah is with us? Behold, certainly the lying pen of the scribes hath made it falsehood. ^8:9The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: behold, they have rejected Jehovah's word; and what wisdom is in them? ^8:10Therefore will I give their wives unto others, their fields to those that shall possess [them]; for every one, from the least even unto the greatest, is given to covetousness; from the prophet even unto the priest, every one dealeth falsely. ^8:11And they have healed the breach of the daughter of my people lightly, saying, Peace, peace! when there is no peace. ^8:12Are they ashamed that they have committed abomination? Nay, they are not at all ashamed, and they know not how to blush. Therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall stumble, saith Jehovah. ^8:13I will utterly take them away, saith Jehovah: there are no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig-tree; and the leaf is faded: and I will give them up to those that shall pass over them. ^8:14Why do we sit still? Assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fenced cities, and let us be silent there: for Jehovah our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink, because we have sinned against Jehovah. ^8:15Peace is looked for, and there is no good; a time of healing, and behold, terror. ^8:16The snorting of his horses is heard from Dan: the whole land trembleth at the sound of the neighing of his steeds, and they come, and devour the land, and all it contains, the city and those that dwell therein. ^8:17For behold, I send among you serpents, vipers against which there is no charm, and they shall bite you, saith Jehovah. ^8:18My comfort in my sadness! my heart is faint in me! ^8:19Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people, from a very far country: Is not Jehovah in Zion? Is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, with foreign vanities? ^8:20The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. ^8:21For the breach of the daughter of my people am I crushed; I go mourning; astonishment hath taken hold of me. ^8:22Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? Why then is there no dressing applied for the healing of the daughter of my people?

^9:1Oh that my head were waters, and mine eye a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! ^9:2Oh that I had in the wilderness a traveller's lodging-place, that I might leave my people, and go away from them! For they are all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men. ^9:3And they bend their tongue, their bow of falsehood, and not for fidelity are they valiant in the land; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith Jehovah. ^9:4Take ye heed every one of his friend, and confide not in any brother; for every brother only supplanteth, and every friend goeth about with slander. ^9:5And they act deceitfully every one with his neighbour, and speak not the truth: they teach their tongue to speak falsehood, they weary themselves with perverse dealing. ^9:6Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith Jehovah. ^9:7Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how else could I do for the daughter of my people? ^9:8Their tongue is a murderous arrow; it speaketh deceit. [A man] speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in his heart he layeth his ambush. ^9:9Shall I not visit them for these [things]? saith Jehovah; shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? ^9:10For the mountains will I take up weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness, a lamentation; for they are burnt up, so that none passeth through them; and the voice of the cattle is not heard. Both the fowl of the heavens and the beasts are fled; they are gone. ^9:11And I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant. ^9:12Who is a wise man, that he may understand this? and he to whom the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land perished, burnt up like a wilderness, so that none passeth through? ^9:13And Jehovah saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not hearkened unto my voice, nor walked in it, ^9:14but have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Baals, as their fathers taught them; ^9:15therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed this people with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink, ^9:16and will scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them. ^9:17Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider, and call for the mourning women, that they may come, and send for the skilful women, that they may come; ^9:18and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids pour forth waters. ^9:19For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled, sorely put to shame! For we have forsaken the land, for they have cast down our dwellings. ^9:20Hear then the word of Jehovah, ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and each one her companion lamentation. ^9:21For death is come up through our windows, is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from the street, the young men from the broadways. ^9:22Speak, Thus saith Jehovah: Yea, the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the reaper, and there shall be none to gather. ^9:23Thus saith Jehovah: Let not the wise glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty glory in his might; let not the rich glory in his riches: ^9:24but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I [am] Jehovah, who exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, saith Jehovah. ^9:25Behold, days are coming, saith Jehovah, when I will visit all [them that are] circumcised with the uncircumcised; ^9:26Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that have the corners [of their beard] cut off, that dwell in the wilderness: for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.

^10:1Hear the word that Jehovah speaketh unto you, house of Israel. ^10:2Thus saith Jehovah: Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of the heavens; for the nations are dismayed at them. ^10:3For the statutes of the peoples are vanity; for [it is] a tree cut out of the forest, worked with a chisel by the hands of the artizan; ^10:4they deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. ^10:5They are as a palm-column of turned work, and they speak not; they are carried, for they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good. ^10:6There is none like unto thee, Jehovah; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. ^10:7Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? For to thee doth it appertain; for among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee. ^10:8But they are one and all senseless and foolish; the teaching of vanities is a stock. ^10:9Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the artizan and of the hands of the founder; blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work of skilful [men]. ^10:10But Jehovah Elohim is truth; he is the living God, and the King of eternity. At his wrath the earth trembleth, and the nations cannot abide his indignation. ^10:11Thus shall ye say unto them: The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the heavens. ^10:12He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his understanding. ^10:13When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the end of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries. ^10:14Every man is become brutish, bereft of knowledge; every founder is put to shame by the graven image, for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them. ^10:15They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish. ^10:16The portion of Jacob is not like them; for it is he that hath formed all [things], and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name. ^10:17Gather up thy baggage out of the land, O inhabitress of the fortress. ^10:18For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will this time sling out the inhabitants of the land, and will distress them, that they may be found. ^10:19Woe is me, for my wound! My stroke is hard to heal, and I had said, Yea, this is [my] grief, and I will bear it. ^10:20My tent is despoiled, and all my cords are broken; my children are gone forth from me, and they are not; there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains. ^10:21For the shepherds are become brutish, and have not sought Jehovah; therefore have they not acted wisely, and all their flock is scattered. ^10:22The voice of a rumour! Behold, it cometh, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a dwelling-place of jackals. ^10:23I know, Jehovah, that the way of man is not his own; it is not in a man that walketh to direct his steps. ^10:24Jehovah, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing. ^10:25Pour out thy fury upon the nations that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name; for they have eaten up Jacob, yea, they have eaten him up and consumed him, and have laid waste his dwelling-place.

^11:1The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, ^11:2Hear ye the words of this covenant; and speak ye unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ^11:3And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel: Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant ^11:4which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Hearken unto my voice and do them, according to all that I command you; so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God: ^11:5that I may perform the oath that I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. And I answered and said, Amen, Jehovah! ^11:6And Jehovah said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying: Hear the words of this covenant, and do them. ^11:7For I earnestly protested unto your fathers, in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Hearken unto my voice. ^11:8But they have not hearkened, nor inclined their ear, but have walked every one in the stubbornness of their evil heart; and I have brought upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded [them] to do, and they have not done. ^11:9And Jehovah said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ^11:10They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words; and they have gone after other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. ^11:11Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will bring evil upon them, from which they shall not be able to escape; and they will cry unto me, and I will not hearken unto them. ^11:12Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go and cry unto the gods unto whom they have burned incense; but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble. ^11:13For [as] the number of thy cities, are thy gods, O Judah; and [as] the number of the streets of Jerusalem, have ye set up altars to the Shame, altars to burn incense unto Baal. ^11:14And thou, pray not for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them; for I will not hear in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble. ^11:15What hath my beloved to do in my house, seeing that the more part practise their evil devices, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? When thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest. ^11:16Jehovah had called thy name, A green olive-tree, fair, of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and its branches are broken. ^11:17For Jehovah of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done for themselves, to provoke me to anger in burning incense unto Baal. ^11:18And Jehovah hath given me knowledge, and I know [it]; then thou shewedst me their doings. ^11:19And I was like a tame lamb [that] is led to the slaughter; and I knew not that they devised devices against me, [saying,] Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered. ^11:20But thou, Jehovah of hosts, who judgest righteously, who triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause. ^11:21Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of Jehovah, that thou die not by our hand, ^11:22therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold, I punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by famine; ^11:23and there shall be no remnant of them; for I will bring evil upon the men of Anathoth, in the year of their visitation.

^12:1Righteous art thou, Jehovah, when I plead with thee; yet will I speak with thee of [thy] judgments. Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? [wherefore] are all they at ease that deal very treacherously? ^12:2Thou hast planted them, they also have taken root: they advance, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, but far from their reins. ^12:3But thou, Jehovah, knowest me; thou hast seen me, and proved my heart toward thee. Drag them out like sheep for the slaughter, and set them apart for the day of slaughter. ^12:4How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of all the fields wither? Because of the wickedness of them that dwell therein, the beasts and the birds perish; for they say, He will not see our end. ^12:5If thou hast run with footmen, and they have wearied thee, how wilt thou then contend with horses? And if in a land of peace thou thinkest thyself in security, how wilt thou then do in the swelling of the Jordan? ^12:6For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee, even they have cried aloud after thee. Believe them not, though they speak good [words] unto thee. ^12:7I have forsaken my house, I have cast off my heritage, I have given the beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies. ^12:8My heritage is become unto me as a lion in the forest; it hath raised its voice against me: therefore have I hated it. ^12:9My heritage is unto me [as] a speckled bird of prey; the birds of prey round about are against her. Go, assemble all the beasts of the field, bring them to devour. ^12:10Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness: ^12:11they have made it a desolation; desolate, it mourneth unto me: the whole land is made desolate, for no man layeth it to heart. ^12:12Spoilers are come upon all heights in the wilderness; for the sword of Jehovah devoureth from one end of the land even to the [other] end of the land: no flesh hath peace. ^12:13They have sown wheat, and they reap thorns; they have put themselves to pain, [and] do not profit. Be ye therefore ashamed of your revenues, because of the fierce anger of Jehovah. ^12:14Thus saith Jehovah against all mine evil neighbours, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit: Behold, I will pluck them up out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. ^12:15And it shall come to pass, after I have plucked them up, I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them back, each one to his inheritance, and each one to his land. ^12:16And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, [As] Jehovah liveth even as they taught my people to swear by Baal they shall be built up in the midst of my people. ^12:17And if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith Jehovah.

^13:1Thus said Jehovah unto me: Go and buy thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins; but dip it not in water. ^13:2And I bought a girdle according to the word of Jehovah, and put it upon my loins. ^13:3And the word of Jehovah came unto me the second time, saying, ^13:4Take the girdle that thou hast bought, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. ^13:5So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as Jehovah had commanded me. ^13:6And it came to pass at the end of many days, that Jehovah said unto me, Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence which I commanded thee to hide there. ^13:7And I went to the Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it; and behold, the girdle was spoiled, it was good for nothing. ^13:8And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, ^13:9Thus saith Jehovah: After this manner will I spoil the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. ^13:10This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and go after other gods, to serve them and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle which is good for nothing. ^13:11For as a girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith Jehovah; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear. ^13:12And thou shalt speak unto them this word: Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Every skin shall be filled with wine. And they will say unto thee, Do we not very well know that every skin shall be filled with wine? ^13:13And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, and the kings that sit for David upon his throne, and the priests and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. ^13:14And I will dash them one against another, both the fathers and the sons together, saith Jehovah; I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy so as not to destroy them. ^13:15Hear ye, and give ear, be not lifted up; for Jehovah hath spoken. ^13:16Give glory to Jehovah your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the mountains of twilight; and ye shall look for light, but he will turn it into the shadow of death, and make [it] gross darkness. ^13:17And if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for [your] pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because Jehovah's flock is gone into captivity. ^13:18Say unto the king and to the queen: Humble yourselves, sit down low; for from your heads shall come down the crown of your magnificence. ^13:19The cities of the south are shut up, and there is none to open [them]; all Judah is carried away captive: it is wholly carried away captive. ^13:20Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north. Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock? ^13:21What wilt thou say when he shall visit thee, since thou thyself hast trained them to be princes in chief over thee? Shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail? ^13:22And if thou say in thy heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts uncovered, [and] thy heels have suffered violence. ^13:23Can an Ethiopian change his skin, or a leopard his spots? [Then] may ye also do good, who are accustomed to do evil. ^13:24And I will scatter them as stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness. ^13:25This shall be thy lot, thy measured portion from me, saith Jehovah; because thou hast forgotten me, and confided in falsehood. ^13:26Therefore will I also turn thy skirts over thy face, and thy shame shall be seen. ^13:27Thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy fornication, on the hills, in the fields, thine abominations, have I seen. Woe unto thee, Jerusalem! Wilt thou not be made clean? after how long a time yet?

^14:1The word of Jehovah that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought. ^14:2Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem goeth up. ^14:3And their nobles send their little ones for water: they come to the pits, they find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are ashamed, they are confounded, and have covered their heads. ^14:4Because the ground is chapt, for there hath been no rain on the earth, the ploughmen are ashamed, they cover their heads. ^14:5For the hind also calveth in the field, and forsaketh [its young], because there is no grass. ^14:6And the wild asses stand on the heights, they snuff up the wind like jackals; their eyes fail, because there is no herbage. ^14:7Jehovah, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou act for thy name's sake; for our backslidings are many we have sinned against thee. ^14:8Thou hope of Israel, its Saviour in the time of trouble, why wilt thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a traveller that turneth aside to stay a night? ^14:9Why wilt thou be as a man astonished, as a mighty man that cannot save? Yet thou, Jehovah, art in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name: leave us not. ^14:10Thus saith Jehovah to this people: Even so have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet; and Jehovah hath no delight in them: now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins. ^14:11And Jehovah said unto me, Pray not for this people for their good. ^14:12When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer up burnt-offering and oblation, I will not accept them: for I will consume them by sword, and by famine, and by pestilence. ^14:13And I said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! Behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; for I will give you assured peace in this place. ^14:14And Jehovah said unto me, The prophets prophesy falsehood in my name; I have not sent them, neither have I commanded them, nor spoken unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision, and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart. ^14:15Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, and who say, Sword and famine shall not be in this land: By sword and by famine shall those prophets be consumed; ^14:16and the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, because of the famine and the sword; and there shall be none to bury them, them, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters; and I will pour their wickedness upon them. ^14:17And thou shalt say this word unto them: Let mine eyes run down with tears, night and day, and not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow. ^14:18If I go forth into the field, behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, behold them that pine away with famine! For both prophet and priest shall go about into a land that they know not. ^14:19Hast thou then utterly rejected Judah? Doth thy soul loathe Zion? Why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? Peace is looked for, and there is no good, and a time of healing, and behold terror! ^14:20Jehovah, we acknowledge our wickedness, the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against thee. ^14:21For thy name's sake, do not spurn [us], do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us. ^14:22Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? Art not thou HE, Jehovah, our God? And we wait upon thee; for thou hast made all these things.

^15:1And Jehovah said unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, my soul [would] not [turn] toward this people. Send [them] out of my sight, and let them go forth. ^15:2And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell them, Thus saith Jehovah: Such as are for death, to death; and such as are for the sword, to the sword; and such as are for the famine, to the famine; and such as are for captivity, to captivity. ^15:3For I will visit them with four kinds [of punishments], saith Jehovah: the sword to slay, and dogs to tear, and the fowl of the heavens, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and to destroy. ^15:4And I will give them over to be driven hither and thither amongst all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. ^15:5For who shall have pity upon thee, Jerusalem? and who shall bemoan thee? and who shall turn aside to ask after thy welfare? ^15:6Thou hast cast me off, saith Jehovah, thou art gone backward; and I have stretched out my hand against thee, and will destroy thee: I am become weary of repenting. ^15:7And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave of children [and] destroy my people: they have not returned from their ways. ^15:8Their widows are increased to me more than the sand of the seas; I have brought upon them, against the mother of the young men, a spoiler at noonday; I have caused anguish and terror to fall upon her suddenly. ^15:9She that hath borne seven languisheth, she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it is yet day; she is put to shame and confounded. And the residue of them will I give up to the sword before their enemies, saith Jehovah. ^15:10Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the whole land! I have not lent on usury, nor have they lent to me on usury; [yet] every one of them doth curse me. ^15:11Jehovah said, Verily I will set thee free for [thy] good; verily I will cause the enemy to meet thee kindly in the time of evil and in the time of affliction. ^15:12Will iron break? iron from the north? and bronze? ^15:13Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and that for all thy sins, and in all thy borders; ^15:14and I will make [them] to pass with thine enemies into a land that thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in mine anger; it shall burn upon you. ^15:15Jehovah, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and avenge me of my persecutors; in thy long-suffering take me not away: know that for thy sake I bear reproach. ^15:16Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy words were unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by thy name, O Jehovah, God of hosts. ^15:17I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor exulted: I sat alone because of thy hand; for thou hast filled me with indignation. ^15:18Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable? It refuseth to be healed. Wilt thou be altogether unto me as a treacherous [spring], [as] waters that fail? ^15:19Therefore thus saith Jehovah: If thou return, then will I bring thee again, thou shalt stand before me; and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth. Let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them. ^15:20And I will make thee unto this people a strong brazen wall; and they shall fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee: for I am with thee, to save thee and to deliver thee, saith Jehovah; ^15:21yea, I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible.

^16:1And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ^16:2Thou shalt not take thee a wife, and thou shalt not have sons nor daughters in this place. ^16:3For thus saith Jehovah concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bear them, and concerning their fathers that beget them in this land: ^16:4They shall die of painful deaths; they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung upon the face of the ground, and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine, and their carcases shall be food for the fowl of the heavens and for the beasts of the earth. ^16:5For thus saith Jehovah: Enter not into the house of wailing, neither go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith Jehovah, the loving-kindness and the tender mercies. ^16:6Both great and small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried; and none shall lament for them, or cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them. ^16:7Nor shall they break [bread] for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall they give them the cup of consolations to drink for their father or for their mother. ^16:8And thou shalt not go into the house of feasting, to sit with them, to eat and to drink. ^16:9For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place, before your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. ^16:10And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt declare unto this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath Jehovah pronounced all this great evil against us? and what is our iniquity? and what is our sin which we have committed against Jehovah our God? ^16:11then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith Jehovah, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; ^16:12and you, ye have done still worse than your fathers; and there ye are walking every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, not to hearken unto me: ^16:13and I will cast you forth out of this land, into a land that ye know not, ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night: because I will shew you no favour. ^16:14Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith Jehovah, that it shall no more be said, [As] Jehovah liveth, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; ^16:15but, [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 land, which I gave unto their fathers. ^16:16Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith Jehovah, and they shall fish them; and afterwards will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them, from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. ^16:17For mine eyes are upon all their ways; they are not concealed from my face, neither is their iniquity hidden from before mine eyes. ^16:18But first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double, because they have profaned my land with the carcases of their detestable things, and with their abominations have they filled mine inheritance. ^16:19Jehovah, my strength and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of distress, unto thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and they shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited falsehood [and] vanity; and in these things there is no profit. ^16:20Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no-gods? ^16:21Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is Jehovah.

^17:1The sin of Judah is written with a style of iron, with the point of a diamond, engraven upon the tablet of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars; ^17:2whilst their children remember their altars and their Asherahs, by the green trees, upon the high hills. ^17:3My mountain in the field, thy substance, all thy treasures will I give for a spoil, thy high places, because of sin throughout thy borders. ^17:4And of thyself thou shalt let go thine inheritance which I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in a land that thou knowest not; for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, it shall burn for ever. ^17:5Thus saith Jehovah: Cursed is the man that confideth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from Jehovah. ^17:6And he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but he shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited. ^17:7Blessed is the man that confideth in Jehovah, and whose confidence Jehovah is. ^17:8For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out its roots by the stream, and he shall not see when heat cometh, but his leaf shall be green; and in the year of drought he shall not be careful, neither shall he cease to yield fruit. ^17:9The heart is deceitful above all things, and incurable; who can know it? ^17:10I Jehovah search the heart, I try the reins, even to give each one according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings. ^17:11[As] the partridge sitteth on [eggs] it hath not laid, [so] is he that getteth riches and not by right: in the midst of his days shall he leave them, and at his end shall be a fool. ^17:12A throne of glory, [set] on high from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary. ^17:13Thou hope of Israel, Jehovah! all that forsake thee shall be ashamed. They that depart from me shall be written in the earth; because they have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters. ^17:14Heal me, Jehovah, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise. ^17:15Behold, these say unto me, Where is the word of Jehovah? let it then come! ^17:16But as for me, I have not hastened from being a shepherd in following thee, neither have I desired the fatal day, thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was before thy face. ^17:17Be not a terror unto me: thou art my refuge in the day of evil. ^17:18Let them be ashamed that persecute me, but let not me be ashamed; let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed; bring upon them the day of evil, and break them with a double breaking. ^17:19Thus hath Jehovah said unto me: Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Judah come in, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; ^17:20and say unto them, Hear the word of Jehovah, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates; ^17:21thus saith Jehovah: Take heed to your souls, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, and bring nothing in through the gates of Jerusalem; ^17:22and carry forth no burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do any work; but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers, ^17:23but they hearkened not, neither inclined their ear, but hardened their neck, that they might not hear nor receive instruction. ^17:24And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith Jehovah, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, and to hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein; ^17:25then shall there enter in, through the gates of this city, kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall be inhabited for ever. ^17:26And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places around Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the lowland, and from the hill-country, and from the south, bringing burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and oblations, and incense, and bringing thanksgiving unto the house of Jehovah. ^17:27But if ye will not hearken unto me, to hallow the sabbath day and not to bear a burden and enter in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.

^18:1The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, ^18:2Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. ^18:3And I went down to the potter's house; and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. ^18:4And the vessel that he made was marred, as clay, in the hand of the potter; and he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make. ^18:5And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, ^18:6House of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith Jehovah. Behold, as the clay in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, house of Israel. ^18:7At the moment that I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to break down, and to destroy, ^18:8if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from their evil, then I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. ^18:9And at the moment that I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant, ^18:10if it do evil in my sight, that it hearken not unto my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them. ^18:11And now, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I prepare evil against you, and devise a device against you: turn ye then every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your doings. ^18:12But they say, There is no hope; for we will walk after our own devices, and we will each one do [according to] the stubbornness of his evil heart. ^18:13Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Ask ye now among the nations, Who hath heard such things? The virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing. ^18:14Shall the snow of Lebanon cease from the rock of the field? Shall the cool flowing waters coming from afar be dried up? ^18:15For my people hath forgotten me: they burn incense to vanity; and they have caused them to stumble in their ways, the ancient paths, to walk in by-paths of a way not cast up; ^18:16to make their land an astonishment, a perpetual hissing: every one that passeth by shall be astonished, and shake his head. ^18:17As with an east wind will I scatter them before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity. ^18:18And they said, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor word from the prophet. Come and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words. ^18:19Jehovah, give heed to me, and listen to the voice of those that contend with me. ^18:20Shall evil be recompensed for good? For they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before thee to speak good for them, to turn away thy wrath from them. ^18:21Therefore give up their children to the famine, and deliver them over to the power of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of children and be widows; and let their men be swept off by death, their young men be smitten by the sword in battle. ^18:22Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them; for they have digged a pit to take me, and have hidden snares for my feet. ^18:23And thou, Jehovah, knowest all their counsel against me to slay me. Forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee: deal with them in the time of thine anger.

^19:1Thus saith Jehovah: Go and buy a potter's earthen flagon, and [take] of the elders of the people, and of the elders of the priests; ^19:2and go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the pottery-gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee, ^19:3and say, Hear the word of Jehovah, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle; ^19:4because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place [from me], and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah; and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; ^19:5and they have built the high places of Baal, to burn their sons in the fire as burnt-offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it up into my mind: ^19:6therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that this place shall no more be called Topheth, nor Valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter. ^19:7And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of them that seek their life, and their carcases will I give as food to the fowl of the heavens and to the beasts of the earth. ^19:8And I will make this city an astonishment and a hissing; every one that passeth by shall be astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof. ^19:9And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat everyone the flesh of his friend, in the siege and in the straitness wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten them. ^19:10And thou shalt break the flagon in the sight of the men that go with thee, ^19:11and shalt say unto them, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Even so will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again. And they shall bury in Topheth, till there be no place to bury. ^19:12Thus will I do unto this place, saith Jehovah, and to the inhabitants thereof, and make this city as Topheth. ^19:13And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah shall be as the place of Topheth, defiled, all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of the heavens, and have poured out drink-offerings unto other gods. ^19:14And Jeremiah came from Topheth, whither Jehovah had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of Jehovah's house, and said to all the people, ^19:15Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her cities all the evil that I have spoken against it; for they have hardened their necks, not to hear my words.

^20:1And Pashur the son of Immer, the priest and he was chief officer in the house of Jehovah heard Jeremiah prophesy these things. ^20:2And Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, which was in the house of Jehovah. ^20:3And it came to pass the next day, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks; and Jeremiah said unto him, Jehovah hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magor-missabib. ^20:4For thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thine eyes shall see [it]; and I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall smite them with the sword. ^20:5And, I will give all the wealth of this city, and all its gains, 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 make them a prey, and take them, and carry them to Babylon. ^20:6And thou, Pashur, and all that dwell in thy house shall go into captivity; and thou shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and there thou shalt be buried, thou and all thy friends to whom thou hast prophesied falsehood. ^20:7Jehovah, thou hast enticed me, and I was enticed; thou hast laid hold of me, and hast prevailed; I am become a derision the whole day: every one mocketh me. ^20:8For as oft as I speak, I cry out; I proclaim violence and spoil; for the word of Jehovah is become unto me a reproach and a derision all the day. ^20:9And I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name: but it was in my heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I became wearied with holding in, and I could not. ^20:10For I have heard the defaming of many, terror on every side: Report, and we will report it. All my familiars are watching for my stumbling: Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail against him; and we shall take our revenge on him. ^20:11But Jehovah is with me as a mighty terrible one; therefore my persecutors shall stumble and shall not prevail; they shall be greatly ashamed, for they have not prospered: it shall be an everlasting confusion that shall not be forgotten. ^20:12And thou, Jehovah of hosts, who triest the righteous, who seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them; for unto thee have I revealed my cause. ^20:13Sing ye unto Jehovah, praise Jehovah, for he hath delivered the soul of the needy from the hand of evildoers. ^20:14Cursed be the day wherein I was born; let not the day wherein my mother bore me be blessed! ^20:15Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee; making him very glad! ^20:16And let that man be as the cities which Jehovah overthrew, and repented not; and let him hear a cry in the morning, and a shouting at noonday, ^20:17because he slew me not from the womb. Or would that my mother had been my grave, and her womb always great [with me]! ^20:18Wherefore came I forth from the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed in shame?

^21:1The word that came unto Jeremiah from Jehovah, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur the son of Malchijah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, saying, ^21:2Inquire, I pray thee, of Jehovah for us; for Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that Jehovah will deal with us according to all his marvellous works, that he may go up from us. ^21:3And Jeremiah said unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah: ^21:4Thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans who besiege you, outside the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city. ^21:5And I myself will fight against you with a stretched-out hand, and with a strong arm, and in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. ^21:6And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. ^21:7And afterwards, saith Jehovah, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar 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, neither have pity, nor have mercy. ^21:8And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. ^21:9He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goeth out, and deserteth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. ^21:10For 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. ^21:11And touching the house of the king of Judah, hear ye the word of Jehovah. ^21:12House of David, thus saith Jehovah: Judge with justice in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go forth like fire and burn, and there be none to quench it, because of the evil of your doings. ^21:13Behold, I am against thee, inhabitress of the valley, the rock of the plain, saith Jehovah; ye that say, Who shall come down against us, or who shall enter into our dwellings? ^21:14And I will visit you according to the fruit of your doings, saith Jehovah; and I will kindle a fire in her forest, and it shall devour all that is round about her.

^22:1Thus saith Jehovah: Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, ^22:2and say, Hear the word of Jehovah, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people who enter in through these gates. ^22:3Thus saith Jehovah: Execute judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor; and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, or the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place. ^22:4For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in through the gates of this house kings sitting in the place of David upon his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people. ^22:5But if ye will not hear these words, I have sworn by myself, saith Jehovah, that this house shall become a waste. ^22:6For thus saith Jehovah concerning the house of the king of Judah: Thou art a Gilead unto me, the summit of Lebanon: verily I will make thee a wilderness, cities not inhabited. ^22:7And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons; and they shall cut down the choice of thy cedars, and cast [them] into the fire. ^22:8And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore hath Jehovah done thus unto this great city? ^22:9And they shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of Jehovah their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them. ^22:10Weep not for the dead, neither bemoan him; [but] weep sore for him that goeth away, for he shall return no more, nor see his native country. ^22:11For thus saith Jehovah concerning Shallum the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, who went forth out of this place: He shall not return thither any more; ^22:12for he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more. ^22:13Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his upper chambers by injustice; that taketh his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not his earning; ^22:14that saith, I will build me a wide house, and spacious upper chambers; and he cutteth out for himself windows; and it is wainscoted with cedar, and painted with vermilion. ^22:15Shalt thou reign, because thou viest with the cedar? Did not thy father eat and drink, and do judgment and justice? Then it was well with him. ^22:16He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Was not this to know me? saith Jehovah. ^22:17But thine eyes and thy heart are only on thine extortion, and on the blood of the innocent, to shed it, and on oppression and on violence, to do it. ^22:18Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah: They shall not lament for him, Ah, my brother! or, Ah, sister! They shall not lament for him, Ah, lord! or Ah, his glory! ^22:19He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, dragged along and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem. ^22:20Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and give forth thy voice in Bashan, and cry from [the heights of] Abarim: for all thy lovers are destroyed. ^22:21I spoke unto thee in thy prosperity; [but] thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy way from thy youth, that thou hearkenedst not unto my voice. ^22:22The wind shall feed on all thy shepherds, and thy lovers shall go into captivity; surely, then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness. ^22:23Thou inhabitress of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how pitiful shalt thou be when pangs come upon thee, pain as of a woman in travail! ^22:24[As] I live, saith Jehovah, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, were a signet upon my right hand, yet will I pluck thee thence; ^22:25and I will give thee into the hand of them that seek thy life, and into the hand of them before whom thou art afraid, even into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. ^22:26And I will cast thee out, and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die. ^22:27And into the land whereunto they lift up their souls to return, thither shall they not return. ^22:28Is this man Coniah a despised broken vase? a vessel wherein is no delight? Wherefore are they thrown out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not? ^22:29O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of Jehovah! ^22:30Thus saith Jehovah: Write this man childless, a man that shall not prosper in his days; for no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.