16. 1 The
Lord gave me another message. He said, 2
"Do not get married or have children in this place. 3 For
this is what the Lord says about the children born here in this city and about
their mothers and fathers£º 4 They
will die from terrible diseases. No one will mourn for them or bury them, and
they will lie scattered on the ground like manure. They will die from war and
famine, and their bodies will be food for the vultures and wild animals." 5 This is
what the Lord says£º "Do not go to funerals to mourn and show sympathy for
these people, for I have removed my protection and peace from them. I have
taken away my unfailing love and my mercy. 6 Both
the great and the lowly will die in this land. No one will bury them or mourn
for them. Their friends will not cut themselves in sorrow or shave their heads
in sadness. 7 No one
will offer a meal to comfort those who mourn for the dead - not even at the
death of a mother or father. No one will send a cup of wine to console them. 8
"And do not go to their feasts and parties. Do not eat and drink with them
at all. 9 For this
is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says£º In your own
lifetime, before your very eyes, I will put an end to the happy singing and
laughter in this land. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no
longer be heard. 10
"When you tell the people all these things, they will ask, 'Why has the
Lord decreed such terrible things against us? What have we done to deserve such
treatment? What is our sin against the Lord our God?' 11
"Then you will give them the Lord's reply£º 'It is because your ancestors
were unfaithful to me. They worshiped other gods and served them. They
abandoned me and did not obey my word. 12 And
you are even worse than your ancestors! You stubbornly follow your own evil
desires and refuse to listen to me. 13 So I
will throw you out of this land and send you into a foreign land where you and
your ancestors have never been. There you can worship idols day and night - and
I will grant you no favors!' 14
"But the time is coming," says the Lord, "when people who are taking
an oath will no longer say, 'As surely as the Lord lives, who rescued the
people of Israel from the land of Egypt.' 15
Instead, they will say, 'As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the people of
Israel back to their own land from the land of the north and from all the
countries to which he had exiled them.' For I will bring them back to this land
that I gave their ancestors. 16
"But now I am sending for many fishermen who will catch them," says
the Lord. "I am sending for hunters who will hunt them down in the
mountains, hills, and caves. 17 I am
watching them closely, and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me. 18 I will
double their punishment for all their sins, because they have defiled my land
with lifeless images of their detestable gods and have filled my territory with
their evil deeds." 19 Lord,
you are my strength and fortress, my refuge in the day of trouble! Nations from
around the world will come to you and say, "Our ancestors left us a
foolish heritage, for they worshiped worthless idols. 20 Can
people make their own gods? These are not real gods at all!" 21 The
Lord says, "Now I will show them my power; now I will show them my might.
At last they will know and understand that I am the Lord. 17. 1
"The sin of Judah is inscribed with an iron chisel - engraved with a
diamond point on their stony hearts and on the corners of their altars. 2 Even
their children go to worship at their pagan altars and Asherah poles, beneath
every green tree and on every high hill. 3 So I
will hand over my holy mountain - along with all your wealth and treasures and
your pagan shrines - as plunder to your enemies, for sin runs rampant in your
land. 4 The
wonderful possession I have reserved for you will slip from your hands. I will
tell your enemies to take you as captives to a foreign land. For my anger
blazes like a fire that will burn forever."isdom from the Lord 5 This is
what the Lord says£º "Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. 6 They
are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will
live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. 7
"But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their
hope and confidence. 8 They
are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the
water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of
drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. 9
"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately
wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? 10 But I,
the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their
due rewards, according to what their actions deserve." 11 Like a
partridge that hatches eggs she has not laid, so are those who get their wealth
by unjust means. At midlife they will lose their riches; in the end, they will
become poor old fools. 12 But we
worship at your throne - eternal, high, and glorious! 13 O
Lord, the hope of Israel, all who turn away from you will be disgraced. They
will be buried in the dust of the earth, for they have abandoned the Lord, the
fountain of living water. 14 O
Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed; if you save me, I will be truly
saved. My praises are for you alone! 15 People
scoff at me and say, "What is this 'message from the Lord' you talk about?
Why don't your predictions come true?" 16 Lord,
I have not abandoned my job as a shepherd for your people. I have not urged you
to send disaster. You have heard everything I've said. 17 Lord,
don't terrorize me! You alone are my hope in the day of disaster. 18 Bring
shame and dismay on all who persecute me, but don't let me experience shame and
dismay. Bring a day of terror on them. Yes, bring double destruction upon them! 19 This
is what the Lord said to me£º "Go and stand in the gates of Jerusalem,
first in the gate where the king goes in and out, and then in each of the other
gates. 20 Say to
all the people, 'Listen to this message from the Lord, you kings of Judah and
all you people of Judah and everyone living in Jerusalem. 21 This
is what the Lord says£º Listen to my warning! Stop carrying on your trade at
Jerusalem's gates on the Sabbath day. 22 Do not
do your work on the Sabbath, but make it a holy day. I gave this command to
your ancestors, 23 but
they did not listen or obey. They stubbornly refused to pay attention or accept
my discipline. 24
"'But if you obey me, says the Lord, and do not carry on your trade at the
gates or work on the Sabbath day, and if you keep it holy, 25 then
kings and their officials will go in and out of these gates forever. There will
always be a descendant of David sitting on the throne here in Jerusalem. Kings
and their officials will always ride in and out among the people of Judah in
chariots and on horses, and this city will remain forever. 26 And
from all around Jerusalem, from the towns of Judah and Benjamin, from the
western foothills and the hill country and the Negev, the people will come with
their burnt offerings and sacrifices. They will bring their grain offerings,
frankincense, and thanksgiving offerings to the Lord's Temple. 27
"'But if you do not listen to me and refuse to keep the Sabbath holy, and
if on the Sabbath day you bring loads of merchandise through the gates of
Jerusalem just as on other days, then I will set fire to these gates. The fire
will spread to the palaces, and no one will be able to put out the roaring
flames.'" 18. 1 The
Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2
"Go down to the potter's shop, and I will speak to you there." 3 So I
did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. 4 But the
jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a
lump of clay again and started over. 5 Then
the Lord gave me this message£º 6 "O
Israel, can I not do to you as this potter has done to his clay? As the clay is
in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand. 7 If I
announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down, and
destroyed, 8 but
then that nation renounces its evil ways, I will not destroy it as I had
planned. 9 And if
I announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom, 10 but
then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me, I will not bless it as I
said I would. 11
"Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them,
'This is what the Lord says£º I am planning disaster for you instead of good.
So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right.'" 12 But
the people replied, "Don't waste your breath. We will continue to live as
we want to, stubbornly following our own evil desires." 13 So
this is what the Lord says£º "Has anyone ever heard of such a thing, even
among the pagan nations? My virgin daughter Israel has done something terrible! 14 Does
the snow ever disappear from the mountaintops of Lebanon? Do the cold streams
flowing from those distant mountains ever run dry? 15 But my
people are not so reliable, for they have deserted me; they burn incense to
worthless idols. They have stumbled off the ancient highways and walk in muddy
paths. 16
Therefore, their land will become desolate, a monument to their stupidity. All
who pass by will be astonished and will shake their heads in amazement. 17 I will
scatter my people before their enemies as the east wind scatters dust. And in
all their trouble I will turn my back on them and refuse to notice their
distress." 18 Then
the people said, "Come on, let's plot a way to stop Jeremiah. We have
plenty of priests and wise men and prophets. We don't need him to teach the
word and give us advice and prophecies. Let's spread rumors about him and
ignore what he says." 19 Lord,
hear me and help me! Listen to what my enemies are saying. 20 Should
they repay evil for good? They have dug a pit to kill me, though I pleaded for
them and tried to protect them from your anger. 21 So let
their children starve! Let them die by the sword! Let their wives become childless
widows. Let their old men die in a plague, and let their young men be killed in
battle! 22 Let
screaming be heard from their homes as warriors come suddenly upon them. For
they have dug a pit for me and have hidden traps along my path. 23 Lord,
you know all about their murderous plots against me. Don't forgive their crimes
and blot out their sins. Let them die before you. Deal with them in your anger. 19. 1 This is
what the Lord said to me£º "Go and buy a clay jar. Then ask some of the
leaders of the people and of the priests to follow you. 2 Go out
through the Gate of Broken Pots to the garbage dump in the valley of
Ben-Hinnom, and give them this message. 3 Say to
them, 'Listen to this message from the Lord, you kings of Judah and citizens of
Jerusalem! This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says£º
I will bring a terrible disaster on this place, and the ears of those who hear
about it will ring! 4
"'For Israel has forsaken me and turned this valley into a place of
wickedness. The people burn incense to foreign gods - idols never before
acknowledged by this generation, by their ancestors, or by the kings of Judah.
And they have filled this place with the blood of innocent children. 5 They
have built pagan shrines to Baal, and there they burn their sons as sacrifices
to Baal. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my
mind to command such a thing! 6 So
beware, for the time is coming, says the Lord, when this garbage dump will no
longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-Hinnom, but the Valley of
Slaughter. 7
"'For I will upset the careful plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will allow
the people to be slaughtered by invading armies, and I will leave their dead
bodies as food for the vultures and wild animals. 8 I will
reduce Jerusalem to ruins, making it a monument to their stupidity. All who
pass by will be astonished and will gasp at the destruction they see there. 9 I will
see to it that your enemies lay siege to the city until all the food is gone.
Then those trapped inside will eat their own sons and daughters and friends.
They will be driven to utter despair.' 10
"As these men watch you, Jeremiah, smash the jar you brought. 11 Then
say to them, 'This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies says£º As this jar lies
shattered, so I will shatter the people of Judah and Jerusalem beyond all hope
of repair. They will bury the bodies here in Topheth, the garbage dump, until
there is no more room for them. 12 This
is what I will do to this place and its people, says the Lord. I will cause
this city to become defiled like Topheth. 13 Yes,
all the houses in Jerusalem, including the palace of Judah's kings, will become
like Topheth - all the houses where you burned incense on the rooftops to your
star gods, and where liquid offerings were poured out to your idols.'" 14 Then
Jeremiah returned from Topheth, the garbage dump where he had delivered this
message, and he stopped in front of the Temple of the Lord. He said to the
people there,
15
"This is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says£º 'I
will bring disaster upon this city and its surrounding towns as I promised,
because you have stubbornly refused to listen to me.'"