Jer 3:6-6:30 | ESV | STEP | The Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah : Have you seen what she did , that faithless one , Israel , how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree , and there played the whore ?

6 The Lord said to me in the days of ^aKing Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, ^bhow she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there ^cplayed the whore? 7 And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous ^dsister Judah saw it. 8 She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, ^eI had sent her away with ^fa decree of divorce. ^gYet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went ^hand played the whore. 9 Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with ⁱstone and tree. 10 Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me ^jwith her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord.”

11 And the Lord said to me, ^k“Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward ^lthe north, and say,

^m“‘Return, faithless Israel,

declares the Lord.
I will not look on you in anger,
for ⁿI am merciful,

declares the Lord;
^oI will not be angry forever.
13 ^pOnly acknowledge your guilt,
that you rebelled against the Lord your God
and scattered your favors among foreigners under ^qevery green tree,
and that you have not obeyed my voice,

declares the Lord.
14 ^rReturn, O faithless children,

declares the Lord;
^sfor I am your master;
I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
and I will bring you to Zion.
15 “‘And ^tI will give you shepherds after my own heart, ^uwho will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. 17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, ^vand all nations shall gather to it, ^wto the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. 18 ^xIn those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land ^yof the north to ^zthe land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.

19 “‘I said,
How I would set you among my sons,
and give you a pleasant land,
a heritage most beautiful of all nations.
And I thought you would ^aacall me, My Father,
and would not turn from following me.
20 ^abSurely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband,
so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel,

declares the Lord.’”
21 A voice on the ^acbare heights is heard,
^adthe weeping and pleading of Israel’s sons
because they have perverted their way;
they have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 ^ae“Return, O faithless sons;
^afI will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to you,
for you are the Lord our God.
23 Truly ^agthe hills are a delusion,
the orgies ^{▼▼Hebrew commotion} on the mountains.
^aiTruly in the Lord our God
is the salvation of Israel.
24 “But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 ^ajLet us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For ^akwe have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”

Jeremiah 4

1 “If you return, O Israel,

declares the Lord,
^alto me you should return.
If you remove your detestable things from my presence,
^amand do not waver,
2 ^anand if you swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’
in truth, in justice, and in righteousness,
then ^aonations shall bless themselves in him,
^apand in him shall they glory.”
3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

^aq“Break up your fallow ground,
and ^arsow not among thorns.
4 ^asCircumcise yourselves to the Lord;
remove the foreskin of your hearts,
O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem;
^atlest my wrath go forth like fire,
and burn with none to quench it,
^aubecause of the evil of your deeds.”

Disaster from the North

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

^av“Blow the trumpet through the land;
cry aloud and say,
^aw‘Assemble, and let us go
into the fortified cities!’
6 ^axRaise a standard toward Zion,
flee for safety, stay not,
for I bring disaster from ^aythe north,
^azand great destruction.
7 ^baA lion has gone up from his thicket,
a destroyer of nations has set out;
he has gone out from his place
to make your land a waste;
your cities will be ruins
^bbwithout inhabitant.
8 For this ^bcput on sackcloth,
lament and wail,
for ^bdthe fierce anger of the Lord
has not turned back from us.”
9 “In that day, declares the Lord, ^becourage shall fail both king and officials. The priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded.” 10 Then I said, “Ah, Lord God, ^bfsurely you have utterly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, ‘It shall be well with you,’ whereas the sword has reached their very life.”

11 At that time it will be said to this people and to Jerusalem, “A hot wind from ^bgthe bare heights in the desert toward the daughter of my people, not to winnow or cleanse, 12 a wind too full for this comes for me. Now it is I who ^bhspeak in judgment upon them.”

13 Behold, he comes up like clouds;
^bihis chariots like the whirlwind;
his horses are ^bjswifter than eagles—
woe to us, ^bkfor we are ruined!
14 O Jerusalem, ^blwash your heart from evil,
that you may be saved.
How long shall your wicked thoughts
lodge within you?
15 For a voice ^bmdeclares from Dan
and proclaims trouble from ^bnMount Ephraim.
16 Warn the nations that he is coming;
announce to Jerusalem,
“Besiegers come ^bofrom a distant land;
they shout against the cities of Judah.
17 Like keepers of a field ^bpare they against her all around,
because she has rebelled against me,

declares the Lord.
18 Your ways and your deeds
have brought this upon you.
This is your doom, and ^bqit is bitter;
it has reached your very heart.”

Anguish over Judah’s Desolation

19 ^brMy anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain!
Oh the walls of my heart!
My heart is beating wildly;
I cannot keep silent,
for I hear the sound of the trumpet,
the alarm of war.
20 ^bsCrash follows hard on crash;
the whole land is laid waste.
^btSuddenly my tents are laid waste,
my curtains in a moment.
21 How long must I see the standard
and hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 “For ^bumy people are foolish;
they know me not;
they are stupid children;
they have no understanding.
^bvThey are ‘wise’—in doing evil!
But how to do good they know not.”
23 I looked on the earth, and behold, it was ^bwwithout form and void;
^bxand to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I looked on ^bythe mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
and all the hills moved to and fro.
25 ^bzI looked, and behold, there was no man,
and all the birds of the air had fled.
26 I looked, and behold, the ^cafruitful land was a desert,
and all its cities were laid in ruins
before the Lord, before ^cbhis fierce anger.
27 For thus says the Lord, “The whole land shall be a desolation; ^ccyet I will not make a full end.

28 ^cd“For this the earth shall mourn,
^ceand the heavens above be dark;
for I have spoken; I have purposed;
^cfI have not relented, nor will I turn back.”
29 At the noise of horseman and archer
every city takes to flight;
they enter thickets; they climb among rocks;
all the cities are forsaken,
and ^cgno man dwells in them.
30 And you, O desolate one,
what do you mean that you dress in scarlet,
^chthat you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
^cithat you enlarge your eyes with paint?
In vain you beautify yourself.
^cjYour lovers despise you;
they seek your life.
31 For I heard ^cka cry as of a woman in labor,
anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,
the cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,
^clstretching out her hands,
“Woe is me! I am fainting before murderers.”

Jeremiah 5

Jerusalem Refused to Repent

1 ^cmRun to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
look and take note!
Search her squares to see
^cnif you can find a man,
one who does justice
and seeks truth,
^cothat I may pardon her.
2 ^cpThough they say, “As the Lord lives,”
^cqyet they swear falsely.
3 O Lord, do not your eyes look for truth?
^crYou have struck them down,
but they felt no anguish;
you have consumed them,
but they refused to take correction.
^csThey have made their faces harder than rock;
they have refused to repent.
4 Then I said, “These are only the poor;
they have no sense;
^ctfor they do not know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.
5 I will go to the great
and will speak to them,
for they know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.”
^cuBut they all alike had broken the yoke;
they had burst the bonds.
6 Therefore ^cva lion from the forest shall strike them down;
a ^cwwolf from the desert shall devastate them.
^cxA leopard is watching their cities;
everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces,
because their transgressions are many,
their ^cyapostasies are great.
7 ^cz“How can I pardon you?
Your children have forsaken me
^daand have sworn by those who are no gods.
^dbWhen I fed them to the full,
^dcthey committed adultery
^ddand trooped to the houses of whores.
8 They were well-fed, lusty stallions,
^deeach neighing ^dffor his neighbor’s wife.
9 ^dgShall I not punish them for these things?

declares the Lord;
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?
10 ^dh“Go up through her vine rows and destroy,
^dibut make not a full end;
strip away her branches,
for they are not the Lord’s.
11 ^djFor the house of Israel and the house of Judah
have been utterly treacherous to me,

declares the Lord.
12 They have spoken falsely of the Lord
and have said, ‘He will do nothing;
^dkno disaster will come upon us,
^dlnor shall we see sword or famine.
13 The prophets will become wind;
the word is not in them.
Thus shall it be done to them!’”

The Lord Proclaims Judgment

14 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts:
“Because you have spoken this word,
behold, ^dmI am making my words in your mouth ^dna fire,
and this people wood, and the fire shall consume them.
15 ^doBehold, I am bringing against you
a nation from afar, O house of Israel,

declares the Lord.
It is an enduring nation;
it is an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know,
^dpnor can you understand what they say.
16 ^dqTheir quiver is like ^dran open tomb;
they are all mighty warriors.
17 ^dsThey shall eat up your harvest and your food;
they shall eat up your sons and your daughters;
they shall eat up your flocks and your herds;
they shall eat up your vines and your fig trees;
your ^dtfortified cities in which you trust
they shall beat down with the sword.”
18 “But even in those days, declares the Lord, ^duI will not make a full end of you. 19 And when your people say, ^dv‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ you shall say to them, ‘As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, ^dwso you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.’”

20 Declare this in the house of Jacob;
proclaim it in Judah:
21 “Hear this, ^dxO foolish and senseless people,
^dywho have eyes, but see not,
who have ears, but hear not.
22 ^dzDo you not fear me? declares the Lord.
Do you not tremble before me?
I placed the sand ^eaas the boundary for the sea,
a perpetual barrier that it cannot pass;
though the waves toss, they cannot prevail;
though ^ebthey roar, they cannot pass over it.
23 ^ecBut this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart;
they have turned aside and gone away.
24 They do not say in their hearts,
‘Let us fear the Lord our God,
^edwho gives the rain in its season,
the autumn rain and the spring rain,
and keeps for us
^eethe weeks appointed for the harvest.’
25 ^efYour iniquities have turned these away,
and your sins have kept good from you.
26 For wicked men are found among my people;
^egthey lurk like fowlers lying in wait. ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain}
^eiThey set a trap;
they catch men.
27 Like a cage full of birds,
their houses are full of deceit;
therefore they have become great and rich;
28 ^ejthey have grown fat and sleek.
They know no bounds in deeds of evil;
^ekthey judge not with justice
the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper,
and they do not defend the rights of the needy.
29 ^elShall I not punish them for these things?

declares the Lord,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?”
30 An appalling and ^emhorrible thing
has happened in the land:
31 ^enthe prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests rule at their direction;
^eomy people love to have it so,
but what will you do when the end comes?

Jeremiah 6

Impending Disaster for Jerusalem

1 Flee for safety, ^epO people of Benjamin,
from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in ^eqTekoa,
and raise a signal on ^erBeth-haccherem,
for disaster looms ^esout of the north,
and great destruction.
2 The lovely and delicately bred I will destroy,
^etthe daughter of Zion. ^{▼▼Or I have likened the daughter of Zion to the loveliest pasture}
3 ^evShepherds with their flocks shall come against her;
^ewthey shall pitch their tents around her;
they shall pasture, each in his place.
4 ^ex“Prepare war against her;
arise, and let us attack ^eyat noon!
Woe to us, for the day declines,
for the shadows of evening lengthen!
5 Arise, and let us attack by night
and destroy her palaces!”
6 For thus says the Lord of hosts:
^ez“Cut down her trees;
^facast up a siege mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be ^fbpunished;
there is nothing but oppression within her.
7 ^fcAs a well keeps its water fresh,
so she keeps fresh her evil;
^fdviolence and destruction are heard within her;
sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Be warned, O Jerusalem,
^felest I turn from you in disgust,
lest I make you ^ffa desolation,
an uninhabited land.”
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
^fg“They shall glean thoroughly as a vine
the remnant of Israel;
like a grape gatherer pass your hand again
over its branches.”
10 ^fhTo whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?
^fiBehold, their ears are uncircumcised,
^fjthey cannot listen;
behold, ^fkthe word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn;
they take no pleasure in it.
11 Therefore I am full of the wrath of the Lord;
^flI am weary of holding it in.
^fm“Pour it out upon the children in the street,
and upon the gatherings of young men, also;
^fnboth husband and wife ^foshall be taken,
the elderly and the very aged.
12 ^fpTheir houses shall be turned over to others,
their fields and wives together,
for I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land,”

declares the Lord.
13 ^fq“For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone ^fris greedy for unjust gain;
and from ^fsprophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, ^ft‘Peace, peace,’
^fuwhen there is no peace.
15 ^fvWere they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
^fwat the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,”

says the Lord.
16 Thus says the Lord:
“Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for ^fxthe ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
^fyand find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 ^fzI set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Pay attention to ^gathe sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ^gb‘We will not pay attention.’
18 Therefore hear, O nations,
and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
19 Hear, O earth; behold, I am bringing disaster upon this people,
^gcthe fruit of their devices,
because they have not paid attention to my words;
and as for my law, they have rejected it.
20 ^gdWhat use to me is ^gefrankincense that comes from ^gfSheba,
or sweet cane from a distant land?
^ggYour burnt offerings are not acceptable,
nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord:
^gh‘Behold, I will lay before this people
stumbling blocks against which they shall stumble;
fathers and sons together,
neighbor and friend shall perish.’”
22 Thus says the Lord:
^gi“Behold, a people is coming ^gjfrom the north country,
a great nation is stirring from ^gkthe farthest parts of the earth.
23 They lay hold on bow and javelin;
they are ^glcruel and have no mercy;
^gmthe sound of them is like the roaring sea;
they ride on horses,
set in array as a man for battle,
against you, O daughter of Zion!”
24 We have heard the report of it;
^gnour hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
^gopain as of a woman in labor.
25 Go not out into the field,
nor walk on the road,
for the enemy has a sword;
^gpterror is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, ^gqput on sackcloth,
and ^grroll in ashes;
^gsmake mourning as for an only son,
most bitter lamentation,
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us.
27 “I have made you ^gta tester of metals among my people,
that you may know and ^gutest their ways.
28 ^gvThey are all stubbornly rebellious,
^gwgoing about with slanders;
they are ^gxbronze and iron;
all of them act corruptly.
29 The ^gybellows blow fiercely;
the lead is consumed by the fire;
^gzin vain the refining goes on,
for the wicked are not removed.
30 ^haRejected silver they are called,
for the Lord has rejected them.”