1 The words of Jeremiah,a the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests living in Anathothb in the territory of Benjamin. 2 The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiahc son of Amon, king of Judah. 3 It also came throughout the days of Jehoiakimd son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiahe son of Josiah, king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile.

THE CALL OF JEREMIAH

4 The word of the Lord came to me:

5 I chose you before I formed you in the womb;

I set you apart before you were born.f

I appointed you a prophet to the nations.g

6 But I protested, “Oh no, Lord God! Look, I don’t know how to speakh since I am only a youth.”i

7 Then the Lord said to me:

Do not say, “I am only a youth,”j

for you will go to everyone I send you to

and speak whatever I tell you.k

8 Do not be afraid of anyone,l

for I will be with you to rescue you.m

This is the Lord’s declaration.

9 Then the Lord reached out his hand, touched my mouth,n and told me:

I have now filled your mouth with my words.o

10 See, I have appointed you today

over nations and kingdoms

to uproot and tear down,

to destroy and demolish,p

to build and plant.q

TWO VISIONS

11 Then the word of the Lord came to me, asking, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”r

I replied, “I see a branch of an almond tree.”

12 The Lord said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I watch overA my word to accomplish it.”s 13 Again the word of the Lord came to me asking, “What do you see?”

And I replied, “I see a boiling pot,t its lip tilted from the north to the south.”

14 Then the Lord said to me, “Disaster will be poured outB from the northu on all who live in the land. 15 Indeed, I am about to summon all the clans and kingdoms of the north.”v

This is the Lord’s declaration.

They will come, and each king will set up his throne

at the entrance to Jerusalem’s gates.

They will attack all her surrounding walls

and all the other cities of Judah.

16 “I will pronounce my judgments against them for all the evil they did when they abandoned me to burn incense to other gods and to worship the works of their own hands.w

17 “Now, get ready. Stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not be intimidated by themx or I will cause you to cower before them. 18 Today, I am the one who has made you a fortified city,y an iron pillar, and bronze wallsz against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the population. 19 They will fight against you but never prevail over you,aa since I am with you to rescue you.”ab

This is the Lord’s declaration.

ISRAEL ACCUSED OF APOSTASY

2 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Go and announce directly to Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says:

I remember the loyalty of your youth,ac

your love as a bride—

how you followed me in the wilderness,

in a land not sown.

3 Israel was holy to the Lord,ad

the firstfruits of his harvest.ae

All who ate of it found themselves guilty;af

disaster came on them.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

4 Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob

and all families of the house of Israel.

5 This is what the Lord says:

What fault did your ancestors find in mea

that they went so far from me,

followed worthless idols,b

and became worthless themselves?c

6 They stopped asking, “Where is the Lordd

who brought us from the land of Egypt,

who led us through the wilderness,e

through a land of deserts and ravines,

through a land of drought and darkness,A

a land no one traveled through

and where no one lived?”

7 I brought you to a fertile landf

to eat its fruit and bounty,

but after you entered, you defiled my land;g

you made my inheritanceh detestable.

8 The priests quit asking, “Where is the Lord?”

The experts in the law no longer knew me,i

and the rulersj rebelled against me.

The prophets prophesied byB Baalk

and followed useless idols.l

9 Therefore, I will bring a case against you again.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

I will bring a case against your children’s children.m

10 Cross over to the coasts of CyprusC,n and take a look.

Send someone to Kedaro and consider carefully;

see if there has ever been anything like this:

11 Has a nation ever exchanged its gods?p

(But they were not gods!q)

Yet my people have exchanged theirA Glory

for useless idols.r

12 Be appalled at this, heavens;s

be shocked and utterly desolated!

This is the Lord’s declaration.

13 For my people have committed a double evil:

They have abandoned me,t

the fountain of living water,u

and dug cisterns for themselves—

cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.v

CONSEQUENCES OF APOSTASY

14 Is Israel a slave?

Was he born into slavery?B

Why else has he become a prey?

15 The young lions have roared at him;w

they have roared loudly.

They have laid waste his land.x

His cities are in ruins, without inhabitants.

16 The men of Memphis and Tahpanhesy

have also broken your skull.

17 Have you not brought this on yourselfz

by abandoning the Lord your God

while he was leading you along the way?

18 Now what will you gain

by traveling along the way to Egyptaa

to drink the water of the Nile?C

What will you gain

by traveling along the way to Assyriaab

to drink the water of the Euphrates?ac

19 Your own evil will discipline you;ad

your own apostasies will reprimand you.

RecognizeD how evil and bitterae it is

for you to abandon the Lord your God

and to have no fear of me.

This is the declaration

of the Lord God of Armies.

20 For long ago IE broke your yoke;af

IE tore off your chains.

You insisted, “I will not serve!”

On every high hill

and under every green treeag

you lay down like a prostitute.ah

21 I planted you, a choice vineai

from the very best seed.

How then could you turn into

a degenerate, foreign vine?aj

22 Even if you wash with lye

and use a great amount of bleach,F,a

the stain of your iniquity is still in front of me.b

This is the Lord God’s declaration.

23 How can you protest, “I am not defiled;

I have not followed the Baals”?c

Look at your behavior in the valley;

acknowledge what you have done.d

You are a swift young camel

twisting and turning on her way,

24 a wild donkeye at homeA in the wilderness.

She sniffs the wind in the heat of her desire.

Who can control her passion?

All who look for her will not become weary;

they will find her in her mating season.B

25 Keep your feet from going bare

and your throat from thirst.

But you say, “It’s hopeless;f

I love strangers,g

and I will continue to follow them.”

26 Like the shame of a thief when he is caught,

so the house of Israel has been put to shame.h

They, their kings, their officials,

their priests, and their prophetsi

27 say to a tree, “You are my father,”

and to a stone, “You gave birth to me.”

For they have turned their back to me

and not their face,j

yet in their time of disasterk they beg,

“Rise up and save us!”

28 But where are your gods you made for yourself?

Let them rise up and save youl

in your time of disaster if they can,

for your gods are as numerous as your cities, Judah.

JUDGMENT DESERVED

29 Why do you bring a case against me?m

All of you have rebelled against me.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

30 I have struck down your children in vain;

they would not accept discipline.n

Your own sword has devoured your prophetso

like a ravaging lion.

31 Evil generation*,

pay attention to the word of the Lord!

Have I been a wilderness to Israel

or a land of dense darkness?p

Why do my people claim,

“We will go where we want;C

we will no longer come to you”?

32 Can a young woman forget her jewelryq

or a bride her wedding sash?

Yet my people have forgotten mer

for countless days.

33 How skillfully you pursue love;

you also teach evil women your ways.

34 Moreover, your skirts are stained

with the blood of the innocent poor.s

You did not catch them breaking and entering.t

But in spite of all these things

35 you claim, “I am innocent.u

His anger is sure to turn away from me.”

But I will certainly judge you

because you have said, “I have not sinned.”v

36 How unstable you are,w

constantly changing your ways!

You will be put to shame by Egyptx

just as you were put to shame by Assyria.

37 Moreover, you will be led out from here

with your hands on your heady

since the Lord has rejected those you trust;z

you will not succeed even with their help.A

WAGES OF APOSTASY

3 IfB a man divorces his wife

and she leaves him to marry another,

can he ever return to her?aa

Wouldn’t such a landC become totally defiled?

But you!

You have prostituted yourself with many partnersab—

can you return to me?ac

This is the Lord’s declaration.

2 Look to the barren heightsa and see.

Where have you not been immoral?

You sat waiting for them beside the highwaysb

like a nomad in the desert.

You have defiled the land

with your prostitution and wickedness.c

3 This is why the showers haven’t comed—

why there has been no spring rain.

You have the brazen looke of a prostituteD

and refuse to be ashamed.f

4 Haven’t you recently called to me, “My Father!g

You were my friend in my youth.h

5 Will he bear a grudge forever?i

Will he be endlessly infuriated?”

This is what you have said,

but you have done the evil things

you are capable of.

UNFAITHFUL ISRAEL, TREACHEROUS JUDAH

6 In the days of King Josiah the Lord asked me, “Have you seen what unfaithful Israel has done? She has ascended every high hill and gone under every green tree to prostitute herself there.j 7 I thought, ‘After she has done all these things, she will return to me.’k But she didn’t return, and her treacherous sister Judahl saw it. 8 IE observed that it was because unfaithful Israel had committed adultery that I had sent her away and had given her a certificate of divorce.m Nevertheless, her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid but also went and prostituted herself.n 9 Indifferent toA her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stoneso and trees.p 10 Yet in spite of all this, her treacherous sister Judah didn’t return to me with all her heartq—only in pretense.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

11 The Lord announced to me, “Unfaithful Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.r 12 Go, proclaim these words to the north, and say,

‘Return, unfaithful Israel.s

This is the Lord’s declaration.

I will not look on you with anger,B

for I am unfailing in my love.t

This is the Lord’s declaration.

I will not be angry forever.u

13 Only acknowledge your guiltv—

you have rebelled against the Lord your God.w

You have scattered your favors to strangers

under every green treex

and have not obeyed me.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

14 “ ‘Return, you faithless childreny—this is the Lord’s declaration—for I am your master,C,z and I will take you,aa one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. 15 I will give you shepherds who are loyal to me,D,ab and they will shepherd you with knowledge and skill. 16 When you multiply and increase in the land,ac in those days—this is the Lord’s declaration—no one will say again, “The ark of the Lord’s covenant.”ad It will never come to mind, and no one will remember or miss it. Another one will not be made.E 17 At that time Jerusalem will be called The Lord’s Throne,ae and all the nations will be gathered to it,af to the name of the Lord in Jerusalem.ag They will cease to follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. 18 In those days the house of Judah will join with the house of Israel,ah and they will come together from the land of the north to the land I have given your ancestors to inherit.’ ”ai

TRUE REPENTANCE

19 I thought, “How I long to make you my sons

and give you a desirable land,

the most beautiful inheritanceaj of all the nations.”

I thought, “You will call me ‘My Father’

and never turn away from me.”

20 However, as a woman may betray her lover,F

so you have betrayedak me, house of Israel.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

21 A sound is heard on the barren heights:

the children of Israel weeping and begging for mercy,

for they have perverted their way;

they have forgotten the Lord their God.al

22 Return, you faithless children.

I will heal your unfaithfulness.am

“Here we are, coming to you,

for you are the Lord our God.

23 Surely, falsehood comes from the hills,

commotion from the mountains,a

but the salvation of Israel

is only in the Lord our God.b

24 From the time of our youth

the shameful oneA has consumed

what our ancestors have worked for—

their flocks and their herds,

their sons and their daughters.

25 Let us lie down in our shame;

let our disgrace cover us.c

We have sinned against the Lord our God,d

both we and our ancestors,

from the time of our youth even to this day.e

We have not obeyed the Lord our God.”