\NormalFont\ShortTitle{Jeremiah}

{\MT The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah


\par }\ChapOne{1}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The words of Jeremiah the son of Chilkiyahu, one of the priests that were in 'Anathoth in the land of Benjamin;

\VS{2}To whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon the king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign,

\VS{3}And who continued [prophet] in the days of Jehoyakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah the king of Judah, until the carrying away into exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

\VS{4}And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

\VS{5}Before yet I had formed thee in thy mother's body I knew thee; and before thou wast yet come forth out of the womb I sanctified thee: a prophet unto the nations did I ordain thee.

\VS{6}And I said, Ah, Lord Eternal! behold, I know not how to speak; for I am [but] a lad.

\VS{7}And the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am [but] a lad; but to whomsoever I may send thee shalt thou go, and whatsoever I may command thee shalt thou speak.

\VS{8}Be not afraid because of them; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

\VS{9}And the Lord stretched forth his hand, and touched [me] therewith on my mouth; and the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.

\VS{10}See, I have appointed thee this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down: to build up, and to plant.

\VS{11}And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, A staff of all almond-tree do I see.

\VS{12}And the Lord said unto me, Thou hast well seen; for I am watching over my word to perform it.

\VS{13}And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, A seething pot do I see; and the front thereof is turned from the north.

\VS{14}And the Lord said unto me, Out of the north shall the evil break forth over all the inhabitants of the land,

\VS{15}For, lo, I will call unto 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 entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and upon all its walls round about, and upon [those of] all the cities of Judah.

\VS{16}And I will call them to account touching all their wickedness, in that they have forsaken me, and have burnt incense unto other gods, and have bowed down unto the works of their own hands.

\VS{17}But do thou gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I may command thee; be not discouraged because of them, lest I humble thee before them.

\VS{18}But I, behold, I have made of thee this day a fortified city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls over the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, and against the people of the land.

\VS{19}And [although] they fight against thee, they shall not prevail against thee; for with thee am I saith the Lord, to deliver thee.



\par }\Chap{2}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

\VS{2}Go and call out before the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus hath said the Lord, I remember unto thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thy espousals, thy going after me in the wilderness, through a land that is not sown.

\VS{3}A holy thing is Israel unto the Lord, the first of his fruits: all that devour him shall incur guilt; evil shall come over them, saith the Lord.

\VS{4}Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all ye families of the house of Israel.

\VS{5}Thus hath said the Lord, What fault did your fathers find in me, that they went away far from me, and walked after vanity, and became vain?

\VS{6}That they said not, 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 wildness, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land through which no one had passed, and where no man had dwelt?

\VS{7}And I brought you into the land of fruitful fields, to eat its fruit and its goodly products; but ye came and ye made unclean my land, and my heritage ye rendered an abomination.

\VS{8}The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not; and the shepherds transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied in the name of Ba'al, and after things that cannot profit did they walk.

\VS{9}Therefore will I contend yet farther with you, saith the Lord, and with your children's children will I contend.

\VS{10}For pass over to the isles of the Chittites, and see; and unto Kedar send, and consider well and see if any thing like this hath happened.

\VS{11}Hath a nation exchanged its gods, which are yet no gods? and [still] my people hath exchanged its glory for that which can not profit.

\VS{12}Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and let your hair stand at an end, be ye greatly terrified, saith the Lord.

\VS{13}For two evils have my people committed: me have they forsaken, the source of living waters, to hew out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that cannot hold water.

\VS{14}Is Israel a servant? or one born [to servitude] in the house? why hath he been given up to plunder?

\VS{15}[That] over him young lions roared, let their voice resound, and changed his land into a waste, that his cities are burnt, left without an inhabitant?

\VS{16}Even the children of Noph and Thachpanches have crushed the crown of thy head.

\VS{17}Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, through thy forsaking the Lord thy God, while he was leading thee on the [right] way?

\VS{18}And now what hast thou to do on the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Shichor? and what hast thou to do on the way of Asshur, to drink the waters of the river?

\VS{19}Thy own wickedness shall chastise thee, and thy backslidings shall correct thee; and thou shalt know and see that evil and bitter was thy forsaking the Lord thy God, while the dread of me was not upon thee, saith the Lord Eternal of hosts.

\VS{20}Because from yore did I break thy yoke, did I burst asunder thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress: nevertheless upon every high hill and under every green tree thou makest thy bed, as harlot.

\VS{21}Yet I had planted thee as a branch of a noble vine, wholly of the proper seed; but how art thou changed unto me into a degenerate plant of an ignoble vine?

\VS{22}For though thou wash thyself with natron, and take for thyself much soap: yet would the stain of thy iniquity remain before me, saith the Lord Eternal.

\VS{23}How canst thou say, I am not become unclean, after the Be'alim have I not gone? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: [like] a swift dromedary bound fast to her ways;

\VS{24}[Like] a wild ass used to the wilderness, that at her pleasure snuffeth up the wind; her lust—who can turn this away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month will they find her.

\VS{25}“Prevent thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from being thirsty;” but thou saidst, It is useless; no, for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.

\VS{26}As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so have the house of Israel been made ashamed, they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets,

\VS{27}Who say to the wood, Thou art my father; and to the stone, Thou hast brought us forth; for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face; but in the time of their misfortune will they say, Arise, and save us.

\VS{28}But where are then thy gods that thou hast made for thyself? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy misfortune; for equal to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah.

\VS{29}Wherefore will ye contend with me? all of you have transgressed against me, saith the Lord.

\VS{30}To no purpose have I smitten your children; correction they accepted not: your sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

\VS{31}O [present] generation, regard ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of deep darkness? wherefore say my people, We wander about; we cannot come any more unto thee?

\VS{32}Can a virgin forget her ornament, or a bride her decorations? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.

\VS{33}Why ornamentest thou thy way to seek for love? truly even the worst hast thou used thyself as thy ways.

\VS{34}Also on thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent needy ones: not while breaking in [thy house] didst thou find them; but for all these things.

\VS{35}Yet thou sayest, Yea, I am innocent, surely his anger is already turned away from me. Behold, I will hold judgment with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.

\VS{36}Why makest thou thyself so very low to change thy way? also because of Egypt shalt thou be made ashamed, as thou wast put to shame because of Assyria.

\VS{37}Also from this one shalt thou go forth, with thy hands [clasped] over thy head; for the Lord hath rejected those on whom thou trustest and thou shalt not prosper with them.



\par }\Chap{3}{\PP \VerseOne{1}One could say, Behold, if a man send away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, can he return unto her again? would not that land be greatly polluted? and thou hast played the harlot with many companions, and wilt yet return to me, saith the Lord.

\VS{2}Lift up thy eyes unto the mountain-tops, and see where thou hast not been lain with. On public roads hast thou sat for them, as the Arab in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy incests and with thy wickedness.

\VS{3}And [though] the early showers were withholden, and the latter rain came not: yet hadst thou a forehead of an incestuous wife, thou refusedst to feel shame.

\VS{4}Wilt thou not from this time call out unto mem My father, the guide of my youth art thou?

\VS{5}Will he bear grudge for ever? will he keep it to eternity? Behold, thou hast spoken [this], and yet hast done the things that are evil as much as thou wast able.

\VS{6}And the Lord said unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen what backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and hath played the harlot there.

\VS{7}And I thought that after she had done all these things, she would return unto me. But she returned not. And this saw her treacherous sister Judah.

\VS{8}And I saw, that, although because backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had sent her away, and given her bill of divorce unto her, still treacherous Judah her sister feared not, but went and played herself the harlot also.

\VS{9}And it came to pass through her giddy incest, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stone and with wood.

\VS{10}And yet with all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not returned unto me with all her heart, but with falsehood, saith the Lord.

\VS{11}And the Lord said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself through the treacherous Judah.

\VS{12}Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord: I will not cause my anger to fall upon you; for I am full of kindness, saith the Lord, I will not hear grudge for ever.

\VS{13}Only acknowledge thy iniquity, that against the Lord thy God thou hast rebelled, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and that unto my voice ye have not hearkened, saith the Lord.

\VS{14}Return, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am become your husband; and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and bring you to Zion:

\VS{15}And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and intelligence.

\VS{16}And it shall come to pass, when ye multiply and increase in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, that men shall not say any more, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord;” nor shall it come any more to mind; nor shall they remember it; nor shall they mention it; nor shall any thing be done any more [with it].

\VS{17}At that time shall they call Jerusalem, The throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: and they shall not walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.

\VS{18}In those days shall the house of Judah walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north unto the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.

\VS{19}But I had thought, How shall I establish thee among the [other] sons [of man], and give thee a desirable land, a heritage of glory of the hosts of nations? and I thought, My father thou wouldst call me, and that from me thou wouldst not turn away.

\VS{20}But truly as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord.

\VS{21}A voice is now heard upon the mountain-tops, the supplicatory weeping of the children of Israel; for they have perverted their way, they have forgotten the Lord their God.

\VS{22}Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your backslidings. “Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God.

\VS{23}Truly deceptive was [what we hoped for] from the hills, and the multitude on the mountains; truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.

\VS{24}And shame hath devoured the acquisition of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

\VS{25}We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us; for against the Lord our God have we sinned, we and our fathers, from our youth even until this day; and we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God.”



\par }\Chap{4}{\PP \VerseOne{1}If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, unto me must thou return; and if thou wilt put away thy abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not wander about [any more].

\VS{2}And if thou wilt swear, As the Lord liveth, in truth, in justice, and in righteousness: then shall nations bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glorify themselves.

\VS{3}For thus hath said the Lord to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, Plough up your fallow ground, that ye may not sow among thorns.

\VS{4}Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, and remove the obduracy of your heart, O ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

\VS{5}Tell ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem, and say, Blow ye the cornet in the land: call out, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities.

\VS{6}Set up the standard toward Zion; save yourselves by flight, stay not; for evil do I bring from the north, and a great destruction.

\VS{7}The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of nations hath commenced his march, he is gone forth from his place, to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, left without an inhabitant.

\VS{8}For this gird yourselves with sackcloths, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned away from us.

\VS{9}And it shall come to pass on that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king and the heart of the princes shall fail; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.

\VS{10}Then said I, Ah, Lord Eternal! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

\VS{11}At that time shall be announced to this people and to Jerusalem a dry wind from the mountain-peaks in the wilderness, [coming] on the road to the daughter of my people; not to winnow, nor to cleanse [the corn],

\VS{12}A strong wind from these places shall come unto me: now also will I myself pronounce judgment against them.

\VS{13}Behold, like clouds shall he come up, and like a whirlwind shall be his chariots: swifter than eagles are his horses. “Woe unto us! for we are wasted.”

\VS{14}Wash from wrong doing thy heart, O Jerusalem, in order that thou mayest be saved. How long wilt thou let lodge within thee the thoughts of thy wickedness?

\VS{15}For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth unhappiness from the mountain of Ephraim.

\VS{16}Make ye mention of it to the nations; behold, let it be heard against Jerusalem, that beleaguerers come from a far-off country, and send forth their voice against the cities of Judah.

\VS{17}As keepers of a field are they against her round about; because against me hath she been rebellious, saith the Lord.

\VS{18}Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee: this is thy wickedness, which is so bitter, which so reacheth unto thy heart.

\VS{19}My bowels, my bowels! I am shaken, at the very chambers of my heart; my heart beateth tumultuously in me; I cannot remain silent; because the sound of the cornet hast thou heard, O my soul, the alarm of war.

\VS{20}Ruin upon ruin is called out; for the whole land is wasted: suddenly are my tents wasted, and in a moment, my curtains.

\VS{21}How long shall I see the standard, hear the sound of the cornet?

\VS{22}“Because my people is foolish, me have they not known; sottish children are they, and they have not any understanding: wise are they to do evil, but how to do good they do not know.”

\VS{23}I look at the earth, and, lo, it is without form and void; and toward the heavens, and their light is gone.

\VS{24}I look at the mountains, and, lo, they tremble, and all the hills are moved.

\VS{25}I look, and, lo, there is no man, and all the birds of the heavens are fled.

\VS{26}I look, and, lo, the fruitful country is a wilderness, and all its cities are laid waste at the presence of the Lord, because of the fierceness of his anger.

\VS{27}For thus hath said the Lord, Desolate shall be the whole land; yet a full end will I not make.

\VS{28}For this shall mourn the earth, and black shall be the heavens above; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and I will not repent, and I will not turn back from it.

\VS{29}From the noise of horsemen and those that shoot with the bow fleeth the whole city; they go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city is forsaken, and not a man dwelleth therein.

\VS{30}And thou, O wasted one, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothe thyself with scarlet, though thou adorn thyself with ornaments of gold, though thou encircle with paint thy eyes: in vain shalt thou make thyself beautiful; the adulterers will despise thee, thy life will they seek.

\VS{31}For a voice as of a woman in travail have I heard, the anguish as of one that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that groaneth, that spreadeth out her hands, [saying,] “Woe is me now! for my soul succumbeth to the murderers.”



\par }\Chap{5}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Roam about through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and notice, and search in its broad places, if ye can find one man, if there be one that executeth justice, that searcheth for truth: and I will pardon it.

\VS{2}And though they say, “As the Lord liveth!” surely they only swear to a falsehood.

\VS{3}O Lord, are not thy eyes [directed] to the truth? thou didst strike them, but they felt it not; thou didst make an end of them, [yet] they refused to accept correction: they made their faces harder than a rock, they refused to return.

\VS{4}Yet I myself thought, Oh these are but poor; they are foolish; for they knew not the way of the Lord, the ordinance of their God.

\VS{5}I had better go unto the great men, and let me speak with them; for these surely know the way of the Lord, the ordinance of their God; but these altogether have broken the yoke, burst the bands.

\VS{6}Therefore slayeth them the lion out of the forest, the wolf of the deserts wasteth them, the leopard lieth in wait against their cities: every one that cometh out thence shall be torn in pieces; because many are their transgressions, very numerous are their backslidings.

\VS{7}How shall I for this pardon thee? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by those that are not gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlot's house.

\VS{8}As robust horses they rose by times in the morning: every one neighed after the wife of his neighbor.

\VS{9}Shall I not for these things inflict punishment? saith the Lord: and shall on a nation such as this my soul not be avenged?

\VS{10}Scale ye her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: remove her young shoots; for they are not the Lord's.

\VS{11}For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord.

\VS{12}They have denied the Lord, and said, “He existeth not; nor will evil come over us; and the sword and famine shall we not see.

\VS{13}And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them:” thus shall it be done unto them.

\VS{14}Therefore thus hath said the Lord the God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth to be a fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

\VS{15}Lo, I will bring over you a nation from afar, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is a most ancient nation, a nation whose language thou wilt not know, and thou wilt not understand what they speak.

\VS{16}Their quiver is as an open sepulchre: they are all mighty men.

\VS{17}And they shall consume thy harvest, and thy bread; they shall consume thy sons and thy daughters; they shall consume thy flocks and thy herds; they shall consume thy vines and thy fig-trees; they shall depopulate thy fortified cities, those wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.

\VS{18}Nevertheless even in those days, saith the Lord, will I not make a full end of you.

\VS{19}And it shall come to pass, when ye will say, For what reason hath the Lord our God done all these things unto us? that thou shalt say unto them, In the same manner as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

\VS{20}Announce this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,

\VS{21}Do now hear this, O sottish people, who have no heart; who have eyes, and see not; who have ears, and hear not;

\VS{22}Will ye not fear me? saith the Lord; will ye not tremble at my presence, who have placed the sand as a bound for the sea by an everlasting law, which it can never pass over? and though the waves thereof be upheaved, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it.

\VS{23}But this people hath a stubborn and a rebellious heart: they have departed [from the right] and have gone their way.

\VS{24}And they have not said in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, the early and the latter rain, in its season: the appointed weeks of the harvest doth he ever preserve for us.

\VS{25}Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden what is good from you.

\VS{26}For there are found among my people wicked men: they lie in wait, as he that layeth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.

\VS{27}As a coop is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore are they become great, and grown rich.

\VS{28}They are grown fat, they are stout; yea, they surpass even the deeds of the wicked: they pronounce no [just] sentence, the sentence of the fatherless, that they might prosper; and the cause of the needy do they not judge.

\VS{29}shall I not for these things inflict punishment? saith the Lord: or shall on a nation such as this my soul not be avenged?

\VS{30}An astonishing and horrible thing is committed in the land;

\VS{31}The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so; but what will ye do in the end thereof?



\par }\Chap{6}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Assemble, O ye children of Benjamin, to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and in Tekoa, blow the cornet, and on Beth-hakkerem set up a fire signal; for evil is seen [coming] out of the north, and great havoc.

\VS{2}The comely and the delicate, the daughter of Zion do I destroy.

\VS{3}Unto her shall come shepherds with their flocks; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed off every one his own place.

\VS{4}Prepare ye war against her! “Arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day waneth, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.

\VS{5}Arise, and let us go up by night, and let us destroy her palaces.”

\VS{6}For thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Cut ye down trees, and cast up a mound against Jerusalem: this is the city whose time of punishment is come; she is full of oppression in her midst.

\VS{7}As a well sendeth forth its waters, so doth she cause her wickedness to spring forth: violence and robbery are heard in her; in my presence there are continually disease and wounds.

\VS{8}Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, that my soul tear itself not away from thee; that I render thee not desolate, a land which is not inhabited.

\VS{9}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean like a vine the remnant of Israel: carry back thy hand as a grape-gatherer frequently to the baskets.

\VS{10}To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot be attentive: behold, the word of the Lord is become unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.

\VS{11}And I am full of the fury of the Lord; I am weary with sustaining it: [I must] pour it out over the child in the street, and over the assembly of young men together; for even the husband with the wife shall be seized, the aged with him that is full of days.

\VS{12}And their houses shall be transferred unto others, fields and wives together; for I will stretch out my hand over the inhabitants of the land, saith the Lord.

\VS{13}For from their least even unto their greatest, every one is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one practiseth falsehood.

\VS{14}And they heal the breach of the daughter of my people very lightly, saying, Peace, peace: when there is no peace.

\VS{15}They should have been ashamed, because they had committed an abomination; but they neither felt the least shame, nor did they know how to blush: therefore shall they fall among those that fall; at the time that I punish their sin shall they stumble, saith the Lord.

\VS{16}Thus hath said the Lord, Place yourselves on the ways, and see, and ask after the ancient paths, where is the way which is good, that ye may walk thereon, and find rest for your soul. But they said, We will not walk [thereon].

\VS{17}Then did I set watchmen over you, [saying,] Listen to the sound of the cornet. But they said, We will not listen.

\VS{18}Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O assembly, what [guilt] is among them.

\VS{19}Hear, O earth! behold, I will bring evil upon this people, the fruit of their thoughts; because unto my words have they not been attentive, and as regardeth my law,—that have they despised.

\VS{20}To what purpose serveth me the frankincense which cometh from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far-off country? your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, and your sacrifices are not agreeable unto me.

\VS{21}Therefore thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will place before this people stumbling-blocks, and thereon shall stumble the fathers and the sons together, the neighbor and his friend, and they shall perish.

\VS{22}Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, a people is coming from the north country, and a great nation shall wake up from the farthest ends of the earth.

\VS{23}Bow and spear shall they firmly grasp; cruel are they, and will have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and upon horses do they ride; set in array as one man for the war, against thee, O daughter of Zion.

\VS{24}We have heard the fame of him—our hands grow feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, pain, as of a woman in giving birth.

\VS{25}Go not forth into the field, on the road must ye not walk; for [there is] the sword of the enemy, terror on every side.

\VS{26}O daughter of my people, gird thyself with sackcloth, and roll thyself in the ashes: a mourning as for an only son prepare unto thee, a most bitter lamentation; for suddenly will the destroyer come over us.

\VS{27}I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and probe their way.

\VS{28}They all are grievous revolters, going about as talebearers, copper and iron: they all are corrupt.

\VS{29}The bellows are burnt, by the fire the lead is consumed: in vain the melter refineth; for the wicked are not separated away.

\VS{30}Refuse silver men call them; because the Lord hath rejected them.



\par }\Chap{7}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

\VS{2}Place thyself in the gate of the house of the Lord, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in by these gates to bow down before the Lord.

\VS{3}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will permit you to dwell in this place.

\VS{4}[But] do not rely on the words of falsehood, saying, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, [as] they [say].

\VS{5}For if ye thoroughly amend your ways and your deeds; if ye thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbor;

\VS{6}If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, and walk not after other gods to your own hurt:

\VS{7}Then will I permit you to dwell in this place, in the land that I have given to your fathers, from eternity to eternity.

\VS{8}Behold, ye rely on the words of falsehood, that cannot profit.

\VS{9}How? will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Ba'al, and walk after other gods of which ye have no knowledge;

\VS{10}And [then] come and stand before my presence in this house, which is called by my name, and say, “We are delivered;” in order to do all these abominations?

\VS{11}Is then this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? [But] I also, behold, I have seen it, saith the Lord.

\VS{12}For go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at the first, and see what I did unto it because of the wickedness of my people Israel.

\VS{13}And now, whereas ye have done all these acts, saith the Lord, and I spoke unto you, causing [the prophets] to rise up early and speaking, while ye would not hear; and I called you, but ye would not answer:

\VS{14}Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, whereon ye rely, and unto the place which I have given to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.

\VS{15}And I will cast you out of my presence, as I have cast out all your brethren, all the seed of Ephraim.

\VS{16}But thou—pray not thou in behalf of this people, nor lift up in their behalf entreaty or prayer, nor make intercession to me; for I will not hear thee.

\VS{17}Dost thou not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

\VS{18}The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out drink-offerings unto other gods, in order to provoke me to anger.

\VS{19}Do they provoke me to anger? saith the Lord, [and] not themselves, to the shame of their own faces?

\VS{20}Therefore thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold my anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, over man, and over beast, and over the trees of the field, and over the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and it shall not be quenched.

\VS{21}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Add your burnt-offerings unto your peace-sacrifices, and eat the flesh thereof.

\VS{22}For I spoke not with your fathers, and I commanded them not on the day of my bringing them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt-offering or sacrifice;

\VS{23}But this thing did I command them, saying, Hearken to my voice, and I will be unto you for a God, and ye shall be unto me for a people; and walk ye altogether on the way which I may command you, in order that it may be well unto you.

\VS{24}Yet they hearkened not, and inclined not their ear; but they walked in the counsels, in the stubbornness of their evil heart; and they went backward, and not forward:

\VS{25}Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt until this day; and I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, sending them daily in the morning early;

\VS{26}Yet they hearkened not unto me, and inclined not their ear; but they hardened their neck; they did worse than their fathers.

\VS{27}And if thou speak unto them all these words, and they will not hearken to thee; and if thou call unto them, and they will not answer thee:

\VS{28}Then shalt thou say unto them, This is the nation that hearken not to the voice of the Lord their God, and accept not correction; lost is the truth, and is obliterated from their mouth.

\VS{29}Cut off thy flowing hair, and cast it away, and take up on mountain-tops a lamentation; for rejected hath the Lord and forsaken the generation of his wrath.

\VS{30}For the children of Judah have done what is evil in my eyes, saith the Lord: they have set up their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.

\VS{31}And they have built the high-places of Thophet, which is in the valley of Ben-hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I had not commanded, and which never came into my mind.

\VS{32}Therefore, behold days are coming, saith the Lord, that it shall not be called any more Thophet, or The valley of Ben-hinnom, but The valley of slaughter: and they shall bury in Thophet, for want of room.

\VS{33}And the carcasses of this people shall become food unto the fowls of the heavens, and unto the beasts of the earth, with none to chase them away.

\VS{34}And I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of gladness, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride; for a desert shall the land become.



\par }\Chap{8}{\PP \VerseOne{1}At that time, saith the Lord, shall they 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.

\VS{2}And they shall spread them out before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought, and to which they have prostrated themselves: they shall not be gathered up, and they shall not be buried; dung upon the face of the ground shall they become.

\VS{3}And death shall be preferable to life, for all the residue of those that are left of this evil family, who are left in all the places whither I shall have driven them, saith the Lord of hosts.

\VS{4}And thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord, Shall they fall, and not arise? will he turn away, and not return?

\VS{5}Why then remaineth this people, Jerusalem, rebellious by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast on deceit, they refuse to return.

\VS{6}I listened and heard, but they would not speak aright; no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned again to his course, as the impetuous horse in the battle.

\VS{7}Yea, the stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle, and the swallow, atad the crane observe the time of their coming home; but my people know not the ordinance of the Lord.

\VS{8}How can ye say, We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us? Truly, behold in vain wrought the pen, in vain the writers.

\VS{9}The wise men are ashamed, they are discouraged and caught, lo, the word of the Lord have they rejected; and what wisdom have they [now]?

\VS{10}Therefore will I give their wives unto others, their fields to conquerors; for from the least even unto the greatest, every one is seeking his own gain: from the prophet even unto the priest every one practiseth falsehood.

\VS{11}And they heal the breach of the daughter of my people very lightly, saying, Peace, peace: when there is no peace.

\VS{12}They should have been ashamed, because they had committed abomination; but they neither felt the least shame, nor did they know how to blush: therefore shall they fall among those that fall; at the time of their punishment shall they stumble, saith the Lord.

\VS{13}I will surely make an end of them, saith the Lord: [there shall be left] no grapes on the vine, and no figs on the fig-tree, and the leaf shall wither; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.

\VS{14}“Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the fortified cities, and let us be silent there; for the Lord our God hath put us to silence, and given us poison-water to drink; because we have sinned against the Lord.

\VS{15}We hoped for peace, but no happiness is here; for a time of cure, and behold here is terror.”

\VS{16}From Dan was heard the snorting of his horses; at the sound of the neighing of his war-steeds trembleth the whole land: and they are come, and devour the land, and all that filleth it; the city, and those that dwell therein.

\VS{17}For, behold, I will send out against you serpents, basilisks, for which there is no charm, and they shall bite you, saith the Lord.

\VS{18}When I would cheer myself up against sorrow, my heart within me is pained.

\VS{19}Behold [I hear] the voice of the complaint of the daughter of my people [coming] out of a far-off land: “Is the Lord not in Zion? is her king no more in her?” “Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with the vanities of the stranger?”

\VS{20}“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not yet helped.”

\VS{21}Because of the breach of the daughter of my people am I broken: I am grieved; astonishment hath taken fast hold on me.

\VS{22}Is there no [more] balm in Gil'ad? or is no physician there? why then is there not placed a plaster [on the wound of] the daughter of my people?



\par }\Chap{9}{\PP \VerseOne{1}(8:23) Oh that one would make my head water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughters of my people!

\VS{2}(9:1) Oh that one would place me in the wilderness in a lodging-place of wayfaring men. that I might leave my people, and go from them! for all of them are adulterers, a band of traitors.

\VS{3}(9:2) And they bend their tongues, their bow of falsehood, and not for the truth are they valiant in the land; for from evil to evil do they proceed, and me they know not, saith the Lord.

\VS{4}(9:3) Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and on any brother place ye no reliance; for every brother will surely supplant, and every neighbor will go about as a talebearer.

\VS{5}(9:4) And they will deceive every one his neighbor, and the truth will they not speak: they have taught their tongue to speak falsehood, they weary themselves to commit iniquity.

\VS{6}(9:5) Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit: through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the Lord.

\VS{7}(9:6) Therefore thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and probe them; for how [else] shall I do because of the daughter of my people?

\VS{8}(9:7) A murderous arrow is their tongue; [every one] speaketh deceit: with his mouth speaketh he peaceably to his neighbor, but in his heart he layeth wait for him.

\VS{9}(9:8) Shall I not for these things inflict punishment on them? saith the Lord: or shall not on a nation such as this my soul be avenged?

\VS{10}(9:9) For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation; because they are burnt up, so that no man can pass through them; and they hear not the voice of the cattle: both the fowls of the heavens and the beasts are fled; they are gone away.

\VS{11}(9:10) And I will change Jerusalem into heaps of ruins, a dwelling for monsters: and the cities of Judah will I make desolate, without an inhabitant.

\VS{12}(9:11) 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 is the land destroyed, burnt up like the wilderness, without one that passeth through?

\VS{13}(9:12) And the Lord said, Because they forsook my law which I had set before them, and hearkened not to my voice, and walked not therein;

\VS{14}(9:13) But have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Be'alim, which their fathers had taught them.

\VS{15}(9:14) Therefore thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them—this people, with wormwood, and give them poison-water to drink.

\VS{16}(9:15) And I will scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send out after them the sword, till I have consumed them.

\VS{17}(9:16) Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Consider it well, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the women skilled in lament, that they may come;

\VS{18}(9:17) And let them make haste, and take up for us a lamentation, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids drop down water.

\VS{19}(9:18) For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we wasted! we are greatly ashamed; because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings.

\VS{20}(9:19) For hear, O ye women, the word of the Lord, and let your ear perceive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbor lamentation.

\VS{21}(9:20) For death is come up through our windows, is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from the street, the young men from the open places.

\VS{22}(9:21) Speak, Thus saith the Lord, Yea, the carcasses of men shall lie as dung upon the open field, and as the sheaves [left] after the harvestman, with none to gather them.

\VS{23}(9:22) Thus hath said the Lord, Let not the wise glorify himself in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glorify himself in his might, let not the rich glorify himself in his riches;

\VS{24}(9:23) But let him that glorifieth himself glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord who exercise kindness, justice, and righteousness, on the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.

\VS{25}(9:24) Behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, that I will send punishment on all the circumcised who are [yet] uncircumcised;

\VS{26}(9:25) On Egypt, and on Judah, and on Edom, and on the children of 'Ammon, and on Moab, and all who have the locks of their hair cut off round that dwell in the wilderness; for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.



\par }\Chap{10}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Hear ye the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning you, O house of Israel:

\VS{2}Thus hath said the Lord, Do not habituate yourselves on the way of the nations, and at the signs of the heavens be ye not dismayed; although the nations should be dismayed at them.

\VS{3}For the statutes of these people concern what is vanity; for it is but a tree which a man hath cut out of a forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.

\VS{4}With silver and with gold do they ornament it; with nails and with hammers do they fasten it, that it move not from its place.

\VS{5}As a wrought-out palm-like column are they, and cannot speak; they must needs be borne, because they cannot step along. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do any harm, so also to do any good is not in them.

\VS{6}Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O Lord: thou [alone] art great, and great is thy name in might.

\VS{7}Who would not fear thee, O King of the nations? for to thee doth it appertain; because among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, [they say] there is none like unto thee.

\VS{8}But at once shall they be shown to be brutish and foolish: it is a doctrine of vanities, it concerneth but wood.

\VS{9}The beaten out silver is brought from Tharshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman, and of the hands of the goldsmith: blue and purple is their clothing; the work of skilful men are they all.

\VS{10}But the Lord God is the truth, he is the living God, and the everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall quake, and nations cannot endure his indignation.

\VS{11}Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, shall perish away from the earth, and from under these heavens.

\VS{12}He made the earth by his power, he established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding he stretched out the heavens.

\VS{13}At the sound when he giveth a multitude of waters in the heavens, and causeth clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth; when he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures:

\VS{14}Then standeth every man as brutish without knowledge; ashamed is every goldsmith because of the graven image; for falsehood is his molten work, and there is no breath therein.

\VS{15}They are vanity, the work of deception; in the time of their punishment shall they vanish.

\VS{16}Not like these is the portion of Jacob; for he is the former of all things; and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: The Lord of hosts is his name.

\VS{17}Gather up thy wares from the ground, O inhabitress of the beleaguered city.

\VS{18}For thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will cast forth as with a sling the inhabitants of the land at this time, and I will enclose them, in order that they may find them.

\VS{19}Woe is me for my breach! my wound is painful; but I thought, This is but pain, and I shall be able to bear it.

\VS{20}[But now] my tent is laid waste, and all my cords are torn asunder; my children are gone away from me, and they are not [here]; there is no one to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.

\VS{21}For the shepherds were brutish, and the Lord had they not sought; therefore have they not prospered, and all their flocks are scattered.

\VS{22}Behold, the noise of the report is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to render the cities of Judah desolate, a dwelling for monsters.

\VS{23}I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in his own power: it is not in man that passeth away to direct his own steps.

\VS{24}Correct me, O Lord, but with justice; not in thy anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.

\VS{25}Pour out thy fury over the nations that know thee not, and over the families that have not called on thy name; for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his dwelling desolate.



\par }\Chap{11}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

\VS{2}Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

\VS{3}And say thou unto them, Thus hath said the Lord God of Israel, Cursed be the man that hearkeneth not to the words of this covenant,

\VS{4}Which I commanded your fathers on the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace, saying, Hearken to my voice, and do the same, in accordance with all which I may command you; and so shall ye be to me for a people, and I will be to you for a God;

\VS{5}In order that I may fulfill the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give unto them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. And I answered, and said, So be it, O Lord.

\VS{6}Then said the Lord 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.

\VS{7}For I earnestly warned your fathers on the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt even until this day, sending out early and warning, saying, Hearken to my voice;

\VS{8}Yet they hearkened not, and inclined not their ear, but walked every one in the stubbornness of their evil heart: therefore did I bring over them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but which they did not.

\VS{9}And the Lord said unto me, A conspiracy hath been found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

\VS{10}They are returned again to the iniquities of their earlier forefathers, who had refused to hearken to my words; and they themselves are [also] gone 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.

\VS{11}Therefore thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will bring an evil upon them, from which they shall not be able to rid themselves; and they will cry unto me, but I will not hearken unto them.

\VS{12}Then let the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense; but they shall not save them in the least in the time of their distress.

\VS{13}For equal to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and equal to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to the disgraceful idol, altars, to burn incense unto Ba'al.

\VS{14}But thou—thou must not pray in behalf of this people, neither lift up in their behalf entreaty or prayer; for I will not hear at the time that they call unto me, because of their distress.

\VS{15}What hath my beloved to do in my house, while she executeth the evil counsel of so many [sinners]? Yea, the holy flesh passeth away from thee; for even with thy wickedness, thou rejoicest still.

\VS{16}An ever-green olive-tree, beautiful in fruit and form, did the Lord call thy name: with the noise of a great tumult hath he kindled fire around it, and they break off its branches.

\VS{17}And the Lord of hosts, that planted thee, hath decreed evil against thee; on account of the wickedness 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 Ba'al.

\VS{18}And the Lord hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then didst thou let me see their doings.

\VS{19}But I was like a sheep 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 its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may not be remembered any more.”

\VS{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 entrusted my cause.

\VS{21}Therefore thus hath said the Lord concerning the men of 'Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, “Thou shalt not prophesy in the name of the Lord, that thou mayest not die by our hand:”

\VS{22}Therefore thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will inflict punishment on them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters shall die by the famine;

\VS{23}And no remnant shall remain of them; for I will bring evil upon the men of 'Anathoth, in the year of their punishment.



\par }\Chap{12}{\PP \VerseOne{1}[Too] righteous art thou, O Lord, that I could plead with thee; yet must I speak of [the principles of] justice with thee: Wherefore is the way of the wicked happy? do all those prosper that deal treacherously?

\VS{2}Thou hast planted them; they have also taken root; they grow; they also bring forth fruit: thou art near, in their mouth, and far from their mind.

\VS{3}But thou, O Lord, knowest me; thou seest me, and probest my heart toward thee; set them apart like sheep for the slaughter, and destine them for the day of slaying.

\VS{4}How long shall the land mourn, and the herb of all the field wither? Because of the wickedness of those that dwell therein are wholly removed the beasts and the birds; because they said, He will not see our last end.

\VS{5}If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, how then canst thou contend with the horses? and if in the land of peace, [wherein] thou trustedst, [they wearied thee,] how then wilt thou do in the swelling of the Jordan?

\VS{6}For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, even they have called forth a crowd of men after thee: believe them not, though they speak kindly unto thee.

\VS{7}I have forsaken my house, I have abandoned my heritage; I have given up the most dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.

\VS{8}My heritage is become unto me as a lion in the forest; it sent forth its voice against me: therefore do I hate it.

\VS{9}Is my heritage become unto me as a bird of prey stained with blood? so that the birds of prey are all around it? Come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, bring them hither to devour.

\VS{10}Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden under foot my field, they have rendered my pleasant field a desolate wilderness.

\VS{11}They have made it a desert, and being desolate it mourneth before me: the whole land is made desolate, because no man laid it to heart.

\VS{12}Over all the mountain-peaks in the wilderness did the destroyers come; for the sword of the Lord devoureth from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: there is no peace to any flesh.

\VS{13}They have sown wheat, but they reap thorns; they have put themselves to pain [but] have no profit; be therefore ashamed of your products, because of the fierce anger of the Lord.

\VS{14}Thus hath said the Lord against all my bad neighbors, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit, Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and the house of Judah will I pluck out from the midst of them.

\VS{15}And it shall come to pass, that, after I have plucked them out, and I will again have mercy on them, and will restore them, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.

\VS{16}And it shall come to pass, if they will truly learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, As the Lord liveth; as they had taught my people to swear by Ba'al: that they shall then be built up in the midst of my people.

\VS{17}But if they will not hearken, then will I pluck out that nation, plucking out and exterminating [them], saith the Lord.



\par }\Chap{13}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Thus said the Lord unto me, Go and buy thee a linen girdle, and put it around thy loins, and lay it not in water.

\VS{2}So I bought the girdle, according to the word of the Lord, and put it around my loins.

\VS{3}And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying,

\VS{4}Take the girdle that thou hast bought, which is around thy loins; and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.

\VS{5}So I went, and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord has commanded me.

\VS{6}And it came to pass at the end of many days, that the Lord said unto me, Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the girdle, which I commanded thee to hide there.

\VS{7}And I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and took the girdle from the place where I had hidden it: and, behold, the girdle was spoiled, it was useful for nothing.

\VS{8}Then came the word of the Lord unto me, saying,

\VS{9}Thus hath said the Lord, After this manner will I destroy the pride of Judah, and the pride of Jerusalem, which is great.

\VS{10}And this bad people, who refuse to hearken to my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and have followed other gods, to serve them, and to bow down to them, shall even be as this girdle which is useful for nothing.

\VS{11}For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so had I caused to cleave unto me all the house of Israel and all the house of Judah, saith the Lord,—to become unto me a people, and [to be] for a name, and for praise, and for honor; but they would not hear.

\VS{12}Therefore shalt thou say unto them this word, Thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and when they will say unto thee, Do we not know full well that every bottle shall be filled with wine?

\VS{13}Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit after David upon his throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.

\VS{14}And I will dash them one against the other, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the Lord: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, so as not to destroy them.

\VS{15}Hear ye, and bend your ear: be not proud; for the Lord hath spoken.

\VS{16}Give unto the Lord your God glory, before he cause darkness, and before your feet strike upon the mountains of twilight, and [where], while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and change it into gross darkness.

\VS{17}But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places because of [your] pride; and my eye shall weep sorely, and run down with tears, because the flock of the Lord is driven away captive.

\VS{18}Say unto the king and to the queen-mother, Sit down very lowly; for sunk down are your head-attires, the crown of your ornament.

\VS{19}The cities of the south are shut up, and there is no one to open them: Judah is carried away into exile altogether, it is carried into exile completely.

\VS{20}Lift up your eyes, and see those that are coming from the north: where is the flock that was given thee, thy splendid flock?

\VS{21}What wilt thou say when he will punish thee? since thou hast accustomed them to be over thee captains, and chiefs? shall not pangs seize upon thee, as on a woman in travail?

\VS{22}And if thou wilt say in thy heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thy iniquity are thy skirts laid open, thy heels are made bare violently.

\VS{23}Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? [then] may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

\VS{24}Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away before the wind of the wilderness.

\VS{25}This is thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the Lord; because thou hast forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.

\VS{26}Therefore do I also strip up thy skirts over thy face, that thy shame may be seen.

\VS{27}Thy adulteries and thy loud shoutings, the lewdness of thy incest, thy abominations on the hills in the fields have I seen. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! thou wilt not be made clean after ever so long a time.



\par }\Chap{14}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought.

\VS{2}Judah mourneth, and her gates languish; they lie grieved on the ground; and the distressed cry of Jerusalem ascendeth upward.

\VS{3}And their nobles have sent out their subordinates for water: they come to the pits, they find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are ashamed and confounded, and cover their head.

\VS{4}Because of the ground which is cracked open, since there hath been no rain in the land, are the ploughmen ashamed, they cover their head.

\VS{5}Yea, the hind also bringeth forth her young in the field, and forsaketh [them], because there is no grass.

\VS{6}And the wild asses stand on the mountain-tops, they snuff up the wind like serpents: their eyes fail, because there are no herbs.

\VS{7}If our iniquities testify against us, O Lord, do thou act for the sake of thy name; for our backslidings are many; against thee have we sinned.

\VS{8}O thou hope of Israel, his saviour in time of trouble, why shouldst thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfarer that turneth aside to lodge for a night?

\VS{9}Why shouldst thou be as a man that is surprised, as a mighty man that cannot save? yet thou art in the midst of us, O Lord, and we are called by thy name: abandon us not.

\VS{10}Thus hath said the Lord unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander about, their feet have they not restrained: therefore the Lord doth not receive them in favor; now will he remember their iniquity, and will punish their sins.

\VS{11}Then said the Lord unto me, Pray not in behalf of this people for their good.

\VS{12}When they fast, I will not hear their entreaty: and when they offer burnt-offering and meat-offering, I will not receive them in favor; but by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence, will I make an end of them.

\VS{13}Then said I, Ah, Lord Eternal! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword, neither shall ye have famine; but a permanent peace will I give you in this place.

\VS{14}Then said the Lord unto me, Falsehood do the prophets prophesy in my name; I have not sent them, neither have I commanded them, neither have I spoken unto them: a vision of falsehood, and divination, and idolatrous folly, and the deceit of their heart do they prophesy unto you.

\VS{15}Therefore thus hath said the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy in my name, when I have not sent them, while they say, Sword and famine shall not come in this land: By the sword and by the famine shall these prophets come to their end.

\VS{16}And the people to whom they prophesy shall lie cast down in the streets of Jerusalem by means of the famine and the sword; and they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters; for I will pour out their wickedness over them.

\VS{17}But thou shalt say unto them this word. My eyes shall run down with tears night and day, and they shall not cease; for with a great breach is the virgin-daughter of my people broken, with a very painful blow.

\VS{18}If I go forth into the field, behold, there are the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, behold, there are those that are sick with famine! for both the prophet and the priest travel round into a land that they know not.

\VS{19}Hast thou entirely rejected Judah? or hath thy soul loathing on Zion? why hast thou smitten us, so that there is no healing for us? we hoped for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold, there is terror!

\VS{20}We know, O Lord, our wickedness, the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against thee.

\VS{21}Do not cast us off, for the sake of thy name, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.

\VS{22}Are there any among the vanities of the nations those that bestow rain? or can the heavens give forth showers? Behold, thou art this, O Lord our God, and we will hope in thee; for thou hast done all these things.



\par }\Chap{15}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And the Lord said unto me, If Moses and Samuel were to stand before me, my favor would [still] not be toward this people: send them away out of my sight, that they may go forth.

\VS{2}And it shall come to pass, if they should say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth, that thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord, Such as are destined to death, to death; and such as are destined to the sword, to the sword; and such as are destined to famine, to famine; and such as are destined to captivity, to captivity.

\VS{3}And I will appoint over them four species, saith the Lord: The sword to slay, and the dogs to drag away, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and to destroy.

\VS{4}And I will cause them to become a horror unto all the kingdoms of the earth, on account of Menasseh the son of Hezekiah the king of Judah, because of what he did in Jerusalem.

\VS{5}For who will have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who will condole with thee? or who will go aside to ask after thy welfare?

\VS{6}Thou hast indeed forsaken me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward; therefore do I stretch out my hand against thee, and destroy thee: I am weary with repenting.

\VS{7}And I winnow them with a fan in the gates of the land: I make childless, I annihilate my people, [since] from their ways they have not turned away.

\VS{8}Their widows are more numerous before me than the sand of the seas: I bring unto them, over the mothers of the young men, a waster at noonday; I cause to fall upon her suddenly the enemy with [his] terrors.

\VS{9}She that had born seven children fadeth away; she breatheth out her soul, her sun is set while it is yet day; she is made ashamed and put to the blush:—and their residue will I give up to the sword before their enemies, saith the Lord.

\VS{10}Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast born me, a man of contention and a man of strife to the whole land! I have not lent, nor have men lent to me: [yet] every one of them curseth me.

\VS{11}The Lord said, Truly I will release thee for [thy] good; truly I will cause the enemy to meet thee in the time of distress and in the time of affliction.

\VS{12}Can iron break in pieces the northern iron and copper?

\VS{13}Thy wealth and thy treasures will I give up as spoil without price, and this for all thy sins, even in all thy borders.

\VS{14}And I will cause them to pass over with thy enemies into a land which thou knowest not; for a fire is kindled in my anger, over you shall it burn.

\VS{15}Thou well knowest it, O Lord! remember me and think of me, and avenge me on my persecutors; not according to thy long-suffering act thou for me: know, that for thy sake I have borne shame.

\VS{16}When thy words were made manifest to me, then I greedily received them; and thy word became unto me the gladness and joy of my heart; for thy name is called upon me, O Lord of hosts.

\VS{17}I sat not in the assembly of the mirthful, and was rejoiced; because of thy inspiration I sat solitary; for thou hadst filled me with indignation.

\VS{18}Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable? it refuseth to be healed; it is truly become unto me as a deceptive spring, as waters that are not reliable.

\VS{19}Therefore thus hath said the Lord, If thou return, and I bring thee back again, then shalt thou stand before me; and if thou bring forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: these shall return unto thee; but thou shalt not return unto them.

\VS{20}And I will make thee unto this people as a fortified brazen wall; and they will fight against thee, but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee to save thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

\VS{21}And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the grasp of the tyrants.



\par }\Chap{16}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

\VS{2}Thou shalt not take thyself a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place.

\VS{3}For thus hath said the Lord concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bear them, and concerning their fathers that beget them in this land:

\VS{4}A death through diseases of famine shall they die; they shall not be lamented for; nor shall they be buried; for dung upon the face of the earth shall they be: and by the sword and by famine shall they come to their end; and their carcasses shall be for food unto the fowls of heaven, and unto the beasts of the earth.

\VS{5}For thus hath said the Lord, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor to condole with them; for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the Lord, yea, kindness and mercy.

\VS{6}And both the great and the small shall die in this land,— they shall not be buried, and men shall not lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them;

\VS{7}Nor shall they break bread for them at their mourning, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall they give them to drink the cup of consolation for their father and for their mother.

\VS{8}And into the house of feasting shalt thou not enter, to sit with them, to eat and to drink.

\VS{9}For thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place before your eyes, and in your days, the voice of gladness, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.

\VS{10}And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt tell this people all these words, and they should say unto thee, Wherefore hath the Lord spoken against us all this great evil? and what is our iniquity? and what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?

\VS{11}That thou shalt say unto them, Because your fathers forsook me, saith the Lord, and walked after other gods, and served them, and bowed down unto them, and me they forsook, and my law they kept not;

\VS{12}And ye act worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so as not to hearken unto me;

\VS{13}Therefore will I hurl you out of this land into the land of which ye had no knowledge, neither ye nor your fathers; and ye will serve there other gods by day and by night; so that I will not grant you any favor.

\VS{14}Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when it shall not he said any more, As the Lord liveth, who hath brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

\VS{15}But, As the Lord liveth, who hath brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries whither he had driven them: and I will cause them to return unto their land which I have given unto their fathers.

\VS{16}Behold, I will send for many fishermen, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and after that will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.

\VS{17}For my eyes are directed upon all their ways, they are not hidden from my face, nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.

\VS{18}And [thus] will I pay them at the first their two-fold iniquity and their sin; because they have defiled my land, filling my heritage with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.

\VS{19}O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge on the day of trouble, unto thee shall nations come from the ends of the earth, and say, Nothing but falsehood had our fathers inherited, vanity, wherein there is no profit.

\VS{20}How? can a man make unto himself gods, which are yet no gods?

\VS{21}Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know, at this time will I cause them to know, my hand and my might: and they shall know that my name is The Eternal.



\par }\Chap{17}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The sin of Judah is written down with a pen of iron, with the point of a diamond: it is engraved upon the table of their heart, and on the horns of your altars.

\VS{2}Like their remembrance of their children, so are [to them] their altars and their groves by [every] green tree upon the high hills.

\VS{3}O my mountain in the field, thy substance, all thy treasures will I give up for spoil, thy high-places [reared] with sin, throughout all thy borders.

\VS{4}And thou shalt be cast out, yea through thy own guilt, from thy heritage which I have given thee; and I will cause thee to serve thy enemies in a land which thou knowest not; for a fire have ye kindled in my anger, for ever shall it burn.

\VS{5}Thus hath said the Lord, Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and placeth on flesh his dependence, while from the Lord his heart departeth.

\VS{6}And he shall be like a lonely tree in the desert, which feeleth not when the good cometh; but abideth in the parched places in the wilderness, in a salty land which cannot be inhabited.

\VS{7}Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and the Lord will be his trust.

\VS{8}And he shall be like a tree that is planted by the waters, and by a stream spreadeth out its roots, which feeleth not when heat cometh, but its leaf remaineth green; and in a year of drought it is undisturbed by care, and ceaseth not from yielding fruit.

\VS{9}Deceitful is the heart above all things, and sick: who can know it?

\VS{10}I the Lord search the heart, probe the reins: yea, to give unto every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.

\VS{11}As a cuckoo that sitteth on eggs which he hath not laid, so is he that get the riches, and not by right; in the midst of his days shall he leave them, and at his end shall be called wicked.

\VS{12}A throne of glory, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary!

\VS{13}Hope of Israel, O Lord, all that forsake thee shall be made ashamed, and the backsliders among me shall be written down on the earth; because they have forsaken the fountain of living waters, the Lord.

\VS{14}Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed: save me, and I shall be saved; for my praise art thou.

\VS{15}Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now.

\VS{16}As for me, I have not hastened to be a shepherd to follow thee; and the woeful day have I not longed for; thou knowest it: what came out of my lips was known before thee.

\VS{17}Be not a terror unto me: thou art my protection on the day of evil.

\VS{18}Let those be made ashamed that persecute me, but let not me be made ashamed: let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and strike them with a double breach.

\VS{19}Thus said the Lord unto me, Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah usually enter, and by which they usually go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

\VS{20}And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates.

\VS{21}Thus hath said the Lord, Take heed for your souls, and bear no burden on the sabbath-day, nor bring it in through the gates of Jerusalem;

\VS{22}Nor shall you carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath-day, and no manner of work shall ye do, but hallow ye the sabbath-day, as I have commanded your fathers;

\VS{23}But they hearkened not, and inclined not their ear; and they made their neck stiff, so as not to hearken, and not to receive instruction.

\VS{24}And it shall come to pass, if ye will diligently hearken unto me, saith the Lord, so as to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath-day, and to hallow the sabbath-day, so as to do no work thereon:

\VS{25}Then shall there enter through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall be inhabited for ever.

\VS{26}And there shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the environs of Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the lowlands, and from the mountain, and from the south, those that bring burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and meat-offerings, and frankincense, and those that bring thanksgiving-offerings, unto the house of the Lord.

\VS{27}But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath-day, and not to bear a burden, and to enter in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath-day: then will I kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.



\par }\Chap{18}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

\VS{2}Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there will I let thee hear my words.

\VS{3}Then went I down to the potter's house, and, behold, he was doing work on the wheels.

\VS{4}And the vessel that he was making became spoiled as [happeneth] with the clay in the hand of the potter; and he made again thereof another vessel, as it seemed good in the eyes of the potter to make it.

\VS{5}Then came the word of the Lord to me, saying,

\VS{6}Shall I not be able to do unto you as this potter, O house of Israel? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel.

\VS{7}At one instant I speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy it;

\VS{8}But should that nation, against whom I have spoken, return from their wrong-doing: then will I bethink me of the evil that I had thought to do unto them.

\VS{9}And at one instant I speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;

\VS{10}But should it do what is evil in my eyes, so as not to hearken to my voice: then will I bethink me of the good, wherewith I had thought to benefit the same.

\VS{11}And now do say to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as followeth, Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I form against you evil, and devise against you a device: do but return now every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your deeds.

\VS{12}And they said, It is useless: for after our own thoughts will we walk, and we will every one do after the stubbornness of his evil heart.

\VS{13}Therefore thus hath said the Lord, Only ask among the nations, Who hath heard the like things? a very horrible act hath the virgin of Israel committed.

\VS{14}Doth the snow of Lebanon ever quit the rock of the field? or do the far-coming, cold, flowing waters ever fail?

\VS{15}That my people have forgotten me, that they have burnt incense to false gods, and are made to stumble on their ways, the ancient beaten tracks, to walk in paths, on a road which is not leveled?

\VS{16}To make their land desolate, a perpetual derision: every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and shake his head.

\VS{17}Like an east wind will I scatter them before the enemy; with the back, and not the face, will I regard them on the day of their calamity.

\VS{18}And they said, Come, and let us contrive devices against Jeremiah; for the law will not be lost from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not listen to any of his words.

\VS{19}Listen to me, O Lord, and hearken to the voice of those that contend with me.

\VS{20}Shall evil be recompensed instead of good, that they have dug a pit for my life? Remember my standing before thee to speak good concerning them, to cause thy wrath to turn away from them.

\VS{21}Therefore give up their children to the famine, and let their life ebb out by means of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and widows; and let their men be slain by death; their young men smitten by the sword in the battle.

\VS{22}Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou bringest a troop over them suddenly; for they have dug a pit to catch me, and laid concealed snares for my feet.

\VS{23}Yet thou, Lord, knowest well all their counsel against me to [procure my] death: forgive not their iniquity, and let their sin not be blotted out from before thee; but let them be brought to stumbling before thee; in the time of thy anger deal thus with them.



\par }\Chap{19}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Thus said the Lord, Go and buy a bottle from a maker of earthenware, and [take] some of the elders of the people, and of the elders of the priests;

\VS{2}And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the gate Charsith, and proclaim there the words that I will speak unto thee.

\VS{3}And say, Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring evil over this place, so that the ears of every one that heareth it shall tingle.

\VS{4}For the reason that they have forsaken me, and have defiled this place, and have burnt incense in it unto other gods, which they had not known, either they or their fathers, or the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents;

\VS{5}And they have built the high-places of Ba'al, to burn their sons with fire as burnt-offerings unto Ba'al, which I had not commanded, nor spoken, and which had not come into my mind:

\VS{6}Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, that this place shall no more be called The Thopheth, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but, The valley of slaughter.

\VS{7}And I will make void the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem in this place; and I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those that seek their life: and I will give their carcasses as food unto the fowls of the heaven, and unto the beasts of the earth.

\VS{8}And I will render this city desolate, and an [object of] derision: every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues.

\VS{9}And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his associate, in the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and those that seek their life, shall distress them.

\VS{10}Then shalt thou break the bottle before the eyes of the men that are going with thee.

\VS{11}And thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, In this manner will I break this people and this city, as one breaketh a potter's vessel, that cannot be restored again; and in Thopheth shall they bury, for want of room to bury.

\VS{12}Thus will I do unto this place, saith the Lord, and to its inhabitants, and to make this city as Thopheth:

\VS{13}And the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are unclean, shall become as the place of the Thopheth, with all the houses upon the roofs of which they have burnt incense to all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink-offerings to other gods.

\VS{14}Then came Jeremiah from the Thopheth, whither the Lord had sent him to prophesy; and he placed himself in the court of the house of the Lord; and said to all the people,

\VS{15}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all its towns all the evil that I have spoken against it; because they have hardened their neck, so as not to hear my words.



\par }\Chap{20}{\PP \VerseOne{1}But when Pashchur the son of Immer the priest, who was chief superintendent in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah prophesying these words:

\VS{2}Then smote Pashchur Jeremiah the prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the upper gate of Benjamin, which was in the house of the Lord.

\VS{3}And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashchur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. And Jeremiah said unto him, Not Pashchur [Fulness of Freedom] hath the Lord called thy name, but Magor-missabib [[Terror all around]].

\VS{4}For thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy friends; and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies, and thy eyes shall see it; and all Judah will I give into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall lead them into exile to Babylon, and shall smite them with the sword.

\VS{5}And I will give up all the wealth of this city, and all its acquisitions, and all its precious things; and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them, and take them and carry them away to Babylon.

\VS{6}And thou, Pashchur, and all the inhabitants of thy house, shall go into captivity; and to Babylon shalt thou come, and there thou shalt die, and there shalt thou be buried, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast prophesied with falsehood.

\VS{7}Thou didst persuade me, O Lord, and I was persuaded; thou laidst thy [hand] strongly on me, and didst prevail: I am laughed at all the time, every one mocketh me.

\VS{8}For as often as I speak must I cry out, violence and wasting must I proclaim; because the word of the Lord is become unto me a disgrace, and a derision, all the time.

\VS{9}And I thought, I will not make mention of him, and I will not speak any more in his name. But it became in my heart as a burning fire enclosed within my bones, and I was weary with enduring, and I could not overcome it.

\VS{10}For I heard the defaming of many, angry assemblies on every side, “Tell, and we will tell of him.” All the men who ought to seek my welfare, watch for my fall; saying, “Peradventure he may he enticed, and we shall prevail against him, and we will then take our revenge on him.”

\VS{11}But the Lord is with me as a mighty powerful one; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail: they will be greatly ashamed, for they will not prosper; [it is] an everlasting confusion which will never be forgotten.

\VS{12}But, O Lord of hosts, that probest the righteous, seest the reins and the heart, let me see thy vengeance on them; for unto thee have I laid open my cause.

\VS{13}Sing unto the Lord, praise ye the Lord; for he hath delivered the soul of the needy from the hand of evil-doers.

\VS{14}Cursed be the day whereon I was born: the day on which my mother bore me shall not be blessed.

\VS{15}Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man-child is born unto thee. How very glad did he make him!

\VS{16}And may that same man become like the cities which the Lord overthrew, and bethought himself not; and may he hear a cry of anguish in the morning, and a tumultuous noise at noontide;

\VS{17}Because I was not slain [as I escaped] from the womb; or that my mother might have become unto me my grave, and her womb have been affected with a perpetual pregnancy.

\VS{18}Wherefore was this that I came forth out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow, that my days should pass away in shame?



\par }\Chap{21}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashchur the son of Malkiyah, and Zephanyah the son of Ma'asseyah the priest, saying,

\VS{2}Inquire, I pray thee, in our behalf of the Lord; for Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon maketh war against us; peradventure the Lord will deal with us according to all his wondrous deeds, so that he may withdraw from us.

\VS{3}Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah:

\VS{4}Thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel, Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, wherewith ye fight against the king of Babylon, and against the Chaldeans, who besiege you without the walls, and I will assemble them into the midst of this city.

\VS{5}And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, and in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.

\VS{6}And I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: of a great pestilence shall they die.

\VS{7}And afterward, saith the Lord, will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and those that are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life: and he shall smite them with the edge of the sword; he will not spare them, nor have pity, nor have mercy.

\VS{8}And unto this people shalt thou say, Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.

\VS{9}He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, or by the famine, or by the pestilence; but he that goeth out, and runneth away to the Chaldeans that besiege you, shall remain alive, and his life shall be unto him as a booty.

\VS{10}For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, saith the Lord: into the hand of the king of Babylon shall it be given up, and he will burn it with fire.

\VS{11}And to the house of the king of Judah [say], Hear ye the word of the Lord:

\VS{12}O house of David, thus hath said the Lord, Exercise justice on [every] morning, and deliver him that is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor; lest my fury go forth like fire, and burn so that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

\VS{13}Behold, I am against thee, O inhabitress of the valley, [about] the rock of the plain, saith the Lord; who say, Who shall descend down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?

\VS{14}But I will inflict punishment on you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the Lord: and I will kindle a fire in its forest, and it shall devour all its environs.



\par }\Chap{22}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Thus said the Lord, Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word;

\VS{2}And thou shalt say, Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, that sittest upon the throne of David, thou, and thy servants, and thy people that enter in by these gates:

\VS{3}Thus hath said the Lord, Execute ye justice and righteousness, and deliver him that is robbed out of the hand of the oppressor; and the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow shall ye not oppress, and do them no violence, and shed no innocent blood in this place.

\VS{4}For if ye indeed will do this thing, then shall enter in through the gates of this house kings sitting after David upon his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and his people.

\VS{5}But if ye will not hear these words, then do I swear by myself, saith the Lord, that this house shall become a ruin.

\VS{6}For thus hath said the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah, A Gil'ad [though] thou art unto me, a summit of the Lebanon: yet I will surely change thee into a wilderness, cities which are not inhabited.

\VS{7}And I will make ready against thee destroyers, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down the choice of thy cedars, and cast them into the fire.

\VS{8}And [when] many nations [then] pass by this city, they will say every man to his neighbor, Wherefore hath the Lord done the like unto this great city?

\VS{9}Then shall they say, Because they had forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God, and bowed down unto other gods, and served them.

\VS{10}Weep not for the dead, and do not bemoan him: weep sorely for him that goeth away; for he shall never return any more, and see the land of his birth.

\VS{11}For thus hath said the Lord respecting Shallum the son of Josiah the king of Judah, who reigneth in the place of Josiah his father, who is gone forth out of this place, He shall never return thither any more;

\VS{12}But in the place whither they have led him into exile, there shall he die; but this land shall he not see any more.

\VS{13}Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; that maketh his neighbor work without wages, and giveth him not the reward for his labor;

\VS{14}That saith, I will build me a roomy house, and ample chambers, and cutteth himself out windows, and ceileth it with cedar, and painteth it with colors.

\VS{15}Shalt thou reign, because thou strivest to excel with cedar buildings? behold, thy father ate and drank, but he executed justice and righteousness: then was it well with him!

\VS{16}He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then was it well: is not this the proper knowledge of me? saith the Lord.

\VS{17}But thy eyes and thy heart are directed on nothing but upon thy own gain, and upon innocent blood to shed it, and upon oppression, and upon extortion, to practise them.

\VS{18}Therefore thus hath said the Lord concerning Jehoyakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah, They shall not lament for him, with, “Woe, my brother!” and, “Woe, sister!” they shall not lament for him, with “Woe, lord!” and, “Woe, to his glory!”

\VS{19}With the burial of an ass shall he be buried, dragged about and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.

\VS{20}Ascend the Lebanon, and cry aloud; and let thy voice resound in Bashan; and cry aloud from 'Aharim; for crushed are all thy lovers.

\VS{21}I spoke unto thee in thy prosperity; but thou saidst, I will not hear. This hath been thy manner from thy very youth, that thou didst not hearken to my voice.

\VS{22}The wind shall scatter abroad all thy shepherds, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded because of all thy wickedness.

\VS{23}O inhabitress of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how full of grace wilt thou be !!when pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!

\VS{24}As I live, saith the Lord, though Conyahu the son of Jehoyakim the king of Judah were a signet upon my right hand, yet for a surety would I thence pluck thee;

\VS{25}And I will give thee into the hand of those that seek thy life, and into the hand of those of whom thou art afraid, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans.

\VS{26}And I will hurl thee out, and thy mother that hath born thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye die.

\VS{27}But to the land whitherward they direct their soul to return, thither shall they not return.

\VS{28}Is this man Conyahu a despised broken image? or a vessel without value? wherefore are they hurled out, he and his seed, and are cast forth into a land which they know not?

\VS{29}O land, land, land! hear the word of the Lord.

\VS{30}Thus hath said the Lord, Write ye down this man as childless, as a man that shall not prosper in his days; for no man of his seed shall succeed to sit upon the throne of David, and to rule any more in Judah.



\par }\Chap{23}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Woe unto the shepherds that destroy and scatter the flocks of my pasture! saith the Lord.

\VS{2}Therefore thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel concerning the shepherds that feed my people, Ye have scattered my flocks, and driven them away, and have not taken care of them: now, behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.

\VS{3}And I will indeed gather the remnant of my flock together out of all the countries whither I have driven them; and I will bring them back again to their folds: and they shall be fruitful and multiply.

\VS{4}And I will raise up over them shepherds who shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, and none of them shall be missing, saith the Lord.

\VS{5}Behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will raise up unto David a righteous sprout, and he shall reign as king, and prosper, and he shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth.

\VS{6}In his days shall Judah be helped, and Israel shall dwell in safety: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord is our righteousness.

\VS{7}Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when they shall no more say, As the Lord liveth, who hath brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

\VS{8}But, As the Lord liveth, who hath brought up and who hath led forth the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and out of all countries whither I had driven them: and they shall dwell in their own land.

\VS{9}To the prophets—Broken is my heart within me; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a person whom wine hath overcome, because of the Lord, and because of his holy words.

\VS{10}For of adulterers is the land full; for because of false swearing mourneth the land, dried up are the pastures in the wilderness; because their course was for evil, and their strength was for injustice.

\VS{11}For both prophet and priest are hypocrites: yea, in my own house have I found their wickedness, saith the Lord.

\VS{12}Therefore shall their way be unto them as slippery ways in the darkness; they shall be pushed forward, and fall thereon; for I will bring upon them evil, the year of their punishment, saith the Lord.

\VS{13}And on the prophets of Samaria have I seen absurdity: they prophesied by Ba'al, and misled my people Israel.

\VS{14}But on the prophets of Jerusalem have I seen a horrible thing; they commit adultery, and walk in falsehood; and they strengthen the hands of evil-doers, so that not one of these doth return from his wickedness: they are become unto me all of them as Sodom, and its inhabitants as Gomorrah.

\VS{15}Therefore thus hath said the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets, Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink poison-water; for from the prophets of Jerusalem is hypocrisy gone forth over all the land.

\VS{16}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you, they bring you unto vanity: a vision of their own heart do they ever speak, not out of the mouth of the Lord.

\VS{17}They say indeed unto those that incense me, The Lord hath spoken, Peace shall ye have; and unto every one that walketh in the stubbornness of his own heart, they said, There shall come no evil upon you.

\VS{18}For who hath stood in the secret counsel of the Lord, that he could perceive and hear his word? who hath listened to his word and heard it?

\VS{19}Behold, the storm-wind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, yea, a whirling storm: upon the head of the wicked shall it fall grievously.

\VS{20}The anger of the Lord will not return, until he have executed, and until he have fulfilled the purposes of his heart: in the end of days shall ye understand this fully.

\VS{21}I had not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I had not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

\VS{22}But if they had stood in my secret counsel, they should have announced my words to my people, and have caused them to turn back from their evil way, and from the wrongfulness of their doings.

\VS{23}Am I a God for those near at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God for those who are afar off?

\VS{24}If a man should hide himself in secret places should I not then see him? saith the Lord. Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? saith the Lord.

\VS{25}I have heard what the prophets have said, that prophesy falsely in my name, saying, I have dreamt, I have dreamt.

\VS{26}How long shall it be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy falsehood? yea, the prophets of the deceit of their own heart,—

\VS{27}[How long] do they think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they relate every man to his neighbor, as their fathers forgot my name for the sake of Ba'al?

\VS{28}The prophet that hath had a dream, let him relate his dream; and he that hath received my word, let him speak my word of truth. What hath the straw to do with the corn? saith the Lord.

\VS{29}Is not thus my word, like the fire? saith the Lord, and like a hammer that shivereth the rock?

\VS{30}Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words every one from his neighbor.

\VS{31}Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that use their own word, and say, [The Lord] saith.

\VS{32}Behold, I am against those that prophesy with false dreams, saith the Lord, and do relate them, and mislead my people by their falsehoods, and by their vain boasting: while I have not sent them, nor commanded them; and they cannot bring the least profit to this people, saith the Lord.

\VS{33}And if this people, or the prophet, or a priest, should ask thee, saying, What is the message of the Lord? then shalt thou say unto them, Because of this “What is the message?” will I even cast you off, saith the Lord.

\VS{34}And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that will say, “A message of the Lord,” I will even inflict punishment on that man and on his house.

\VS{35}Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbor, and every one to his brother, What hath the Lord answered? and, What hath the Lord spoken?

\VS{36}But “A message of the Lord” shall ye not mention any more; for the message cometh indeed to the man of his [prophetic] word; but ye pervert the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God.

\VS{37}Thus shalt thou say to the prophet, What hath the Lord answered thee? and, What hath the Lord spoken?

\VS{38}But if ye will say, “A message of the Lord,” then thus saith the Lord, Because ye say this word, “A message of the Lord,” and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, “A message of the Lord:”

\VS{39}Therefore, behold, I am here, and I will tear you completely away, and I will cast you off, and the city that I have given to you and to your fathers, out of my presence;

\VS{40}And I will lay upon you an everlasting disgrace, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.



\par }\Chap{24}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The Lord caused me to see, and, behold, there were two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord, after Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon had carried away into exile Yechonyahu the son of Yehoyakim the king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and the locksmiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.

\VS{2}The one basket [had] very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket [had] very bad figs, which could not be eaten, from being so bad.

\VS{3}Then said the Lord unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs: the good figs, are very good; and the bad ones, are very bad, which cannot be eaten, from being so bad.

\VS{4}And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

\VS{5}Thus hath said the Lord, the God of Israel, Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge the exiles of Judah, whom I have sent away from this place into the land of the Chaldeans, for good.

\VS{6}And I will set my eye upon them for good, and I will cause them to return again to this land; and I will build them up, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

\VS{7}And I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord: and they shall be unto me for a people, and I will be unto them for God! for they will return unto me with all their heart.

\VS{8}And like the bad figs, which cannot be eaten, from being so bad, surely thus hath said the Lord, So I will render Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and those that dwell in the land of Egypt;

\VS{9}And I will make them a horror because of [their] mishaps unto all the kingdoms of the earth, a disgrace and a proverb, a byword and a curse, in all the places whither I will drive them.

\VS{10}And I will send out against them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, till they be destroyed from off the land that I had given unto them and to their fathers.



\par }\Chap{25}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoyakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah, which is the first year of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon;

\VS{2}Which Jeremiah the prophet spoke concerning all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying,

\VS{3}From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon the king of Judah, even until this day, that is now three and twenty years, the word of the Lord hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened.

\VS{4}And the Lord hath sent unto you all his servants the prophets, making [them] rise early and sending [them]; but ye have not hearkened, and have not inclined your ear to hear.

\VS{5}They said, O do turn away every one from his evil way, and from the wrongfulness of your doings; and ye shall remain in the land that the Lord hath given unto you and to your fathers, for from eternity to eternity;

\VS{6}And go not after other gods to serve them, and to bow down to them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will not injure you.

\VS{7}Yet have ye not hearkened unto me, saith the Lord: in order that ye might provoke me to anger with the works of your own hands to your own injury.

\VS{8}Therefore thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Because ye have not hearkened to my words:

\VS{9}Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and to Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them over this land, and over its inhabitants, and over all these nations round about, and I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a derision, and perpetual ruins.

\VS{10}And I will banish from them the voice of gladness, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the mill, and the light of the lamp.

\VS{11}And this whole land shall become a ruin and an [object of] astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

\VS{12}And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are completed, that I will visit on the king of Babylon, and on that nation, saith the Lord, their iniquity, and on the land of the Chaldeans, and will change it into perpetual desolations.

\VS{13}And I will bring over that land all my words which I have spoken concerning it, all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied concerning all the nations.

\VS{14}For when many nations and great kings shall have made them also serve: I will then recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the work of their own hands.

\VS{15}For thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel unto me, Take the cup of the wine of this fury out of my hand, and cause all the nations to whom I send thee to drink it.

\VS{16}And they shall drink, and reel about, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.

\VS{17}And I took the cup out of the hand of the Lord, and caused to drink all the nations, unto whom the Lord had sent me:

\VS{18}Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and its kings, and its princes, to make them a ruin, an astonishment, a derision, and a curse; as it is this day;

\VS{19}Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people;

\VS{20}And all the confederated nations, and all the kings of the land of 'Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, and Ashkelon, and Gazzah, and 'Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod;

\VS{21}Edom, and Moab, and the children of 'Ammon;

\VS{22}And all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the isle which is beyond the sea;

\VS{23}Dedan, and Thema, and Buz, and all those that have their hair cut round;

\VS{24}And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the confederated nations that dwell in the wilderness;

\VS{25}And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of 'Elam, and all the kings of Media;

\VS{26}And all the kings of the north, that are far and that are near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth; and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

\VS{27}And thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Drink ye, and become drunken, and vomit, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword, which I am sending among you.

\VS{28}And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup of thy hand to drink, that thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Ye must certainly drink;

\VS{29}For lo, on the city which is called by my name, I begin to inflict evil, and ye will remain utterly unpunished? Ye shall not remain unpunished; for a sword am I calling up over all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts.

\VS{30}But thou, do thou prophesy concerning them all these words, and say unto them, The Lord will cry aloud from on high, and from his holy habitation will he send forth his voice; he will cry out very loudly over his habitation; the vintner's call, as they that tread out the grapes, will he lift up against all the inhabitants of the earth.

\VS{31}A tumultuous noise cometh even to the ends of the earth; for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, he holdeth judgment over all flesh: the wicked,—these he giveth up to the sword, saith the Lord.

\VS{32}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil goeth forth from nation to nation, and a great storm-wind waketh up from the farthest ends of the earth.

\VS{33}And the slain of the Lord shall be on that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, nor gathered up, nor buried; they shall be as dung upon the surface of the ground.

\VS{34}Wail, ye shepherds, and cry; and roll yourselves about [in the dust], ye leaders of the flocks; for full are your days for you to be slaughtered, and I will scatter you; and you shall fall like a costly vessel.

\VS{35}And lost shall be the place of refuge for the shepherds, and the escape for the leaders of the flocks to escape.

\VS{36}There is the voice of the cry of anguish of the shepherds, and the wailing of the leaders of the flocks; for the Lord hath devastated their pasture.

\VS{37}And in silent desolation lie the pasture-lands of peace, because of the fierceness of the anger of the Lord.

\VS{38}He hath forsaken his covert, like the young lion; for their land is become desolate, because of the fierceness of the wasting [sword], and because of the fierceness of his anger.



\par }\Chap{26}{\PP \VerseOne{1}In the beginning of the reign of Jehoyakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah came this word from the Lord, saying,

\VS{2}Thus hath said the Lord, Place thyself in the court of the house of the Lord, and speak against all of the cities of Judah, who come to prostrate themselves in the house of the Lord, all the words that I have commanded thee to speak unto them: omit not a word [thereof];

\VS{3}Perhaps it be that they will hearken, and return every man from his evil way, that I may bethink me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them, because of the wrongfulness of their doings.

\VS{4}And thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord, if ye will not hearken unto me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,

\VS{5}To hearken unto the words of my servants the prophets, whom I send unto you, yea, making them rise up early, and sending them, while ye have not hearkened:

\VS{6}Then will I render this house like Shiloh, and this city will I render a curse unto all the nations of the earth.

\VS{7}And the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord:

\VS{8}And it came to pass, when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded [him] to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people seized on him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.

\VS{9}Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, Like Shiloh shall this house be, and this city shall be ruined, [left] without an inhabitant? And all the people assembled themselves against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

\VS{10}But when the princes of Judah heard these things, they came up from the king's house unto the house of the Lord, and sat down at the entrance of the new gate of the Lord's house.

\VS{11}Then said the priests and the prophets unto the princes and unto all the people, as followeth, This man deserveth the punishment of death; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your own ears.

\VS{12}Then said Jeremiah unto all the princes and unto all the people, as followeth, The Lord hath sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.

\VS{13}But now amend your ways and your doings, and hearken to the voice of the Lord your God: and the Lord will bethink him of the evil that he hath spoken against you.

\VS{14}As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and just in your eyes.

\VS{15}But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye will surely place [the guilt of] innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon its inhabitants; for in truth hath the Lord sent me unto you to speak in your ears all these words.

\VS{16}Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets, This man is not deserving the punishment of death; for in the name of the Lord our God hath he spoken unto us.

\VS{17}And then rose up certain men of the elders of the land, and said to all the assembly of the people, as followeth,

\VS{18}Michah the Morashthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah the king of Judah. and said to all the people of Judah, as followeth, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Zion shall be ploughed up like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the house, woody high-places.

\VS{19}Did Hezekiah the king of Judah and all Judah attempt to put him to death? behold, he did fear the Lord, and besought the Lord, and the Lord bethought him of the evil which he had spoken against them. And shall we bring a great wickedness on our souls?

\VS{20}And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriyah the son of Shema'yahu of Kiryath-ye'arim, who prophesied against this city and against this land in accordance with all the words of Jeremiah;

\VS{21}And when king Jehoyakim, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death; but when Uriyahu heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and arrived in Egypt;

\VS{22}But king Jehoyakim sent some men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of 'Achbor, and some men with him into Egypt:

\VS{23}And they fetched Uriyahu out of Egypt, and brought him unto king Jehoyakim, who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body upon the graves of the common people.

\VS{24}But the hand of Achikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so as not to give him up into the hand of the people to put him to death.



\par }\Chap{27}{\PP \VerseOne{1}In the beginning of the reign of Jehoyakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah came this word unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

\VS{2}Thus said the Lord to me, Make for thyself bands and yoke-bars, and put them around thy neck,

\VS{3}And send such to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the king of the children of 'Ammon, and to the king of Tyre, and to the king of Zidon, by means of the messengers who come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah the king of Judah;

\VS{4}And thou shalt charge them unto their masters, saying, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Thus shall ye say unto your masters,

\VS{5}It is I who have made the earth, the men, and the beasts that are upon the face of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm, and I have given it unto the one who seemeth proper in my eyes.

\VS{6}And now it is I who have given all these countries into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and also the beasts of the field have I given him to serve him.

\VS{7}And all nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son's son, until the time of his land is also come in its turn: when many nations and great kings shall make it serve.

\VS{8}And it shall come to pass, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve him, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put its neck in the yoke of the king of Babylon,—even that nation will I punish with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, saith the Lord, until I have made an end of them by his hand.

\VS{9}But do ye not hearken to your prophets, and to your diviners, and to your dreamers, and to your enchanters, and to your sorcerers, who speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon;

\VS{10}For falsehood do they prophesy unto you, in order to remove you far from your land; and that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish.

\VS{11}But the nation that will bring its neck into the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him,—that one will I then let remain quietly in its own land, saith the Lord: and it shall till it, and dwell therein.

\VS{12}And unto Zedekiah the king of Judah did I speak in accordance with all these words, saying, Bring your neck into the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, that ye may live.

\VS{13}Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by pestilence, as the Lord hath spoken concerning the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

\VS{14}And do ye not hearken unto the words of the prophets that say unto you, as followeth, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon; for a falsehood do they prophesy unto you.

\VS{15}For I have not sent them, saith the Lord, yet they prophesy in my name falsely: in order that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy unto you.

\VS{16}And unto the priests and unto all this people did I speak, saying, Thus hath said the Lord, Do not hearken to the words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the house of the Lord shall be brought again from Babylon now speedily; for a falsehood do they prophesy unto you.

\VS{17}Hearken not unto them; serve the king of Babylon, that ye may live: wherefore should this city become a ruin?

\VS{18}And if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let them now make intercession with the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah, and at Jerusalem, may not be carried to Babylon.

\VS{19}For thus hath said the Lord of hosts of the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the residue of the vessels that are left in this city,

\VS{20}Which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon did not take away, when he carried away into exile Jechonyah the son of Jehoyakim the king of Judah from Jerusalem to Babylon, with all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem;

\VS{21}[Yea] for thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem,

\VS{22}Unto Babylon shall they be carried, and there shall they remain until the day that I think of them, saith the Lord, when I will bring them up, and restore them to this place.



\par }\Chap{28}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And it came to pass in the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the king of Judah, in the fourth year, in the fifth month, that there said unto me Chananyah the son of 'Azzur the prophet, who was from Gib'on, in the house of the Lord, before the eyes of the priests, and of all the people, as followeth,

\VS{2}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon;

\VS{3}Within yet two years' time will I cause to be brought back unto this place all the vessels of the house of the Lord, which Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath taken away from this place, and which he hath carried to Babylon:

\VS{4}And Jechonyah the son of Jehoyakim the king of Judah, and all the exiles of Judah that are gone to Babylon, will I cause to return to this place, saith the Lord; for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.

\VS{5}Then said Jeremiah the prophet unto Chananyah the prophet before the eyes of the priests, and before the eyes of all the people that stood in the house of the Lord,

\VS{6}Yea, then said Jeremiah the prophet, Amen, may the Lord do so: may the Lord fulfill thy words which thou hast prophesied, to cause the vessels of the Lord's house, and all that have been carried into exile, to be brought back from Babylon unto this place.

\VS{7}Nevertheless hear thou now this word which I speak before thy ears, and before the ears of all the people:

\VS{8}The prophets that have been before me and before thee from olden times prophesied both concerning many countries, and against great kingdoms, respecting war, and respecting evil, and respecting pestilence.

\VS{9}The prophet who prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet doth come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, [as the one] whom the Lord hath sent in truth.

\VS{10}Then took Chananyah the prophet the yoke-bar from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, and broke it.

\VS{11}And Chananyah said before the eyes of all the people, as followeth, Thus hath said the Lord, Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon within two years' time from the neck of all the nations. And Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

\VS{12}Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, after Chananyah the prophet had broken the yoke-bar from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

\VS{13}Go and say unto Chananyah as followeth, Thus hath said the Lord, Yoke-bars of wood hast thou broken; but thou shalt make in their stead yoke-bars of iron.

\VS{14}For thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, A yoke of iron have I placed upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon; and they shall work for him: and also the beasts of the field have I given him.

\VS{15}Then said Jeremiah the prophet unto Chananyah the prophet, Hear now, Chananyah, The Lord did not send thee; but thou hast caused this people to trust on a falsehood.

\VS{16}Therefore thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will send thee away from off the face of the earth: this year shalt thou die, because thou hast spoken rebellion against the Lord.

\VS{17}So Chananyah the prophet died in that same year, in the seventh month.



\par }\Chap{29}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And these are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the residue of the elders of the exiles, and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon;

\VS{2}(After king Jechonyah and the queen-mother, and the court-officers, the princes of Judah and Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the locksmiths, were departed from Jerusalem;)

\VS{3}By the hand of El'assah the son of Shaphan, and Gemaryah the son of Chilkiyah, [whom Zedekiah the king of Judah sent unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon,] saying,

\VS{4}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all the exiles, whom I have caused to be carried into exile from Jerusalem unto Babylon,

\VS{5}Build ye houses, and dwell therein; and plant gardens, and eat their fruit;

\VS{6}Take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may multiply there, and not be diminished.

\VS{7}And seek the welfare of the city whither I have banished you, and pray in its behalf unto the Lord; for in its welfare shall ye fare well.

\VS{8}For thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Let not your prophets, that are in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you, and do not hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamt;

\VS{9}For with falsehood do they prophesy unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord.

\VS{10}For thus hath said the Lord, Because only after the accomplishment of seventy years for Babylon, will I visit you, and fulfill respecting you my good word, in causing you to return to this place.

\VS{11}For I alone know the thoughts that I entertain respecting you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you a [happy] future and hope.

\VS{12}And you will call upon me, and ye will go and will pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.

\VS{13}And ye will seek me, and shall find me, for ye will search for me with all your heart.

\VS{14}And I will be found of you, saith the Lord; and I will bring back your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will cause you to return unto the place whence I have banished you.

\VS{15}Because ye have said, The Lord hath raised us up prophets in Babylon.

\VS{16}But thus hath said the Lord concerning the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and concerning all the people that dwell in this city, your brethren that are not gone forth with you into exile;

\VS{17}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will send out against them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence; and I will render them like the detestable figs, that cannot be eaten, from being so bad.

\VS{18}And I will pursue after them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will make them a horror unto all the kingdoms of the earth, a curse, and an astonishment, and a derision, and a disgrace, among all the nations whither I have driven them;

\VS{19}For the reason that they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord, since I sent unto them my servants the prophets, causing them to rise up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the Lord.

\VS{20}But ye—hear ye the word of the Lord, all ye exiles whom I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.

\VS{21}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Achab the son of Kolayah, and of Zedekiah the son of Ma'asseyah, who prophesy unto you in my name falsehood, Behold, I will give them up into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon: and he shall smite them before your eyes.

\VS{22}And a curse shall be derived from them for all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon, saying, “May the Lord make thee like Zedekiah and like Achab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire;”

\VS{23}Because they have done scandalous deeds in Israel, and have committed adultery with the wives of their neighbors, and have spoken in my name falsehood, which I had not commanded them; whereas I am the one that know, and am the witness, saith the Lord.

\VS{24}And to Shema'yahu the Nechelamite shalt thou say, as followeth,

\VS{25}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent in thy name letters unto all the people that are at Jerusalem, and to Zephanyah the son of Ma'asseyah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,

\VS{26}The Lord hath appointed thee priest in the place of Jehoyada' the priest, that ye should be superintendents in the house of the Lord, for every man that is mad, and that prophesieth, that thou shouldst put him in the stocks, and in prison:

\VS{27}And now, why hast thou not rebuked Jeremiah of 'Anathoth, who prophesieth to you?

\VS{28}For the reason that he hath sent unto us to Babylon saying, It will last a long time: build ye houses, and dwell therein; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit thereof.

\VS{29}And Zephanyah the priest read the letter before the ears of Jeremiah the prophet.

\VS{30}Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying,

\VS{31}Send to all the exiles, saying, Thus hath said the Lord concerning Shema'yah the Nechlamite, Whereas Shema'yah hath prophesied unto you, while I have not sent him, and he hath caused you to rely on a falsehood:

\VS{32}Therefore thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will inflict punishment on Shema'yah the Nechlamite, and on his seed; he shall not have a man to dwell in the midst of this people; and he shall not behold the good that I am doing for my people, saith the Lord; because he hath spoken revolt against the Lord.



\par }\Chap{30}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

\VS{2}Thus hath said the Lord the God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.

\VS{3}For, behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will bring back again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord; and I will cause them to return to the land that I have given to their fathers, and they shall possess it.

\VS{4}And these are the words that the Lord spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah;

\VS{5}For thus hath said the Lord, A voice of terror have we heard, dread, and no peace.

\VS{6}Ask ye now, and see whether a male doth give birth to a child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in giving birth? and why are all faces turned pale?

\VS{7}Alas, for that day is great, there is none like it; and a time of distress it is unto Jacob; yet out of it shall he be saved.

\VS{8}And it shall come to pass on that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and thy bands will I burst asunder; and strangers shall not make him serve any more;

\VS{9}But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.

\VS{10}And thou—do not fear, O my servant Jacob, saith the Lord; and be not dismayed, O Israel; for, behold, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity: and Jacob shall return, and shall be at rest, and be secure, with none to terrify him.

\VS{11}For with thee am I, saith the Lord, to save thee: though I make a full end of all the nations whither I have scattered thee, yet of thee will I not make a full end; but I will correct thee in moderation, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.

\VS{12}For thus hath said the Lord, Incurable is thy bruise, and painful, thy wound.

\VS{13}There is no one to plead thy cause, to bind up [thy wound]: useful remedies there are none for thee.

\VS{14}All thy lovers have forgotten thee; thee they seek not; for with the blow of an enemy have I smitten thee, with cruel chastisement, for the multitude of thy iniquity, because thy sins were so numerous.

\VS{15}Why wilt thou cry out because of thy breach? for thy pain which is incurable? because of the multitude of thy iniquity, because thy sins were so numerous, have I done these things unto thee.

\VS{16}Nevertheless all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thy adversaries, all of them, shall go into captivity; and they that plunder thee shall be [given up] to plunder, and all that prey upon thee will I give up for a prey.

\VS{17}For I will place a healing plaster on thy bruise, and of thy wounds will I cure thee, saith the Lord; because they called thee “an Outcast.” “This is Zion, whom no one seeketh after.”

\VS{18}Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will bring back again the captivity of the tents of Jacob, and on his dwelling-places will I have mercy; and the city shall be rebuilt upon her own heap of ruins, and the palace shall be inhabited after its [ancient] manner.

\VS{19}And there shall proceed out of them thanksgiving, and the voice of those that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be diminished; I will also make them numerous, and they shall not be made few in number.

\VS{20}And their children shall be as aforetimes, and their congregation shall be firmly established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them.

\VS{21}And their leader shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me; for who is this that will venture of his own heart to approach unto me? saith the Lord.

\VS{22}And ye shall be unto me for a people, and I will be unto you for a God.

\VS{23}Behold, the storm-wind of the Lord goeth forth with fury, an abiding storm-wind: upon the head of the wicked shall it fall.

\VS{24}The fierceness of the anger of the Lord will not turn back, until he have done, and until he have fulfilled the purposes of his heart: in the latter days shall ye understand this.



\par }\Chap{31}{\PP \VerseOne{1}(30:25) At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God for all the families of Israel, and they shall be unto me for a people.

\VS{2}(31:1) Thus hath said the Lord, The people of those that are escaped of the sword found grace in the wilderness,—even Israel, when it went to find rest.

\VS{3}(31:2) “From afar is the Lord appeared unto me,” [saying,] Yea, with an everlasting love have I loved thee; therefore have I guided thee with loving-kindness.

\VS{4}(31:3) Yet again will I build thee up, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: yet again shalt thou adorn thy timbrels, and go forth in the dances of those that make merry.

\VS{5}(31:4) Yet again shalt thou plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall redeem the fruit.

\VS{6}(31:5) For there cometh a day, that the watchers call out upon the mountain of Ephraim, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God.

\VS{7}(31:6) For thus hath said the Lord, Sing for Jacob with joy, and shout at the head of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, The Lord hath helped thy people, the remnant of Israel.

\VS{8}(31:7) Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and I will gather them from the farthest ends of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the pregnant woman and she that travaileth with child together: a great assembly shall they return hither.

\VS{9}(31:8) With weeping shall they come, and with supplications will I bring them in: I will lead them by brooks of water in a straight way, whereon they shall not stumble; for I am become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born.

\VS{10}(31:9) Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations, and tell it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattereth Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd his flock.

\VS{11}(31:10) For the Lord hath ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him out of the hand of one stronger than he.

\VS{12}(31:11) And they shall come and sing on the height of Zion, and shall come together as a stream to the goodness of the Lord, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flocks and of the herds, and their soul shall be as a well-watered garden; and they shall not farther experience grief any more.

\VS{13}(31:12) Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and youth and old men together: and I will change their mourning into gladness, and I will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

\VS{14}(31:13) And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the Lord.

\VS{15}(31:14) Thus hath said the Lord, A voice is heard in Ramah, groaning, weeping, and bitter lamentation; Rachel is weeping for her children: she refuseth to be comforted for her children because they are not [here].

\VS{16}(31:15) Thus hath said the Lord, Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thy eyes from tears; for there is a reward for thy work, saith the Lord, and they shall return from the land of the enemy.

\VS{17}(31:16) And there is hope for [thee in] thy future, saith the Lord, and thy children shall return to their own borders.

\VS{18}(31:17) I have indeed heard Ephraim bemoaning himself, “Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as an untamed calf; cause me to return, and I will return; for thou art the Lord my God.

\VS{19}(31:18) Surely after my returning, I repent; and after I am made conscious [by punishment], I smite upon my thigh: I am ashamed, yea, I am confounded, because I bear the disgrace of my youth.”

\VS{20}(31:19) Is not Ephraim a dear son unto me? or a child that I dandle? for whenever I speak of him, I do earnestly remember him again: therefore are my inward parts moved for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.

\VS{21}(31:20) Set thyself up waymarks, place thyself pillars; direct thy heart toward the highway, the way which thou didst go: return, O virgin of Israel, return to these thy cities.

\VS{22}(31:21) How long wilt thou roam about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the Lord hath created a new thing on the earth, The woman will go about [seeking for] the husband.

\VS{23}(31:22) Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Yet again shall they say this word in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I will bring back again their captivity,—May the Lord bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, O holy mountain.

\VS{24}(31:23) And there shall dwell therein Judah, and in all his cities together, husbandmen, and they that move about with the flocks.

\VS{25}(31:24) For I have satiated the weary soul, and every grieving soul have I gratified.

\VS{26}(31:25) For this did I awake, and looked about, and my sleep was sweet unto me.

\VS{27}(31:26) Behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man; and with the seed of cattle.

\VS{28}(31:27) And it shall come to pass, that just as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to overthrow, and to destroy, and to do harm: so will I watch over them, to build up, and to plant, saith the Lord.

\VS{29}(31:28) In those days shall they not say any more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge;

\VS{30}(31:29) But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grapes—his teeth shall be set on edge.

\VS{31}(31:30) Behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will make with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, a new covenant;

\VS{32}(31:31) Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day that I took hold of them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they have broken, although I was become their husband, saith the Lord;

\VS{33}(31:32) But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, saith the Lord, I place my law in their inward parts, and upon their heart will I write it; and I will be unto them for a God, and they shall be unto me for a people.

\VS{34}(31:33) And they shall not teach any more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they all shall know me, from the least of them even unto their greatest, saith the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I not remember any more.

\VS{35}(31:34) Thus hath said the Lord, who bestoweth the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirreth up the sea that its waves roar—The Lord of hosts is his name:

\VS{36}(31:35) If these ordinances ever depart from before me, saith the Lord, then also shall the seed of Israel cease from being a nation before me during all time.

\VS{37}(31:36) Thus hath said the Lord, If the heavens can be measured above, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath: then also will I reject all the seed of Israel, for all that they have done, saith the Lord.

\VS{38}(31:37) Behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when the city shall be built up to the Lord from the tower of Chananel unto the corner-gate.

\VS{39}(31:38) And the measuring-line shall yet again go forth opposite it over the hill Gareb, and shall take a turn to Go'ath.

\VS{40}(31:39) And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all fields as far as the brook Kidron, unto the corner of the horse-gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the Lord: it shall not be plucked up, nor overthrown any more to eternity.



\par }\Chap{32}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah the king of Judah, which is the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.

\VS{2}And at that time the king of Babylon's army was besieging Jerusalem; and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the house of the king of Judah;

\VS{3}Because Zedekiah the king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore art thou prophesying, saying, Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will give up this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it.

\VS{4}And Zedekiah the king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, because he shall surely be given up into the hand of the king of Babylon, and his mouth shall speak to his mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;

\VS{5}And to Babylon shall he lead Zedekiah, and there shall he remain until I think of him, saith the Lord: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.

\VS{6}And Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

\VS{7}Behold, Chanamel the son of Shallum thy uncle is coming unto thee, saying, Buy for thyself my field that is in 'Anathoth; for unto thee belongeth the right of redemption to buy it.

\VS{8}And there came to me Chanamel my uncle's son according to the word of the Lord into the court of the prison, and he said unto me, Buy, I pray thee, my field, that is in 'Anathoth, which is in the land of Benjamin; for to thee belongeth the right of inheritance, and to thee belongeth the redemption, buy it for thyself: then did I know that it was the word of the Lord.

\VS{9}And I bought the field from Chanamel my uncle's son, that is in 'Anathoth; and I weighed out unto him the money, seven shekels, and ten pieces of silver.

\VS{10}And I wrote it in a deed, and sealed it, and had it certified by witnesses, and weighed the money in balances.

\VS{11}And I took the deed of the purchase, both that which was sealed, according to the law and custom, and that which was open;

\VS{12}And I gave the deed of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriyah, the son of Machseyah, before the eyes of Chanamel my kinsman, and before the eyes of the witnesses that had signed the deed of the purchase, before the eyes of all the Jews that were sitting in the court of the prison.

\VS{13}And I charged Baruch before their eyes, saying,

\VS{14}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Take these deeds, this deed of the purchase, both the sealed, and this open deed, and place them in an earthen vessel, in order that they may last many days.

\VS{15}For thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Yet again shall there be bought houses and fields and vineyards in this land.

\VS{16}And I prayed to the Lord after I had delivered the deed of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriyah, saying,

\VS{17}Ah Lord Eternal! behold, it is thou that hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and by thy outstretched arm; nothing is too wonderful for thee;

\VS{18}Thou exercisest kindness unto the thousandth [generation], and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers unto the bosom of their children after them; [thou art] the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts is his name;

\VS{19}Great in counsel, and mighty in execution: [thou] whose eyes are open over all the ways of the sons of man, to give unto every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings;

\VS{20}Who hast displayed signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, up to this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and thou hast made thyself a name, as it is at this day;

\VS{21}And thou didst bring forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with great terror;

\VS{22}And thou gavest them this land, which thou hadst sworn to their fathers to give unto them, a land flowing with milk and honey;

\VS{23}And they came in, and took possession of it; but they hearkened not to thy voice, and in thy law they did not walk; all that thou hadst commanded them to do they did not do: and thou hast therefore caused all this evil to befall them.

\VS{24}Behold the mounds reach unto the city to capture it; and the city is given up into the hand of the Chaldeans, who fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it.

\VS{25}And yet thou hast said unto me, O Lord Eternal, Buy for thyself the field for money, and have it certified by witnesses: while the city is given up into the hand of the Chaldeans.

\VS{26}Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying,

\VS{27}Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: shall any thing be too wonderful for me?

\VS{28}Therefore thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will give up this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it:

\VS{29}And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set this city on fire, and burn it, with the houses upon the roofs of which they have offered incense unto Ba'al, and have poured out drink-offerings unto other gods, in order to provoke me to anger;

\VS{30}For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have been doing only what is evil in my eyes from their youth; for the children of Israel have been only provoking me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the Lord.

\VS{31}For to excite my anger and my fury hath been unto me this city from the day that they built it, even until this day; so that I will remove it from before my presence:

\VS{32}Because of all the wickedness of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

\VS{33}And they turned unto me the back, and not the face: though [my prophets] taught them, rising up early and teaching; yet they hearkened not to receive instruction.

\VS{34}But they placed their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it.

\VS{35}And they built the high-places of Ba'al, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through [the fire] unto Molech; which I had not commanded them, and which had not come into my mind, to practise this abomination, in order to mislead Judah to sin.

\VS{36}But now, therefore, thus hath said the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, it is given up into the hand of the king of Babylon through the sword, and through the famine, and through the pestilence:

\VS{37}Behold, I will gather them out of all the countries, whither I have driven them in my anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them back again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell in safety;

\VS{38}And they shall be unto me for a people, and I will be unto them for a God:

\VS{39}And I will give them one heart, and one manner, to fear me at all times, that it may be well with them, and with their children after them;

\VS{40}And I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good on my part; and my fear will I place in their heart, so that they may not depart from me.

\VS{41}And I will be glad over them to do them good; and I will plant them in this land in truth, with all my heart and with all my soul.

\VS{42}For thus hath said the Lord, Just as I have brought upon this people all this great evil, so will I bring upon them all the good that I speak concerning them.

\VS{43}And the field shall yet be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast, it is given up into the hand of the Chaldeans.

\VS{44}Men shall buy fields for money, and write it in deeds, and seal it, and certify it by witnesses, in the land of Benjamin, and in the environs of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountain, and in the cities of the lowlands, and in the cities of the south; for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the Lord.



\par }\Chap{33}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying,

\VS{2}Thus hath said the Lord who doth this, the Lord that formeth it, to establish it: the Eternal is his name;

\VS{3}Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and I will tell thee great and unheard of things, which thou knowest not.

\VS{4}For thus hath said the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by means of the mounds, and by means of the sword;

\VS{5}As they come to fight with the Chaldeans, but only to fill those with the corpses of the men whom I slay in my anger and in my fury, and for all whose wickedness I have hidden my face from this city:

\VS{6}Behold, I will bring it healing and cure, and I will cure them, and I will display unto them the abundance of peace and truth.

\VS{7}And I will cause to return the captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel, and I will build them up, as at the first.

\VS{8}And I will cleanse them from all their guiltiness, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned toward me, and whereby they have transgressed against me.

\VS{9}And it shall be to me for a name of gladness, a praise and an honor with all the nations of the earth, who will hear all the good that I am doing unto them: and they shall dread and tremble because of all the good and because of all the happiness that I prepare unto it.

\VS{10}Thus hath said the Lord, Yet again shall there be heard in this place, of which ye say, “It is ruined, without man and without beast” [[[even] in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, that are desolate, without man, and without inhabitant, and without beast,]]

\VS{11}The voice of gladness, and the voice of joy, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of those that say, “Give thanks unto the Lord of hosts; for the Lord is good; because to eternity endureth his kindness:” of those that bring thanksgiving-offering unto the house of the Lord. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the Lord.

\VS{12}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Yet again shall there be in this place, which is ruined, without man and even without beast, and in all its cities, a habitation of shepherds who cause their flocks to lie down.

\VS{13}In the cities of the mountain, in the cities of the lowlands, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the environs of Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks yet pass again under the hands of him that counteth them, saith the Lord.

\VS{14}Behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will fulfill that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and respecting the house of Judah.

\VS{15}In those days, and at that time, will I cause to grow up unto David the sprout of righteousness: and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.

\VS{16}In those days shall Judah be helped, and Jerusalem shall dwell in safety: and this is what she shall be called, The Lord is our righteousness.

\VS{17}For thus hath said the Lord, There shall never be wanting unto David a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;

\VS{18}And unto the priests the Levites there shall not be wanting a man before me, to offer burnt-offerings, and to burn meat-offerings, and to prepare sacrifices at all times.

\VS{19}And the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying,

\VS{20}Thus hath said the Lord, If ye can break my covenant with the day, and my covenant with the night, and so, that there be not day and night in their season:

\VS{21}Then also shall my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne; and [that] with the Levites the priests, my ministers.

\VS{22}As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, and the sand of the sea not be measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.

\VS{23}And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying,

\VS{24}Hast thou not observed what this people have spoken, saying, The two families which the Lord hath made choice of, even these hath he rejected: and they [thus] have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.

\VS{25}Thus hath said the Lord, If my covenant be not with day and night, if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth:

\VS{26}Then also will I reject the seed of Jacob, and David my servant, so as not to take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them.



\par }\Chap{34}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, when Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the country ruled by his power, and all the people, fought against Jerusalem, and against all its cities, saying,

\VS{2}Thus hath said the Lord, the God of Israel, Go and speak to Zedekiah the king of Judah, and say to him, Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will give up this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, that he may burn it with fire:

\VS{3}And thou thyself shalt not escape out of his hand; but thou shalt surely be caught, and be delivered into his hand; and thy eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and his mouth shall speak with thy mouth, and to Babylon shalt thou go.

\VS{4}Yet hear the word of the Lord, O Zedekiah king of Judah, Thus hath said the Lord respecting thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword:

\VS{5}In peace shalt thou die; and as burnings were made for thy fathers, the former kings who were before thee, so shall they make burnings for thee; and “Ah lord” shall they lament for thee; for I have spoken the word, saith the Lord.

\VS{6}And Jeremiah the prophet spoke unto Zedekiah the king of Judah all these words in Jerusalem,

\VS{7}When the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish, and against 'Azekah; for these had been left of the cities of Judah as fortified cities.

\VS{8}The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, after king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem, to proclaim among themselves freedom;

\VS{9}That every man should dismiss his man-servant, and every man his maid-servant, being a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, free; so that no man among them should exact labor of a Jew, his brother.

\VS{10}And all the princes had hearkened, with all the people, who had entered into the covenant, that every one should dismiss his man-servant, and every one his maid-servant, free, that no one should exact labor of them any more: and they had obeyed, and dismissed them.

\VS{11}But they had turned afterward, and they had brought back the men-servants and the maid-servants whom they had dismissed as free, and had subjected them to become men-servants and maid-servants.

\VS{12}And the word of the Lord [then] came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

\VS{13}Thus hath said the Lord, the God of Israel,—I myself made a covenant with your fathers on the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying,

\VS{14}At the end of seven years shall ye dismiss every man his brother the Hebrew, who may have been sold unto thee; and when he hath served thee six years, then shalt thou dismiss him from thee; but your fathers hearkened not unto me, and inclined not their ear.

\VS{15}And ye had turned this day, and done what is right in my eyes, to proclaim freedom every man to his neighbor; and ye had made a covenant before me in the house over which my name is called;

\VS{16}But ye have turned again, and profaned my name, and ye have brought back every man his man-servant, and every man his woman-servant, whom ye had dismissed as free at their pleasure, and have subjected them to be unto you for men-servants and for women-servants.

\VS{17}Therefore thus hath said the Lord, Ye indeed have not hearkened unto me, to proclaim freedom, every one to his brother, and every one to his neighbor: behold, I proclaim a freedom over you, saith the Lord, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you a horror unto all the kingdoms of the earth.

\VS{18}And I will give up the men that have transgressed my covenant, who have not fulfilled the words of the covenant which they had made before me, at the calf which they cut in twain, and between the parts whereof they passed,

\VS{19}The princes of Judah, and the princes of Jerusalem, the court-servants, and the priests, and all the people of the land, who have passed between the parts of the calf;

\VS{20}[Yea] I will give them up into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life; and their dead bodies shall become food unto the fowls of the heavens, and to the beasts of the earth.

\VS{21}And Zedekiah the king of Judah and his princes will I give up into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those that seek their life, and into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, that are [now] gone away from you.

\VS{22}Behold, I will command, speaketh the Lord, and I will bring them back to this city; and they shall fight against it, and capture it, and burn it with fire: and the cities of Judah will I make a desert without an inhabitant.



\par }\Chap{35}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, [in] the days of Jehoyakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah, saying,

\VS{2}Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak with them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and offer them wine to drink.

\VS{3}Then I took Yaazanyah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Chabazzinyah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites;

\VS{4}And I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Chanan, the son of Yigdalyahu, the man of God, which was alongside of the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Ma'aseyahu the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door:

\VS{5}And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites goblets full of wine, and cups; and I said unto them, Drink wine.

\VS{6}But they said, We will not drink wine; for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father hath laid a charge on us, saying, Ye shall not drink wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever;

\VS{7}Nor shall ye build any house, nor sow seed, nor plant a vineyard, nor have [any such]; but in tents shall ye dwell all your days, in order that ye may live many days on the face of the land where ye may sojourn.

\VS{8}And we have hearkened unto the voice of Jehonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, not to drink any wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters;

\VS{9}And not to build houses for our dwelling: and we never had any vineyard, or field, or seed;

\VS{10}But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done in accordance with all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

\VS{11}But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go into Jerusalem because of the army of the Chaldeans, and because of the army of the Syrians; and so we dwell at Jerusalem.

\VS{12}Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying,

\VS{13}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Go and say to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the Lord.

\VS{14}Fulfilled are the words of Jehonadab the son of Rechab, that he hath commanded his sons not to drink wine: and they have not drunk any even unto this day; because they have obeyed the commandment of their father; but I, I have spoken unto you, early in the day and speaking; but ye have not hearkened unto me.

\VS{15}And I have sent unto you all my servants the prophets, making them rise up early and sending them, saying, Do but return every man from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and go not after other gods to serve them: and so shall ye remain in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers; but ye have not inclined your ear, and have not hearkened unto me.

\VS{16}Because the sons of Jehonadab the son of Rechab have fulfilled the commandment of their father, which he hath commanded them; but as this people have not hearkened unto me:

\VS{17}Therefore thus hath said the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have spoken concerning them; because I spoke unto them, but they would not hear; and I called unto them, but they would not answer.

\VS{18}And unto the house of the Rechabites said Jeremiah, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Whereas ye have hearkened to the charge of Jonadab your father, and have kept all his commandments, and have done in accordance with all that he hath commanded you:

\VS{19}Therefore thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, There shall not be wanting unto Jehonadab the son of Rechab a man to stand before me at all times.



\par }\Chap{36}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoyakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

\VS{2}Take thee a roll-book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day that I spoke unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even until this day.

\VS{3}Peradventure it be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them: in order that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.

\VS{4}Then did Jeremiah call Baruch the son of Neriyah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll-book.

\VS{5}And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I am not able to enter into the house of the Lord:

\VS{6}Therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the Lord before the ears of the people in the house of the Lord on the fast-day; and also before the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities shalt thou read them.

\VS{7}Perhaps it may be that they will humbly present their supplication before the Lord, and will return every one from his evil way; for great are the anger and the fury that the Lord hath decreed against this people.

\VS{8}And Baruch the son of Neriyah did in accordance with all that Jeremiah the prophet had commanded him, to read in the book the words of the Lord in the house of the Lord.

\VS{9}And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoyakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the Lord for all the people in Jerusalem, and for all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem.

\VS{10}And Baruch read in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemaryahu the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court, at the entrance of the new gate of the Lord's house, before the ears of all the people.

\VS{11}And when Michayhu the son of Gemaryahu, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord out of the book:

\VS{12}He went down into the king's house, into the scribe's chamber; and, lo, all the princes were sitting there, even Elishama' the scribe, and Delayahu the son of Shema'yahu, and Elnathan the son of 'Achbor, and Gemaryahu the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Chananyahu, and all the princes.

\VS{13}And Michayhu told unto them all the words which he had heard, when Baruch read in the book before the ears of the people.

\VS{14}Thereupon sent all the princes Jehudi the son of Nethanyahu, the son of Shelemyahu, the son of Cushi, unto Baruch, saying, The roll wherein thou hast read before the ears of the people,—this take in thy hand, and come. So Baruch the son of Neriyahu took the roll in his hand, and came unto them.

\VS{15}And they said unto him, Sit down, we pray thee, and read it before our ears. So Baruch read it before their ears.

\VS{16}Now it came to pass, when they heard all the words, they looked terrified at each other, and they said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words.

\VS{17}And they asked Baruch, saying, Do tell us, How didst thou write down all these words from his mouth?

\VS{18}Then said Baruch unto them, With his mouth did he utter clearly all these words unto me, and I wrote them in the book with ink.

\VS{19}Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thyself, thou with Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye are.

\VS{20}And they went in to the king into the court, but the roll they had put in safe keeping in the chamber of Elishama' the scribe; and they told before the ears of the king all the words.

\VS{21}But the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll; and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama' the scribe. And Jehudi read it before the ears of the king, and before the ears of all the princes who stood around the king.

\VS{22}Now the king was sitting in the winter-house in the ninth month: and a pan of coals was burning before him.

\VS{23}And it came to pass, when Jehudi had read three or four pages, that he cut it with the writer's knife, and cast it into the fire that was in the coal-pan, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was in the coal-pan.

\VS{24}Yet they were not terrified, nor did they rend their garments, either the king, or any of his servants that had heard all these words.

\VS{25}And although Elnathan and Delayahu and Gemaryahu had also made intercession with the king that he might not burn the roll, he would not listen to them.

\VS{26}And the king commanded Yerachmeel the son of the king, and Serayahu the son of 'Azriel, and Shelemyahu the son of 'Abdeel, to seize on Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but the Lord hid them.

\VS{27}Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah, after the king had burnt the roll, and the words which Baruch had written down from the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,

\VS{28}Take thee again another roll, and write on it all the former words that have been on the first roll, which Jehoyakim the king of Judah hath burnt.

\VS{29}And concerning Jehoyakim the king of Judah shalt thou say, Thus hath said the Lord, Thou hast indeed burnt this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease therefrom man and beast!

\VS{30}Therefore thus hath said the Lord concerning Jehoyakim the king of Judah, He shall have no one to sit upon the throne of David; and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat in the day, and to the cold in the night.

\VS{31}And I will visit on him and on his seed and on his servants their iniquity; and I will bring over them, and over the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and against the men of Judah, all the evil that I have spoken against them, while they did not hearken.

\VS{32}And Jeremiah took another roll, and gave it to Baruch the son of Neriyahu the scribe; who wrote thereon from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoyakim the king of Judah had burnt in the fire: and there were yet added unto them many words like them.



\par }\Chap{37}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned as king in the place of Conyahu the son of Jehoyakim, whom Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah.

\VS{2}But neither he, nor his servants, nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the Lord, which he had spoken by means of Jeremiah the prophet.

\VS{3}And king Zedekiah sent Jehuchal the son of Shelemyah and Zephanyahu the son of Ma'asseyah the priest unto Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Pray now in our behalf unto the Lord our God.

\VS{4}Now Jeremiah came and went out among the people; and they put him not into the prison-house.

\VS{5}But the army of Pharaoh was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard the report of them, they withdrew from Jerusalem.

\VS{6}Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah the prophet, saying,

\VS{7}Thus hath said the Lord, the God of Israel, Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that hath sent you unto me to inquire of me, Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, returneth into its own land to Egypt.

\VS{8}But the Chaldeans will come again, and fight against this city, and capture it, and burn it with fire.

\VS{9}Thus hath said the Lord, Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans will certainly go away from us; for they will not go away.

\VS{10}For if even ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight against you, and there remained among them [only such] men as are pierced through: yet should they rise up, every man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.

\VS{11}And it came to pass, when the army of the Chaldeans had withdrawn from Jerusalem because of the army of Pharaoh,

\VS{12}That Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin, to make his escape thence in the midst of the people.

\VS{13}But as he was in the gate of Benjamin, there was there a captain of the guardsmen, whose name was Yiriyah, the son of Shelemyah, the son of Chananyah; and he seized hold of Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou runnest away to the Chaldeans.

\VS{14}But Jeremiah said, It is false; I am not running away to the Chaldeans. But he listened not to him; and Yiriyah seized hold of Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes.

\VS{15}Thereupon were the princes wroth with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for that had they made into a prison-house.

\VS{16}When Jeremiah had been placed in the dungeon, within the traders' shops, where Jeremiah remained many days:

\VS{17}King Zedekiah sent, and had him taken out, and the king asked him in his house in secret, and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” And Jeremiah said, “There is:” and he said, Into the hand of the king of Babylon shalt thou be given up.

\VS{18}And Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What have I sinned against thee, and against thy servants, and against this people, that ye have put me into the prison-house?

\VS{19}And where are now your prophets who have prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon will not come against you, and against this land?

\VS{20}Yet now, do but hear, I pray thee, O my lord the king: let me offer my humble supplication, I pray thee, before thee, that thou wilt not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.

\VS{21}Then commanded king Zedekiah that they should put Jeremiah in ward in the court of the prison, and that they should give him a loaf of bread for every day out of the bakers' street, until all the bread was spent out of the city. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.



\par }\Chap{38}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And Shephatyah the son of Matthan, and Gedalyahu the son of Pashchur, and Juchal the son of Shelemyahu, and Pashchur the son of Malkiyah, heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking unto all the people, saying,

\VS{2}Thus hath said the Lord, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; and he shall have his life as a booty, and shall live.

\VS{3}Thus hath said the Lord, This city shall surely be given up into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall capture it.

\VS{4}Thereupon said the princes unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death; for the cause that he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that are yet left in this city, and the hands of all the people, by speaking such words unto them; for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but their hurt.

\VS{5}Then said king Zedekiah, Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not able to do any thing against you.

\VS{6}Then did they take Jeremiah, and cast him into the pit of Malkiyahu the son of the king, that was in the court of the prison: and they let Jeremiah down with cords; but in the pit there was no water, but mire; so that Jeremiah sunk into the mire.

\VS{7}Now when 'Ebed-melech the Cushi, a eunuch who was in the king's house, heard that they had placed Jeremiah into the pit; while the king was sitting in the gate of Benjamin:

\VS{8}'Ebed-melech went forth out of the king's house, and spoke to the king, saying,

\VS{9}My lord, O king, these men have done wrong in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the pit; and he would have had to die [as it is] in the place where he was for hunger; for there is no more bread in the city.

\VS{10}The king then commanded 'Ebed-melech the Cushi, saying, Take with thee from here thirty men, and bring up Jeremiah the prophet out of the pit, before he die.

\VS{11}So 'Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence cast-off clothes and old rags, and let them down into the pit to Jeremiah by cords.

\VS{12}And Ebed-melech the Cushi said unto Jeremiah, Put, I pray, these cast-off clothes and old rags under thy arm-pits beneath the cords. And Jeremiah did so.

\VS{13}So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and brought him up out of the pit: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.

\VS{14}Then sent king Zedekiah, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that was in the house of the Lord; and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee something: conceal nothing from me.

\VS{15}Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, If I should tell it unto thee, behold, thou wilt surely put me to death; and if I should give thee counsel, thou wilt not hearken unto me.

\VS{16}So king Zedekiah swore unto Jeremiah secretly, saying, As the Lord liveth, who hath made for us this soul, I will not put thee to death, nor will I give thee up into the hand of these men that seek thy life.

\VS{17}Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus hath said the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, If thou wilt indeed go forth unto the princes of the king of Babylon, then shall thy soul live, and this city shall not be burnt with fire; and thou shalt live, thou with thy household;

\VS{18}But if thou wilt not go forth to the princes of the king of Babylon, then shall this city be given up into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou thyself shalt not escape out of their hand.

\VS{19}Then said king Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, I am in dread of the Jews that have run away to the Chaldeans, lest these deliver me into their hand, and they might ill-use me.

\VS{20}But Jeremiah said, They will not give [thee] up. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, in that which I speak unto thee; so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul shall live.

\VS{21}But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the Lord hath shown me:

\VS{22}And behold, all the women that are left in the house of the king of Judah shall be led forth to the princes of the king of Babylon; and these women shall say, “They have enticed, and have overpersuaded thee—thy men that should have sought thy welfare; thy feet are [now] sunk in the mire, and they have withdrawn themselves backward.”

\VS{23}And all thy wives and thy children shall they bring out to the Chaldeans; and thou thyself shalt not escape out of their hand; for by the hand of the king of Babylon shalt thou be caught; and this city wilt thou cause to be burnt with fire.

\VS{24}Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, that thou mayest not die.

\VS{25}And if the princes should hear that I have spoken with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee, tell us, we pray thee, what thou hast spoken unto the king, conceal it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king hath spoken unto thee:

\VS{26}Then shalt thou say unto them, I presented my humble supplication before the king, that he would not send me back to the house of Jonathan, to die there.

\VS{27}And all the princes came unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them in accordance with all these words that the king had commanded. And they turned away silent from him; for the matter had not been made public.

\VS{28}And Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was taken. And it came to pass when Jerusalem was captured,



\par }\Chap{39}{\PP \VerseOne{1}In the ninth year of Zedekiah the king of Judah, in the tenth month, that Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it.

\VS{2}[And] in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, was the city broken in.

\VS{3}And then came all the princes of the king of Babylon, and sat down in the middle gate; [namely,] Neregal-sharezer, Samgar-nebu, Sarsechim, the chief of the eunuchs, Neregal-sharezer, the chief of the magi, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon.

\VS{4}And it came to pass when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, that they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's garden, by the gate between the two walls: and he went out by the way of the plain.

\VS{5}But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them, and they overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and they took him, and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Chamath: and he called him to account.

\VS{6}And the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes; also all the nobles of Judah did the king of Babylon slaughter.

\VS{7}And the eyes of Zedekiah did he blind; and he bound him with brazen fetters, to carry him to Babylon.

\VS{8}And the house of the king, and the houses of the people did the Chaldeans burn with fire, and the walls of Jerusalem did they pull down.

\VS{9}And the rest of the people that remained in the city, and those who had run away that had run away to him, with the rest of the people that remained, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry off into exile to Babylon.

\VS{10}But of the poorest of the people, who had nothing, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard leave some in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and arable fields at the same time.

\VS{11}And Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah through means of Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying,

\VS{12}Take him, and direct thy eyes to him, and do him not the least harm; but as he may speak unto thee, even so do thou with him.

\VS{13}Then sent Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, and Nebushazban, the chief of the eunuchs, and Neregal-sharezer, the chief of the magi, and all the chiefs of the king of Babylon,—

\VS{14}Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and they committed him unto Gedalyahu the son of Achikam the son of Shaphan, to carry him home: and he remained in the midst of the people.

\VS{15}But unto Jeremiah was come the word of the Lord while he was shut up in the court of the prison, saying,

\VS{16}Go and say to 'Ebed-melech the Cushi as followeth, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring my words [to fulfillment] against this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall be accomplished before thee on that day.

\VS{17}But I will deliver thee on that day, saith the Lord; and thou shalt not be given up into the hand of the men of whom thou hast dread.

\VS{18}For I will surely let thee escape, and thou shalt not fall by the sword; but thy life shall be unto thee as a booty; because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the Lord.



\par }\Chap{40}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The word that came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, after Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had dismissed him from Ramah, when he had taken him as he was bound in chains in the midst of all the exiles of Jerusalem and Judah, who were carried away into exile unto Babylon.

\VS{2}Then took the captain of the guard Jeremiah, and said unto him, The Lord thy God had spoken this evil over this place;

\VS{3}Now the Lord hath brought it [to fulfillment], and hath done according as he had spoken; because ye had sinned against the Lord, and had not hearkened to his voice; and therefore is this thing come upon you.

\VS{4}And now, behold, I have freed thee this day from the chains which were upon thy hand. If it seem good in thy eyes to come with me to Babylon, come, and I will direct my eye unto thee; but if it seem ill in thy eyes to come with me to Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land is before thee; whither it seemeth good and proper in thy eyes to go, thither go.

\VS{5}And as he did not yet turn about, [he said,] Go then back to Gedalyah the son of Achikam the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath appointed governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him in the midst of the people; or wheresoever it seemeth proper in thy eyes to go, go. And the captain of the guard gave him an allowance and a present, and then dismissed him.

\VS{6}So did Jeremiah come unto Gedalyah the son of Achikam to Mizpah; and he dwelt with him in the midst of the people that had been left in the land.

\VS{7}Now when all the captains of the armies who were in the field, they and their men, heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedalyahu the son of Achikam governor over the land, and that he had entrusted unto him men, and women, and children, and these of the poorest of the land, of those that had not been carried away into exile to Babylon:

\VS{8}Then came they to Gedalyah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the son of Nethanyahu, and Jochanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareach, and Serayah the son of Tanchumeth, and the sons of 'Ephai the Netophathite, and Yezanyahu the son of a Ma'achathite, they and their men.

\VS{9}And Gedalyahu the son of Achikam the son of Shaphan swore unto them and unto their men, saying, Have no fear to serve the Chaldeans: remain in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be well with you.

\VS{10}As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah, to stand before the Chaldeans, who will come unto us; but ye, gather ye together wine, and summer-fruits, and oil, and put them in your vessels, and dwell in your cities of which ye have taken possession.

\VS{11}And so likewise all the Jews that were in Moab, and among the children of 'Ammon, and in Edom, and that were in all the countries, heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant unto Judah, and that he had appointed over them Gedalyahu the son of Achikam the son of Shaphan;

\VS{12}And then did all the Jews return out of all places whither they had been driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedalyahu, unto Mizpah, and gathered together wine and summer-fruits in very great abundance.

\VS{13}And Jochanan the son of Kareach, and all the captains of the armies that were in the field, came to Gedalyahu to Mizpah,

\VS{14}And they said unto him, Dost thou at all know that Ba'alis the king of the children of 'Ammon hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethanyah to deprive thee of life? But Gedalyahu the son of Achikam believed them not.

\VS{15}And Jochanan the son of Kareach said to Gedalyahu secretly in Mizpah, as followeth, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethanyah, and no man shall know of it: wherefore should he deprive thee of life, whereby all the Jews who are gathered unto thee would be scattered, and the remnant of Judah be lost?

\VS{16}But Gedalyahu the son of Achikam said unto Jochanan the son of Kareach, Thou shalt not do this thing; for thou speakest a falsehood concerning Ishmael.



\par }\Chap{41}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Now it came to pass in the seventh month, that Ishmael the son of Nethanyah the son of Elishama', of the royal seed, and the chiefs of the king, even ten men with him, came unto Gedalyahu the son of Achikam to Mizpah; and they ate there bread together in Mizpah.

\VS{2}Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethanyah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedalyahu the son of Achikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and put to death him, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor over the land.

\VS{3}And all the Jews that were with him, even with Gedalyahu, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, even the men of war, did Ishmael slay.

\VS{4}And it came to pass on the second day after he had put Gedalyahu to death, while no man knew of it,

\VS{5}That there came certain men from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, eighty men [in all], having their beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with meat-offerings and frankincense in their hand, to bring the same to the house of the Lord.

\VS{6}And Ishmael the son of Nethanyah went forth from Mizpah to meet them, going along and weeping: and it came to pass as he met them, that he said unto them, Come to Gedalyahu the son of Achikam.

\VS{7}And it happened, as they entered into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethanyah slaughtered them, [and cast them] into the midst of the cistern, he, and the men that were with him.

\VS{8}But ten men were found among them that said unto Ishmael, Slay us not; for we have some things hidden in the field, [such as] wheat, and barley, and oil, and honey. So he forbore, and slew them not in the midst of their brethren.

\VS{9}And the cistern wherein Ishmael cast all the corpses of the men, whom he had slain in company with Gedalyahu, is the same which king Assa had made on account of Ba'sha the king of Israel: this did Ishmael the son of Nethanyah fill with slain persons.

\VS{10}Then did Ishmael carry away captive all the residue of the people that were in Mizpah, the king's daughters, and all the people that were remaining in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had entrusted to Gedalyahu the son of Achikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethanyah carried them away captive, and went off to pass over to the children of Ammon.

\VS{11}But when Jochanan the son of Kareach, and all the captains of the armies that were with him, heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethanyah had done:

\VS{12}Then did they take all the men, and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethanyah, and found him by the great water[-pool] that is near Gib'on.

\VS{13}And it came to pass, when all the people who were with Ishmael saw Jochanan the son of Kareach, and all the captains of the armies that were with him, that they were rejoiced.

\VS{14}And all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah turned about and returned, and went unto Jochanan the son of Kareach.

\VS{15}But Ishmael the son of Nethanyah escaped with eight men from the presence of Jochanan, and he went to the children of 'Ammon.

\VS{16}Then took Jochanan the son of Kareach, and all the captains of the armies that were with him, all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethanyah, from Mizpah, after he had slain Gedalyah the son of Achikam, the adult males, the men of war, and the women, and the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gib'on;

\VS{17}And they went, and remained in Geruth-Kimham, which is by Beth-lechem, to go to enter into Egypt,

\VS{18}Because of the Chaldeans; for they were afraid of them; because Ishmael the son of Nethanyah had slain Gedalyahu the son of Achikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed governor over the land.



\par }\Chap{42}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Then came near all the captains of the armies, and Jochanan the son of Kareach, and Yezanyah the son of Hosha'yah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest,

\VS{2}And said unto Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our humble supplication be accepted before thee, and pray in our behalf unto the Lord thy God, in behalf of all this remnant; [for we are left but a few of many, as thy own eyes do see us:]

\VS{3}That the Lord thy God may tell us the way whereon we should walk, and the thing that we should do.

\VS{4}Then said Jeremiah the prophet unto them, I have heard you: behold, I will pray unto the Lord your God according to your words; and it shall come to pass, that whatsoever thing the Lord will answer you, I will tell unto you; I will withhold not a word from you.

\VS{5}But they said to Jeremiah, May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us, if we do not act entirely according to all the word with which the Lord thy God may send thee to us:

\VS{6}Whether it be good, or whether it be evil, we will hearken to the voice of the Lord our God, to whom we send thee; in order that it may be well with us, when we hearken to the voice of the Lord our God.

\VS{7}And it came to pass at the end of ten days, that the word of the Lord came unto Jeremiah.

\VS{8}Then called he Jochanan the son of Kareach, and all the captains of the armies who were with him, and all the people from the least even to the greatest,

\VS{9}And he said unto them, Thus hath said the Lord, the God of Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your humble supplication before him:

\VS{10}If ye will indeed remain in this land, then will I build you up, and I will not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I have bethought me of the evil that I have done unto you.

\VS{11}Be ye not afraid because of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid: have no fear of him, saith the Lord; for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you out of his hand.

\VS{12}And I will give unto you mercy, that he may have mercy upon you, and let you return to your own land.

\VS{13}But if ye say, We will not remain in this land, so as not to hearken to the voice of the Lord your God,

\VS{14}Saying, No; but into the land of Egypt will we go, that we may not see war, nor hear the sound of the cornet, and that we may not have hunger for bread; and there will we dwell;

\VS{15}And now therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Judah, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, If ye will indeed set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go thither to sojourn there:

\VS{16}Then shall the sword, of which ye are afraid, there overtake you in the land of Egypt; and the famine, whereof ye are in dread, shall there cleave close unto you in Egypt; and there shall ye die.

\VS{17}So shall be all the men that have set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there,—they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; and they shall have none that remaineth or escapeth from the evil that I am bringing over them.

\VS{18}For thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, As my anger and my fury were poured forth over the inhabitants of Jerusalem: so shall my fury be poured forth over you, when ye enter into Egypt; and ye shall become an oath, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a disgrace; and ye shall never see this place again.

\VS{19}The Lord hath spoken concerning you, O ye remnant of Judah, “Ye shall not go into Egypt:” ye must know for certain that I have warned you this day.

\VS{20}For ye have dissembled in regard to what your intentions are; for ye sent me unto the Lord your God, saying, Pray in our behalf unto the Lord our God: and in accordance with all that the Lord our God may say, so tell unto us, and we will do it.

\VS{21}And I have told it to you this day; but ye have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord your God, and this in all with which he hath sent me unto you.

\VS{22}But now know for certain that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place whither ye desire to go to sojourn there.



\par }\Chap{43}{\PP \VerseOne{1}And it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto the whole people all the words of the Lord their God, with which the Lord their God had sent him to them, [namely,] all these words,

\VS{2}That then spoke 'Azaryah the son of Hosha'yah, and Jochanan the son of Kareach, and all the presumptuous men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the Lord our God hath not sent thee to say, Ye shall not go into Egypt to sojourn there;

\VS{3}But Baruch the son of Neriyah setteth thee on against us, in order to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may put us to death, or carry us away as exiles to Babylon.

\VS{4}So Jochanan the son of Kareach, and all the captains of the armies, and all the people, hearkened not to the voice of the Lord, to remain in the land of Judah.

\VS{5}But Jochanan the son of Kareach, and all the captains of the armies, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all the nations, whither they had been driven, to sojourn in the land of Judah;

\VS{6}The men, and the women, and the children, and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had left with Gedalyahu the son of Achikam the son of Shaphan; and Jeremiah the prophet, and Baruch the son of Neriyah;

\VS{7}And they entered into the land of Egypt; for they hearkened not to the voice of the Lord; and they came as far as Thachpanches.

\VS{8}Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah in Thachpanches, saying,

\VS{9}Take great stones in thy hand, and hide them in the mortar in the brick-kiln which is at the entrance of Pharaoh's house in Thachpanches, before the eyes of the Jewish men;

\VS{10}And thou shalt say unto them, Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will send for and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will set his throne above these stones that I have hidden; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them.

\VS{11}And he shall come and smite the land of Egypt: such as are destined for death shall be given to death; and such as are destined for captivity, to captivity; and such as are destined for the sword, to the sword.

\VS{12}And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt, and he shall burn them, and carry them away captive: and he shall wrap around him the land of Egypt, as a shepherd wrappeth his garment around him; and he shall go forth from there in peace.

\VS{13}And he shall break the statues of Bethshemesh, which is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.



\par }\Chap{44}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The word that came to Jeremiah for all the Jews who dwell in the land of Egypt, who dwell at Migdol, and at Thachpanches, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying,

\VS{2}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, You yourselves have seen all the evil that I have brought over Jerusalem, and over all the cities of Judah; and, behold, they are ruins this day, and no man is dwelling in them;

\VS{3}Because of their wickedness which they had committed to provoke me to anger, by going to burn incense, to serve other gods, whom they did not know, either they, you, or your fathers.

\VS{4}And I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, making them rise early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not commit this abominable thing which I hate.

\VS{5}But they hearkened not, and inclined not their ear to turn away from their wickedness, so as not to burn incense unto other gods.

\VS{6}Whereupon my fury and my anger were poured forth, and were enkindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: and they are become ruins, a desert, as at this day.

\VS{7}And now thus hath said the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, Wherefore do ye commit so great an evil against your souls, so as to cut off unto you man and woman, child and suckling, out of the midst of Judah, so as not to leave you any remainder,

\VS{8}By provoking me unto wrath with the works of your hands, in burning incense unto other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye are come to sojourn there, in order to cut yourselves off, and in order that ye might become a curse and a disgrace among all the nations of the earth?

\VS{9}Have ye forgotten the wickedness of your fathers, and the wickedness of the kings of Judah, and the wickedness of their wives, and your own wickedness, and the wickedness of your wives, which they had committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?

\VS{10}They are not humbled even up to this day, and they are not afraid, and they walk not in my law, nor in my statutes, that I have set before you and before your fathers.

\VS{11}Therefore thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will set my face against you for evil, and to cut off all Judah.

\VS{12}And I will take the remnant of Judah, that have set their faces to go into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, and they shall all come to their end, and in the land of Egypt shall they fall: by the sword [and] by the famine shall they come to their end; from the least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine shall they die; and they shall become an oath, an astonishment, and a curse, and a disgrace.

\VS{13}And I will inflict punishment on those that dwell in the land of Egypt, as I have inflicted punishment on Jerusalem, through the sword, through the famine, and through the pestilence:

\VS{14}So that there shall be no one that escapeth or remaineth of the remnant of Judah, who are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, that they should return into the land of Judah, to which they direct [the desire of] their soul to return thither to dwell there; for they shall not return, but such as shall escape.

\VS{15}Then did all the men who knew that their wives were burning incense unto other gods, and all the women that stood by, a great multitude, and all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in Pathros, answer Jeremiah, saying,

\VS{16}Respecting the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee.

\VS{17}For to a surety we will do all the word that is gone forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, our kings, and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem: when we had plenty of food, and fared well, and saw no evil.

\VS{18}But since the time we have left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, have we had a lack of every thing; and we have come to our end through the sword and through the famine.

\VS{19}And when we burnt incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink-offerings unto her,—was this without [the consent of] our husbands, that we did make cakes for her to make her image, and pour out drink-offerings unto her?

\VS{20}Then said Jeremiah unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people who had answered him [with that] word, saying,

\VS{21}Behold, it was the incense that ye burnt in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, ye, and your fathers, your kings, and your princes, and the people of the land, which the Lord remembered, and which came into his mind;

\VS{22}So that the Lord could no longer endure it, because of the evil of your doings, because of the abominations which ye had committed: therefore is your land become a ruin, and an [object of] astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.

\VS{23}Because that ye had burnt incense, and because ye had sinned against the Lord, and had not hearkened to the voice of the Lord, and had not walked in his law, in his statutes, and in his testimonies: therefore did this evil befall you, as it is this day.

\VS{24}And Jeremiah said [farther] to all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah that are in the land of Egypt,

\VS{25}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Ye and your wives have both spoken with your mouth, and fulfilled with your hands, saying, We will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her: ye will fully accomplish your vows, and fully perform your vows.

\VS{26}Therefore hear ye the word of the Lord, all Judah that dwell in the land of Egypt, Behold, I have sworn by my great name, saith the Lord, that my name shall no more be called by the mouth of any man of Judah, saying, “As the Lord Eternal liveth,” in all the land of Egypt.

\VS{27}Behold, I will watch over them for evil, and not for good: and all the men of Judah that are in the land of Egypt shall come to their end through the sword and through the famine, until they be destroyed.

\VS{28}Yet some that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, but few in number; and all the remnant of Judah, that are come into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand firm, mine, or theirs.

\VS{29}And this shall be unto you the sign, saith the Lord, that I will inflict punishment on you in this place, in order that ye may know that my words shall surely stand firm against you for evil:

\VS{30}Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will give Pharaoh-chophra' the king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and into the hand of those that seek his life, as I gave Zedekiah the king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, his enemy, and who had sought his life.



\par }\Chap{45}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The word which Jeremiah the prophet spoke unto Baruch the son of Neriyah, when he wrote these words in a book out of the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoyakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah, saying,

\VS{2}Thus hath said the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning thee, O Baruch:

\VS{3}Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the Lord hath added grief to my pain; I am wearied in my sighing, and rest have I not found;

\VS{4}Thus shalt thou say unto him, Thus hath the Lord said, Behold, what I have built will I pull down, and what I have planted I will pluck up; and so it is with this whole land.

\VS{5}And wouldst thou indeed seek great things for thyself? seek them not; for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord; but I will give thy life unto thee as a booty in all the places whither thou mayest go.



\par }\Chap{46}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the nations:

\VS{2}Concerning Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh-necho the king of Egypt, which was [posted] by the river Euphrates in Karkemish, which Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoyakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah.

\VS{3}Make ye ready shield and buckler, and draw near to the battle.

\VS{4}Harness the horses, and mount, ye horsemen, and stand forth with helmets: sharpen the spears, and put on the coats of mail.

\VS{5}Wherefore have I seen them dismayed, moving backward? while their mighty ones are beaten down, and seek safety in flight, and look not back? There is terror round about, saith the Lord.

\VS{6}The swift cannot flee away, nor can the mighty man escape: toward the north by the shore of the river Euphrates do they stumble and fall.

\VS{7}Who is this that cometh up like a stream, whose waters are upheaved like the rivers?

\VS{8}Egypt cometh up like a stream, and like the rivers are the waters upheaved; and he saith, I will go up, I will cover the land; I will destroy the city and those that dwell therein.

\VS{9}Come up, ye horses; and rush along wildly, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth: Cush and Put, that grasp the shield, and the Ludim, that grasp and bend the bow.

\VS{10}And this same day is for the Lord, the Eternal of hosts, a day of vengeance, to be avenged on his adversaries; that the sword may devour, and may be satiated and made drunken with their blood; for there is a sacrifice for the Lord the Eternal of hosts in the north country by the river Euphrates.

\VS{11}Go up into Gil'ad, and fetch balm, O virgin, daughter of Egypt: in vain usest thou many remedies; there is no recovery for thee.

\VS{12}Nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry of anguish hath filled the earth; for the mighty man over the mighty have they stumbled, together are both of them fallen.

\VS{13}The word which the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, concerning the coming of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, to smite the land of Egypt.

\VS{14}Announce ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Thachpanches: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thyself; for the sword devoureth round about thee.

\VS{15}Why are thy valiant men swept away? not one hath stood, because the Lord did drive him off.

\VS{16}He caused many to stumble; yea, one also fell over the other; and they said, Arise, and let us return to our own people, and to the land of our birth, from before the wasting sword.

\VS{17}They called out there, Pharaoh is king of Egypt, it was but vaunting, he hath let the time appointed pass by.

\VS{18}As I live, saith the King, the Lord of hosts is his name, Surely as Thabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel is by the sea, so shall he come.

\VS{19}Appurtenances of exile make for thyself, O thou inhabitress, daughter of Egypt; for Noph shall be made a waste and be left desolate without an inhabitant.

\VS{20}O fairest heifer, Egypt! the butcher from the north cometh, he cometh.

\VS{21}Also her hired troops in the midst of her are like fatted calves; for they also are turned round, are fled away together, they do not stand; because the day of their calamity is come upon them, the time of their punishment.

\VS{22}Her cry shall come like [the hissing of] a serpent; for with an army shall they march, and with axes do they come against her, like hewers of wood.

\VS{23}They cut down her forest, saith the Lord, though it cannot be searched out; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and there is no number to them.

\VS{24}Ashamed hath been made the daughter of Egypt: she hath been given up into the hand of the people of the north.

\VS{25}The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, hath said, Behold, I will send visitation on Ahmon of No, and on Pharaoh, and on Egypt, and on her gods, and on her kings; even on Pharaoh, and on those that trust on him;

\VS{26}And I will give them up into the hand of those that seek their life, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward shall she be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the Lord.

\VS{27}But thou,—fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel; for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity: and Jacob shall return, and he shall be at rest and at ease, with none to make him afraid.

\VS{28}Thou,—fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord; for I am with thee: and although I make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee, yet of thee will I not make a full end; and I will correct thee in measure; yet wholly will I not leave thee unpunished.



\par }\Chap{47}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before the time that Pharaoh smote Gazzah.

\VS{2}Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, waters are coming up out of the north, and they shall become an overflowing stream, and shall overflow the land, and what filleth it; the city, and those that dwell therein: and the men shall cry aloud, and every inhabitant of the land shall wail.

\VS{3}Because of the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stud-horses, because of the rushing sound of his chariots, the rumbling of his wheels, fathers do not turn round to their children from their feebleness of hands;

\VS{4}Because of the day that cometh to devastate all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Zidon every helper that remaineth; for the Lord devastateth the Philistines, the remnant of the isle of Caphthor.

\VS{5}Baldness is come upon Gazzah; ruined is Ashkelon with the remnant of their valley: how long yet wilt thou cut thyself?

\VS{6}Woe! thou sword of the Lord, how long yet wilt thou not be quiet? withdraw thyself into thy scabbard, take thee rest, and be still.

\VS{7}Yet how canst thou be quiet? When the Lord hath given it a charge, against Ashkelon, and against the sea-coast—thither hath he destined it.



\par }\Chap{48}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Against Moab. Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Woe unto Nebo! for it is wasted; made ashamed, captured is Kiryathayim; made ashamed is Misgab and dismayed.

\VS{2}There is no more praise of Moab: in Cheshbon have they devised evil against it, “Come, and let us cut it off from being a nation.” Also thou Madmen shalt be ruined; after thee shall pursue the sword.

\VS{3}There is a voice of crying from Choronayim, destruction and a great breach.

\VS{4}Broken down is Moab: her little ones send forth a cry of distress.

\VS{5}For the ascent of Luchith is ascended with weeping and tears; for on the descent of Choronayim the enemies have heard the cry of destruction.

\VS{6}Flee, save your life, and be ye like the solitary tree in the wilderness.

\VS{7}For, because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou also shalt be conquered: and Kemosh shall go forth into exile, [with] his priests and his princes together.

\VS{8}And the water shall come over every city, and no city shall escape: and lost shall be the valley, and destroyed shall be the plain, as the Lord hath said.

\VS{9}Give wings unto Moab, that she may flee and get away; since her cities shall become desolate, without any to dwell therein.

\VS{10}Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord negligently, and cursed be he that withholdeth his sword from blood.

\VS{11}Moab was ever at ease from his youth, and he was resting on his lees, and was not emptied from vessel to vessel, and had not gone into exile: therefore had his taste remained in him, and his scent was not changed.

\VS{12}Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will send unto him tappers, that shall tap him, and they shall empty his vessels, and dash in pieces their bottles.

\VS{13}And Moab shall be ashamed of Kemosh, as the house of Israel were made ashamed because of Beth-el their confidence.

\VS{14}How can ye say, We are mighty and men of bravery for the war?

\VS{15}Moab is wasted, and into his cities hath [the enemy] ascended, and his chosen young men are gone down to the slaughter, saith the King, the Lord of hosts is his name.

\VS{16}Near is the calamity of Moab to come, and his misfortune hasteneth fast.

\VS{17}All ye that are about him bemoan him; and all ye that know his name: say, How is the strong staff broken, the beautiful stick!

\VS{18}Come down from thy glory, and sit in thirst, thou inhabitress, daughter of Dibon; for the waster of Moab cometh up against thee, he destroyeth thy strong-holds.

\VS{19}Stand by the way, and look out, O inhabitress of 'Aro'er: ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth, say, What hath been done?

\VS{20}Moab hath been made ashamed; for it is broken down; wail, and cry aloud: tell ye it by the Arnon, that Moab is wasted,

\VS{21}And punishment is come over the land of the plain, over Cholon, and over Yahzah, and over Mepha'ath,

\VS{22}And over Dibon, and over Nebo, and over Beth-diblathayim,

\VS{23}And over Kiryathayim, and over Beth-gamul, and over Beth-me'on,

\VS{24}And over Keriyoth, and over Bozrah, and over all the cities of the land of Moab, that are far and that are near.

\VS{25}Hewn away is the horn of Moab, and his arm is broken, saith the Lord.

\VS{26}Make him drunken; for he magnified himself against the Lord: and Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall become [an object] of derision.

\VS{27}For was not Israel a derision unto thee? or was he found among thieves? that whenever thou spokest of him, thou hadst to shake [thy head]?

\VS{28}Leave the cities, and dwell on rocks, O ye that dwell in Moab; and be ye like the dove that maketh her nest in the sides of the mouth of rocky clefts.

\VS{29}We have heard the pride of Moab, who is so exceedingly proud, his haughtiness, and his pride, and his arrogance, and the overbearingness of his heart.

\VS{30}I will know, saith the Lord, his wrath, and how causeless it is: his liars have done what is not right.

\VS{31}Therefore will I wail for Moab, and for all Moab will I cry out; for the men of Kir-cheres shall people moan.

\VS{32}With the weeping of Ya'zer will I weep for thee, O vine of Sibmah; thy tendrils [once] passed over the sea, they reached as far as to the sea of Ya'zer: over thy summer-fruits and over thy vintage the waster is fallen.

\VS{33}And banished are joy and gladness from Carmel, and from the land of Moab; and I have caused the wine to cease from the wine-presses; none shall tread the press with the vintner's call; battle cry—nor vintner's call.

\VS{34}From the loud cry of Cheshbon as far as El'aleh, even unto Yahaz, have they sent forth their voice, from Zo'ar even unto Choronayim, to the third 'Eglath; for the waters also of Nimrim shall become desolate.

\VS{35}Moreover will I cause to cease unto Moab, saith the Lord, him that offereth on the high-places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.

\VS{36}Therefore shall my heart groan for Moab like flutes, and my heart shall groan like flutes for the men of Kir-cheres; for the cause that the remnant of the riches he had gotten are lost.

\VS{37}For every head is bald, and every beard is shorn: upon all the hands are cuttings, and upon the loins is sackcloth.

\VS{38}Upon all the roofs of Moab, and in her streets, there is everywhere lamentation; for I have broken Moab like a vessel which hath no value, saith the Lord.

\VS{39}Oh, how is it broken down! wail! how hath Moab turned the back with shame! and Moab shall be a derision and a dismay to all those around him.

\VS{40}For thus hath said the Lord, Behold, as the eagle shall he fly, and he shall spread out his wings over Moab.

\VS{41}Captured are the fortresses, and the strong-holds are conquered: and the heart of the mighty men of Moab shall be on that day as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

\VS{42}And Moab shall be destroyed from being a people; because it hath magnified himself against the Lord.

\VS{43}Terror, and the pit, and the snare, shall be upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the Lord.

\VS{44}He that fleeth from the terror shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for I will bring upon it, even upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.

\VS{45}Under the shadow of Cheshbon stand still, deprived of strength, those that flee; but a fire cometh forth out of Cheshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sichon, and it devoureth the corner of Moab, and the crown of the head of the children of vaunting.

\VS{46}Woe unto thee, O Moab! lost is the people of Kemosh; for thy sons are taken captives, and thy daughters into captivity.

\VS{47}Yet will I bring back again the captivity of Moab in the end of days, saith the Lord. Thus far is the punishment of Moab.



\par }\Chap{49}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Against the children of 'Ammon, Thus hath said the Lord, Hath Israel no sons? or hath he no heir? why then doth Malcolm possess Gad, and why do his people dwell in his cities?

\VS{2}Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in Rabbah of the children of 'Ammon; and it shall become a desolate heap, and its villages shall be burnt with fire: then shall Israel drive out those that drove them out, saith the Lord.

\VS{3}Wail, O Cheshbon, for 'Ai is wasted; cry aloud, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird yourselves with sackcloth; lament, and roam about among the sheepfolds; for Malcolm shall go into exile, [with] his priest and his princes together.

\VS{4}Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys? thy valley floweth [with blood], O backsliding daughter, that trusted in her treasures, saying, Who can come unto me?

\VS{5}Behold, I will bring terror upon thee, saith the Lord the Eternal of hosts, from all those that are around thee: and ye shall be driven out every man in his own way; and none shall gather up the fugitive.

\VS{6}And afterward will I bring back again the captivity of the children of 'Ammon, saith the Lord.

\VS{7}Concerning Edom, thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Is there no more wisdom in Theman? is counsel vanished from the prudent? is their wisdom become corrupt?

\VS{8}They flee, turn round, seek their abode in deep places,— the inhabitants of Dedan; for the calamity of Esau do I bring upon him, the time when I visit him with punishment.

\VS{9}If grape-gatherers had come to thee, would they not have left some gleanings? if thieves by night, they would destroy only till they had satisfied themselves;

\VS{10}But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret haunts, so that he will not be able to hide himself: his seed is wasted, and his brethren, and his neighbors, and he is no more.

\VS{11}Leave thy fatherless children, I will have to preserve them alive: and thy widows must trust in me.

\VS{12}For thus hath said the Lord, Behold, they whose right it was not to drink the cup have been compelled to drink it, and art thou he that shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink it.

\VS{13}For by myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, that Bozrah shall become an astonishment, a disgrace, a ruin, and a curse; and all its cities shall become perpetual ruins.

\VS{14}A report have I heard from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the nations, [saying,] Gather yourselves together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.

\VS{15}For, lo, I render thee small among the nations, despised among men.

\VS{16}Thy hastiness hath deceived thee, the presumption of thy heart, O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldst make thy nest as high as the eagle, thence would I bring thee down, saith the Lord.

\VS{17}And Edom shall become [an object of] astonishment: every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all its wounds.

\VS{18}Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors, saith the Lord, so shall no man dwell there, nor shall a son of man sojourn therein.

\VS{19}Behold, like a lion will he come up from the overflow of the Jordan against the strong habitation; for I will hasten him, [and] make him suddenly prevail against her; and him who is chosen will I array against her; for who is like me? and who will challenge me to battle? and who is that shepherd that can stand before me?

\VS{20}Therefore hear the counsel of the Lord, that he hath resolved against Edom; and his purposes, that he hath devised against the inhabitants of Theman: Surely the least of the flocks shall drag them away; surely he will devastate over them their habitation.

\VS{21}At the noise of their fall the earth quaketh: [there is] an outcry,—at the Red Sea their voice is heard.

\VS{22}Behold, like the eagle shall he come up and fly along, and spread out his wings over Bozrah: and the heart of the mighty men of Edom shall be on that day as the heart of a woman in her pangs.

\VS{23}Concerning Damascus. Chamath and Arpad are made ashamed; for evil tidings have they heard, they are fainthearted: on the sea there is care, it is not able to be quiet.

\VS{24}Damascus is become feeble, she turneth about to flee, and trembling hath taken hold on her: pangs and throes have seized her, as a woman in travail.

\VS{25}“How is the city of praise not forsaken, the town of my joy!”

\VS{26}Therefore shall her young men fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall perish on that day, saith the Lord of hosts.

\VS{27}And I will kindle a fire on the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Ben-hadad.

\VS{28}Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Chazor, which Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon smote, thus hath said the Lord, Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and devastate the men of the east.

\VS{29}Their tents and their flocks shall they take away; their curtains, and all their vessels and their camels shall they take to themselves: and they shall call out over them, Terror is on every side.

\VS{30}Flee, fly away far off, seek your abode in deep places, O ye inhabitants of Chazor, saith the Lord; for Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a device against you.

\VS{31}Arise, get you up unto the nation that is at ease, that dwelleth in security, saith the Lord, which hath neither gates nor bars, which dwelleth alone.

\VS{32}And their camels shall become a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter unto all winds those that have the hair cut round; and from all sides will I bring their calamity, saith the Lord.

\VS{33}And Chazor shall become a dwelling for monsters, a desolation for ever: there shall no man dwell there, nor shall a son of man sojourn therein.

\VS{34}The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning 'Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah the king of Judah, saying,

\VS{35}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will break the bow of 'Elam, the chief of their strength.

\VS{36}And I will bring over 'Elam the four winds from the four quarters of the heavens, and I will scatter them toward all these winds: and there shall not be any nation whither shall not come the outcasts of 'Elam.

\VS{37}For I will cause 'Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before those that seek their life: and I will bring over them evil, the fierceness of my anger, saith the Lord: and I will send out after them the sword, till I have made an end of them.

\VS{38}And I will set up my throne in 'Elam, and I will destroy thence king and princes, saith the Lord.

\VS{39}But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring back again the captivity of 'Elam, saith the Lord.



\par }\Chap{50}{\PP \VerseOne{1}The word that the Lord spoke concerning Babylon, concerning the land of the Chaldeans, by means of Jeremiah the prophet.

\VS{2}Announce ye among the nations, and publish, and lift up a standard; publish, conceal not; say, Babylon is captured, Bel is put to shame, Merodach is broken in pieces; put to shame are her idols; broken in pieces are her images.

\VS{3}For there is come up against her a nation out of the north, which will change her land into a desert, so that there shall not be any one dwelling therein: both man and beast are fled away, they are departed.

\VS{4}In those days, and at that time, saith the Lord, shall the children of Israel come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping shall they go, and the Lord their God shall they seek.

\VS{5}After Zion shall they ask, with their faces on the way thitherward, [saying,] Come: and they will join themselves to the Lord in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.

\VS{6}Lost sheep were my people; their shepherds had caused them to go astray, they had let them roam wildly on the mountains: from mountain to hill did they go, they forgot their resting-place.

\VS{7}All that found them devoured them; and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the Lord, the habitation of righteousness, and the hope of their fathers, the Lord.

\VS{8}Fly away out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be ye as the he-goats before the flocks.

\VS{9}For, lo, I will awaken and cause to come up against Babylon an assemblage of great nations from the north country; and they shall set themselves in battle-array against her; from there shall she be captured: their arrows are as those of a skilful mighty one, none of which ever returneth in vain.

\VS{10}And Chaldea shall be given up to spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the Lord.

\VS{11}Though ye rejoice, though ye be glad, O ye plunderers of my heritage, though ye be grown fat as the heifer at grass, and neigh as stud-horses:

\VS{12}Your mother is made greatly ashamed; she that bore you is put to the blush; behold, the end of nations shall be wilderness, dry land, and desert.

\VS{13}Because of the wrath of the Lord shall it not be inhabited, and it shall be wholly desolate: every one that passeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss over all her wounds.

\VS{14}Put yourselves in battle-array against Babylon round about, all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her, spare not the arrows: for against the Lord hath she sinned.

\VS{15}Shout against her round about; she hath stretched out her hand: fallen are her foundations, thrown down are her walls; for it is the vengeance of the Lord; take vengeance upon her; as she hath done, so do unto her.

\VS{16}Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest; because of the wasting sword shall they turn about every one to his people, and every one to his own land shall they flee.

\VS{17}A scattered lamb is Israel; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria devoured him; and this last one broke his bones, [even] Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon.

\VS{18}Therefore thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will inflict punishment on the king of Babylon and on his land, as I have punished the king of Assyria.

\VS{19}And I will bring Israel back again to his habitation, and he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan: and upon the mountain of Ephraim and Gil'ad shall his soul be satisfied.

\VS{20}In those days, and at that time, saith the Lord, shall the iniquity of Israel be sought for, and it shall not be there; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found; for I will pardon those whom I will leave remaining.

\VS{21}Against the land of twofold rebellion—even against it go thou up, and against the inhabitants of the country of punishment: lay in ruins and utterly destroy their offspring, saith the Lord, and do in accordance with all that I have commanded thee.

\VS{22}A sound of battle [is heard] in the land, and of great destruction.

\VS{23}How is cut asunder and broken the hammer of all the earth! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!

\VS{24}I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also captured, O Babylon, while thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hadst entered into a contest against the Lord.

\VS{25}The Lord hath opened his treasury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation; for it is a work for the Lord, the Eternal of hosts, in the land of the Chaldeans.

\VS{26}Come against her from the end of the earth, open her garners; tread her down as sheaves of corn, and destroy her utterly: let there not be left of her a remnant even.

\VS{27}Destroy all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: Woe unto them! for their day is come, the time of their visitation.

\VS{28}There is the voice of those that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to tell in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God, the vengeance for his temple.

\VS{29}Call together the archers against Babylon; all ye that bend the bow, encamp against her round about; let there be no escape for her: recompense her according to her work; in accordance with all that she hath done, do unto her; for against the Lord hath she acted presumptuously, against the Holy One of Israel.

\VS{30}therefore shall her young men fall in her streets, and all her men of war shall perish on that day, saith the Lord.

\VS{31}Behold, I am against thee, O presumptuous one! saith the Lord, the Eternal of hosts; for thy day is come, the time that I will visit thee [with punishment].

\VS{32}And the presumptuous shall stumble and fall, with none to raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in his cities, and it shall devour all his environs.

\VS{33}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, The children of Israel and the children of Judah are oppressed together: and all that took them captive hold them fast; they refuse to dismiss them.

\VS{34}Their Redeemer is strong; The Lord of hosts is his name: he will surely contend in their cause, in order that he may give rest to the land, and make the inhabitants of Babylon tremble.

\VS{35}The sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the Lord, and against the inhabitants of Babylon, and against her princes, and against her wise men.

\VS{36}The sword is against the lying soothsayers, and they shall be made foolish: the sword is against her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed.

\VS{37}The sword is against their horses, and against their chariots, and against all the confederates that are in the midst of her, and they shall become as women: the sword is against her treasures, and they shall be plundered.

\VS{38}The drought is against her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is the land of graven images, and with their horrid idols do they play the madman.

\VS{39}Therefore shall martens dwell [there] with jackals, and the ostriches shall dwell therein: and it shall be not inhabited any more for ever; and it shall not be dwelt in from generation to generation.

\VS{40}Like the overthrow by God of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighbors, saith the Lord, so shall no man dwell there, nor shall any son of man sojourn therein.

\VS{41}Behold, a people cometh from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be awakened from the farthest ends of the earth.

\VS{42}Bow and lance do they firmly grasp; they are cruel, and show not any mercy; their voice roareth like the sea, and upon horses do they ride, placed in array, like one man, for the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.

\VS{43}The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands are grown feeble: anguish hath taken fast hold of him, pangs as of a woman in travail.

\VS{44}Behold, like a lion shall he come up from the overflow of the Jordan unto the strong habitation; for I will hasten them [and] make them suddenly prevail over her, and him who is chosen will I array against her; for who like me? and who will challenge me to battle? and who is that shepherd that can stand before me?

\VS{45}Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, that he hath resolved against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the least of the flock shall drag them away; surely he will devastate over them their habitation.

\VS{46}At the noise of the conquest of Babylon the earth quaketh, and the outcry is heard among the nations.



\par }\Chap{51}{\PP \VerseOne{1}Thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will awaken against Babylon, and against those that dwell in the midst of my opponents, a destroying wind;

\VS{2}And I will send out unto Babylon fanners, and they shall fan her, and shall empty out her land; for they shall be against her round about on the day of trouble.

\VS{3}Let the archer come against any one that bendeth his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his armor: and spare ye not her young men: destroy ye utterly all her host.

\VS{4}And the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are pierced through, in her streets.

\VS{5}For not widowed are Israel and Judah of their God, of the Lord of hosts; for the land of those was filled with guiltiness against the Holy One of Israel.

\VS{6}Flee ye out of the midst of Babylon, and save ye every man his life: perish not for her iniquity; for this is a time of vengeance unto the Lord; a recompense is he paying out unto her.

\VS{7}A golden cup hath Babylon been in the hand of the Lord, that made drunken all the earth: of her wine have nations drunk; therefore are the nations rendered mad.

\VS{8}Suddenly is Babylon fallen and broken: wail ye for her; fetch balm for her wound, perhaps she may be healed.

\VS{9}“We would have healed Babylon, but she was not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one unto his own country; for her punishment reacheth unto the heavens, and it is lifted up even to the skies.”

\VS{10}The Lord hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us relate in Zion the work of the Lord our God.

\VS{11}Make bright the arrows; fill the quivers: the Lord hath awakened the spirit of the kings of Media; for against Babylon is his intention, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the Lord, the vengeance for his temple.

\VS{12}Against the walls of Babylon lift up the standard, strengthen the watch, set up the watchmen, make ready the ambushes; for the Lord hath both intended and done what he had spoken against the inhabitants of Babylon.

\VS{13}O thou that dwellest upon many waters, great in treasures, thy end is come, the full measure of thy selfish robbery.

\VS{14}Sworn hath the Lord of hosts by himself, Surely I will fill thee with men, as with locusts: and they shall lift up the battle-cry against thee.

\VS{15}He made the earth by his power, he established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding he stretched out the heavens.

\VS{16}At the sound when he giveth a multitude of waters in the heavens, and causeth clouds to ascend from the ends of the earth; when he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures:

\VS{17}Then standeth every man as brutish without knowledge; ashamed is every goldsmith because of the graven image; for falsehood is his molten work, and there is no breath therein.

\VS{18}They are vanity, the work of deception: in the time of their punishment shall they vanish.

\VS{19}Not like these is the portion of Jacob; for He is the former of all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance: The Lord of hosts is his name.

\VS{20}Thou art a hammer unto me, weapons of war; and I strike down with thee nations, and I destroy with thee kingdoms;

\VS{21}And I strike down with thee the horse and his rider; and I strike down with thee the chariot and its rider;

\VS{22}And I strike down with thee man and woman; and I strike down with thee the aged and the lad; and I strike down with thee the young man and the virgin:

\VS{23}And I strike down with thee the shepherd and his flock; and I strike down with thee the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and I strike down with thee governors and rulers.

\VS{24}But [now] will I repay unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion before your eyes, saith the Lord.

\VS{25}Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the Lord, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand over thee, and I will roll thee down from the rocks, and will render thee a burnt mountain.

\VS{26}And they shall not take from thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but everlasting ruins shalt thou be, saith the Lord.

\VS{27}Lift ye up a standard in the land, blow ye the cornet among the nations, make ready against her nations, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint against her a commander; cause the horses to come up like the hairy locusts.

\VS{28}Make ready against her the nations with the kings of Media, its governors, and all its rulers, and all the land of their dominion.

\VS{29}And the earth quaketh and trembleth; for every one of the purposes of the Lord is fulfilled against Babylon, to change the land of Babylon into a desolate country without an inhabitant.

\VS{30}The mighty men of Babylon have ceased to fight, they sit still in [their] strongholds; their might is vanished; they are become as women: they have burnt her dwelling-places; her bars are broken.

\VS{31}One runner shall run to meet another runner, and one messenger to meet another messenger, to tell unto the king of Babylon that his city is captured at all ends,

\VS{32}And that the passages have been seized, and that they have burnt the reeds with fire, and that the men of war are affrighted.

\VS{33}For thus hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, the daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor, at the time they thresh therein; but yet a little while more, when the time of harvest shall come for her.

\VS{34}“Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon devoured me, he crushed me, he set me down as an empty vessel, he swallowed me up like a huge serpent, he filled his belly with my delicacies: he drove me out.

\VS{35}the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,” will the inhabitress of Zion say; and “My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,” will Jerusalem say.

\VS{36}Therefore thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will contend in thy cause, and execute vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and cause her springs to fail.

\VS{37}And Babylon shall become ruinous heaps, a dwelling-place for monsters, an astonishment, and a derision, without an inhabitant.

\VS{38}Together like lions shall they roar: they shall yell like the lions' whelps.

\VS{39}When they are heated will I prepare their drinking-feasts, and I will make them drunken, in order that they may be joyful, and [then] sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake again, saith the Lord.

\VS{40}I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like wethers with he-goats.

\VS{41}How is Sheshach captured! and how is conquered the praise of the whole earth! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!

\VS{42}The sea is come up over Babylon: with the multitude of its waves is she covered.

\VS{43}Her cities are become desolate places, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein not any man shall dwell, and through which no son of man shall pass along.

\VS{44}And I will inflict punishment on Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth what he hath swallowed up out of his mouth; and nations shall not assemble together like a stream unto him any more; yea, the wall of Babylon also is fallen.

\VS{45}Go ye out of the midst of her, my people, and save ye every man his life from the fierceness of the anger of the Lord.

\VS{46}And so that your heart may not faint, and ye fear at the report that is heard in the land: when the report cometh in one year, and after that in another year cometh another report, and when violence [be done] in the land, [by] ruler against ruler.

\VS{47}Therefore, behold, days are coming, when I will inflict punishment on the graven images of Babylon, and her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fail in the midst of her.

\VS{48}And then shall the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, sing because of Babylon; for from the north shall come unto her the destroyers, saith the Lord.

\VS{49}Also Babylon is destined to fall, O ye slain ones of Israel, also at Babylon fall the slain of all the land.

\VS{50}[But] ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember afar off the Lord, and let Jerusalem rise up in your heart.

\VS{51}“We had been made ashamed, because we had heard reproach: confusion had covered our faces; because strangers were come into the sanctuaries of the Lord's house.”

\VS{52}Therefore, behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, when I will inflict punishment on her graven images: and through all her land shall groan the deadly wounded.

\VS{53}Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength; yet from me should destroyers come unto her, saith the Lord.

\VS{54}A sound of a painful cry cometh from Babylon, and of a great breach from the land of the Chaldeans;

\VS{55}Because the Lord wasteth Babylon, and destroyeth out of her the loud noise; but their waves roar like great waters, the noise of their voice is sent forth;

\VS{56}Because the destroyer is come over her, over Babylon, and her mighty men are caught, every one of their bows is broken; for the God of recompenses, the Lord, will surely requite.

\VS{57}And I will make drunken her princes, and her wise men, her governors, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not awake again, saith the King, The Lord of hosts is his name.

\VS{58}Thus hath said the Lord of hosts, Every one of the broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly overthrown, and her high gates shall be burnt with fire; so that nations shall have labored in vain, and the people for the fire, and so shall they have wearied themselves.

\VS{59}The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Serayah the son of Neriyah, the son of Machseyah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah unto Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Serayah was chief chamberlain.

\VS{60}And Jeremiah wrote down all the evil that should come upon Babylon in one book, namely, all these words that are written concerning Babylon.

\VS{61}And Jeremiah said to Serayah, As thou comest to Babylon, see to it, that thou read all these words;

\VS{62}And thou shalt say, O Lord, thou thyself hast spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, so that there shall not be in it an inhabitant, either man or beast; but that it shall become a desolate place for ever.

\VS{63}And it shall be, when thou hast finished reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and throw it into the midst of the Euphrates;

\VS{64}And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise again from the evil that I will bring upon her: and her people shall be wearied. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.



\par }\Chap{52}{\PP \VerseOne{1}One and twenty years was Zedekiah old when he became king, and eleven years did he reign in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Chamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.

\VS{2}And he did what is evil in the eyes of the Lord, in accordance with all that Jehoyakim had done.

\VS{3}For through the anger of the Lord it came to pass against Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out of his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

\VS{4}And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and they encamped against it, and built against it works of attack round about.

\VS{5}So the city was placed in a state of siege until the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

\VS{6}And in the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, when the famine was severe in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land:

\VS{7}The city was broken in, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was near the king's garden; [while the Chaldeans were round about the city;] and they went by the way of the plain.

\VS{8}But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and they overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and all his army was scattered from him.

\VS{9}And they caught the king, and they brought him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Chamath: and he called him to account.

\VS{10}And the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: and also all the princes of Judah did he slaughter in Riblah.

\VS{11}And the eyes of Zedekiah did he blind; and the king of Babylon bound him with brazen fetters, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in the ward-house till the day of his death.

\VS{12}And in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, the captain of the guard, [who] served the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem.

\VS{13}And he burnt the house of the Lord, and the king's house: and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men, did he burn with fire:

\VS{14}And all the walls of Jerusalem round about did all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, pull down.

\VS{15}And certain of the poorest of the people, and the residue of the people that had been left in the city, and the deserters, that had run away to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away into exile.

\VS{16}But certain of the poorest of the land did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard leave for vine-dressers and for husbandmen.

\VS{17}Also the pillars of copper that were in the house of the Lord, and the bases, and the copper sea that was in the house of the Lord, did the Chaldeans break, and they carried off all their copper to Babylon.

\VS{18}And the pots, and the shovels, and the knives, and the bowls, and the spoons, and all the vessels of copper wherewith they used to perform the service, did they take away.

\VS{19}And the basins, and the censers, and the bowls, and the pots, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the purifying-tubes: of what was of gold the gold, and of what was of silver the silver, did the captain of the guard take away.

\VS{20}The two pillars, the one sea, and the twelve copper oxen that served instead of the bases, which king Solomon had made for the house of the Lord: the copper of all these vessels could not be weighed.

\VS{21}And as regardeth the pillars, eighteen cubits was the height of each one pillar; and a thread of twelve cubits would compass it; and its thickness was four fingers: it was hollow.

\VS{22}And a capital was upon it of copper; and the height of the one capital was five cubits, with network and pomegranates upon the capital round about, all of copper. And the like was the case with the second pillar and the pomegranates.

\VS{23}And the pomegranates were ninety and six on every side: all the pomegranates upon the network were one hundred round about.

\VS{24}And the captain of the guard took Serayah the chief priest, and Zephanyah the priest second in rank, and the three door-keepers;

\VS{25}And out of the city he took a certain court-officer, who had the supervision of the men of war: and seven men of those that had free access to the kings presence, who were found in the city; and the scribe of the chief of the army, who ordered to the army the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city;

\VS{26}And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them, and led them away unto the king of Babylon to Riblah.

\VS{27}And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Chamath. Thus Judah was carried away into exile out of his own country.

\VS{28}This is the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away into exile: in the seventh year, three thousand and twenty and three Jews;

\VS{29}In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar from Jerusalem, eight hundred thirty and two persons;

\VS{30}In the three and twentieth year of Nebuchadrezzar, did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away into exile of the Jews seven hundred forty and five persons; all the persons were four thousand and six hundred.

\VS{31}And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the exile of Jehoyachin the king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the five and twentieth day of the month that Evil-merodach the king of Babylon in the [first] year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoyachin the king of Judah, and brought him forth out of the prison-house;

\VS{32}And he spoke kindly with him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon,

\VS{33}And he changed his prison-garments: and he ate bread before him continually all the days of his life.

\VS{34}And his allowance was a continual allowance given him by the king, the necessary ration for the day on its day, until the day of his death, all the days of his life.


\par }