And Jehovah will say to me, Israel turning away justified her soul above faithless Judah.

Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.

‘Only understand fully and acknowledge your wickedness and guilt,
That you have rebelled (transgressed) against the Lord your God
And have scattered your favors among strangers under every green tree,
And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the Lord.

‘Return, O faithless children [of the twelve tribes],’ says the Lord,
‘For I am a master and husband to you,
And I will take you [not as a nation, but individually]—one from a city and two from a [tribal] family—
And I will bring you to Zion.’

And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.

And I have said, How do I put thee among the sons, And give to thee a desirable land, A beauteous inheritance of the hosts of nations, And I say, My father -- ye do call to Me, And from after Me ye do not turn back.

“Surely, as a wife treacherously (unfaithfully) leaves her husband,
So you have dealt treacherously with Me,
O house of Israel,” says the Lord.

“Return, O faithless sons,” [says the Lord],
“I will heal your unfaithfulness.”
[They answer] “Behold, we come to You,
For You are the Lord our God.

“If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord,
“If you will return to Me,
And if you will put away your detestable things and remove your man-made gods from My sight,
And not stray or waver,

For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,

“Plow your uncultivated ground [for a season],
And do not sow among thorns.

Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem; and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land: cry, gather together, and say, Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the defenced cities.

“It shall come about in that day,” says the Lord, “that the heart and courage of the king will fail (be paralyzed), and also the heart of the princes; the priests will be appalled and the prophets will be astounded and horrified.”

And I say, 'Ah, Lord Jehovah, Surely thou hast entirely forgotten this people and Jerusalem, saying, Peace is for you, And struck hath a sword unto the soul!'

‘Like watchmen of a field they are against her on all sides,
Because she has rebelled against Me,’ says the Lord.

“For My people are stupid and foolish,” [says the Lord to Jeremiah];
“They do not know Me;
They are foolish children
And have no understanding.
They are shrewd [enough] to do evil,
But they do not know [how] to do good.”

Therefore says the Lord,
“The whole land shall be a desolation,
Yet I will not cause total destruction.

And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.

“Shall I not punish them [for these things]?” says the Lord;
“Shall I not avenge Myself
On a nation such as this?”

“For the house of Israel and the house of Judah
Have dealt very treacherously (faithlessly) with Me,” declares the Lord.

They have denied Jehovah, and say, He is not; and evil shall not come upon us, nor shall we see sword nor famine;

“The prophets are like the wind [their prophecy will not come to pass],
And the word [of God] is not in them.
In this manner it will be done to them [as they prophesied, not to us].”

Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts,
“Because you [people] have spoken this word,
Behold, I am making My words a fire in your mouth [Jeremiah]
And this people wood, and My words will consume them.

Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the LORD: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.

“But even in those days,” says the Lord, “I will not totally destroy you.

And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the LORD our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

Say this openly in Jacob and give it out in Judah, saying,

‘Do you not fear Me?’ says the Lord.
‘Do you not tremble [in awe] in My presence?
For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea,
An eternal decree and a perpetual barrier beyond which it cannot pass.
Though the waves [of the sea] toss and break, yet they cannot prevail [against the sand ordained to hold them back];
Though the waves and the billows roar, yet they cannot cross over [the barrier].
[Is not such a God to be feared?]

Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.

‘Shall I not punish them [for these things]?’ says the Lord.
‘Shall I not avenge Myself
On such a nation as this?’

They will say, 'Prepare to do battle against it! Come on! Let's attack it at noon!' But later they will say, 'Oh, oh! Too bad! The day is almost over and the shadows of evening are getting long.

For thus says Yahweh of hosts, "Cut down trees and heap up a siege ramp against Jerusalem. This [is] the city that must be punished, its oppression [is] in its midst.

Thus says the Lord of hosts,
“They will thoroughly gather like [fruit on] a vine what is left of Israel;
Pass your hand [over the vine] again and again [Babylon, tool of destruction] like a grape gatherer,
Over the branches [stripping the tendrils off the vine].”

I answered, "Who would listen if I spoke to them and warned them? Their ears are so closed that they cannot hear! Indeed, what the Lord says is offensive to them. They do not like it at all.

“Their houses shall be turned over to others,
Their fields and their wives together;
For I will stretch out My hand
Against the inhabitants of the land,” says the Lord.

They offer only superficial help for the harm my people have suffered. They say, 'Everything will be all right!' But everything is not all right!

“Were they ashamed because they had committed disgusting and vile things?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
They did not even know how to blush [at their idolatry].
Therefore they will fall among those who fall;
At the time that I punish them
They will be overthrown,” says the Lord.

Thus said Jehovah: Stand ye by the ways and see, and ask for paths of old, Where is this -- the good way? and go ye in it, And find rest for yourselves. And they say, 'We do not go.'

And I have raised up for you watchmen, Attend ye to the voice of the trumpet. And they say, 'We do not attend.'

Therefore, thus says the Lord,

“Behold, I am laying stumbling blocks before this people.
The fathers and the sons together
Will stumble against them;
The neighbor and his friend will perish.”

Thus says the Lord,
“Behold, a people is coming from the north country,
And a great nation shall be stirred up and put into action from the remote parts of the earth.

O daughter of my people [says Jeremiah],
Clothe yourself in sackcloth and wallow in ashes;
Mourn [aloud] as for an only son,
A most bitter cry [of sorrow and regret],
For suddenly the destroyer will come upon us [on both prophet and people].

“I [the Lord] have set you as an assayer [O Jeremiah] and as a tester [of the ore] of My people,
That you may know and analyze their acts.”

Stand in the gate of the LORD'S house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Change your ways and your behavior, and I will let you live in this place.

"Change your ways and your deeds, and I'll let you live in this place. Don't trust deceptive words like these, and say, "The Temple of the LORD, the Temple of the LORD, the Temple of the LORD,'

And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?

Has this house, which is called by My Name, become a den of robbers in your eyes [a place of retreat for you between acts of violence]? Behold, I Myself have seen it,” says the Lord.

And now, because you have done all these things,” says the Lord, “and I spoke [persistently] to you, even rising up early and speaking, but you did not listen, and I called you but you did not answer,

Do they offend and provoke Me to anger?” says the Lord. “Is it not themselves [they offend], to their own shame?”

Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and [the fire will] not be quenched.”

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat the meat.

And you are to say all these words to them, but they will not give ear to you: you will send out your voice to them, but they will give no answer.

But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.

For the children of Judah have done evil in My sight,” says the Lord; “they have set their disgusting and shamefully vile things in the house which is called by My Name, to defile it.

“Therefore, behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of the Slaughter, for [in bloody warfare] they will bury [the dead] in Topheth until there is no more room.

“At that time,” says the Lord, “they [the Babylonian army] will bring out from their graves the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its princes, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant of those who remain of this evil family (nation), who remain in all the places to which I have driven them,” says the Lord of hosts.

Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?

I've listened and I've heard, and what they say is not right. No one repents of his evil and says, "What have I done?' "They all turn to their own course like a horse racing into battle.

How do ye say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? Lo, certainly in vain made he it; the pen of the scribes is in vain.

They offer only superficial help for the hurt my dear people have suffered. They say, "Everything will be all right!" But everything is not all right!

“Were they ashamed because of the extremely disgusting and shamefully vile things they had done?
They were not at all ashamed,
And they did not know how to blush.
Therefore, they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time of their punishment they shall be overthrown,”
Says the Lord.

“I will gather and snatch them away [utterly consuming them],” says the Lord.
“There will be no grapes on the vine,
Nor figs on the fig tree,
And even the leaf will wither;
And the things that I have given them will pass away [by the hand of those whom I have appointed].”’”

Why are we sitting still [the people wonder]?
Assemble yourselves, and let us enter the fortified cities
And let us die there,
For the Lord our God has decreed our ruin
And given us bitter and poisonous water to drink,
Because we have sinned against the Lord.

“For behold, I am sending serpents among you,
Vipers which cannot be charmed,
And they will bite you,” says the Lord.

Behold, [hear the sound of] the cry of the daughter of my people from the distant land [of Babylon]:
“Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her King within her?”
[But the Lord answers] “Why have they provoked Me to anger with their carved images and with foreign idols?”

“They bend their tongue like their bow;
[Their] lies and not truth prevail and grow strong in the land;
For they proceed from evil to evil,
And they do not know and understand and acknowledge Me,” says the Lord.

Everyone will make sport of his neighbour with deceit, not saying what is true: their tongues have been trained to say false words; they are twisted, hating to come back.

“Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit [oppression upon oppression and deceit upon deceit];
Through deceit they refuse to know (understand) Me,” says the Lord.

Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts,

“Behold, I will refine them [through suffering] and test them;
For how else should I deal with the daughter of My people?

His tongue is an arrow causing death; the words of his mouth are deceit: he says words of peace to his neighbour, but in his heart he is waiting secretly for him.

“Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord.
“Shall I not avenge Myself
On such a nation as this?

What man is so wise, as to understand this? Or to whom hath the LORD spoken by mouth, that he may show this, and say, "O thou land, why perishest thou so? Wherefore art thou so burnt up, and like a wilderness that no man goeth through?"

The Lord said, “Because they have turned away from My law which I set before them, and have not listened to and obeyed My voice nor walked in accordance with it,

therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood and give them bitter and poisonous water to drink.

Thus says the Lord of hosts,

“Consider and call for the mourning women to come;
Send for the wailing women to come.

"Now, you women, hear the message from the LORD; listen to what he has to say! Teach your daughters how to mourn, let every woman teach her friend how to lament.

Speak, “Thus says the Lord,
‘The dead bodies of men will fall like dung on the open field,
And like sheaves [of grain] behind the reaper,
And no one will gather them.’”

Thus says the Lord, “Let not the one who is wise and skillful boast in his insight; let not the one who is mighty and powerful boast in his strength; let not the one who is rich boast in his [temporal satisfactions and earthly] abundance;

but let the one who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me [and acknowledges Me and honors Me as God and recognizes without any doubt], that I am the Lord who practices lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on the earth, for in these things I delight,” says the Lord.

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised [physically] and yet uncircumcised [spiritually]—

Give ear to the word which the Lord says to you, O people of Israel:

Thus says the Lord,

“Do not learn the way of the [pagan] nations,
And do not be terrified and distressed by the signs of the heavens
Although the pagans are terrified by them;

Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens.

For thus says the Lord;
“Behold, I am slinging out at this time the people of this land,
And will cause them [great] distress,
That they may find it [to be as I have said].”

“Woe to me because of my [spiritual] brokenness!” [says Jeremiah, speaking for the nation.]
“My wound is incurable.”
But I said, “Surely this sickness and suffering and grief are mine,
And I must bear it.”

Give ear to the words of this agreement, and say to the men of Judah and to the people of Jerusalem,

And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,

In order to establish the oath that I have sworn to your fathers, To give to them a land flowing with milk and honey, as this day. And I answer and say, 'Amen, O Jehovah.'

The LORD told me, "Proclaim all these words in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. You are to say, "Listen to the words of this covenant and do them.

And Jehovah will say to me, A conspiracy was found in the men of Judah, and in the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold I am bringing disaster and suffering on them which they will not be able to escape; though they cry to Me, I will not listen to them.

The Lord says to the people of Judah, "What right do you have to be in my temple, my beloved people? Many of you have done wicked things. Can your acts of treachery be so easily canceled by sacred offerings that you take joy in doing evil even while you make them?

Therefore thus says the Lord regarding the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, so that you will not die by our hand.”

Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, I am about to punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and their daughters will die by famine;

You plant them and they take root, they grow and bear fruit. "You are near to us," they say with their mouths, but the truth is that you're far from their hearts.

How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of all the fields wither? Because of the wickedness of them that dwell therein, the beasts and the birds perish; for they say, He will not see our end.

For even your brothers, your father's family, even they have been untrue to you, crying loudly after you: have no faith in them, though they say fair words to you.

As for me, say I, I have forsaken mine own dwelling place, and left mine heritage. My life also that I love so well, have I given into the hands of mine enemies.

Thus says the Lord regarding all My evil neighbors (Gentile nations) who strike at the inheritance which I have granted to My people Israel, “Behold, I will uproot them from their land and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them.