Jer 6, Jer 17 | ESV | STEP | Flee for safety , O people of Benjamin , from the midst of Jerusalem ! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa , and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem , for disaster looms out of the north , and great destruction .

1 Flee for safety, ^aO people of Benjamin,
from the midst of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in ^bTekoa,
and raise a signal on ^cBeth-haccherem,
for disaster looms ^dout of the north,
and great destruction.
2 The lovely and delicately bred I will destroy,
^ethe daughter of Zion. ^{▼▼Or I have likened the daughter of Zion to the loveliest pasture}
3 ^gShepherds with their flocks shall come against her;
^hthey shall pitch their tents around her;
they shall pasture, each in his place.
4 ⁱ“Prepare war against her;
arise, and let us attack ^jat 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:
^k“Cut down her trees;
^lcast up a siege mound against Jerusalem.
This is the city that must be ^mpunished;
there is nothing but oppression within her.
7 ⁿAs a well keeps its water fresh,
so she keeps fresh her evil;
^oviolence and destruction are heard within her;
sickness and wounds are ever before me.
8 Be warned, O Jerusalem,
^plest I turn from you in disgust,
lest I make you ^qa desolation,
an uninhabited land.”
9 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
^r“They shall glean thoroughly as a vine
the remnant of Israel;
like a grape gatherer pass your hand again
over its branches.”
10 ^sTo whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?
^tBehold, their ears are uncircumcised,
^uthey cannot listen;
behold, ^vthe 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;
^wI am weary of holding it in.
^x“Pour it out upon the children in the street,
and upon the gatherings of young men, also;
^yboth husband and wife ^zshall be taken,
the elderly and the very aged.
12 ^aaTheir 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 ^ab“For from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone ^acis greedy for unjust gain;
and from ^adprophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
14 They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, ^ae‘Peace, peace,’
^afwhen there is no peace.
15 ^agWere 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;
^ahat 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 ^aithe ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
^ajand find rest for your souls.
But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
17 ^akI set watchmen over you, saying,
‘Pay attention to ^althe sound of the trumpet!’
But they said, ^am‘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,
^anthe fruit of their devices,
because they have not paid attention to my words;
and as for my law, they have rejected it.
20 ^aoWhat use to me is ^apfrankincense that comes from ^aqSheba,
or sweet cane from a distant land?
^arYour burnt offerings are not acceptable,
nor your sacrifices pleasing to me.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord:
^as‘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:
^at“Behold, a people is coming ^aufrom the north country,
a great nation is stirring from ^avthe farthest parts of the earth.
23 They lay hold on bow and javelin;
they are ^awcruel and have no mercy;
^axthe 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;
^ayour hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
^azpain as of a woman in labor.
25 Go not out into the field,
nor walk on the road,
for the enemy has a sword;
^baterror is on every side.
26 O daughter of my people, ^bbput on sackcloth,
and ^bcroll in ashes;
^bdmake mourning as for an only son,
most bitter lamentation,
for suddenly the destroyer
will come upon us.
27 “I have made you ^bea tester of metals among my people,
that you may know and ^bftest their ways.
28 ^bgThey are all stubbornly rebellious,
^bhgoing about with slanders;
they are ^bibronze and iron;
all of them act corruptly.
29 The ^bjbellows blow fiercely;
the lead is consumed by the fire;
^bkin vain the refining goes on,
for the wicked are not removed.
30 ^blRejected silver they are called,
for the Lord has rejected them.”

Jeremiah 17

The Sin of Judah

1 “The sin of Judah is written with ^bma pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on ^bnthe tablet of their heart, and on ^bothe horns of their altars, 2 while ^bptheir children remember their altars and their ^bqAsherim, ^brbeside every green tree and on the high hills, 3 ^bson the mountains in the open country. ^btYour wealth and all your treasures I will give for spoil as the price of your high places for sin throughout all your territory. 4 You shall loosen your hand from your heritage that I gave to you, ^buand I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, ^bvfor in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”

5 Thus says the Lord:
“Cursed is the man ^bwwho trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength, ^{▼▼Hebrew arm}
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
6 ^byHe is like a shrub in the desert,
^bzand shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in ^caan uninhabited salt land.
7 ^cb“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
^ccwhose trust is the Lord.
8 ^cdHe 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 ^ce“I the Lord search the heart
^cfand test the mind, ^{▼▼Hebrew kidneys}
^chto give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.”
11 Like the ^cipartridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch,
so is ^cjhe who gets riches but not by justice;
^ckin the midst of his days they will leave him,
^cland at his end he will be a fool.
12 A glorious throne set on high from the beginning
is the place of our sanctuary.
13 O Lord, ^cmthe hope of Israel,
^cnall who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you ^{▼▼Hebrew me} ^cpshall be written in the earth,
for ^cqthey have forsaken ^crthe Lord, the fountain of living water.

Jeremiah Prays for Deliverance

14 ^csHeal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
save me, and I shall be saved,
for ^ctyou are my praise.
15 ^cuBehold, they say to me,
“Where is the word of the Lord?
Let it come!”
16 I have not run away from being your shepherd,
nor have I desired the day of sickness.
^cvYou know ^cwwhat came out of my lips;
it was before your face.
17 Be not a terror to me;
^cxyou are my refuge in the day of disaster.
18 ^cyLet those be put to shame who persecute me,
but let me not be put to shame;
^czlet them be dismayed,
but let me not be dismayed;
^dabring upon them the day of disaster;
destroy them with double destruction!

Keep the Sabbath Holy

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

24 “‘But if you listen to me, declares the Lord, and ^djbring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but ^dkkeep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25 then ^dlthere 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. 26 And people shall come from ^dmthe cities of Judah ^dnand the places around Jerusalem, ^dofrom the land of Benjamin, ^dpfrom the Shephelah, from the hill country, ^dqand from ^drthe Negeb, bringing ^dsburnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and ^dtbringing thank offerings to the house of the Lord. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to ^dukeep the Sabbath day holy, ^dvand not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will ^dwkindle a fire in its gates, and it shall ^dxdevour the palaces of Jerusalem and ^dyshall not be quenched.’”