The Book of the Prophet

Jeremiah

1 *The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, aof the priests that were in bAnathoth in the land of Benjamin: 2 To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of cJosiah the son of Amon king of Judah, din the thirteenth year of his reign. 3 It came also in the days of eJehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, funto the end of the eleventh year of gZedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, hunto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive hiin the fifth month.

4 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 5 Before I jformed thee in the belly kI knew thee; and lbefore thou camest forth out of the womb I msanctified thee, and I †ordained thee a prophet nunto the nations. 6 Then said I, oAh, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for pI am a child. 7 But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and qwhatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. 8 rsBe not afraid of their faces: for stuI am with thee tto deliver thee, saith the Lord. 9 Then vthe Lord put forth his hand, and wtouched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, xI have put my words in thy mouth. 10 See, I have this day set thee nover the nations and over the kingdoms, yto root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see za rod of an almond tree. 12 Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well seen: for aI will hasten my word to perform it. 13 And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see ba seething cpot; and the face thereof is †toward dthe north. 14 Then the Lord said unto me, dOut of the north an evil †shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15 For, lo, I will call eall the families of the kingdoms dof the north, saith the Lord; and they shall come, and fthey shall set every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and against all the cities of Judah. 16 And gI will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, hiwho have forsaken me, hand jhave burned incense unto other gods, and kworshipped the works of their own hands. 17 Thou therefore lgird up thy loins, and arise, and mspeak unto them all that I command thee: nbe not dismayed at their faces, lest I ||confound thee before them. 18 For, behold, I have omade thee this day pra defenced city, and qan iron pillar, and rbrasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. 19 rAnd they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; rsfor I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee.

2 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember ||thee, the kindness of athy youth, bthe love of thine espousals, cwhen thou wentest after me in the wilderness, din a land that was not sown. 3 eIsrael was holiness unto the Lord, and fthe firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him gshall offend; hevil shall come upon them, saith the Lord. 4 Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: 5 Thus saith the Lord, iWhat iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and khave walked after lvanity, and kmare become vain? 6 Neither said they, Where is the Lord nthat brought us up out of the land of Egypt, othat led us through the wilderness, through pa land of deserts and of qpits, through pa land of rdrought, and of sthe shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? 7 And I brought you into ||ta plentiful country, to eat uthe fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye vdefiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. 8 The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and wthey that handle the law knew me not: xthe pastors also transgressed against me, and xxthe prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after ythings that do not profit. 9 Wherefore I zwill yet plead with you, saith the Lord, and awith your children’s children will I plead. 10 aaFor pass ||over the isles of bChittim, and see; and send unto cKedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing. 11 dHath a nation changed their gods, ewhich are yet no gods? but my people fhave changed their glory for gthat which doth not profit. 12 Be astonished, hO ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. 13 For my people have committed two evils; ikthey have forsaken me klthe fountain of mliving waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

14 nIs Israel a servant? is he oa homeborn slave? why is he †spoiled? 15 pThe young lions roared upon him, and †yelled, and qthey made his land waste: rhis cities are burned qswithout inhabitant. 16 Also the children of tNoph and uTahapanes ||have broken the crown of thy head. 17 wHast thou not procured this unto thyself, iin that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, xwhen he led thee by the way? 18 And now ywhat hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of zSihor? or awhat hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of bthe river? 19 cThine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy dbackslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and ebitter, fthat thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts. 20 For of old time gI have broken thy yoke, and gburst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not ||transgress; when hiupon every high hill and under every green tree kthou wanderest, ilplaying the harlot. 21 Yet mI had planted thee na noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into othe degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? 22 For though pthou wash thee with qnitre, and take thee much rsoap, yet thine iniquity is smarked before me, saith the Lord God. 23 tHow canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way ttin the valley, know what thou hast done: ||thou art ua swift uudromedary traversing her ways; 24 ||vwA wild ass †used to the wilderness, that vsnuffeth up the wind at †her pleasure; in her xoccasion who can ||turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; yin her month they shall find her. 25 Withhold zthy foot from being unshod, and thy throat afrom thirst: bbut thou saidst, ||cThere is no hope: no; for I have loved dstrangers, and after them will I go. 26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, ddtheir kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, 27 Saying to ea stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast ||brought me forth: for they have turned †their back unto me, and not their face: but eein the time of their ftrouble they will say, Arise, and save us. 28 But gwhere are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, hif they can save thee in the time of thy †ftrouble: ifor according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah. 29 kWherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord. 30 In vain lhave I smitten your children; they received no correction: myour own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

31 nO generation, see ye the word of the Lord. oHave I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, †pWe are lords; we will come no more unto thee? 32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her qattire? yet rmy people have forgotten me days without number. 33 Why rrtrimmest thou thy way to seek love? stherefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways. 34 Also in thy skirts is found tthe blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by †secret search, but upon all these. 35 Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, uI will plead with thee, vbecause thou sayest, I have not sinned. 36 wWhy gaddest thou about so much to xchange thy way? ythou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, was thou wast ashamed of Assyria. 37 Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and zthine hands upon thine head: for the Lord hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.