Month: February 2020

No Marriage for Jeremiah

1 The word of theLordcame to me:

2 “You must not marry or have sons or daughters in this place.

3 For this is what theLordsays concerning sons and daughters born in this place as well as concerning the mothers who bear them and the fathers who father them in this land:

4 They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like manure on the face of the earth.They will be finished off by sword and famine. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.

5 “For this is what theLordsays: Don’t enter a house where a mourning feast is taking place.Don’t go to lament or sympathize with them, for I have removed My peace from these people” — this is theLord’s declaration — “as well as My faithful love and compassion.

6 Both great and small will die in this land without burial. No lament will be made for them, nor will anyone cut himself orshave his head for them.

7 Food won’t be provided for the mournerto comfort him because of the dead. A cup of consolation won’t be given him because of the loss of his father or mother.

8 You must not enter the house where feasting is taking place to sit with them to eat and drink.

9 For this is what theLordof Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am about to eliminate from this place, before your very eyes and in your time, the sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the groom and the bride.

Abandoning the Lord and His Law

10 “When you tell these people all these things, they will say to you, ‘Why has theLorddeclared all this great disaster against us?What is our guilt? What is our sin that we have committed against theLordour God? ’

11 Then you will answer them: Because your fathers abandoned Me”— this is theLord’s declaration — “and followed other gods, served them, and worshiped them.Indeed, they abandoned Me and did not keep My instruction.

12 You did more evil than your fathers.Look, each one of you was following the stubbornness of his evil heart, not obeying Me.

13 So I will hurl you from this land into a land that you and your fathers are not familiar with.There you will worship other godsboth day and night, for I will not grant you grace.

14 “However, take note! The days are coming”— theLord’s declaration — “when it will no longer be said, ‘As theLordlives who brought the Israelites from the land of Egypt,’

15 but rather, ‘As theLordlives who brought the Israelites from the land of the northand from all the other lands where He had banished them.’ For I will return them to their land that I gave to their ancestors.

Punishment of Exile

16 “I am about to send for many fishermen”— this is theLord’s declaration — “and they will fish for them. Then I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and out of the clefts of the rocks,

17 for My gaze takes in all their ways.They are not concealed from Me, and their guilt is not hidden from My sight.

18 I will first repay them double for their guiltand sin because they have polluted My land. They have filled My inheritance with the lifelessness of their detestable and abhorrent idols.”

19 Lord, my strength and my stronghold,

my refuge in a time of distress,

the nations will come to You

from the ends of the earth, and they will say,

“Our fathers inherited only lies,

worthless idolsof no benefit at all.”

20 Can one make gods for himself?

But they are not gods.

21 “Therefore, I am about to inform them,

and this time I will make them know

My power and My might;

then they will know that My name is Yahweh.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/16-6c1eddc682b386f185b593a95fc87175.mp3?version_id=72—

The Persistent Sin of Judah

1 The sin of Judah is written

with an iron stylus.

With a diamond point

it is engraved on the tablet of their hearts

and on the horns of theiraltars,

2 while their children remember their altars

and their Asherah poles, by the green trees

on the high hills—

3 My mountains in the countryside.

I will give up your wealth

and all your treasures as plunder

because of the sin of your high places

in all your borders.

4 You will, on your own, relinquish your inheritance

that I gave you.

I will make you serve your enemies

in a land you do not know,

for you have set My anger on fire;

it will burn forever.

Curse and Blessing

5 This is what theLordsays:

The man who trusts in mankind,

who makes human flesh his strength

and turns his heart from theLordis cursed.

6 He will be like a juniper in the Arabah;

he cannot see when good comes

but dwells in the parched places in the wilderness,

in a salt land where no one lives.

7 The man who trusts in theLord,

whose confidence indeed is theLord, is blessed.

8 He will be like a tree planted by water:

it sends its roots out toward a stream,

it doesn’t fear when heat comes,

and its foliage remains green.

It will not worry in a year of drought

or cease producing fruit.

The Deceitful Heart

9 The heart is more deceitful than anything else,

and incurable — who can understand it?

10 I, Yahweh, examine the mind,

I test the heart

to give to each according to his way,

according to what his actions deserve.

11 He who makes a fortune unjustly

is like a partridge that hatches eggs it didn’t lay.

In the middle of his days

his riches will abandon him,

so in the end he will be a fool.

12 A throne of glory

on highfrom the beginning

is the place of our sanctuary.

13 Lord, the hope of Israel,

all who abandon You

will be put to shame.

All who turn away from Me

will be written in the dirt,

for they have abandoned

theLord, the fountain of living water.

Jeremiah’s Plea

14 Heal me,Lord, and I will be healed;

save me, and I will be saved,

for You are my praise.

15 Hear how they keep challenging me,

“Where is the word of theLord?

Let it come! ”

16 But I have not run away from being Your shepherd,

and I have not longed for the fatal day.

You know my words were spoken in Your presence.

17 Don’t become a terror to me.

You are my refugein the day of disaster.

18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,

but don’t let me be put to shame.

Let them be terrified, but don’t let me be terrified.

Bring on them the day of disaster;

shatter them with totaldestruction.

Observing the Sabbath

19 This is what theLordsaid to me, “Go and stand at the People’s Gate, through which the kings of Judah enter and leave, as well as at all the gates of Jerusalem.

20 Announce to them: Hear the word of theLord, kings of Judah, all Judah, and all the residents of Jerusalem who enter through these gates.

21 This is what theLordsays: Watch yourselves; do not pick up a load and bring it in through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day.

22 You must not carry a load out of your houses on the Sabbath day or do any work,but you must consecrate the Sabbath day, just as I commanded your ancestors.

23 They wouldn’t listen or pay attention but became obstinate,not listening or accepting discipline.

24 “However, if you listen to Me, says theLord, and do not bring loads through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day and consecrate the Sabbath day and do no work on it,

25 kings and princes will enter through the gates of this city. They will sit on the throne of David,riding in chariots and on horseswith their officials, the men of Judah, and the residents of Jerusalem. This city will be inhabited forever.

26 Then people will come from the cities of Judah and from the area around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin and from the Judean foothills, from the hill country and from the Negevbringing burnt offerings and sacrifice, grain offerings and frankincense, and thank offerings to the house of theLord.

27 If you do not listen to Me to consecrate the Sabbath day by not carrying a load while entering the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, I will set fire to its gates,and it will consume the citadelsof Jerusalemand not be extinguished.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/17-d5a6d1c8bdb403a2ee59e756afb2b788.mp3?version_id=72—

Parable of the Potter

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from theLord:

2 “Go down at once to the potter’s house;there I will reveal My words to you.”

3 So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, working away at the wheel.

4 But the jar that he was making from the clay became flawed in the potter’s hand, so he made it into another jar, as it seemed right for him to do.

5 The word of theLordcame to me:

6 “House of Israel, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay? ” — this is theLord’s declaration. “Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, house of Israel.

7 At one moment I might announce concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will uproot, tear down, and destroy it.

8 However, if that nation I have made an announcement about turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the disaster I had planned to do to it.

9 At another time I announce that I will build and plant a nation or a kingdom.

10 However, if it does what is evil in My sight by not listening to My voice, I will relent concerning the good I had said I would do to it.

11 So now, say to the men of Judah and to the residents of Jerusalem: This is what theLordsays: I am about to bring harm to you and make plans against you. Turn now, each from your evil way, and correct your ways and your deeds.

12 But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless.We will continue to follow our plans, and each of us will continue to act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’ ”

Deluded Israel

13 Therefore, this is what theLordsays:

Ask among the nations,

Who has heard things like these?

Virgin Israel has done a most terrible thing.

14 Does the snow of Lebanon ever leave the highland crags?

Or does cold water flowing from a distance ever fail?

15 Yet My people have forgotten Me.

They burn incense to false idols

that make them stumble in their ways

on the ancient roads

and walk on new paths, not the highway.

16 They have made their land a horror,

a perpetual object of scorn;

everyone who passes by it will be horrified

and shake his head.

17 I will scatter them before the enemy like the east wind.

I will show themMy back and not My face

on the day of their calamity.

Plot against Jeremiah

18 Then certain ones said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah,for instruction will never be lost from the priest,or counsel from the wise, or an oracle from the prophet.Come, let’s denounce himand pay no attention to all his words.”

19 Pay attention to me,Lord.

Hear what my opponents are saying!

20 Should good be repaid with evil?

Yet they have dug a pit for me.

Remember how I stood before You

to speak good on their behalf,

to turn Your anger from them.

21 Therefore, hand their children over to famine,

and pour the sword’s power on them.

Let their wives become childless and widowed,

their husbands slain by deadly disease,

their young men struck down by the sword in battle.

22 Let a cry be heard from their houses

when You suddenly bring raiders against them,

for they have dug a pit to capture me

and have hidden snares for my feet.

23 But You,Lord, know

all their deadly plots against me.

Do not wipe out their guilt;

do not blot out their sin before You.

Let them be forced to stumble before You;

deal with them in the time of Your anger.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/18-e424f142265e652225a0e7e53e67aa2f.mp3?version_id=72—

The Clay Jar

1 This is what theLordsays: “Go, buy a potter’s clayjar. Takesome of the elders of the people and some of the leading priests

2 and go out to the Valley of Hinnomnear the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there the words I speak to you.

3 Say: Hear the word of theLord, kings of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.This is what theLordof Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on this place that everyone who hears about it will shudder

4 because they have abandoned Meand made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in it to other gods that they, their fathers, and the kings of Judah have never known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.

5 They have built high places to Baal on which to burn their children in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, something I have never commanded or mentioned; I never entertained the thought.

6 “Therefore, take note! The days are coming”— this is theLord’s declaration — “when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter.

7 I will spoil the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hand of those who want to take their life. I will provide their corpses as food for the birds of the sky and for the wild animals of the land.

8 I will make this city desolate, an object of scorn. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and scoff because of all its wounds.

9 I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and they will eat each other’s flesh in the siege and distress that their enemies, those who want to take their life, inflict on them.

10 “Then you are to shatter the jar in the presence of the people traveling with you,

11 and you are to proclaim to them: This is what theLordof Hosts says: I will shatter these people and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again be mended. They will bury the dead in Topheth because there is no other place for burials.

12 I will do so to this place” — this is the declaration of theLord— “and to its residents, making this city like Topheth.

13 The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will become impure like that place Topheth — all the houses on whose rooftops they have burned incense to the whole heavenly hostand poured out drink offerings to other gods.”

14 Jeremiah came back from Topheth, where theLordhad sent him to prophesy, stood in the courtyard of theLord’s temple,and proclaimed to all the people,

15 “This is what theLordof Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am about to bring on this city — and on all its dependent villages — all the disaster that I spoke against it, for they have become obstinate, not obeying My words.’ ”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/19-c3fed1b7584c9c593d5fd230c7040323.mp3?version_id=72—

Jeremiah Beaten by Pashhur

1 Pashhur the priest,the son of Immerand chief official in the temple of theLord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things.

2 So Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put him in the stocksat the Upper Benjamin Gatein theLord’s temple.

3 The next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “TheLorddoes not call you Pashhur, but Magor-missabib,

4 for this is what theLordsays, ‘I am about to make you a terror to both yourself and those you love.They will fall by the sword of their enemies before your very eyes.I will hand Judah over to the king of Babylon, and he will deport them to Babylon and put them to the sword.

5 I will give away all the wealthof this city, all its productsand valuables. Indeed, I will hand all the treasures of the kings of Judah over to their enemies. They will plunder them, seize them, and carry them off to Babylon.

6 As for you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house, you will go into captivity. You will go to Babylon.There you will die, and there you will be buried, you and all your friends that you prophesied falselyto.’ ”

Jeremiah Compelled to Preach

7 You deceivedme,Lord, and I was deceived.

You seized me and prevailed.

I am a laughingstock all the time;

everyone ridicules me.

8 For whenever I speak, I cry out,

I proclaim, “Violence and destruction! ”

because the word of theLordhas become for me

constant disgrace and derision.

9 If I say, “I won’t mention Him

or speak any longer in His name,”

His message becomes a fire burning in my heart,

shut up in my bones.

I become tired of holding it in,

and I cannot prevail.

10 For I have heard the gossip of many people,

“Terror is on every side!

Report him; let’s report him! ”

Everyone I trustedwatches for my fall.

“Perhaps he will be deceived

so that we might prevail against him

and take our vengeance on him.”

11 But theLordis with me like a violent warrior.

Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and not prevail.

Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly shamed,

an everlasting humiliation that will never be forgotten.

12 Lordof Hosts, testing the righteous

and seeing the heartand mind,

let me see Your vengeance on them,

for I have presented my case to You.

13 Sing to theLord!

Praise theLord,

for He rescues the life of the needy

from the hand of evil people.

Jeremiah’s Lament

14 May the day I was born

be cursed.

May the day my mother bore me

never be blessed.

15 May the man be cursed

who brought the news to my father, saying,

“A male child is born to you,”

bringing him great joy.

16 Let that man be like the cities

theLorddemolished without compassion.

Let him hear an outcry in the morning

and a war cry at noontime

17 because he didn’t kill me in the womb

so that my mother might have been my grave,

her womb eternally pregnant.

18 Why did I come out of the womb

to see only struggle and sorrow,

to end my life in shame?

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/20-a20681c6449a9cef4edb5fdc8aa8270d.mp3?version_id=72—

Zedekiah’s Request Denied

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from theLordwhen King Zedekiah sent Pashhurson of Malchijah and the priest Zephaniahson of Maaseiah to Jeremiah, asking,

2 “Ask theLordon our behalf, since Nebuchadnezzarking of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps theLordwill perform for us something like all His past wonderful works so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”

3 But Jeremiah answered, “This is what you are to say to Zedekiah:

4 ‘This is what theLord, the God of Israel, says: I will repel the weapons of war in your hands,those you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Chaldeanswho are besieging you outside the wall, and I will bring them into the center of this city.

5 I will fight against youwith an outstretched hand and a mighty arm,with anger, rage, and great wrath.

6 I will strike the residents of this city, both man and beast. They will die in a great plague.

7 Afterward’ ” — this is theLord’s declaration — “ ‘King Zedekiah of Judah, his officers, and the people — those in this city who survive the plague, the sword, and the famine — I will hand over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,to their enemies, yes, to those who want to take their lives. He will put them to the sword; he won’t spare them or show pity or compassion.’

A Warning for the People

8 “But you must say to this people, ‘This is what theLordsays: Look, I am presenting to you the way of life and the way of death.

9 Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live and will retain his life like the spoils of war.

10 For I have turnedagainst this city to bring disaster and not good’” — this is theLord’s declaration. “ ‘It will be handed over to the king of Babylon, who will burn it down.’

11 “And to the house of the king of Judah say this: ‘Hear the word of theLord!

12 House of David, this is what theLordsays:

Administer justice every morning,

and rescue the victim of robbery

from the hand of his oppressor,

or My anger will flare up like fire

and burn unquenchably

because of their evil deeds.

13 Beware! I am against you,

you who sit above the valley,

you atop the rocky plateau —

this is theLord’s declaration —

you who say, “Who can come down against us?

Who can enter our hiding places? ”

14 I will punish you according to what you have done—

this is theLord’s declaration.

I will kindle a fire in its forest

that will consume everything around it.’ ”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/21-da8c3ec8caed0e921d000f1dd64d3a1d.mp3?version_id=72—

Judgment against Sinful Kings

1 This is what theLordsays: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and announce this word there.

2 You are to say: Hear the word of theLord, king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David— you, your officers, and your people who enter these gates.

3 This is what theLordsays: Administer justice and righteousness.Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor.Don’t exploit or brutalize the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow.Don’t shed innocent blood in this place.

4 For if you conscientiously carry out this word, then kings sitting on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palaceriding on chariots and horses — they, their officers, and their people.

5 But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself” — this is theLord’s declaration — “that this house will become a ruin.”

6 For this is what theLordsays concerning the house of the king of Judah:

You are like Gileadto Me,

or the summit of Lebanon,

but I will certainly turn you into a wilderness,

uninhabited cities.

7 I will appoint destroyersagainst you,

each with his weapons.

They will cut down the choicest of your cedars

and throw them into the fire.

8 “Many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why did theLorddo such a thing to this great city? ’

9 They will answer, ‘Because they abandoned the covenantof Yahweh their God and worshiped and served other gods.’ ”

A Message Concerning Shallum

10 Do not weep for the dead;

do not mourn for him.

Weep bitterly for the onewho has gone away,

for he will never return again

and see his native land.

11 For this is what theLordsays concerning Shallumson of Josiah, king of Judah, who became king in place of his father Josiah: “He has left this place — he will never return here again,

12 but he will die in the place where they deported him, never seeing this land again.”

A Message concerning Jehoiakim

13 Woe for the one who builds his palace

through unrighteousness,

his upper rooms through injustice,

who makes his fellow man serve without pay

and will not give him his wages,

14 who says, “I will build myself a massive palace,

with spacious upper rooms.”

He will cut windowsin it,

and it will be paneled with cedar

and painted with vermilion.

15 Are you a king because you excel in cedar?

Didn’t your father eat and drink

and administer justice and righteousness?

Then it went well with him.

16 He took up the case of the poor and needy,

then it went well.

Is this not what it means to know Me?

This is theLord’s declaration.

17 But you have eyes and a heart for nothing

except your own dishonest profit,

shedding innocent blood

and committing extortion and oppression.

18 Therefore, this is what theLordsays concerning Jehoiakimson of Josiah, king of Judah:

They will not mourn for him, saying,

“Woe, my brother! ” or “Woe, my sister! ”

They will not mourn for him, saying,

“Woe, lord! Woe, his majesty! ”

19 He will be buried like a donkey,

dragged off and thrown

outside the gates of Jerusalem.

20 Go up to Lebanon and cry out;

raise your voice in Bashan;

cry out from Abarim,

for all your lovershave been crushed.

21 I spoke to you when you were secure.

You said, “I will not listen.”

This has been your way since youth;

indeed, you have never listened to Me.

22 The wind will take charge ofall your shepherds,

and your loverswill go into captivity.

Then you will be ashamed and humiliated

because of all your evil.

23 You residents of Lebanon,

nestled among the cedars,

how you will groanwhen labor pains come on you,

agony like a woman in labor.

A Message concerning Coniah

24 “As I live,” says theLord, “though you, Coniahson of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, were a signet ringon My right hand, I would tear you from it.

25 In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread,who want to take your life, to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and the Chaldeans.

26 I will hurl you and the mother who gave birthto you into another land,where neither of you were born, and there you will both die.

27 They will never return to the land they long to return to.”

28 Is this man Coniah a despised, shattered pot,

a jar no one wants?

Why are he and his descendants hurled out

and cast into a land they have not known?

29 Earth, earth, earth,

hear the word of theLord!

30 This is what theLordsays:

Record this man as childless,

a man who will not be successful in his lifetime.

None of his descendants will succeed

in sitting on the throne of David

or ruling again in Judah.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/22-f803c46e6abc6281bea9be272502b9d4.mp3?version_id=72—

The Lord and His Sheep

1 “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture! ”This is theLord’s declaration.

2 “Therefore, this is what theLord, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who shepherd My people: You have scattered My flock,banished them, and have not attended to them.I will attend to you because of your evil acts” — this is theLord’s declaration.

3 “I will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands where I have banished them,and I will return them to their grazing land. They will become fruitful and numerous.

4 I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them.They will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any be missing.”This is theLord’s declaration.

The Righteous Branch of David

5 “The days are coming”— this is theLord’s declaration —

“when I will raise up a Righteous Branch of David.

He will reign wisely as king

and administer justice and righteousness in the land.

6 In His days Judah will be saved,

and Israel will dwell securely.

This is what He will be named:

Yahweh Our Righteousness.

7 “The days are coming”— theLord’s declaration — “when it will no longer be said, ‘As theLordliveswho brought the Israelites from the land of Egypt,’

8 but, ‘As theLordlives, who brought and led the descendants of the house of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other countries where Ihad banished them.’ They will dwell once more in their own land.”

False Prophets Condemned

9 Concerning the prophets:

My heart is broken within me,

and all my bones tremble.

I have become like a drunkard,

like a man overcome by wine,

because of theLord,

because of His holy words.

10 For the land is full of adulterers;

the land mournsbecause of the curse,

and the grazing lands in the wilderness have dried up.

Their way of lifehas become evil,

and their power is not rightly used

11 because both prophet and priest are ungodly,

even in My houseI have found their evil.

This is theLord’s declaration.

12 Therefore, their way will be to them

like slippery paths in the gloom.

They will be driven away and fall down there,

for I will bring disaster on them,

the year of their punishment.

This is theLord’s declaration.

13 Among the prophets of Samaria

I saw something disgusting:

They prophesied byBaal

and led My people Israel astray.

14 Among the prophets of Jerusalem also

I saw a horrible thing:

They commit adultery and walk in lies.

They strengthen the hands of evildoers,

and none turns his back on evil.

They are all like Sodomto Me;

Jerusalem’s residents are like Gomorrah.

15 Therefore, this is what theLordof Hosts says concerning the prophets:

I am about to feed them wormwood

and give them poisoned water to drink,

for from the prophets of Jerusalem

ungodlinesshas spread throughout the land.

16 This is what theLordof Hosts says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are making you worthless. They speak visions from their own minds,not from theLord’s mouth.

17 They keep on saying to those who despise Me, ‘TheLordhas said: You will have peace.’They have said to everyone who follows the stubbornness of his heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’ ”

18 For who has stood in the councilof theLord

to see and hear His word?

Who has paid attention to His word and obeyed?

19 Look, a storm from theLord!

Wrath has gone out,

a whirling storm.

It will whirl about the heads of the wicked.

20 TheLord’s anger will not turn back

until He has completely fulfilled the purposes of His heart.

In time to come you will understand it clearly.

21 I did not send these prophets,

yet they ran with a message.

I did not speak to them,

yet they prophesied.

22 If they had really stood in My council,

they would have enabled My people to hear My words

and would have turned them back from their evil ways

and their evil deeds.

23 “Am I a God who is only near”— this is theLord’s declaration — “and not a God who is far away?

24 Can a man hide himself in secret places where I cannot see him? ”— theLord’s declaration. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? ”— theLord’s declaration.

25 “I have heard what the prophets who prophesy a lie in My name have said, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’

26 How long will this continue in the minds of the prophets prophesying lies, prophets of the deceit of their own minds?

27 Through their dreams that they tell one another, they plan to cause My people to forget My name as their fathers forgot My name through Baal worship.

28 The prophet who has only a dream should recount the dream, but the one who has My word should speak My word truthfully, for what is straw compared to grain? ” — this is theLord’s declaration.

29 “Is not My word like fire” — this is theLord’s declaration — “and like a hammer that pulverizes rock?

30 Therefore, take note! I am against the prophets”— theLord’s declaration — “who steal My words from each other.

31 I am against the prophets” — theLord’s declaration — “who use their own tongues to make a declaration.

32 I am against those who prophesy false dreams”— theLord’s declaration — “telling them and leading My people astray with their falsehoods and their boasting. It was not I who sent or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at allto these people” — this is theLord’s declaration.

The Burden of the Lord

33 “Now when these people or a prophet or a priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of theLord? ’ you will respond to them: What is the burden? I will throw you away” — this is theLord’s declaration.

34 “As for the prophet, priest, or people who say, ‘The burden of theLord,’ I will punish that man and his household.

35 This is what each man is to say to his friend and to his brother, ‘What has theLordanswered?’ or ‘What has theLordspoken?’

36 But no longer refer tothe burden of theLord, for each man’s word becomes his burden and you pervert the words of the living God, theLordof Hosts, our God.

37 You must say to the prophet: What has theLordanswered you? and What has theLordspoken?

38 But if you say, ‘The burden of theLord,’ then this is what theLordsays: Because you have said, ‘The burden of theLord,’ and I specifically told you not to say, ‘The burden of theLord,’

39 I will surely forget youand throw away from My presence both you and the city that I gave you and your fathers.

40 I will bring on you everlasting shame and humiliationthat will never be forgotten.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/23-19a462a2715fdf0a4d542f4cc590ea68.mp3?version_id=72—

The Good and the Bad Figs

1 After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had deported Jeconiahson of Jehoiakim king of Judah, the officials of Judah, and the craftsmen and metalsmithsfrom Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, theLordshowed me two baskets of figsplaced before the temple of theLord.

2 One basket contained very good figs, like early figs,but the other basket contained very bad figs, so bad they were inedible.

3 TheLordsaid to me, “What do you see, Jeremiah? ” I said, “Figs! The good figs are very good, but the bad figs are extremely bad, so bad they are inedible.”

4 The word of theLordcame to me:

5 “This is what theLord, the God of Israel, says: Like these good figs, so I regard as good the exiles from Judah I sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans.

6 I will keep My eyes on them for their goodand will return them to this land. I will build them up and not demolish them; I will plant them and not uproot them.

7 I will give them a heart to know Me,that I am Yahweh. They will be My people, and I will be their God because they will return to Me with all their heart.

8 “But as for the bad figs, so bad they are inedible,this is what theLordsays: in this way I will deal with king Zedekiah of Judah, his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem — those remaining in this land and those living in the land of Egypt.

9 I will make them an object of horrorand disaster to all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace, an object of scorn, ridicule,and cursing, wherever I have banished them.

10 I will send the sword, famine, and plagueagainst them until they have perished from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.”

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/24-5666ebcc887b0aabffe8aa17527cf634.mp3?version_id=72—

The Seventy-Year Exile

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakimson of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon).

2 The prophet Jeremiah spoke concerning all the people of Judah and all the residents of Jerusalem as follows:

3 “From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon,king of Judah, until this very day — 23 years — the word of theLordhas come to me, and I have spoken to you time and time again,but you have not obeyed.

4 TheLordsent all His servants the prophets to you time and time again,but you have not obeyed or even paid attention.

5 He announced, ‘Turn, each of you, from yourevil way of life and from your evil deeds.Live in the land theLordgave to you and your ancestors long ago and forever.

6 Do not follow other gods to serve them and to worship them,and do not provoke Me to anger by the work of your hands.Then I will do you no harm.

7 “ ‘But you would not obey Me’ — this is theLord’s declaration — ‘in order that you might provoke Me to anger by the work of your hands and bring disaster on yourselves.’

8 “Therefore, this is what theLordof Hosts says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words,

9 I am going to send for all the families of the north’— this is theLord’s declaration — ‘and send for My servantNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will bring them against this land, against its residents, and against all these surrounding nations, and I will completely destroy them and make them a desolation,a derision, and ruins forever.

10 I will eliminate the sound of joy and gladness from them — the voice of the groom and the bride,the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp.

11 This whole land will become a desolate ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for 70 years.

12 When the 70 years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation’ — this is theLord’s declaration — ‘the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, and I will make it a ruin forever.

13 I will bring on that land all My words I have spoken against it, all that is written in this book that Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations.

14 For many nations and great kings will enslave them, and I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.’ ”

The Cup of God’s Wrath

15 This is what theLord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and make all the nations I am sending you to, drink from it.

16 They will drink, stagger,and go out of their minds because of the sword I am sending among them.”

17 So I took the cup from theLord’s hand and made all the nations drink from it, everyone theLordsent me to.

18 These included:

Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah, its kings and its officials, to make them a desolate ruin, an object of scorn and cursing — as it is today;

19 Pharaoh king of Egypt, his officers, his leaders, all his people,

20 and all the mixed peoples;

all the kings of the land of Uz;

all the kings of the land of the Philistines — Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;

21 Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites;

22 all the kings of Tyre,

all the kings of Sidon,

and the kings of the coastlands across the sea;

23 Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all those who shave their temples;

24 all the kings of Arabia,

and all the kings of the mixed peoples who have settled in the desert;

25 all the kings of Zimri,

all the kings of Elam,

and all the kings of Media;

26 all the kings of the north, both near and far from one another;

that is, all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth.

Finally, the king of Sheshachwill drink after them.

27 “Then you are to say to them: This is what theLordof Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Drink,get drunk, and vomit. Fall down and never get up again, as a result of the sword I am sending among you.

28 Ifthey refuse to take the cup from you and drink, you are to say to them: This is what theLordof Hosts says: You must drink!

29 For I am already bringing disasteron the city that bears My name,so how could you possibly go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth” — this is the declaration of theLordof Hosts.

Judgment on the Whole World

30 “As for you, you are to prophesy all these things to them, and say to them:

TheLordroars from heaven;

He raises His voice from His holy dwelling.

He roars loudly over His grazing land;

He calls out with a shout, like those who tread grapes,

against all the inhabitants of the earth.

31 The tumult reaches to the ends of the earth

because theLordbrings a case againstthe nations.

He enters into judgment with all flesh.

As for the wicked, He hands them over to the sword —

this is theLord’s declaration.

32 “This is what theLordof Hosts says:

Pay attention! Disaster spreads

from nation to nation.

A great storm is stirred up

from the ends of the earth.”

33 Those slain by theLordon that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned,gathered, or buried. They will be like manure on the surface of the ground.

34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry out.

Roll in the dust,you leaders of the flock.

Because the days of your slaughter have come,

you will fall and become shattered like a precious vase.

35 Flight will be impossible for the shepherds,

and escape, for the leaders of the flock.

36 Hear the sound of the shepherds’ cry,

the wail of the leaders of the flock,

for theLordis destroying their pasture.

37 Peaceful grazing land will become lifeless

because of theLord’s burning anger.

38 He has left His den like a lion,

for their land has become a desolation

because of the swordof the oppressor,

because of His burning anger.

—https://api-cdn.youversionapi.com/audio-bible-youversionapi/17/32k/JER/25-28bf8cf4c383d4a9978a9390d0ca4321.mp3?version_id=72—