King James Version
1 ¶ The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the
priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
2
To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah
the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.
3
It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah
king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah
king of Judah, unto the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in
the fifth month.
4 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
5
Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before
thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee,
and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
6
Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD!
behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall
send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
8
Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to
deliver thee, saith the LORD.
9
Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth.
And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.
10 See, I have this day set thee
over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to
destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
11 ¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of
an almond tree.
12
Then said the LORD unto me, Thou
hast well seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it.
13
And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time,
saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething
pot; and the face thereof is toward the north.
14
Then the LORD said unto me, Out
of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
15 For, lo, I will call all the
families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and
they shall set every one his throne at the entering
of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof round about, and
against all the cities of Judah.
16
And I will utter my judgments against them touching all
their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense
unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own hands.
17
Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak
unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I
confound thee before them.
18
For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of
Judah, against the princes thereof, against the priests thereof, and against
the people of the land.
19
And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not
prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.
1 ¶ Moreover the word of the LORD came to
me, saying,
2
Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy
youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest
after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
3
Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour
him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.
4
Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all
the families of the house of Israel:
5
Thus saith the LORD, What
iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and
have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
6 Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of
Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of
pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land
that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?
7
And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the
fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye
defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.
8
The priests said not, Where is
the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also
transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after
things that do not profit.
9 ¶ Wherefore I will yet plead with you,
saith the LORD, and with your children's children will I plead.
10
For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto
Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing.
11
Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods?
but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not
profit.
12
Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly
afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
13
For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken
me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns,
that can hold no water.
14 ¶ Is Israel a servant? is he a
homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?
15
The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made
his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.
16
Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.
17
Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou
hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?
18
And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink
the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink
the waters of the river?
19
Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy
backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil
thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God,
and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
20 ¶ For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst
thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress;
when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest,
playing the harlot.
21 Yet I had planted thee a noble
vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant
of a strange vine unto me?
22
For though thou wash thee with nitre,
and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord
GOD.
23
How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone
after Baalim? see thy way in the
valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her
ways;
24
A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who
can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her
month they shall find her.
25 Withhold thy foot from being
unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after
them will I go.
26
As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house
of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and
their prophets,
27
Saying to a stock, Thou art my
father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their
face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
28
But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them
arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the
number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.
29 ¶ Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye
all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD.
30
In vain have I smitten your children; they received no
correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
31
O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a
wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my
people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?
32
Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire?
yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
33
Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast
thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways.
34
Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the
poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.
35
Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger
shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have
not sinned.
36 Why gaddest
thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as
thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
37
Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon
thine head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not
prosper in them.
1 ¶ They say, If
a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall
he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou
hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the
LORD.
2
Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where
thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for
them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with
thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.
3
Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath
been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.
4
Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou
art the guide of my youth?
5
Will he reserve his anger for ever?
will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as
thou couldest.
6 ¶ The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king,
Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon
every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath
played the harlot.
7
And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou
unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
8
And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding
Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and
given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared
not, but went and played the harlot also.
9
And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom,
that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
10
And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not
turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.
11 And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than
treacherous Judah.
12 ¶ Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and
say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine
anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep
anger for ever.
13 Only acknowledge thine
iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast
scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not
obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
14
Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am
married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I
will bring you to Zion:
15 And I will give you pastors
according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
16
And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and
increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come
to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they
visit it; neither shall that be done any more.
17
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the
LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD,
to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their
evil heart.
18
In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house
of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the
north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.
19
But I said, How shall I put thee
among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the
hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.
20 ¶ Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously
with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.
21
A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and
supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and
they have forgotten the LORD their God.
22 Return, ye backsliding
children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for
thou art the LORD our God.
23
Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and
from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of
Israel.
24
For shame hath devoured the labour
of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds,
their sons and their daughters.
25
We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God,
we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the
voice of the LORD our God.
1 ¶ If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith
the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of
my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
2
And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth,
in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless
themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
3 ¶ For thus saith the LORD to the men
of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
4
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the
foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my
fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the
evil of your doings.
5 ¶ Declare ye in Judah, and publish in
Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and
say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.
6
Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I
will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.
7 The lion is come up from his
thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from
his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste,
without an inhabitant.
8
For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the
fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.
9 And it shall come to pass at
that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the
heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets
shall wonder.
10
Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem,
saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth
unto the soul.
11 At that time shall it be said
to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the
wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,
12
Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now
also will I give sentence against them.
13 Behold, he shall come up as
clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than
eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.
14
O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou
mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within thee?
15
For a voice declareth from Dan,
and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.
16 Make ye mention to the nations;
behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and
give out their voice against the cities of Judah.
17
As keepers of a field, are they against her round about;
because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.
18 Thy way and thy doings have
procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter,
because it reacheth unto thine heart.
19 ¶ My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart;
my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard,
O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
20 Destruction upon destruction is
cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my
curtains in a moment.
21
How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of
the trumpet?
22
For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are
sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil,
but to do good they have no knowledge.
23
I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and
void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
24
I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all
the hills moved lightly.
25
I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of
the heavens were fled.
26 I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful
place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the
presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger.
27
For thus hath the LORD said, The
whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
28
For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be
black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will
not repent, neither will I turn back from it.
29
The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen
and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every
city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.
30
And when thou art spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson, though thou
deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in vain shalt thou make
thyself fair; thy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.
31
For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, and the
anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the
daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself,
that spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for
my soul is wearied because of murderers.
1 ¶ Run ye to and fro through
the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places
thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth
judgment, that seeketh the truth;
and I will pardon it.
2
And though they say, The LORD liveth;
surely they swear falsely.
3
O LORD, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast
stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they
have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a
rock; they have refused to return.
4
Therefore I said, Surely these
are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the
judgment of their God.
5
I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto
them; for they have known the way of the LORD, and the judgment of their God:
but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the
bonds.
6
Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a
wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities:
every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in
pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are
increased.
7 How shall I pardon thee for
this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I
had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled
themselves by troops in the harlots' houses.
8
They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed
after his neighbour's wife.
9 Shall I not visit for these
things? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as
this?
10 ¶ Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a
full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD'S.
11
For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt
very treacherously against me, saith the LORD.
12
They have belied the LORD, and said, It
is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor
famine:
13
And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in
them: thus shall it be done unto them.
14 Wherefore thus saith the LORD
God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I
will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour
them.
15
Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of
Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a
nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.
16
Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all
mighty men.
17
And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which
thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine
herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy
fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst,
with the sword.
18
Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not
make a full end with you.
19
And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us?
then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken
me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land
that is not yours.
20 ¶ Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it
in Judah, saying,
21
Hear now this, O foolish people, and without
understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
22
Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my
presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea
by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof
toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not
pass over it?
23
But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart;
they are revolted and gone.
24 Neither say they in their
heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth
rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth
unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
25 ¶ Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your
sins have withholden good things from you.
26 For among my people are found
wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares;
they set a trap, they catch men.
27
As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of
deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen
rich.
28
They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the
deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of
the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
29
Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall
not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
30
A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and
what will ye do in the end thereof?
1 ¶ O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee
out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign
of fire in Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north, and great destruction.
2
I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and
delicate woman.
3
The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they
shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.
4
Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at
noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth
away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.
5
Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her
palaces.
6
For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew
ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem: this is the city to be
visited; she is wholly oppression in the midst of her.
7 As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth
out her wickedness: violence and spoil is heard in
her; before me continually is grief and wounds.
8
Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from
thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not
inhabited.
9 ¶ Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They
shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn back thine hand as a grapegatherer
into the baskets.
10
To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may
hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the
word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.
11
Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary
with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad,
and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife
shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.
12
And their houses shall be turned unto others, with their
fields and wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants
of the land, saith the LORD.
13
For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them
every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest
every one dealeth falsely.
14
They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my
people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
15 Were they ashamed when they had
committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they
blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall:
at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
16
Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in
the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk
therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said,
We will not walk therein.
17
Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound
of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
18 ¶ Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O
congregation, what is among them.
19
Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people,
even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not
hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.
20
To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and
the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor
your sacrifices sweet unto me.
21 Therefore thus saith the LORD,
Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this
people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.
22
Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the
north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth.
23 They shall lay hold on bow and
spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth
like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against
thee, O daughter of Zion.
24
We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble:
anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
25 Go not forth into the field,
nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.
26
O daughter of my people, gird thee with sackcloth, and
wallow thyself in ashes: make thee mourning, as for an only son, most bitter
lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon us.
27 I have set thee for a tower and
a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way.
28
They are all grievous revolters,
walking with slanders: they are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.
29
The bellows are burned, the lead
is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
30
Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD
hath rejected them.
1 ¶ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2
Stand in the gate of the LORD'S house, and proclaim there
this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of
Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.
3
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to
dwell in this place.
4
Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The
temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD,
The temple of the LORD, are these.
5
For if ye throughly amend your
ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute
judgment between a man and his neighbour;
6
If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the
widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods
to your hurt:
7 Then will I cause you to dwell
in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
8
Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.
9
Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear
falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know
not;
10 And come and stand before me in
this house, which is called by my name, and say, We
are delivered to do all these abominations?
11
Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of
robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.
12
But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I
set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the
wickedness of my people Israel.
13
And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the
LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and
speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;
14
Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my
name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you
and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.
15
And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out
all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
16 ¶ Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither
lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to
me: for I will not hear thee.
17
Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in
the streets of Jerusalem?
18
The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire,
and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to
pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may
provoke me to anger.
19
Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not
provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?
20
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and
my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon
the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and
it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
21 ¶ Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put
your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.
22
For I spake not unto your
fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of
Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:
23 But this thing commanded I
them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God,
and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded
you, that it may be well unto you.
24
But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked
in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward,
and not forward.
25 Since the day that your fathers
came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I
have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and
sending them:
26
Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear,
but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.
27 Therefore thou shalt speak all
these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call
unto them; but they will not answer thee.
28
But thou shalt say unto them, This
is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD
their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is
perished, and is cut off from their mouth.
29 ¶ Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem,
and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath
rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.
30
For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight,
saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called
by my name, to pollute it.
31
And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in
the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their
daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my
heart.
32
Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it
shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the
valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.
33 And the carcases
of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of
the earth; and none shall fray them away.
34
Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and
from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness,
the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be
desolate.
1 ¶ At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out
the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of
the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, out of their graves:
2
And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon,
and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom
they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought,
and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they
shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.
3
And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the
residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain
in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.
4 ¶ Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus
saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not
return?
5
Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a
perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit,
they refuse to return.
6
I hearkened and heard, but they spake
not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What
have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth
into the battle.
7
Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth
her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the
swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment
of the LORD.
8
How do ye say, We are wise, and
the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of
the scribes is in vain.
9
The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo,
they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in
them?
10
Therefore will I give their wives unto others, and their
fields to them that shall inherit them: for every one
from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the
prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth
falsely.
11
For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people
slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
12
Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination?
nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore
shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they
shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
13 ¶ I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there
shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and
the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from
them.
14
Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter
into the defenced cities, and let us be silent there:
for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to
drink, because we have sinned against the LORD.
15 We looked for peace, but no
good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!
16
The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole
land trembled at the sound of the neighing of his strong ones; for they are
come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it; the city, and those
that dwell therein.
17 For, behold, I will send
serpents, cockatrices, among you, which will not be charmed, and they shall
bite you, saith the LORD.
18
When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is
faint in me.
19
Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people
because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the LORD in Zion? is not
her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their
graven images, and with strange vanities?
20
The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not
saved.
21
For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am
black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
22
Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?
why then is not the health of the daughter of my people
recovered?
1 ¶ Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain
of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my
people!
2
Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of
wayfaring men; that I might leave my people, and go from them!
for they be all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
3
And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but
they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil
to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.
4 Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any
brother: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every neighbour
will walk with slanders.
5
And they will deceive every one
his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they
have taught their tongue to speak lies, and weary themselves to commit
iniquity.
6
Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit
they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.
7
Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will
melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?
8
Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh
peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in
heart he layeth his wait.
9 Shall I not visit them for
these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as
this?
10
For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing,
and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are
burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice
of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are
fled; they are gone.
11
And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and
I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
12 ¶ Who is the wise man, that may understand this? and
who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it,
for what the land perisheth and is
burned up like a wilderness, that none passeth
through?
13
And the LORD saith, Because they
have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice,
neither walked therein;
14
But have walked after the imagination of their own heart,
and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
15 Therefore thus saith the LORD
of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with
wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.
16
I will scatter them also among the heathen, whom neither
they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I
have consumed them.
17
Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider
ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and
send for cunning women, that they may come:
18
And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us,
that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.
19
For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded, because we
have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast us out.
20
Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your
ear receive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour
lamentation.
21
For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into
our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the
young men from the streets.
22
Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even
the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open
field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.
23 ¶ Thus saith the LORD, Let
not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his
might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth
and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise
lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things
I delight, saith the LORD.
25
Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish
all them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;
26 Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and
the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that
dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the
house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.
1 ¶ Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh
unto you, O house of Israel:
2 Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the
signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3
For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of
the workman, with the axe.
4
They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it
with nails and with hammers, that it move
not.
5
They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they
must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they
cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
6
Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou
art great, and thy name is great in might.
7
Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee
doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men
of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.
8
But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is
a doctrine of vanities.
9 Silver spread into plates is
brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the
hands of the founder: blue and purple is their clothing: they are all the work
of cunning men.
10
But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an
everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall
not be able to abide his indignation.
11
Thus shall ye say unto them, The
gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from
the earth, and from under these heavens.
12
He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established
the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
13 When he uttereth
his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend
from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth
the wind out of his treasures.
14
Every man is brutish in his knowledge: every founder is
confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is
no breath in them.
15 They are vanity, and the work
of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall
perish.
16
The portion of Jacob is not like them: for he is the
former of all things; and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: The LORD of
hosts is his name.
17 ¶ Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of
the fortress.
18 For thus saith the LORD,
Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will
distress them, that they may find it so.
19
Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.
20
My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my
children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none
to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
21
For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought
the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all
their flocks shall be scattered.
22
Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great
commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of
Judah desolate, and a den of dragons.
23
O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it
is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
24
O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger,
lest thou bring me to nothing.
25 Pour out thy fury upon the
heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name:
for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made
his habitation desolate.
1 ¶ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2 Hear ye the words of this
covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
3
And say thou unto them, Thus
saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth
not the words of this covenant,
4
Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought
them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace,
saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all
which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I
will be your God:
5
That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your
fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.
Then answered I, and said, So be it,
O LORD.
6
Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim
all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem,
saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do
them.
7
For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day
that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising
early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
8
Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this
covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not.
9
And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the
men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
10
They are turned back to the iniquities of their
forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to
serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant
which I made with their fathers.
11 ¶ Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring
evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and
though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
12
Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of
Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they
shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.
13 For according to the number of
thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets
of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn
incense unto Baal.
14
Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a
cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto
me for their trouble.
15 What hath my beloved to do in
mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is
passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.
16
The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of
goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath
kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
17
For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced
evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of
Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in
offering incense unto Baal.
18 ¶ And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I
know it: then thou shewedst me their
doings.
19
But I was like a lamb or an ox that is brought to the
slaughter; and I knew not that they had devised devices against me, saying, Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us
cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more
remembered.
20 But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest
the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I
revealed my cause.
21
Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that
seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in the name of the LORD, that thou die not
by our hand:
22
Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will
punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons
and their daughters shall die by famine:
23
And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring
evil upon the men of Anathoth, even the year of their visitation.
1 ¶ Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee:
yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the
way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very
treacherously?
2
Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they
grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from
their reins.
3
But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried
mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the
slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
4
How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every
field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are
consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.
5 If thou hast run with the
footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses?
and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst,
they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?
6
For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even
they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude
after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words
unto thee.
7 ¶ I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul
into the hand of her enemies.
8
Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore
have I hated it.
9 Mine heritage is unto me as a
speckled bird, the birds round about are against her;
come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.
10
Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden
my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate
wilderness.
11
They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made
desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.
12
The spoilers are come upon all high places through the
wilderness: for the sword of the LORD shall devour from the one end of the land
even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace.
13
They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put
themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be
ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
14 ¶ Thus saith the LORD against all mine evil neighbours, that touch the inheritance which I have caused
my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and
pluck out the house of Judah from among them.
15 And it shall come to pass,
after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them,
and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his
land.
16
And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn
the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The LORD liveth;
as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be
built in the midst of my people.
17
But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and
destroy that nation, saith the LORD.
1 ¶ Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen
girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water.
2
So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and
put it on my loins.
3
And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time,
saying,
4
Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy
loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.
5 So I went, and hid it by
Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.
6
And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said
unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I
commanded thee to hide there.
7
Then I went to Euphrates, and digged,
and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it:
and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.
8 Then the word of the LORD came
unto me, saying,
9
Thus saith the LORD, After this
manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.
10
This evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which
walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve
them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which
is good for nothing.
11
For as the girdle cleaveth to
the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of
Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me
for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would
not hear.
12 ¶ Therefore thou shalt speak unto
them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say
unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle
shall be filled with wine?
13
Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus
saith the LORD, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the
kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the
prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.
14
And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers
and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have
mercy, but destroy them.
15
Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath
spoken.
16
Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet
stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross
darkness.
17
But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret
places for your pride; and mine eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears,
because the LORD'S flock is carried away captive.
18 Say unto the king and to the
queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your
principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.
19
The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall
open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly
carried away captive.
20
Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the
north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful
flock?
21
What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou
hast taught them to be captains, and as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take
thee, as a woman in travail?
22 ¶ And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore
come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts
discovered, and thy heels made bare.
23 Can the Ethiopian change his
skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed
to do evil.
24
Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.
25
This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me,
saith the LORD; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in
falsehood.
26
Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that
thy shame may appear.
27
I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings,
the lewdness of thy whoredom, and thine abominations on the hills in the
fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean? when shall it
once be?