1 Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the Lord:
“Learn not the way of the nations,
nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens
because the nations are dismayed at them,
3 ffor the customs of the peoples are vanity.1
gA tree from the forest is cut down
and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.
4 hThey decorate it with silver and gold;
ithey fasten it with hammer and nails
so that it cannot move.
5 Their idols2 are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,
and jthey cannot speak;
kthey have to be carried,
for they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of them,
lfor they cannot do evil,
neither is it in them to do good.”
6 mThere is none like you, O Lord;
you are great, and your name is great in might.
7 nWho would not fear you, O King of the nations?
For this is your due;
for among all the wise ones of the nations
and in all their kingdoms
there is none like you.
8 oThey are both pstupid and foolish;
the instruction of idols is but wood!
9 qBeaten silver is brought from rTarshish,
and gold from sUphaz.
qThey are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith;
their clothing is violet and purple;
tthey are all the work of skilled men.
10 uBut the Lord is the true God;
vhe is the living God and the everlasting King.
At his wrath the earth quakes,
and the nations cannot endure his indignation.
11 Thus shall you say to them: w“The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth xshall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”3
12 yIt is he who zmade the earth by his power,
zwho established the world by his wisdom,
and aby his understanding stretched out the heavens.
13 bWhen he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
cand he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
cHe makes lightning dfor the rain,
cand he brings forth the wind efrom his storehouses.
14 fEvery man is stupid and without knowledge;
gevery goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
hand there is no breath in them.
15 They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
16 Not like these is he who is ithe portion of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
jand Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
kthe Lord of hosts is his name.
17 lGather up your bundle from the ground,
O you who dwell under siege!
18 For thus says the Lord:
m“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land
at this time,
nand I will bring distress on them,
that they may feel it.”
19 Woe is me because of my hurt!
oMy wound is grievous.
But I said, “Truly this is an affliction,
and I must bear it.”
20 pMy tent is destroyed,
and all my cords are broken;
my children have gone from me,
qand they are not;
there is no one to spread my tent again
and pto set up my curtains.
21 rFor the shepherds sare stupid
and do not inquire of the Lord;
therefore they have not prospered,
tand all their flock is scattered.
22 A voice, a rumor! Behold, it comes!—
ua great commotion out of the north country
to make vthe cities of Judah a desolation,
va lair of jackals.
23 wI know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself,
that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
24 xCorrect me, O Lord, but in justice;
not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing.
25 yPour out your wrath on the nations that know you not,
and on the peoples that call not on your name,
zfor they have devoured Jacob;
they have devoured him and consumed him,
and have laid waste his habitation.
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 a“Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 3 You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: bCursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant 4 that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, cfrom the iron furnace, saying, dListen to my voice, and do all that I command you. dSo shall you be my people, and I will be your God, 5 ethat I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, fto give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.” Then I answered, “So be it, Lord.”
6 And the Lord said to me, g“Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: hHear the words of this covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, iwarning them persistently, even to this day, saying, dObey my voice. 8 jYet they did not obey or incline their ear, kbut everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all hthe words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.”
9 Again the Lord said to me, l“A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10 They have turned back to mthe iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. mThey have gone after other gods to serve them. nThe house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. 11 Therefore, thus says the Lord, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. oThough they cry to me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem pwill go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, pbut they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. 13 pFor your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, qaltars to make offerings to Baal.
14 “Therefore rdo not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, ofor I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. 15 sWhat right has my beloved in my house, twhen she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? uCan you then exult? 16 The Lord once called you v‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.’ But wwith the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and xits branches will be consumed. 17 The Lord of hosts, ywho planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, zprovoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal.”
18 The Lord made it known to me and I knew;
then you showed me their deeds.
19 But I was alike a gentle lamb
led to the slaughter.
I did not know bit was against me
they devised schemes, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit,
clet us cut him off from dthe land of the living,
that his name be remembered no more.”
20 But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously,
who etests fthe heart and the mind,
glet me see your vengeance upon them,
for to you have I committed my cause.
21 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of hAnathoth, iwho seek your life, and say, j“Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand”— 22 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: “Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, 23 and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of kAnathoth, lthe year of their punishment.”
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