g[See ver. 4 above]
v[See ver. 14 above]
cb[See ver. 19 above]
ci[See ver. 21 above]
cj[See ver. 22 above]
ct[See ver. 22 above]
cu[See ver. 21 above]
dh[See ver. 7 above]
el[See ver. 20 above]
fv[See ver. 12 above]
gd[See ver. 1 above]
gg[See ver. 1 above]
gh[See ver. 1 above]

Jeremiah 16

Famine, Sword, and Death

1The word of the Lord came to me: 2“You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place. 3For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning the mothers who bore them and the fathers who fathered them in this land: 4 aThey shall die of deadly diseases. bThey shall not be lamented, nor shall they be buried. cThey shall be as dung on the surface of the ground. dThey shall perish by the sword and by famine, eand their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the air and for the beasts of the earth.

5“For thus says the Lord: fDo not enter the house of mourning, or go to lament or grieve for them, for I have taken away my peace from this people, my steadfast love and mercy, declares the Lord. 6Both great and small shall die in this land. gThey shall not be buried, and no one shall lament for them or hcut himself ior make himself bald for them. 7No one shall jbreak bread for the mourner, to comfort him for the dead, nor shall anyone give him the cup of consolation to drink for his father or his mother. 8You shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink. 9For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: kBehold, I will silence in this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

10“And when you tell this people all these words, and they say to you, lWhy has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity? What is the sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’ 11then you shall say to them: mBecause your fathers have forsaken me, declares the Lord, and nhave gone after other gods and have served and worshiped them, and have forsaken me and have not kept my law, 12and because oyou have done worse than your fathers, for behold, pevery one of you follows his stubborn, evil will, refusing to listen to me. 13Therefore qI will hurl you out of this land into ra land that neither you nor your fathers have known, sand there you shall serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’

The Lord Will Restore Israel

14 tTherefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, u‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15but v‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel wout of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For xI will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.

16Behold, yI am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them. And afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out zof the clefts of the rocks. 17For aamy eyes are on all their ways. abThey are not hidden from me, acnor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes. 18But first adI will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and aehave filled my inheritance with their abominations.”

19 afO Lord, my strength and my stronghold,
agmy refuge in the day of trouble,
ahto you shall the nations come
from the ends of the earth and say:
“Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies,
aiworthless things in which there is no profit.
20Can man make for himself ajgods?
Such are not gods!”
21Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that akmy name is the Lord.”

Jeremiah 17

The Sin of Judah

1“The sin of Judah is written with ala pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on amthe tablet of their heart, and on anthe horns of their altars, 2while aotheir children remember their altars and their apAsherim, aqbeside every green tree and on the high hills, 3 aron the mountains in the open country. asYour wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. 4You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, atand I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, aufor in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”

5 Thus says the Lord:
Cursed is the man avwho trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
Hebrew arm

whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 axHe is like a shrub in the desert,
ayand shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in azan uninhabited salt land.
7 baBlessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
bbwhose trust is the Lord.
8 bcHe is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
9 The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
10 bd“I the Lord search the heart
beand test the mind,
Hebrew kidneys

bgto give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
11 Like the bhpartridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,
so is bihe who gets riches but not by justice;
bjin the midst of his days they will leave him,
bkand at his end he will be a fool.
12 A glorious throne set on high from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.
13O Lord, blthe hope of Israel,
bmall who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you
Hebrew me
boshall be written in the earth,
for bpthey have forsaken bqthe Lord, the fountain of living water.

Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance

14 brHeal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved,
for bsyou are my praise.
15 btBehold, they say to me,
Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come!”
16I have not run away from being your shepherd,
nor have I desired the day of sickness.
buYou know bvwhat came out of my lips;
it was before your face.
17Be not a terror to me;
bwyou are my refuge in the day of disaster.
18 bxLet those be put to shame who persecute me,
but let me not be put to shame;
bylet them be dismayed,
but let me not be dismayed;
bzbring upon them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction!

Keep the Sabbath Holy

19Thus said the Lord to me: “Go and stand in the People’s Gate, by which cathe kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20and say: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, cbyou kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21Thus says the Lord: Take care for the sake of your lives, and ccdo not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath cdor do any work, but cekeep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. 23Yet cfthey did not listen or incline their ear, cgbut stiffened their neck, that they chmight not hear and receive instruction.

24“‘But if you listen to me, declares the Lord, and cibring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but cjkeep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25then ckthere shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. 26And people shall come from clthe cities of Judah cmand the places around Jerusalem, cnfrom the land of Benjamin, cofrom the Shephelah, from the hill country, cpand from cqthe Negeb, bringing crburnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and csbringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27But if you do not listen to me, to ctkeep the Sabbath day holy, cuand not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will cvkindle a fire in its gates, and it shall cwdevour the palaces of Jerusalem and cxshall not be quenched.’”

Jeremiah 18

The Potter and the Clay

1The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2Arise, and go down to cythe potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3So I went down to czthe potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. 4And the vessel he was making of clay was daspoiled in the potter’s hand, and dbhe reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do.

5Then the word of the Lord came to me: 6“O house of Israel, dccan I not do with you as this potter has done? declares the Lord. ddBehold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7If at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will depluck up and break down and destroy it, 8and if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, dfturns from its evil, dgI will relent of the disaster that I intended to do to it. 9And if at any time I declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will dhbuild and plant it, 10and 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. 11Now, 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. diReturn, every one from his evil way, and djamend your ways and your deeds.’

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

13 Therefore thus says the Lord:
dmAsk among the nations,
Who has heard the like of this?
The virgin Israel
has done dna very horrible thing.
14Does the snow of Lebanon leave
the crags of Sirion?
Hebrew  of the field

Do the mountain waters run dry,
Hebrew Are foreign waters plucked up

the cold flowing streams?
15 dqBut my people have forgotten me;
they make offerings to drfalse gods;
they made them stumble in their ways,
dsin the ancient roads,
and to walk into side roads,
dtnot the highway,
16making their land dua horror,
a thing dvto be hissed at forever.
dwEveryone who passes by it is horrified
dxand shakes his head.
17 dyLike the east wind dzI will scatter them
before the enemy.
eaI will show them my back, not my face,
in the day of their calamity.”
18Then they said, ebCome, let us make plots against Jeremiah, ecfor the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. edCome, let us strike him with the tongue, and let us not pay attention to any of his words.”

19 Hear me, O Lord,
and eelisten to the voice of my adversaries.
20 efShould good be repaid with evil?
Yet egthey have dug a pit for my life.
ehRemember how I stood before you
to speak good for them,
to turn away your wrath from them.
21Therefore eideliver up their children to famine;
give them over to the power of the sword;
let their wives become childless ejand widowed.
May their men meet death by pestilence,
their youths be struck down by the sword in battle.
22 ekMay a cry be heard from their houses,
when you bring the plunderer suddenly upon them!
For elthey have dug a pit to take me
emand laid snares for my feet.
23Yet enyou, O Lord, know
all their plotting to kill me.
eoForgive not their iniquity,
nor blot out their sin from your sight.
Let them be overthrown before you;
deal with them in the time of your anger.

Jeremiah 19

The Broken Flask

1Thus says the Lord, “Go, buy epa potter’s earthenware eqflask, and take some of erthe elders of the people and some of esthe elders of the priests, 2and go out etto the Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the entry of the Potsherd Gate, and proclaim there the words that I tell you. 3You shall say, euHear the word of the Lord, evO 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 ewthe ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 4 exBecause 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; eyand because they have filled this place with the blood of innocents, 5 ezand have built the high places of Baal fato burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, fbwhich I did not command or decree, nor did it come into my mind 6therefore, fcbehold, days are coming, declares the Lord, when this place shall no more be called Topheth, or fdthe Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7And in this place feI will make void the plans of Judah and Jerusalem, ffand will cause their people to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life. fgI will give their dead bodies for food to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the earth. 8And I will make this city fha horror, fia thing to be hissed at. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its wounds. 9 fjAnd I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his neighbor fkin the siege and in the distress, with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them.’

10“Then flyou shall break fmthe flask in the sight of the men who go with you, 11and shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: So will I break this people and this city, fnas one breaks a potter’s vessel, foso that it can never be mended. fpMen shall bury in Topheth because there will be no place else to bury. 12Thus will I do to this place, declares the Lord, and to its inhabitants, making this city fqlike Topheth. 13The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judahfrall the houses on whose fsroofs offerings have been offered ftto all the host of heaven, and fudrink offerings have been poured out to other gods—shall be defiled fvlike the place of Topheth.’”

14Then Jeremiah came from fwTopheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy, fxand he stood in the court of the Lord’s house and said to all the people: 15Thus 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, fybecause they have stiffened their neck, fzrefusing to hear my words.”

Jeremiah 20

Jeremiah Persecuted by Pashhur

1Now gaPashhur the priest, the son of gbImmer, who was gcchief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things. 2Then gdPashhur beat Jeremiah the prophet, and put him gein the stocks that were in the upper gfBenjamin Gate of the house of the Lord. 3The next day, when ggPashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The Lord does not call your name ghPashhur, but Terror on Every Side. 4For thus says the Lord: Behold, I will make you gia terror to yourself and to all your friends. They shall fall by the sword of their enemies while you look on. And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon. He shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall strike them down with the sword. 5Moreover, gjI will give all the wealth of the city, all its gains, all its gkprized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them and seize them and carry them to Babylon. 6And you, glPashhur, and all who dwell in your house, shall go into captivity. To Babylon you shall go, and there you shall die, and there you shall be buried, you and all your friends, gmto whom you have prophesied falsely.”

7 O Lord, gnyou have deceived me,
and I was deceived;
goyou are stronger than I,
and you have prevailed.
gpI have become a laughingstock all the day;
everyone mocks me.
8For whenever I speak, I cry out,
I shout, gqViolence and destruction!”
For grthe word of the Lord has become for me
gsa reproach and gtderision all day long.
9If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”
guthere is in my heart as it were a burning fire
shut up in my bones,
and gvI am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot.
10 gwFor I hear many whispering.
gxTerror is on every side!
Denounce him! gyLet us denounce him!”
say all my gzclose friends,
hawatching for hbmy fall.
Perhaps he will be deceived;
then hcwe can overcome him
and take our revenge on him.”
11But hdthe Lord is with me as a dread warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble;
hethey will not overcome me.
hfThey will be greatly shamed,
for they will not succeed.
Their hgeternal dishonor
will never be forgotten.
12O Lord of hosts, who tests the righteous,
hhwho sees the heart and the mind,
Hebrew kidneys

let me see your vengeance upon them,
for to you have I committed my cause.
13 hjSing to the Lord;
praise the Lord!
For he has delivered the life of the needy
from the hand of evildoers.
14 hkCursed be the day
on which I was born!
The day when my mother bore me,
let it not be blessed!
15Cursed be the man who brought the news to my father,
“A son is born to you,”
hlmaking him very glad.
16Let that man be like hmthe cities
that the Lord overthrew without pity;
hnlet him hear a cry in the morning
and an alarm at noon,
17 hobecause he did not kill me in the womb;
so my mother would have been my grave,
and her womb forever great.
18 hpWhy did I come out from the womb
hqto see toil and sorrow,
and spend my days in shame?
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