Month: February 2020

1 The words of Jeremiah,the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests living in Anathothin the territory of Benjamin.

2 The word of theLordcame to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiahson of Amon, king of Judah.

3 It also came throughout the days of Jehoiakimson of Josiah, king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiahson of Josiah, king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.

The Call of Jeremiah

4 The word of theLordcame to me:

5 I chose you before I formed you in the womb;

I set you apart before you were born.

I appointed you a prophet to the nations.

6 But I protested, “Oh no, Lord,God! Look, I don’t know how to speaksince I am only a youth.”

7 Then theLordsaid to me:

Do not say, “I am only a youth,”

for you will go to everyone I send you to

and speak whatever I tell you.

8 Do not be afraid of anyone,

for I will be with you to deliver you.

This is theLord’s declaration.

9 Then theLordreached out His hand, touched my mouth,and told me:

I have now filled your mouth with My words.

10 See, I have appointed you today

over nations and kingdoms

to uproot and tear down,

to destroy and demolish,

to build and plant.

Two Visions

11 Then the word of theLordcame to me, asking, “What do you see, Jeremiah? ”

I replied, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”

12 TheLordsaid to me, “You have seen correctly, for I watch over My word to accomplish it.”

13 Again the word of theLordcame to me inquiring, “What do you see? ”

And I replied, “I see a boiling pot,its lip tilted from the north to the south.”

14 Then theLordsaid to me, “Disaster will be poured outfrom the northon all who live in the land.

15 Indeed, I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north.”

This is theLord’s declaration.

They will come, and each king will set up his throne

at the entrance to Jerusalem’s gates.

They will attack all her surrounding walls

and all the other cities of Judah.

16 “I will pronounce My judgments against them for all the evil they did when they abandoned Me to burn incense to other gods and to worship the works of their own hands.

17 “Now, get ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by themor I will cause you to cower before them.

18 Today, I am the One who has made you a fortified city,an iron pillar, and bronze wallsagainst the whole land — against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the population.

19 They will fight against you but never prevail over you,since I am with you to rescue you.”

This is theLord’s declaration.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/1-14e2a74532b34319339244f1d7b73b67.mp3?version_id=72—

Israel Accused of Apostasy

1 The word of theLordcame to me:

2 “Go and announce directly to Jerusalem that this is what theLordsays:

I remember the loyalty of your youth,

your love as a bride —

how you followed Me in the wilderness,

in a land not sown.

3 Israel was holy to theLord,

the firstfruits of His harvest.

All who ate of it found themselves guilty;

disaster came on them.”

This is theLord’s declaration.

4 Hear the word of theLord, house of Jacob

and all families of the house of Israel.

5 This is what theLordsays:

What fault did your fathers find in Me

that they went so far from Me,

followed worthless idols,

and became worthless themselves?

6 They stopped asking, “Where is theLord

who brought us from the land of Egypt,

who led us through the wilderness,

through a land of deserts and ravines,

through a land of drought and darkness,

a land no one traveled through

and where no one lived? ”

7 I brought you to a fertile land

to eat its fruit and bounty,

but after you entered, you defiled My land;

you made My inheritancedetestable.

8 The priests quit asking, “Where is theLord? ”

The experts in the law no longer knew Me,

and the rulersrebelled against Me.

The prophets prophesied byBaal

and followed useless idols.

9 Therefore, I will bring a case against you again.

This is theLord’s declaration.

I will bring a case against your children’s children.

10 Cross over to Cyprusand take a look.

Send someone to Kedarand consider carefully;

see if there has ever been anything like this:

11 Has a nation ever exchanged its gods?

(But they were not gods!)

Yet My people have exchanged theirGlory

for useless idols.

12 Be horrified at this, heavens;

be shocked and utterly appalled.

This is theLord’s declaration.

13 For My people have committed a double evil:

They have abandoned Me,

the fountain of living water,

and dug cisterns for themselves,

cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.

Consequences of Apostasy

14 Is Israel a slave?

Was he born into slavery?

Why else has he become a prey?

15 The young lions have roared at him;

they have roared loudly.

They have laid waste his land.

His cities are in ruins, without inhabitants.

16 The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes

have also broken your skull.

17 Have you not brought this on yourself

by abandoning theLordyour God

while He was leading you along the way?

18 Now what will you gain

by traveling along the way to Egypt

to drink the waters of the Nile?

What will you gain

by traveling along the way to Assyria

to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

19 Your own evil will discipline you;

your own apostasies will reprimand you.

Think it over and see how evil and bitterit is

for you to abandon theLordyour God

and to have no fear of Me.

This is the declaration

of the LordGodof Hosts.

20 For long ago Ibroke your yoke;

Itore off your chains.

You insisted, “I will not serve! ”

On every high hill

and under every green tree

you lie down like a prostitute.

21 I planted you, a choice vine

from the very best seed.

How then could you turn into

a degenerate, foreign vine?

22 Even if you wash with lye

and use a great amount of soap,

the stain of your sin is still in front of Me.

This is the LordGod’s declaration.

23 How can you protest, “I am not defiled;

I have not followed the Baals”?

Look at your behavior in the valley;

acknowledge what you have done.

You are a swift young camel

twisting and turning on her way,

24 a wild donkeyat homein the wilderness.

She sniffs the wind in the heat of her desire.

Who can control her passion?

All who look for her will not become tired;

they will find her in her mating season.

25 Keep your feet from going bare

and your throat from thirst.

But you say, “It’s hopeless;

I love strangers,

and I will continue to follow them.”

26 Like the shame of a thief when he is caught,

so the house of Israel has been put to shame.

They, their kings, their officials,

their priests, and their prophets

27 say to a tree, “You are my father,”

and to a stone, “You gave birth to me.”

For they have turned their back to Me

and not their face,

yet in their time of disasterthey beg,

“Rise up and save us! ”

28 But where are your gods you made for yourself?

Let them rise up and save you

in your time of disaster if they can,

for your gods are as numerous as your cities, Judah.

Judgment Deserved

29 Why do you bring a case against Me?

All of you have rebelled against Me.

This is theLord’s declaration.

30 I have struck down your children in vain;

they would not accept discipline.

Your own sword has devoured your prophets

like a ravaging lion.

31 Evil generation,

pay attention to the word of theLord!

Have I been a wilderness to Israel

or a land of dense darkness?

Why do My people claim,

“We will go where we want;

we will no longer come to You”?

32 Can a young woman forget her jewelry

or a bride her wedding sash?

Yet My people have forgotten Me

for countless days.

33 How skillfully you pursue love;

you also teach evil women your ways.

34 Moreover, your skirts are stained

with the blood of the innocent poor.

You did not catch them breaking and entering.

But in spite of all these things

35 you claim, “I am innocent.

His anger is sure to turn away from me.”

But I will certainly judge you

because you have said, “I have not sinned.”

36 How unstable you are,

constantly changing your ways!

You will be put to shame by Egypt

just as you were put to shame by Assyria.

37 Moreover, you will be led out from here

with your hands on your head

since theLordhas rejected those you trust;

you will not succeed even with their help.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/2-df9d5fc52586cb57e610070b5f58df88.mp3?version_id=72—

Wages of Apostasy

1 Ifa man divorces his wife

and she leaves him to marry another,

can he ever return to her?

Wouldn’t such a landbecome totally defiled?

But you!

You have played the prostitute with many partners—

can you return to Me?

This is theLord’s declaration.

2 Look to the barren heightsand see.

Where have you not been immoral?

You sat waiting for them beside the highways

like a nomad in the desert.

You have defiled the land

with your prostitution and wickedness.

3 This is why the showers haven’t come—

why there has been no spring rain.

You have the brazen lookof a prostitute

and refuse to be ashamed.

4 Have you not lately called to Me, “My Father.

You were my friend in my youth.

5 Will He bear a grudge forever?

Will He be endlessly infuriated? ”

This is what you have said,

but you have done the evil things

you are capable of.

Unfaithful Israel, Treacherous Judah

6 In the days of King Josiah theLordasked me, “Have you seen what unfaithful Israel has done? She has ascended every high hill and gone under every green tree to prostitute herself there.

7 I thought: After she has done all these things, she will return to Me.But she didn’t return, and her treacherous sister Judahsaw it.

8 Iobserved that it was because unfaithful Israel had committed adultery that I had sent her away and had given her a certificate of divorce.Nevertheless, her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid but also went and prostituted herself.

9 Indifferent toher prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stonesand trees.

10 Yet in spite of all this, her treacherous sister Judah didn’t return to Me with all her heart— only in pretense.”

This is theLord’s declaration.

11 TheLordannounced to me, “Unfaithful Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.

12 Go, proclaim these words to the north, and say:

Return, unfaithful Israel.

This is theLord’s declaration.

I will not look on you with anger,

for I am unfailing in My love.

This is theLord’s declaration.

I will not be angry forever.

13 Only acknowledge your guilt—

you have rebelled against theLordyour God.

You have scattered your favors to strangers

under every green tree

and have not obeyed My voice.

This is theLord’s declaration.

14 “Return, you faithless children”— this is theLord’s declaration — “for I am your master,and I will take you,one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

15 I will give you shepherds who are loyal to Me,and they will shepherd you with knowledge and skill.

16 When you multiply and increase in the land,in those days” — theLord’s declaration — “no one will say any longer, ‘The ark of theLord’s covenant.’It will never come to mind, and no one will remember or miss it. It will never again be made.

17 At that time Jerusalem will be called, Yahweh’s Throne,and all the nations will be gathered to it,to the name of Yahweh in Jerusalem.They will cease to follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.

18 In those days the house of Judah will join with the house of Israel,and they will come together from the land of the north to the land I have given your ancestors to inherit.”

True Repentance

19 I thought: How I long to make you My sons

and give you a desirable land,

the most beautiful inheritanceof all the nations.

I thought: You will call Me, my Father,

and never turn away from Me.

20 However, as a woman may betray her lover,

so you have betrayedMe, house of Israel.

This is theLord’s declaration.

21 A sound is heard on the barren heights,

the children of Israel weeping and begging for mercy,

for they have perverted their way;

they have forgotten theLordtheir God.

22 Return, you faithless children.

I will heal your unfaithfulness.

“Here we are, coming to You,

for You are theLordour God.

23 Surely, falsehood comes from the hills,

commotion from the mountains,

but the salvation of Israel

is only in theLordour God.

24 From the time of our youth

the shameful onehas consumed

what our fathers have worked for —

their flocks and their herds,

their sons and their daughters.

25 Let us lie down in our shame;

let our disgrace cover us.

We have sinned against theLordour God,

both we and our fathers,

from the time of our youth even to this day.

We have not obeyed the voice of theLordour God.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/3-58d6f6640f166fd00af74bc9188e3667.mp3?version_id=72—

Blessing or Curse

1 If you return,Israel —

this is theLord’s declaration —

you will return to Me,

if you remove your detestable idols

from My presence

and do not waver,

2 then you can swear, “As theLordlives,”

in truth,in justice, and in righteousness,

then the nations will be blessedby Him

and will pride themselves in Him.

3 For this is what theLordsays to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

Break up the unplowed ground;

do not sow among the thorns.

4 Circumcise yourselves to theLord;

remove the foreskin of your hearts,

men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.

Otherwise, My wrath will break out like fire

and burn with no one to extinguish it

because of your evil deeds.

Judgment from the North

5 Declare in Judah, proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:

Blow the ram’s horn throughout the land.

Cry out loudly and say:

Assemble yourselves,

and let’s flee to the fortified cities.

6 Lift up a signal flag toward Zion.

Run for cover! Don’t stand still!

For I am bringing disaster from the north —

a great destruction.

7 A lion has gone up from his thicket;

a destroyer of nations has set out.

He has left his lair

to make your land a waste.

Your cities will be reduced to uninhabited ruins.

8 Because of this, put on sackcloth;

mourn and wail,

for theLord’s burning anger

has not turned away from us.

9 “On that day” — this is theLord’s declaration — “the king and the officials will lose their courage. The priests will tremble in fear, and the prophets will be scared speechless.”

10 I said, “Oh no, LordGod, You have certainly deceivedthis people and Jerusalem, by announcing, ‘You will have peace,’while a sword is atour throats.”

11 “At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, ‘A searing windblows from the barren heights in the wilderness on the way to My dearpeople. It comes not to winnow or to sift;

12 a wind too strong for this comes at My call.Now I will also pronounce judgments against them.’ ”

13 Look, he advances like clouds;

his chariots are like a storm.

His horses are swifter than eagles.

Woe to us, for we are ruined!

14 Wash the evil from your heart,Jerusalem,

so that you will be delivered.

How long will you harbor

malicious thoughts within you?

15 For a voice announces from Dan,

proclaiming malice from Mount Ephraim.

16 Warn the nations: Look!

Proclaim to Jerusalem:

Those who besiege are coming

from a distant land;

they raise their voices

against the cities of Judah.

17 They have her surrounded

like those who guard a field,

because she has rebelled against Me.

This is theLord’s declaration.

18 Your way of life and your actions

have brought this on you.

This is your punishment. It is very bitter,

because it has reached your heart!

Jeremiah’s Lament

19 My anguish, my anguish!I writhe in agony!

Oh, the pain inmy heart!

My heart pounds;

I cannot be silent.

For you, my soul,

have heard the sound of the ram’s horn —

the shout of battle.

20 Disaster after disasteris reported

because the whole land is destroyed.

Suddenly my tents are destroyed,

my tent curtains, in a moment.

21 How long must I see the signal flag

and hear the sound of the ram’s horn?

22 “For My people are fools;

they do not know Me.

They are foolish children,

without understanding.

They are skilled in doing what is evil,

but they do not know how to do what is good.”

23 I looked at the earth,

and it was formless and empty.

I looked to the heavens,

and their light was gone.

24 I looked at the mountains,

and they were quaking;

all the hills shook.

25 I looked, and no man was left;

all the birds of the sky had fled.

26 I looked, and the fertile fieldwas a wilderness.

All its cities were torn down

because of theLord

and His burning anger.

27 For this is what theLordsays:

The whole land will be a desolation,

but I will not finish it off.

28 Because of this, the earth will mourn;

the skies above will grow dark.

I have spoken; I have planned,

and I will not relent or turn back from it.

29 Every city flees

at the sound of the horseman and the archer.

They enter the thickets

and climb among the rocks.

Every city is abandoned;

no inhabitant is left.

30 And you, devastated one, what are you doing

that you dress yourself in scarlet,

that you adorn yourself with gold jewelry,

that you enlarge your eyes with paint?

You beautify yourself for nothing.

Your lovers reject you;

they want to take your life.

31 I hear a cry like a woman in labor,

a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child.

The cry of Daughter Zion gasping for breath,

stretching out her hands:

Woe is me, for my life is weary

because of the murderers!

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/4-538a674d427dd4bff2f906308b92c79e.mp3?version_id=72—

The Depravity of Jerusalem

1 Roamthrough the streets of Jerusalem.

Look and take note;

search in her squares.

If you find one person,

any who acts justly,

who seeks to be faithful,

then I will forgive her.

2 When they say, “As theLordlives,”

they are swearing falsely.

3 Lord, don’t Your eyes look for faithfulness?

You have struck them, but they felt no pain.

You finished them off,

but they refused to accept discipline.

They made their faces harder than rock,

and they refused to return.

4 Then I thought:

They are just the poor;

they have played the fool.

For they don’t understand the way of theLord,

the justice of their God.

5 I will go to the powerful

and speak to them.

Surely they know the way of theLord,

the justice of their God.

However, these also had broken the yoke

and torn off the chains.

6 Therefore, a lion from the forest will strike them down.

A wolf from an arid plain will ravage them.

A leopardkeeps watch over their cities.

Anyone who leaves them will be torn to pieces

because their rebellious acts are many,

their unfaithful deeds numerous.

7 Why should I forgive you?

Your children have abandoned Me

and sworn by those who are not gods.

I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery;

they gashed themselvesat theprostitute’s house.

8 They are well-fed,eagerstallions,

each neighingafter someone else’s wife.

9 Should I not punish them for these things?

This is theLord’s declaration.

Should I not avenge Myself

on such a nation as this?

10 Go up among her vineyard terraces and destroy them,

but do not finish them off.

Prune away her shoots,

for they do not belong to theLord.

11 They, the house of Israel and the house of Judah,

have dealt very treacherously with Me.

This is theLord’s declaration.

12 They have contradicted theLord

and insisted, “It won’t happen.

Harm won’t come to us;

we won’t see sword or famine.”

13 The prophets become only wind,

for theLord’s word is not in them.

This will in fact happen to them.

Coming Judgment

14 Therefore, this is what the LordGodof Hosts says:

Because you have spoken this word,

I am going to make My words

become fire in your mouth.

These people are the wood,

and the fire will consume them.

15 I am about to bring a nation

from far away against you,

house of Israel.

This is theLord’s declaration.

It is an established nation,

an ancient nation,

a nation whose language you do not know

and whose speech you do not understand.

16 Their quiver is like an open grave;

they are all mighty warriors.

17 They will consume your harvest and your food.

They will consume your sons and your daughters.

They will consume your flocks and your herds.

They will consume your vines and your fig trees.

They will destroy with the sword

your fortified citiesin which you trust.

18 “But even in those days” — this is theLord’s declaration — “I will not finish you off.

19 When people ask, ‘For what offense has theLordour God done all these things to us? ’ You will respond to them: Just as you abandoned Meand served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

20 “Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah, saying:

21 Hear this,

you foolish and senselesspeople.

They have eyes, but they don’t see.

They have ears, but they don’t hear.

22 Do you not fear Me?

This is theLord’s declaration.

Do you not tremble before Me,

the One who set the sand as the boundary of the sea,

an enduring barrier that it cannot cross?

The waves surge, but they cannot prevail.

They roar but cannot pass over it.

23 But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts.

They have turned aside and have gone away.

24 They have not said to themselves,

‘Let’s fear theLordour God,

who gives the rain,both early and late,in its season,

who guarantees to us the fixed weeks of the harvest.’

25 Your guilty acts have diverted these things from you.

Your sins have withheld My bounty from you,

26 for wicked men live among My people.

They watch like fowlers lying in wait.

They set a trap;

they catch men.

27 Like a cage full of birds,

so their houses are full of deceit.

Therefore they have grown powerful and rich.

28 They have become fatand sleek.

They have also excelled in evil matters.

They have not taken up cases,

such as the case of the fatherless, so they might prosper,

and they have not defended the rights of the needy.

29 Should I not punish them for these things?

This is theLord’s declaration.

Should I not avenge Myself

on such a nation as this?

30 A horrible, terrible thing

has taken place in the land.

31 The prophets prophesy falsely,

and the priests rule by their own authority.

My people love it like this.

But what will you do at the end of it?

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/5-a7da8ef8dc2b702b8a2ed5a2eda0abaa.mp3?version_id=72—