Jeremiah 1-2

Jeremiah 1

¹The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkijah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:

²to whom the word of Jehovah 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.

⁴And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,

⁵Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I hallowed thee, I appointed thee a prophet unto the nations.

⁶And I said, Alas, Lord Jehovah! behold, I cannot speak; for I am a child.

⁷But Jehovah said unto me, Say not, I am a child; for thou shalt go to whomsoever I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak.

⁸Be not afraid of them; for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith Jehovah.

⁹And Jehovah put forth his hand and touched my mouth; and Jehovah 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 pluck up, and to break down, and to destroy, and to overthrow, to build and to plant.

¹¹And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond-tree.

¹²And Jehovah said unto me, Thou hast well seen; for I am watchful over my word to perform it.

¹³And the word of Jehovah came to me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething-pot, and its face is from the north.

¹⁴And Jehovah said unto me, Out of the north shall evil break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.

¹⁵For behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith Jehovah, 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 pronounce my judgments against them for all their wickedness, in that they 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 shall command thee: be not dismayed at them, lest I cause thee to be dismayed before them.

¹⁸And I, behold, I appoint thee this day as a strong city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls, against the whole land; against the kings of Judah, against its princes, against its priests, 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 Jehovah, to deliver thee.

Jeremiah 2

¹And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,

²Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.

³Israel was holiness unto Jehovah, the first-fruits of his increase: all that devour him are guilty; evil shall come upon them, saith Jehovah.

⁴Hear the word of Jehovah, house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.

⁵Thus saith Jehovah: What injustice have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and become vain?

⁶And they said not, Where is Jehovah, that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and of pits, in a land of drought and of the shadow of death, in a land that no one passeth through, and where no man dwelleth?

⁷And I brought you into a fruitful land, to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof; and ye entered and defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination.

⁸The priests said not, Where is Jehovah? and they that handled the law knew me not; and the shepherds transgressed against me; and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

⁹Therefore will I yet plead with you, saith Jehovah, and with your children's children will I plead.

¹⁰For pass over to the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there have been such a thing.

¹¹Hath a nation changed its gods? and they are no gods; -- but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.

¹²Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, and shudder; be amazed very much, saith Jehovah.

¹³For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, to hew them out cisterns, broken cisterns that hold no water.

¹⁴Is Israel a bondman? Is he a home-born slave? Why is he become a spoil?

¹⁵The young lions roared against him, they gave forth their voice, and they made his land desolate: his cities are burned, without inhabitant.

¹⁶Even the children of Noph and Tahapanes have fed on the crown of thy head.

¹⁷Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, at the time he was leading thee in the way?

¹⁸And now, what hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor? And what hast thou to do with the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the River?

¹⁹Thine own wickedness chastiseth thee, and thy backslidings reprove thee: know then and see that it is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.

²⁰For of old thou hast broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not serve. For upon every high hill, and under every green tree, thou bowest down, playing the harlot.

²¹And I, -- I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed; how then art thou turned into the degenerate shoots of a strange vine unto me?

²²For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much potash, thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord Jehovah.

²³How sayest thou, I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baals? See thy way in the valley, acknowledge what thou hast done -- a swift dromedary traversing her ways!

²⁴-- a wild ass, used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind in her desire! In her ardour, who shall 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 love strangers, and after them will I go.

²⁶As a thief is ashamed when he is found, so shall the house of Israel be 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 the back unto me, and not the face; and in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us!

²⁸Where then are thy gods that thou hast made for thyself? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for as the number of thy cities, are thy gods, O Judah.

²⁹Wherefore would ye contend with me? Ye all have transgressed against me, saith Jehovah.

³⁰In vain have I smitten your children: they received no correction. Your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

³¹O generation, mark ye the word of Jehovah. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel, or a land of thick darkness? Wherefore say my people, We have dominion; we will come no more unto thee?

³²Doth a virgin forget her ornaments, a bride her attire? But my people have forgotten me days without number.

³³How dost thou trim thy way to seek love! Therefore hast thou also accustomed thy ways to wickedness.

³⁴Yea, in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor, whom thou didst not encounter breaking in, but it is found upon all these.

³⁵And thou sayest, Indeed I am innocent; his anger will turn from me. Behold, I will enter into judgment with thee because thou sayest, I have not sinned.

³⁶Why dost thou gad about so much, and change thy way? Thou shalt also be brought to shame by Egypt, as thou wast brought to shame by Assyria.

³⁷Thou shalt indeed go forth from her with thy hands upon thy head; for Jehovah hath rejected those thou confidest in, and thou shalt not prosper by them.