Jer 13:1-14, 18:2-12, Jer 19, 25:15-38, 27:2-22, Hos 1:2-9, Hos 3 | ESV | STEP | Thus says the Lord to me, Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist , and do not dip it in water .

1 Thus says the Lord to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and ^aput it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my waist. 3 And the word of the Lord came to me a second time, 4 “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, ^bgo to the Euphrates and hide it there in ^ca cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. 6 And after many days the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there ^dthe loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took ^ethe loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was ^fspoiled; it was ^ggood for nothing.

8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9 “Thus says the Lord: ^hEven so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great ⁱpride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, ^jwho stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is ^kgood for nothing. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the Lord, ^lthat they might be for me a people, ^ma name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.

The Jars Filled with Wine

12 “You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that ⁿevery jar will be filled with wine?’ 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord: ^oBehold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: ^pthe kings who sit on David’s throne, ^qthe priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14 And I will ^rdash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the Lord. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.’”

Jeremiah 18:2-12

2 “Arise, and go down to ^sthe potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to ^tthe potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4 And the vessel he was making of clay was ^uspoiled in the potter’s hand, and ^vhe reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.

5 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6 “O house of Israel, ^wcan I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. ^xBehold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will ^ypluck up and break down and destroy it, 8 and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, ^zturns from its evil, ^aaI will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9 And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will ^abbuild and plant it, 10 and if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will relent of the good that I had intended to do to it. 11 Now, therefore, say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: ‘Thus says the Lord, Behold, I am shaping disaster against you and devising a plan against you. ^acReturn, every one from his evil way, and ^adamend your ways and your deeds.’

12 “But they say, ^ae‘That is in vain! We will follow our own plans, and will every one act according to ^afthe stubbornness of his evil heart.’

Jeremiah 19

The Broken Flask

1 Thus says the Lord, “Go, buy ^aga potter’s earthenware ^ahflask, and take some of ^aithe elders of the people and some of ^ajthe elders of the priests, 2 and go out ^akto the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you. 3 You shall say, ^al‘Hear the word of the Lord, ^amO kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing such disaster upon this place that ^anthe ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 4 ^aoBecause the people have forsaken me and have profaned this place by making offerings in it to other gods whom neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have known; ^apand because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, 5 ^aqand have built the high places of Baal ^arto burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, ^aswhich I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind— 6 therefore, ^atbehold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when this place shall no more be called Topheth, or ^authe Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 And in this place ^avI will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, ^awand will cause their people to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life. ^axI will give their dead bodies for food to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the earth. 8 And I will make this city ^aya horror, ^aza thing to be hissed at. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its wounds. 9 ^baAnd I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his neighbor ^bbin the siege and in the distress, with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them.’

10 “Then ^bcyou shall break ^bdthe flask in the sight of the men who go with you, 11 and shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, ^beas one breaks a potter’s vessel, ^bfso that it can never be mended. ^bgMen shall bury in Topheth because there will be no place else to bury. 12 Thus will I do to this place, declares the Lord, and to its inhabitants, making this city ^bhlike Topheth. 13 The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah— ^biall the houses on whose ^bjroofs offerings have been offered ^bkto all the host of heaven, and ^bldrink offerings have been poured out to other gods—shall be defiled ^bmlike the place of Topheth.’”

14 Then Jeremiah came from ^bnTopheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, ^boand he stood in the court of the Lord’s house and said to all the people: 15 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, behold, I am bringing upon this city and upon all its towns all the disaster that I have pronounced against it, ^bpbecause they have stiffened their neck, ^bqrefusing to hear my words.”

Jeremiah 25:15-38

The Cup of the Lord’s Wrath

15 Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: ^br“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 ^bsthe sword that I am sending among them.”

17 So I took the cup from the Lord’s hand, ^btand made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it: 18 ^buJerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, ^bvto make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day; 19 ^bwPharaoh king of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people, 20 and ^bxall the mixed tribes among them; all the kings of ^bythe land of Uz and all the kings of ^bzthe land of the Philistines ( ^caAshkelon, ^cbGaza, Ekron, and the remnant of ^ccAshdod); 21 ^cdEdom, ^ceMoab, and the sons of ^cfAmmon; 22 all the kings of ^cgTyre, all the kings of ^chSidon, and the kings of the coastland across ^cithe sea; 23 ^cjDedan, ^ckTema, ^clBuz, and all who cut ^cmthe corners of their hair; 24 all the ^cnkings of Arabia and all the kings of ^cothe mixed tribes who dwell in the desert; 25 all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of ^cpElam, and all the kings of ^cqMedia; 26 all the kings of ^crthe 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 ^csBabylon ^{▼▼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: ^cuDrink, be drunk and vomit, fall and rise no more, because of ^cvthe 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: ^cwYou must drink! 29 For behold, ^cxI begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, ^cyfor 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:

^cz“‘The Lord will roar from on high,
and from his holy habitation utter his voice;
he will roar mightily against his fold,
^daand 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 ^dbthe Lord has an indictment against the nations;
^dche 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,
^ddand a great tempest is stirring
^defrom the farthest parts of the earth!
33 ^df“And those pierced by the Lord on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. ^dgThey shall not be lamented, ^dhor gathered, or buried; ^dithey shall be dung on the surface of the ground.

34 ^dj“Wail, ^dkyou shepherds, and cry out,
^dland 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 ^dmfor the shepherds,
nor escape for the lords of the flock.
36 A voice—the cry ^dnof the shepherds,
^doand the wail of the lords of the flock!
For the Lord is laying waste their pasture,
37 ^dpand the peaceful folds are devastated
^dqbecause of the fierce anger of the Lord.
38 Like a lion ^drhe has left his lair,
for their land has become a waste
because of ^dsthe sword of the oppressor,
^dtand because of his fierce anger.”

Jeremiah 27:2-22

2 Thus the Lord said to me: ^du“Make yourself straps and ^dvyoke-bars, and put them on your neck. 3 Send word ^{▼▼Hebrew Send them} to the king of ^dxEdom, the king of ^dyMoab, the king of the sons of ^dzAmmon, the king of ^eaTyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah. 4 Give them this charge for their masters: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: 5 “It is I who ^ebby my great power and my outstretched arm ^echave made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, ^edand I give it to whomever it seems right to me. 6 ^eeNow I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, ^efmy servant, ^egand I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. 7 ^ehAll the nations shall serve him and ^eihis son and ^ejhis grandson, ^ekuntil the time of his own land comes. ^elThen many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.

8 “‘“But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ^emand put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation ^enwith the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand. 9 So ^eodo not listen to your ^epprophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your ^eqfortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 ^erFor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. 11 ^esBut any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to work it and dwell there, declares the Lord.”’”

12 To ^etZedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: ^eu“Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and ^evserve him and his people and live. 13 ^ewWhy will you and your people die ^exby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, ^eyas the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 ^ezDo not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ ^fafor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 15 I have not sent them, declares the Lord, but ^fbthey are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.”

16 Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ^fcDo not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, ^fd‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,’ ^fefor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 17 ^ffDo not listen to them; ^fgserve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city ^fhbecome a desolation? 18 If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then ^filet them intercede with the Lord of hosts, ^fjthat the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. 19 ^fkFor thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20 which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, ^flwhen he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem— 21 thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ^fmconcerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22 ^fnThey shall be carried to Babylon ^foand remain there ^fpuntil the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. ^fqThen I will bring them back ^frand restore them to this place.”

Hosea 1:2-9

Hosea’s Wife and Children

2 When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, the Lord said to Hosea, ^fs“Go, take to yourself a wife of whoredom and have ^ftchildren of whoredom, for ^futhe land commits great whoredom by forsaking the Lord.” 3 So he went and took Gomer, the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son.

4 And the Lord said to him, “Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while ^fvI will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and ^fwI will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 And on that day ^fxI will break the bow of Israel ^fyin the Valley of Jezreel.”

6 She conceived again and bore a daughter. And the Lord said to him, ^fz“Call her name No Mercy, ^{▼▼Hebrew Lo-ruhama, which means she has not received mercy} for ^gbI will no more have mercy on the house of Israel, to forgive them at all. 7 But ^gcI will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. I ^gdwill not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”

8 When she had weaned No Mercy, she conceived and bore a son. 9 And the Lord said, ^ge“Call his name Not My People, ^{▼▼Hebrew Lo-ammi, which means not my people} for ^ggyou are not my people, and I am not your God.” ^{▼▼Hebrew I am not yours}

Hosea 3

Hosea Redeems His Wife

1 And the Lord said to me, ^gi“Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins.” 2 So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and a ^gjhomer and a lethech ^{▼▼A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams; a homer was about 6 bushels or 220 liters; a lethech was about 3 bushels or 110 liters} of barley. 3 And I said to her, “You must ^gldwell as mine for many days. You shall not play the whore, or belong to another man; so will I also be to you.” 4 For the children of Israel ^gmshall dwell many days ^gnwithout king or prince, ^gowithout sacrifice or ^gppillar, without ^gqephod or ^grhousehold gods. 5 Afterward ^gsthe children of Israel shall return and ^gtseek the Lord their God, and ^guDavid their king, ^gvand they shall come in fear to the Lord and to his goodness in the ^gwlatter days.