Jeremiah 1–2

1The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one ^aof the priests who were in ^bAnathoth in the land of Benjamin, ²to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of ^cJosiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in ^dthe thirteenth year of his reign. ³It came also in the days of ^eJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, and ^funtil the end of the eleventh year of ^gZedekiah, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, ^huntil the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

The Call of Jeremiah

⁴Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

⁵ⁱ“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

and before you were born ^jI consecrated you;

I appointed you a prophet ^kto the nations.”

⁶Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, ^lI do not know how to speak, ^mfor I am only a youth.” ⁷But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;

for to all to whom I send you, you shall go,

and ⁿwhatever I command you, you shall speak.

^8oDo not be afraid of them,

^pfor I am with you to deliver you,

declares the Lord.”

^9qThen the Lord put out his hand and ^rtouched my mouth. And the Lord said to me,

“Behold, I have put ^smy words in your mouth.

¹⁰See, I have set you this day ^kover nations and over kingdoms,

^tto pluck up and to break down,

to destroy and to overthrow,

to build and to plant.”

¹¹And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^u“Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see an almond¹ branch.” ¹²Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

¹³The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see ^va boiling pot, facing away ^wfrom the north.” ¹⁴Then the Lord said to me, ^w“Out of the north disaster² shall be let loose upon all the inhabitants of the land. ¹⁵For behold, ^xI am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, ^yand they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah. ¹⁶And ^zI will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil ^ain forsaking me. ^bThey have made offerings to other gods and ^cworshiped the works of their own hands. ¹⁷But you, ^ddress yourself for work;³ arise, and ^esay to them everything that I command you. ^fDo not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. ¹⁸And I, behold, I make you this day ^ga fortified city, ^han iron pillar, and ⁱbronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. ¹⁹ⁱThey will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for ^jI am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.”

Israel Forsakes the Lord

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

“I remember the devotion of ^kyour youth,

your love ^las a bride,

^mhow you followed me in the wilderness,

ⁿin a land not sown.

^3oIsrael was holy to the Lord,

^pthe firstfruits of his harvest.

^qAll 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:

^r“What wrong did your fathers find in me

that they went far from me,

^sand went after ^tworthlessness, and became worthless?

⁶They did not say, ^u‘Where is the Lord

who brought us up from the land of Egypt,

who led us ^vin 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?’

^7wAnd I brought you into a plentiful land

to enjoy its fruits and its good things.

But when you came in, ^xyou defiled my land

and made my heritage an abomination.

⁸The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’

^yThose who handle the law did not know me;

^zthe shepherds¹ transgressed against me;

^athe prophets prophesied by Baal

and went after ^bthings that do not profit.

⁹“Therefore ^cI still contend with you,

declares the Lord,

and ^dwith your children’s children I will contend.

¹⁰For cross to the coasts of ^eCyprus and see,

or send to ^fKedar and examine with care;

see if there has been such a thing.

^11gHas a nation changed its gods,

^heven though they are no gods?

But my people ⁱhave changed their glory

for ^bthat which does not profit.

¹²Be appalled, ^jO heavens, at this;

be shocked, be utterly desolate,

declares the Lord,

¹³for my people have committed two evils:

^kthey have forsaken ^lme,

the fountain of ^mliving waters,

and hewed out cisterns for themselves,

broken cisterns that can hold no water.

¹⁴ⁿ“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?

Why then has he become a prey?

^15oThe lions have roared against him;

they have roared loudly.

They have made his land a waste;

his cities are in ruins, ^pwithout inhabitant.

¹⁶Moreover, the men of ^qMemphis and ^rTahpanhes

^shave shaved² the crown of your head.

^17tHave you not brought this upon yourself

by forsaking the Lord your God,

when ^uhe led you in the way?

^18vAnd now what do you gain by going to Egypt

to drink the waters of ^wthe Nile?³

^xOr what do you gain by going to Assyria

to drink the waters of the Euphrates?⁴

^19zYour evil will chastise you,

and ^ayour apostasy will reprove you.

Know and see that it is evil and ^bbitter

for ^cyou 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 ^dbroke your yoke

and burst your bonds;

but you said, ^e‘I will not serve.’

Yes, ^fon every high hill

and under every green tree

you bowed down ^glike a whore.

^21hYet I planted you a choice vine,

wholly of pure seed.

ⁱHow then have you turned degenerate

and become a wild vine?

²²Though you wash yourself with lye

and use much soap,

^jthe stain of your guilt is still before me,

declares the Lord God.

^23kHow can you say, ‘I am not unclean,

I have not gone after the Baals’?

Look at your way ^lin the valley;

know what you have done—

a restless young camel running here and there,

^24ma 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 ⁿyour feet from going unshod

and ^oyour throat from thirst.

But you said, ‘It is hopeless,

^pfor 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:

^qthey, 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 ^rin the time of their trouble they say,

‘Arise and save us!’

²⁸But ^swhere are your gods

that you made for yourself?

Let them arise, ^tif they can save you,

in your time of trouble;

for ^uas 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 ^vstruck your children;

they took no correction;

^wyour 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’?

^32xCan a virgin forget her ornaments,

or a bride her attire?

Yet ^ymy 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

^zthe lifeblood of the guiltless poor;

you did not find them ^abreaking in.

Yet in spite of all these things

³⁵you say, ‘I am innocent;

surely his anger has turned from me.’

^bBehold, I will bring you to judgment

for ^csaying, ‘I have not sinned.’

^36dHow much you go about,

changing your way!

You shall be ^eput to shame by Egypt

as you were put to shame by Assyria.

³⁷From it too you will come away

with ^fyour hands on your head,

for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,

and you will not prosper by them.