Jeremiah
The Fall of Jerusalem Recounted
« Jeremiah 1 »
King James Bible
The Words of Jeremiah
(2 Kings 24:18-20; 2 Chronicles 36:11-14)
1The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that [were] in Anathoth in the land of
Benjamin: 2To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of
Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. 3It came also in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah
king of Judah, unto the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah king of Judah, unto
the carrying away of Jerusalem captive in the fifth month.
The Call of Jeremiah
4Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
5Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I
sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
6Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I [am] a child.
7But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I [am] a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee,
and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.
8Be not afraid of their faces: for I [am] with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.
9Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me, Behold, I
have put my words in thy mouth.
10See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull
down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
11Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I
see a rod of an almond tree. 12Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will hasten
my word to perform it.
13And the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I
see a seething pot; and the face thereof [is] toward the north. 14Then the LORD said unto me, Out
of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. 15For, lo, I will call all the
families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set
every one his throne at the entering of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all the walls thereof
round about, and against all the cities of Judah. 16And I will utter my judgments against them
touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods,
and worshipped the works of their own hands. 17Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and
speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee
before them. 18For, behold, I have made thee this day a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and
brasen walls against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, against the princes thereof,
against the priests thereof, and against the people of the land. 19And they shall fight against thee;
but they shall not prevail against thee; for I [am] with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver thee.
« Jeremiah 2 »
King James Bible
Israel has Forsaken God
1Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness
of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land
[that was] not sown.
3Israel [was] holiness unto the LORD, [and] the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall
offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.
4Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel:
5Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from
me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
6Neither said they, Where [is] the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us
through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the
shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?
7And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but
when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.
8The priests said not, Where [is] the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors
also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after [things that]
do not profit.
9Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children's children will I plead.
10For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see
if there be such a thing.
11Hath a nation changed [their] gods, which [are] yet no gods? but my people have changed their
glory for [that which] doth not profit.
12Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
13For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters,
[and] hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
The Results of Israel's Sin
14[Is] Israel a servant? [is] he a homeborn [slave]? why is he spoiled?
15The young lions roared upon him, [and] yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are
burned without inhabitant.
16Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.
17Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he
led thee by the way?
18And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast
thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?
19Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore
and see that [it is] an evil [thing] and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that
my fear [is] not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
20For of old time I have broken thy yoke, [and] burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not
transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the
harlot.
21Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the
degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?
22For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, [yet] thine iniquity is marked
before me, saith the Lord GOD.
Israel's Unfaithfulness
(Judges 2:11-15; Isaiah 43:22-28)
23How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley,
know what thou hast done: [thou art] a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
24A wild ass used to the wilderness, [that] snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion
who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall
find her.
25Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no
hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.
26As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings,
their princes, and their priests, and their prophets,
27Saying to a stock, Thou [art] my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they
have turned [their] back unto me, and not [their] face: but in the time of their trouble they will say,
Arise, and save us.
28But where [are] thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the
time of thy trouble: for [according to] the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.
29Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD.
30In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured
your prophets, like a destroying lion.
31O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of
darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?
32Can a maid forget her ornaments, [or] a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days
without number.
33Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy
ways.
34Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by
secret search, but upon all these.
35Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead
with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.
36Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as
thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
37Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the LORD hath rejected
thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.
« Jeremiah 3 »
King James Bible
The Polluted Land
1They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he
return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with
many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
2Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways
hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy
whoredoms and with thy wickedness.
3Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a
whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.
4Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou [art] the guide of my youth?
5Will he reserve [his anger] for ever? will he keep [it] to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and
done evil things as thou couldest.
Israel's and Judah's Unfaithfulness
6The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen [that] which
backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green
tree, and there hath played the harlot. 7And I said after she had done all these [things], Turn thou
unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw [it]. 8And I saw, when for all
the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill
of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. 9And
it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed
adultery with stones and with stocks. 10And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not
turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.
Invitation to Repentance
(Isaiah 57:14-21; Hosea 14:1-3; Zechariah 1:1-6)
11And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous
Judah.
12Go 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.
13Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast
scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice,
saith the LORD.
14Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one
of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
15And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and
understanding. 16And 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. 17At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the
nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk
any more after the imagination of their evil heart. 18In those days the house of Judah shall walk
with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that
I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.
19But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly
heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away
from me.
20Surely [as] a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with
me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.
21A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping [and] supplications of the children of Israel: for
they have perverted their way, [and] they have forgotten the LORD their God.
22Return, ye backsliding children, [and] I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee;
for thou [art] the LORD our God.
23Truly in vain [is salvation hoped for] from the hills, [and from] the multitude of mountains: truly
in the LORD our God [is] the salvation of Israel.
24For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds,
their sons and their daughters. 25We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we
have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day,
and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.
« Jeremiah 4 »
King James Bible
God Calls Israel by His Promise
1If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine
abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
2And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the
nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.
3For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and
sow not among thorns.
4Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah
and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench [it],
because of the evil of your doings.
Disaster from the North
5Declare 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.
6Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will bring evil from the north, and a great
destruction.
7The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone
forth from his place to make thy land desolate; [and] thy cities shall be laid waste, without an
inhabitant.
8For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned
back from us.
9And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, [that] the heart of the king shall perish, and
the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.
10Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying,
Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.
11At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the
wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse, 12[Even] a full wind from
those [places] shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.
13Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots [shall be] as a whirlwind: his horses are
swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.
14O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy
vain thoughts lodge within thee?
15For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from mount Ephraim.
16Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, [that] watchers come from a
far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.
17As keepers of a field, are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against
me, saith the LORD.
18Thy way and thy doings have procured these [things] unto thee; this [is] thy wickedness, because
it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.
Lamentation for Judah
19My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot
hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
20Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents
spoiled, [and] my curtains in a moment.
21How long shall I see the standard, [and] hear the sound of the trumpet?
22For my people [is] foolish, they have not known me; they [are] sottish children, and they have
none understanding: they [are] wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
23I beheld the earth, and, lo, [it was] without form, and void; and the heavens, and they [had] no
light.
24I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.
25I beheld, and, lo, [there was] no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
26I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place [was] a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken
down at the presence of the LORD, [and] by his fierce anger.
27For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
28For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken [it], I
have purposed [it], and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.
29The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets,
and climb up upon the rocks: every city [shall be] forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.
30And [when] thou [art] spoiled, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with crimson,
though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy face with painting, in
vain shalt thou make thyself fair; [thy] lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.
31For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, [and] the anguish as of her that bringeth forth
her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, [that] bewaileth herself, [that] spreadeth her
hands, [saying], Woe [is] me now! for my soul is wearied because of murderers.
« Jeremiah 5 »
King James Bible
No One is Just
1Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad
places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be [any] that executeth judgment, that seeketh the
truth; and I will pardon it.
2And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear falsely.
3O LORD, [are] not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved;
thou hast consumed them, [but] they have refused to receive correction: they have made their
faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.
4Therefore I said, Surely these [are] poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD,
[nor] the judgment of their God.
5I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the
LORD, [and] the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, [and] burst
the bonds.
6Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, [and] a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a
leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces:
because their transgressions are many, [and] their backslidings are increased.
7How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by [them that are] no
gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves
by troops in the harlots' houses.
8They were [as] fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour's wife.
9Shall I not visit for these [things]? saith the LORD: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a
nation as this?
10Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for
they [are] not the LORD'S.
11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith
the LORD.
12They have belied the LORD, and said, [It is] not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall
we see sword nor famine:
13And the prophets shall become wind, and the word [is] not in them: thus shall it be done unto
them.
Judgment Proclaimed
14Wherefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my
words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
15Lo, 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.
16Their quiver [is] as an open sepulchre, they [are] all mighty men.
17And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, [which] thy sons and thy daughters should
eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they
shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.
18Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a full end with you. 19And 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.
20Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,
21Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which
have ears, and hear not:
22Fear ye not me? saith the LORD: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand
[for] the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves
thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?
23But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.
24Neither 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.
25Your iniquities have turned away these [things], and your sins have withholden good [things]
from you.
26For among my people are found wicked [men]: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set
a trap, they catch men.
27As a cage is full of birds, so [are] their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and
waxen rich.
28They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the
cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.
29Shall I not visit for these [things]? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation
as this?
30A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;
31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love [to
have it] so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?
« Jeremiah 6 »
King James Bible
Jerusalem's Final Warning
1O ye children of Benjamin, gather yourselves to flee out of the midst of Jerusalem, and blow the
trumpet in Tekoa, and set up a sign of fire in Bethhaccerem: for evil appeareth out of the north,
and great destruction.
2I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate [woman].
3The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch [their] tents against her
round about; they shall feed every one in his place.
4Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away,
for the shadows of the evening are stretched out.
5Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.
6For thus hath the LORD of hosts said, Hew ye down trees, and cast a mount against Jerusalem:
this [is] the city to be visited; she [is] wholly oppression in the midst of her.
7As a fountain casteth out her waters, so she casteth out her wickedness: violence and spoil is
heard in her; before me continually [is] grief and wounds.
8Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land
not inhabited.
9Thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall throughly glean the remnant of Israel as a vine: turn
back thine hand as a grapegatherer into the baskets.
Israel's Rebellion and God's Wrath
(Jeremiah 25:15-33; Jonah 1:4-10; Acts 27:13-26; Romans 1:18-32)
10To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear [is]
uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach;
they have no delight in it.
11Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon
the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the
wife shall be taken, the aged with [him that is] full of days.
12And their houses shall be turned unto others, [with their] fields and wives together: for I will
stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of the land, saith the LORD.
13For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one [is] given to covetousness;
and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
14They have healed also the hurt [of the daughter] of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace;
when [there is] no peace.
15Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed,
neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time [that] I visit
them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
16Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where [is] the
good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk
[therein].
17Also I set watchmen over you, [saying], Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We
will not hearken.
18Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what [is] among them.
19Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, [even] the fruit of their thoughts,
because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.
20To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far
country? your burnt offerings [are] not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.
21Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the
fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.
An Invasion from the North
22Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall
be raised from the sides of the earth.
23They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they [are] cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth
like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of
Zion.
24We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, [and]
pain, as of a woman in travail.
25Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy [and] fear [is] on
every side.
26O daughter of my people, gird [thee] with sackcloth, and wallow thyself in ashes: make thee
mourning, [as for] an only son, most bitter lamentation: for the spoiler shall suddenly come upon
us.
27I have set thee [for] a tower [and] a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try
their way.
28They [are] all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: [they are] brass and iron; they [are] all
corrupters.
29The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain: for the
wicked are not plucked away.
30Reprobate silver shall [men] call them, because the LORD hath rejected them.
« Jeremiah 7 »
King James Bible
Jeremiah's Message at the Temple Gate
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2Stand 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. 3Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your
ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place. 4Trust ye not in lying words,
saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, [are] these.
5For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between
a man and his neighbour; 6[If] ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and
shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: 7Then will I cause
you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
8Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. 9Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery,
and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;
10And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are
delivered to do all these abominations? 11Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den
of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen [it], saith the LORD.
12But go ye now unto my place which [was] in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see
what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel. 13And now, because ye have done all these
works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I
called you, but ye answered not; 14Therefore will I do unto [this] house, which is called by my
name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have
done to Shiloh. 15And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, [even]
the whole seed of Ephraim.
Judah's Idolatry Persists
16Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make
intercession to me: for I will not hear thee. 17Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah
and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and
the women knead [their] dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink
offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger. 19Do they provoke me to anger?
saith the LORD: [do they] not [provoke] themselves to the confusion of their own faces?
20Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon
this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the
ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.
21Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and
eat flesh. 22For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought
them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices: 23But this thing
commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and
walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. 24But they
hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels [and] in the imagination of their
evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. 25Since the day that your fathers came forth out
of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily
rising up early and sending [them]: 26Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but
hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.
27Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou
shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee. 28But 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.
29Cut off thine hair, [O Jerusalem], and cast [it] away, and take up a lamentation on high places;
for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.
The Valley of Slaughter
30For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their
abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it. 31And they have built the high
places of Tophet, which [is] in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their
daughters in the fire; which I commanded [them] not, neither came it into my heart.
32Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the
valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be
no place. 33And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the
beasts of the earth; and none shall fray [them] away. 34Then will I cause to cease from the cities
of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the
voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.
« Jeremiah 8 »
King James Bible
Judah's Sin and Punishment
1At that time, saith the LORD, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones
of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves: 2And they shall spread them before the sun, and the
moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after
whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall
not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth. 3And death shall
be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in
all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.
4Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall they fall, and not arise? shall he
turn away, and not return?
5Why [then] is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a perpetual backsliding? they hold fast
deceit, they refuse to return.
6I hearkened and heard, [but] they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness,
saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.
7Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the
swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.
8How 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.
9The wise [men] are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo, they have rejected the word of the
LORD; and what wisdom [is] in them?
10Therefore will I give their wives unto others, [and] their fields to them that shall inherit [them]:
for every one from the least even unto the greatest is given to covetousness, from the prophet
even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely.
11For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when
[there is] no peace.
12Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed,
neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their
visitation they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.
13I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: [there shall be] no grapes on the vine, nor figs on
the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and [the things that] I have given them shall pass away from
them.
14Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be
silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink,
because we have sinned against the LORD.
15We looked for peace, but no good [came; and] for a time of health, and behold trouble!
16The snorting of his horses was heard from Dan: the whole land trembled at the sound of the
neighing of his strong ones; for they are come, and have devoured the land, and all that is in it;
the city, and those that dwell therein.
17For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you, which [will] not [be] charmed, and they
shall bite you, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah Weeps for his People
18[When] I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart [is] faint in me.
19Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far
country: [Is] not the LORD in Zion? [is] not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger
with their graven images, [and] with strange vanities?
20The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.
21For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold
on me.
22[Is there] no balm in Gilead; [is there] no physician there? why then is not the health of the
daughter of my people recovered?
« Jeremiah 9 »
King James Bible
Jeremiah's Continual Tears
1Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night
for the slain of the daughter of my people!
2Oh that I had in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men; that I might leave my people,
and go from them! for they [be] all adulterers, an assembly of treacherous men.
3And they bend their tongues [like] their bow [for] lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon
the earth; for they proceed from evil to evil, and they know not me, saith the LORD.
4Take ye heed every one of his neighbour, and trust ye not in any brother: for every brother will
utterly supplant, and every neighbour will walk with slanders.
5And they will deceive every one his neighbour, and will not speak the truth: they have taught their
tongue to speak lies, [and] weary themselves to commit iniquity.
6Thine habitation [is] in the midst of deceit; through deceit they refuse to know me, saith the
LORD.
7Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do
for the daughter of my people?
8Their tongue [is as] an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: [one] speaketh peaceably to his
neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.
9Shall I not visit them for these [things]? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a
nation as this?
10For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness
a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through [them]; neither can
[men] hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are
gone.
11And I will make Jerusalem heaps, [and] a den of dragons; and I will make the cities of Judah
desolate, without an inhabitant.
12Who [is] the wise man, that may understand this? and [who is he] to whom the mouth of the
LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it, for what the land perisheth [and] is burned up like a
wilderness, that none passeth through? 13And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law
which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; 14But have
walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
15Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, [even] this
people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. 16I will scatter them also among the
heathen, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send a sword after them, till I
have consumed them.
Weeping in Jerusalem
17Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may
come; and send for cunning [women], that they may come:
18And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears,
and our eyelids gush out with waters.
19For a voice of wailing is heard out of Zion, How are we spoiled! we are greatly confounded,
because we have forsaken the land, because our dwellings have cast [us] out.
20Yet hear the word of the LORD, O ye women, and let your ear receive the word of his mouth, and
teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbour lamentation.
21For death is come up into our windows, [and] is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children
from without, [and] the young men from the streets.
22Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and
as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather [them].
23Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise [man] glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty [man]
glory in his might, let not the rich [man] glory in his riches: 24But let him that glorieth glory in this,
that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I [am] the LORD which exercise lovingkindness,
judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these [things] I delight, saith the LORD.
25Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all [them which are] circumcised with
the uncircumcised; 26Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all
[that are] in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all [these] nations [are]
uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel [are] uncircumcised in the heart.
« Jeremiah 10 »
King James Bible
The Sovereignty of God
1Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
2Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of
heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3For the customs of the people [are] vain: for [one] cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the
hands of the workman, with the axe.
4They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move
not.
5They [are] upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they
cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also [is it] in them to do good.
6Forasmuch as [there is] none like unto thee, O LORD; thou [art] great, and thy name [is] great in
might.
7Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all
the wise [men] of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, [there is] none like unto thee.
8But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock [is] a doctrine of vanities.
9Silver spread into plates is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the workman,
and of the hands of the founder: blue and purple [is] their clothing: they [are] all the work of
cunning [men].
10But the LORD [is] the true God, he [is] the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the
earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.
11Thus 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.
12He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath
stretched out the heavens by his discretion.
13When he uttereth his voice, [there is] a multitude of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the
vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth
the wind out of his treasures.
14Every man is brutish in [his] knowledge: every founder is confounded by the graven image: for
his molten image [is] falsehood, and [there is] no breath in them.
15They [are] vanity, [and] the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
16The portion of Jacob [is] not like them: for he [is] the former of all [things]; and Israel [is] the
rod of his inheritance: The LORD of hosts [is] his name.
The Coming Destruction
17Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the fortress.
18For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this once, and will
distress them, that they may find [it so].
19Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this [is] a grief, and I must bear
it.
20My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they
[are] not: [there is] none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
21For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not
prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.
22Behold, the noise of the bruit is come, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make
the cities of Judah desolate, [and] a den of dragons.
Jeremiah's Prayer
23O LORD, I know that the way of man [is] not in himself: [it is] not in man that walketh to direct
his steps.
24O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
25Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy
name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his
habitation desolate.
« Jeremiah 11 »
King James Bible
The Broken Covenant
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2Hear ye the words of this covenant, and
speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem; 3And say thou unto them, Thus
saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed [be] the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
4Which I commanded your fathers in the day [that] I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt,
from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you:
so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God: 5That I may perform the oath which I have
sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as [it is] this day. Then
answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.
6Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of
Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them. 7For I earnestly protested
unto your fathers in the day [that] I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, [even] unto this
day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice. 8Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their
ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all
the words of this covenant, which I commanded [them] to do; but they did [them] not.
9And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the
inhabitants of Jerusalem. 10They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which
refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and
the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers. 11Therefore thus
saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and
though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them. 12Then shall the cities of Judah and
inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall
not save them at all in the time of their trouble. 13For [according to] the number of thy cities were
thy gods, O Judah; and [according to] the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars
to [that] shameful thing, [even] altars to burn incense unto Baal.
14Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear
[them] in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.
15What hath my beloved to do in mine house, [seeing] she hath wrought lewdness with many, and
the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.
16The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, [and] of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great
tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
17For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the
house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke
me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.
The Plot against Jeremiah
(Psalm 70:1-5; Psalm 141:1-10; Jeremiah 18:18-23)
18And the LORD hath given me knowledge [of it], and I know [it]: then thou shewedst me their
doings.
19But I [was] like a lamb [or] an ox [that] is brought to the slaughter; and I knew not that they had
devised devices against me, [saying], Let us destroy the tree with the fruit thereof, and let us cut
him off from the land of the living, that his name may be no more remembered.
20But, O LORD of hosts, that judgest righteously, that triest the reins and the heart, let me see thy
vengeance on them: for unto thee have I revealed my cause.
21Therefore thus saith the LORD of the men of Anathoth, that seek thy life, saying, Prophesy not in
the name of the LORD, that thou die not by our hand: 22Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts,
Behold, I will punish them: the young men shall die by the sword; their sons and their daughters
shall die by famine: 23And there shall be no remnant of them: for I will bring evil upon the men of
Anathoth, [even] the year of their visitation.
« Jeremiah 12 »
King James Bible
The Prosperity of the Wicked
1Righteous [art] thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of [thy]
judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? [wherefore] are all they happy that
deal very treacherously?
2Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou
[art] near in their mouth, and far from their reins.
3But thou, O LORD, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them
out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
4How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them
that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our
last end.
God's Answer to Jeremiah
5If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with
horses? and [if] in the land of peace, [wherein] thou trustedst, [they wearied thee], then how wilt
thou do in the swelling of Jordan?
6For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee;
yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto
thee.
7I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul
into the hand of her enemies.
8Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.
9Mine heritage [is] unto me [as] a speckled bird, the birds round about [are] against her; come ye,
assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.
10Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have
made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
11They have made it desolate, [and being] desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made
desolate, because no man layeth [it] to heart.
12The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the LORD
shall devour from the [one] end of the land even to the [other] end of the land: no flesh shall have
peace.
13They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, [but] shall not
profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
A Message for Israel's Neighbors
14Thus saith the LORD against all mine evil neighbours, that touch the inheritance which I have
caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the
house of Judah from among them. 15And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out
I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage,
and every man to his land. 16And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my
people, to swear by my name, The LORD liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then
shall they be built in the midst of my people. 17But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and
destroy that nation, saith the LORD.
« Jeremiah 13 »
King James Bible
The Linen Belt
1Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it
not in water. 2So I got a girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put [it] on my loins. 3And
the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying, 4Take the girdle that thou hast got,
which [is] upon thy loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. 5So I
went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. 6And it came to pass after many
days, that the LORD said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I
commanded thee to hide there. 7Then I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from
the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.
8Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 9Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I
mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10This evil people, which refuse to hear
my words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them,
and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. 11For as the girdle
cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and
the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a
name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.
The Wineskins
12Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Every bottle
shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle
shall be filled with wine? 13Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will fill
all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David's throne, and the priests, and the
prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. 14And I will dash them one
against another, even the fathers and the sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare,
nor have mercy, but destroy them.
Captivity Threatened
15Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.
16Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon
the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, [and] make
[it] gross darkness.
17But if ye will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for [your] pride; and mine eye shall
weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORD'S flock is carried away captive.
18Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall
come down, [even] the crown of your glory.
19The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open [them]: Judah shall be carried away
captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive.
20Lift up your eyes, and behold them that come from the north: where [is] the flock [that] was
given thee, thy beautiful flock?
21What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee? for thou hast taught them [to be] captains, [and]
as chief over thee: shall not sorrows take thee, as a woman in travail?
22And if thou say in thine heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of thine
iniquity are thy skirts discovered, [and] thy heels made bare.
23Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? [then] may ye also do good, that are
accustomed to do evil.
24Therefore will I scatter them as the stubble that passeth away by the wind of the wilderness.
25This [is] thy lot, the portion of thy measures from me, saith the LORD; because thou hast
forgotten me, and trusted in falsehood.
26Therefore will I discover thy skirts upon thy face, that thy shame may appear.
27I have seen thine adulteries, and thy neighings, the lewdness of thy whoredom, [and] thine
abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto thee, O Jerusalem! wilt thou not be made clean?
when [shall it] once [be]?
« Jeremiah 14 »
King James Bible
Drought, Famine, Sword, Pestilence
1The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth.
2Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of
Jerusalem is gone up.
3And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, [and] found no
water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered
their heads.
4Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they
covered their heads.
5Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook [it], because there was no grass.
6And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes
did fail, because [there was] no grass.
7O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou [it] for thy name's sake: for our
backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.
8O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in
the land, and as a wayfaring man [that] turneth aside to tarry for a night?
9Why shouldest thou be as a man astonied, as a mighty man [that] cannot save? yet thou, O LORD,
[art] in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name; leave us not.
10Thus saith the LORD unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained
their feet, therefore the LORD doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit
their sins. 11Then said the LORD unto me, Pray not for this people for [their] good. 12When they
fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation, I will not accept
them: but I will consume them by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence.
13Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, the prophets say unto them, Ye shall not see the sword,
neither shall ye have famine; but I will give you assured peace in this place. 14Then the LORD said
unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded
them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing
of nought, and the deceit of their heart. 15Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the prophets
that prophesy in my name, and I sent them not, yet they say, Sword and famine shall not be in this
land; By sword and famine shall those prophets be consumed. 16And the people to whom they
prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; and
they shall have none to bury them, them, their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters: for I will
pour their wickedness upon them.
17Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day,
and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a
very grievous blow.
18If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then
behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land
that they know not.
A Prayer for Mercy
19Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and [there
is] no healing for us? we looked for peace, and [there is] no good; and for the time of healing, and
behold trouble!
20We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, [and] the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned
against thee.
21Do not abhor [us], for thy name's sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break
not thy covenant with us.
22Are there [any] among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give
showers? [art] not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made
all these [things].
« Jeremiah 15 »
King James Bible
Judgment to Continue
1Then said the LORD unto me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, [yet] my mind [could]
not [be] toward this people: cast [them] out of my sight, and let them go forth.
2And it shall come to pass, if they say unto thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt tell
them, Thus saith the LORD; Such as [are] for death, to death; and such as [are] for the sword, to
the sword; and such as [are] for the famine, to the famine; and such as [are] for the captivity, to
the captivity.
3And I will appoint over them four kinds, saith the LORD: the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear,
and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and destroy. 4And I will cause
them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king
of Judah, for [that] which he did in Jerusalem.
5For who shall have pity upon thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go aside
to ask how thou doest?
6Thou hast forsaken me, saith the LORD, thou art gone backward: therefore will I stretch out my
hand against thee, and destroy thee; I am weary with repenting.
7And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave [them] of children, I will
destroy my people, [since] they return not from their ways.
8Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against
the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused [him] to fall upon it suddenly,
and terrors upon the city.
9She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while
[it was] yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to
the sword before their enemies, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah's Complaint
10Woe is me, my mother, that thou hast borne me a man of strife and a man of contention to the
whole earth! I have neither lent on usury, nor men have lent to me on usury; [yet] every one of
them doth curse me.
11The LORD said, Verily it shall be well with thy remnant; verily I will cause the enemy to entreat
thee [well] in the time of evil and in the time of affliction.
12Shall iron break the northern iron and the steel?
13Thy substance and thy treasures will I give to the spoil without price, and [that] for all thy sins,
even in all thy borders.
14And I will make [thee] to pass with thine enemies into a land [which] thou knowest not: for a fire
is kindled in mine anger, [which] shall burn upon you.
15O LORD, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my persecutors; take me
not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke.
16Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of
mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
17I sat not in the assembly of the mockers, nor rejoiced; I sat alone because of thy hand: for thou
hast filled me with indignation.
18Why is my pain perpetual, and my wound incurable, [which] refuseth to be healed? wilt thou be
altogether unto me as a liar, [and as] waters [that] fail?
The Lord's Promise
19Therefore thus saith the LORD, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, [and] thou shalt stand
before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them
return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.
20And I will make thee unto this people a fenced brasen wall: and they shall 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.
21And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of
the terrible.
« Jeremiah 16 »
King James Bible
Disaster Predicted
1The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying, 2Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt
thou have sons or daughters in this place. 3For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and
concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them,
and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land; 4They shall die of grievous deaths; they
shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; [but] they shall be as dung upon the face of
the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be
meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.
5For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan
them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, [even] lovingkindness and
mercies. 6Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall
[men] lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them: 7Neither shall
[men] tear [themselves] for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall [men]
give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother. 8Thou shalt not also
go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink. 9For thus saith the LORD of
hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your
days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of
the bride.
10And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say
unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what [is] our
iniquity? or what [is] our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God? 11Then shalt thou
say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after
other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have
not kept my law; 12And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after
the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me: 13Therefore will I cast you
out of this land into a land that ye know not, [neither] ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve
other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.
God will Restore Israel
14Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth,
that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 15But, The LORD liveth, that
brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had
driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.
16Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I
send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out
of the holes of the rocks. 17For mine eyes [are] upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face,
neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes. 18And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin
double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of
their detestable and abominable things.
19O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall
come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
vanity, and [things] wherein [there is] no profit.
20Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they [are] no gods?
21Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and
my might; and they shall know that my name [is] The LORD.
« Jeremiah 17 »
King James Bible
The Sin and Punishment of Judah
1The sin of Judah [is] written with a pen of iron, [and] with the point of a diamond: [it is] graven
upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;
2Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.
3O my mountain in the field, I will give thy substance [and] all thy treasures to the spoil, [and] thy
high places for sin, throughout all thy borders.
4And thou, even thyself, shalt discontinue from thine heritage that I gave thee; and I will cause
thee to serve thine enemies in the land which thou knowest not: for ye have kindled a fire in mine
anger, [which] shall burn for ever.
5Thus saith the LORD; Cursed [be] the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and
whose heart departeth from the LORD.
6For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit
the parched places in the wilderness, [in] a salt land and not inhabited.
7Blessed [is] the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.
8For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and [that] spreadeth out her roots by the river,
and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the
year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.
9The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can know it?
10I the LORD search the heart, [I] try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways,
[and] according to the fruit of his doings.
11[As] the partridge sitteth [on eggs], and hatcheth [them] not; [so] he that getteth riches, and not
by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.
Jeremiah's Prayer for Deliverance
12A glorious high throne from the beginning [is] the place of our sanctuary.
13O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, [and] they that depart from
me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living
waters.
14Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou [art] my praise.
15Behold, they say unto me, Where [is] the word of the LORD? let it come now.
16As for me, I have not hastened from [being] a pastor to follow thee: neither have I desired the
woeful day; thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was [right] before thee.
17Be not a terror unto me: thou [art] my hope in the day of evil.
18Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed,
but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double
destruction.
The Sabbath Renewed
19Thus said the LORD unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the
kings of Judah come in, and by the which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; 20And say
unto them, Hear ye the word of the LORD, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants
of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates: 21Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and
bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring [it] in by the gates of Jerusalem; 22Neither carry
forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the
sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. 23But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but
made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction.
24And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden
through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work
therein; 25Then shall there enter into 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 remain for ever. 26And they shall come from the
cities of Judah, and from the places about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the
plain, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and
meat offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of praise, unto the house of the LORD. 27But if
ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in
at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it
shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
« Jeremiah 18 »
King James Bible
The Potter and the Clay
1The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2Arise, and go down to the potter's
house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 3Then I went down to the potter's house,
and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 4And the vessel that he made of clay was marred
in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to
make [it].
5Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 6O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this
potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay [is] in the potter's hand, so [are] ye in mine hand, O
house of Israel. 7[At what] instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to
pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy [it]; 8If that nation, against whom I have pronounced,
turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. 9And [at what] instant
I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant [it]; 10If it do
evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would
benefit them. 11Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device
against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings
good. 12And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every
one do the imagination of his evil heart.
13Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the
virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing.
14Will [a man] leave the snow of Lebanon [which cometh] from the rock of the field? [or] shall the
cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?
15Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused
them to stumble in their ways [from] the ancient paths, to walk in paths, [in] a way not cast up;
16To make their land desolate, [and] a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be
astonished, and wag his head.
17I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the
face, in the day of their calamity.
The Plot against Jeremiah
(Psalm 70:1-5; Psalm 141:1-10; Jeremiah 11:18-23)
18Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish
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 give heed to any of his words.
19Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me.
20Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I
stood before thee to speak good for them, [and] to turn away thy wrath from them.
21Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their [blood] by the force of the
sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and [be] widows; and let their men be put
to death; [let] their young men [be] slain by the sword in battle.
22Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they
have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.
23Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay [me]: forgive not their iniquity,
neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal [thus] with
them in the time of thine anger.
« Jeremiah 19 »
King James Bible
The Broken Jar
1Thus saith the LORD, Go and get a potter's earthen bottle, and [take] of the ancients of the
people, and of the ancients of the priests; 2And go forth unto the valley of the son of Hinnom,
which [is] by the entry of the east gate, and proclaim there the words that I shall tell thee, 3And
say, Hear ye the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Thus saith the
LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which whosoever
heareth, his ears shall tingle. 4Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and
have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their fathers have known, nor
the kings of Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of innocents; 5They have built also the
high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire [for] burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded
not, nor spake [it], neither came [it] into my mind: 6Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the
LORD, that this place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the son of Hinnom, but The
valley of slaughter. 7And 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 hands of them that seek their
lives: and their carcases will I give to be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the
earth. 8And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be
astonished and hiss because of all the plagues thereof. 9And 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 friend in
the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their lives, shall straiten
them.
10Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men that go with thee, 11And shalt say unto
them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city, as [one]
breaketh a potter's vessel, that cannot be made whole again: and they shall bury [them] in Tophet,
till [there be] no place to bury. 12Thus will I do unto this place, saith the LORD, and to the
inhabitants thereof, and [even] make this city as Tophet: 13And the houses of Jerusalem, and the
houses of the kings of Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet, because of all the houses
upon whose roofs they have burned incense unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink
offerings unto other gods.
14Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the LORD had sent him to prophesy; and he stood in
the court of the LORD'S house; and said to all the people, 15Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God
of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have
pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my
words.
« Jeremiah 20 »
King James Bible
Pashhur Persecutes Jeremiah
1Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who [was] also chief governor in the house of the LORD,
heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. 2Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the prophet, and put
him in the stocks that [were] in the high gate of Benjamin, which [was] by the house of the LORD.
3And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then
said Jeremiah unto him, The LORD hath not called thy name Pashur, but Magormissabib. 4For thus
saith 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 thine eyes shall behold [it]: and I will give all Judah into the
hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with
the sword. 5Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and all the labours thereof, and all
the precious things thereof, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into the hand of
their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take them, and carry them to Babylon. 6And thou,
Pashur, and all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou shalt come to Babylon,
and there thou shalt die, and shalt be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou hast
prophesied lies.
Jeremiah's Complaint
7O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed:
I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.
8For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence and spoil; because the word of the LORD was made
a reproach unto me, and a derision, daily.
9Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But [his word] was
in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could
not [stay].
10For I heard the defaming of many, fear on every side. Report, [say they], and we will report it. All
my familiars watched for my halting, [saying], Peradventure he will be enticed, and we shall prevail
against him, and we shall take our revenge on him.
11But the LORD [is] with me as a mighty terrible one: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and
they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: [their] everlasting
confusion shall never be forgotten.
12But, O LORD of hosts, that triest the righteous, [and] seest the reins and the heart, let me see
thy vengeance on them: for unto thee have I opened my cause.
13Sing unto the LORD, praise ye the LORD: for he hath delivered the soul of the poor from the hand
of evildoers.
14Cursed [be] the day wherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be blessed.
15Cursed [be] the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A man child is born unto thee;
making him very glad.
16And let that man be as the cities which the LORD overthrew, and repented not: and let him hear
the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide;
17Because he slew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave, and her
womb [to be] always great [with me].
18Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be
consumed with shame?
« Jeremiah 21 »
King James Bible
Jerusalem will Fall to Babylon
1The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when king Zedekiah sent unto him Pashur
the son of Melchiah, and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, saying, 2Inquire, I pray thee,
of the LORD for us; for Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon maketh war against us; if so be that the
LORD will deal with us according to all his wondrous works, that he may go up from us.
3Then said Jeremiah unto them, Thus shall ye say to Zedekiah: 4Thus saith the LORD 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, which besiege you without the walls, and I will
assemble them into the midst of this city. 5And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched
hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath. 6And I will smite the
inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. 7And afterward,
saith the LORD, I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah, and his servants, and the people, and such as
are left in this city from the pestilence, from the sword, and from the famine, into the hand of
Nebuchadrezzar 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 shall not spare them,
neither have pity, nor have mercy.
8And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life,
and the way of death. 9He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and
by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall
live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey. 10For I have set my face against this city for evil, and
not for good, saith the LORD: it shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall
burn it with fire.
Message to the House of David
11And touching the house of the king of Judah, [say], Hear ye the word of the LORD;
12O house of David, thus saith the LORD; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver [him that
is] spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can
quench [it], because of the evil of your doings.
13Behold, I [am] against thee, O inhabitant of the valley, [and] rock of the plain, saith the LORD;
which say, Who shall come down against us? or who shall enter into our habitations?
14But I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the LORD: and I will kindle a fire
in the forest thereof, and it shall devour all things round about it.
« Jeremiah 22 »
King James Bible
A Warning for Judah's Kings
1Thus saith the LORD; Go down to the house of the king of Judah, and speak there this word, 2And
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: 3Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye
judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no
wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood
in this place. 4For if ye do this thing indeed, then shall there enter in by the gates of this house
kings sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, he, and his servants, and
his people. 5But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith the LORD, that this house
shall become a desolation.
A Warning about the Palace
6For thus saith the LORD unto the king's house of Judah; Thou [art] Gilead unto me, [and] the
head of Lebanon: [yet] surely I will make thee a wilderness, [and] cities [which] are not inhabited.
7And I will prepare destroyers against thee, every one with his weapons: and they shall cut down
thy choice cedars, and cast [them] into the fire.
8And many nations shall pass by this city, and they shall say every man to his neighbour, Wherefore
hath the LORD done thus unto this great city? 9Then they shall answer, Because they have
forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God, and worshipped other gods, and served them.
A Warning about Jehoahaz
10Weep ye not for the dead, neither bemoan him: [but] weep sore for him that goeth away: for he
shall return no more, nor see his native country.
11For thus saith the LORD touching Shallum the son of Josiah king of Judah, which reigned instead
of Josiah his father, which went forth out of this place; He shall not return thither any more: 12But
he shall die in the place whither they have led him captive, and shall see this land no more.
A Warning about Jehoiakim
13Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; [that]
useth his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not for his work;
14That saith, I will build me a wide house and large chambers, and cutteth him out windows; and
[it is] cieled with cedar, and painted with vermilion.
15Shalt thou reign, because thou closest [thyself] in cedar? did not thy father eat and drink, and do
judgment and justice, [and] then [it was] well with him?
16He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then [it was] well [with him: was] not this to know
me? saith the LORD.
17
But thine eyes and thine heart [are] not but for thy covetousness, and for to shed innocent blood,
and for oppression, and for violence, to do [it].
18Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall
not lament for him, [saying], Ah my brother! or, Ah sister! they shall not lament for him, [saying],
Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!
19He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20Go up to Lebanon, and cry; and lift up thy voice in Bashan, and cry from the passages: for all thy
lovers are destroyed.
21I spake unto thee in thy prosperity; [but] thou saidst, I will not hear. This [hath been] thy
manner from thy youth, that thou obeyedst not my voice.
22The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou
be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.
23O inhabitant of Lebanon, that makest thy nest in the cedars, how gracious shalt thou be when
pangs come upon thee, the pain as of a woman in travail!
A Warning for Jehoiachin
24[As] I live, saith the LORD, though Coniah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah were the signet
upon my right hand, yet would I pluck thee thence; 25And I will give thee into the hand of them
that seek thy life, and into the hand [of them] whose face thou fearest, even into the hand of
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of the Chaldeans. 26And I will cast thee out,
and thy mother that bare thee, into another country, where ye were not born; and there shall ye
die. 27But to the land whereunto they desire to return, thither shall they not return.
28[Is] this man Coniah a despised broken idol? [is he] a vessel wherein [is] no pleasure? wherefore
are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into a land which they know not?
29O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.
30Thus saith the LORD, Write ye this man childless, a man [that] shall not prosper in his days: for
no man of his seed shall prosper, sitting upon the throne of David, and ruling any more in Judah.
« Jeremiah 23 »
King James Bible
David's Righteous Branch
1Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
2Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have
scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you
the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. 3And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all
countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be
fruitful and increase. 4And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall
fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.
5Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King
shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
6In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this [is] his name whereby he
shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
7Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth,
which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 8But, The LORD liveth, which
brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all
countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.
Lying Prophets
9Mine heart within me is broken because of the prophets; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken
man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome, because of the LORD, and because of the words
of his holiness.
10For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places
of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force [is] not right.
11For both prophet and priest are profane; yea, in my house have I found their wickedness, saith
the LORD.
12Wherefore their way shall be unto them as slippery [ways] in the darkness: they shall be driven
on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them, [even] the year of their visitation, saith the
LORD.
13And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied in Baal, and caused my people
Israel to err.
14I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk
in lies: they strengthen also the hands of evildoers, that none doth return from his wickedness:
they are all of them unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah.
15Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with
wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is
profaneness gone forth into all the land.
16Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto
you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, [and] not out of the mouth of the
LORD.
17They say still unto them that despise me, The LORD hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say
unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.
18For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who
hath marked his word, and heard [it]?
19Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall
grievously upon the head of the wicked.
20The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the
thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.
21I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
22But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they
should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
23[Am] I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?
24Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven
and earth? saith the LORD.
25I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I
have dreamed. 26How long shall [this] be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea,
[they are] prophets of the deceit of their own heart; 27Which think to cause my people to forget
my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have
forgotten my name for Baal. 28The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that
hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What [is] the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD.
29[Is] not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer [that] breaketh the rock in
pieces? 30Therefore, behold, I [am] against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal my words
every one from his neighbour. 31Behold, I [am] against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use
their tongues, and say, He saith. 32Behold, I [am] against them that prophesy false dreams, saith
the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I
sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the
LORD.
False Oracles
33And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, What [is] the burden of
the LORD? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even forsake you, saith the LORD.
34And [as for] the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of the LORD,
I will even punish that man and his house. 35Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and
every one to his brother, What hath the LORD answered? and, What hath the LORD spoken? 36And
the burden of the LORD shall ye mention no more: for every man's word shall be his burden; for ye
have perverted the words of the living God, of the LORD of hosts our God. 37Thus shalt thou say to
the prophet, What hath the LORD answered thee? and, What hath the LORD spoken? 38But since
ye say, The burden of the LORD; therefore thus saith the LORD; Because ye say this word, The
burden of the LORD, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of the LORD;
39Therefore, behold, I, even I, will utterly forget you, and I will forsake you, and the city that I
gave you and your fathers, [and cast you] out of my presence: 40And I will bring an everlasting
reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame, which shall not be forgotten.
« Jeremiah 24 »
King James Bible
The Good and Bad Figs
1The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs [were] set before the temple of the LORD,
after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim
king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had
brought them to Babylon. 2One basket [had] very good figs, [even] like the figs [that are] first
ripe: and the other basket [had] very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.
3Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very
good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.
4Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like
these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have
sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for [their] good. 6For I will set mine eyes upon
them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull [them]
down; and I will plant them, and not pluck [them] up. 7And I will give them an heart to know me,
that I [am] the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return
unto me with their whole heart.
8And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I
give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this
land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt: 9And I will deliver them to be removed into all the
kingdoms of the earth for [their] hurt, [to be] a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all
places whither I shall drive them. 10And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence,
among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.
« Jeremiah 25 »
King James Bible
The Seventy Year Captivity
1The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim
the son of Josiah king of Judah, that [was] the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; 2The
which Jeremiah the prophet spake unto all the people of Judah, and to all the inhabitants of
Jerusalem, saying, 3From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, even unto
this day, that [is] the three and twentieth year, the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I
have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened. 4And the LORD hath
sent unto you all his servants the prophets, rising early and sending [them]; but ye have not
hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. 5They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil
way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you
and to your fathers for ever and ever: 6And go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship
them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. 7Yet
ye have not hearkened unto me, saith the LORD; that ye might provoke me to anger with the
works of your hands to your own hurt.
8Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, 9Behold, I will send
and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my
servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all
these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an
hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the
voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the
millstones, and the light of the candle. 11And this whole land shall be a desolation, [and] an
astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
The Destruction of Babylon
12And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, [that] I will punish the king of
Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will
make it perpetual desolations. 13And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have
pronounced against it, [even] all that is written in this book, which Jeremiah hath prophesied
against all the nations. 14For many nations and great kings shall serve themselves of them also:
and I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own
hands.
The Cup of God's Wrath
(Jeremiah 6:10-21; Jonah 1:4-10; Acts 27:13-26; Romans 1:18-32)
15For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and
cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. 16And they shall drink, and be moved, and
be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
17Then took I the cup at the LORD'S hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD
had sent me: 18[To wit], Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, and the kings thereof, and the princes
thereof, to make them a desolation, an astonishment, an hissing, and a curse; as [it is] this day;
19Pharaoh king of Egypt, and his servants, and his princes, and all his people; 20And all the
mingled people, and all the kings of the land of Uz, and all the kings of the land of the Philistines,
and Ashkelon, and Azzah, and Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, 21Edom, and Moab, and the
children of Ammon, 22And all the kings of Tyrus, and all the kings of Zidon, and the kings of the
isles which [are] beyond the sea, 23Dedan, and Tema, and Buz, and all [that are] in the utmost
corners, 24And all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of the mingled people that dwell in the
desert, 25And all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of the Medes,
26And all the kings of the north, far and 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.
27Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye,
and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send
among you. 28And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou
say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink. 29For, lo, I begin to bring
evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be
unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts.
30Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar
from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his
habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread [the grapes], against all the inhabitants of the
earth.
31A noise shall come [even] to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the
nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them [that are] wicked to the sword, saith the
LORD.
32Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great
whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth.
33And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from [one] end of the earth even unto the [other]
end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon
the ground.
The Cry of the Shepherds
34Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves [in the ashes], ye principal of the flock: for
the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a
pleasant vessel.
35And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.
36A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, [shall be heard]:
for the LORD hath spoiled their pasture.
37And the peaceable habitations are cut down because of the fierce anger of the LORD.
38He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the
oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.
« Jeremiah 26 »
King James Bible
Warning to the Cities of Judah
1In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the
LORD, saying, 2Thus saith the LORD; Stand in the court of the LORD'S house, and speak unto all
the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the LORD'S house, all the words that I command thee
to speak unto them; diminish not a word: 3If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his
evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of
their doings. 4And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; If ye will not hearken to me, to
walk in my law, which I have set before you, 5To hearken to the words of my servants the
prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending [them], but ye have not
hearkened; 6Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the
nations of the earth.
The Plot to Murder Jeremiah
7So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the
house of the LORD. 8Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that
the LORD had commanded [him] to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets
and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die. 9Why hast thou prophesied in the name
of the LORD, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an
inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
10When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king's house unto the
house of the LORD, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the LORD'S [house]. 11Then
spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man [is]
worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.
12Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The LORD sent me to
prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard. 13Therefore
now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD
will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. 14As for me, behold, I [am] in
your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you. 15But know ye for certain, that if ye
put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon
the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in
your ears.
Jeremiah Spared from Death
16Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man [is] not
worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the LORD our God. 17Then rose up certain
of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying,
18Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the
people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Zion shall be plowed [like] a field, and
Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.
19
Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the LORD, and
besought the LORD, and the LORD repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against
them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.
20And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the LORD, Urijah the son of Shemaiah
of Kirjathjearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of
Jeremiah: 21And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his
words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and
went into Egypt; 22And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, [namely], Elnathan the son of
Achbor, and [certain] men with him into Egypt. 23And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and
brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into
the graves of the common people.
24Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not
give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.
« Jeremiah 27 »
King James Bible
The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar
1In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word unto
Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2Thus saith the LORD to me; Make thee bonds and yokes, and
put them upon thy neck, 3And send them to the king of Edom, and to the king of Moab, and to the
king of the Ammonites, and to the king of Tyrus, and to the king of Zidon, by the hand of the
messengers which come to Jerusalem unto Zedekiah king of Judah; 4And command them to say
unto their masters, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Thus shall ye say unto your
masters; 5I have made the earth, the man and the beast that [are] upon the ground, by my great
power and by my outstretched arm, and have given it unto whom it seemed meet unto me. 6And
now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant;
and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him. 7And all nations shall serve him, and
his son, and his son's son, until the very time of his land come: and then many nations and great
kings shall serve themselves of him.
8And it shall come to pass, [that] the nation and kingdom which will not serve the same
Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of
Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith the LORD, with the sword, and with the famine, and with
the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand. 9Therefore hearken not ye to your
prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreamers, nor to your enchanters, nor to your sorcerers,
which speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: 10For they prophesy a lie
unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.
11But the nations that bring their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him, those
will I let remain still in their own land, saith the LORD; and they shall till it, and dwell therein.
12I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks
under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live. 13Why will ye die,
thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken
against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14Therefore hearken not unto the words
of the prophets that speak unto you, saying, Ye shall not serve the king of Babylon: for they
prophesy a lie unto you. 15For I have not sent them, saith the LORD, yet they prophesy a lie in my
name; that I might drive you out, and that ye might perish, ye, and the prophets that prophesy
unto you.
16Also I spake to the priests and to all this people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Hearken not to the
words of your prophets that prophesy unto you, saying, Behold, the vessels of the LORD'S house
shall now shortly be brought again from Babylon: for they prophesy a lie unto you. 17Hearken not
unto them; serve the king of Babylon, and live: wherefore should this city be laid waste? 18But if
they [be] prophets, and if the word of the LORD be with them, let them now make intercession to
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, go not to Babylon. 19For thus saith the LORD of hosts
concerning the pillars, and concerning the sea, and concerning the bases, and concerning the
residue of the vessels that remain in this city, 20Which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took not,
when he carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah from Jerusalem to
Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem; 21Yea, thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God
of Israel, concerning the vessels that remain [in] the house of the LORD, and [in] the house of the
king of Judah and of Jerusalem; 22They shall be carried to Babylon, and there shall they be until
the day that I visit them, saith the LORD; then will I bring them up, and restore them to this place.
« Jeremiah 28 »
King James Bible
Hananiah's False Prophecy
1And it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the
fourth year, [and] in the fifth month, [that] Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, which [was] of
Gibeon, spake unto me in the house of the LORD, in the presence of the priests and of all the
people, saying, 2Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the
yoke of the king of Babylon. 3Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of
the LORD'S house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried
them to Babylon: 4And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah,
with all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the LORD: for I will break the yoke of
the king of Babylon.
5Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in
the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the LORD, 6Even the prophet Jeremiah
said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring
again the vessels of the LORD'S house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this
place. 7Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the
people; 8The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against
many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence. 9The prophet
which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, [then] shall the
prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.
10Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it.
11And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Even so will
I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space
of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.
12Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah [the prophet], after that Hananiah the prophet
had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 13Go and tell Hananiah,
saying, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them
yokes of iron. 14For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon
the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall
serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also. 15Then said the prophet Jeremiah
unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest
this people to trust in a lie. 16Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the
face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD.
17So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
« Jeremiah 29 »
King James Bible
Jeremiah's Letter to the Exiles
1Now these [are] the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem unto the
residue of the elders which were carried away captives, and to the priests, and to the prophets,
and to all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon;
2(After that Jeconiah the king, and the queen, and the eunuchs, the princes of Judah and
Jerusalem, and the carpenters, and the smiths, were departed from Jerusalem;) 3By the hand of
Elasah the son of Shaphan, and Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, (whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent
unto Babylon to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon) saying, 4Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God
of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from
Jerusalem unto Babylon; 5Build ye houses, and dwell [in them]; and plant gardens, and eat the
fruit of them; 6Take 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 be
increased there, and not diminished. 7And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to
be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have
peace. 8For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your
diviners, that [be] in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause
to be dreamed. 9For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the
LORD.
10For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and
perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 11For I know the
thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an
expected end. 12Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken
unto you. 13And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
14And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: and I will turn away 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 bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.
15Because ye have said, The LORD hath raised us up prophets in Babylon; 16[Know] that thus saith
the LORD of the king that sitteth upon the throne of David, and of all the people that dwelleth in
this city, [and] of your brethren that are not gone forth with you into captivity; 17Thus saith the
LORD of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will
make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 18And I will persecute them with
the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the
kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among
all the nations whither I have driven them: 19Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith
the LORD, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending
[them]; but ye would not hear, saith the LORD. 20Hear ye therefore the word of the LORD, all ye
of the captivity, whom I have sent from Jerusalem to Babylon:
21Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, of Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and of Zedekiah the
son of Maaseiah, which prophesy a lie unto you in my name; Behold, I will deliver them into the
hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon; and he shall slay them before your eyes; 22And of them
shall be taken up a curse by all the captivity of Judah which [are] in Babylon, saying, The LORD
23
make thee like Zedekiah and like Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire; Because
they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives,
and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and
[am] a witness, saith the LORD.
Shemaiah's Letter against Jeremiah
24[Thus] shalt thou also speak to Shemaiah the Nehelamite, saying, 25Thus speaketh the LORD of
hosts, the God of Israel, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that
[are] at Jerusalem, and to Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the priest, and to all the priests, saying,
26The LORD hath made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should be officers in
the house of the LORD, for every man [that is] mad, and maketh himself a prophet, that thou
shouldest put him in prison, and in the stocks. 27Now therefore why hast thou not reproved
Jeremiah of Anathoth, which maketh himself a prophet to you? 28For therefore he sent unto us [in]
Babylon, saying, This [captivity is] long: build ye houses, and dwell [in them]; and plant gardens,
and eat the fruit of them.
29And Zephaniah the priest read this letter in the ears of Jeremiah the prophet. 30Then came the
word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, 31Send to all them of the captivity, saying, Thus saith the
LORD concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite; Because that Shemaiah hath prophesied unto you,
and I sent him not, and he caused you to trust in a lie: 32Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I
will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his seed: he shall not have a man to dwell among this
people; neither shall he behold the good that I will do for my people, saith the LORD; because he
hath taught rebellion against the LORD.
« Jeremiah 30 »
King James Bible
Restoration of Israel and Judah
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel,
saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. 3For, lo, the days come,
saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD:
and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.
4And these [are] the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.
5For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.
6Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his
hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?
7Alas! for that day [is] great, so that none [is] like it: it [is] even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he
shall be saved out of it.
8For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, [that] I will break his yoke from off
thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: 9But they
shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
10Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for,
lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return,
and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make [him] afraid.
11For I [am] with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations
whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in
measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.
12For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise [is] incurable, [and] thy wound [is] grievous.
13[There is] none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing
medicines.
14All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound
of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; [because]
thy sins were increased.
15Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow [is] incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity:
[because] thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.
16Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of
them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee
will I give for a prey.
17For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because
they called thee an Outcast, [saying], This [is] Zion, whom no man seeketh after.
Restoration of Jacob
18Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on
his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain
after the manner thereof.
19And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will
multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.
20Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me,
and I will punish all that oppress them.
21And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor 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 engaged
his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD.
22And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.
23Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with
pain upon the head of the wicked.
24The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have done [it], and until he have
performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.
« Jeremiah 31 »
King James Bible
Mourning Turned to Joy
(Matthew 2:16-18)
1At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be
my people.
2Thus saith the LORD, The people [which were] left of the sword found grace in the wilderness;
[even] Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.
3The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, [saying], Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.
4Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with
thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.
5Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat
[them] as common things.
6For there shall be a day, [that] the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let
us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.
7For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations:
publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.
8Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth,
[and] with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child
together: a great company shall return thither.
9They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk
by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim [is] my firstborn.
10Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare [it] in the isles afar off, and say, He that
scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd [doth] his flock.
11For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of [him that was] stronger
than he.
12Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness
of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd:
and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.
13Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their
mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
14And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my
goodness, saith the LORD.
15Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, [and] bitter weeping; Rahel
weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they [were] not.
16Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work
shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
17And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own
border.
18I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself [thus]; Thou hast chastised me, and I was
chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed [to the yoke]: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou
[art] the LORD my God.
19Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon [my]
thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.
20[Is] Ephraim my dear son? [is he] a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly
remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him,
saith the LORD.
21Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, [even] the
way [which] thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.
22How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new
thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.
23Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of
Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless thee, O
habitation of justice, [and] mountain of holiness.
24And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they
[that] go forth with flocks. 25For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every
sorrowful soul. 26Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.
27Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of
Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. 28And it shall come to pass, [that] like as
I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy,
and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD.
29In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's
teeth are set on edge.
30But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall
be set on edge.
A New Covenant
31Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel,
and with the house of Judah: 32Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the
day [that] I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they
brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: 33But this [shall be] the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in
their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know
the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the
LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
35Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, [and] the ordinances of the moon
and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The
LORD of hosts [is] his name:
36If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, [then] the seed of Israel also shall
cease from being a nation before me for ever.
37Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth
searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the
LORD.
38Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of
Hananeel unto the gate of the corner. 39And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it
upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath. 40And the whole valley of the dead bodies,
and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate
toward the east, [shall be] holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any
more for ever.
« Jeremiah 32 »
King James Bible
Jeremiah Buys Hanamel's Field
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which
[was] the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. 2For then the king of Babylon's army besieged
Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which [was] in the
king of Judah's house. 3For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou
prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of
Babylon, and he shall take it; 4And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the
Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with
him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes; 5And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon,
and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the LORD: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall
not prosper?
6And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 7Behold, Hanameel the son of
Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee, saying, Buy thee my field that [is] in Anathoth: for the
right of redemption [is] thine to buy [it]. 8So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court
of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that
[is] in Anathoth, which [is] in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance [is] thine, and
the redemption [is] thine; buy [it] for thyself. Then I knew that this [was] the word of the LORD.
9And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that [was] in Anathoth, and weighed him the
money, [even] seventeen shekels of silver. 10And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed [it], and
took witnesses, and weighed [him] the money in the balances. 11So I took the evidence of the
purchase, [both] that which was sealed [according] to the law and custom, and that which was
open: 12And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of
Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's [son], and in the presence of the witnesses that
subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison. 13And I
charged Baruch before them, saying, 14Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these
evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open;
and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days. 15For thus saith the LORD
of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.
Jeremiah's Prayer
16Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed
unto the LORD, saying, 17Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy
great power and stretched out arm, [and] there is nothing too hard for thee: 18Thou shewest
lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of
their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, [is] his name, 19Great in
counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes [are] open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to
give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings: 20Which hast set
signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, [even] unto this day, and in Israel, and among [other]
men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day; 21And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of
the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out
arm, and with great terror; 22And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers
to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey; 23And they came in, and possessed it; but they
obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou
commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them: 24Behold
the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the
Chaldeans, that 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]. 25And thou hast said unto
me, O Lord GOD, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the
hand of the Chaldeans.
Jerusalem's Fall Confirmed
26Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, 27Behold, I [am] the LORD, the God of
all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? 28Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give
this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and
he shall take it: 29And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this
city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and
poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger. 30For the children of Israel
and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel
have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD. 31For this city hath
been to me [as] a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even
unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face, 32Because of all the evil 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. 33And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them,
rising up early and teaching [them], yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction. 34But they
set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it. 35And they built the
high places of Baal, 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 commanded them not, neither came it
into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.
A Promise of Restoration
36And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It
shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the
pestilence; 37Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine
anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will
cause them to dwell safely: 38And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: 39And I will
give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of
their children after them: 40And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn
away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart
from me. 41Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land
assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul. 42For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have
brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have
promised them. 43And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, [It is] desolate without
man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans. 44Men shall buy fields for money, and
subscribe evidences, and seal [them], and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the
places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the
cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the
LORD.
« Jeremiah 33 »
King James Bible
Restoration Promised Again
1Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in
the court of the prison, saying, 2Thus saith the LORD the maker thereof, the LORD that formed it,
to establish it; the LORD [is] his name; 3Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great
and mighty things, which thou knowest not. 4For thus saith 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 the mounts, and by the sword; 5They come to fight with the Chaldeans, but [it is]
to fill them with the dead bodies of men, whom I have slain in mine anger and in my fury, and for
all whose wickedness I have hid my face from this city. 6Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and
I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth. 7And I will cause the
captivity of Judah and the captivity of Israel to return, and will build them, as at the first. 8And I
will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all
their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. 9And
it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which
shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness
and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.
10Thus saith the LORD; Again there shall be heard in this place, which ye say [shall be] desolate
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,
11The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the
bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD [is] good; for his
mercy [endureth] for ever: [and] of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of
the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.
12Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without
beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be an habitation of shepherds causing [their] flocks to lie
down. 13In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and
in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the
flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth [them], saith the LORD.
The Covenant with David
14Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised
unto the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. 15In those days, and at that time, will I cause
the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and
righteousness in the land. 16In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely:
and this [is the name] wherewith she shall be called, The LORD our righteousness. 17For thus saith
the LORD; David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel; 18Neither
shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat
offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.
19And the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, saying, 20Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break
my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night
in their season; 21[Then] may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should
not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. 22As the
host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the
seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me.
23Moreover the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 24Considerest thou not what this
people have spoken, saying, The two families which the LORD hath chosen, he hath even cast
them off? thus they have despised my people, that they should be no more a nation before them.
25Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant [be] not with day and night, [and if] I have not appointed
the ordinances of heaven and earth; 26Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David my
servant, [so] that I will not 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.
« Jeremiah 34 »
King James Bible
A Prophecy against Zedekiah
1The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and
all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth of his dominion, and all the people, fought against
Jerusalem, and against all the cities thereof, saying, 2Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Go
and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city
into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire: 3And thou shalt not escape out
of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and thine eyes shall behold the
eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt go to
Babylon. 4Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of thee,
Thou shalt not die by the sword: 5[But] thou shalt die in peace: and with the burnings of thy
fathers, the former kings which were before thee, so shall they burn [odours] for thee; and they
will lament thee, [saying], Ah lord! for I have pronounced the word, saith the LORD.
6Then Jeremiah the prophet spake all these words unto Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,
7When the king of Babylon's army fought against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that
were left, against Lachish, and against Azekah: for these defenced cities remained of the cities of
Judah.
Freedom for Hebrew Slaves
8[This is] the word that came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made
a covenant with all the people which [were] at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty unto them; 9That
every man should let his manservant, and every man his maidservant, [being] an Hebrew or an
Hebrewess, go free; that none should serve himself of them, [to wit], of a Jew his brother. 10Now
when all the princes, and all the people, which had entered into the covenant, heard that every one
should let his manservant, and every one his maidservant, go free, that none should serve
themselves of them any more, then they obeyed, and let [them] go. 11But afterward they turned,
and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought
them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.
12Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 13Thus saith the
LORD, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth
out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondmen, saying, 14At the end of seven years let ye
go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee; and when he hath served
thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me,
neither inclined their ear. 15And ye were now turned, and had done right in my sight, in
proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbour; and ye had made a covenant before me in the
house which is called by my name: 16But ye turned and polluted my name, and caused every man
his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom ye had set at liberty at their pleasure, to return,
and brought them into subjection, to be unto you for servants and for handmaids.
17Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ye have not hearkened unto me, in proclaiming liberty, every one
to his brother, and every man to his neighbour: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the
LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into
all the kingdoms of the earth. 18And I will give the men that have transgressed my covenant,
which have not performed the words of the covenant which they had made before me, when they
cut the calf in twain, and passed between the parts thereof, 19The princes of Judah, and the
princes of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the priests, and all the people of the land, which passed
between the parts of the calf; 20I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the
hand of them that seek their life: and their dead bodies shall be for meat unto the fowls of the
heaven, and to the beasts of the earth. 21And Zedekiah king of Judah and his princes will I give
into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of them that seek their life, and into the hand of
the king of Babylon's army, which are gone up from you. 22Behold, I will command, saith the
LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it
with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without an inhabitant.
« Jeremiah 35 »
King James Bible
Obedience of the Rechabites
1The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah
king of Judah, saying, 2Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them
into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink. 3Then I took
Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the
whole house of the Rechabites; 4And I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber
of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which [was] by the chamber of the
princes, which [was] above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door:
5And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said
unto them, Drink ye wine. 6But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab
our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, [neither] ye, nor your sons for ever:
7Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have [any]: but all your days
ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye [be] strangers. 8Thus have
we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to
drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters; 9Nor to build houses for us
to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed: 10But we have dwelt in tents, and have
obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 11But it came to pass,
when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to
Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we
dwell at Jerusalem.
Judah Rebuked
12Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, 13Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the
God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive
instruction to hearken to my words? saith the LORD. 14The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab,
that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none,
but obey their father's commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and
speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me. 15I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets,
rising up early and sending [them], saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend
your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have
given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.
16Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their
father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me: 17Therefore thus
saith the LORD 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 pronounced against them: because I have spoken
unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.
18And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of
Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his
precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you: 19Therefore thus saith the
LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before
me for ever.
« Jeremiah 36 »
King James Bible
Jeremiah's Scroll Read in the Temple
1And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, [that] this
word came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2Take thee a roll of a 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 I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. 3It may be
that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return
every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.
4Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all
the words of the LORD, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book. 5And Jeremiah
commanded Baruch, saying, I [am] shut up; I cannot go into the house of the LORD: 6Therefore
go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the LORD in
the ears of the people in the LORD'S house upon the fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in
the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities. 7It may be they will present their supplication
before the LORD, and will return every one from his evil way: for great [is] the anger and the fury
that the LORD hath pronounced against this people. 8And Baruch the son of Neriah did according
to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the LORD in the
LORD'S house.
9And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, in the ninth
month, [that] they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the
people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem. 10Then read Baruch in the book the
words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the
scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the new gate of the LORD'S house, in the ears of all the
people.
Jeremiah's Scroll Read in the King's House
11When Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the words
of the LORD, 12Then he went down into the king's house, into the scribe's chamber: and, lo, all the
princes sat there, [even] Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the
son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the
princes. 13Then Michaiah declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read
the book in the ears of the people. 14Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah,
the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, unto Baruch, saying, Take in thine hand the roll wherein
thou hast read in the ears of the people, and come. So Baruch the son of Neriah took the roll in his
hand, and came unto them. 15And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. So
Baruch read [it] in their ears. 16Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they
were afraid both one and other, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these
words. 17And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his
mouth? 18Then Baruch answered them, He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth,
and I wrote [them] with ink in the book. 19Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, thou
and Jeremiah; and let no man know where ye be.
King Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll
20And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama
the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king. 21So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll:
and he took it out of Elishama the scribe's chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and
in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king. 22Now the king sat in the winterhouse in
the ninth month: and [there was a fire] on the hearth burning before him. 23And it came to pass,
[that] when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast [it] into the
fire that [was] on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that [was] on the hearth.
24Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, [neither] the king, nor any of his servants that
heard all these words. 25Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession
to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them. 26But the king
commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the
son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them.
Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll
27Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the
words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, 28Take thee again another roll, and
write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath
burned. 29And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast burned
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 from thence man and beast? 30Therefore thus saith
the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his
dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. 31And I will punish
him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against
them; but they hearkened not.
32Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote
therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had
burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words.
« Jeremiah 37 »
King James Bible
Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah
1And king Zedekiah the son of Josiah reigned instead of Coniah the son of Jehoiakim, whom
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon made king in the land of Judah. 2But neither he, nor his servants,
nor the people of the land, did hearken unto the words of the LORD, which he spake by the
prophet Jeremiah.
3And Zedekiah the king sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah the
priest to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, Pray now unto the LORD our God for us. 4Now Jeremiah
came in and went out among the people: for they had not put him into prison. 5Then Pharaoh's
army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings
of them, they departed from Jerusalem.
6Then came the word of the LORD unto the prophet Jeremiah, saying, 7Thus saith the LORD, the
God of Israel; Thus shall ye say to the king of Judah, that sent you unto me to inquire of me;
Behold, Pharaoh's army, which is come forth to help you, shall return to Egypt into their own land.
8And the Chaldeans shall come again, and fight against this city, and take it, and burn it with fire.
9Thus saith the LORD; Deceive not yourselves, saying, The Chaldeans shall surely depart from us:
for they shall not depart. 10For though ye had smitten the whole army of the Chaldeans that fight
against you, and there remained [but] wounded men among them, [yet] should they rise up every
man in his tent, and burn this city with fire.
Jeremiah Imprisoned
11And it came to pass, that when the army of the Chaldeans was broken up from Jerusalem for fear
of Pharaoh's army, 12Then Jeremiah went forth out of Jerusalem to go into the land of Benjamin,
to separate himself thence in the midst of the people. 13And when he was in the gate of Benjamin,
a captain of the ward [was] there, whose name [was] Irijah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of
Hananiah; and he took Jeremiah the prophet, saying, Thou fallest away to the Chaldeans. 14Then
said Jeremiah, [It is] false; I fall not away to the Chaldeans. But he hearkened not to him: so Irijah
took Jeremiah, and brought him to the princes. 15Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah,
and smote him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that
the prison. 16When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into the cabins, and Jeremiah had
remained there many days;
17Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took him out: and the king asked him secretly in his house, and
said, Is there [any] word from the LORD? And Jeremiah said, There is: for, said he, thou shalt be
delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon. 18Moreover Jeremiah said unto king Zedekiah, What
have I offended against thee, or against thy servants, or against this people, that ye have put me
in prison? 19Where [are] now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of
Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land? 20Therefore hear now, I pray thee, O
my lord the king: let my supplication, I pray thee, be accepted before thee; that thou cause me not
to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there. 21Then Zedekiah the king
commanded that they should commit Jeremiah into the court of the prison, and that they should
give him daily a piece of bread out of the bakers' street, until all the bread in the city were spent.
Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison.
« Jeremiah 38 »
King James Bible
Jeremiah Cast Into the Cistern
1Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of
Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the
people, saying, 2Thus saith 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; for he shall have
his life for a prey, and shall live. 3Thus saith the LORD, This city shall surely be given into the hand
of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it. 4Therefore the princes said unto the king, We
beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war
that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this
man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. 5Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he
[is] in your hand: for the king [is] not [he that] can do [any] thing against you. 6Then took they
Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that [was] in the
court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon [there was] no
water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire.
Jeremiah Rescued
7Now when Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, one of the eunuchs which was in the king's house, heard
that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;
8Ebedmelech went forth out of the king's house, and spake to the king, saying, 9My lord the king,
these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast
into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for [there is] no more
bread in the city. 10Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence
thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die. 11So
Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and
took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to
Jeremiah. 12And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now [these] old cast clouts and
rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. 13So they drew up
Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of
the prison.
Jeremiah Again Warns Zedekiah
14Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that
[is] in the house of the LORD: and the king said unto Jeremiah, I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing
from me. 15Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah, If I declare [it] unto thee, wilt thou not surely put
me to death? and if I give thee counsel, wilt thou not hearken unto me? 16So Zedekiah the king
sware secretly unto Jeremiah, saying, [As] the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put
thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.
17Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If
thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city
shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: 18But if thou wilt not go forth to
the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they
shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. 19And Zedekiah the king said
unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into
their hand, and they mock me. 20But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver [thee]. Obey, I beseech
thee, the voice of the LORD, which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well unto thee, and thy soul
shall live. 21But if thou refuse to go forth, this [is] the word that the LORD hath shewed me:
22And, behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house [shall be] brought forth to
the king of Babylon's princes, and those [women] shall say, Thy friends have set thee on, and have
prevailed against thee: thy feet are sunk in the mire, [and] they are turned away back.
23So they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans: and thou shalt not escape
out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon: and thou shalt cause this
city to be burned with fire.
24Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah, Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.
25But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee,
Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king, hide it not from us, and we will not put
thee to death; also what the king said unto thee: 26Then thou shalt say unto them, I presented my
supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die
there. 27Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him: and he told them according to
all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter
was not perceived. 28So Jeremiah abode in the court of the prison until the day that Jerusalem was
taken: and he was [there] when Jerusalem was taken.
« Jeremiah 39 »
King James Bible
The Fall of Jerusalem
1In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchadrezzar king of
Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it. 2[And] in the eleventh year of
Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth [day] of the month, the city was broken up. 3And all the
princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, [even] Nergalsharezer,
Samgarnebo, Sarsechim, Rabsaris, Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, with all the residue of the princes of
the king of Babylon. 4And it came to pass, [that] when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and
all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king's
garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain. 5But the
Chaldeans' army pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when
they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land
of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him. 6Then the king of Babylon slew the sons of
Zedekiah in Riblah before his eyes: also the king of Babylon slew all the nobles of Judah.
7Moreover he put out Zedekiah's eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon. 8And
the Chaldeans burned the king's house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down
the walls of Jerusalem. 9Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive into
Babylon the remnant of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to
him, with the rest of the people that remained. 10But Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left of
the poor of the people, which had nothing, in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and
fields at the same time.
Jeremiah Delivered
11Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzaradan the
captain of the guard, saying, 12Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto
him even as he shall say unto thee. 13So Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard sent, and
Nebushasban, Rabsaris, and Nergalsharezer, Rabmag, and all the king of Babylon's princes; 14Even
they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah the
son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people.
15Now the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah, while he was shut up in the court of the prison,
saying, 16Go and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the
God of Israel; Behold, I will bring my words upon this city for evil, and not for good; and they shall
be [accomplished] in that day before thee. 17But I will deliver thee in that day, saith the LORD:
and thou shalt not be given into the hand of the men of whom thou [art] afraid. 18For I will surely
deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because
thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.
« Jeremiah 40 »
King James Bible
Jeremiah Remains in Judah
1The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after that Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard
had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him being bound in chains among all that were
carried away captive of Jerusalem and Judah, which were carried away captive unto Babylon. 2And
the captain of the guard took Jeremiah, and said unto him, The LORD thy God hath pronounced
this evil upon this place. 3Now the LORD hath brought [it], and done according as he hath said:
because ye have sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed his voice, therefore this thing is
come upon you. 4And now, behold, I loose thee this day from the chains which [were] upon thine
hand. If it seem good unto thee to come with me into Babylon, come; and I will look well unto
thee: but if it seem ill unto thee to come with me into Babylon, forbear: behold, all the land [is]
before thee: whither it seemeth good and convenient for thee to go, thither go. 5Now while he was
not yet gone back, [he said], Go back also to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan,
whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among
the people: or go wheresoever it seemeth convenient unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard
gave him victuals and a reward, and let him go. 6Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of
Ahikam to Mizpah; and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land.
Gedaliah Rules in Judah
7Now when all the captains of the forces which [were] in the fields, [even] they and their men,
heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam governor in the land, and had
committed unto him men, and women, and children, and of the poor of the land, of them that were
not carried away captive to Babylon; 8Then they came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael the
son of Nethaniah, and Johanan and Jonathan the sons of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of
Tanhumeth, and the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah the son of a Maachathite, they
and their men. 9And Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan sware unto them and to their
men, saying, Fear not to serve the Chaldeans: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon, and
it shall be well with you. 10As for me, behold, I will dwell at Mizpah to serve the Chaldeans, which
will come unto us: but ye, gather ye wine, and summer fruits, and oil, and put [them] in your
vessels, and dwell in your cities that ye have taken. 11Likewise when all the Jews that [were] in
Moab, and among the Ammonites, and in Edom, and that [were] in all the countries, heard that the
king of Babylon had left a remnant of Judah, and that he had set over them Gedaliah the son of
Ahikam the son of Shaphan; 12Even all the Jews returned out of all places whither they were
driven, and came to the land of Judah, to Gedaliah, unto Mizpah, and gathered wine and summer
fruits very much.
The Plot against Gedaliah
13Moreover Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that [were] in the fields,
came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, 14And said unto him, Dost thou certainly know that Baalis the king of
the Ammonites hath sent Ishmael the son of Nethaniah to slay thee? But Gedaliah the son of
Ahikam believed them not. 15Then Johanan the son of Kareah spake to Gedaliah in Mizpah
secretly, saying, Let me go, I pray thee, and I will slay Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and no man
shall know [it]: wherefore should he slay thee, that all the Jews which are gathered unto thee
should be scattered, and the remnant in Judah perish? 16But Gedaliah the son of Ahikam said unto
Johanan the son of Kareah, Thou shalt not do this thing: for thou speakest falsely of Ishmael.
« Jeremiah 41 »
King James Bible
Gedaliah Assassinated
1Now it came to pass in the seventh month, [that] Ishmael the son of Nethaniah the son of
Elishama, of the seed royal, and the princes of the king, even ten men with him, came unto
Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah; and there they did eat bread together in Mizpah. 2Then
arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the
son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had
made governor over the land. 3Ishmael also slew all the Jews that were with him, [even] with
Gedaliah, at Mizpah, and the Chaldeans that were found there, [and] the men of war.
4And it came to pass the second day after he had slain Gedaliah, and no man knew [it], 5That there
came certain from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria, [even] fourscore men, having their
beards shaven, and their clothes rent, and having cut themselves, with offerings and incense in
their hand, to bring [them] to the house of the LORD. 6And Ishmael the son of Nethaniah went
forth from Mizpah to meet them, weeping all along as he went: and it came to pass, as he met
them, he said unto them, Come to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam. 7And it was [so], when they came
into the midst of the city, that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah slew them, [and cast them] into the
midst of the pit, he, and the men that [were] with him. 8But ten men were found among them that
said unto Ishmael, Slay us not: for we have treasures in the field, of wheat, and of barley, and of
oil, and of honey. So he forbare, and slew them not among their brethren.
9Now the pit wherein Ishmael had cast all the dead bodies of the men, whom he had slain because
of Gedaliah, [was] it which Asa the king had made for fear of Baasha king of Israel: [and] Ishmael
the son of Nethaniah filled it with [them that were] slain. 10Then Ishmael carried away captive all
the residue of the people that [were] in Mizpah, [even] the king's daughters, and all the people
that remained in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard had committed to Gedaliah
the son of Ahikam: and Ishmael the son of Nethaniah carried them away captive, and departed to
go over to the Ammonites.
Johanan Rescues the Captives
11But when Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that [were] with him,
heard of all the evil that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had done, 12Then they took all the men,
and went to fight with Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and found him by the great waters that [are]
in Gibeon. 13Now it came to pass, [that] when all the people which [were] with Ishmael saw
Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that [were] with him, then they were
glad. 14So all the people that Ishmael had carried away captive from Mizpah cast about and
returned, and went unto Johanan the son of Kareah. 15But Ishmael the son of Nethaniah escaped
from Johanan with eight men, and went to the Ammonites. 16Then took Johanan the son of
Kareah, and all the captains of the forces that [were] with him, all the remnant of the people whom
he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah, after [that] he had slain
Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, [even] mighty men of war, and the women, and the children, and the
eunuchs, whom he had brought again from Gibeon: 17And they departed, and dwelt in the
habitation of Chimham, which is by Bethlehem, to go to enter into Egypt, 18Because of the
Chaldeans: for they were afraid of them, because Ishmael the son of Nethaniah had slain Gedaliah
the son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon made governor in the land.
« Jeremiah 42 »
King James Bible
Warning against Going to Egypt
1Then all the captains of the forces, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Jezaniah the son of
Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least even unto the greatest, came near, 2And said unto
Jeremiah the prophet, Let, we beseech thee, our supplication be accepted before thee, and pray
for us unto the LORD thy God, [even] for all this remnant; (for we are left [but] a few of many, as
thine eyes do behold us:) 3That the LORD thy God may shew us the way wherein we may walk,
and the thing that we may do. 4Then Jeremiah the prophet said 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 shall answer you, I will declare [it] unto you; I will keep nothing
back from you. 5Then they said to Jeremiah, The LORD be a true and faithful witness between us,
if we do not even according to all things for the which the LORD thy God shall send thee to us.
6Whether [it be] good, or whether [it be] evil, we will obey the voice of the LORD our God, to
whom we send thee; that it may be well with us, when we obey the voice of the LORD our God.
7And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah. 8Then called
he Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces which [were] with him, and all the
people from the least even to the greatest, 9And said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of
Israel, unto whom ye sent me to present your supplication before him; 10If ye will still abide in this
land, then will I build you, and not pull [you] down, and I will plant you, and not pluck [you] up:
for I repent me of the evil that I have done unto you. 11Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of
whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the LORD: for I [am] with you to save you, and to
deliver you from his hand. 12And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you,
and cause you to return to your own land. 13But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither
obey the voice of the LORD your God, 14Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where
we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will
we dwell: 15And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the
LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn
there; 16Then it shall come to pass, [that] the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in
the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in
Egypt; and there ye shall die. 17So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt
to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: and none of
them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them.
18For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As mine anger and my fury hath been poured
forth upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem; so shall my fury be poured forth upon you, when ye shall
enter into Egypt: and ye shall be an execration, and an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach;
and ye shall see this place no more. 19The LORD hath said concerning you, O ye remnant of
Judah; Go ye not into Egypt: know certainly that I have admonished you this day. 20For ye
dissembled in your hearts, when ye sent me unto the LORD your God, saying, Pray for us unto the
LORD our God; and according unto all that the LORD our God shall say, so declare unto us, and we
will do [it]. 21And [now] I have this day declared [it] to you; but ye have not obeyed the voice of
the LORD your God, nor any [thing] for the which he hath sent me unto you. 22Now therefore
know certainly that ye shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, in the place
whither ye desire to go [and] to sojourn.
« Jeremiah 43 »
King James Bible
Jeremiah Taken to Egypt
1And it came to pass, [that] when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking unto all the people all the
words of the LORD their God, for which the LORD their God had sent him to them, [even] all these
words, 2Then spake Azariah the son of Hoshaiah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the
proud men, saying unto Jeremiah, Thou speakest falsely: the LORD our God hath not sent thee to
say, Go not into Egypt to sojourn there: 3But Baruch the son of Neriah setteth thee on against us,
for to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they might put us to death, and carry us away
captives into Babylon. 4So Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, and all
the people, obeyed not the voice of the LORD, to dwell in the land of Judah. 5But Johanan the son
of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned
from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah; 6[Even] men, and
women, and children, and the king's daughters, and every person that Nebuzaradan the captain of
the guard had left with Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Jeremiah the prophet,
and Baruch the son of Neriah. 7So they came into the land of Egypt: for they obeyed not the voice
of the LORD: thus came they [even] to Tahpanhes.
8Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, 9Take great stones in thine
hand, and hide them in the clay in the brickkiln, which [is] at the entry of Pharaoh's house in
Tahpanhes, in the sight of the men of Judah; 10And say unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts,
the God of Israel; Behold, I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant,
and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion
over them. 11And when he cometh, he shall smite the land of Egypt, [and deliver] such [as are] for
death to death; and such [as are] for captivity to captivity; and such [as are] for the sword to the
sword. 12And I will kindle a fire in the houses of the gods of Egypt; and he shall burn them, and
carry them away captives: and he shall array himself with the land of Egypt, as a shepherd putteth
on his garment; and he shall go forth from thence in peace. 13He shall break also the images of
Bethshemesh, that [is] in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he
burn with fire.
« Jeremiah 44 »
King James Bible
Judgment on the Jews in Egypt
1The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the Jews which dwell in the land of Egypt, which
dwell at Migdol, and at Tahpanhes, and at Noph, and in the country of Pathros, saying, 2Thus saith
the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Ye have seen all the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem,
and upon all the cities of Judah; and, behold, this day they [are] a desolation, and no man dwelleth
therein, 3Because of their wickedness which they have committed to provoke me to anger, in that
they went to burn incense, [and] to serve other gods, whom they knew not, [neither] they, ye, nor
your fathers. 4Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending
[them], saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate. 5But they hearkened not, nor inclined
their ear to turn from their wickedness, to burn no incense unto other gods. 6Wherefore my fury
and mine anger was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of
Jerusalem; and they are wasted [and] desolate, as at this day. 7Therefore now thus saith the
LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; Wherefore commit ye [this] great evil against your
souls, to cut off from you man and woman, child and suckling, out of Judah, to leave you none to
remain; 8In that ye provoke me unto wrath with the works of your hands, burning incense unto
other gods in the land of Egypt, whither ye be gone to dwell, that ye might cut yourselves off, and
that ye might be a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth? 9Have 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 have
committed in the land of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem? 10They are not humbled [even]
unto this day, neither have they feared, nor walked in my law, nor in my statutes, that I set before
you and before your fathers.
11Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will set my face against you
for evil, and to cut off all Judah. 12And 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 be consumed, [and] fall in the land of
Egypt; they shall [even] be consumed by the sword [and] by the famine: they shall die, from the
least even unto the greatest, by the sword and by the famine: and they shall be an execration,
[and] an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach. 13For I will punish them that dwell in the land
of Egypt, as I have punished Jerusalem, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: 14So
that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall
escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to
return to dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall escape.
The Stubbornness of the People
15Then all the men which knew that their wives had burned incense unto other gods, and all the
women that stood by, a great multitude, even all the people that dwelt in the land of Egypt, in
Pathros, answered Jeremiah, saying, 16[As for] the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the
name of the LORD, we will not hearken unto thee. 17But we will certainly do whatsoever thing
goeth 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: for [then] had we plenty of victuals, and were well,
and saw no evil. 18But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out
drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all [things], and have been consumed by the sword and
by the famine. 19And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink
offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her,
without our men?
The Final Judgment
20Then Jeremiah said unto all the people, to the men, and to the women, and to all the people
which had given him [that] answer, saying, 21The incense that ye burned 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, did not the LORD remember them, and came it [not] into his mind? 22So that the
LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, [and] because of the abominations
which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse,
without an inhabitant, as at this day. 23Because ye have burned incense, and because ye have
sinned against the LORD, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD, nor walked in his law, nor in
his statutes, nor in his testimonies; therefore this evil is happened unto you, as at this day.
24Moreover Jeremiah said unto all the people, and to all the women, Hear the word of the LORD, all
Judah that [are] in the land of Egypt: 25Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye
and your wives have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, 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 surely accomplish your vows, and surely perform your vows.
26Therefore 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 named in the mouth of
any man of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, The Lord GOD liveth. 27Behold, 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 be
consumed by the sword and by the famine, until there be an end of them. 28Yet a small number
that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the
remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words
shall stand, mine, or theirs. 29And this [shall be] a sign unto you, saith the LORD, that I will punish
you in this place, that ye may know that my words shall surely stand against you for evil: 30Thus
saith the LORD; Behold, I will give Pharaohhophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies, and
into the hand of them that seek his life; as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, his enemy, and that sought his life.
« Jeremiah 45 »
King James Bible
Jeremiah's Message to Baruch
1The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written
these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah
king of Judah, saying, 2Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch; 3Thou didst
say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I
find no rest. 4Thus shalt thou say unto him, The LORD saith thus; Behold, [that] which I have built
will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land. 5And seekest
thou great things for thyself? seek [them] not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the
LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.
« Jeremiah 46 »
King James Bible
The Judgment on Egypt
1The word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Gentiles;
2Against Egypt, against the army of Pharaohnecho king of Egypt, which was by the river Euphrates
in Carchemish, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the
son of Josiah king of Judah.
3Order ye the buckler and shield, and draw near to battle.
4Harness the horses; and get up, ye horsemen, and stand forth with [your] helmets; furbish the
spears, [and] put on the brigandines.
5Wherefore have I seen them dismayed [and] turned away back? and their mighty ones are beaten
down, and are fled apace, and look not back: [for] fear [was] round about, saith the LORD.
6Let not the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape; they shall stumble, and fall toward the
north by the river Euphrates.
7Who [is] this [that] cometh up as a flood, whose waters are moved as the rivers?
8Egypt riseth up like a flood, and [his] waters are moved like the rivers; and he saith, I will go up,
[and] will cover the earth; I will destroy the city and the inhabitants thereof.
9Come up, ye horses; and rage, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth; the Ethiopians and
the Libyans, that handle the shield; and the Lydians, that handle [and] bend the bow.
10For this [is] the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his
adversaries: and the sword shall devour, and it shall be satiate and made drunk with their blood:
for the Lord GOD of hosts hath a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.
11Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many
medicines; [for] thou shalt not be cured.
12The nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry hath filled the land: for the mighty man hath
stumbled against the mighty, [and] they are fallen both together.
13The word that the LORD spake to Jeremiah the prophet, how Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon
should come [and] smite the land of Egypt.
14Declare ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Tahpanhes: say ye, Stand
fast, and prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee.
15Why are thy valiant [men] swept away? they stood not, because the LORD did drive them.
16He made many to fall, yea, one fell upon another: and they said, Arise, and let us go again to our
own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword.
17They did cry there, Pharaoh king of Egypt [is but] a noise; he hath passed the time appointed.
18[As] I live, saith the King, whose name [is] the LORD of hosts, Surely as Tabor [is] among the
mountains, and as Carmel by the sea, [so] shall he come.
19O thou daughter dwelling in Egypt, furnish thyself to go into captivity: for Noph shall be waste
and desolate without an inhabitant.
20Egypt [is like] a very fair heifer, [but] destruction cometh; it cometh out of the north.
21Also her hired men [are] in the midst of her like fatted bullocks; for they also are turned back,
[and] are fled away together: they did not stand, because the day of their calamity was come upon
them, [and] the time of their visitation.
22The voice thereof shall go like a serpent; for they shall march with an army, and come against her
with axes, as hewers of wood.
23They shall cut down her forest, saith the LORD, though it cannot be searched; because they are
more than the grasshoppers, and [are] innumerable.
24The daughter of Egypt shall be confounded; she shall be delivered into the hand of the people of
the north.
25The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saith; Behold, I will punish the multitude of No, and
Pharaoh, and Egypt, with their gods, and their kings; even Pharaoh, and [all] them that trust in
him: 26And I will deliver them into the hand of those that seek their lives, and into the hand of
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward it shall be
inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the LORD.
27But fear not thou, 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 be in
rest and at ease, and none shall make [him] afraid.
28Fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the LORD: for I [am] with thee; for I will make a full
end of all the nations whither I have driven thee: but I will not make a full end of thee, but correct
thee in measure; yet will I not leave thee wholly unpunished.
« Jeremiah 47 »
King James Bible
The Judgment on the Philistines
(Zephaniah 2:4-7)
1The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against the Philistines, before that
Pharaoh smote Gaza.
2Thus saith the LORD; Behold, waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing flood,
and shall overflow the land, and all that is therein; the city, and them that dwell therein: then the
men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl.
3At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his strong [horses], at the rushing of his chariots, [and
at] the rumbling of his wheels, the fathers shall not look back to [their] children for feebleness of
hands;
4Because of the day that cometh to spoil all the Philistines, [and] to cut off from Tyrus and Zidon
every helper that remaineth: for the LORD will spoil the Philistines, the remnant of the country of
Caphtor.
5Baldness is come upon Gaza; Ashkelon is cut off [with] the remnant of their valley: how long wilt
thou cut thyself?
6O thou sword of the LORD, how long [will it be] ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy
scabbard, rest, and be still.
7How can it be quiet, seeing the LORD hath given it a charge against Ashkelon, and against the sea
shore? there hath he appointed it.
« Jeremiah 48 »
King James Bible
The Judgment on Moab
(Zephaniah 2:8-11)
1Against Moab thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Woe unto Nebo! for it is spoiled:
Kiriathaim is confounded [and] taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.
2[There shall be] no more praise of Moab: in Heshbon they have devised evil against it; come, and
let us cut it off from [being] a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall
pursue thee.
3A voice of crying [shall be] from Horonaim, spoiling and great destruction.
4Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.
5For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up; for in the going down of Horonaim the
enemies have heard a cry of destruction.
6Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.
7For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures, thou shalt also be taken: and
Chemosh shall go forth into captivity [with] his priests and his princes together.
8And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall escape: the valley also shall perish,
and the plain shall be destroyed, as the LORD hath spoken.
9Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away: for the cities thereof shall be desolate,
without any to dwell therein.
10Cursed [be] he that doeth the work of the LORD deceitfully, and cursed [be] he that keepeth
back his sword from blood.
11Moab hath been at ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been
emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in
him, and his scent is not changed.
12Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will send unto him wanderers, that shall
cause him to wander, and shall empty his vessels, and break their bottles. 13And Moab shall be
ashamed of Chemosh, as the house of Israel was ashamed of Bethel their confidence.
14How say ye, We [are] mighty and strong men for the war?
15Moab is spoiled, and gone up [out of] her cities, and his chosen young men are gone down to the
slaughter, saith the King, whose name [is] the LORD of hosts.
16The calamity of Moab [is] near to come, and his affliction hasteth fast.
17All ye that are about him, bemoan him; and all ye that know his name, say, How is the strong
staff broken, [and] the beautiful rod!
18Thou daughter that dost inhabit Dibon, come down from [thy] glory, and sit in thirst; for the
spoiler of Moab shall come upon thee, [and] he shall destroy thy strong holds.
19O inhabitant of Aroer, stand by the way, and espy; ask him that fleeth, and her that escapeth,
[and] say, What is done?
20Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled,
21And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and upon Jahazah, and upon
Mephaath, 22And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Bethdiblathaim, 23And upon Kiriathaim,
and upon Bethgamul, and upon Bethmeon, 24And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the
cities of the land of Moab, far or near. 25The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, saith
the LORD. 26Make ye him drunken: for he magnified [himself] against the LORD: Moab also shall
wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision. 27For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was
he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy.
28O ye that dwell in Moab, leave the cities, and dwell in the rock, and be like the dove [that]
maketh her nest in the sides of the hole's mouth.
29We have heard the pride of Moab, (he is exceeding proud) his loftiness, and his arrogancy, and
his pride, and the haughtiness of his heart.
30I know his wrath, saith the LORD; but [it shall] not [be] so; his lies shall not so effect [it].
31Therefore will I howl for Moab, and I will cry out for all Moab; [mine heart] shall mourn for the
men of Kirheres.
32O vine of Sibmah, I will weep for thee with the weeping of Jazer: thy plants are gone over the
sea, they reach [even] to the sea of Jazer: the spoiler is fallen upon thy summer fruits and upon
thy vintage.
33And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, and from the land of Moab; and I have
caused wine to fail from the winepresses: none shall tread with shouting; [their] shouting [shall be]
no shouting.
34From the cry of Heshbon [even] unto Elealeh, [and even] unto Jahaz, have they uttered their
voice, from Zoar [even] unto Horonaim, [as] an heifer of three years old: for the waters also of
Nimrim shall be desolate. 35Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the LORD, him that
offereth in the high places, and him that burneth incense to his gods.
36Therefore mine heart shall sound for Moab like pipes, and mine heart shall sound like pipes for
the men of Kirheres: because the riches [that] he hath gotten are perished. 37For every head [shall
be] bald, and every beard clipped: upon all the hands [shall be] cuttings, and upon the loins
sackcloth. 38[There shall be] lamentation generally upon all the housetops of Moab, and in the
streets thereof: for I have broken Moab like a vessel wherein [is] no pleasure, saith the LORD.
39They shall howl, [saying], How is it broken down! how hath Moab turned the back with shame!
so shall Moab be a derision and a dismaying to all them about him.
40For thus saith the LORD; Behold, he shall fly as an eagle, and shall spread his wings over Moab.
41Kerioth is taken, and the strong holds are surprised, and the mighty men's hearts in Moab at that
day shall be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
42And Moab shall be destroyed from [being] a people, because he hath magnified [himself] against
the LORD.
43Fear, and the pit, and the snare, [shall be] upon thee, O inhabitant of Moab, saith the LORD.
44He that fleeth from the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that getteth up out of the pit shall be
taken in the snare: for I will bring upon it, [even] upon Moab, the year of their visitation, saith the
LORD.
45They that fled stood under the shadow of Heshbon because of the force: but a fire shall come
forth out of Heshbon, and a flame from the midst of Sihon, and shall devour the corner of Moab,
and the crown of the head of the tumultuous ones.
46Woe be unto thee, O Moab! the people of Chemosh perisheth: for thy sons are taken captives,
and thy daughters captives.
47Yet will I bring again the captivity of Moab in the latter days, saith the LORD. Thus far [is] the
judgment of Moab.
« Jeremiah 49 »
King James Bible
The Judgment on the Ammonites
1Concerning the Ammonites, thus saith the LORD; Hath Israel no sons? hath he no heir? why [then]
doth their king inherit Gad, and his people dwell in his cities?
2Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will cause an alarm of war to be heard in
Rabbah of the Ammonites; and it shall be a desolate heap, and her daughters shall be burned with
fire: then shall Israel be heir unto them that were his heirs, saith the LORD.
3Howl, O Heshbon, for Ai is spoiled: cry, ye daughters of Rabbah, gird you with sackcloth; lament,
and run to and fro by the hedges; for their king shall go into captivity, [and] his priests and his
princes together.
4Wherefore gloriest thou in the valleys, thy flowing valley, O backsliding daughter? that trusted in
her treasures, [saying], Who shall come unto me?
5Behold, I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts, from all those that be about
thee; and ye shall be driven out every man right forth; and none shall gather up him that
wandereth.
6And afterward I will bring again the captivity of the children of Ammon, saith the LORD.
The Judgment on Edom
7Concerning Edom, thus saith the LORD of hosts; [Is] wisdom no more in Teman? is counsel
perished from the prudent? is their wisdom vanished?
8Flee ye, turn back, dwell deep, O inhabitants of Dedan; for I will bring the calamity of Esau upon
him, the time [that] I will visit him.
9If grapegatherers come to thee, would they not leave [some] gleaning grapes? if thieves by night,
they will destroy till they have enough.
10But I have made Esau bare, I have uncovered his secret places, and he shall not be able to hide
himself: his seed is spoiled, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he [is] not.
11Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve [them] alive; and let thy widows trust in me.
12For thus saith the LORD; Behold, they whose judgment [was] not to drink of the cup have
assuredly drunken; and [art] thou he [that] shall altogether go unpunished? thou shalt not go
unpunished, but thou shalt surely drink [of it]. 13For I have sworn by myself, saith the LORD, that
Bozrah shall become a desolation, a reproach, a waste, and a curse; and all the cities thereof shall
be perpetual wastes.
14I have heard a rumour from the LORD, and an ambassador is sent unto the heathen, [saying],
Gather ye together, and come against her, and rise up to the battle.
15
For, lo, I will make thee small among the heathen, [and] despised among men.
16Thy terribleness hath deceived thee, [and] the pride of thine heart, O thou that dwellest in the
clefts of the rock, that holdest the height of the hill: though thou shouldest make thy nest as high
as the eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the LORD.
17Also Edom shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss at
all the plagues thereof. 18As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour [cities]
thereof, saith the LORD, no man shall abide there, neither shall a son of man dwell in it. 19Behold,
he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan against the habitation of the strong: but I
will suddenly make him run away from her: and who [is] a chosen [man, that] I may appoint over
her? for who [is] like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who [is] that shepherd that will
stand before me?
20Therefore hear the counsel of the LORD, that he hath taken against Edom; and his purposes, that
he hath purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the least of the flock shall draw them
out: surely he shall make their habitations desolate with them. 21The earth is moved at the noise
of their fall, at the cry the noise thereof was heard in the Red sea. 22Behold, he shall come up and
fly as the eagle, and spread his wings over Bozrah: and at that day shall the heart of the mighty
men of Edom be as the heart of a woman in her pangs.
The Judgment on Damascus
23Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they
are fainthearted; [there is] sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet.
24Damascus is waxed feeble, [and] turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on [her]: anguish
and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
25How is the city of praise not left, the city of my joy!
26Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that
day, saith the LORD of hosts.
27And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall consume the palaces of Benhadad.
The Judgment on Kedar and Hazor
28Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon
shall smite, thus saith the LORD; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.
29Their tents and their flocks shall they take away: they shall take to themselves their curtains, and
all their vessels, and their camels; and they shall cry unto them, Fear [is] on every side.
30Flee, get you far off, dwell deep, O ye inhabitants of Hazor, saith the LORD; for Nebuchadrezzar
king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived a purpose against you.
31Arise, get you up unto the wealthy nation, that dwelleth without care, saith the LORD, which have
neither gates nor bars, [which] dwell alone.
32And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil: and I will scatter into
all winds them [that are] in the utmost corners; and I will bring their calamity from all sides
thereof, saith the LORD.
33And Hazor shall be a dwelling for dragons, [and] a desolation for ever: there shall no man abide
there, nor [any] son of man dwell in it.
The Judgment on Elam
34The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the
reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying,
35Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might.
36And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them
toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come.
37For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life:
and I will bring evil upon them, [even] my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword
after them, till I have consumed them:
38And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the
LORD.
39But it shall come to pass in the latter days, [that] I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the
LORD.
« Jeremiah 50 »
King James Bible
The Judgment on Babylon
1The word that the LORD spake against Babylon [and] against the land of the Chaldeans by
Jeremiah the prophet.
2Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, [and] conceal not: say,
Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her
images are broken in pieces.
3For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and
none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
Hope for Israel and Judah
4In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the
children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. 5They
shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, [saying], Come, and let us join ourselves to
the LORD in a perpetual covenant [that] shall not be forgotten.
6My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned
them away [on] the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their
restingplace.
7All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they
have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers.
8Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the
he goats before the flocks.
9For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the
north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken:
their arrows [shall be] as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain.
10And Chaldea shall be a spoil: all that spoil her shall be satisfied, saith the LORD.
Babylon's Fall is Certain
11Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are
grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;
12Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed: behold, the
hindermost of the nations [shall be] a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
13Because of the wrath of the LORD it shall not be inhabited, but it shall be wholly desolate: every
one that goeth by Babylon shall be astonished, and hiss at all her plagues.
14Put yourselves in array against Babylon round about: all ye that bend the bow, shoot at her,
spare no arrows: for she hath sinned against the LORD.
15Shout against her round about: she hath given her hand: her foundations are fallen, her walls are
thrown down: for it [is] the vengeance of the LORD: take vengeance upon her; as she hath done,
do unto her.
16Cut off the sower from Babylon, and him that handleth the sickle in the time of harvest: for fear
of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his
own land.
Redemption for God's People
17Israel [is] a scattered sheep; the lions have driven [him] away: first the king of Assyria hath
devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones. 18Therefore
thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will punish the king of Babylon and his
land, as I have punished the king of Assyria. 19And I will bring Israel again to his habitation, and
he shall feed on Carmel and Bashan, and his soul shall be satisfied upon mount Ephraim and
Gilead. 20In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for,
and [there shall be] none; and the sins of Judah, and they shall not be found: for I will pardon
them whom I reserve.
The Destruction of Babylon
21Go up against the land of Merathaim, [even] against it, and against the inhabitants of Pekod:
waste and utterly destroy after them, saith the LORD, and do according to all that I have
commanded thee.
22A sound of battle [is] in the land, and of great destruction.
23How is the hammer of the whole earth cut asunder and broken! how is Babylon become a
desolation among the nations!
24I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou
art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD.
25The LORD hath opened his armoury, and hath brought forth the weapons of his indignation: for
this [is] the work of the Lord GOD of hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.
26Come against her from the utmost border, open her storehouses: cast her up as heaps, and
destroy her utterly: let nothing of her be left.
27Slay all her bullocks; let them go down to the slaughter: woe unto them! for their day is come,
the time of their visitation.
28The voice of them that flee and escape out of the land of Babylon, to declare in Zion the
vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance of his temple.
29Call together the archers against Babylon: all ye that bend the bow, camp against it round about;
let none thereof escape: recompense her according to her work; according to all that she hath
done, do unto her: for she hath been proud against the LORD, against the Holy One of Israel.
30Therefore shall her young men fall in the streets, and all her men of war shall be cut off in that
day, saith the LORD.
31Behold, I [am] against thee, [O thou] most proud, saith the Lord GOD of hosts: for thy day is
come, the time [that] I will visit thee.
32And the most proud shall stumble and fall, and none shall raise him up: and I will kindle a fire in
his cities, and it shall devour all round about him.
33Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The children of Israel and the children of Judah [were] oppressed
together: and all that took them captives held them fast; they refused to let them go.
34Their Redeemer [is] strong; the LORD of hosts [is] his name: he shall throughly plead their cause,
that he may give rest to the land, and disquiet the inhabitants of Babylon.
35A sword [is] upon the Chaldeans, saith the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon, and upon
her princes, and upon her wise [men].
36A sword [is] upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword [is] upon her mighty men; and they shall
be dismayed.
37A sword [is] upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that
[are] in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword [is] upon her treasures; and
they shall be robbed.
38A drought [is] upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it [is] the land of graven images,
and they are mad upon [their] idols.
39Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell [there], and
the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in
from generation to generation.
40As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour [cities] thereof, saith the LORD; [so]
shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.
41Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised
up from the coasts of the earth.
42They shall hold the bow and the lance: they [are] cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall
roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, [every one] put in array, like a man to the battle,
against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
43The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took
hold of him, [and] pangs as of a woman in travail.
44Behold, he shall come up like a lion from the swelling of Jordan unto the habitation of the strong:
but I will make them suddenly run away from her: and who [is] a chosen [man, that] I may
appoint over her? for who [is] like me? and who will appoint me the time? and who [is] that
shepherd that will stand before me? 45Therefore hear ye the counsel of the LORD, that he hath
taken against Babylon; and his purposes, that he hath purposed against the land of the Chaldeans:
Surely the least of the flock shall draw them out: surely he shall make [their] habitation desolate
with them. 46At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among
the nations.
« Jeremiah 51 »
King James Bible
Severe Judgment against Babylon
1Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the
midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;
2And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of
trouble they shall be against her round about.
3Against [him that] bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against [him that] lifteth himself up in
his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.
4Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and [they that are] thrust through in her
streets.
5For Israel [hath] not [been] forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their
land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.
6Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for
this [is] the time of the LORD'S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
7Babylon [hath been] a golden cup in the LORD'S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the
nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
8Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be
healed.
9We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into
his own country: for her judgment reacheth unto heaven, and is lifted up [even] to the skies.
10The LORD hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the
LORD our God.
11Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD hath raised up the spirit of the kings of the
Medes: for his device [is] against Babylon, to destroy it; because it [is] the vengeance of the LORD,
the vengeance of his temple.
12Set up the standard upon the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen,
prepare the ambushes: for the LORD hath both devised and done that which he spake against the
inhabitants of Babylon.
13O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, [and] the
measure of thy covetousness.
14The LORD of hosts hath sworn by himself, [saying], Surely I will fill thee with men, as with
caterpillers; and they shall lift up a shout against thee.
Song of Praise
15He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath
stretched out the heaven by his understanding.
16When he uttereth [his] voice, [there is] a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causeth the
vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth: he maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth
the wind out of his treasures.
17Every man is brutish by [his] knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for
his molten image [is] falsehood, and [there is] no breath in them.
18They [are] vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
19The portion of Jacob [is] not like them; for he [is] the former of all things: and [Israel is] the rod
of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts [is] his name.
Babylon's Punishment
20Thou [art] my battle axe [and] weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations,
and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
21And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces
the chariot and his rider;
22With thee also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and
young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
23I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in
pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces captains and
rulers.
24And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have
done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.
25Behold, I [am] against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the
earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will
make thee a burnt mountain.
26And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt
be desolate for ever, saith the LORD.
27Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations
against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a
captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillers.
28Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the
rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.
29And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against
Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.
30The mighty men of Babylon have forborn to fight, they have remained in [their] holds: their might
hath failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwellingplaces; her bars are broken.
31
One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to shew the king of
Babylon that his city is taken at [one] end,
32And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war
are affrighted.
33For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon [is] like a
threshingfloor, [it is] time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
34Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me
an empty vessel, he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates,
he hath cast me out.
35The violence done to me and to my flesh [be] upon Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and
my blood upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
36Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I
will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.
37And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwellingplace for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing,
without an inhabitant.
38They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions' whelps.
39In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and
sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the LORD.
40I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.
41How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon
become an astonishment among the nations!
42The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
43Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither
doth [any] son of man pass thereby.
44And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he hath
swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon
shall fall.
Instructions for the Exiles
45My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger
of the LORD.
46And lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; a rumour
shall both come [one] year, and after that in [another] year [shall come] a rumour, and violence in
the land, ruler against ruler.
47Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment upon the graven images of Babylon:
and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48Then the heaven and the earth, and all that [is] therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers
shall come unto her from the north, saith the LORD.
49As Babylon [hath caused] the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the
earth.
50Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the LORD afar off, and let
Jerusalem come into your mind.
51We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame hath covered our faces: for
strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD'S house.
52Wherefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will do judgment upon her graven
images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan.
53Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her
strength, [yet] from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.
54A sound of a cry [cometh] from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:
55Because the LORD hath spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her
waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered:
56Because the spoiler is come upon her, [even] upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every
one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompences shall surely requite.
57And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise [men], her captains, and her rulers, and her
mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name [is]
the LORD of hosts.
58Thus saith the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high
gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labour in vain, and the folk in the fire, and
they shall be weary.
Jeremiah's Prophecy to Seraiah
59The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of
Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his
reign. And [this] Seraiah [was] a quiet prince. 60So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that
should come upon Babylon, [even] all these words that are written against Babylon. 61And
Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see, and shalt read all these
words; 62Then shalt thou say, O LORD, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none
shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever. 63And it shall be,
when thou hast made an end of reading this book, [that] thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it
into the midst of Euphrates: 64And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from
the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far [are] the words of Jeremiah.
« Jeremiah 52 »
King James Bible
The Fall of Jerusalem Recounted
(Psalm 74:1-23; Psalm 79:1-13)
1Zedekiah [was] one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in
Jerusalem. And his mother's name [was] Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 2And he did
[that which was] evil in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 3For
through the anger of the LORD it came to pass in Jerusalem and Judah, till he had cast them out
from his presence, that Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. 4And it came to pass in the
ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth [day] of the month, [that] Nebuchadrezzar
king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and built forts
against it round about. 5So the city was besieged unto the eleventh year of king Zedekiah. 6And in
the fourth month, in the ninth [day] of the month, the famine was sore in the city, so that there
was no bread for the people of the land. 7Then the city was broken up, 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] by the king's garden; (now the Chaldeans [were] by the city round about:) and they went by
the way of the plain. 8But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after the king, and overtook
Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho; and all his army was scattered from him. 9Then they took the
king, and carried him up unto the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; where he gave
judgment upon him. 10And the king of Babylon slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes: he slew
also all the princes of Judah in Riblah. 11Then he put out the eyes of Zedekiah; and the king of
Babylon bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of his
death.
The Temple and the City Burned
12Now in the fifth month, in the tenth [day] of the month, which [was] the nineteenth year of
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, [which] served the king
of Babylon, into Jerusalem, 13And burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house; and all the
houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great [men], burned he with fire: 14And all the
army of the Chaldeans, that [were] with the captain of the guard, brake down all the walls of
Jerusalem round about. 15Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive
[certain] of the poor of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and
those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude. 16But
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard left [certain] of the poor of the land for vinedressers and for
husbandmen.
17Also the pillars of brass that [were] in the house of the LORD, and the bases, and the brasen sea
that [was] in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans brake, and carried all the brass of them to
Babylon. 18The caldrons also, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the bowls, and the spoons,
and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. 19And the basons, and the
firepans, and the bowls, and the caldrons, and the candlesticks, and the spoons, and the cups;
[that] which [was] of gold [in] gold, and [that] which [was] of silver [in] silver, took the captain of
the guard away. 20The two pillars, one sea, and twelve brasen bulls that [were] under the bases,
which king Solomon had made in the house of the LORD: the brass of all these vessels was without
weight. 21And [concerning] the pillars, the height of one pillar [was] eighteen cubits; and a fillet of
twelve cubits did compass it; and the thickness thereof [was] four fingers: [it was] hollow. 22And a
chapiter of brass [was] upon it; and the height of one chapiter [was] five cubits, with network and
pomegranates upon the chapiters round about, all [of] brass. The second pillar also and the
pomegranates [were] like unto these. 23And there were ninety and six pomegranates on a side;
[and] all the pomegranates upon the network [were] an hundred round about.
Captives Carried to Babylon
24And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and
the three keepers of the door: 25He took also out of the city an eunuch, which had the charge of
the men of war; and seven men of them that were near the king's person, which were found in the
city; and the principal scribe of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and threescore men
of the people of the land, that were found in the midst of the city. 26So Nebuzaradan the captain of
the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Babylon to Riblah. 27And the king of
Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was
carried away captive out of his own land.
28This [is] the people whom Nebuchadrezzar carried away captive: in the seventh year three
thousand Jews and three and twenty: 29In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar he carried away
captive from Jerusalem eight hundred thirty and two persons: 30In the three and twentieth year of
Nebuchadrezzar Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away captive of the Jews seven
hundred forty and five persons: all the persons [were] four thousand and six hundred.
Evil-Merodach Releases Jehoiachin
31And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in
the twelfth month, in the five and twentieth [day] of the month, [that] Evilmerodach king of
Babylon in the [first] year of his reign lifted up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah, and brought
him forth out of prison, 32And spake kindly unto him, and set his throne above the throne of the
kings that [were] with him in Babylon, 33And changed his prison garments: and he did continually
eat bread before him all the days of his life. 34And [for] his diet, there was a continual diet given
him of the king of Babylon, every day a portion until the day of his death, all the days of his life.