bj[See ver. 28 above]
cn[See ver. 11 above]
ct[See ver. 10 above]
cu[See ver. 10 above]
cv[See ver. 14 above]
cx[See ver. 10 above]
cy[See ver. 14 above]
cz[See ver. 11 above]
df[See ver. 19 above]

Jeremiah 6

Impending Disaster for Jerusalem

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.
2The 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 iPrepare war against her;
arise, and let us attack jat noon!
Woe to us, for the day declines,
for the shadows of evening lengthen!
5Arise, 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.
8Be 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.
11Therefore 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 abFor from the least to the greatest of them,
everyone acis greedy for unjust gain;
and from adprophet to priest,
everyone deals falsely.
14They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, aePeace, 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.’
18Therefore hear, O nations,
and know, O congregation, what will happen to them.
19Hear, 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.
21Therefore thus says the Lord:
asBehold, 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:
atBehold, a people is coming aufrom the north country,
a great nation is stirring from avthe farthest parts of the earth.
23They 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!”
24We have heard the report of it;
ayour hands fall helpless;
anguish has taken hold of us,
azpain as of a woman in labor.
25Go not out into the field,
nor walk on the road,
for the enemy has a sword;
baterror is on every side.
26O 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.
29The 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 27

The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar

1In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah
Or Jehoiakim
the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord.
2Thus the Lord said to me: bnMake yourself straps and boyoke-bars, and put them on your neck. 3Send word
Hebrew  Send them
to the king of bqEdom, the king of brMoab, the king of the sons of bsAmmon, the king of btTyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.
4Give 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 buby my great power and my outstretched arm bvhave made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, bwand I give it to whomever it seems right to me. 6 bxNow I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, bymy servant, bzand I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. 7 caAll the nations shall serve him and cbhis son and cchis grandson, cduntil the time of his own land comes. ceThen 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, cfand put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation cgwith the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand. 9So chdo not listen to your ciprophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your cjfortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 ckFor 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 clBut 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.”’”

12To cmZedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: cnBring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and coserve him and his people and live. 13 cpWhy will you and your people die cqby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, cras the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 csDo not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ ctfor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 15I have not sent them, declares the Lord, but cuthey 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.”

16Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: cvDo not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, cwBehold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,’ cxfor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 17 cyDo not listen to them; czserve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city dabecome a desolation? 18If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then dblet them intercede with the Lord of hosts, dcthat 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 ddFor 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, 20which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, dewhen he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem 21thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, dfconcerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22 dgThey shall be carried to Babylon dhand remain there diuntil the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. djThen I will bring them back dkand restore them to this place.”

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