Four Types of Calamity

15 Then Yahweh said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel stood ⌊before me⌋,a my heart would not be to this people. Send them away from my ⌊sight⌋,b and let them go out. 2 ⌊And then⌋c if they say to you, ‘Where shall we go?’ Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh,

“Those who are destined for the plague, to the plague,

and those who are destined for the sword, to the sword,

and those who are destined for the famine, to the famine,

and those who are destined for the captivity, to the captivity.” ’

3 “And I will summond over them four types of calamity,” ⌊declares⌋e Yahweh, “the sword to kill, and the dogs to drag away, and the birdsf of the air and the wild animalsg of the earth to devour and to destroy. 4 And I will make them a terror to all of the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the son of Hezekiah, the king of Judah, because of what he did in Jerusalem.

5 “For who will have compassion on you, O Jerusalem,

or who will show sympathy to you,

or who will turn aside ⌊to ask about your welfare⌋?h

6 You have forsaken me,” ⌊declares⌋i Yahweh.

“You go backward, so I have stretched my hand against you,

and I have destroyed you.

I am tired of becoming remorseful.

7 And I have winnowed them with a winnowing fork in the gates of the land.

I am bereaved.

I have destroyed my people.

They did not turn back from their ways.

8 Their widowsj will be more numerous before me than the sand of the seas.

I have brought to them, against the mothersk of young men,l

a destroyer at noon.

I will suddenly drop on her anguish and horror.m

9 She who gave birth to seven has withered away.

She gasps her breath.

Her sun ⌊set⌋n while still day.

She has been put to shame and disgraced.

And the remainder of them I will give to the sword

⌊before⌋o their enemies,” ⌊declares⌋p Yahweh.

Jeremiah’s Lament and Yahweh’s Response

10 Woe to me, O my mother, that you gave birth to me,

a man of contention and quarreling ⌊to the whole land⌋.q

I have not lent out and ⌊I have not borrowed⌋.r

All of them are cursing me.

11 Yahweh said,

“⌊Surely⌋s I will set you free ⌊to be good⌋t for you,

⌊surely⌋u I will cause the enemy to intercede with you

in a time of trouble,

and in a time of distress.

12 Can anyone break iron,

iron from the north, or bronze?

13 I will give your wealth and your treasures

as plunder without price,

even because of all your sins,

and throughout all your territories.

14 And I will make you serve your enemies

in a land that you do not know,

for a fire will kindle in my anger.

Upon you it will be kindled.”

15 You who know, O Yahweh, remember me, and attend to me,

and take revenge for me against my persecutors ⌊in your forbearance⌋.v

You must take me away.

Know that I am carrying disgrace because of you.

16 Your words were found and I ate them,

and your words became to me as jubilation,

even as the joy of my heart,

for your name is called on me, O Yahweh God of hosts.

17 I sat not in the assembly of jokers,

nor did I exult.

Because of the ⌊presence⌋w of your hand I sat alone,

for you filled me with indignation.

18 Why is my pain endless, and my wound incurable?

It refuses to become healed.

Truly you are to me like a deceitful brook,

waters that are not trustworthy.

19 Therefore thus says Yahweh,

“If you turn back, then I will take you back.

You will stand ⌊before me⌋.x

And if you utter what is precious and not what is worthless,

you will be as my mouth.

They will turn back to you,

and you will not turn back to them.

20 And I will make you to this people

a wall of fortified bronze,

and they will fight against you,

but they will not prevail over you,

for I am with you, to save you,

and to deliver you,” ⌊declares⌋y Yahweh.

21 “And I will deliver you from the hand of the wicked,

and I will redeem you from the hand of the tyrant.”

Jeremiah is Commanded Not to Marry

16 And the word of Yahweh came to me, ⌊saying⌋,a 2 “You shall not take for yourself a wife, there shall not be for you sons and daughters in this place.” 3 For thus says Yahweh concerning the sons and concerning the daughters born in this place, and concerning their mothers who gave birth to them, and concerning their fathers who fathered them in this land: 4 “They will die by diseases, they will not be mourned, and they will not be buried. They will be as dung on the face of the earth. And they will perish by the sword and they will perish by the famine. And their dead bodiesb will become food for the birdsc of the air, and for the wild animalsd of the earth.”

5 For thus says Yahweh, “You must not enter the house of the funeral meal, and you must not go to lament, and you must not show sympathy for them, for I have taken away my peace from this people,” ⌊declares⌋e Yahweh, “the loyal love and the compassion. 6 Both the great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried, and they will not mourn for them, and no one will cut himself with a blade, and no one will shave himself for them. 7 And they will not break bread for the mourning ceremony for them, to comfort him because of the dead. And they will not give drink to them, the cup of desolation, for their fathers,f or for their mothers.g 8 And you shall not enter the house of the banquet, to sit with them, to eat and drink.”

9 For thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, “Look, I am about to cause to disappear from this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of jubilation, and the voice of joy, and the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride. 10 ⌊And then⌋h when you tell this people all these words and they ask you, ‘⌊Why⌋i has Yahweh pronounced against us all this great evil, and what is our iniquity, and what is our sin that we have sinned against Yahweh our God?’ 11 Then you shall say to them, ‘⌊Because⌋j your ancestorsk have forsaken me,’ ⌊declares⌋l Yahweh, ‘and they have gone after other gods, and they have served them, and they have bowed down in worship to them, and they have forsaken me, and they have not kept my laws. 12 And ⌊you have behaved badly⌋m more than your ancestors,n and look, you are going each one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, without listening to me. 13 So I will throw you from this land to the land that you have not known, you or your ancestors,o and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will not show you favor.

The Nation’s Return to the Land

14 ⌊Therefore⌋p look, days are coming,’ ⌊declares⌋q Yahweh, ‘and it will no longer be said, “⌊As Yahweh lives⌋,r who led up the ⌊Israelites⌋s from the land of Egypt,” 15 ⌊but only⌋t “⌊As Yahweh lives⌋,u who led up the ⌊Israelites⌋v from the land of the north, and from all the lands where he had driven them,” for I will bring them back to their ground that I gave to their ancestors.w 16 Look, I am sending for many fishermen,’ ⌊declares⌋x Yahweh, ‘and they will fish them out, and ⌊afterward⌋y I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and from the clefts of the cliffs. 17 For my eyes are on all their ways, they are not hidden ⌊from before me⌋,z and their iniquity is not concealed from before my eyes. 18 And ⌊I will first doubly repay⌋a their iniquity and their sin because of their profaning my land with the dead bodiesb of their abhorrences, and with their abominations they have filled up my inheritance.’ ”

19 O Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold,

and my refuge in the day of distress,

to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth,

and they will say, “Our ancestorsc have inherited only lies,d

vanity, and there is no profit in them.

20 Can a human make for himself gods?

Yet they are not gods!”

21 “⌊Therefore⌋e look, I am about to let them know,

this time I am going to let them know

my ⌊power⌋f and my might,

and they will know that my name is Yahweh.”

The Sin of Judah

17 “The sin of Judah is written with an iron stylus,

with a point of diamond it is engraved

on the tablet of their heart,

and on the horns of their altars.

2 As the remembering of their children,

so is the remembering of their altars

and their poles of Asherah worship

beside the leafy treesa on the high hills.

3 O my mountain in the open country,

I will give your wealth, all your treasures, for spoil,

your high places, because of your sin,

throughout all your territories.

4 And ⌊you will let go your hand from your inheritance⌋b

that I gave to you,

and I will make you serve your enemies

in the land that you do not know,

for you kindled a fire in my anger,

until eternity it will be kindled.”

The One Who Trusts in Humankind Contrasted With the One Who Trusts in Yahweh

5 Thus says Yahweh,

“Cursed is the person who trusts in humankind

and makes flesh his ⌊strength⌋,c

and turns aside his heart from Yahweh.

6 And he will be like a juniper in the wilderness,d

and he will not see when good comes,

and he will dwell in the parched places in the desert,e

in a land of salt flats,f where no one lives.

7 Blessed be the person who trusts in Yahweh,

and Yahweh is his trust.

8 For he will be like a tree planted by water,

and to the stream it sends its roots,

and it will not fear when heat comes,

and its leavesg will be luxuriant,

and in the year of drought it will not be anxious,

and it will not cease from the bearing of fruit.

9 The heart is deceitful more than anything else,

and it is disastrous. Who can understand it?

10 I, Yahweh, examine the ⌊mind⌋,h

I test the ⌊heart⌋,i

and give to each one according to his way,

according to the fruit of his deeds.

11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay

is one who amasses wealth without justice.

In the middle of his days it will leave him,

and at his end he will prove to be a fool.”

The Fountain of Living Water

12 A lofty throne of glory from the beginning

is the place of our sanctuary.

13 O Yahweh, the hope of Israel,

all those who forsake you will be put to shame,

and those who turn aside from you in the earth will be recorded,

for they have forsaken the fountain of living water, Yahweh.

14 Heal me, O Yahweh, and I will be healed,

save me, and I will be saved,

for you are my praise.

15 Look, they are saying to me,

“Where is the word of Yahweh?

Please let it come.”

16 But I, I have not run away from being a shepherd ⌊who follows you⌋,j

and I have not desired the disastrous day.

You, you know the pronouncement of my lips,

it was before your face.

17 You must not become to me a terror,

you are my refuge in the day of disaster.

18 Let my persecutors be put to shame,

⌊but as for me⌋,k do not let me be put to shame.

Let them be dismayed,

⌊but as for me⌋,l do not let me be dismayed.

Bring on them the day of disaster,

and with double destruction, destroy them.

The Sabbath Day

19 Thus said Yahweh to me, “Go, and you must stand in the ⌊People’s Gate⌋m through which the kings of Judah enter, and through which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem. 20 And you must say to them, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem who enter through these gates. 21 Thus says Yahweh, “Be on your guard for the sake of yourselves, that you must not carry a burden on the day of the Sabbath, and you must not bring itn through the gates of Jerusalem. 22 And you must not carry a burden from your houses on the day of the Sabbath, and you must not do any work. But you must declare holy the day of Sabbath, just as I commanded your ancestors.o 23 Yet they did not listen, and they did not incline their ear, and they hardened their neck so as to not hear, nor to receive discipline.

24 “And it will happen, if you carefully listen to me,” ⌊declares⌋p Yahweh, “to bring no burden through the gates of this city on the day of the Sabbath, but to declare holy the day of Sabbath, not to do on it any work, 25 then kings and officials who sit on the throne of David will enter through the gates of this city riding in chariotsq and on horses, they, and their officials, the people of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited ⌊forever⌋.r 26 And they will come from the towns of Judah, and from all around Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the Shephelah, and from the hill country, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings,s and sacrifices,t and grain offerings,u and frankincense, and bringing thank offeringsv to the house of Yahweh. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to declare holy the day of the Sabbath, and to not carry a burden and enter through the gates of Jerusalem on the day of the Sabbath, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it will not be quenched.” ’ ”

The Potter and the Clay

18 The word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, ⌊saying⌋,a 2 “Stand up and go down to the house of the potter, and there I will let you hear my words.” 3 So I went down to the house of the potter and look, there he was doing work at the potter’s wheels. 4 And the vessel that he was making with the clay was spoiled in the hand of the potter, so ⌊he made again⌋b another vessel, as it was right in the eyes of the potter to make.

5 And the word of Yahweh came to me, ⌊saying⌋,c 6 “Like this potter, am I not able to do to you, O house of Israel?” ⌊declares⌋d Yahweh. “Look, like the clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. 7 One moment I speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom, to uproot, and to tear down, and to destroy it.e 8 But if that nation turns back from its evil that I have threatened against it, then I will relent concerning the disaster that I planned to do to it. 9 And the next moment I speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom, to build, and to plant it.f 10 But if it does evil in my sight, to not listen to my voice, then I will relent concerning the good that I said I would do to it.

11 “So now then, say, please, to the ⌊people⌋g of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, ⌊saying⌋,h ‘Thus says Yahweh, “Look, I am preparing evil against you, and I am planning a plan against you. Please turn back, each one from his evil way, and walk rightly in your ways and your deeds.” ’ 12 But they will say, ‘It is hopeless, for we will go after our own plans, and each one of us will act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’

13 “Therefore thus says Yahweh,

‘Please ask among the nations, “Who has heard ⌊the like of this⌋?”i

The virgin of Israel has done something very horrible.

14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave from the cragsj of Sirion?

Or are the cold waters flowing from distant mountains dried up?

15 But my people have forgotten me.

They make smoke offerings to the idols,k

and they caused them to stumble in their ways, the ancient ways,

to go into ⌊bypaths⌋,l not one that is built up.

16 To make their land a horror,

an object of whistling for eternity.

All who pass by it will be appalled,

and he will shake his head.

17 Like the wind from the east

I will scatter them ⌊before⌋m the enemy.

I will show them my back and not my face

in the day of their disaster.’ ”

Jeremiah’s Imprecatory Prayer

18 Then they said, “Come and let us plan plans against Jeremiah, for instruction will not be lost from the priest, nor advice from the wise man, nor the word from the prophet. Come and ⌊let us bring charges against him⌋,n and let us not listen attentively to any of his words.”

19 Listen attentively to me, O Yahweh,

and listen to the voice of my opponents.

20 Should good be repaid in place of evil?

Yet they have dug a pit for me.

Remember my standing ⌊before you⌋o to speak good for them,

to avert your wrath from them.

21 ⌊Therefore⌋p give their children to the famine,

and hand them over to the ⌊power⌋q of the sword,

and let their wives be bereaved and widows,

and let their men be killed by death,

their young men struck dead

by the sword in the battle.

22 Let a cry for help be heard from their houses

when you suddenly bring upon them the raiding band,

for they have dug a pit to catch me,

and they have fixed secretly a trap for my feet.

23 But you, O Yahweh, you know

⌊all their plans of assassination against me⌋.r

You must not make atonement for their iniquity,

and you must not cause their sin to be blotted out from ⌊before you⌋.s

But let them be overthrown ⌊before you⌋.t

Deal with them in the time of your anger.

The Valley of the Slaughter

19 Thus said Yahweh, “Go and buy a potter’s earthenware jar, and take some of the elders of the people, and some of the leaders of the priests, 2 and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, which is at the entrance of the Gate of the Potsherd, and proclaim there the words that I speak to you. 3 And you shall say, ‘Hear the word of Yahweh, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: “Look, I am about to bring disaster upon this place so that ⌊everyone who hears it⌋,a his ears will ring. 4 Because they have forsaken me, and they have defaced this place, and they have made smoke offerings in it to other gods whom they have not known, they, nor their ancestors,b nor the kings of Judah, and they have filled up this place with the blood of the innocent, 5 and they have built the high places of Baal, to burn their children in the fire, burnt offerings to Baal, which I commanded not, and I ordered not, and it did not come to my ⌊mind⌋.c

6 “⌊Therefore⌋d look, days are about to come,” ⌊declares⌋e Yahweh, “when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, ⌊but⌋f the Valley of the Slaughter. 7 And I will lay waste the plansg of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I will bring them to ruin by the sword ⌊before⌋h their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life, and I will give their dead bodiesi as food to the birdsj of heaven and to the animalsk of the earth. 8 And I will make this city a horror, and an object of hissing, everyone who passes by it will be appalled, and will hiss because of all its wounds. 9 And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons, and the flesh of their daughters, and each one will eat the flesh of his neighbor in the siege and in the distress which their enemies and those who seek their life inflict on them.” ’

10 “Then you shall break the jar before the eyes of the men who go with you. 11 And you shall say to them, ‘Thus says Yahweh of hosts: “So I will break this people and this city as one breaks the vessel of the potter, so that it is not able to be repaired again. And in Topheth they will bury ⌊until there is no room to bury⌋.l 12 Thus will I do to this place,” ⌊declares⌋m Yahweh, “and to its inhabitants, to make this city like Topheth. 13 And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be unclean like the place of Topheth, all the houses where they made smoke offerings upon their roofs to all the host of heaven, and where they poured out libations to other gods.” ’ ”

14 Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where Yahweh had sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the courtyard of the house of Yahweh and said to all the people, 15 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Look, I am about to bring to this city and upon all its towns all the disaster that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their neck to not hear my words.’ ”