aa[See ver. 8 above]
cg[See ver. 3 above]
cm[See ver. 2 above]
cn[See ver. 7 above]
co[See ver. 7 above]
ct[See ver. 9 above]
cw[See ver. 2 above]
cx[See ver. 12 above]
dz[See ver. 24 above]
ei[See ver. 29 above]
et[See ver. 34 above]

Jeremiah 2

Israel Forsakes the Lord

1The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,

“I remember the devotion of ayour youth,
your love bas a bride,
chow you followed me in the wilderness,
din a land not sown.
3 eIsrael was holy to the Lord,
fthe firstfruits of his harvest.
gAll who ate of it incurred guilt;
disaster came upon them,

declares the Lord.”
4Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. 5Thus says the Lord:

hWhat wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
iand went after jworthlessness, and became worthless?
6They did not say, kWhere is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us lin the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that none passes through,
where no man dwells?’
7 mAnd I brought you into a plentiful land
to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, nyou defiled my land
and made my heritage an abomination.
8The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
oThose who handle the law did not know me;
pthe shepherds
Or rulers
transgressed against me;
rthe prophets prophesied by Baal
and went after sthings that do not profit.
9 Therefore tI still contend with you,

declares the Lord,
and uwith your children’s children I will contend.
10For cross to the coasts of vCyprus and see,
or send to wKedar and examine with care;
see if there has been such a thing.
11 xHas a nation changed its gods,
yeven though they are no gods?
But my people zhave changed their glory
for aathat which does not profit.
12Be appalled, abO heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,

declares the Lord,
13for my people have committed two evils:
acthey have forsaken adme,
the fountain of aeliving waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
14 af“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
Why then has he become a prey?
15 agThe lions have roared against him;
they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
his cities are in ruins, ahwithout inhabitant.
16Moreover, the men of aiMemphis and ajTahpanhes
akhave shaved
Hebrew grazed
the crown of your head.
17 amHave you not brought this upon yourself
by forsaking the Lord your God,
when anhe led you in the way?
18 aoAnd now what do you gain by going to Egypt
to drink the waters of apthe Nile?
aqOr what do you gain by going to Assyria
to drink the waters of arthe Euphrates?
Hebrew  the River

19 atYour evil will chastise you,
and auyour apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and avbitter
for awyou to forsake the Lord your God;
the fear of me is not in you,

declares the Lord God of hosts.
20 For long ago I axbroke your yoke
and burst your bonds;
but you said, ay‘I will not serve.’
Yes, azon every high hill
and under every green tree
you bowed down balike a whore.
21 bbYet I planted you a choice vine,
wholly of pure seed.
bcHow then have you turned degenerate
and become a wild vine?
22Though you wash yourself with lye
and use much soap,
bdthe stain of your guilt is still before me,

declares the Lord God.
23 beHow can you say, ‘I am not unclean,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way bfin the valley;
know what you have done
a restless young camel running here and there,
24 bga wild donkey used to the wilderness,
in her heat sniffing the wind!
Who can restrain her lust?
None who seek her need weary themselves;
in her month they will find her.
25Keep bhyour feet from going unshod
and biyour throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless,
bjfor I have loved foreigners,
and after them I will go.’
26 “As a thief is shamed when caught,
so the house of Israel shall be shamed:
bkthey, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets,
27who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their back to me,
and not their face.
But blin the time of their trouble they say,
Arise and save us!’
28But bmwhere are your gods
that you made for yourself?
Let them arise, bnif they can save you,
in your time of trouble;
for boas many as your cities
are your gods, O Judah.
29 Why do you contend with me?
You have all transgressed against me,

declares the Lord.
30In vain have I bpstruck your children;
they took no correction;
bqyour own sword devoured your prophets
like a ravening lion.
31And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
or a land of thick darkness?
Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,
we will come no more to you’?
32 brCan a virgin forget her ornaments,
or a bride her attire?
Yet bsmy people have forgotten me
days without number.
33 How well you direct your course
to seek love!
So that even to wicked women
you have taught your ways.
34Also on your skirts is found
btthe lifeblood of the guiltless poor;
you did not find them bubreaking in.
Yet in spite of all these things
35you say, ‘I am innocent;
surely his anger has turned from me.’
bvBehold, I will bring you to judgment
for bwsaying, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 bxHow much you go about,
changing your way!
You shall be byput to shame by Egypt
as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37From it too you will come away
with bzyour hands on your head,
for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,
and you will not prosper by them.

Jeremiah 32

Jeremiah Buys a Field During the Siege

1The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord cain the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, cbwhich was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet ccwas shut up in cdthe court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah. 3For Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying, “Why do you prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord: ceBehold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it; 4 cfZedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, cgbut shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye. 5And chhe shall take Zedekiah to Babylon, and there he shall remain until I visit him, declares the Lord. ciThough you fight against the Chaldeans, you shall not succeed’?”

6Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: 7Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, cjBuy my field that is at ckAnathoth, clfor the right of redemption by purchase is yours.’ 8Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in cmthe court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at cnAnathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.

9“And I bought the field at coAnathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and cpweighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver. 10 cqI signed the deed, crsealed it, csgot witnesses, and ctweighed the money on scales. 11Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy. 12And I gave the deed of purchase to cuBaruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of cvthe witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in cwthe court of the guard. 13I charged cxBaruch in their presence, saying, 14Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time. 15For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and cyfields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’

Jeremiah Prays for Understanding

16After I had given the deed of purchase to czBaruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying: 17Ah, Lord God! It is dayou who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by dbyour outstretched arm! dcNothing is too hard for you. 18 ddYou show steadfast love to thousands, debut you repay the guilt of fathers dfto their children after them, O great and dgmighty God, whose name is the dhLord of hosts, 19 digreat in counsel and djmighty in deed, dkwhose eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, dlrewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds. 20You have shown dmsigns and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, dnand have made a name for yourself, as at this day. 21 doYou brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with a strong hand and dpoutstretched arm, dqand with great terror. 22And you gave them this land, drwhich you swore to their fathers to give them, dsa land flowing with milk and honey. 23And they entered and took possession of it. dtBut they did not obey your voice or walk in your law. They did nothing of all you commanded them to do. Therefore you have made all this disaster come upon them. 24Behold, duthe siege mounds have come up to the city to take it, and dvbecause of sword and famine and pestilence dwthe city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans who are fighting against it. What you spoke has come to pass, and behold, you see it. 25Yet you, O Lord God, have said to me, dxBuy the field for money dyand get witnesses”—though dzthe city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.’”

26The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 27Behold, I am the Lord, eathe God of all flesh. ebIs anything too hard for me? 28Therefore, thus says the Lord: ecBehold, I am giving this city into the hands of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall capture it. 29The Chaldeans who are fighting against this city edshall come and set this city on fire and burn it, eewith the houses on whose roofs offerings have been made to Baal efand drink offerings have been poured out to other gods, egto provoke me to anger. 30For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight ehfrom their youth. The children of Israel have done nothing but eiprovoke me to anger ejby the work of their hands, declares the Lord. 31This city has aroused my anger and wrath, from the day it was built to this day, ekso that I will remove it from my sight 32because of all the evil of the children of Israel and the children of Judah that they did to provoke me to angereltheir kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 33 emThey have turned to me their back and not their face. And though I have taught them enpersistently, they have not listened eoto receive instruction. 34They set up eptheir abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. 35They built the high places of Baal eqin the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, erto offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, esthough I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do etthis abomination, euto cause Judah to sin.

They Shall Be My People; I Will Be Their God

36Now therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ev‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’: 37 ewBehold, I will gather them from all the countries exto which I drove them in eymy anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, ezand I will make them dwell in safety. 38 faAnd they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39 fbI will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, fcfor their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 fdI will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. feAnd I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. 41 ffI will rejoice in doing them good, fgand I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

42For thus says the Lord: fhJust as I have brought all this great disaster upon this people, so I will bring upon them all the good that I promise them. 43 fiFields shall be bought in this land fjof which you are saying, ‘It is a desolation, without man or beast; fkit is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.’ 44Fields shall be bought for money, and fldeeds shall be signed and fmsealed and fnwitnessed, foin the land of Benjamin, fpin the places about Jerusalem, fqand in the cities of Judah, frin the cities of the hill country, fsin the cities of the Shephelah, and in the cities of the Negeb; for ftI will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord.”

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