Jer 6, Jer 9, Jer 29 | 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 9

1 ^{▼▼Ch 8:23 in Hebrew} ^bnOh that my head were waters,
and my eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
for the slain of ^bothe daughter of my people!
2 ^{▼▼Ch 9:1 in Hebrew} Oh that I had in the desert
a travelers’ lodging place,
that I might leave my people
and go away from them!
For they are all ^bqadulterers,
a company of ^brtreacherous men.
3 ^bsThey bend their tongue like a bow;
falsehood and not truth has grown strong ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew and not for truth they have grown strong} in the land;
for they proceed from evil to evil,
^buand they do not know me, declares the Lord.
4 ^bvLet everyone beware of his neighbor,
and put no trust in any brother,
for every ^bwbrother is a deceiver,
and every neighbor ^bxgoes about as a slanderer.
5 Everyone deceives his neighbor,
and no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongue to speak lies;
they weary themselves committing iniquity.
6 Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit,
^bythey refuse to know me, declares the Lord.
7 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Behold, ^bzI will refine them and ^catest them,
for what else can I do, ^cbbecause of my people?
8 ^ccTheir tongue is a deadly arrow;
^cdit speaks deceitfully;
with his mouth ^ceeach speaks peace to his neighbor,
but in his heart ^cfhe plans an ambush for him.
9 ^cgShall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord,
and shall I not avenge myself
on a nation such as this?
10 “I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains,
and a lamentation for ^chthe pastures of the wilderness,
^cibecause they are laid waste so that no one passes through,
and the lowing of cattle is not heard;
^cjboth the birds of the air and the beasts
have fled and are gone.
11 ^ckI will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
^cla lair of jackals,
^cmand I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
without inhabitant.”
12 ^cnWho is the man so wise that he can understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined ^coand laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? 13 And the Lord says: ^cp“Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it, 14 but ^cqhave stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them. 15 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^crBehold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them ^cspoisonous water to drink. 16 ^ctI will scatter them among the nations ^cuwhom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will ^cvsend the sword after them, until I have consumed them.”

17 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
^cw“Consider, and call for the mourning women to come;
send for the skillful women to come;
18 let them make haste ^cxand raise a wailing over us,
^cythat our eyes may run down with tears
and our eyelids flow with water.
19 For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
^cz‘How we are ruined!
We are utterly shamed,
because we have left the land,
because they have cast down our dwellings.’”
20 Hear, O women, the word of the Lord,
and let your ear receive the word of his mouth;
teach to your daughters a lament,
and each to her neighbor a dirge.
21 For death has come up into our windows;
it has entered our palaces,
^dacutting off the children from the streets
and the young men from the squares.
22 Speak: “Thus declares the Lord,
^db‘The dead bodies of men shall fall
like dung upon the open field,
^dclike sheaves after the reaper,
and none shall gather them.’”
23 Thus says the Lord: ^dd“Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but ^delet him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. ^dfFor in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

25 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when ^dgI will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh— 26 ^dhEgypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and ^diall who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are ^djuncircumcised in heart.”

Jeremiah 29

Jeremiah’s Letter to the Exiles

1 These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to ^dkthe surviving elders of the exiles, and to ^dlthe priests, ^dmthe prophets, and ^dnall the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 This was after ^doKing Jeconiah and the queen mother, the eunuchs, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metal workers had departed from Jerusalem. 3 The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah the son of ^dpShaphan and Gemariah the son of ^dqHilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. It said: 4 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 5 ^drBuild houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. 6 Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. 7 But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and ^dspray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. 8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: ^dtDo not let your prophets and ^duyour diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, ^{▼▼Hebrew your dreams, which you cause to dream} 9 for ^dwit is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; ^dxI did not send them, declares the Lord.

10 “For thus says the Lord: ^dyWhen seventy years are completed for Babylon, ^dzI will visit you, ^eaand I will fulfill to you my promise ^eband bring you back to this place. 11 ^ecFor I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare ^{▼▼Or peace} and not for evil, ^eeto give you a future and a hope. 12 ^efThen you will call upon me and come and pray to me, ^egand I will hear you. 13 ^ehYou will seek me and find me, when you seek me ^eiwith all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, declares the Lord, ^ejand I will restore your fortunes and ^ekgather you from all the nations and all the places ^elwhere I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.

15 “Because you have said, ‘The Lord has raised up prophets for us in Babylon,’ 16 thus says the Lord concerning ^emthe king who sits on the throne of David, and concerning all the people who dwell in this city, your kinsmen who did not go out with you into exile: 17 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, behold, I am sending on them ^ensword, famine, and pestilence, and I will make them like ^eovile figs that are so rotten they cannot be eaten. 18 I will pursue them with ^epsword, famine, and pestilence, ^eqand will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth, ^erto be a curse, a terror, a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations ^eswhere I have driven them, 19 because they did not pay attention to my words, declares the Lord, ^etthat I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen, declares the Lord.’ 20 Hear the word of the Lord, all you exiles ^euwhom I sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon: 21 ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, ^evwho are prophesying a lie to you in my name: Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he shall strike them down before your eyes. 22 ^ewBecause of them ^exthis curse shall be used by all the exiles from Judah in Babylon: “The Lord make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, ^eywhom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire,” 23 because they have done an outrageous thing in Israel, ^ezthey have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and ^fathey have spoken in my name lying words that I did not command them. ^fbI am the one who knows, ^fcand I am witness, declares the Lord.’”

Shemaiah’s False Prophecy

24 To ^fdShemaiah of Nehelam you shall say: 25 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: You have sent letters in your name to all the people who are in Jerusalem, and to ^feZephaniah the son of ^ffMaaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying, 26 ‘The Lord has made you priest instead of Jehoiada the priest, to have ^fgcharge in the house of the Lord ^fhover every madman who prophesies, to put him in ^fithe stocks and neck irons. 27 Now why have you not rebuked Jeremiah ^fjof Anathoth who is prophesying to you? 28 For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, “Your exile will be long; ^fkbuild houses and live in them, and plant gardens and eat their produce.”’”

29 ^flZephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of Jeremiah the prophet. 30 ^fmThen the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 31 “Send to all the exiles, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord concerning ^fnShemaiah of Nehelam: Because ^foShemaiah had prophesied to you ^fpwhen I did not send him, and has made you trust in a lie, 32 therefore thus says the Lord: Behold, I will punish ^fqShemaiah of Nehelam and his descendants. He shall not have anyone living among this people, ^frand he shall not see the good that I will do to my people, declares the Lord, ^fsfor he has spoken rebellion against the Lord.’”