
{1}1{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}These are the words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of 
the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}The 
word of Yahweh came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of 
Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah. {R}_{I}3_{/}It came again during the 
reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the 
eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah. In the 
fifth month of that year, the inhabitants of Jerusalem were taken 
into exile.

{N}THE CALL OF JEREMIAH{/}

[\u0095]_{I}4_{/}A word of Yahweh came to me, {R}_{I}5_{/}"Even before I formed 
you in the womb I have known you; even before you were born I had 
set you apart, and appointed you a prophet to the nations!"
{I}6_{/}I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh! I do not know how to speak; I am 
still young!"
[=]_{I}7_{/}But Yahweh replied, "Do not say; 'I am still young', for 
now you will go whatever be the mission I am entrusting to you, 
and you will speak of whatever I command you to say. [=]_{I}8_{/}Do 
not be afraid of them, for I will be with you to protect you - it 
is Yahweh who speaks!"
[=]_{I}9_{/}Then Yahweh stretched out his hand and touched my mouth 
and said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth. 
[=]_{I}10_{/}See! Today I give you authority over nations and over 
kingdoms to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and to overthrow, 
to build and to plant."
{R}_{I}11_{/}A word of Yahweh came to me again, "Jeremiah what do you 
see?" I said, "I see the branch of a watching tree." [=]_{I}12_{/}And 
Yahweh said to me, "You are right. I too am watching to fulfill my 
word." {I}13_{/}The word of Yahweh came to me a second time, "What do 
you see?" I replied, "I see a boiling caldron coming from the 
north and it is tilted towards this direction." Then Yahweh said 
to me, {I}14_{/}"From the north disaster will boil down on all the 
people of this land. {R}_{I}15_{/}I am calling all the kingdoms of the 
north - it is Yahweh who speaks. Each of them will come and encamp 
at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem; against all its 
surrounding walls and against all the cities of Judah.
[=]_{I}16_{/}I will pass judgment on my people because of the evil 
they do in forsaking me; they have burned incense to foreign gods 
and worshipped gods their hands have made.
[=]_{I}17_{/}But you, get ready for action; stand up and say to them 
all that I command you. Be not scared of them or I will scare you 
in their presence!
{R}_{I}18_{/}See, I will make you a fortified city, a pillar of iron with 
walls of bronze, against all the nations, against the kings and 
princes of Judah, against the priests and the people of the land. 
[=]_{I}19_{/}They will fight against you but shall not overcome you, 
for I am with you to rescue you - it is Yahweh who speaks." 

{N}THE INFIDELITIES OF ISRAEL{/}

{1}2{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}A word of Yahweh came to me, [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}"Go and shout this 
in the hearing of Jerusalem. This is Yahweh's word:
I remember your kindness as a youth,
the love of your bridal days,
when you followed me in the wilderness,
through a land not sown.
[=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}Israel was holy to Yahweh,
the first-fruits of his harvest.
All who ate of it had to pay
and misfortune fell on them -
it is Yahweh who speaks.
{R}_{I}4_{/}Hear the word of Yahweh, people of Jacob,
all you families of the nation of Israel.
[=]_{I}5_{/}What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they strayed far from me?
Why did they pursue what is worthless
and become worthless themselves?
[=]_{I}6_{/}And they did not say: 'Where is Yahweh
who brought us out of Egypt
and led us in the wilderness,
through a land of deserts and pits,
a land of drought and darkness,
a land still untrodden and without inhabitants?'
{I}7_{/}I brought you to a fertile land
to eat of the choicest fruit.
As soon as you came you defiled my land
and dishonored my heritage!
[=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}The priests did not ask, 'Where is Yahweh?'
The masters of my teaching did not know me;
the pastors of my people betrayed me;
the prophets followed worthless idols
and spoke in the name of Baal.
{I}9_{/}Therefore I contend with you -
it is Yahweh who speaks -
and I will contend with the sons of your sons!
{I}10_{/}Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see,
or send to Kedar and observe with care
if there has ever been such a thing!
[=]_{I}11_{/}Has a nation exchanged its gods,
false though they be?
But my people have exchanged their Glory
for what is worthless!
[=]_{I}12_{/}Be aghast at that, O heavens!
Shudder, be utterly appalled -
it is Yahweh who speaks -
[=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}for my people have done two evils:
they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water,
to dig for themselves leaking cisterns
that hold no water!
{R}_{I}14_{/}Did I make Israel a slave
or was he born in bondage?
How then did you become the spoil of others?
{I}15_{/}The lions have roared against you,
loudly indeed have they roared,
making your country a wasteland,
your cities a ruins without inhabitants.
{I}16_{/}Even the Egyptians of Memphis and Tahpanhes have humbled you!
{R}_{I}17_{/}Didn't you bring this on yourself
by forsaking Yahweh, your God,
even as he led you in the way?
{R}_{I}18_{/}Now why call to Egypt?
Will the water of the Nile heal you?
And why go to Assyria?
What good will the water of the River do you?
[=]_{I}19_{/}Your own wickedness chastises you
and your own unfaithfulness punishes you!
Know, and see that it is bitter and evil
to forsake Yahweh your God
and no longer to fear me -
it is Yahweh, the God of hosts, who speaks!
[=]_{I}20_{/}It was long ago that you broke your yoke
and burst your bonds,
saying: 'I will not serve!'
On every high hill
and under every green tree
you played the harlot!
[=]_{I}21_{/}I planted you a choice vine, a shoot of wholesome stock;
why have you become degenerate, a wild vine?
{I}22_{/}Even if you wash with soda
and use soap in abundance,
the stain of your sin is always before me -
it is the Lord Yahweh who speaks.
[=]_{R}_{I}23_{/}How do you dare say: 'I am not defiled,
I have not gone after the Baals'?
See your footprints in the valley,
admit what you have done,
O restive young she-camel, running here and there.
{R}_{I}24_{/}Wild ass of the desert,
sniffing the wind in her desire,
who can restrain her lust?
Those who pursue her, need not tire themselves,
at mating time they will find her.
{I}25_{/}Run if you wish, until your feet are sore,
and your throat is dry!
But you say: 'It's no use,
I love foreign gods, it is them I follow.'

{N}THE CRIMES OF JERUSALEM{/}

{R}_{I}26_{/}As a thief is shamed when caught,
so is the house of Israel,
they, their kings, their princes,
their priests and their prophets!
{I}27_{/}To a tree they say: 'You are my father!'
and to a stone: 'You gave me birth!'
For they have turned their back on me instead of their face!
In the day of misfortune
they will call me: 'Rise and save us!'
[=]_{R}_{I}28_{/}Where, then, are the gods of your own making?
Let them rise and save you if they can,
in the time of your distress,
for your gods, O Judah! are as many
as your cities.
{I}29_{/}Why argue with me? You have all betrayed me - it is Yahweh 
who speaks.
[=]_{R}_{I}30_{/}In vain did I strike your sons,
they did not learn a lesson!
And your sword, like a destroying lion
devoured your prophets!
{R}_{I}31_{/}All you of this generation, hear what Yahweh says:
Have I been a desert for Israel,
a land of darkness?
Why do my people say:
'We will depart from you
and no more return to you'?
{I}32_{/}Does a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her sash?
But my people have forgotten me
for days without number!
{I}33_{/}How well you direct your steps in your search for lovers,
even to walking along with crime!
{I}34_{/}Look at your garments
stained with the blood of the innocent poor, although you did not 
catch them breaking in!
{I}35_{/}I know you say: 'I am innocent. Why does his anger not turn 
away from me?'
I will accuse you: Yes, you have sinned!
[=]_{R}_{I}36_{/}How lightly do you change your way!
You will be put to shame by Egypt as you were by Assyria.
[=]_{I}37_{/}You will also leave that place with your hands on your 
head,
for Yahweh has rejected those you trust, and they will not help 
you!

{N}ARE YOU REALLY RETURNING TO ME?{/}

{1}3{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries 
another man, should he come back to her? Wouldn't the land be 
totally polluted? But you, you are a harlot with many lovers, and 
you still have the nerve to return to me? - it is Yahweh who 
speaks.
[=]_{I}2_{/}Lift your eyes to the hills and see: Where have you not 
been violated? By the wayside you sat waiting for your lovers, 
like an Arab in the wilderness, and you have dishonored the land 
with your evil and your harlotry!
[=]_{I}3_{/}The showers held back and there was no spring rain for 
you, yet you have a harlot's brow and refuse to be ashamed! 
[=]_{I}4_{/}Worse still you called to me: 'Father, guide of my youth! 
{I}5_{/}Will you always be angry? Will your wrath last forever?' That 
is what you said, and did evil as much as you were able to."

{N}COMPARISON OF THE TWO SISTERS{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}6_{/}During the reign of King Josiah, Yahweh said to me, "Have 
you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone on every 
high hill and under every green tree and there played the harlot! 
{R}_{I}7_{/}So I thought: After all this she will return to me; but she 
did not.
Her perverse sister, Judah, saw [=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}that for all the 
adulteries of that unfaithful Israel, I sent her away with a 
certificate of divorce. Yet I saw that the disloyal Judah had no 
fear and that she too went and played the harlot! {I}9_{/}Because of 
her harlotry, she dishonored the land, sinning with stones and 
trees. {R}_{I}10_{/}And even after that her sister, the unfaithful Judah, 
did not come to me wholeheartedly. It was only pretense. It is 
Yahweh who speaks."
{R}_{I}11_{/}And Yahweh continued, "Rebellious Israel has been less 
guilty than false Judah. {R}_{I}12_{/}Go and shout this message to the 
north:
Come back, unfaithful Israel - it is Yahweh who speaks - I will 
not let my anger fall on you for I am merciful, I will not be 
angry forever.
{R}_{I}13_{/}Simply confess your guilt; you have rebelled against Yahweh 
your God, and have scattered your favors among strangers under 
every green tree, and you have not obeyed my voice - it is the 
word of Yahweh.

{N}THE NEW JERUSALEM{/}

{I}14_{/}Come back, faithless people - it is Yahweh who speaks - for I 
am your master. I will select one from a city and two from a 
family and bring you to Zion. {I}15_{/}Then I will give you shepherds 
after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and prudence. 
[=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}And when you have increased and multiplied in the land 
in those days - it is Yahweh who speaks - people will no longer 
speak of the ark of the covenant of Yahweh; it will not be 
remembered or missed, nor shall it be made again!
[=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}Then they will call Jerusalem 'The Throne of Yahweh' and 
all the nations will gather there to honor the name of Yahweh and 
no longer will they follow the stubbornness of their wicked 
hearts.
{R}_{I}18_{/}In those days the people of Judah will unite with the people 
of Israel and together they will return from the north to the land 
that I gave to their ancestors as a heritage.

{N}CONTINUATION OF THE POEM FOR CONVERSION{/}

[=]_{I}19_{/}And I thought: How gladly would I have placed you among 
my children and given you as your inheritance a beautiful land, 
the most splendid among all the nations! And I thought you would 
call me 'my father' and not turn from following me!
{R}_{I}20_{/}But, like a woman unfaithful to her husband, you have been 
unfaithful to me, O people of Israel! - it is Yahweh who speaks."
{R}_{I}21_{/}A cry is heard in the barren heights, the weeping and 
pleading of the children of Israel, because they have perverted 
their way and have forgotten Yahweh their God!
[=]_{R}_{I}22_{/}"Come back, unfaithful people, I will heal you of your 
rebelliousness!"
'Yes, we come to you, for you are Yahweh our God!
{R}_{I}23_{/}Truly the temples on the heights and the feasts on the hills 
are useless; only Yahweh our God can save Israel.
{I}24_{/}The infamous god has devoured all the fruits of our 
forefathers' labor since our youth, their flocks and their herds, 
their sons and their daughters. [=]_{R}_{I}25_{/}Let us lie down in our 
shame and let our confusion cover us, for it is against Yahweh our 
God that we have sinned from our youth until this day, we and our 
fathers, and we have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh our God!'

{N}DISASTER FORETOLD{/}

{1}4{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}"If you return to me, O Israel - it is Yahweh who speaks - if 
you convert to me and remove your dirty idols from my sight you 
will have no need to hide from me; [=]_{I}2_{/}if you truthfully, 
justly and honestly swear by Yahweh's life, then you will be a 
blessing for all nations, and you will be their glory."
[=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}For thus says Yahweh to the people of Judah and 
Jerusalem, "Break up deeply your fallow land and do not sow among 
the thorns. {R}_{I}4_{/}O men of Judah and Jerusalem! circumcise 
yourselves for Yahweh and purify your hearts, lest my wrath spread 
like a fire that cannot be quenched because of your evil deeds."
{R}_{I}5_{/}Announce this in Judah,
proclaim it in Jerusalem.
Sound the trumpet through the land;
shout aloud and say:
"Assemble and go to the fortified cities!
{I}6_{/}Raise a banner towards Zion!
Run for your lives, do not tarry,
for I will bring evil and great destruction from the north.
{I}7_{/}The lion has come out of his den; the destroyer of nations has 
set out to devastate your country and make your cities ruins 
without inhabitants!
{I}8_{/}Because of this, wrap yourselves in sackcloth; lament and 
groan, for the fury of Yahweh's anger has not turned away from us.
{R}_{I}9_{/}On that day - it is Yahweh who speaks - the king and the 
leaders will be discouraged, the priests will be terrified and the 
prophets will be astounded. [=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}People will say, "Ah! Lord 
Yahweh, you have truly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying: 
'You will have peace' even as the sword is at our throat."

[=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}When the time comes it will be said to the people of 
Jerusalem: 
"Wearing wind from the desert heights is coming to the daughter of 
my people, neither to winnow nor to cleanse! 
{I}12_{/}A strong wind comes from there.
Now I will declare my judgments against them."
{I}13_{/}See! Someone comes like the clouds,
his chariots are like a whirlwind,
his horses swifter than eagles!
Woe to us for we are ruined!
[=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}Cleanse your heart of every evil, Jerusalem, that you 
may be saved! How long will you harbor evil plans within you?
{R}_{I}15_{/}A voice from Dan declares of a coming disaster from Mount 
Ephraim! "Warn the nations. {R}_{I}16_{/}Let everyone know in Jerusalem 
and Judah that enemies are coming from a distant land." {R}_{I}17_{/}They 
encircle Jerusalem like men guarding a field, because she has 
rebelled against me - it is Yahweh who speaks.
{I}18_{/}Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you. How 
bitter is your punishment and how it deeply penetrates your heart 
because you have rebelled against me!"

{N}BARREN SOIL{/}

{I}19_{/}I am in anguish! I tremble in the depths of my being; my 
heart beats wildly. I cannot remain silent for I hear the sound of 
the trumpet and the clamor of war!
{I}20_{/}Disaster after disaster; all the land is laid waste; my tents 
are suddenly destroyed and in an instant all that shelters me is 
wiped out. {I}21_{/}For how long must I see the banner raised and hear 
the sound of the trumpet?
{I}22_{/}"This happens because my people are foolish and do not know 
me. They are senseless and have no understanding, - wise in doing 
evil but stupid in doing good!"
[=]_{I}23_{/}I looked at the earth and I found it formless and void; I 
looked at the sky but darkness engulfed it.
{I}24_{/}I looked at the mountains and they were quaking, and all the 
hills were swaying to and fro.
{R}_{I}25_{/}I looked and saw that it was a no-man's land; even the birds 
deserted the skies.
{R}_{I}26_{/}I looked and saw that the fruitful land was a desert and 
that all the cities were in ruins because of Yahweh and his fierce 
anger.
{I}27_{/}Yahweh says, "The whole land may be desolate but I will not 
totally destroy it! {I}28_{/}Because of this the earth shall mourn and 
the skies be darkened: I have declared my purpose and will not 
relent; I have made up my mind and will not change it."
{I}29_{/}At the sound of the horsemen and
archers every town takes flight;
some go to the thickets
and climb among the rocks.
All the towns are deserted
and no one is left.
[=]_{I}30_{/}And you, desolate one,
what will you do?
Even if you are garbed in scarlet
and wear jewels of gold
and put make-up on your eyes,
in vain do you beautify yourself,
for your lovers despise you
and are ready to take your life.
[=]_{I}31_{/}I hear a cry as of a woman in labor, anguish as of one 
giving birth the first time. It is the cry of the daughter of 
Zion, gasping for breath with hands outstretched: "Woe is me! I am 
fainting amidst a band of murderers!"

{N}NOT ONE IS UPRIGHT{/}

{1}5{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}"Go through the streets of Jerusalem; observe carefully 
and take note. Search the entire city squares and find, if you 
can, even one man who acts justly and seeks the truth, that I may 
forgive this city." {I}2_{/}Even though they swear, 'As surely as 
Yahweh lives' they do not mean what they say.
{I}3_{/}O Yahweh, are you not looking for truth? You struck them but 
they did not feel it; you crushed them but they rejected 
correction. They set their faces harder than a rock and refused to 
repent.
{R}_{I}4_{/}Then I thought: "Such are the poor, they act foolishly 
because they do not know the way of Yahweh, the law of their God! 
{R}_{I}5_{/}So I will go to the well-to-do and speak to them for they 
know the way of Yahweh and the law of their God." But they, too, 
have broken their yoke and burst their bonds!
{R}_{I}6_{/}That is why the lion from the forest will slay them and the 
wolf from the desert will destroy them, while the leopard lurks 
around their cities. Anyone who comes out is torn to pieces, for 
great is their sin and many are their desertions!
{I}7_{/}"Why should I pardon you? Your sons have rejected me and sworn 
by false gods. I gave them all they needed and yet they committed 
adultery and trooped to the harlot's house. They are well-fed, 
[=]_{I}8_{/}lusty stallions, each one neighing for his neighbor's 
wife.
{I}9_{/}Shall I not call them to account - it is Yahweh who speaks - 
shall I not take vengeance against a nation like this?
[=]_{I}10_{/}Go up, nations, through her vineyards and ravage them, 
but do not entirely destroy my vine. Cut off her branches for they 
are not Yahweh's. {R}_{I}11_{/}For the people of Israel and Judah have 
been utterly unfaithful to me - it is Yahweh who speaks.
{I}12_{/}They have spoken falsely of Yahweh, saying, "He does not 
exist; no harm will happen to us; we shall see neither the sword 
nor famine! {R}_{I}13_{/}As for the prophets, they are but wind. God 
doesn't speak to them."
[=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}Because of this, Yahweh the God of hosts has spoken, 
"This is what I am going to do to them: I will put words in your 
mouth. They will be like a fire, and this people will be the wood 
it devours."
{R}_{I}15_{/}People of Israel! I will bring against you a nation from 
afar - it is Yahweh who speaks - ( ) whose language you do not 
understand. 
{I}16_{/}( ) All of them are mighty warriors.
[=]_{I}17_{/}They will devour your harvest and your food,
devour your sons and daughters,
devour your flocks and herds,
devour your vines and your fig trees.
They will devastate with the sword
the fortified cities in which you trust.
{I}18_{/}But even in those days - it is Yahweh who speaks - I will not 
utterly destroy them. [=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}And when they ask, "Why has Yahweh 
our God done all this to us?" you shall say to them, "Just as you 
have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so shall 
you serve strangers in a land that is not your own."
{R}_{I}20_{/}Declare this to the people of Jacob and make it known in 
Judah,
[=]_{I}21_{/}listen, stupid and senseless people!
who have eyes and do not see,
who have ears and do not hear!
[=]_{R}_{I}22_{/}Do you not fear me? -
it is Yahweh who speaks -
Will you not tremble before me?
I set the sand as a limit to the sea, an everlasting barrier it 
may never pass;
its waves toss but cannot prevail;
they roar but are unable to go beyond it.
{I}23_{/}But this people's heart is rebellious and stubborn; they have 
turned aside and gone away! [=]_{R}_{I}24_{/}They do not say in their 
hearts, "Let us fear Yahweh our God who sends in season the rain, 
and has in store for us the harvest."
{I}25_{/}Your crimes have turned order into chaos, your sins have 
deprived you of these blessings, [=]_{I}26_{/}for among my people are 
wicked men; they set traps like fowlers and catch human beings.
{I}27_{/}Their houses are filled with loot,
like a cage full of birds.
It has turned them rich and powerful;
[=]_{I}28_{/}they have become fat and sleek.
Great is their wickedness;
there is no justice in their judgment,
for they do not protect the orphan's rights nor defend the needy's 
cause!
{I}29_{/}Should I not severely punish them for such things? - it is 
Yahweh who speaks - Should I not exact vengeance against a people 
like them?
{I}30_{/}A terrible and abominable thing has happened in the land, 
[=]_{R}_{I}31_{/}prophets prophesy lies and priests teach what pleases 
them, and my people like it to be so. But what will you do soon?

{N}JERUSALEM IS BESIEGED{/}

{1}6{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}People of Benjamin! Seek safety beyond Jerusalem.
Sound the trumpet in Tekoa,
raise a signal in Beth-hacherem,
for misfortune pours out from the north:
it will be a huge disaster.
{I}2_{/}Shall I not compare you, daughter of Zion, to a beautiful 
pasture? {I}3_{/}Shepherds with their flocks are coming to her, they 
pitch their tents and feed their flocks all over her.
{I}4_{/}Declare a holy war against her,
attack her at noontime.
Woe to us! For the day declines;
the evening shadows lengthen!
{I}5_{/}Rise up! We shall attack by night
and destroy her palaces!
{R}_{I}6_{/}For Yahweh of hosts has spoken: "Cut down trees and build a 
siege-ramp against Jerusalem. This city must be punished for all 
in her is oppression. {R}_{I}7_{/}Evil springs from her as water from a 
well. Violence and opression are heard in the city, suffering and 
cruelty are always before me.

{N}JEREMIAH'S THREATS{/}

{R}_{I}8_{/}Take warning, Jerusalem, lest I turn away from you and make 
you a desolation, a no-man's land."
{R}_{I}9_{/}Yahweh of hosts further said, "You shall glean thoroughly as 
a vine, what is left of Israel. You shall do what the grape-
gatherer does when his hand goes over the branches again."
[=]_{I}10_{/}To whom shall I speak, whom shall I warn? No one of them 
wants to listen, that they may understand. Their ears are stuffed 
and they pay no attention. They scorn what Yahweh says and refuse 
to listen. 
[=]_{I}11_{/}The anger of Yahweh has filled me and I can bear it no 
longer!
"Then pour it out on the children in the street and on the 
gathering of young men; both husband and wife will be caught, both 
the elderly and those who are not of age. {I}12_{/}Their houses will 
be passed to others, together with their fields and their wives, 
when I stretch out my hand and strike the people of the land - it 
is Yahweh who speaks.
{R}_{I}13_{/}All of them - from the least to the greatest - are greedy 
for gain; prophet and priest alike are deceitful. [=]_{I}14_{/}They 
treat lightly the disaster of my people saying, "Peace, peace," 
when there is no peace.
{I}15_{/}They should be ashamed of their abominable deeds. But they 
have no shame and don't even know how to blush. Surely they shall 
fall with those who will fall; when I ask them to account they 
will stumble - it is Yahweh who speaks.
[=]_{I}16_{/}This is what Yahweh says, "Stand in the roads and look. 
Ask for the ancient paths and know where the good way is. Walk on 
it and experience peace for yourselves." But you said, "We will 
not take it." {I}17_{/}Then Yahweh set watchmen over you: "Pay 
attention to the sound of the horn!" But you said, "We will not 
listen."
{I}18_{/}Listen nations; know what will befall them! {R}_{I}19_{/}Listen 
earth! I am bringing disaster on this people! It is the fruit of 
their rebellion, because they ignored my words and despised my 
Law.
[=]_{I}20_{/}The incense from Sheba is useless for me, don't bring me 
the fragrant cane from a distant land. Your burnt offerings are 
not acceptable to me nor do I find your sacrifices pleasing."
{I}21_{/}This is what Yahweh says, "I will place stumbling blocks 
before this people to make them stumble, parents and children, 
neighbors and friends together."
{I}22_{/}It is Yahweh who speaks, "See, a people comes from the north, 
a powerful nation from the ends of the earth. {R}_{I}23_{/}Armed with bow 
and spear they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the 
roaring sea. Mounted on horses, in battle formation they come as a 
fire, against you, daughter of Zion."
{I}24_{/}When we heard this our hands went limp, anguish seized us 
like the birthpangs of a woman. {I}25_{/}"Let us not go to the fields 
or onto the roads, for the enemy's sword brings terror on every 
side."
[=]_{I}26_{/}O my people! Wrap yourself in sackcloth and roll in 
ashes; mourn with bitter lament as for an only child, for the 
destroyer is coming against us.
{I}27_{/}"I have appointed you as an examiner among my people, that 
you may see and appreciate their ways."
{I}28_{/}They are all rebels and slanderers. They are like bronze and 
iron and all are corrupt. [=]_{I}29_{/}The bellows blow to burn away 
the lead with fire, but the smelter works in vain for the evil 
elements remain. [=]_{I}30_{/}They will be called 'worthless silver' 
for Yahweh has rejected them.

{N}I CAN DESTROY THIS TEMPLE{/}

{1}7{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}These words were spoken by Yahweh, to Jeremiah, 
{R}_{I}2_{/}"Stand at the gate of Yahweh's house and proclaim this in a 
loud voice: Listen to what Yahweh says, all you people of Judah 
(who enter these gates to worship Yahweh). {R}_{I}3_{/}Yahweh the God of 
Israel says this: 
Amend your ways and your deeds and I will stay with you in this 
place. [=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}Rely not on empty words such as: "Look, the Temple 
of Yahweh! the Temple of Yahweh! This is the Temple of Yahweh!"
{I}5_{/}It is far better for you to amend your ways and act justly 
with all. {I}6_{/}Do not abuse the stranger, orphan or widow or shed 
innocent blood in this place or follow false gods to your own 
ruin. {I}7_{/}Then I will stay with you in this place, in the land I 
gave to your forefathers in times past and forever.
{I}8_{/}But you trust in deceptive and useless words. {I}9_{/}You steal, 
kill, take the wife of your neighbor; you swear falsely, worship 
Baal and follow foreign gods who are not yours. [=]_{I}10_{/}Then, 
after doing all these horrible things, you come and stand before 
me in this temple that bears my Name and say, "Now we are safe."
[=]_{I}11_{/}Is this house on which rests my Name a den of thieves? I 
have seen this myself - it is Yahweh who speaks. [=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}Go to 
the sanctuary at Shiloh in Israel, where I first let my Name rest, 
and see what I did to that place because of the wickedness of my 
people Israel.
[=]_{I}13_{/}You have done all this and have not listened when I 
repeatedly warned you; neither have you answered when I called 
you. {R}_{I}14_{/}What I did in Shiloh, I will likewise do to this temple 
on which rests my Name, this sacred place in which you trust and 
which I have given to you and to your forefathers.
{R}_{I}15_{/}As for you, I will drive you out of my sight, just as I cast 
away all your kinsmen in the north, the entire race of Ephraim.
[=]_{I}16_{/}Do not plead for this people. Make no prayer or 
supplication for them; do not press me on their behalf because I 
will not listen to you.
{R}_{I}17_{/}Don't you see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the 
streets of Jerusalem? [=]_{I}18_{/}The children gather wood and the 
fathers light fire. The women knead dough to make cakes for the 
Queen of Heaven and pour out drink offerings for foreign gods. 
{I}19_{/}They do this to belittle me. But is it me they belittle? asks 
Yahweh. No, they belittle themselves to their own confusion.
{R}_{I}20_{/}Because of this Yahweh has spoken, "The fury of my anger 
will be poured out on this place, both on man and beast, on the 
trees in the fields and on the produce of the earth; it will burn 
and not be extinguished."

{N}TRUE RELIGION{/}

[\u0095]_{I}21_{/}This is what Yahweh of hosts, says to you, "Add your 
burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the flesh. {R}_{I}22_{/}When I 
brought your forefathers out of Egypt I did not give them mandate 
regarding sacrifices and burnt offerings. [=]_{R}_{I}23_{/}One thing I 
did command them: Listen to my voice and I will be your God and 
you will be my people. Walk in the way I command you and all will 
be well with you. {I}24_{/}But they did not listen and paid no 
attention; they followed the bad habits of their stubborn heart 
and turned away from me.
{R}_{I}25_{/}From the time I brought their forefathers out of Egypt until 
this day I have continually sent them my servants, the prophets, 
{I}26_{/}but this stiff-necked people did not listen. They paid no 
attention and were worse than their forefathers.
{I}27_{/}You may say all these things to them but they will not 
listen; you will call them but they will not answer. {I}28_{/}This is 
a nation that did not obey Yahweh and refused to be disciplined; 
truth has perished and is no longer heard from their lips.
[=]_{I}29_{/}Cut off your hair and throw it away. Intone a lament on 
the bare heights, for Yahweh has rejected and foresaken these 
people.' This is Yahweh's word.
{R}_{I}30_{/}The people of Judah have done what disgusts me; they have 
placed their idols in the sanctuary that houses my Name and 
defiled it. [=]_{R}_{I}31_{/}They have built the temple of Topheth in the 
valley of Hinnom where they burn their sons and daughters, 
something I never commanded or even thought of.
{R}_{I}32_{/}Hence the time will come when it will no longer be called 
Topheth or the valley of Hinnom, but rather the valley of 
Slaughter, for they will bury the dead in Topheth for lack of 
space elsewhere. {I}33_{/}And the corpses of this people will be eaten 
by birds and animals; and none will scare them away.
{R}_{I}34_{/}In the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem I will 
bring to an end all expressions of joy and happiness, the songs of 
the bride and bridegroom, for the land will become a wilderness.

{1}8{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}When that time comes - it is Yahweh who speaks - they 
will bring from the tombs the bones of the kings of Judah, the 
bones of their leaders, priests, prophets and of the inhabitants 
of Jerusalem. {I}2_{/}They will expose them to the Sun and Moon and 
all the gods of the skies, because they have loved and served 
them, and they have followed and worshiped them. These bones will 
not be gathered up to be replaced in tombs but will remain like 
dung on the ground.
[=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}Death will be preferable to life for the survivors of 
this perverse race who remain in places to which I have driven 
them.

{N}SIN AND PUNISHMENT{/}

{R}_{I}4_{/}This is what Yahweh told me, "You will say to them: Doesn't 
the one who falls get up and the one who goes away return? {I}5_{/}Why 
then has this people turned away in stubborn rebellion? They make 
a habit of deceit and refuse to repent.
{I}6_{/}I listened attentively; they did not speak truthfully nor did 
they repent of their wickedness. No one says: 'What have I done!' 
They all follow their own course like horses plunging into battle. 
{R}_{I}7_{/}Even the stork in the sky knows her times; the dove, the 
swallow and the crane know the time to return, but my people do 
not know the ordinances of Yahweh.
{R}_{I}8_{/}How dare you say: 'We are wise and the Law of Yahweh is with 
us' when the deceiving pen of the scribe has turned it into a lie? 
[=]_{I}9_{/}The wise will be put to shame; they shall be dismayed and 
trapped. Since they have despised the word of Yahweh, what then is 
left as the basis of their wisdom?
[=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}That is why I will give their wives to other men, their 
fields to conquerors, for all of them, the smallest to the 
greatest, are greedy for gain. All, from the prophet to the 
priest, practice deceit. {I}11_{/}They treat lightly the wound of my 
people saying 'Peace, peace!' when there is no peace.
{I}12_{/}They should be ashamed of their aborminable deeds. They have 
no shame and don't even know how to blush. Surely they shall fall 
along with those who will fall; for I will ask them to account and 
they will stumble.
[=]_{I}13_{/}I will make an end of them - it is Yahweh who speaks - 
for the vine yields no grapes, the fig tree no figs, even the 
leaves are withered. I will hand them over to the passersby."
{R}_{I}14_{/}"Why do we sit still? Get up! We shall go to the fortified 
cities to perish there. See, Yahweh our God wants us to die and 
gives us poisoned water, because we have sinned against him.
{I}15_{/}We hoped for peace and we see nothing good! for a time of 
healing, but terror came! {R}_{I}16_{/}From Dan we hear the snorting of 
his horses; at the sound of the neighing of his stallions the 
whole earth trembles."
- "They are coming to devour the land and all it contains, the 
city and all who dwell in it. {I}17_{/}For I am letting loose against 
you snakes and adders that cannot be charmed, and they will bite 
you."
{I}18_{/}Sorrow takes hold of me, my heart fails me. {R}_{I}19_{/}The 
pleading of the daughter of my people is heard all over the land: 
Has Yahweh abandoned Zion? Is her king no longer there? -"Why have 
they provoked me with their images, with their foreign gods?"
{I}20_{/}The harvest is over, the summer is past and we have not been 
saved. {I}21_{/}I am brokenhearted because of my people's misfortune.
I am crushed and dismayed. {I}22_{/}Is there no balm in Gilead? Is 
there no healer there? Why is no remedy given to my people?
[=]_{R}_{I}23_{/}I would that my head were a well of water and my eyes a 
fountain of tears to weep day and night for the slain of my 
people.

{1}9{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Who will give me a lodging, in the desert, that I may leave 
my people
and go far from them?
For they are all adulterers,
a band of traitors.
{I}2_{/}They bend their tongue like bows.
Deceit and not truth prevail in the land.
They commit one crime after another
and do not know me.
[=]_{I}3_{/}Each one is suspicious of his friend
and no one trusts his brother,
brother deceives brother,
friend slanders friend.
{I}4_{/}They deceive each other;
no one speaks the truth.
Their tongues are addicted to lying;
they are perverse and too hardened to repent.
{I}5_{/}They live amidst deceitfulness
and deceitfulness prevents them from knowing me.
{R}_{I}6_{/}That is why - word of Yahweh God of hosts -
I will refine and test them,
for what else can I do for my people?
[=]_{I}7_{/}Their tongues are like deadly arrows,
uttering deceitful words.
With their friend they speak of peace
but in their heart they set a trap for him.
[=]_{I}8_{/}Isn't it reason enough for me to punish them?
Shall I not avenge myself on such a nation?
{I}9_{/}On the mountains there will be weeping and wailing, and on the 
prairies of the wilderness a dirge, because they have been burnt 
and deserted, and the sound of flock is heard no more. The birds 
of the sky and the beasts have all fled and are gone.
{R}_{I}10_{/}I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a den of jackals.
I will make the cities of Judah a wasteland without inhabitants."
[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}Who is wise enough to understand these events? And 
who is the one Yahweh has chosen to reveal them? Why has the land 
perished and been laid waste like a desert where no one passes?
{R}_{I}12_{/}Yahweh answered, "It is because they have forsaken the Law 
that I gave them. They have not listened to me {R}_{I}13_{/}but in the 
stubbornness of their heart they have followed the Baals as they 
were instructed by their fathers."
[=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}That is why Yahweh, the God of hosts and the God of 
Israel says, "I will make this people eat bitter food and I will 
give them poisoned water. {I}15_{/}I will scatter them among nations 
that neither they nor their fathers knew and I will send the sword 
after them until I have finished with them."
{I}16_{/}Listen! Call for the wailing women to come, send for the most 
skillful!
{I}17_{/}Let them hasten to intone a funeral song, and let us weep,
our eyes running with tears.
{I}18_{/}The sound of wailing is heard in Zion.
A terrible disaster has befallen us!
How great our shame to leave the land,
to see our homes broken down!
{I}19_{/}You women, take heed of what Yahweh says, let your ears pay 
attention to his words.
Teach this lament to your daughters
and each of them to their friends:
[=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}"Death has come through our windows and invaded our 
palaces,
cutting down the children in the street
and young men in the squares!

{I}21_{/}The corpes are scattered in the fields like dung;
like sheaves cut by the reaper
with no one to gather them!"

{N}TRUE WISDOM{/}

[\u0095]_{I}22_{/}It is Yahweh who speaks:
"Let not the wise boast of his wisdom,
nor the valiant of his valor
nor the wealthy of his wealth!
{I}23_{/}But if someone wants to boast,
let him boast of this:
of understanding and knowing me.
I am Yahweh, the merciful;
I implement justice
and rule the world with righteousness.
"For in these things I delight,"
- this is Yahweh's word.
{I}24_{/}"The time is coming," Yahweh says, "when I will ask to 
account both those who are circumcised and those who are not: 
{R}_{I}25_{/}Egypt, Juda, the Amonites and the Moabites with all the 
Arabs of the desert, for all these nations are not circumcised, 
and the people of Israel are not circumcised in their heart."

{N}IDOLS AND THE TRUE GOD{/}

{1}10{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Hear the word which Yahweh speaks to you, people of Israel,
[=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}"Do not follow the way of the foreign nations and do not 
fear signs in the sky as they do. The Awesome God of these nations 
is but nothing. [=]_{I}3_{/}It is only wood cut from a tree in the 
forest and shaped by a craftsman's chisel. {I}4_{/}They adorn it with 
silver from Tarshish and gold from Ophir and then fasten it with 
hammer and nails to keep it from falling. [=]_{I}5_{/}Their idols are 
like scarecrows in a cucumber field; they cannot speak. They have 
to be carried because they cannot walk. Have no fear of them; they 
can do neither harm nor good."
{I}6_{/}No one equals you, Yahweh,
you are great.
Power is yours, and great is your Name!
[=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}Who would not fear you, King of nations?
You are to be feared,
for among the wise of the nations
and in all their kingdoms
no one equals you.
{I}8_{/}They are all brutish and stupid;
their idols are proof of their foolishness.
{I}10_{/}But Yahweh is the true God,
the living God and eternal King.
His anger makes the earth quake;
the nations cannot endure his fury.
{I}11_{/}You will say this to them, "The gods who did not make either 
the heavens or the earth shall disappear from the earth and from 
under the heavens."
[=]_{I}12_{/}By his power he made the earth,
by his wisdom he established the world;
by his understanding he extended the heavens.
{I}13_{/}When he raises his voice
the waters pile up in the heavens.
He calls the clouds from the ends of  the earth; he sends 
lightning with the rain and from his storehouse sends out the 
wind.
{I}14_{/}At this all men feel stupid and without knowledge. Every 
goldsmith is ashamed of his idol which is a fraud without breath. 
{I}15_{/}They are worthless, ridiculous objects; they shall perish 
when the time of retribution comes.
[=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}He instead has formed the universe and Israel as well, 
the tribe of his inheritance,
for he is the portion of Jacob:
Yahweh, God of hosts is his name.
[=]_{I}17_{/}Gather up your belongings and leave the land, you who are 
the victims of siege,
{I}18_{/}for thus says Yahweh,
"I am hurling far away the inhabitants of this land, and I will 
let them be pursued and captured."
{I}19_{/}Woe is me! What suffering!
My wound is incurable!
But I shall say; "Mine is this illness,
I must bear it."
{I}20_{/}My tent is destroyed,
all its cords are snapped.
My children have left me and are no more;
no one is left to pitch my tent
or to set my shelter up.
{I}21_{/}For the pastors have become senseless and have not consulted 
Yahweh;
they have not prospered
and all their flocks are scattered.
{R}_{I}22_{/}Heed the news! Pay attention!
A great commotion is heard from the north;
they are coming to make the cities of Judah a desolate land, a den 
of jackals.

{N}JEREMIAH'S PRAYER{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}23_{/}You know, Yahweh, that man's life is not within his 
own control and it is not for him to direct his steps! 
[=]_{I}24_{/}Correct us, Yahweh, with prudence, not in anger, lest you 
destroy us completely.
{R}_{I}25_{/}Put out your anger on the nations that do not know you, on 
the people who do not call on your Name. For they have devoured 
Jacob and consumed him thoroughly; his homeland is already laid 
waste.

{N}JEREMIAH SUPPORTS JOSIAH'S REFORM{/}

{1}11{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}This is the word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh: 
{R}_{I}2_{/}Say to the men of Jerusalem: {R}_{I}3_{/}Cursed be the man who does 
not heed the terms of this covenant {R}_{I}4_{/}which I ordained for your 
fathers the day I freed them from that cleansing furnace that 
Egypt is. I said to them: 'If you obey my voice and do all that I 
command you, you will be my people and I will be your God. 
{R}_{I}5_{/}Then I will fulfill the promise I swore to your fathers, to 
give you a land flowing with milk and honey,' (as it is today)."
I replied, "Amen, Yahweh."
{R}_{I}6_{/}Yahweh said to me, "Publish what I say in the cities of Judah 
and the streets of Jerusalem, 'Hear the terms of this covenant and 
keep them. {R}_{I}7_{/}When I brought your forefathers out of Egypt, I 
solemnly warned them and have continued to tell them: 'Obey me.' 
{R}_{I}8_{/}But they did not listen to me or heed what I said; each one 
followed his own stubborn heart. So I fulfilled against them all 
the words of this covenant that I had commanded them, but which 
they did not follow."
{R}_{I}9_{/}Yahweh said to me, "There is a conspiracy among the men of 
Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. {R}_{I}10_{/}They have returned 
to the sins of their forefathers who refused to obey me; they have 
followed and served foreign gods. The nation of Israel and the 
nation of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their 
fathers."
{I}11_{/}That is why Yahweh says to you, "I will bring upon them a 
disaster from which there will be no escape. When they cry to me I 
will not listen. {R}_{I}12_{/}Then the cities of Judah and the people of 
Jerusalem will go crying to the gods they worship, but these will 
not help them in the time of misfortune. {R}_{I}13_{/}For you, Judah, 
have as many gods as there are cities; as numerous as the streets 
in Jerusalem are the altars you have raised to Baal."
[=]_{I}14_{/}For your part, do not intercede for this people, nor 
offer a plea or petition because I will not listen when they cry 
to me in the time of their distress.
{I}15_{/}What is my beloved doing in my House?
She is plotting evil deeds.
Will your vows and the meat of your
victims cleanse you from your wickedness and allow you to rejoice?
Yahweh had called you
[=]_{I}16{/} 'Beautiful Green Olive Tree -
fair and fruitful!'
But with the roar of a storm,
its foliage took fire
and its branches were broken.
{R}_{I}17_{/}And Yahweh, God of host, who planted you, has condemned to 
shame. Indeed the nation of the Israel and the nation of Jacob 
harmed themselves when they worshiped Baal and aroused my anger.

{N}PLOT AGAINST JEREMIAH{/}

{I}18_{/}Yahweh made it known to me and so I know! And you let me see 
their scheming: (126) "Take care, even your own brothers and 
family are false with you and behind your back they freely 
criticize you. Do not trust them when they approach you in a 
friendly way."
[=]_{I}19_{/}But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. I did 
not know it was against me that they were plotting, "Let us feed 
him with trials and remove him from the land of the living and let 
his name never be mentioned again."
[=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}Yahweh, God of hosts, you who judge with justice and 
know everyone in his heart and in his intentions, let me see your 
vengeance on them, for to you I have entrusted my cause.
[=]_{R}_{I}21_{/}This is what Yahweh has to say against the people of 
Anathoth who threatened me with death and said, "Do not prophesy 
any more in the name of Yahweh and we will spare your life."
{I}22_{/}Yahweh says to them, "This is how I will punish you: the 
young men shall die by the sword; their sons and daughters shall 
die of hunger. {I}23_{/}No one will survive when I bring disaster on 
the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment."

{N}WHY DO THE WICKED PROSPER?{/}

{1}12{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}Yahweh, you are always right
when I complain to you;
nevertheless, where is your justice?
Why do the wicked prosper?
And why do traitors live in peace?
[=]_{I}2_{/}You plant them and they take root;
they grow and are fruitful;
they honor you with words
but their heart is far from you.
[=]_{I}3_{/}But you, Yahweh, you know me and see me;
you search my heart - it is close to you.
Send them off like sheep to be butchered;
put them aside for the day of slaughter.
[=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}How long will the land be in mourning
and the grass of the fields remain withered?
The birds and the beasts have perished
because of the wickedness of the inhabitants,
for they say: 'God does not see what we do.'
{R}_{I}5_{/}"If you tire when running with those on foot,
how can you compete with horses?
If you do not feel secure in a peaceful land,
what will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?"
{I}7_{/}I have abandoned my house,
I have given up my own people;
I have given over those I most cherished into the hands of their 
enemies.
{I}8_{/}My own have been for me like a lion in the forest;
they have roared against me - now I hate them.
{I}9_{/}My own have become for me like a bird of prey.
Let all the birds of prey attack them.
Come here, all you wild beasts and devour them!
[=]_{I}10_{/}Many shepherds have ravaged my vine;
they have trampled my beloved field
and made it a desolate wasteland,
{I}11_{/}parched and mournful in my sight.
But no one cares!
{R}_{I}12_{/}To every height in the desert destroyers have come,
for Yahweh has a devouring sword.
It reaches from one end of the land to the other;
no one is safe!
{I}13_{/}They have sown grain and reaped thorns;
they have toiled for nothing.
Your harvests bring shame on you because of Yahweh's anger.
{R}_{I}14_{/}Yahweh declares, "Because all my wicked neighbors have laid 
hands on the land I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from 
their own land, and I will uproot the people of Judah from among 
them. [=]_{I}15_{/}But after I have done this, I will have compassion 
on them and bring them back to their possession, each one to his 
own land.
{I}16_{/}If then they learn the ways I taught my people and call upon 
my name when taking an oath, they who once taught my people to 
swear by Baal, may settle among my people. {I}17_{/}But if then any 
nation does not obey me, I will uproot and destroy it - it is 
Yahweh who speaks."

{N}THE LINEN BELT{/}

{1}13{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}This is what Yahweh said to me: "Go! Buy yourself a linen 
belt and put it around your waist; do not put it in water." {I}2_{/}So 
I bought the belt as Yahweh ordered and put it around my waist.
{I}3_{/}The word of Yahweh came to me a second time, {I}4_{/}"Take the 
belt you bought, the one you put around your waist, and go to the 
torrent Perah; hide it there in a hole in the rock." {I}5_{/}I went 
and hid it as Yahweh instructed me.
{I}6_{/}After many days Yahweh said to me, "Go to the torrent Perah 
and get the belt I ordered you to hide there." {I}7_{/}I went to the 
torrent and dug up the belt but it was ruined and good for 
nothing, {I}8_{/}and Yahweh said to me, {R}_{I}9_{/}"In this way I will 
destroy the pride and great glory of Judah, {I}10_{/}this wicked 
people who refuse to heed what I say, this stubborn people who go 
after other gods to serve and worship them. And they shall become 
like this belt which is now good for nothing.
{R}_{I}11_{/}For just as a belt is to be bound around a man's waist so 
was the people of Israel and Judah bound to me - it is Yahweh who 
speaks - to be my people, my glory and my honor; but they would 
not listen.

{N}THE BROKEN WINE JARS{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}You will say to them this word of Yahweh the God of 
Israel, "Every pitcher should be filled with wine." And they will 
say: 'Don't we know that a pitcher should be filled with wine?'
[=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}You will reply, "You are the pitchers that Yahweh will 
fill until you are drunk. I am going to fill with drunkenness all 
who live in this land - kings who succeed David, the priests, the 
prophets and all who live in Jerusalem. {I}14_{/}I will dash them one 
against another, father and sons together.
I will have neither compassion nor mercy: I am going to destroy 
them."

{N}A VISION OF EXILE{/}

{I}15_{/}Hear and pay attention; do not be proud, for Yahweh has 
spoken!
[=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}Give glory to Yahweh your God before he brings darkness, 
and your feet stumble in the darkening hills.
You were hoping for light, but he will turn it into the darkness 
of death and deep gloom!
{I}17_{/}If you do not heed this warning I will weep in secret because 
of your pride and I will shed tears when Yahweh's flock has been 
taken captive.
{R}_{I}18_{/}Say to the king and the queen mother,
"Humble yourselves,
for the crown of glory
has fallen from your head.
{R}_{I}19_{/}The cities of the Negeb have been shut and no one comes to 
open them,
all Judah is deported,
completely carried off."
{R}_{I}20_{/}Look up Jerusalem and see those who come from the north. 
Where is the flock that was entrusted to you and where are your 
beautiful sheep?
{I}21_{/}What will you say when those you let take liberties with you 
come back to oppress you?
Won't your pain be like that of a woman giving birth? {I}22_{/}And if 
you ask yourself, "Why has all this disgrace fallen on me?" It is 
because of your great wickedness that they have torn away your 
clothes and dealt violently with you.
{I}23_{/}Can an Ethiopian change his skin or a leopard his spots? And 
can you do good, you who are accustomed to doing evil?
{R}_{I}24_{/}I will scatter you like straw blown by the desert wind; 
{I}25_{/}that is your reward - it is Yahweh who speaks - because you 
have forgotten me and trusted in Falsehood.
{I}26_{/}I myself will pull your skirts over your face and your shame 
shall be seen. {R}_{I}27_{/}Your adultery, your neighing, your brazen 
prostitution, all this abomination I have seen on the hills and in 
the fields.
Woe to you Jerusalem! When at last will you be cleansed?"

{N}THE GREAT DROUGHT{/}

{1}14{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}The word of Yahweh concerning drought came to Jeremiah:
{R}_{I}2_{/}Judah mourns, the cities languish,
desolate, they sink to the ground.
From Jerusalem a cry is heard.
{R}_{I}3_{/}The rich sent the poor for water,
but they found none at the cisterns,
and returned with empty vessels.
{I}4_{/}The soil is cracked
because there is no rain in the land;
the farmers are dismayed
and have covered their heads like mourners.
{I}5_{/}Even the doe in the fields
abandons her newborn calf
because there is no pasture.
{I}6_{/}The wild donkeys stand on the heights
sniffing the air like jackals
and languish as they find not even a thistle!
[=]_{I}7_{/}Even if our faults accuse us,
you Yahweh, work for the glory of your Name.
In truth, many have been our rebellions
and great is our sin against you.
{R}_{I}8_{/}O Yahweh! Hope of Israel,
you who save in the time of distress,
why are you as a stranger in this land,
or like a traveler who stays only a night?
[=]_{I}9_{/}Why should you be as if bewildered,
like a warrior unable to save?
But you are in our midst Yahweh,
and on us your Name has been invoked.
Do not abandon us!

{N}DO NOT INTERCEDE FOR THIS PEOPLE{/}

{I}10_{/}This is what Yahweh says about this people, "They like to 
wander here and there, not stopping for a moment, so Yahweh takes 
no pleasure in them; he remembers their wickedness and will punish 
their sins."
{I}11_{/}And Yahweh said, "Do not pray for the well-being of this 
people! {I}12_{/}If they fast I will not listen to their cry; if they 
offer me burnt offerings and oblations, I will not accept them. 
Instead I am going to make an end of them with sword, famine and 
plague."
[=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}And I said, "Ah, Lord Yahweh! You know what the prophets 
are saying to them: 'You will not see the sword nor suffer famine 
for I will give you true peace in this place.'"
{R}_{I}14_{/}But Yahweh said, "These prophets have proclaimed untruths in 
my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to 
them. False visions, worthless divinations and delusions of their 
own imagination - that is what they prophesy."
{R}_{I}15_{/}And Yahweh added, "These prophets whom I did not send and 
who prophesy in my name, saying that the sword and famine will not 
touch this land - these same prophets will perish by the sword and 
famine.
{R}_{I}16_{/}As for the people listening to them, their corpses will be 
thrown into the streets of Jerusalem. There will be no one to bury 
them or their wives, their sons or daughters, when they die of 
famine and by the sword. For I shall make their own malice fall 
upon them.
[=]_{I}17_{/}This you will say to them: Let my eyes shed tears night 
and day without ceasing! For with a great wound has the virgin 
daughter of my people been wounded, a most grievous wound.
{R}_{I}18_{/}If I go into the country, I see those slain by the sword. If 
I enter the city I see the ravages of famine. For the prophet and 
the priest did not understand what was happening in the land."
{R}_{I}19_{/}Have you then rejected Judah forever? Do you abhor Zion? Why 
have you wounded us and left us with no hope of recovery?
We hoped for salvation but received nothing good; we waited for 
healing, but terror came!
[=]_{I}20_{/}Yahweh, we know our wickedness and that of our fathers, 
and the times we have sinned against you.
{R}_{I}21_{/}For your name's sake do not despise us; do not dishonor the 
throne of your glory. Remember us. Do not break your covenant with 
us!
{R}_{I}22_{/}Among the worthless idols of the nations, are there any who 
can bring rain, or make the skies send showers?
Only in you, Yahweh our God, do we hope, for it is you who do all 
this. 

{1}15{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Yahweh answered me, "Even if Moses and Samuel came in 
person to plead for this people, my heart would have no pity. Send 
them away from my presence! Let them go! [=]_{I}2_{/}And if they say: 
"Where shall we go?" tell them: Yahweh says this: Those destined 
for the plague, to the plague; for the sword, to the sword; for 
starvation, to starvation; those for captivity, to captivity.
[=]_{I}3_{/}For I shall send them four kinds of destroyers: the sword 
to slay, dogs to ravage, birds of the sky and beasts of the earth 
to devour and destroy. {R}_{I}4_{/}I shall make them an object of horror 
for all the kingdoms of the world because of what Manasseh, son of 
Hezekiah, king of Judah, did in Jerusalem.

{N}THE HORRORS OF WAR{/}

{R}_{I}5_{/}Who will take pity on you, Jerusalem?
Who will feel sorry for you?
Who will turn to ask how you are?
[=]_{I}6_{/}It was you who rejected me - word of Yahweh -  you turned 
your back on me, and because of that I have stretched out my hand 
to destroy you.
I was weary of showing mercy!
{I}7_{/}I winnowed them with a fork in the cities of the land,
I left my people without children;
I brought them to ruin,
but they did not change their ways.
{I}8_{/}Their widows are more numerous than the sand of the seas. On 
the mothers of young men I have brought a destroyer who ravages in 
broad daylight. Suddenly terror and fear grips them.
{I}9_{/}The mother who had seven sons is confused and discouraged as 
if breathing her last. Although it is still day her sun has set.
As for those who remain, I shall let them be slain by the sword in 
sight of their enemies - it is Yahweh who speaks.
{I}12_{/}Can you break iron that comes from the north, or bronze?
{I}13_{/}I will let your wealth and your treasures be handed over to 
plunderers,
not for a price but because of all your sins within your 
frontiers.
{I}14_{/}You shall be slaves of your enemies
among a people you do not know,
for the fury of my anger is on fire and will burn you up."

{N}YAHWEH, REMEMBER ME!{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}Woe is me, Mother, why did you bring me to the 
light?
A man of dissension throughout the land!
I owe them nothing, neither do they owe me,
yet they all curse me!
{I}11_{/}Tell me Yahweh, if I have not served you well!
Did I not plead with you for my enemies
in the time of their shame and disgrace?
[=]_{I}15_{/}You know I have, Yahweh!
Take care of me, defend me;
take vengeance on my persecutors.
Remember! For you I have suffered great humiliations.
[=]_{I}16_{/}I devoured your words when they came.
They were my happiness
and I felt full of joy
when you made your Name rest on me.
Never did I associate with worldly people,
{I}17_{/}amusing myself with scoffers!
When your hand was upon me I stood apart
and you filled me with your anger.
[=]_{I}18_{/}Why is there no end to my sorrow
or healing for my wound?
Why do you deceive me,
and why does my spring suddenly dry up?
{R}_{I}19_{/}Then Yahweh spoke to me,
"If you return I will take you back
and you will serve me again.
Draw the gold from the dross
and you will be as my own mouth.
You must draw them to you and not go over to them.
{I}20_{/}I will make you a fortress
and a wall of bronze facing them;
if they fight against you
they will not overcome you;
{I}21_{/}I am with you to free you and save you.
I will redeem you from the wicked
and free you from the hands of tyrants."

{N}DO NOT TAKE A WIFE{/}

{1}16{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}The word of Yahweh came to me in these terms: [=]_{I}2_{/}"Do 
not take a wife nor have sons and daughters in this place, {I}3_{/}for 
this is what Yahweh says about sons and daughters born here, and 
about fathers and mothers who bring them to light in this country:
{I}4_{/}All will die of fatal diseases and no one will mourn for them 
or bury them; their corpses will be like dung on the ground. They 
will perish by the sword and by starvation and their corpses will 
be devoured by birds of prey and wild animals."
{I}5_{/}Yahweh further insisted, "Do not go into a house of mourning; 
neither weep nor loudly lament with the bereaved for I have 
already withdrawn my peace from these people - even my unwavering 
love and compassion. [=]_{I}6_{/}Both the great and the lowly in this 
country will perish and no one will mourn for them or bury them. 
No one shall gash his skin or shave his head as an act of 
mourning. {R}_{I}7_{/}No funeral meal shall be shared to comfort the 
bereaved or console them on the death of their fathers and 
mothers.
{I}8_{/}Do not go to a house of celebration to feast with them before 
foods and drinks, [=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}for Yahweh, Saboath God of Israel has 
this to say:
In this place and before your very eyes, I will muffle every sound 
of pleasure and joy, even the song of the newlywed.
[\u0095]_{R}_{I}10_{/}When you announce all these things to the people, they 
will ask you: 'Why has Yahweh decided to bring such terrible 
disasters on us? What wickedness or sin have we committed against 
Yahweh our God?'
{I}11{/}Then you shall tell them: 'It is because your fathers turned 
away from me and went after other gods to serve and worship them. 
They have forsaken me and refused to obey my Law. {I}12_{/}But you are 
worse than your forefathers because each of you has gone his own 
evil ways following his stubborn heart in complete defiance of me. 
[=]_{I}13_{/}Therefore, I will kick you out of this land into a place 
which is strange to you and your forefathers. There, you will 
serve other gods day and night, and you will get no compassion 
from me.' "
[=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}Yahweh says, "The days are coming when people will no 
longer say, 'Yahweh is a living God for he brought the Israelites  
out  of  Egypt,'  {R}_{I}15_{/}Rather, they will say,  'Yahweh is a 
living God for he liberated the Israelites out of the northern 
land and out of all the countries where he had banished them.' 
Yes, I will bring them back to their own country - the land that I 
bestowed to their forefathers."
[=]_{I}16_{/}But now Yahweh says, "I am sending for many fishermen to 
catch them. Afterwards, I will send for many hunters to hunt them 
down on every mountain, hill and cave in the rocks. {I}17_{/}The 
things that they do are manifest before my eyes and the sins that 
they commit are not hidden from me. [=]_{R}_{I}18_{/}I will make them pay 
double for their wickedness and sin; they have contaminated my 
land with their idols that are as dead as corpses and have filled 
it with their abominations."

{N}WILL MAN MAKE HIS OWN GODS?{/}

[=]_{I}19_{/}Yahweh, my strength and my fortress,
my refuge in times of distress!
From the furthest limits of the earth
nations will come to you and say,
"Our fathers possessed only falsehood,
worthless idols bereft of power."
{R}_{I}20_{/}Will man make his own gods?
Then they are not gods!
{I}21_{/}Hence Yahweh says: "I will show
and let them know my power and my might.
And they will know that Yahweh is my name.

{1}17{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}The sin of Judah is engraved with  a tool of steel, with 
a point of diamond. It is written on the tablets of their hearts 
as on the horns of their altars. [=]_{I}2_{/}Their altars and sacred 
poles witness of it beside every green tree, {I}3_{/}on the high hills 
and in the open country! I will give away your wealth and your 
treasures as plunder because of your sin in the high places of 
your land.
[=]_{I}4_{/}Because of your fault you will lose the land I gave you. I 
will give you as slaves to your enemies in a land that you have 
never known before, for you have kindled the fire of my anger and 
it will burn forever.

{N}WORDS OF WISDOM{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}5_{/}This is what Yahweh says,
"Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings and depends on a 
mortal for his life, while his heart is drawn away from Yahweh!
[=]_{R}_{I}6_{/}He is like a bunch of thistles in dry land, in parched 
desert places, in a salt land where no one lives and who never 
finds happiness.
{R}_{I}7_{/}Blessed is the man who puts his trust in Yahweh and whose 
confidence is in him! [=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}He is like a tree planted by the 
water, sending out its roots towards the stream.
He has no fear when the heat comes, his leaves are always green; 
the year of drought is no problem and he can always bear fruit.
{R}_{I}9_{/}Most deceitful is the heart. What is there within man, who 
can understand him? [=]_{I}10_{/}I, Yahweh, search the heart and 
penetrate the mind. I reward each one according to his ways and 
the fruit of his deeds.
{I}11_{/}Like a partridge hatching eggs it did not lay, is someone who 
hoards riches that he unjustly gained.
At the noontime of his life, his wealth will abandon him; at the 
twilight of his breath, his folly will be confirmed."
{I}12_{/}What a glorious and exalted throne is our Sanctuary! 
[=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}Yahweh, hope of Israel, all who forsake you will be put 
to shame and those who turn from you will be cast out from your 
land, for they have rejected Yahweh, the fountain of living water.
{I}14_{/}Heal me, Yahweh, and I shall be whole; save me and I shall be 
safe, O you, my hope!
[=]_{I}15_{/}People say to me, "Where are Yahweh's threats? Let them 
be carried out now!"
{R}_{I}16_{/}But I did not urge you to bring devastation
nor a time of tragic death;
you well know my desire
and my pleading is in your ears.
{I}17_{/}Do not terrorize my heart;
be my refuge in the day of disaster.
{I}18_{/}Let my persecutors be humbled, rather than me!
Let them be terrified but not me!
Let the day of misfortune fall on them!
Crush them twice over!

{N}OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}19_{/}The word of Yahweh came to me in these terms,
"Go and stand at the gate they call the People Gate, where the 
kings of Judah enter and leave; {R}_{I}20_{/}and tell the king and all 
the people of Judah that this is what Yahweh says:
[=]_{R}_{I}21_{/}For the sake of your lives, be careful not to carry a 
load on the sabbath day or bring it through the gates of 
Jerusalem. {I}22_{/}Carry no burden out of your adobes and refrain 
from work on the day of the sabbath. Uphold its sacredness as I 
commanded your forefathers.
{I}23_{/}They did not obey me or pay attention to what I said. Stiff-
necked as they were, they would not hear or accept my warnings.
{I}24_{/}But if you pay attention - it is Yahweh who speaks - and keep 
the sabbath holy, not working or carrying loads {R}_{I}25_{/}through the 
gates of Jerusalem, then you will be witnesses to the entry of 
kings of David's descent through these gates, riding in chariots 
and on horses. You shall see them and their princes along with the 
people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city 
shall last forever.
{R}_{I}26_{/}People will come from the towns of Judah and from the 
suburbs of Jerusalem, from the territory of Benjamin, from the 
Lowland and the hill country and from the Negeb, bringing into the 
temple burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and 
incense, as an act of thanksgiving to Yahweh.
{R}_{I}27_{/}But if you do not listen and do not keep the sabbath holy, 
if you work and carry loads through the gates of Jerusalem, then I 
will set fire to those gates. It will burn the city and will not 
be quenched."

{N}AT THE POTTER'S HOUSE{/}

{1}18{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}This is the word of Yahweh that came to Jeremiah: 
[=]_{I}2_{/}"Go down to the potter's house and there you will hear 
what I have to say."
{I}3_{/}So I went to the potter's house and found him working at the 
wheel. {I}4_{/}But the pot he was working on was spoiled in his hands, 
so he reworked it all over again into another pot that suits his 
desire.
{I}5_{/}Meanwhile Yahweh sent me his word, {R}_{I}6_{/}"People of Israel, can 
I not do with you what this potter does? As clay in the potter's 
hand so are you in my hands.
{R}_{I}7_{/}At times I warn a nation or a kingdom that I will uproot or 
destroy it. {I}8_{/}But if they change their ways, I then relent and 
refrain from doing the harm I had intended to do.
{R}_{I}9_{/}At other times I declare that a nation or kingdom will be 
built up and planted [=]_{I}10_{/}but then they do what displeases me 
and do not listen to me, so I decide to reverse the good deeds 
that I intend to do."
{R}_{I}11_{/}And Yahweh added, "Now tell the people of Judah and to those 
who live in Jerusalem: Yahweh says to you, 'Listen, I am planning 
to destroy you; I am hatching a devastating plot against you! Turn 
from your evil ways; rectify your conduct and your deeds.' 
{I}12_{/}But you reply: 'It's no use! We shall follow our own plans'; 
and each one goes on obeying his stubborn heart."

{N}MY PEOPLE HAVE FORSAKEN ME {/}

{R}_{I}13_{/}Because of this Yahweh has to say:
Ask among the nations,
'Has anyone heard the like of this?
The Virgin Israel has done a most abominable thing.
{I}14_{/}Does the snow of Lebanon ever leave the rocky heights of the 
field?
Do the fresh waters of great rivers ever dry up?
{I}15_{/}Yet my people have forgotten me,
offering incense to empty idols
that made them stumble on their way
as they left the ancient paths.
Now they have taken the wrong way,
the crooked way that leads nowhere.
{I}16_{/}Their land will be left desolate,
and an object of lasting derision.
All who pass by will be astonished
and shake their heads.
{I}17_{/}Like the wind that blows from the east I will scatter them 
before their enemies;
I will turn my back to them, not my face, in the day of their 
disaster!

{N}DO NOT FORGIVE THEIR SIN{/}

{R}_{I}18_{/}Then, they said, "Come, let us plot against Jeremiah, for 
even without him, there will be priests to interpret the Teachings 
of the Law; there will always be wisemen to impart counsel and 
prophets to proclaim the word. Come, let us accuse him and strike 
him down instead of listening to what he says."
{I}19_{/}Hear me, O Yahweh!
Listen to what my accusers say.
{I}20_{/}Is evil the reward for good?
Why do they dig a grave for me?
Remember how I stood before you
to speak well on their behalf
so that your anger might subside.
{I}21_{/}Now let their children starve;
hand them over to the sword!
Let their wives become childless and widows!
Let their men be victims of plague
and their young men be slain in battle!
{I}22_{/}Let cries be heard in their houses
when you suddenly bring bandits against them,
for they have dug a pit to trap me
and hidden snares to catch my feet.
{I}23_{/}O Yahweh, you know all of their plots to take my life!
Forgive not their crime; forget not their sin;
crush them on the day of your anger.

{N}THE BROKEN JAR{/}

{1}19{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}This was an order of Yahweh to Jeremiah, "Go and buy a 
jar from the potter. Take with you some elders of the people and a 
few senior priests, {I}2_{/}and go out to the valley of Ben-Hinnom at 
the entrance to the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there what I tell you.
{R}_{I}3_{/}Say this: Hear the word of Yahweh, kings of Judah and 
citizens of Jerusalem! Yahweh the God of hosts and the God of 
Israel is the one who speaks. I am about to send a disaster upon 
this place that will make the ears of those who hear it tingle. 
{R}_{I}4_{/}Here they have forsaken me, offering incense to foreign gods 
that neither they, their fathers nor the kings of Judah have 
known. They have profaned this place by filling it with the blood 
of the innocent. {R}_{I}5_{/}They have put up high places for Baal to 
burn their children in fire as a sacrifice. This is something that 
I have never commanded them to do, much less conceived in my mind.
{R}_{I}6_{/}'Hence, I, Yahweh, tell you now that the days will surely 
come when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the 
Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Massacre.
{R}_{I}7_{/}In this place I will frustrate the plans of Judah and 
Jerusalem and let them be slain by their enemies - the very people 
who have doggedly sought their lives. Then, I will commit their 
corpses to the birds and the beasts as food. {I}8_{/}I will transform 
this city into a horrible wasteland - an object of scorn and a 
panorama of horror that will shock passers-by and make them kiss 
upon witnessing the terrible catastrophe! {I}9_{/}The city will be 
surrounded by the enemies who have vowed to massacre the people. 
No one will be able to flee from this tight siege and the people 
in the city will be forced to eat the flesh of one another, even 
that of their very own children.
{I}10_{/}Then, you shall break the jar before the people who have 
accompanied you {R}_{I}11_{/}and you will tell them that I, Yahweh the 
God of hosts, will smash the people of this city like the 
shattered jar of the potter which is beyond repair. People will 
bury the dead even in Topheth, for there is no more space in the 
land to bury them. {R}_{I}12_{/}This is precisely what I will do to 
Jerusalem and its citizens, making this city like Topheth. 
{R}_{I}13_{/}The houses of Jerusalem and the palaces of the kings of 
Judah will be defiled like Topheth because the roofs of these 
houses have been used to burn incense for the stars of the skies 
and to pour wine-offerings for strange gods."

{N}CONFRONTATION IN THE TEMPLE{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}14_{/}Then Jeremiah left Topheth where Yahweh had sent him to 
prophesy, and stood in the porch of the House of Yahweh. There he 
told all the people, {R}_{I}15_{/}"Listen to the word of Yahweh, God of 
Israel: I am about to bring on this city and the towns surrounding 
the disaster that I have already foretold, because they are a 
stiff-necked people and will not listen to me."

{1}20{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}When the priest Pashur, son of Immer, who was the chief 
officer in the House of Yahweh, heard Jeremiah prophesying like 
this, {R}_{I}2_{/}he ordered his people to beat Jeremiah and put him in 
chains at the Gate of Benjamin, the upper gate at the House of 
Yahweh. {R}_{I}3_{/}The next day, after Pashur ordered the release of 
Jeremiah, the latter told the former, "Yahweh has already changed 
your name. It is not Pashur anymore but 'Terror on every side.' 
{R}_{I}4_{/}For Yahweh says: I am going to hand you over to terror, you 
and your friends. They will fall under the sword of their enemies 
while you look on.
I will deliver the people of Judah into the hands of the king of 
Babylon who will deport them to Babylon or slay them by the sword. 
{R}_{I}5_{/}I will likewise allow the enemies plunder all the wealth of 
this city. All the possessions and treasures of the kings of Judah 
will be seized and carried off to Babylonia. {I}6_{/}As for you, 
Pashur, you and your entire family will be taken as captives to 
Babylon where you will die and be buried - you and all your 
friends whom you deceived with lies."

{N}YOU HAVE SEDUCED ME{/}

[\u0095]_{I}7_{/}Yahweh, you have seduced me
and I let myself be seduced.
You have taken me by force and prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all day long;
they all make fun of me,
{I}8_{/}for every time I speak
I have to shout, "Violence! Devastation!"
Yahweh's word has brought me
insult and derision all day long.
[=]_{I}9_{/}So I decided to forget about him
and speak no more in his name.
But his word in my heart becomes like a fire
burning deep within my bones.
I try so hard to hold it in,
but I cannot do it.
{I}10_{/}I hear many people whispering,
"Terror is all around!
Denounce him! Yes, denounce him!"
All my friends watch me to see if I will slip:
"Perhaps he can be deceived," they say;
"then we can get the better of him
and have our revenge."
[=]_{I}11_{/}But Yahweh, a mighty warrior, is with me.
My persecutors will stumble and not prevail;
that failure will be their shame
and their disgrace will never be forgotten.
{R}_{I}12_{/}Yahweh, God of hosts, you test the just
and probe the heart and mind.
Let me see your revenge on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.
{I}13_{/}Sing to Yahweh! Praise Yahweh and say:
he has rescued the poor from the clutches of the wicked!
[=]_{I}14_{/}Cursed be the day I was born!
Bless not the day my mother brought me to light!
{R}_{I}15_{/}Cursed be the man who broke the news to my father: 'It's a 
boy!'
and it made him joyful!
{I}16_{/}Let him be like the towns that Yahweh destroyed without 
mercy.
Let him hear a warning shout in the morning
and a battle cry at noon!
[=]_{I}17_{/}For he did not kill me in the womb,
that my mother would have been my grave,
and have carried me forever.
{I}18_{/}Why did I ever leave the womb
to live in trouble and sorrow,
and spend my days in shame?

{N}AN ANSWER FOR ZEDEKIAH{/}

{1}21{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}These words of Yahweh came to Jeremiah when king Zedekiah 
sent Pashur, son of Malchiah and the priest Zephaniah son of 
Maaseiah, to say to him: [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}"Consult Yahweh on our behalf, 
for Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, has started a war with us. 
Perhaps Yahweh will work a few of his miracles and make the enemy 
withdraw."
{R}_{I}3_{/}Jeremiah replied, "This is what Yahweh the God of Israel says 
to Zedekiah: {R}_{I}4_{/}I am about to bring back to you the weapons with 
which you are fighting outside the wall the king of Babylon and 
the Chaldeans who are besieging you; and I will pile up these 
weapons in the center of the city.
{I}5_{/}Then I myself will fight against you with outstretched hand 
and mighty arm, with anger and fury and great wrath, {I}6_{/}I will 
strike all in the city, both humans and animals, and they will 
perish in a terrible plague.
{R}_{I}7_{/}After this - it is Yahweh who speaks - I will hand over 
Zedekiah, king of Judah, his servants and the citizens who survive 
the plague, the sword and famine over to Nebuchadnezzar, king of 
Babylon. I will hand them over to their enemies, to those who have 
been hounding their blood. They shall be slain without mercy or 
compassion."
{R}_{I}8_{/}Then Yahweh instructed me to say this to the people: "Take 
heed! I, Yahweh, am presenting you a choice between the way that 
leads to life  and the way that leads to death. {I}9_{/}Those who 
remain in the confines of the city will meet their deaths by the 
sword, famine or plague; those who go out and surrender to the 
Chaldeans besieging the city will live and will be the only ones 
to be saved.
[=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}For I am turning to this city for its ruin, not for its 
good - word of Yahweh - it will be given over to the king of 
Babylon who will destroy it by fire."

{N}ADDRESS TO THE ROYAL FAMILY{/}

{R}_{I}11_{/}You will give this message to the King's officials. To the 
royal family of  Judah say this: {R}_{I}12_{/}Officials of David's 
palace, hear the word of Yahweh:
Give judgment each morning
and deliver the oppressed from the hand of the oppressor,
lest my fury break loose like a fire
with no one to quench it."
{I}13_{/}This is Yahweh's word, "See, I am coming to you
who live in the hills overlooking the valley,
you who say, 'Who will come against us and enter this secure 
place?'
{I}14_{/}I will punish you according to your deeds,
and in your forests I will kindle a fire
that will devour all that surrounds it."

{N}AGAINST EVIL KINGS{/}

{1}22{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Yahweh said to me, "Go to the palace of the king of Judah 
and give him this message: {R}_{I}2_{/}Hear the word of Yahweh, O king of 
Judah who sit on the throne of David. To you, your servants and 
all who enter by these gates, [=]_{I}3_{/}Yahweh says:
Practice justice and do good.
Free the oppressed from their oppressor.
Harm not the foreigners, the orphans and the widows; do them no 
violence, and let no innocent blood be spilled in this place.
{R}_{I}4_{/}If you do this, kings succeeding King David will enter these 
gates riding on their chariots and horses, together with their 
servants and their people.
{I}5_{/}But if you do not heed my word
- it is Yahweh who speaks I swear by myself that this place will 
become a ruin."
[=]_{R}_{I}6_{/}For this is what Yahweh says of the royal house of Judah:
For me you are like Gilead, like a peak of Lebanon! And yet I will 
transform you into a desert, a city where no one lives. {I}7_{/}I will 
prepare destroyers to attack you, each with an axe in his hand. 
They will cut down your choice cedars and throw them into the 
fire.
{I}8_{/}Pagans without number will pass by this city and say to one 
another, "Why has Yahweh dealt with this great city in such a 
way?" [=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}And they will answer, "Because they broke their 
covenant with Yahweh, their God, and worshiped and served other 
gods!"
{R}_{I}10_{/}Weep not for the one who is dead!
grieve not for him.
Mourn rather for him who is in exile for he will never return to 
see his homeland again!
{R}_{I}11_{/}For this is what Yahweh has said of King Josiah's son, 
Shallum, who succeeded his father as king of Judah:
{R}_{I}12_{/}"He will never return, for he will die in the place to which 
he has been deported and will never see this land again.

{N}AGAINST JEHOIAKIM{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}Damned is the man who builds his house with stolen 
goods, and extends it upwards by means of injustice;
he who makes his fellowman work for nothing and refuses to give 
him his wages!

{I}14_{/}So you build for yourself a fine palace with spacious upper 
rooms!
So you have large windows put in, you have it paneled with 
cedarwood and painted vermillion.
{R}_{I}15_{/}Does amassing cedar make you more of a king?
Was not your father a just man? He ate and drank to his life's 
content, but he acted justly and all went well for him. 
[=]_{I}16_{/}He defended the cause of the poor and needy: this is the 
meaning of knowing Yahweh. 
{I}17_{/}But your eyes and heart are set on selfish gain, on the 
shedding of innocent blood, and oppressive violence.
{R}_{I}18_{/}Therefore this is what Yahweh says concerning Jehoiakim, son 
of Josiah, king of Judah:
No one shall lament for him saying: Alas, my brother! Alas, O 
sister! No one shall lament for him saying: Alas, my lord! Alas, 
your majesty! {R}_{I}19_{/}He will be given the burial of a donkey, 
dragged away and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
{I}20_{/}Go up to Lebanon and cry out;
weep from the heights of Bashan
cry out from Abarim,
for all your lovers have been crushed.
{I}21_{/}I spoke to you in more fortunate days,
but you said: 'I will not listen.'
You have been like that since your youth,
paying no attention to my word.
{I}22_{/}All your shepherds will be scattered by the wind and your 
lovers will be taken captive; then you will be covered with shame 
because of your evil deeds.
{I}23_{/}You who call your house: 'Lebanon'
and made your nest of cedarwood,
how you will groan when sorrow comes like the birthpangs of a 
woman in labor!
{R}_{I}24_{/}By my life - says Yahweh - even if Jeconiah, Jehoiakim's 
son, king of Judah, were the signet ring on my right hand I would 
pull him off!
{I}25_{/}I will hand you to those who seek your life, to the Chaldeans 
you fear. [=]_{I}26_{/}Then I will hurl you and the mother who bore 
you into a foreign land where you were not born. There you shall 
die, {R}_{I}27_{/}for to the land for which you long, you will never 
return!"
[=]_{I}28_{/}Is this Jeconiah a broken and useless crock that no one 
wants? Why has he been expelled, he and his family, to a land they 
do not know? 
{I}29_{/}Land, land, land! Hear what Yahweh says. {R}_{I}30_{/}These are his 
words, "List this man as childless!" None of his race will 
succeed; not one will be fortunate to sit on David's throne and 
rule again over Judah.

{N}THE GOOD SHEPHERD{/}

{1}23{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}"Woe to the shepherds  who mislead and scatter the sheep 
of my pasture!"
{R}_{I}2_{/}This is the message of Yahweh, God of Israel, to the 
shepherds in charge of my people, "You have scattered my sheep and 
driven them away instead of caring for them. Now I will deal with 
you because of your evil deeds.
{R}_{I}3_{/}I will gather the remnant of my sheep from every land to 
which I have driven them and I will bring them back to the 
grasslands. They will be fruitful and increase in number. {I}4_{/}I 
will appoint shepherds who will take care of them. No longer will 
they fear or be terrified. No one will be lost."
{R}_{I}5_{/}Yahweh further says, "The day is coming when I will raise up 
a king who is David's righteous successor. He will rule wisely and 
govern with justice and righteousness. [=]_{R}_{I}6_{/}That will be a 
grandiose era when Judah will enjoy peace and Israel will live in 
safety. He will be called Yahweh-our-justice!
[=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}"The days are coming," says Yahweh, "when people shall no 
longer swear by Yahweh as the living God who freed the people of 
Israel from the land of Egypt. {R}_{I}8_{/}Rather, they will swear by 
Yahweh as the living God who restored the descendants of Israel 
from the northern empire and from all the lands where he had 
driven them, to live again in their own land!"

{N}LYING PROPHETS{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}9_{/}About the prophets:
My heart breaks within me,
and all my bones tremble,
I am like a drunken man,
like a man overcome by wine
because of Yahweh and his holy words.
[=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}The land is full of adulterers. Because of this I put a 
curse on the country; it is in mourning and the desert grasslands 
have withered. They follow an evil path and readily act unjustly. 
[=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}Even the prophet and the priest are corrupt; I have 
found out about their wickedness in my House - word of Yahweh.
{I}12_{/}That is why their path will become slippery in the dark, 
making them stumble and fall when I bring evil upon them in the 
year of their punishment.
{R}_{I}13_{/}I well know how stupid the prophets of Samaria were; they 
prophesied in the name of Baal and led my people Israel astray. 
{R}_{I}14_{/}But among the prophets of Jerusalem I have likewise seen 
horrors: for they are adulterers and liars!
They encourage the evildoers so that none of them turns away from 
wickedness. For me all of them are like Sodom; and the common 
people like Gomorrah.
{R}_{I}15_{/}That is why Yahweh the God of hosts speaks against the 
prophets: I will give them bitter food to eat and poisoned water 
to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem evil has spread all 
over the land.
[=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}Thus Yahweh warns, "Do not listen to what the prophets 
say. They give you false hope and tell you their own illusions, 
and not what comes from the mouth of Yahweh. {I}17_{/}They dare say to 
those who despise me: 'Yahweh has spoken, be at peace'; and to 
those who follow their own stubborn hearts they say: 'No 
misfortune will come upon you!'
{I}18_{/}Who then has been present in the council of Yahweh? Who has 
heard and understood his word? Who has paid attention to his word 
and is able to pass it on?
[=]_{I}19_{/}The storm of Yahweh's wrath breaks forth and a whirling 
hurricane bursts upon the head of the wicked! {I}20_{/}Yahweh's wraths 
will not relent before the full accomplishment of his plans. The 
time will come when you will understand what it is.
{R}_{I}21_{/}I did not send these prophets, yet they went running. I did 
not speak, yet they prophesied! {I}22_{/}Were they present in my 
council? Then let them proclaim my word to my people and have them 
turn away from their evil ways and their wicked deeds.  
{R}_{I}23_{/}Am I a God only when I am near - it is Yahweh who speaks - 
and not when I am far off? [=]_{I}24_{/}If someone hides in secret 
places do I not see him? - Do I not fill the heavens and the 
earth?
{R}_{I}25_{/}I have listened and heard the lies that the prophets have 
proclaimed in my name. All said: 'I had a dream! I had a dream!' 
{R}_{I}26_{/}How long will there be prophets of lies who proclaim their 
own illusions? {I}27_{/}They would like to make the people forget my 
Name by the dreams they relate to one another, just as their 
fathers forgot my Name when they followed Baal. {R}_{I}28_{/}The prophet 
who has a dream prophesies a dream, whereas the one who receives 
my word proclaims the word of truth.
What have straw and wheat in common?  {I}29_{/}Isn't my word like 
fire, like the hammer that shatters a rock?
{R}_{I}30_{/}That is why I oppose the prophets who steal from one another 
words that are supposedly mine. {I}31{/}I am against the prophets who 
have only to move their tongues to utter oracles. {I}32_{/}I am 
against those whose prophecies are based on lying dreams, who lead 
my people astray with their trickery and pretensions. I did not 
commission or charge them to transmit my orders, so they are of no 
benefit to my people - word of Yahweh.
{R}_{I}33_{/}And when these people, or a prophet or a priest jestingly 
asks you: What is the 'Burden' of Yahweh? you will answer: 'You 
are the burden - and I am going to get rid of you.' This is 
Yahweh's word. {R}_{I}34_{/}And the prophets, priests or common people 
who say: 'Burden' of Yahweh, will be punished, and their household 
as well.
{I}35_{/}This is what you should say, each one to his friend or 
brother, "What is Yahweh's answer?" or "What has Yahweh said?" 
{I}36_{/}But there must be no mention of 'Burden' of Yahweh for it 
shall be burdensome for the one who says it. {I}37_{/}And if you want 
to know, {I}38_{/}this is what Yahweh says:
{I}39_{/}Since you use this expression in spite of my prohibition, I 
will cast you off and thrust you out of my sight, - you and the 
city I gave to you and your fathers. {I}40_{/}I will bring upon you 
everlasting shame and dishonor that will be yours forever.

{N}THE TWO BASKETS OF FIGS{/}

{1}24{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Yahweh showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of 
the Temple. It was after Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon had 
deported Jekoniah, son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah together with 
the princes of Judah, the blacksmiths and metalworkers and had 
taken them to Babylon.
{I}2_{/}One of the baskets had choice figs that ripen early, the other 
had bad ones, so bad that they couldn't be eaten. {R}_{I}3_{/}Yahweh said 
to me, "What do you see Jeremiah?" I replied, "Figs. The good figs 
are excellent but the bad figs are so rotten they cannot be 
eaten!"
{R}_{I}4_{/}So the word of Yahweh came to me: "Just as these figs are 
good, so do I consider good those who have been deported from 
Judah to the land of the Chaldeans. {I}6_{/}I will look kindly on them 
and bring them back to this land. I will restore and not destroy 
them, I will plant and not uproot them. [=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}I will dispose 
their heart to know me as Yahweh. They will be my people and I 
will be their God for they will come back to me with all their 
heart .
{R}_{I}8_{/}"But as far as King Zedekiah of Judah is concerned, I will 
deal with him as one deals with rotten figs - so rotten they 
cannot be eaten. I will likewise deal with his princes and the 
remnants of Jerusalem - those who have stayed in the country and 
those who have migrated to Egypt.
[=]_{I}9_{/}I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the 
earth, a reproach and a byword, an object of ridicule, a curse in 
all the countries to which I will drive them. [=]_{I}10_{/}I will also 
bring sword, famine and plague upon them until they are utterly 
erased from the land I gave to them and to their fathers.

{N}SEVENTY YEARS OF CAPTIVITY{/}

{1}25{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}This is the word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the 
people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, 
which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. 
{R}_{I}2_{/}And this word was transmitted by the prophet Jeremiah to all 
the people of Judah and to all the citizens of Jerusalem: 
{R}_{I}3_{/}For twenty-three years, that is, from the thirteenth year of 
Josiah son of Amon until today, the word of Yahweh has come to me 
and I have continuously spoken to you, {R}_{I}4_{/}but you would not 
listen. Besides Yahweh has sent his servants the prophets to you 
again and again, but you neither listened nor paid attention. 
{I}5_{/}They said, 'Turn from your evil ways and repent of your wicked 
deeds that you may live in the land that Yahweh gave to you and 
your fathers forever and ever. {I}6_{/}Do not turn after other gods to 
serve and worship them. Do not provoke my anger with these things 
your own hands have made, and I will do you no harm.' {I}7_{/}But you 
refused to listen - it is Yahweh who speaks - and provoked my 
anger with these gods you yourselves have made to your own 
detriment.
{R}_{I}8_{/}That is why Yahweh God of hosts says to you: Since you have 
not listened to what I said, {I}9_{/}I will summon all the clans of 
the north - it is Yahweh who speaks - and my steward 
Nebuchadnezzar will bring them against this land and its 
inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will 
completely destroy these people, making them desolate, an object 
of ridicule, an everlasting ruins. {I}10_{/}I will banish from them 
every sound of joy and happiness, the song of the bride and 
bridegroom, the noise of the mill and the light of the lamp.
[=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}All the land will be a ruin and a desolation and for 
seventy years these nations will serve the king of Babylon.
[=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}(But after seventy years I will punish the king of 
Babylon and his nation for their guilt - it is Yahweh who speaks - 
and I will make it forever desolate!)
{I}13_{/}On this land I will now bring all that I foretold, all that 
is written in this book. {R}_{I}14_{/}They will be subject to great 
nations and kings! I will repay them according to their deeds and 
the work of their hands."

{N}THE CUP OF GOD'S WRATH{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}15_{/}Yahweh, the God of Israel, instructed me, "Take from my 
hand this cup of wine and let all the nations to whom I send you 
drink from it. {I}16_{/}They will drink and stagger and lose control 
of their minds before the sword I am sending among them."
{I}17_{/}So I took the cup from Yahweh's hand and made all the nations 
to whom he sent me drink from it: {I}18_{/}( ) to bring them in ruins, 
a desolation which is an object of ridicule and curses, as they 
are today. {R}_{I}19_{/}Then I gave it to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to his 
ministers, his princes and all his people, to all the countries of 
the west, {R}_{I}20_{/}to all the kings of Uz, to all the kings of the 
Philistines in Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron and those left at Ashdod; 
{R}_{I}21_{/}to all the people of Edom, Moab and Ammon; {R}_{I}22_{/}all the 
kings of Tyre and Sidon: the kings of the coastlands across the 
sea; {I}23_{/}Deda, Tama, Buz and  {R}_{I}24_{/}all the kings of Arabia and 
the kings of the west and the kings of those who live in the 
desert; {R}_{I}25_{/}all the kings of Zimri, Elim and Media and {R}_{I}26_{/}all 
the kings of the north, far and near, one after the other; all the 
kings that are found on the face of the earth! And after them the 
king of Babylon shall drink it!
{R}_{I}27_{/}You will say to them, "This is the message of Yahweh the God 
of hosts and the God of Israel: 'Drink, get drunk, vomit, fall 
without raising again in front of the sword I am sending against 
you.'
{R}_{I}28_{/}But if they refuse to take the cup from your hand to drink, 
tell them, 'Yahweh the God of hosts has spoken: You also must 
drink. {R}_{I}29_{/}When you see that I am punishing first the city where 
my Name rests, do you think you will be spared? No, you will not, 
for I am personally bringing down a sword on all the inhabitants 
of the earth - it is Yahweh God of hosts who speaks.'
[=]_{I}30_{/}You will communicate all these words to them and say, 
"Yahweh roars on high and from his holy dwelling threatens all the 
inhabitants of the world. His mighty roar echoes to the farthest 
ends of the earth. {R}_{I}31_{/}For Yahweh judges all the nations and 
passes sentence against all humankind, and he abandons the wicked 
to the sword - word of Yahweh."
{R}_{I}32_{/}Yahweh, God of hosts, says, "See, disaster spreads from 
nation to nation. A storm arises from the ends of the earth. 
[=]_{I}33_{/}On that day Yahweh's victims will be spread from one end 
of the earth to the other. No one will mourn for them; no one will 
gather them up or bury them - they will be like dung on the soil!
{I}34_{/}Howl, shepherds, and lament!
Roll in the dust you leaders of flocks for the day of slaughter 
and dispersal has come for you and you will fall like fattened 
rams.
{I}35_{/}The shepherds will find no refuge and the leaders of the the 
flocks will not be able to escape.
{I}36_{/}The shepherds cry out and the leaders of flocks wail, 
{I}37_{/}for Yahweh lays waste the grasslands, and the pastures are 
silent because of the fury of Yahweh's anger.
{I}38_{/}Like a lion he leaves his lair; because of his fierce wrath 
the land has been stricken by the sword and has become a 
wasteland."

{N}JEREMIAH IS ARRESTED AND JUDGED{/}

{1}26{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}At the beginning of the reign of Judah's king Jehoiakim 
son of Josiah, the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah: 
[=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}Yahweh says this, "Stand in the courtyard of Yahweh's 
House and say to all who come from the towns of Judah to worship 
in Yahweh's house - all that I command you to say; do not omit 
anything! {I}3_{/}Perhaps they will listen to you. Perhaps each one 
will turn from his wicked ways. Then I will change my mind and 
forget the destruction that I have planned to inflict on them 
because of their wicked deeds.
{R}_{I}4_{/}Tell them: This is what Yahweh says:
"You have not obeyed me and you have failed to walk according to 
my Law which I have set before you.[*]_{R}_{I}5_{/}You have not heeded my 
servants, the prophets, whom I have persistently sent to you. If 
you stubbornly close your ears to them, {R}_{I}6_{/}I will treat this 
House of mine as I treated the sanctuary of Shiloh and let all the 
nations see that Jerusalem is a cursed city."
{R}_{I}7_{/}The priests, the prophets and all the people heard what 
Jeremiah said in Yahweh's House. {R}_{I}8_{/}When Jeremiah finished 
saying all that Yahweh had commanded, he was besieged by the 
priests and prophets saying, "You are bound to die! {R}_{I}9_{/}How dare 
you speak in Yahweh's Name telling us that this House will be 
treated like Shiloh and this city is to become a deserted ruins." 
And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the House of 
Yahweh.
{R}_{I}10_{/}Upon hearing this, the leaders of Judah came up from the 
king's palace to the House of Yahweh and took their place at the 
entrance of the New Gate. {R}_{I}11_{/}Then the priests and the prophets 
said to the leaders of the people: "This man must die for he has 
spoken against the city as you have heard with your own ears!"
{R}_{I}12_{/}Jeremiah replied, "I have been sent by Yahweh to prophesy 
against this House and this city all that you have heard. 
{R}_{I}13_{/}Hence, reform your ways and your deeds and obey Yahweh your 
God that he may change  his mind and not bring upon you the 
destruction he had intended.
{I}14_{/}As for me I am in your hands; do with me whatever you 
consider just and right. {I}15_{/}But know that I am innocent and if 
you take my life you commit a crime that is a curse on yourselves, 
on the city and the people. In truth it was Yahweh who sent me to 
say all that I said in your hearing."
{R}_{I}16_{/}Then the leaders, backed by the people, said to the priests 
and the prophets, "This man does not deserve death; he spoke to us 
in the Name of Yahweh."
{I}17_{/}Some of the elders of the land addressed the people's 
assembly saying, [=]_{R}_{I}18_{/}"Micah of Moresheth prophesied publicly 
in the time of Hezekiah, king of Judah:
'Zion will become like a field, Jerusalem a heap of rubble and the 
Temple Mount a hill of overgrown thickets.' 
[=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}Did King Hezekiah of Judah and the people of Judah kill 
him? They instead feared Yahweh and implored his pardon until they 
succeeded in their plea to make him change his mind; and Yahweh 
did not inflict the harm with which he had threatened them. How 
can we commit such a crime?"
{R}_{I}20_{/}There was another man, by the name of Uriah son of Shemaiah 
from Kiriath Jearim who also prophesied in the name of Yahweh. He 
spoke against this city and this country in words similar to those 
of Jeremiah. {R}_{I}21_{/}When King Jehoiakim together with his officials 
heard his words, he decided to do away with him. When Uriah came 
to know about it, he was scared and fled to Egypt. {R}_{I}22_{/}But King 
Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Achbor with some people into Egypt. 
{R}_{I}23_{/}They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King 
Jehoiakim who had him slain and his body thrown into the common 
people's burial place.
{R}_{I}24_{/}As for Jeremiah he was befriended by Ahikam, son of Shaphan, 
and was not handed over to those who wanted him put to death.

{N}THE YOKE OF NEBUCHADNEZZAR{/}

{1}27{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, son of Josiah, the 
word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah in this way, {I}2_{/}"Make for 
yourself ropes and a yoke and put them on your neck. {R}_{I}3_{/}Then 
send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre and Sidon 
through their ambassadors, who have come to Jerusalem, to see 
Zedekiah king of Judah. {R}_{I}4_{/}Give them these instructions for 
their masters:
Yahweh God of hosts tells you what you ought to say to your 
masters: [=]_{I}5_{/}By means of my great power and mighty deeds I 
made the earth, as well as the people and animals that inhabit it, 
and I give them to whom ever I wish. {R}_{I}6_{/}Now I have given all 
these lands into the hands of my steward Nebuchadnezzar king of 
Babylon and I will even make the beasts of the field subject to 
him. {R}_{I}7_{/}All nations will serve him, his son and his grandson 
until the time for his land comes and then he will be overpowered 
by powerful nations and great kings.
{R}_{I}8_{/}As for the nation or kingdom that refuses to serve 
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, I will punish it with the sword, 
famine and plague - word of Yahweh - until I completely wipe it 
out.
{R}_{I}9_{/}Hence you must no longer pay attention to your prophets, 
diviners, interpreters of dreams, astrologists or sorcerers who 
say that you must not submit yourselves to the king of Babylon. 
{R}_{I}10_{/}For they are prophets of lies which will cause you to be 
finally driven from your land. I myself will drive you out and you 
will perish. {R}_{I}11_{/}But the nation that submits to the yoke of the 
king of Babylon and serves him, that nation I will leave in its 
own land - word of Yahweh - to till it and live there."
{R}_{I}12_{/}Then I gave the same message to King Zedekiah of Judah, 
"Place your neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon. Serve him 
and his people and you will live. {R}_{I}13_{/}Why should you and your 
people die by the sword, famine and plague as Yahweh has 
threatened any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 
{R}_{I}14_{/}Do not listen to the prophets when they say, 'You will not 
have to serve the king of Babylon.' For they are deceiving you 
with their prophesies. {R}_{I}15_{/}I did not send them, says Yahweh, and 
they falsely use my name in their prophesying. Let it not be that 
I drive you out of your land and you perish, you and the prophets 
who have spoken to you."
{R}_{I}16_{/}Then I spoke to the priests and the people, "Yahweh tells 
you not to listen to your prophets who say: 'Very soon now the 
articles from Yahweh's House will be brought back from Babylon.' 
They prophesy lies. {R}_{I}17_{/}Do not listen to them; instead serve the 
king of Babylon and survive. Why should this city become a ruins? 
{R}_{I}18_{/}If they were prophets and if they had Yahweh's word in their 
hearts, they would now be praying to Yahweh God of hosts not to 
allow the objects still remaining in the House of Yahweh and in 
the royal palace and in Jerusalem to be carried off to Babylon.
{R}_{I}19_{/}For, Yahweh says something about the pillars, the Sea, the 
movable stands and the other objects still in this city 
{R}_{I}20_{/}which Nebuchadnezzar did not carry off when he deported 
Jekoniah son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon 
together with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. {R}_{I}21_{/}Yes, 
this is what Yahweh the God of hosts says about the objects 
remaining in the House of Yahweh and in the royal palace in 
Jerusalem: {I}22_{/}"They will be taken to Babylon and there they will 
remain until the day I deal with them. Then I will bring them back 
and restore them to this place."

{N}JEREMIAH AND HANANIAH{/}

{1}28{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Early in the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah, in the 
fifth month of the fourth year, the prophet Hananiah spoke to me. 
Hananiah son of Azzur from Gibeon proclaimed in Yahweh's House in 
the presence of the priests and the people, {R}_{I}2_{/}"This is what 
Yahweh the God of hosts and the God of Israel says: I will break 
the yoke of the king of Babylon. {R}_{I}3_{/}Within two years I will 
bring back to this place all the objects that King Nebuchadnezzar 
of Babylon took away from Yahweh's House and carried to Babylon. 
{R}_{I}4_{/}I will likewise bring back Jekoniah son of Jehoiakim, king of 
Judah, and all who were taken from Judah and deported to Babylon. 
For I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon - word of 
Yahweh."
{R}_{I}5_{/}Then Jeremiah replied to Hananiah in the presence of the 
priests and all the people, {I}6_{/}"So be it! May Yahweh fulfill the 
words you have spoken and bring back from Babylon to this place 
the objects taken from the House of Yahweh and all the exiles. 
{I}7_{/}Yet hear now what I say in your hearing and the hearing of all 
the people.
{R}_{I}8_{/}The prophets who came before you and me continually 
prophesied war, disaster and plague to many nations and great 
kingdoms. [=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}So the prophet who prophesies peace will not be 
recognized as truly sent by Yahweh, until his predictions are 
fulfilled."
[=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}Then Hananiah took the yoke from the neck of Jeremiah 
and broke it. {R}_{I}11_{/}Hananiah proclaimed in the presence of all the 
people, "Yahweh says this: In the same manner within two years 
will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar from the neck of all the 
nations." Then Jeremiah the prophet went on his way.
{R}_{I}12_{/}Some time later, a word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, {I}13_{/}"Go 
and tell this to Hananiah: This is what Yahweh says: You have 
broken a wooden yoke but in its place you will get a yoke of iron.
{R}_{I}14_{/}For this is what Yahweh the God of hosts and the God of 
Israel says: I am placing a yoke of iron on the neck of all the 
nations to make them serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and they 
will serve him. I will even give him control over the wild 
animals."

{R}_{I}15_{/}Then Jeremiah said to Hananiah, "Listen! Hananiah, you have 
not been sent by Yahweh and yet you have deceived these people, 
giving them false hope with your lies. {I}16_{/}That is why Yahweh 
says with regard to you: I am removing you from the face of the 
earth. You will die this very year because you have counseled 
rebellion against Yahweh."
{I}17_{/}And in the seventh month of that year Hananiah died.

{C}PROPHECIES OF BLESSING{/}

{N}THE LETTER TO THE EXILES{/}

{1}29{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}This is the text of the letter the prophet Jeremiah sent 
to the rest of the elders, to the priests, the prophets and to all 
the people that Nebuchadnezzar had deported from Jerusalem to 
Babylon. [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}This was after King Jekoniah, the queen mother, 
the officials, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the smiths and 
metalworkers had left Jerusalem.
{R}_{I}3_{/}The letter was hand-carried by Elasah son of Shaphan and 
Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King 
Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It said:  
This is what Yahweh God of hosts and God of Israel says to all 
those deported from Jerusalem to Babylon:
{I}5_{/}"Build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat what 
they produce, {I}6_{/}marry and have children, seek wives for your 
sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too will 
have children. While there, increase in number; do not decrease. 
{I}7_{/}Pull yourselves together for the welfare of the land to which 
I have sent you and intercede on its behalf as you pray to Yahweh; 
for its welfare will be your welfare."
{R}_{I}10_{/}This is what Yahweh says, "When the seventy years allowed to 
Babylon have been completed I will come to you and fulfill my 
promise of restoring you back to this place. {I}11_{/}For I know what 
my plans for you are, plans to save you and not to harm you, plans 
to give you a future and to give you hope."
{I}12_{/}And Yahweh says, "When you call on me I will listen. 
[=]_{I}13_{/}You will seek me and find me when you search for me with 
all your heart." {I}14_{/}For Yahweh says, "I will let myself be found 
by you and I will gather you from among all the nations and from 
all the places where I have driven you and bring you back to the 
place from which I sent you into exile.
{R}_{I}15_{/}Indeed you are trusting in prophets allegedly raised for you 
by Yahweh in Babylon. {I}16_{/}But this is the word of Yahweh: {I}8_{/}Do 
not be deceived by the prophets and seers who are among you. Do 
not believe in their dreams or be confident in their illusions. 
{R}_{I}9_{/}For I did not send them and they take advantage of my name to 
foretell lies. As for the king who sits on the throne of David and 
all the people who live in this city (your kinsmen who did not go 
into exile with you); {I}17_{/}thus says Yahweh God of hosts, "I am 
sending sword, famine and plague against them. I will make them 
like rotten figs, so rotten they cannot be eaten. {I}18_{/}I will 
pursue them with sword, famine and plague. They will be a horror 
for all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse, an abomination, a sign 
of desolation, mockery and ridicule among all the nations where I 
scatter them. {R}_{I}19_{/}For they did not heed my words when I sent 
them again and again my servants, the prophets. They refused to 
pay attention.
{R}_{I}20_{/}As for you, exiles, whom I sent away from Jerusalem to 
Babylon, hear the word of Yahweh. {R}_{I}21_{/}This is what Yahweh the 
God of hosts and the God of Israel says concerning Ahab son of 
Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah who prophesy lies in my name, 
"I will hand them over to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon and he 
will slay them before your eyes. {R}_{I}22_{/}This will give rise to a 
curse widely used by the captives from Judah in Babylon: 'May the 
Lord treat you like Zedekiah and Ahab, who were roasted in the 
fire by the king of Babylon!' [=]_{I}23_{/}for they have acted 
outrageously: they have committed adultery with their neighbors' 
wives and have used my name to proclaim lies which I did not 
command them. I know it and have witnessed it," declares Yahweh.
{I}24_{/}After that Shemaiah of Nehelam {R}_{I}25_{/}sent letters in his own 
name to all the people in Jerusalem and to Zephaniah, son of 
Maaseiah the priest and to all the priests saying, {R}_{I}26_{/}"Yahweh 
has made you priest in place of Jehoiada to be in charge in the 
House of Yahweh to arrest every mad prophet and put him in the 
stocks and neck-irons. {R}_{I}27_{/}So why have you not rebuked Jeremiah 
of Anathoth, a would-be prophet in your midst? {I}28_{/}In this role 
he sent a message to us in Babylon: You will be there for a long 
time! Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their 
produce." 
{R}_{I}29_{/}When Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the hearing of 
the prophet Jeremiah, {R}_{I}30_{/}the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, 
{I}31_{/}"Send this message to all the exiles: This is what Yahweh 
says concerning Shemaiah of Nehelam: Shemaiah prophesied although 
I did not send him and he made you trust in lies. {I}32_{/}Because of 
that I will punish Shemaiah and his descendants; none of them will 
live to witness the blessings I will bestow on my people, for he 
incited my people to rebel against Yahweh."

{N}THE RESTORATION OF THE NORTHERN KINGDOM{/}

{1}30{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}This is another word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh:
{R}_{I}2_{/}Yahweh, God of Israel says, "Write in a book all that I have 
communicated to you, {R}_{I}3_{/}for the days are coming when I shall 
bring my captive people Israel and Judah back to the land I gave 
to their fathers as their inheritance.
{R}_{I}4_{/}These are words spoken by Yahweh to Israel:
{I}5_{/}We have heard cries of fear,
terror and not peace!
{R}_{I}6_{/}Ask and see:
Does a man bear children?
Then why do I see every strong man
with his hands on his hips like a woman in labor,
every face turned a ghastly color?
[=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}How terrible that day!
there is none to equal it!
It is a time of distress for Jacob,
but he will be saved.
{I}8_{/}On that day, - declares Yahweh of hosts - I will break the 
yoke around his neck and burst his bonds, that strangers may no 
longer enslave them. {R}_{I}9_{/}They will instead serve Yahweh their God 
and David their king whom I will raise up for them.
[=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}Yahweh says, "Fear not, Jacob my servant. Be not 
dismayed, Israel, for I will rescue you and your descendants from 
that far-off land where you are captive. Jacob shall return and 
know peace, molested by no one.
{I}11_{/}I am with you to save you. I will utterly destroy the nations 
where you are scattered. You alone shall not be destroyed, but I 
will discipline you justly and not let you go unpunished."
[=]_{I}12_{/}Yahweh says,
"Your wound is incurable,
your injury is grievous.
{I}13_{/}There is no one to plead your cause.
There is a remedy for an ulcer
but no healing for you!
{I}14_{/}All your lovers have forgotten you;
they care nothing for you.
For I struck you as an enemy does,
with a cruel punishment,
because of your great guilt
and the wickedness of your sin.
{I}15_{/}Why cry out now that you are hurt?
Is there no cure for your pain?
Because of your great crime and grievous sin I have done this to 
you.
{I}16_{/}Yet all who devour you will be devoured. Your oppressors will 
be taken captive; your plunderers will be plundered and those who 
despise you will be despised. [=]_{I}17_{/}Because you were called 
'outcast - Zion for whom no one cares,' I will restore you to 
health and heal your wounds," says Yahweh.
{R}_{I}18_{/}Yahweh says, "I will restore my people into Jacob's tents 
and have pity on his dwellings. The city will be rebuilt over its 
ruins and the palace restored on its proper place. {I}19_{/}From them 
will come songs of praise and the sound of merrymaking.
I will multiply them and they shall not be few. I will bestow 
honor on them and they shall not be despised. {I}20_{/}Their children 
will be as before and their community will be established before 
me. I will ask their oppressors to account.
[=]_{I}21_{/}Their leader will be one of themselves, their ruler shall 
emerge from their midst. I will bring him close to me for who 
would dare to approach me? [=]_{R}_{I}22_{/}You shall be my people and I 
shall be your God."
{I}23_{/}See the storm of Yahweh bursting forth in fury; like the 
turmoil of a hurricane it sweeps down on the head of the wicked. 
[=]_{I}24_{/}The fierce wrath of Yahweh will not turn away until he 
has done and accomplished the purpose of his heart.  
In the latter days you will understand this.

{1}31{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Yahweh declares that when that time comes he will be the 
God of all the families of Israel, and they will be his people.
{R}_{I}2_{/}Thus says Yahweh: The people who survived the sword have 
found grace in the desert. As Israel was seeking for his rest 
{I}3_{/}Yahweh appeared from afar saying, I have loved you with a love 
everlasting, so I have kept for you my mercy. {R}_{I}4_{/}I will restore 
you again, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin Israel! 
You will take up your tambourines and go out dancing 
joyfully.{R}_{I}5_{/}You will plant vineyards again on the hills of 
Samaria, and the farmers who plant them will enjoy their fruit.
{R}_{I}6_{/}There shall be a day when watchmen will call out on the hills 
of Ephraim, "Come, let us go to Zion, to Yahweh our God!"
{R}_{I}7_{/}For Yahweh says this: Shout with joy for Jacob;
rejoice for the greatest of nations.
Proclaim your praise and say:
"Yahweh has saved his people,
the remnant of Israel!"
{R}_{I}8_{/}Look, I will bring them back from the land of the north, 
gather them from the ends of the earth, the lame and the blind, 
mothers and women in labor - a great throng will return.
{R}_{I}9_{/}They went away weeping,
they will return in joy.
I will lead them by the streams of water, on a level path so that 
no one will stumble,
for I am Israel's father
and Ephraim is my firstborn.
He who scattered Israel now gathers them!
{R}_{I}10_{/}Hear the word of Yahweh, O nations,
proclaim it on distant coastlands:
He who scattered Israel will gather them
and guard them as a shepherd guard his flock.
[=]_{I}11_{/}For Yahweh has ransomed Jacob
and redeemed him from the hand of his conqueror.
[=]_{I}12_{/}They shall come shouting for joy, while ascending Zion;
they will come streaming to Yahweh's blessings -
the grain, the new wine and the oil,
the young of the flocks and herds.
They will be like a well-watered garden;
no more will they be afflicted.
[=]_{I}13_{/}Maidens will make merry and dance,
young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into gladness,
I will give them comfort and joy for sorrow.
{R}_{I}14_{/}I will fill the priests with abundance,
and satisfy my people with my bounty
- this is Yahweh's word.
[=]_{I}15_{/}Thus speaks Yahweh:
"In Ramah, a voice
of mourning and great weeping is heard,
Rachel wailing for her children
and refusing to be consoled,
for her children are no more."
{I}16_{/}Yahweh says this to her:
"Weep no more and wipe the tears of your eyes;
your sorrow will have redress.
They will come back from the enemy's land.
{R}_{I}17_{/}There is hope for your descendants;
your sons will return to their own borders.
[=]_{R}_{I}18_{/}I heard Ephraim saying in grief:
'You disciplined me like an untamed calf,
and I have been disciplined.
Bring me back, and I will return,
for you are my God, my Lord.
{I}19_{/}Yes, I strayed, but I have repented.
Now I understand and I beat my breast;
I bear the disgrace of my youth,
and I blush with shame and humiliation.'
[=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}Is not Ephraim my favored son,
the child in whom I delight?
Often have I threatened him,
but I still remember him,
and my heart yearns for him.
I must show him mercy," declares Yahweh.
{R}_{I}21_{/}Set up road signs,
put up guideposts;
focus your attention to the highway,
the road by which you went.
Return, O virgin Israel,
return to these cities of yours.
{I}22_{/}How long will you remain wandering,
O unfaithful daughter?
Yahweh is creating something new on earth -
the woman finds her husband again."

{N}RESTORATION OF JUDAH{/}

{R}_{I}23_{/}These are words of Yahweh, God of hosts and God of Israel, 
"When I bring back the captives to the land of Judah and its 
towns, the people will once more use the expression: 'Yahweh bless 
you, O dwelling of righteousness, holy mountain!'
{R}_{I}24_{/}All Judah and its towns, the farmer and those who move about 
with their herds will live there in peace. {I}25_{/}I will refresh the 
weary and lift up the downhearted."
{I}26_{/}Then I awoke and looked around; my sleep had been peaceful.
{R}_{I}27_{/}"The days are coming - this is the word of Yahweh - when I 
shall sow the people of Israel and the people of Judah with the 
seed of man and of beasts. {I}28_{/}It will happen that just as I 
watched over them to uproot and overthrow, to destroy and bring 
disaster, so shall I likewise build and plant - word of Yahweh.
[=]_{I}29_{/}No longer will it be said: 'The fathers have eaten sour 
grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge.'
{I}30_{/}Instead everyone will die because of their own sin; whoever 
eats sour grapes will have his teeth set on edge!

{N}THE NEW COVENANT{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}31_{/}The time is coming - it is Yahweh who speaks - when 
I will forge a new covenant with the people of Israel and the 
people of Judah. {R}_{I}32_{/}It will not be like the one I made with 
their fathers when I took them by the hand and led them out of 
Egypt. For they broke my covenant although I was their Lord.
[=]_{R}_{I}33_{/}This is the covenant I shall make with Israel after that 
time: I will put my Law within them and write it on their hearts; 
I will be their God and they will be my people.
[=]_{I}34_{/}And they will not have to teach each other, neighbor or 
brother, saying: 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, 
from the greatest to the lowliest, for I will forgive their 
wrongdoing and no longer remember their sin."
{R}_{I}35_{/}This is the word of Yahweh, 
he who gives the sun for light during the day and orders the moon 
and the stars to give light at night, 
he who stirs the sea and makes the waves roar, and who is called 
Yahweh, God of hosts:
{R}_{I}36_{/}"Only if these laws vanish from my sight, - says Yahweh - 
will the descendants of Israel cease to be a nation before me.
{R}_{I}37_{/}Only when the skies above are measured and the foundations 
of the earth are found below, only then will I reject the 
descendants of Israel because of what they have done - word of 
Yahweh.
{I}38_{/}Behold, the days are coming when the city will be rebuilt for 
Yahweh from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate {I}39_{/}and the 
measuring tape will stretch from there to the hill of Gareb and 
then turn to Goah. [=]_{R}_{I}40_{/}The whole valley where dead bodies 
and ashes are thrown and all the fields as far as the brook of 
Kidron and the corner of the Horse Gate on the east will be holy 
to Yahweh. Never again will the city be uprooted, never again 
destroyed."

{N}JEREMIAH BUYS A FIELD{/}

{1}32{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}This is the word that came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the 
tenth year of Zedekiah's reign as king of Judah, the eighteenth 
year of Nebuchadnezzar. {R}_{I}2_{/}At that time the army of the king of 
Babylon was besieging Jerusalem and the prophet Jeremiah was 
imprisoned in the Guards' Courtyard of the royal palace of Judah.
{R}_{I}3_{/}Zedekiah king of Judah had him shut up after saying to him, 
"Why do you prophesy in the name of Yahweh as you do? Yes, you 
said: 'I am going to hand this city to the king of Babylon who 
will take it. {R}_{I}4_{/}And King Zedekiah will not escape from the 
Chaldeans; he will be delivered into the power of the king of 
Babylon, speak face to face to him and see him with his own eyes. 
{I}5_{/}Zedekiah will be brought to Babylon where he will remain until 
I deal with him. In any case your fight against the Chaldeans is 
hopeless'."
{R}_{I}6_{/}So at that time the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah: 
[=]_{I}7_{/}'Hanamel, son of your uncle Shallum, is going to visit you 
and ask you to buy his field at Anathoth as it is your right to do 
so.' {I}8_{/}Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the 
Guards and said, 'Purchase my field at Anathoth since you have the 
right of possession and the redemption is yours; buy it for 
yourself.'
{I}9_{/}I then understood this was the word of Yahweh and I bought the 
field from Hanamel and I weighed out the silver for it, seventeen 
shekels of silver. {I}10_{/}Then I signed and sealed the deed, had it 
witnessed and the silver weighed on the scales. {I}11_{/}Then I took 
the deed of purchase (the sealed copy containing the terms and 
conditions and the open copy). {I}12_{/}I gave the deed of purchase to 
Baruch, son of Neriah, son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel 
my uncle and the witnesses who signed the deed and before all the 
Jews who were sitting in the court of the Guards. {I}13_{/}Then in 
their presence I commanded Baruch:
{R}_{I}14_{/}This is what Yahweh the God of hosts and the God of Israel 
says: Take these documents, both the sealed and the unsealed 
copies of the deed of purchase. Place them in an earthenware jar 
so that they may last a long time {R}_{I}15_{/}for Yahweh God of hosts 
and God of Israel says this: Houses, fields and vineyards will 
again be bought in this land."

{N}PRAYER OF JEREMIAH{/}

{I}16_{/}When I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of 
Neriah, I prayed to Yahweh: {I}17_{/}"Ah, Lord Yahweh, you have made 
the heavens and the earth with your great power and mighty deeds. 
Nothing is impossible to you! [=]_{R}_{I}18_{/}You show mercy to 
thousands but bring the punishment for the fathers' sins on their 
children. Great and Mighty, Yahweh God of hosts is your name! 
{I}19_{/}You are great in planning and mighty in deeds, your eyes 
follow the ways of all the humans, and you give to each one 
according to his conduct and the fruit of his actions.
{R}_{I}20_{/}You have continually worked signs and wonders, in the land 
of Egypt, in Israel and among all humankind. Hence you have become 
famous, as we see today. {R}_{I}21_{/}You brought your people from the 
land of Egypt with signs and wonders, with your great power and 
your mighty deeds. 
{I}22_{/}You gave your people this land which you had promised with an 
oath to their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey. 
{R}_{I}23_{/}But as soon as they entered and conquered it, they did not 
listen to you and did not walk according to your Law. They refused 
to do what you commanded and you brought great misfortune on them. 
{I}24_{/}You see, O Yahweh, the mounds built up to take the city are 
reaching it. And the city exhausted by the sword, famine and 
plague will be given over to the Chaldeans. What you foretold has 
happened as you can now see! {I}25_{/}And yet you told me, O Lord 
Yahweh, to buy a field with silver and have the purchase witnessed 
in the very days the city is falling to the Chaldeans!"

{N}GOD'S ANSWER{/}

{R}_{I}26_{/}The word of Yahweh then came to Jeremiah: [=]_{R}_{I}27_{/}"I am 
Yahweh, the God of all humankind. Is there anything impossible for 
me? {R}_{I}28_{/}Therefore this is what Yahweh says: I am about to hand 
the city over to the Chaldeans and Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon 
who will take it. {I}29_{/}The Chaldeans who are attacking the city 
will come in and set it on fire. They will burn the houses where 
the people aroused my anger by burning incense to Baal and pouring 
drink offerings to foreign gods. {R}_{I}30_{/}For the people of Israel 
and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth. 
{I}31_{/}All they did was to arouse my anger with the work of their 
hands - it is Yahweh who speaks - for this city has so aroused my 
anger and fury from the time it was built to this day, {R}_{I}32_{/}that 
I must remove it from my sight. It is on account of all the evil 
the people of Israel and Judah have done to anger me - they, their 
kings and princes, their priests and prophets, the people of Judah 
and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
{I}33_{/}They turned their backs to me and not their faces. Although I 
taught them time and time again they did not listen nor have they 
learned the lesson. {I}34_{/}They even put their idols in the 
sanctuary that houses my Name to defile it. {R}_{I}35_{/}They built high 
places to Baal in the valley of Ben-Hinnom where they worshipped 
Baal and sacrificed their sons and daughters to Moloch. This I 
never commanded nor did I ever think they could do such a 
detestable thing and so make Judah so sinful.

{N}I WILL BRING THEM BACK{/}

{R}_{I}36_{/}As you say, this city exhausted by the sword, famine and 
plague will be handed over to the king of Babylon. But now listen 
to what Yahweh the God of Israel says: [=]_{R}_{I}37_{/}"See, I am going 
to gather them from all the countries where I scattered them in my 
anger, fury and great wrath.
I will bring them back to this place and have them live in safety. 
{R}_{I}38_{/}They will be my people and I shall be their God.
{I}39_{/}I will have them think and act in another way, so that they 
may always fear me for their own good and the good of their 
children.
[=]_{R}_{I}40_{/}I will forge an eternal covenant with them by which I 
shall never cease to do them good and I shall place my fear in 
their heart so that they may never turn away from me.
[=]_{R}_{I}41_{/}I shall rejoice in doing them good and I shall plant 
them securely in this land with all my heart and soul."
{R}_{I}42_{/}And Yahweh says, "Just as I brought great disaster on this 
people, so shall I bring them all the happiness I promised them. 
{R}_{I}43_{/}Then fields will be bought in this land about which you say 
that it is a wasteland without man or beast and given over to the 
Chaldeans.
{R}_{I}44_{/}Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds written and 
sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin and the region 
around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah, in the towns of the hill 
country, in the towns of Shephelah and those of the south.
Yes, I will bring back their captives" - word of Yahweh.

{N}ANOTHER PROMISE OF RESTORATION{/}

{1}33{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}When Jeremiah was still detained in the Guards' Court the 
word of Yahweh came to him a second time:
{I}2_{/}He who made the earth, who fashioned and established it, he 
whose Name is Yahweh is speaking to you, {I}3_{/}"Call me and I shall 
answer. I will reveal to you great and mysterious things you have 
not known." {R}_{I}4_{/}For this is what Yahweh God of Israel says, "You 
have seen how the houses of Jerusalem and the royal palace of 
Judah were demolished and used as a defense against the siege 
mounds in the {R}_{I}5_{/}fighting against the Chaldeans. But they have 
been filled with dead bodies, for I slew these people in the fury 
of my anger when I no longer looked to this city because of their 
wickedness.
{I}6_{/}However I will apply a remedy for its healing. I will cure 
them and make them enjoy peace and truth. {R}_{I}7_{/}I will bring back 
the captives of Judah and Israel and rebuild them as before. 
[=]_{I}8_{/}I will cleanse them from the guilt of their sin against me 
and their infidelity. {I}9_{/}This city will be for me a cause of joy, 
praise and glory in the sight of all the nations of the earth, 
when they hear of all the good I do for them. They will fear and 
tremble when they see all the good and all the peace I provide for 
them."
{R}_{I}10_{/}Thus says Yahweh, "You say of this city that it is a 
wasteland without men or animals. But in the towns of Judah and in 
the streets of Jerusalem which are a ruins without men or animals 
{R}_{I}11_{/}there will be heard again the sound of merriment and 
happiness, the song of the newlywed and the voice of those who 
pray: 'Praise to Yahweh God of hosts, for Yahweh is good and his 
love endures forever!' When I restore the fortune of the land as 
it was before," says Yahweh, "the voice of those who sing praise 
in the House of Yahweh will be heard."
{R}_{I}12_{/}Thus says Yahweh God of hosts: In this place, which is a 
wasteland without men or animals and in all its towns, there will 
once again be pastures where the shepherds will tend their flocks. 
{R}_{I}13_{/}In the towns of the hill country, Shephelah and the south, 
in the territory of Benjamin and the villages around Jerusalem and 
in the towns of Judah, flocks will pass under the hand of the one 
who counts them - word of Yahweh.

{N}PROMISES TO DAVID'S DESCENDANTS{/}

{R}_{I}14_{/}The days are coming when I shall fulfill the promise that I 
made in favor of Israel and Judah.
{R}_{I}15_{/}In those days and at that time I will cause to sprout the 
shoot of righteousness from David's line; he will practice justice 
and righteousness in the land. [=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}In those days Judah will 
experience salvation and Jerusalem will live in safety. He will be 
called Yahweh-Our-Righteousness."
[=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}For Yahweh says, "David will never be without a 
descendant seated on the throne of Israel, {R}_{I}18_{/}nor will the 
priests and Levites be left without descendants to stand before me 
and to present burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices."
{R}_{I}19_{/}The word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah as follows, 
[=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}"If you are able to break my covenant with the day or my 
covenant with the night so that night and day would not follow at 
their appointed times, {R}_{I}21_{/}then might my covenant with David my 
servant be broken. Only then would there be no descendant to reign 
on his throne and no priests or Levites to minister before me. 
{R}_{I}22_{/}Just as the stars in the sky or the sand on the seashore 
cannot be counted, to the same extent shall I multiply the 
descendants of David and the Levites who minister before me."
{R}_{I}23_{/}Again the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, {I}24_{/}"Have you 
not noticed what these people say: 'Yahweh has rejected the two 
kingdoms he chose.' So they despise my people, and no longer 
consider them a nation. {R}_{I}25_{/}But Yahweh says: If I have not 
established my covenant with day and night, if I have not fixed 
the laws of the heavens and the earth, {R}_{I}26_{/}then I can reject the 
descendants of Jacob and David my servant and not take from among 
them rulers for the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For I 
am going to restore their fortune and show compassion on them."

{N}A PROMISE TO ZEDEKIAH{/}

{1}34{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}This was the word of Yahweh addressed to Jeremiah when 
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his army as well as all the 
kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion, and all the 
peoples were fighting against Jerusalem and all the cities of 
Judah:
{R}_{I}2_{/}This is the word of Yahweh, God of Israel, "Go and say this 
to Zedekiah king of Judah: 'See, I am giving this city to the king 
of Babylon and he will set it on fire. {I}3_{/}You will not escape 
from his hands but will surely be captured and given over to him. 
You will see him face to face and speak directly to him and you 
will go to Babylon.' {R}_{I}4_{/}Just listen, Zedekiah, king of Judah, to 
the word of Yahweh! This is what Yahweh says about you, 'You will 
not be slain by the sword; {R}_{I}5_{/}no, you will die in peace. As they 
made funeral pyres in honor of your fathers, former kings, so will 
they make a fire in your honor and lament 'Alas, my master! - word 
of Yahweh."
{R}_{I}6_{/}Then Jeremiah the prophet gave this message to Zedekiah, king 
of Judah in Jerusalem. {R}_{I}7_{/}At that time the army of the king of 
Babylon was besieging Jerusalem and the cities of Judah which were 
still resisting - Lachish and Azekah. These were the only 
fortified cities remaining in Judah. 

{N}ABOUT THE LIBERATED SLAVES{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}The word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah after King Zedekiah 
had made a treaty with all the people of Jerusalem to proclaim 
freedom for the slaves. {I}9_{/}Everyone was to free his Hebrew 
slaves, male and female, so that no fellow Jew would be kept in 
bondage.
[=]_{I}10_{/}The princes and all the citizens agreed to this. They 
made a treaty and so set them free. {I}11_{/}Yet they changed their 
mind afterwards and brought back the slaves they had freed and 
used them as slaves again.
{R}_{I}12_{/}Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, {R}_{I}13_{/}"Yahweh the 
God of Israel says this: I made a covenant with your fathers the 
day I brought them out of Egypt from the house of slavery and I 
said: [=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}At the end of every seven years you will free your 
brother Hebrew who sold himself to you. When he has served you for 
six years, you are to send him away a free man. But your fathers 
did not listen and paid no attention. [=]_{R}_{I}15_{/}Recently you 
repented and did what was right in my sight when each one 
proclaimed the freedom of his slave and you made a covenant with 
me in the House where my Name rests. [=]_{I}16_{/}But now you have 
gone back on your word and profaned my Name. You have brought back 
your slaves, male and female, to whom you had given complete 
freedom and you have again reduced them to slavery.
{R}_{I}17_{/}That is why Yahweh says: Since you have not obeyed me in 
proclaiming freedom for your brothers and neighbors I now proclaim 
'freedom' for you, freedom to fall by the sword, plague and 
famine. I will make you detestable to every kingdom on earth. 
{R}_{I}18_{/}The men who have sinned against my covenant, who have not 
observed the terms of the alliance they made before me, I will 
liken them to the calf they cut in two and then walked between its 
halves. {R}_{I}19_{/}The princes of Judah and Jerusalem, the court 
officials, the priests and all the free men who walked between the 
pieces of the calf, {I}20_{/}I will hand them over to their enemies. 
Their corpses will serve as food for the birds of the air and the 
beasts of the earth.
{R}_{I}21_{/}Zedekiah and his officials I will give over to the hands of 
their enemies. You saw the army of the king of Babylon withdrawing 
from you. {R}_{I}22_{/}But now I am issuing an order to bring them back 
to this city. They will attack and capture the city and set it on 
fire. As for the towns of Judah I will reduce them to a wasteland 
without inhabitants." 

{N}THE EXAMPLE GIVEN BY THE RECHABITES{/}

{1}35{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}A message from Yahweh came to Jeremiah in the days of 
Joasiah's son Jehoiakim, king of Judah: {I}2_{/}"Go to the Rechabite 
family; speak to them and bring them to a room in the House of 
Yahweh; then give them wine to drink."
{R}_{I}3_{/}So I went to get Jaazaniah, son of Jeremiah, son of 
Habazziniah, his brothers and sons and all the household of the 
Rechabites. {R}_{I}4_{/}I brought them to the House of Yahweh, into the 
room of the sons of Hanan, son of Igdaliah, the man of God. It was 
close to the room of the leaders which is above the room of the 
doorkeeper Maasekah, son of Shallum. {I}5_{/}I then placed pitchers of 
wine and cups before the Rechabites and told them, "Drink wine!"
[=]_{I}6_{/}But they answered, "We don't drink wine because our father 
Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us: 'Never drink wine, you as well 
as your children; [=]_{I}7_{/}don't build a house and don't sow seeds. 
You shall not plant or own a vineyard; do nothing like that but 
live in tents all your days so that you may live for a long time 
in the land where you dwell!'
{I}8_{/}We have observed all the commands of our father Jonadab, son 
of Rechab, always abstaining from wine, we, our wives, our sons 
and daughters. {I}9_{/}We haven't built houses to live in and we have 
no vineyards, fields or seeds. {I}10_{/}We live in tents and we obey 
and practice all that our father Jonadab ordered us. {R}_{I}11_{/}But 
when king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked the land, we said: 
"Come, we shall go to Jerusalem to escape from the army of the 
Chaldeans and the army of the Arameans. This is why now we stay in 
Jerusalem."
{R}_{I}12_{/}Yahweh spoke again to Jeremiah, {R}_{I}13_{/}"Yahweh the God of 
hosts and the God of Israel bids you to go and tell the people of 
Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem: Will you reject a correction 
and refuse what I say? - word of Yahweh. {I}14_{/}Jonadab son of 
Rechab commanded his children not to drink wine, and his words 
have been observed; to this day they have obeyed their father by 
not taking wine. As for you, I have spoken to you time and time 
again and you have not listened to me! {R}_{I}15_{/}I have sent you my 
servants the prophets again and again saying: 'Turn away from your 
wickedness, reform your way of life and do not follow other gods 
to serve them. Then you will live in the land that I gave you and 
your forefathers.' But you neither heeded nor listened to me. 
{I}16_{/}The descendants of Jonadab son of Rechab have carried out 
their father's order but this nation has not obeyed me."
{R}_{I}17_{/}Therefore this is what Yahweh the God of hosts and the God 
of Israel says, 
"I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem 
all the disaster I foretold, because I spoke and they would not 
listen, I called and they would not respond."
{R}_{I}18_{/}Then Jeremiah said to the Rechabites, "This is what Yahweh 
God of hosts and God of Israel says: 'Because you have been 
obedient to your father Jonadab and observed all his instructions, 
because you have acted according to his commands, {I}19_{/}because of 
that - word of Yahweh - Jonadab shall always have a descendant to 
stand before me."

{C}THE SUFFERINGS OF JEREMIAH{/}

{N}THE SCROLL IS BURNED{/}

{1}36{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}This word from Yahweh came to Jeremiah in the fourth year 
of Jehoiakim son of Josiah.
[=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}"Get a scroll and write on it all that I have spoken to 
you concerning Jerusalem, Judah and all the nations, from the 
first day I spoke to you in the time of Josiah until this day. 
{R}_{I}3_{/}Perhaps when the people of Judah hear of all the afflictions 
I intend to send them, to make each of them turn away they would 
decide to turn from their wicked ways. Hence I may forgive their 
wickedness and sin."
{R}_{I}4_{/}Jeremiah then called Baruch son of Neriah and while Jeremiah 
dictated, Baruch wrote on the scroll all that Yahweh had said.
{R}_{I}5_{/}Then Jeremiah commanded Baruch, "I am in jail and cannot go 
to Yahweh's House. {R}_{I}6_{/}So you go to Yahweh's House on a day of 
fasting and read publicly all that you wrote as I dictated. Read 
it to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns. 
{I}7_{/}Perhaps they will entreat Yahweh and each one will turn from 
his wickedness, for great is the wrath of Yahweh and the 
punishment with which he has threatened this people."
{R}_{I}8_{/}So Baruch Neriah's son did all that the prophet Jeremiah had 
commanded about this reading in the House of Yahweh.
{R}_{I}9_{/}In the ninth month of the fifth year of Josiah's son 
Jehoiakim, king of Judah, a fast before Yahweh was proclaimed to 
all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the 
towns of Judah.
Then in the House of Yahweh Baruch read publicly the words of 
Jeremiah written in the scroll. {I}10_{/}This he did in the room of 
the secretary Gemariah Shapan's son, in the upper court at the 
entry of the New Gate of the House of Yahweh.
{I}11_{/}When Micaiah son of Gemariah, son of Shaphan heard all of 
Yahweh's words written on the scroll {R}_{I}12_{/}he went to the 
secretary's room in the king's house where all the officials were 
sitting - Elishama, the secretary, Delaiah, son of Shemaiah; 
Elnathan, son of Acbor; Gemariah, son of Shaphan; Zedekiah, son of 
Hananiah, and the rest of the officials.
{I}13_{/}Micaiah told them all that he had heard when Baruch read the 
the content of the scroll to the people. {I}14_{/}Then all the 
officials sent Jehudi, son of Netaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the 
son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, "Bring the scroll from which you 
read to all the people and come!" So Baruch went with the scroll 
in his hand. {I}15_{/}They told him to sit down and read it to them, 
and Baruch read it to them.
{R}_{I}16_{/}When they heard all that, they gazed at one another in fear 
and said, "We ought to tell this to the king."
{I}17_{/}They then asked Baruch, "May we know how you wrote that." He 
said, [*]_{I}18_{/}"As he dictated these words, I wrote them in ink on 
the scroll." {R}_{I}19_{/}Then the officials instructed Baruch, "Jeremiah 
and you have to hide and let no one know where you are."
{R}_{I}20_{/}They kept the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary 
and went to the king in the courtyard and reported all to him.
{R}_{I}21_{/}The king then sent Jehudi to bring him the scroll. Jehudi 
brought it from Elishamah's room and read it to the king and to 
all the officials standing around him. {R}_{I}22_{/}Now it was the ninth 
month and the king was sitting in the winter palace while a fire 
was burning in the fire pot in front of him. {R}_{I}23_{/}Whenever Jehudi 
finished reading three or four columns, the king would cut them 
off into pieces with the secretary's knife and cast them in the 
fire until the whole scroll was burned.
{R}_{I}24_{/}Neither the king nor his officials were afraid when they 
heard all these words and they did not tear their garments. 
{R}_{I}25_{/}And yet Elnathan, Deliah and Gemariah had urged the king not 
to burn the scroll, but he did not listen.
{R}_{I}26_{/}Instead the king ordered Jerahmeel, a son of the king, 
Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch 
the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet; but Yahweh concealed them.
{R}_{I}27_{/}A word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah after the king burned the 
scroll with the words Baruch had written as Jeremiah dictated, 
{I}28_{/}"Take another scroll and write on it all the words that were 
on the first one which Jehoiakim burned. {R}_{I}29_{/}And tell Jehoiakim 
this message of Yahweh: You have burned the scroll and you said: 
This man dared to write that the king of Babylon will certainly 
destroy this land and wipe away from it men and animals! 
{R}_{I}30_{/}That is why Yahweh has spoken against Jehoiakim, king of 
Judah: Not one of his descendants will sit on the throne of David. 
His dead body will be exposed to the heat of day and the chill of 
night. {R}_{I}31_{/}I will ask him to account as well as his children and 
his attendants for their wickedness. I will pour out on them all 
the disasters and it will be the same for the people of Judah and 
the inhabitants of Jerusalem I have foretold against them, because 
they have paid no attention."
{R}_{I}32_{/}Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch son 
of Neriah, the secretary. He wrote on it all the words of the 
scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah burned in the fire, and he 
added many more similar words.

{N}ZEDEKIAH CONSULTS JEREMIAH{/}

{1}37{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Josiah's Zedekiah was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar king of 
Babylon to be king of Judah in the place of Jehoiakin son of 
Jehoiakim. {R}_{I}2_{/}But neither he nor his attendants nor the people 
of the land paid attention to the words of Yahweh spoken through 
Jeremiah the prophet.
{R}_{I}3_{/}King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah with the priest 
Zehaniah son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah to say, "Intercede for us 
with Yahweh our God!" {R}_{I}4_{/}At that time Jeremiah had not yet been 
imprisoned and he was still going about among the people. 
{R}_{I}5_{/}Pharaoh's army had come out of Egypt and when the Chaldeans 
heard of this, they withdrew from Jerusalem.
{R}_{I}6_{/}Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah the prophet: 
{R}_{I}7_{/}"Yahweh the God of Israel has spoken. Say this to the king of 
Judah who sent you to consult me: Pharaoh's army which was on its 
way to help you is about to return to its own land, {I}8_{/}and the 
Chaldeans will come back and attack this city. They will capture 
it and set it on fire.
{I}9_{/}Do not deceive yourselves by saying that the Chaldeans are not 
to come back, because they surely will. {I}10_{/}Even if you had 
defeated the whole Chaldean army and they were left with only 
wounded men, they would all come out of their tents and set fire 
to this city."

{N}JEREMIAH IN THE WELL{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}While the Chaldean army was withdrawing from Jerusalem 
because of the advance of Pharaoh's troops, {R}_{I}12_{/}Jeremiah left 
Jerusalem to go to the territory of Benjamin to receive an 
inheritance there. {R}_{I}13_{/}But upon reaching the Benjamin Gate he 
was stopped by a sentry named Irijah, son of Shelemiah, son of 
Hananiah who said, "You are deserting to the Babylonians!"
{R}_{I}14_{/}Jeremiah answered, "There's no truth to that!" But Irijah 
did not listen. He nabbed Jeremiah and brought him to the 
officials. {R}_{I}15_{/}They were so angry with Jeremiah, they beat him 
and locked him in the house of Jonathan the secretary which had 
been transformed into a prison.
{R}_{I}16_{/}Jeremiah was put in the dungeon cells and was kept there for 
a number of days. {R}_{I}17_{/}Then King Zedekiah sent for him and 
secretly questioned him in his house:"Is there any word from 
Yahweh?" Jeremiah replied, "Yes, there is!" and added, "You will 
be handed over to the king of Babylon!"
{R}_{I}18_{/}Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, "What wrong have I done 
to you, to your servants or to the people that you should have me 
imprisoned? {R}_{I}19_{/}Where are your prophets {R}_{I}20_{/}who said to you: 
'The King of Babylon will never come to attack you and destroy 
this land?' Now listen to me, my lord king! Take heed of my plea 
and do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, 
for there I am doomed to die!"
{R}_{I}21_{/}So King Zedekiah ordered that Jeremiah be transferred to the 
Guards' Court and that every day he be supplied with loaf of bread 
from the bakers' street until there was no more bread. So Jeremiah 
remained in the Guards' Court.

{1}38{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur son of 
Malchiah heard what Jeremiah said publicly {I}2_{/}in the name of 
Yahweh, "Anyone who stays in the city will perish by the sword, 
famine and plague, but whoever surrenders to the Chaldeans will 
survive although he may lose everything. {R}_{I}3_{/}For Yahweh has 
spoken: I have handed over this city to the king of Babylon and he 
will take it."
{R}_{I}4_{/}Then the officials told the king, "This man should be put to 
death, because he is weakening the will of the fighting men and 
the people left the city. In fact he is not out to save the people 
but to do harm." [=]_{R}_{I}5_{/}King Zedekiah said, "His life is in your 
hands for the king has no power against you." 
{R}_{I}6_{/}So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of 
Malchiah the king's son, in the Guards' Court. They lowered him by 
means of ropes. There was no water in the cistern but only mud and 
Jeremiah sank into the mud.
{R}_{I}7_{/}Ebedmelech, an Ethiopian official of the king's house, heard 
that they had lowered Jeremiah in the cistern. While the king was 
sitting at the Benjamin Gate, {I}8_{/}Ebedmelech went and spoke to 
him, {R}_{I}9_{/}"My lord king! These men have acted wickedly in all they 
did to Jeremiah the prophet. They threw him into the cistern where 
he will die."
{R}_{I}10_{/}So the king ordered Ebedmelech the Ethiopian: "Take three 
men with you from here and draw Jeremiah the prophet out from the 
cistern before he dies."
{R}_{I}11_{/}Ebedmelech took the men with him and went into the king's 
house beneath the treasury. There he got pieces of rags and old 
clothes which he lowered by means of ropes to Jeremiah in the 
cistern. {R}_{I}12_{/}Ebedmelech said to Jeremiah, "Put the pieces of 
rags and old clothes under your armpits, over the ropes." This 
Jeremiah did. {R}_{I}13_{/}Then Jeremiah was pulled up from the cistern 
by means of the ropes and was brought to the Guards' Court to stay 
there. 
{R}_{I}14_{/}King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and received him 
at the third entrance of Yahweh's House and there said to him, "I 
am going to ask you a question; hide nothing from me!" Jeremiah 
said to Zedekiah, {R}_{I}15_{/}"If I tell you something, won't you put me 
to death? And if I advice you, will you listen to me?" {R}_{I}16_{/}King 
Zedekiah swore secretly to Jeremiah: "As Yahweh lives who gave us 
a soul, I will not have you die and I will not hand you over to 
those who want to kill you."
{R}_{I}17_{/}Jeremiah told to Zedekiah, "This is what Yahweh God of hosts 
and God of Israel says: If you surrender to the officers of the 
king of Babylon you will survive and the city will not be burned. 
You and your household will live. {R}_{I}18_{/}But if you surrender not 
to the king of Babylon, this very city will be handed over to the 
Chaldeans and they will set it on fire. For your part, you will 
not escape."
{R}_{I}19_{/}King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "I am afraid of the people 
of Judah who have surrendered to the Chaldeans. I fear the 
Chaldeans will give me over to them and they will ill-treat me." 
{R}_{I}20_{/}Jeremiah said, "They will not hand you over. Listen to what 
Yahweh says to you through me; it will be well with you and you 
will live. {I}21_{/}But if you refuse to surrender, this is what 
Yahweh has let me see:
{R}_{I}22_{/}All the women left in your palace will be handed over to the 
officers of the king of Babylon and will sing this song: 'Your 
friends have deceived and overcome you. When your feet have sunk 
into the mud, they turn away from you!' {R}_{I}23_{/}All your wives and 
children shall be led out to the Chaldeans and you will not escape 
from them. You will be nabbed by the king of Babylon and this city 
will be burned down!"
{R}_{I}24_{/}Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, "Let no one know about this 
conversation lest you will die. {I}25_{/}If the officials hear that I 
have spoken with you and if they come to you and ask you what I 
spoke of to you, even though they threaten you, {R}_{I}26_{/}you will say 
to them: I only made a petition to the king not to send me back to 
the house of Jonathan to die."
{R}_{I}27_{/}All the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. He 
replied just as the king had instructed him, and they said no more 
since no one had overheard the conversation.
[=]_{R}_{I}28_{/}But Jeremiah remained in the Guards' Court until the day 
Jerusalem was taken. 

{N}THE FALL OF JERUSALEM AND THE FATE OF JEREMIAH{/}

{1}39{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}In the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah king of 
Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with his entire army 
and they besieged Jerusalem. {I}2_{/}On the ninth day of the fourth 
month in Zedekiah's eleventh year a breach was made in the city 
wall. {R}_{I}3_{/}All the officials of the king of Babylon entered and 
took their seats at the Middle Gate: Nergal-Sherazer of Samgar, 
Sarsekim chief officer, Nergal-Sherazer a high official and all 
the officials of the king of Babylon.
{R}_{I}4_{/}Upon seeing this, King Zedekiah of Judah and all the military 
fled from the city by night, going out by way of the king's garden 
through the gate between the two walls in the direction of Arabah. 
{R}_{I}5_{/}But the Chaldean army chased them and caught up with Zedekiah 
in the plains of Jericho. They took him and brought him up to the 
king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath. There 
Nebuchadnezzar passed sentence on him. {R}_{I}6_{/}The king of Babylon 
slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah in his presence and all the 
nobles of Judah. {I}7_{/}He gouged Zedekiah's eyes and bound him with 
a double bronze chain to take him to Babylon.
{R}_{I}8_{/}The Chaldeans burned the King's palace along with the 
people's abodes and then broke down the walls of Jerusalem. 
{I}9_{/}Nebuzaradan, commander of the guards, deported to Babylon the 
remainder of the people who stayed in the city as well as those 
who had deserted to his side and those craftsmen who were still 
there. {R}_{I}10_{/}As for the poorest people who owned nothing, 
Nebuzaradan left them at that time in the land of Judah, giving 
them vineyards and fields.
{R}_{I}11_{/}Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had given orders about 
Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan chief of the guards: {I}12_{/}"Take him and 
look after him; do him no harm but deal with him just as he tells 
you." {R}_{I}13_{/}Nebuzaradan commander of the guards, Nebushazban a 
chief officer, Nergal-Sharezer, a high official and all the other 
officers of the king of Babylon {R}_{I}14_{/}sent and had Jeremiah taken 
from the Guards' Court and given over to Gedaliah son of Ahikam 
son of Shaphan. So he remained among the people.

{N}REWARD FOR EBEDMELEK{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}15_{/}Now the word of Yahweh had come to Jeremiah while he 
was imprisoned in the Guards' Court: {R}_{I}16_{/}"Go and talk to 
Ebedmelek the Ethiopian: Tell him this word of Yahweh the God of 
hosts and the God of Israel: You see on that day that I am about 
to carry out what I have foretold in the past, disaster and not 
prosperity for this city.
{I}17_{/}But I will save you on that day - word of Yahweh - and you 
will not be handed over to the men whom you fear. For I will 
certainly save you and you will not perish by the sword. {I}_18_{/}You 
will be able to escape and live because you have trusted me - it 
is Yahweh who speaks."

{N}JEREMIAH IS FREED{/}

{1}40{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}The word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah after Nebuzaradan, 
commander of the guards, had released him at Ramah when he had 
taken him, bound in chains, with those to be deported from 
Jerusalem and Judah to Babylon. {R}_{I}2_{/}The commander of the guards 
took Jeremiah and said to him, "Yahweh your God foretold this 
calamity for this place. {I}3_{/}Now he has implemented what he then 
said he would do because you have sinned against him and have not 
listened to him. {I}4_{/}But I have been removing today the fetters 
off your hands and releasing you to be free... You may wish to go 
with me to Babylon and I will take care of you. However I am not 
obliging you if you decide not to go. You have the choice to go 
wherever you like in this land." {R}_{I}5_{/}Nebuzaradan added, "Why 
don't you go back to Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan? He has 
been appointed governor over the towns of Judah by the King of 
Babylon. You could stay with him among your people. Yet go 
wherever it seems right for you to go." The commander of the 
guards gave him provisions and a gift and set him on his way. 
{R}_{I}6_{/}And so Jeremiah went to Gedaliah son of Ahikam who was 
residing at Mizpah. He stayed with him among the people who were 
left in the land.

{N}GEDALIAH, THE GOVERNOR{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}7_{/}Now all the army chiefs in the open country with their 
men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah son of 
Ahikam to be governor over the land and put him in charge of the 
men, women and children and the lowliest of the people who had not 
been deported to Babylon. {R}_{I}8_{/}They came to Gedaliah at Mizpah: 
Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, 
Seraiah son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite and 
Jaazaniah son of Maacathite and their men.
{R}_{I}9_{/}Gedaliah son of Ahikam son of Shaphan swore to them and their 
men: "Don't be afraid to serve the Chaldeans; remain in the 
country, serve the king of Babylon and all will be well with you. 
{I}10_{/}As for me, I am based here in Mizpah and I am your 
representative with the Chaldeans who settle at this place. For 
your part gather wine, fruit and oil; store it in your vessels and 
stay in the towns you have occupied."
{R}_{I}11_{/}The Jews who were in Moab, Ammon, Edom and in the other 
lands also learned that the king of Babylon had left a remnant of 
the population and that he had placed over them Gedaliah son of 
Ahikam, son of Shaphan. {R}_{I}12_{/}All of these Jews returned from the 
places where they had been dispersed and came to Gedaliah at 
Mizpah in the land of Judah. There they gathered in wine and fruit 
in great quantities.

{N}GEDALIAH MURDERED{/}

{I}13_{/}Johanan son of Kareah and all the chiefs of guerrilla warfare 
came to Gedaliah at Mizpah {R}_{I}14_{/}and said, "Don't you know that 
Baalis, king of the Ammonites has commissioned Ishmael son of 
Nethaniah to assassinate you?" {R}_{I}15_{/}But Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, 
did not believe him.
Then Johanan spoke secretly to Gedaliah at Mizpah, "Let me go and 
kill Ishmael son of Nethaniah without anyone knowing. Don't allow 
him to kill you lest all the Jews assembled with you be dispersed 
and the rest of Judah perish." {I}16_{/}But Gedaliah son of Ahikam 
said to Johanan son of Kareah, "Don't do that because what you 
have said about Ishmael is a lie."

{1}41{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}It was the seventh month when Ishmael son of Nethaniah 
son of Elishama, a member of the royal family who had been chief 
officer of the king, came with ten men to Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, 
son of Shaphan at Mizpah. While they were eating together 
{R}_{I}2_{/}Ishmael and the men with him stood up and slew Gedaliah with 
the sword, thus killing the man whom the king of Babylon had 
appointed governor of the land.
{I}3_{/}Ishmael also killed the Jews who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah 
as well as the Chaldean soldiers who were there.
{I}4_{/}Two days after the assassination of Gedaliah and before anyone 
had heard of it, {R}_{I}5_{/}eighty men from Shechem, Shiloh and Samaria 
arrived with beards shaved, torn clothes and their bodies slashed, 
carrying offerings and incense to the House of Yahweh.
{I}6_{/}Ishmael son of Nethaniah left Mizpah to meet them weeping as 
they went. He said to them, {I}7_{/}"Come along to Gedaliah, son of 
Ahikam." But as soon as he came to the center of the town, Ishmael 
son of Nethaniah and the men with him killed them and threw their 
bodies into a cistern. {I}8_{/}Ten of these men, however, said to 
Ishmael, "Don't kill us for we have provisions hidden in the 
country, corn, oil barley and honey." These Ishmael did not kill 
with the others.
{R}_{I}9_{/}The cistern where Ishmael had thrown the corpses of these 
people he had killed was the large cistern built by King Asa when 
he had to defend himself against Basha king of Israel. Ishmael son 
of Nethaniah filled it with their corpses.
{I}10_{/}Ishmael took captive the small population of Mizpah, the 
royal princesses whom Nebuzaradan, commander of the bodyguard had 
left in the care of Gedaliah. Ishmael obliged them to follow him 
and set out for the land of the Ammonites.
{I}11_{/}When Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers with him 
heard of the crimes of Ishmael they assembled their men and set 
off to fight Ishmael. {R}_{I}12_{/}They caught up with him at the great 
pool of Gibeon.
{I}13_{/}As soon as the people Ishmael had taken by force from Mizpah 
saw Johanan, son of Kareah and the army officers with him, they 
rejoiced {I}14_{/}and turned back to join Johanan. {I}15_{/}In the 
meantime Ishmael was able to flee from Johanan with eight men and 
went to the Ammonites.
[=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}Then Johanan and the army officers with him took the 
people he had rescued from Ishmael, son of Nethaniah. They were 
those men, women, children and court officials that Ishmael 
carried off by force from Mizpah after slaying Gedaliah. Johanan 
brought them from Gibeon, {R}_{I}17_{/}and they stayed at Geruth Chimham 
near Bethlehem. They planned to go on later towards Egypt 
{R}_{I}18_{/}for fear of the Chaldeans because Ishmael had slain Gedaliah 
who was appointed governor of the land by the king of Babylon.

{N}THE FLIGHT TO EGYPT{/}

{1}42{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Then the army officers, especially Johanan, son of Kareah and 
Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the smallest to 
the greatest came to speak to Jeremiah: {R}_{I}2_{/}"Listen to our plea 
and pray to Yahweh our God for us, this remnant of people, because 
really we are few from many, as you can see. {R}_{I}3_{/}May Yahweh your 
God show us the way we should go and what we should do."
{R}_{I}4_{/}Jeremiah the prophet answered them, "I have heard you. Yes, I 
am going to speak to Yahweh as you have requested. And whatever be 
the word of Yahweh, I shall let you know it without hiding 
anything."
{R}_{I}5_{/}They said to Jeremiah, "May Yahweh be a true and worthy 
witness against us if we do not act according to every word that 
Yahweh your God will say to us through you! {R}_{I}6_{/}Whether it be 
good or bad for us we will obey Yahweh our God to whom we are 
sending you, so it will be well with us for having obeyed the 
voice of Yahweh our God."
{R}_{I}7_{/}Ten days later the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah. {I}8_{/}He 
then called Johanan, son of Kareah and the army officers with him 
and all the people from the least to the greatest {R}_{I}9_{/}and said to 
them, "This is the word of Yahweh, God of Israel to whom you sent 
me with your petition: {I}10_{/}If you wish to live peacefully in this 
land I will build you up and not pull you down, I will plant you 
and not uproot you for I will relent of the harm I did you. 
{R}_{I}11_{/}You are afraid of the king of Babylon, but do not fear him - 
word of Yahweh - for I am with you to save you and rescue you from 
his hand. {I}12_{/}I will put mercy in his heart so that he may have 
mercy on you and let you live in your own land. {R}_{I}13_{/}But if you 
say: 'No, we will no longer live in this land,' disobeying the 
voice of Yahweh your God, {R}_{I}14_{/}and if you say: 'No, we shall go 
to Egypt where we shall no more have wars or hear the trumpet 
call, where we shall not be hungry for bread!' {R}_{I}15_{/}Then hear the 
word of Yahweh, remnant of Judah! Yahweh God of hosts and God of 
Israel speaks: "If you turn towards Egypt to go there and stay 
there, {R}_{I}16_{/}the sword you fear will strike you there in the land 
of Egypt and famine which you dread will be yours there in Egypt 
and you will die. {R}_{I}17_{/}All those who turn towards Egypt to enter 
and live there will die by sword, famine and pestilence. No one 
will escape or flee from the misfortune that I will bring upon 
them."
{R}_{I}18_{/}This is what Yahweh God of hosts and God of Israel says, 
"Just as my burning anger was poured out on the people of 
Jerusalem, so will my fury be poured out on you when you go to 
Egypt. You will become a curse and a reproach and you will never 
again see this place." {R}_{I}19_{/}That is what Yahweh has foretold, O 
remnant of Judah. Do not go to Egypt; be quite sure that I have 
warned you today. {R}_{I}20_{/}You risked your lives when you sent me to 
Yahweh your God saying: 'Pray for us to Yahweh our God and tell us 
all that Yahweh says and we shall do it.' {R}_{I}21_{/}I have told you 
today though you still do not obey Yahweh your God in all that he 
told you through me. {I}22_{/}Be sure of this, it will be by the 
sword, famine and pestilence that you will die in the place where 
you want to go and live."

{1}43{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Jeremiah had hardly finished giving the message of Yahweh to 
the people - all that Yahweh had sent him to say - {R}_{I}2_{/}when 
Azariah son of Hoshiah and Johanan son of Kareah and all the 
arrogant men said to Jeremiah, "You are lying! Yahweh our God did 
not send you to tell us not to go and settle in Egypt. {I}3_{/}No, 
Baruch son of Neriah is prompting you to hand us over to the 
Chaldeans either to be killed or deported to Babylon!"
{R}_{I}4_{/}So neither Johanan son of Kareah nor the army officers nor 
the people heeded Yahweh's command to stay in the land of Judah. 
{R}_{I}5_{/}Instead Johanan and the army officers led away the remnant of 
the Jews who had returned to the land of Judah from the nations 
where they had been driven. {R}_{I}6_{/}They also led away the men, 
women, children and the royal princesses - all those that 
Nebuzaradan, commander of the bodyguard, had left in the care of 
Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, with Jeremiah, the 
prophet and Baruch, son of Neriah. [=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}So in defiance of 
Yahweh's order they entered Egypt and arrived at Tahpanhes.

{N}JEREMIAH FORETELLS THE INVASION OF EGYPT{/}

{R}_{I}8_{/}There at Tahpanhes the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah: 
"While the Jews are watching you, {I}9_{/}take some large stones and 
bury them in clay in the brick terrace at the entrance to 
Pharaoh's house at Tahpanhes {R}_{I}10_{/}and then say to them: This is 
what Yahweh God of hosts and God of Israel says: I am sending for 
my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and he will set his 
throne over these stones that I have hidden here and spread a 
royal canopy. {R}_{I}11_{/}He shall come and strike the land of Egypt 
bringing death to those destined to die, captivity for those 
destined to be taken captive, sword for those destined for the 
sword. {R}_{I}12_{/}He will set fire to the temples of the Egyptian gods; 
these gods will be burned or carried away. As a shepherd wraps 
himself in a cloak, so will the king of Babylon wrap the land of 
Egypt about himself and depart in safety. {R}_{I}13_{/}He will break the 
sacred pillars at Heliopolis and burn the temples of the gods in 
Egypt." 

{N}JEREMIAH'S LAST WARNINGS{/}

{1}44{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}A word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews 
living in Egypt especially in the cities of Migdal, Tahpanhes and 
Memphis, as well as in the territory of Patros: {R}_{I}2_{/}"You have 
seen all the disaster that I brought on Jerusalem and the towns of 
Judah. {I}3_{/}These are no more than ruins without inhabitants 
because of the evil they have done. They have provoked my anger by 
offering incense to foreign gods that neither they nor their 
fathers knew.
{R}_{I}4_{/}I sent them my servants the prophets time and time again to 
tell them: 'Do not do this abominable thing that I detest!' 
{I}5_{/}But they did not listen or pay attention; they did not turn 
away from their evil ways or give up worshiping strange gods. 
{R}_{I}6_{/}Then the fury of my anger was loosed and blazed in the towns 
of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem making them the desolate 
ruins they are today.
{R}_{I}7_{/}And now Yahweh the God of hosts and the God of Israel asks 
you: Why do you bring such great harm on yourselves? Because of 
your deeds every man, woman, child and infant will be taken from 
Judah and you will be left without a remnant. {R}_{I}8_{/}Why do you 
provoke my anger with the work of your hands? Why do you worship 
foreign gods in Egypt where you came to live? Surely you will 
decrease in number and be a curse and an object of reproach among 
all the nations? {R}_{I}9_{/}Have you forgotten the wickedness of your 
fathers and the misdeeds of the kings of Judah and its princes, 
and the evil behavior of your wives in the land of Judah and the 
streets of Jerusalem?
{R}_{I}10_{/}So far they have had no contrition and have not followed my 
law and my decrees that I set before you and your fathers."
{R}_{I}11_{/}Because of this Yahweh God of hosts and God of Israel warns 
you, "I am turning my face away from you to bring disaster on you 
and to completely destroy Judah. {R}_{I}12_{/}The remnant of Judah that 
chose to enter Egypt and live there will all perish. They will be 
destroyed by the sword and famine and become an object of horror 
and cursing, of condemnation and reproach. {R}_{I}13_{/}I will punish 
those in Egypt as I punished Jerusalem with the sword, famine and 
pestilence. {R}_{I}14_{/}None of the remnant of Judah that came to Egypt 
will escape or flee, and return to Judah where you long to go and 
live."
{R}_{I}15_{/}Then all the men who knew their wives were offering incense 
to foreign gods and all the women, a great assembly, replied to 
Jeremiah in a louder voice. {I}16_{/}"As for what you say in the name 
of Yahweh we will not listen; {R}_{I}17_{/}we want to do all that we said 
we wanted to do: burn incense to the queen of heaven and pour out 
wine to her as we did, we and our fathers, our kings and princes 
in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. Then we had 
our fill of bread and were prosperous and free from misfortune. 
[=]_{I}18_{/}But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of 
heaven we have been in need of everything and have perished by the 
sword and famine." {I}19_{/}And the women added, "When we offered 
incense and poured libations to the queen of heaven, didn't our 
husbands know that we made sacrificial cakes decorated with her 
image?"
{R}_{I}20_{/}Jeremiah then answered all the people, men and women, who 
had told him this: {R}_{I}21_{/}"Is it not better that Yahweh remembered 
the incense you burned in the towns of Judah and in the streets of 
Jerusalem, you, your fathers, your kings, princes, and all the 
people?
Do you think it slipped his memory? {I}22_{/}Yahweh could no longer 
bear the sight of your evil and abominable deeds. That is why your 
land has become the desolate waste that it is today!
{R}_{I}23_{/}All the misfortune that you are suffering today has happened 
because you burned incense and sinned against Yahweh, by not 
obeying him or following his law, his instructions and his 
commands."
{R}_{I}24_{/}Jeremiah then addressed all the people especially the women, 
"Listen to Yahweh's message: {R}_{I}25_{/}This is what Yahweh the God of 
hosts and the God of Israel says: You and your wives think that 
what you say with your lips becomes an obligation you must 
fulfill. You say: 'We are bound to keep the vows we have made to 
burn incense and pour out wine to the queen of heaven.' Go ahead! 
Fulfill your vows and do what you promised! {R}_{I}26_{/}Nevertheless 
listen, all you Jews living in Egypt, listen to what Yahweh says 
to you: By my own great Name I swear - word of Yahweh - that 
throughout Egypt no one from Judah will invoke my Name; no one 
will be left to say: 'As the Lord Yahweh lives.' {R}_{I}27_{/}I am 
watching over them but not for their good. All the people of Judah 
in Egypt will perish by the sword and famine until they are wiped 
out. [=]_{R}_{I}28_{/}Only a few will escape the sword and return from 
Egypt to Judah; and the remnant who came to settle in Egypt will 
understand whose word comes true, theirs or mine! {I}29_{/}And this is 
the sign that I will punish you in this place, says Yahweh, that 
you may know that my threatening words to you will be fulfilled: 
{R}_{I}30_{/}I will hand over the Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt to his 
enemies who want to slay him, just as I let Zedekiah, king of 
Judah, be taken by his adversary, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, 
who was determined to kill him.

{1}45{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}These are the words of Jeremiah the prophet to Baruch, 
son of Neriah who wrote on a scroll what Jeremiah dictated. It was 
in the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josias king of 
Judah when he said {I}2_{/}"There is a word of Yahweh for you, Baruch. 
Why do you complain: [=]_{I}3_{/}'Alas for me! I am weary of sighing 
and I find no rest!' {I}4_{/}Yahweh says: 'When I am knocking down 
what I have built and pulling up what I planted, [=]_{I}5_{/}why do 
you want great things for yourself? Don't look for them! Yet, 
though I am about to send disaster on everyone - word of Yahweh - 
you will be safe wherever you go."

{C}PROPHECIES AGAINST FOREIGN NATIONS{/}

{N}AGAINST EGYPT{/}

{1}46{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}These are Yahweh's words addressed to the prophet 
Jeremiah concerning the nations.
{R}_{I}2_{/}Concerning Egypt, this is the message against the army of 
Pharaoh Neco, king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on 
the Euphrates by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in the fourth 
year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah:
{I}3_{/}"Prepare shield and buckler,
and march to battle!
{I}4_{/}Harness the horses.
Into your saddles, horsemen!
To your ranks, with your helmets on!
Polish your spears!
Put on your breastplates!
{I}5_{/}But what do I see?
With broken ranks they fall back; their warriors are routed.
They flee headlong without looking back,
as terrors explode on every side.
{I}6_{/}The swift cannot flee,
nor the hero escape.
In the north by the Euphrates,
they stumble and fall.
{I}7_{/}Who is this surging forward like the Nile,
like rivers of billowing waters?
{R}_{I}8_{/}Egypt surges like the Nile,
like rivers of billowing waters.
She says, 'I will rise and flood the earth;
I will sweep cities and their people away.'
{I}9_{/}Charge, horses!
Drive madly, charioteers!
March on, warriors -
men of Cush and Put, with your shields,
men of Lydia, with your bows.
{R}_{I}10_{/}This is the day of Yahweh God of hosts, a day of vengeance 
on his foes.
The sword devours, drunk with blood;
for Yahweh Sabaoth holds a sacrifice
in the north country by the Euphrates.
{R}_{I}11_{/}Go up to Gilead in search of balm,
virgin daughter of Egypt.
You have taken medicines in vain,
but for you there is no healing.
{I}12_{/}The nations have heard of your shame,
the earth is filled with your cries;
warrior has stumbled against warrior,
and both have fallen together."

{N}INVASION OF EGYPT{/}

{R}_{I}13_{/}This is the message Yahweh gave to the prophet Jeremiah 
about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who was to 
attack Egypt:
{R}_{I}14_{/}"Announce this in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol, Memphis 
and Tahpanhes. Say to them: 
Take your posts; prepare for the worst!
The sword has devoured your neighbors.
{I}15_{/}Why has Apis fled?
Your black bull god did not make a stand!
Why? Because Yahweh thrust him down {I}16_{/}and caused him to stumble 
and fall.
Then they said to each other:
'Get up, let us go back to our people,
to the land of our birth,
away from the devouring sword.'
[=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}Pharaoh, king of Egypt, will be called 'The noisy one 
who lets his chance slip by.'
{R}_{I}18_{/}As surely as I live - says the King
whose name is Yahweh Sabaoth -
one will come who is like Tabor,
like Carmel above the sea.
[=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}Pack your belongings ready for exile,
you who live in Egypt,
for Memphis will be laid waste,
without inhabitants and desolate.
[=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}Egypt is a beautiful heifer,
but a gadfly from the north has come upon her.
{I}21_{/}The mercenaries in her ranks
are like fattened calves;
but they too have fled
failing to stand their ground,
for the day of their calamity has come,
the time of their punishment.

[=]_{I}22_{/}She makes a sound like a fleeing serpent
as her enemies advance in force,
coming against her with axes,
like loggers cutting down trees.
[=]_{I}23_{/}Dense though her forest be,
they will raze it - says Yahweh.
They are beyond number,
more numerous than locusts.
{R}_{I}24_{/}The daughter of Egypt will be abased,
handed over to the people of the north."
{R}_{I}25_{/}Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of Israel, has said: "I will punish 
Amon of Thebes, and Egypt with her gods and kings, Pharaoh and 
those who trust in him. {R}_{I}26_{/}I will hand them over to those who 
seek their lives, to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his 
ministers. Later, however, Egypt will be inhabited again as in 
times past - it is Yahweh who says so.
[=]_{R}_{I}27_{/}But fear not, my servant Jacob; be not dismayed, O 
Israel. I will deliver you from a distant land, your descendants 
from their place of exile. Jacob will again find rest, and no one 
will make him afraid.
{R}_{I}28_{/}Fear not, Jacob my servant, for I am with you - Yahweh 
speaks - I will make an end of the nations among which I scattered 
you, but I will spare you. I will discipline you, though, with 
justice; I will not let you go unpunished.

{N}AGAINST THE PHILISTINES{/}

{1}47{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}This is Yahweh's word that came to the prophet Jeremiah 
concerning the Philistines before Pharaoh attacked Gaza. {I}2_{/}Thus 
says Yahweh:
"Look, waters rise from the north;
soon they will become a raging flood
overflowing the land and all it contains,
the towns and their inhabitants.
All dwellers in the land will wail
{I}3_{/}at the sound of the hooves of stamping steeds,
the rattle of chariots, the rumbling of wheels.
Fathers forget their children,
as their hands fall limp.
{R}_{I}4_{/}The day of ruin has come upon the Philistines;
Tyre and Sidon, the last of their allies, are cut off from them.
Yahweh is set to destroy the Philistines,
the remnant from the coasts of Caphtor.
{I}5_{/}Gaza is shaved bald,
Ashkelon has perished.
O remnant in the valley,
how long will you gash yourselves?
[=]_{I}6_{/}O sword of Yahweh,
how long before you rest?
Return to your scabbard;
stop and keep still!
{R}_{I}7_{/}But how can it rest,
when it is Yahweh who commanded it
to attack Ashkelon and the seacoast?"

{N}AGAINST MOAB{/}

{1}48{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Concerning Moab. Yahweh the God of Israel, says this:
"Woe to Nebo, for it is laid waste.
Kiriathaim is captured and disgraced;
the fortress is shattered and abased.
{I}2_{/}No more will Moab be praised;

men in Heshbon are plotting her downfall:
'Let us put an end to that nation!'
You, too, Madmen, will be subdued;
behind you stalks the sword.
[=]_{I}3_{/}Listen, a cry from Horonaim -
a cry of ruin and destruction!
{I}4_{/}Moab is destroyed;
her cry is heard as far as Zoar.
{I}5_{/}Her little ones go up the way to Lulith, weeping bitterly as 
they make the ascent. On the descent to Horonaim
the cry of destruction is still heard.
{R}_{I}6_{/}Flee, run for your lives,
like the wild asses in the desert.
{R}_{I}7_{/}Since you trusted in your deeds and riches,
you also will be captured.
Chemosh will go into exile,
together with her priests and officials.
{I}8_{/}Upon every city the destroyer comes,
and not a single city escapes.
The valley is despoiled,
the plain plundered,
as Yahweh has declared.
{I}9_{/}Bury Moab for she has perished!
Her cities will become desolate,
with no inhabitant left.
{I}10_{/}A curse be on him who is lax in performing the work of 
Yahweh! A curse be on him who holds back his sword from shedding 
blood!
{I}11_{/}From his youth Moab has lived at ease resting complacently 
upon lees,
never having gone into exile,
never having been decanted;
so she kept her own flavor as wine,
her aroma remained the same.
{I}12_{/}And so the day will come - Yahweh says - when I will send 
decanters to her. They will empty her flasks and break her jars. 
{R}_{I}13_{/}Then Moab will be ashamed of Chemosh, as Israel has been 
ashamed of Bethel, in which they put their trust.
{I}14_{/}How can you say, 'We are heroes and valiant men of war?' 
{R}_{I}15_{/}Moab will be destroyed, her towns shattered; her finest 
young men will be slaughtered - it is the King who speaks, whose 
name is Yahweh Sabaoth.
{I}16_{/}Moab's ruin is near at hand;
her downfall comes at top speed.
{I}17_{/}All you her neighbors, mourn for her,
all you who knew her well;
say, "How the mighty scepter is broken, the glorious rod!"
{I}18_{/}Come down from glory,
sit on the parched ground,
all you who dwell in Dibon;
Moab's destroyer has come against you,
he has destroyed your stronghold.
{I}19_{/}Stand by the way and watch closely,
you who dwell in Aroer;
ask the men who flee, the women who escape,
ask them what has happened.
{I}20_{/}Moab is shamed, oh, yes, destroyed;
howl and cry out for her.
Announce it by the Arnon
that Moab is ruined.
{I}21_{/}Judgment has come on the tableland: on Holon, Jahzah and 
Mephaath, {I}22_{/}on Dibon, Nebo and Bethdiblathaim, {I}23_{/}on 
Kiriathaim, Bethgamul and Bethmeon, {I}24_{/}on Kerioth and Bozrah, on 
all the cities of Moab, far and near. {I}25_{/}The horn of Moab is cut 
off and her arm broken - it is Yahweh who speaks.
{I}26_{/}Make her drunk! Because she magnified herself against Yahweh, 
Moab will wallow in her vomit and become a laughingstock in turn. 
{R}_{I}27_{/}Was not Israel a laughingstock to you? Was she found among 
thieves, that whenever you speak of her you wag your head?
{I}28_{/}Leave the cities and dwell in the rocky cliffs,
O inhabitants of Moab.
Learn from the dove that makes its nest out of reach on the edge 
of a cliff.
{I}29_{/}We have heard of the pride of Moab,
of her loftiness and arrogance,
of the haughtiness of her heart.
{I}30_{/}Yahweh says: I know her insolence;
her words are false,
her deeds are vain.
{I}31_{/}And so I wail for Moab;
for the whole of Moab I moan;
for the men of Kir-heres I mourn.
{R}_{I}32_{/}O vineyard of Sibmah,
I weep for you more than for Jazer.
Your branches spread as far as the sea,
all the way to the sea of Jazer.
The destroyer has fallen
on your harvest and your vintage.
{I}33_{/}Jubilation is at an end
in the fruit gardens of Moab;
the vintage shout of joy is not heard,
for I have drained the wine from the wine vats.
{I}34_{/}The cry of Heshbon and Elealeh is heard as far as Jahaz. From 
Zoar to Horonaim and Eglathshelishiyah, their lament is heard, for 
even the waters of Nimrim have become desolate.
{R}_{I}35_{/}Yahweh says: I will bring to an end any man in Moab who 
offers sacrifice on the high place and burns incense to his gods.
[=]_{I}36_{/}And that is why my heart, like a flute, sobs for Moab, 
moans for the men of Kir-heres whose accumulated riches have all 
perished. {I}37_{/}Every head is shorn, every beard cut off; gashes 
are on their hands, sackcloth covers their loins. {I}38_{/}There is 
nothing but lamentation on all the housetops and in the public 
squares of Moab, for I have shattered her like a vessel that no 
one wants - says Yahweh.
{I}39_{/}What terror has seized Moab, what wailing! Oh, how she has 
turned back in shame! Moab has become a laughingstock and a horror 
to her neighbors.
[=]_{I}40_{/}For thus says Yahweh: Look, an eagle is swooping down, 
spreading its wings over Moab. 
{I}41_{/}The towns will be captured, the strongholds seized.
The heart of Moab's warriors on that day will be like the heart of 
a woman in travail.
{I}42_{/}Moab will be destroyed as a nation because she defied the 
Lord.
{I}43_{/}Terror, pit, and snare be upon you, O people of Moab - says 
Yahweh.
[=]_{I}44_{/}He who flees from terror will fall into the pit; he who 
climbs out of the pit will be caught in the snare; for I will let 
this happen to Moab in the year of her punishment - says Yahweh.
[=]_{I}45_{/}Fugitives stop in the shadow of Heshbon, for a fire has 
gone from the house of Sihon, burning Moab's skull and her 
boasters' crown.
{I}46_{/}Woe to you, Moab,
people of Chemosh who suffer calamity!
Your sons are taken into exile,
your daughers into captivity.
[=]_{I}47_{/}But in the days to come I will restore the fortunes of 
Moab - Yahweh declares."
The judgment on Moab ends here.

{N}AGAINST AMMON{/}

{1}49{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Concerning the Ammonites. Yahweh says this:
"Has Israel no sons?
Has she no heir?
Why then has Milcom disinherited Gad,
why have his people settled in its cities?
{R}_{I}2_{/}But the days are coming
- says Yahweh -
when I will sound the battle alarm
against Rabbah of the Ammonites.
It will become a heap of ruins,
its villages destroyed by fire.
Then Israel will dispossess
those who had dispossessed her
- Yahweh says.
{R}_{I}3_{/}Wail, Heshbon, for the destroyer marches!
Howl, inhabitants of Rabbah!
Put on sackcloth, lament,
run to and fro, gashing yourselves;
for Milcom goes into exile,
along with his priests and officials.
{I}4_{/}Why boast of your valleys,
your valleys flowing with fruit,
O faithless daughter,
trusting in your riches and saying,
'Who will dare attack me?'
{I}5_{/}Look, I will bring terror upon you;
you will be driven away,
everyone making his own way,
with no one to gather the fugitives.
{I}6_{/}Yet I will restore the fortunes
of the Ammonites later on.
It is Yahweh Sabaoth who speaks."

{N}AGAINST EDOM{/}

{R}_{I}7_{/}Concerning Edom, this is what Yahweh says:
"Is there no more wisdom left in Teman?
Has counsel perished from the prudent?
Has their understanding decayed?
{I}8_{/}Flee or hide in dark caves,
you inhabitants of Dedan,
for I will bring destruction upon Esau
when I come to punish him.
{I}9_{/}If grape pickers worked in your vineyard,
would they not leave gleanings behind?
If thieves came to you at night,
would they not steal only as much as they want?
[=]_{I}10_{/}But I will strip Esau bare;
his hiding places I will uncover.
His relatives, children and neighbors
will perish, and he will be no more.
{I}11_{/}Leave your widows and orphans behind,
and rest assured I will keep them alive."
[=]_{I}12_{/}For thus says Yahweh: "Even those not sentenced to drink 
the cup must drink it. Why then should you go unpunished? You, 
too, shall drink! {I}13_{/}By my own self have I sworn, says Yahweh: 
Bozrah shall become an object of horror and disgrace, a desolation 
and a curse. All her towns and cities shall be ruins forever."
{I}14_{/}I have received a message from Yahweh, a herald has been sent 
among the nations:
"Assemble! Prepare for battle!
March against these people!
[=]_{I}15_{/}Look, I will reduce you among the nations, make you 
despised among humankind.
{I}16_{/}The terror that you inspire
and your pride have deceived you,
you who live in the crags,
on the rocky heights of the hill.
Though you build your nest as high as the eagle's,
I will bring you down from there - it is Yahweh who speaks.
{R}_{I}17_{/}Edom will become a horror, shocking every passerby who will 
catch his breath at the sight of her wounds. {R}_{I}18_{/}As when Sodom, 
Gomorrah, and their neighboring towns were overthrown, no man 
shall dwell or visit there - thus Yahweh proclaims.
{R}_{I}19_{/}As when a lion comes from the thicket of Jordan to a rich 
feeding ground, so I, in an instant, will drive Edom from its 
land. Whom will I choose for this task? Who is like me and can 
call me to account? What shepherd can stand against me?
{R}_{I}20_{/}Therefore hear Yahweh's plan against Edom, against those who 
live in Teman. They will be dragged away, even the smallest sheep; 
their pasture will be destroyed on account of them.
{R}_{I}21_{/}The earth will tremble at the sound of their fall; to the 
Sea of Reeds their cry will resound.
{R}_{I}22_{/}Look! An eagle will soar and spread its wings over Bozrah. 
On that day the heart of Edom's warriors will pound like the heart 
of a woman in labor."

{N}ABOUT THE SYRIAN CITIES{/}

{R}_{I}23_{/}Message concerning Damascus:
"Hamath and Arpad are confused,
having heard bad news.
Their hearts are faint with fear
like the waters of a troubled sea.
{R}_{I}24_{/}Damascus has become feeble
and turns to flee in panic,
gripped by anguish and pain,
like a woman in travail.
{I}25_{/}How the renowned city is forsaken,
the city of delight!
{I}26_{/}Her young men will fall in the streets,
her soldiers will be silenced on that day.
Yahweh declares:
{R}_{I}27_{/}I will set fire to the walls of Damascus; it will consume 
Ben-Hadad's fortresses."

{N}AGAINST THE ARABIC TRIBES{/}

{R}_{I}28_{/}A message concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which 
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked. This is what Yahweh says:
"Arise and attack Kedar,
destroy the people of the east!
{I}29_{/}Their tents and flocks will be taken away,
their goods and camels carried off
as men shout, 'Terror on every side!'
{R}_{I}30_{/}Flee, dwell in deep caves,
you who live in Hazor - says Yahweh.
For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devised a plot against you.
{I}31_{/}Arise and attack a nation at ease,
which lives in confidence,
a nation that has neither bars nor gates,
a people that dwells alone complacently.
{I}32_{/}Their camels will become plunder, their large herds will be 
spoils;
I will scatter to the winds
those who are in far-off places;
I will bring disaster
on them from every side.
{R}_{I}33_{/}Hazor will be a jackal's haunt,
forever a wasteland
uninhabited by man,
unvisited by anyone."

{N}AGAINST ELAM{/}

{R}_{I}34_{/}This is the Word of Yahweh against Elam, which came to the 
prophet Jeremiah at the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king 
of Judah. {I}35_{/}Yahweh Sabaoth says this:
"See, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. 
{I}36_{/}I will bring the four winds against her from the four 
quarters of the heavens, and there will be no nation on earth to 
which Elam's exiles will not be dispersed.
{I}37_{/}I will shatter Elam before their foes, before those who seek 
their lives. I will bring disaster upon them, even my fierce 
anger. I will pursue them with the sword until I have made an end 
of them.
{R}_{I}38_{/}I will set my throne in Elam and destroy her king and 
officials. {I}39_{/}Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam in the 
days to come - says Yahweh."

{N}AGAINST BABYLON{/}

{1}50{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}This is the word Yahweh spoke against Babylon and the 
land of the Chaldeans, through the prophet Jeremiah: 
{I}2_{/}"Do not hide this, but announce among the nations that Babylon 
is taken, Bel confounded, Merodach dismayed; her images are put to 
shame, her idols destroyed.
{R}_{I}3_{/}A people from the north marches against her, set to turn her 
into a wasteland abandoned by both man and beast.
[=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}In those days - declares Yahweh - the people of Israel 
and Judah will come in tears to seek their God Yahweh.
{R}_{I}5_{/}Their faces turned toward Zion, they will ask the way to it. 
They will come and say, 'Let us join ourselves to the Lord in an 
everlasting covenant never to be forgotten.'
[=]_{I}6_{/}My people were lost sheep misled by their shepherds and 
left to roam on the mountains. They wandered from hill to hill and 
lost the way to their fold.
{I}7_{/}They were devoured by enemies who chanced upon them and said, 
'We have no guilt. This is their due for they sinned against 
Yahweh, their true shepherd and hope of their fathers.'
[=]_{I}8_{/}Flee from Babylon, leave the land of the Chaldeans, be 
like the rams that lead the flock!
{R}_{I}9_{/}For I will stir up nations from the north to march against 
Babylon. Their arrows are like those of skilled warriors, that 
never return empty-handed; and Babylon will be captured.
[=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}Chaldea will be plundered, and the plunderers will be 
filled.
{I}11_{/}Rejoice as long as you can,
you plunderers of my inheritance!

Frolic like heifers threshing grain,
and neigh like stallions!
{R}_{I}12_{/}But your mother will be disgraced;
she will be the least of the nations,
laid waste and a desert.
{I}13_{/}Yahweh's fury will leave her desolate,
an empty solitude, uninhabited.
Every passerby will be horrified
at the sight of the wounds of Babylon.
{I}14_{/}Take your posts around the city,
all you who bend the bow.
Shoot at her, spare no arrows,
for great is her iniquity.
{I}15_{/}Raise the war cry!
Now she surrenders!
Her walls are torn down, her towers fallen.
Since this is Yahweh's vengeance,
take revenge on her;
do to her as she has done to others.
{R}_{I}16_{/}Cut off the sower from Babylon,
and the reaper with his sickle at harvest time.
Escape from the oppressor's sword;
let everyone return to his own people,
let everyone flee to his own land.
{R}_{I}17_{/}Israel was a straying sheep which lions pursued. First to 
devour her was the Assyrian; and the last to crush her bones was 
Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
{R}_{I}18_{/}Therefore Yahweh, God of Israel, says: I will punish the 
king of Babylon and his land, as once I punished the king of 
Assyria.
{R}_{I}19_{/}But I will return Israel to her fold, to feed on Bashan and 
Carmel and on Mount Ephraim and Gilead, till she has her fill.
{R}_{I}20_{/}In those days, Yahweh says, a search will be made for 
Israel's guilt, but none will be found, and for the sins of Judah, 
and none will be found; for I will forgive the remnant whose lives 
I have spared.
{I}21_{/}Attack the land of Merathaim, and those who live in Pekod; 
pursue and kill them, says Yahweh; do all as I have commanded. 
{I}22_{/}Battle alarm is in the land, the alarm of great destruction. 
{I}23_{/}How broken and shattered is the hammer of the whole earth! 
How horrifying has Babylon become among the nations!
{I}24_{/}You ensnared yourself, O Babylon, and were caught before you 
knew it; you were found out and seized because you challenged 
Yahweh. {R}_{I}25_{/}Yahweh has opened his armory, brought out the arms 
of his fury, for Yahweh Sabaoth has work to do in the land of 
Chaldea.
{I}26_{/}Come against her from every side; break open her granaries; 
pile her up like heaps of grain, destroy her, leaving no remnant. 
[=]_{I}27_{/}Slay all her oxen, down to the slaughterhouse with them! 
Woe to them! Their day has come, the time for their chastisement.
{I}28_{/}Listen! Fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon have 
come to announce in Zion Yahweh's vengeance for his temple. 
{R}_{I}29_{/}Surround Babylon with archers, and leave her no way of 
escape. Repay her as her deeds deserve; do to her as she has done 
to others. Give her the due for her defiance of Yahweh, the Holy 
One of Israel.
{I}30_{/}That day her warriors and young men as well will fall and lie 
in silence. {I}31_{/}I am against you, arrogant one! It is Yahweh 
Sabaoth who speaks - the time to punish you has come.
{I}32_{/}The arrogant one will stumble; no one will help her up. In 
her towns I will kindle a fire that will consume everything 
around.
{R}_{I}33_{/}Thus says Yahweh Sabaoth: The people of Israel are 
oppressed, and the people of Judah as well, for their captors hold 
them fast and refuse to let them go. {I}34_{/}But strong is their 
avenger, Yahweh Sabaoth is his name. He will fight for their cause 
and succeed; he will give them rest in their land, but unrest to 
those who live in Babylon.
{I}35_{/}A sword upon the Chaldeans, upon the people of Babylon, her 
princes and sages! [=]_{R}_{I}36_{/}A sword upon her false prophets: may 
they lose their wits! A sword upon her warriors: may they tremble 
in terror! {I}37_{/}A sword upon her mercenaries: may they become 
women!
A sword upon her treasures: may they be plundered! {I}38_{/}A sword 
upon her waters: may they dry up! For hers is a land of idols that 
go mad with terrors.
[=]_{R}_{I}39_{/}So, desert beasts will live there; there will the owl 
and ostrich dwell. From generation to generation, the land will 
never be inhabited again. {R}_{I}40_{/}As when God overturned Sodom and 
Gomorrah with their neighbors, no man will live there any more, no 
one will make his home there again.
{I}41_{/}A strong people is coming from the north, a mighty nation. 
Stirred up from the far ends of the earth {R}_{I}42_{/}are men armed with 
bows and spears who are cruel and without mercy. They sound like 
the roaring sea as they ride on galloping steeds. They come in 
battle formation against you, daughter of Babylon.
{R}_{I}43_{/}Your king has heard news of them, and his hands hang limp. 
Anguish has gripped him, and pain as that of a woman in travail.
[=]_{R}_{I}44_{/}As a lion comes from the thicket of Jordan to a rich 
feeding ground, so I, in an instant, will drive them off, and whom 
I choose I will establish there. For who is like me? And who can 
call me to account? What shepherd can stand against me?
{I}45_{/}Therefore hear Yahweh's plans against Babylon, against the 
land of the Chaldeans: they will be dragged away, even the 
smallest sheep, their pasture will be destroyed on account of 
them.
{I}46_{/}The earth quakes at the cry 'Babylon is captured!' Among the 
nations the outcry is heard."

{N}THE LORD AGAINST BABYLON{/}

{1}51{/}

{I}1_{/}This is what Yahweh says:
I will stir up a devastating wind against Babylon and the 
Chaldeans.
{I}2_{/}I will send foreigners to Babylon
to winnow her and lay waste her land.
On the day of her affliction
they will besiege her from all sides.
{I}3_{/}Let not her archers bend their bows,
let them not stand up in their armor.
Spare not her young men;
destroy the host of her warriors.
{I}4_{/}They will fall fatally wounded
in the streets of Babylon.
{R}_{I}5_{/}For Israel and Judah have not been forgotten by their God, 
Yahweh Sabaoth,
though their land is guilt-ridden
before the Holy One of Israel.
[=]_{I}6_{/}Save your lives, flee from Babylon!
Partake not of her punishment;
this is a time of Yahweh's vengeance,
a time of his recompense to her.
[=]_{I}7_{/}Babylon was a golden cup in Yahweh's hand,
a cup which made the whole earth drunk.
The nations drank her wine,
and they have become mad.
{I}8_{/}Babylon's fall is sudden.
Wail for her, wail!
Bring balm for her wounds,
if she could yet be healed.
[=]_{I}9_{/}'We have tried to heal Babylon,
but she is beyond healing.
Let us go back, each to his own land,
and leave her to her judgment
which rises up to heaven.'
{R}_{I}10_{/}Yahweh has defended our rights,
come, let us declare in Zion
what our God Yahweh has done.
{I}11_{/}Sharpen the arrows,
take up the shields!
Yahweh has aroused Media's kings
in his resolve to destroy Babylon.
This is Yahweh's vengeance,
vengeance for his temple.
{I}12_{/}Raise a flag on the walls of Babylon,
and make the watch strong.
Post guards, prepare an ambush!
Yahweh will carry out his purpose, his words against the people of 
Babylon.
[=]_{I}13_{/}You who dwell by mighty waters,
you who are rich in treasures,
this is your end; the time
for you to be cut off has come.
{I}14_{/}Yahweh Sabaoth has sworn:
Surely I will fill you with men,
thick as a swarm of locusts;
they will exult over you and raise the vintage shout.

{N}HYMN{/}

[=]_{I}15_{/}He made the earth by his power,
founded the world by his wisdom,
spread out the sky by his discernment.
[=]_{I}16_{/}When he thunders, the heaven roars;
from the earth he makes clouds rise;
he sends lightning with the rain,
and from his vaults brings out the wind.
{I}17_{/}Men stand stupefied at this;
artisans blush, for the idols they made
have no life and are a fraud.
{I}18_{/}They are worthless, ridiculous;
when judgment comes they will perish.
[=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}The Portion of Jacob is not like them,
for he is the creator of all;
Yahweh Sabaoth is his name,
and his heritage is Israel.

{N}THE HAMMER OF YAHWEH{/}

{I}20_{/}You were my hammer, my weapon of war. With you I wrecked 
nations, with you I demolished kingdoms.
{I}21_{/}With you I wrecked horse and rider, chariot and charioteer. 
{R}_{I}22_{/}With you I wrecked man and woman, youth and aged, young man 
and maiden.
{I}23_{/}With you I wrecked shepherd and flock, farmer and draft 
animal, rulers and officials.
{R}_{I}24_{/}But now I will repay Babylon and those who dwell in Chaldea 
for the wrong they did to Zion. {I}25_{/}I am against you, ravaging 
mountain, ravager of the whole earth! It is Yahweh who speaks.
I will lay my hands on you, roll you down over the crags, and make 
you a parched, eroded mountain. {I}26_{/}No cornerstone will be taken 
from you, or foundation stone; forever shall you be a ruins, 
Yahweh says.
{I}27_{/}Raise a signal on the earth, among the nations blow the 
trumpet. Prepare the nations for war, summon the kingdoms to 
battle Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz. Marshal a great force against 
her; bring up the cavalry, swarming and bristling.
{R}_{I}28_{/}Prepare the nations to battle her, the Medes with their 
kings, their governors and officials, all the countries they rule.
{R}_{I}29_{/}The earth trembles and writhes as Yahweh carries out his 
process of turning the land of Babylon into a desert where no one 
lives. {I}30_{/}Her warriors have ceased to fight; they cower in their 
strongholds. Their strength is dried up, their homes are burned 
and their gates broken.
{R}_{I}31_{/}One after another couriers run to the king, bringing news 
that his entire city is fallen: {I}32_{/}The fords have been seized, 
the fortresses set afire, and all the warriors terrified. 
{R}_{I}33_{/}Yahweh Sabaoth, God of Israel, says: Babylon is like a 
threshing floor at the time it is trodden. A little while, and the 
time of the harvest grain will come for her."
{R}_{I}34_{/}The people of Zion said: 'Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, 
has consumed and routed me. He has left me as an empty vessel. 
Like a dragon he has swallowed me, and filled his belly; he cast 
me out of my Eden.
[=]_{R}_{I}35_{/}May the violence done to my flesh be upon Babylon,' says 
the city of Zion. 'May my blood be upon the Chaldeans,' says 
Jerusalem.
[=]_{R}_{I}36_{/}Yahweh says to his people: "See now, I defend your cause 
and avenge you. I will dry up her sea and drain her springs. 
{I}37_{/}Babylon shall become a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an 
object of horror and derision, a place where no one lives.
{I}38_{/}Her people will roar like lions; they will growl like lion 
cubs. {I}39_{/}But while they are feverish, I will prepare a drink for 
them and make them drunk till they grow drowsy and fall into 
eternal sleep, never to wake up again.
{I}40_{/}I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like 
goats and rams.
{I}41_{/}How has Babylon been seized, the glory of the world taken 
captive! How has Babylon become a horror among nations!
{R}_{I}42_{/}The sea has risen over Babylon and covered her with its 
roaring waves. {R}_{I}43_{/}Her cities have become desolate, a land of 
drought and a desert, a land where no one dwells, a land through 
which no man travels.
{I}44_{/}I will punish Bel in Babylon and make him belch out what he 
devoured. No longer will nations stream to him. The wall of 
Babylon has fallen.
{I}45_{/}My people, come out of her! Run for your lives! Run from 
Yahweh's fierce anger. [=]_{I}46_{/}Do not lose heart or be afraid 
when rumors are heard, when rumors come year after year, rumors of 
violence and disaster, intrigues of ruler against ruler.
{I}47_{/}The time will surely come when I will punish the idols of 
Babylon; her land will be put to shame when all around her lie 
slain. [=]_{I}48_{/}Then heaven and earth and all therein will rejoice 
over Babylon, for out of the north the destroyers will come to 
attack her - it is Yahweh who speaks.
{R}_{I}49_{/}Babylon must fall for the slain of Israel, just as the slain 
of all the earth have fallen because of Babylon.
[=]_{R}_{I}50_{/}You who have escaped the sword, leave and do not linger. 
Remember Yahweh from this far country and think of Jerusalem:
[=]_{I}51_{/}'We have been put to shame, dishonor has covered our 
faces; because aliens have entered the holy places of Yahweh's 
house.'
{I}52_{/}But days will come - Yahweh declares - when I will punish her 
idols, the wounded will groan all over her land. {R}_{I}53_{/}Though 
Babylon mount skyward, though she fortify her heights, the mere 
threat of the destroyers I send is enough to make her terrified.
{I}54_{/}Listen! Loud cries from Babylon, the sound of terrible 
destruction from the land of the Chaldeans! {I}55_{/}That is Yahweh 
laying waste the city, silencing her monstrous din. Well may her 
waves roar and their clamor be heard afar! {R}_{I}56_{/}Upon Babylon the 
destroyer has come; her warriors are captured, their bows are 
broken. 
For Yahweh is a God who rewards, who repays her enemies in full. 
{R}_{I}57_{/}I will make her rulers and sages drunk, her governors, her 
officers and warriors; they will sleep the sleep of death and 
never awake, says the King whose name is Yahweh Sabaoth.
[=]_{I}58_{/}Yahweh Sabaoth says this: The wide ramparts of Babylon 
will be razed to the ground, her high gates burned down. The 
people's labor will go to naught; the nation's toil will end in 
fire."

{N}THE WRITTEN ORACLE THROWN INTO THE RIVER{/}

{R}_{I}59_{/}This is the message Jeremiah gave to Seraiah, son of Neriah 
who is Mahseiah's son, when he went to Babylon at the command of 
Zedekiah, who was then in the fourth year of his reign as king of 
Judah.
{R}_{I}60_{/}Jeremiah had written on a scroll the entire disaster that 
was to befall Babylon - all these words recorded here.
{R}_{I}61_{/}Jeremiah then said to Seraiah, "When you get to Babylon, see 
that you read all these words aloud. {R}_{I}62_{/}Then say: 'Yahweh, you 
yourself have proclaimed that this place will be destroyed, that 
neither man nor beast will ever live here again, for it will 
remain desolate forever.'
{I}63_{/}When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and 
throw it into the Euphrates. [=]_{R}_{I}64_{/}Then say: "So will Babylon 
sink and rise no more because of the disaster I will bring upon 
her."
Here end the words of Jeremiah.

{N}THE FALL OF JERUSALEM{/}

{1}52{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king and 
he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother, Hamutal by name, 
was the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah.
{I}2_{/}He did evil in the sight of Yahweh just as Jehoiakim had done. 
{R}_{I}3_{/}All that happened in Jerusalem and Judah came about because 
of Yahweh's anger until the day when he drove them out of his 
sight.
Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon; {R}_{I}4_{/}so in the 
ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth 
month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched with his entire army 
and laid siege to Jerusalem. They camped outside the city and 
built siege works all around it. {I}5_{/}The city was under siege up 
to the eleventh year of Zedekiah.
{I}6_{/}On the ninth day of the fourth month famine became a serious 
problem in the city, and throughout the land there was no bread 
for the people. {R}_{I}7_{/}When the city was opened by a breach in the 
wall the Judean army fled. They left the city by night through the 
gate between the two walls near the king's garden. While the 
Chaldeans were still surrounding the city they fled towards the 
Arabah. {R}_{I}8_{/}The Chaldeans followed in hot pursuit of King 
Zedekiah. They caught up with him in the plains of Jericho. All 
his army deserted and scattered.
{R}_{I}9_{/}The Chaldeans seized the king and led him away to Riblah in 
the territory of Hamath and there the king of Babylon passed 
sentence on him. There at Riblah, the king of Babylon slaughtered 
the sons of Zedekiah in his presence and also killed all the 
officials of Judah. {I}10_{/}He then put out the eyes of Zedekiah, 
bound him with a double bronze chain and took him to Babylon. 
[=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}He was imprisoned there in the house of the guards until 
the day of his death.
{R}_{I}12_{/}On the tenth day of the fifth month in the nineteenth year 
of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the 
bodyguard and servant of the king of Babylon, entered Jerusalem 
and set fire to the House of Yahweh and the royal palace as well 
as to all the houses in Jerusalem. {I}13_{/}He also burned every 
important building. {R}_{I}14_{/}The Chaldean army under the commander of 
the bodyguard completely demolished all the walls around 
Jerusalem. 
{R}_{I}15_{/}Nebuzaradan commander of the bodyguard carried off into 
exile some of the poorest among the people, the remnant of Jews 
left in the city, and those who had deserted to the king of 
Babylon and the remainder of the artisans. {I}16_{/}But Nebuzaradan 
left behind those among the very poor who were capable of working 
in vineyards and cultivating the soil.
{R}_{I}17_{/}The Chaldeans broke into pieces the bronze pillars, the 
stands and the bronze Sea in the House of Yahweh and carried off 
all this bronze to Babylon.
{I}18_{/}They also took the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, the spoons 
and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. {I}19_{/}The 
commander of the bodyguard took the basins, censers, sprinkling 
bowls, pots, lampstands, ladles and bowls - all that was made of 
gold or silver.
{R}_{I}20_{/}The two pillars, the Sea and the twelve bronze bulls 
underneath it, the movable stands which King Solomon had made for 
the House of Yahweh - all this bronze was of an immeasurable 
weight.
{I}21_{/}The pillars were each eighteen cubits high with a 
circumference of twelve cubits. Each had a thickness of four 
fingers and was hollow. {I}22_{/}On the top of each pillar was a 
bronze capital five cubits high and above this and around the 
capital was filigree work with pomegranates in bronze. 
{I}23_{/}Ninety-six pomegranates hung down and in all the filigree 
decoration there was a total of a hundred pomegranates.
{I}24_{/}The commander of the bodyguard took captive Seraiah the chief 
priest and Zephaniah the next priest in rank, as well as three 
doorkeepers.
{R}_{I}25_{/}He also took from those in the city a eunuch in command of 
the fighting men, seven personal advisers to the king who were 
discovered in the city, {R}_{I}26_{/}the commander's secretary 
responsible for military conscription and sixty of his men who 
were found in the city. Nebuzaradan took all these away to the 
king of Babylon at Riblah. {R}_{I}27_{/}There at Riblah in the territory 
of Hamath the king of Babylon had them put to death. So Judah was 
taken captive and taken away from its own land. 
{I}28_{/}This is the number of the population deported by 
Nebuchadnezzar: in the seventh year 3,023 Jews; {I}29_{/}in the {I}18{/}th 
year of Nebuchadnezzar 832 people from Jerusalem; {I}30_{/}in his 
{I}23{/}rd year 745 Jews deported by Nebuzaradan commander of the 
bodyguard - in all 4,600 people.
[=]_{R}_{I}31_{/}On the 25th day of the 12th month in the 37th year of 
the exile of Jehoiakin king of Judah, Evil-merodach king of 
Babylon, in the year he came to the throne pardoned Jehoiakin king 
of Judah and released him from prison. {R}_{I}32_{/}He spoke kindly to 
him and gave him more honorable treatment than the other kings who 
were with him in Babylon. {R}_{I}33_{/}Jehoiakin put aside his prisoner's 
garment and for the rest of his life ate at the king's table.
{R}_{I}34_{/}Day by day for as long as he lived he was maintained by the 
king of Babylon.

