Jeremiah 19–23

Chapter 19

The Broken Jar

1 Thus says the Lord, “Go and buy a apotter’s earthenware bjar, and take some of the celders of the people and some of the 1dsenior priests.

2 “Then go out to the avalley of Ben-hinnom, which is by the entrance of the potsherd gate, and bproclaim there the words that I tell you,

3 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O akings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold I am about to bring a bcalamity upon this place, at which the cears of everyone that hears of it will tingle.

4 “Because they have aforsaken Me and have bmade this an alien place and have burned 1sacrifices in it to cother gods, that neither they nor their forefathers nor the kings of Judah had ever known, and because they have filled this place with the dblood of the innocent

5 and have built the ahigh places of Baal to burn their bsons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My 1mind;

6 therefore, behold, adays are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this place will no longer be called bTopheth or cthe valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the valley of Slaughter.

7 “I will amake void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and bI will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies and by the hand of those who seek their life; and I will give over their ccarcasses as food for the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth.

8 “I will also make this city a adesolation and an object of hissing; beveryone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its 1disasters.

9 “I will make them aeat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies and those who seek their life will distress them.” ’

10 “Then you are to break the ajar in the sight of the men who accompany you

11 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Just so will I abreak this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot again be repaired; and they will bbury in Topheth 1because there is no other place for burial.

12 “This is how I will treat this place and its inhabitants,” declares the Lord, “so as to make this city like Topheth.

13 “The ahouses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be bdefiled like the place Topheth, because of all the chouses on whose rooftops they burned 1sacrifices to dall the heavenly host and epoured out drink offerings to other gods.” ’ ”

14 Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the acourt of the Lord’s house and said to all the people:

15 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to bring on this city and all its towns the entire calamity that I have declared against it, because they have astiffened their necks so bas not to heed My words.’ ”

Chapter 20

Pashhur Persecutes Jeremiah

1 When Pashhur the priest, the son of aImmer, who was bchief officer in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things,

2 Pashhur had Jeremiah the prophet abeaten and put him in the bstocks that were at the upper cBenjamin Gate, which was by the house of the Lord.

3 On the next day, when Pashhur released Jeremiah from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “Pashhur is not the name the Lord has acalled you, but rather 1bMagor-missabib.

4 “For thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am going to make you a aterror to yourself and to all your friends; and while byour eyes look on, they will fall by the sword of their enemies. So I will cgive over all Judah to the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will carry them away as dexiles to Babylon and will slay them with the sword.

5 ‘I will also give over all the awealth of this city, all its produce and all its costly things; even all the treasures of the kings of Judah I will give over to the bhand of their enemies, and they will plunder them, take them away and bring them to Babylon.

6 ‘And you, aPashhur, and all who live in your house will go into captivity; and you will enter Babylon, and there you will die and there you will be buried, you and all your bfriends to whom you have cfalsely prophesied.’ ”

Jeremiah’s Complaint

7 O Lord, You have deceived me and I was deceived;

You have aovercome me and prevailed.

I have become a blaughingstock all day long;

Everyone cmocks me.

8 For each time I speak, I cry aloud;

I aproclaim violence and destruction,

Because for me the bword of the Lord has 1resulted

In reproach and derision all day long.

9 But if I say, “I will not aremember Him

Or speak anymore in His name,”

Then in bmy heart it becomes like a burning fire

Shut up in my bones;

And I am weary of holding it in,

And cI cannot endure it.

10 For aI have heard the whispering of many,

“bTerror on every side!

cDenounce him; yes, let us denounce him!”

1All my dtrusted friends,

Watching for my fall, say:

“Perhaps he will be 2deceived, so that we may eprevail against him

And take our revenge on him.”

11 But the aLord is with me like a dread champion;

Therefore my bpersecutors will stumble and not prevail.

They will be utterly ashamed, because they have 1failed,

With an ceverlasting disgrace that will not be forgotten.

12 Yet, O Lord of hosts, You who atest the righteous,

Who see the 1mind and the heart;

Let me bsee Your vengeance on them;

For cto You I have set forth my cause.

13 aSing to the Lord, praise the Lord!

For He has bdelivered the soul of the needy one

From the hand of evildoers.

14 Cursed be the aday when I was born;

Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me!

15 Cursed be the man who brought the news

To my father, saying,

“A 1ababy boy has been born to you!”

And made him very happy.

16 But let that man be like the cities

Which the Lord aoverthrew without 1relenting,

And let him hear an boutcry in the morning

And a 2shout of alarm at noon;

17 Because he did not akill me 1before birth,

So that my mother would have been my grave,

And her womb ever pregnant.

18 Why did I ever come forth from the womb

To alook on trouble and sorrow,

So that my bdays have been spent in cshame?

Chapter 21

Jeremiah’s Message for Zedekiah

1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord when aKing Zedekiah sent to him bPashhur the son of Malchijah, and cZephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying,

2 “Please ainquire of the Lord on our behalf, for bNebuchadnezzar king of cBabylon is warring against us; perhaps the Lord will deal with us daccording to all His 1wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us.”

3 Then Jeremiah said to them, “You shall say to Zedekiah as follows:

4 ‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to aturn back the weapons of war which are in your hands, with which you are warring against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will bgather them into the center of this city.

5 “I aMyself will war against you with an boutstretched hand and a mighty arm, even in canger and wrath and great indignation.

6 “I will also strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great apestilence.

7 “Then afterwards,” declares the Lord, “aI will give over Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people, even those who survive in this city from the pestilence, the sword and the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of their foes and into the hand of those who seek their lives; and he will strike them down with the edge of the sword. He bwill not spare them nor have pity nor compassion.” ’

8 “You shall also say to this people, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I aset before you the way of life and the way of death.

9 “He who adwells in this city will die by the bsword and by famine and by pestilence; but he who goes out and falls away to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as booty.

10 “For I have aset My face against this city for 1harm and not for good,” declares the Lord. “It will be bgiven into the hand of the king of Babylon and he will cburn it with fire.” ’

11 “Then say to the household of the aking of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the Lord,

12 O ahouse of David, thus says the Lord:

“bAdminister justice 1every cmorning;

And deliver the person who has been robbed from the 2power of his oppressor,

dThat My wrath may not go forth like fire

And eburn with none to extinguish it,

Because of the evil of their deeds.

13 “Behold, aI am against you, O bvalley dweller,

O 1rocky plain,” declares the Lord,

“You men who say, ‘cWho will come down against us?

Or who will enter into our habitations?’

14 “But I will punish you aaccording to the 1results of your deeds,” declares the Lord,

“And I will bkindle a fire in its forest

That it may devour all its environs.” ’ ”

Chapter 22

Warning of Jerusalem’s Fall

1 Thus says the Lord, “Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and there speak this word

2 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who asits on David’s throne, you and your servants and your people who enter these gates.

3 ‘Thus says the Lord, “aDo justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his boppressor. Also cdo not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not dshed innocent blood in this place.

4 “For if you men will indeed perform this thing, then akings will enter the gates of this house, sitting 1in David’s place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, even the king himself and his servants and his people.

5 “aBut if you will not obey these words, I bswear by Myself,” declares the Lord, “that this house will become a desolation.” ’ ”

6 For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:

“You are like aGilead to Me,

Like the summit of Lebanon;

Yet most assuredly I will make you like a bwilderness,

Like cities which are not inhabited.

7 “For I will set apart adestroyers against you,

Each with his weapons;

And they will bcut down your …