Jer 12, Jer 14, Jer 25 | ESV | STEP | Righteous are you, O Lord , when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper ? Why do all who are treacherous thrive ?

1 ^aRighteous are you, O Lord,
when I complain to you;
yet I would plead my case before you.
^bWhy does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all ^cwho are treacherous thrive?
2 You plant them, and they take root;
they grow and produce fruit;
^dyou are near in their mouth
and far from their heart.
3 ^eBut you, O Lord, know me;
^fyou see me, and test my heart toward you.
^gPull them out like sheep for the slaughter,
and set them apart for ^hthe day of slaughter.
4 ⁱHow long will the land mourn
and the grass of every field wither?
^jFor the evil of those who dwell in it
^kthe beasts and the birds are swept away,
because they said, “He will not see our latter end.”

The Lord Answers Jeremiah

5 “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you,
how will you compete with horses?
And if in a safe land you are so trusting,
what will you do in ^lthe thicket of the Jordan?
6 For ^meven your brothers and the house of your father,
ⁿeven they have dealt treacherously with you;
they are in full cry after you;
^odo not believe them,
though they speak friendly words to you.”
7 “I have forsaken my house;
I have abandoned ^pmy heritage;
I have given ^qthe beloved of my soul
into the hands of her enemies.
8 ^rMy heritage has become to me
like a lion in the forest;
she has lifted up her voice against me;
therefore I hate her.
9 Is ^smy heritage to me like ^ta hyena’s lair?
Are the ^ubirds of prey against her all around?
Go, ^vassemble all the wild beasts;
bring them to devour.
10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard;
^wthey have trampled down my portion;
they have made my pleasant portion
a desolate wilderness.
11 They have made it a desolation;
desolate, ^xit mourns to me.
The whole land is made desolate,
^ybut no man lays it to heart.
12 Upon all the bare heights in the desert
destroyers have come,
for the sword of the Lord devours
from one end of the land to the other;
no flesh has peace.
13 ^zThey have sown wheat and have reaped thorns;
^aathey have tired themselves out but profit nothing.
They shall be ashamed of their ^{▼▼Hebrew your} harvests
^acbecause of the fierce anger of the Lord.”
14 Thus says the Lord concerning all ^admy evil neighbors ^aewho touch the heritage that ^afI have given my people Israel to inherit: “Behold, I will pluck them up from their land, and I will pluck up the house of Judah from among them. 15 And after I have plucked them up, I will again have compassion on them, ^agand I will bring them again each to his heritage and each to his land. 16 And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, ^ahto swear by my name, ‘As the Lord lives,’ even as they taught my people to swear by Baal, ^aithen they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 17 ^ajBut if any nation will not listen, then I will utterly pluck it up and destroy it, declares the Lord.”

Jeremiah 14

Famine, Sword, and Pestilence

1 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning ^akthe drought:

2 ^al“Judah mourns,
and ^amher gates languish;
her people lament on the ground,
and ^anthe cry of Jerusalem goes up.
3 Her nobles send their servants for water;
they come to the cisterns;
they find no water;
they return with their vessels empty;
they are ^aoashamed and confounded
and ^apcover their heads.
4 Because of the ground that is dismayed,
since there is ^aqno rain on the land,
the farmers are ashamed;
they cover their heads.
5 Even ^arthe doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn
because there is no grass.
6 ^asThe wild donkeys stand on the bare heights;
they pant for air like jackals;
their eyes fail
because there is no vegetation.
7 “Though our iniquities testify against us,
act, O Lord, ^atfor your name’s sake;
^aufor our backslidings are many;
^avwe have sinned against you.
8 ^awO you hope of Israel,
its savior in time of trouble,
why should you be like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night?
9 Why should you be like a man confused,
^axlike a mighty warrior who cannot save?
Yet ^ayyou, O Lord, are in the midst of us,
and ^azwe are called by your name;
^bado not leave us.”
10 Thus says the Lord concerning this people:
“They have loved to wander thus;
they have not restrained their feet;
^bbtherefore the Lord does not accept them;
^bcnow he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.”
11 The Lord said to me: ^bd“Do not pray for the welfare of this people. 12 Though they fast, I will not hear their cry, ^beand though they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them ^bfby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence.”

Lying Prophets

13 Then I said: “Ah, Lord God, behold, the prophets ^bgsay to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’” 14 And the Lord said to me: “The ^bhprophets are prophesying lies in my name. ^biI did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, ^bjworthless divination, and ^bkthe deceit of their own minds. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who prophesy in my name although ^blI did not send them, and who say, ^bm‘Sword and famine shall not come upon this land’: ^bnBy sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword, ^bowith none to bury them—them, their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out their evil upon them.

17 “You shall say to them this word:
^bp‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day,
and let them not cease,
for the virgin ^bqdaughter of my people is shattered with a great wound,
^brwith a very grievous blow.
18 ^bsIf I go out into the field,
behold, those pierced by the sword!
^btAnd if I enter the city,
behold, the diseases of famine!
^buFor both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land
and have no knowledge.’”
19 ^bvHave you utterly rejected Judah?
Does your soul loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
^bwso that there is no healing for us?
^bxWe looked for peace, but no good came;
^byfor a time of healing, but behold, terror.
20 ^bzWe acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,
and the iniquity of our fathers,
^cafor we have sinned against you.
21 Do not spurn us, ^cbfor your name’s sake;
do not dishonor your glorious throne;
^ccremember and do not break your covenant with us.
22 Are there any among ^cdthe false gods of the nations ^cethat can bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Are you not he, O Lord our God?
We set our hope on you,
^cffor you do all these things.

Jeremiah 25

Seventy Years of Captivity

1 ^cgThe word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon), 2 which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 3 “For twenty-three years, ^chfrom the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, to this day, the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken ^cipersistently to you, ^cjbut you have not listened. 4 ^ckYou have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear, although the Lord ^clpersistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, 5 saying, ^cm‘Turn now, every one of you, ^cnfrom his evil way and evil deeds, and ^codwell upon the land that the Lord has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. 6 ^cpDo not go after other gods to serve and worship them, ^cqor provoke me to anger ^crwith the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.’ 7 ^csYet you have not listened to me, declares the Lord, ^ctthat you might provoke me to anger ^cuwith the work of your hands to your own harm.

8 “Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: Because you have not obeyed my words, 9 ^cvbehold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, ^cwmy servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, ^cxand make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. 10 Moreover, ^cyI will banish from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, ^czthe grinding of the millstones and ^dathe light of the lamp. 11 ^dbThis whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and ^dcthese nations shall serve the king of Babylon ^ddseventy years. 12 Then after ^deseventy years are completed, ^dfI will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, ^dgthe land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, ^dhmaking the land an everlasting waste. 13 I will bring upon that land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written ^diin this book, which Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations. 14 ^djFor many nations ^dkand great kings shall make slaves even of them, ^dland I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath

15 Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: ^dm“Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. 16 They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of ^dnthe sword that I am sending among them.”

17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, ^doand made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: 18 ^dpJerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, ^dqto make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day; 19 ^drPharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people, 20 and ^dsall the mixed tribes among them; all the kings of ^dtthe land of Uz and all the kings of ^duthe land of the Philistines ( ^dvAshkelon, ^dwGaza, Ekron, and the remnant of ^dxAshdod); 21 ^dyEdom, ^dzMoab, and the sons of ^eaAmmon; 22 all the kings of ^ebTyre, all the kings of ^ecSidon, and the kings of the coastland across ^edthe sea; 23 ^eeDedan, ^efTema, ^egBuz, and all who cut ^ehthe corners of their hair; 24 all the ^eikings of Arabia and all the kings of ^ejthe mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of ^ekElam, and all the kings of ^elMedia; 26 all the kings of ^emthe north, far and near, one after another, and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth. And after them the king of ^enBabylon ^{▼▼Hebrew Sheshach, a code name for Babylon} shall drink.

27 “Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^epDrink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of ^eqthe sword that I am sending among you.’

28 “And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: ^erYou must drink! 29 For behold, ^esI begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, ^etfor I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the Lord of hosts.’

30 “You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:

^eu“‘The Lord will roar from on high,
and from his holy habitation utter his voice;
he will roar mightily against his fold,
^evand shout, like those who tread grapes,
against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31 The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth,
for ^ewthe Lord has an indictment against the nations;
^exhe is entering into judgment with all flesh,
and the wicked he will put to the sword,

declares the Lord.’
32 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
Behold, disaster is going forth
from nation to nation,
^eyand a great tempest is stirring
^ezfrom the farthest parts of the earth!
33 ^fa“And those pierced by the Lord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. ^fbThey shall not be lamented, ^fcor gathered, or buried; ^fdthey shall be dung on the surface of the ground.

34 ^fe“Wail, ^ffyou shepherds, and cry out,
^fgand roll in ashes, you lords of the flock,
for the days of your slaughter and dispersion have come,
and you shall fall like a choice vessel.
35 No refuge will remain ^fhfor the shepherds,
nor escape for the lords of the flock.
36 A voice—the cry ^fiof the shepherds,
^fjand the wail of the lords of the flock!
For the Lord is laying waste their pasture,
37 ^fkand the peaceful folds are devastated
^flbecause of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 Like a lion ^fmhe has left his lair,
for their land has become a waste
because of ^fnthe sword of the oppressor,
^foand because of his fierce anger.”