Jeremiah 16:14–17:4

The Lord Will Restore Israel

14 b“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, c‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15 but c‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel dout of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For eI will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.

16 “Behold, fI am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them. And afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out gof the clefts of the rocks. 17 For hmy eyes are on all their ways. iThey are not hidden from me, inor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes. 18 But first jI will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and khave filled my inheritance with their abominations.”

19  lO Lord, my strength and my stronghold,

mmy refuge in the day of trouble,

nto you shall the nations come

from the ends of the earth and say:

“Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies,

oworthless things in which there is no profit.

20  Can man make for himself pgods?

Such are not gods!”

21 “Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that qmy name is the Lord.”

The Sin of Judah

17 “The sin of Judah is written with ra pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on sthe tablet of their heart, and on tthe horns of their altars, 2 while utheir children remember their altars and their vAsherim, wbeside every green tree and on the high hills, 3 xon the mountains in the open country. yYour 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, zand I will make you serve your enemies in a land that you do not know, afor in my anger a fire is kindled that shall burn forever.”