Jeremiah 1-2

Jeremiah 1

¹Words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of the priests who are in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin,

²unto whom the word of Jehovah hath been in the days of Josiah son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign,

³and it is in the days of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, till the completion of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah, king of Judah, till the removal of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

⁴And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

⁵‘Before I form thee in the belly, I have known thee; and before thou comest forth from the womb I have separated thee, a prophet to nations I have made thee.'

⁶And I say, ‘Ah, Lord Jehovah! lo, I have not known -- to speak, for I am a youth.'

⁷And Jehovah saith unto me, ‘Do not say, I am a youth, for to all to whom I send thee thou goest, and all that I command thee thou speakest.

⁸Be not afraid of their faces, for with thee am I to deliver thee, -- an affirmation of Jehovah.'

⁹And Jehovah putteth forth His hand, and striketh against my mouth, and Jehovah saith unto me, ‘Lo, I have put my words in thy mouth.

¹⁰See, I have charged thee this day concerning the nations, and concerning the kingdoms, to pluck up, and to break down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.'

¹¹And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying, ‘What art thou seeing, Jeremiah?' And I say, ‘A rod of an almond tree I am seeing.'

¹²And Jehovah saith unto me, ‘Thou hast well seen: for I am watching over My word to do it.'

¹³And there is a word of Jehovah unto me a second time, saying, ‘What art thou seeing?' And I say, ‘A blown pot I am seeing, and its face is from the north.'

¹⁴And Jehovah saith unto me, ‘From the north is the evil loosed against all inhabitants of the land.

¹⁵For, lo, I am calling for all families of the kingdoms of the north, -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- and they have come, and put each his throne at the opening of the gates of Jerusalem, and by its walls round about, and by all cities of Judah.

¹⁶And I have spoken My judgments with them concerning all their evil, in that they have forsaken Me, and make perfume to other gods, and bow themselves to the works of their own hands.

¹⁷‘And thou, thou dost gird up thy loins, and hast arisen, and spoken unto them all that I command thee: be not affrighted because of them, lest I affright thee before them.

¹⁸And I, lo, I have given thee this day for a fenced city, and for an iron pillar, and for brazen walls over all the land, to the kings of Judah, to its heads, to its priests, and to the people of the land;

¹⁹and they have fought against thee, and they prevail not against thee; for with thee am I, -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- to deliver thee.

Jeremiah 2

¹And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,

²‘Go, and thou hast called in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus said Jehovah: I have remembered for thee The kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, Thy going after Me in a wilderness, in a land not sown.

³Holy is Israel to Jehovah, The first-fruit of His increase, All consuming him are guilty, Evil cometh in unto them, an affirmation of Jehovah.

⁴Hear a word of Jehovah, O house of Jacob, And all ye families of the house of Israel.

⁵Thus said Jehovah: What -- have your fathers found in Me perversity, That they have gone far off from Me, And go after the vanity, and become vain,

⁶And have not said, Where is Jehovah, Who bringeth us up out of the land of Egypt, Who leadeth us in a wilderness, In a land of deserts and pits, In a dry land, and of death-shade, In a land -- none hath passed through it, Nor dwelt hath man there?'

⁷Yea, I bring you in to a land of fruitful fields, To eat its fruit and its goodness, And ye come in and defile My land, And Mine inheritance have made an abomination.

⁸The priests have not said, ‘Where is Jehovah?' And those handling the law have not known Me. And the shepherds transgressed against Me, And the prophets have prophesied by Baal, And after those who profit not have gone.

⁹Therefore, yet I plead with you, An affirmation of Jehovah, And with your sons' sons I plead.

¹⁰For, pass to the isles of Chittim, and see, And to Kedar send, and consider well, And see if there hath been like this:

¹¹Hath a nation changed gods? (And they are no gods!) And My people hath changed its honour For that which doth not profit.

¹²Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, Yea, be frightened, be greatly wasted, An affirmation of Jehovah.

¹³For two evils hath My people done, Me they have forsaken, a fountain of living waters, To hew out for themselves wells -- broken wells, That contain not the waters.

¹⁴A servant is Israel? Is he a child of the house? Wherefore hath he been for a prey?

¹⁵Against him roar do young lions, They have given forth their voice, And make his land become a desolation, His cities have been burnt without inhabitant.

¹⁶Also sons of Noph and Tahapanes Consume thee -- the crown of the head!

¹⁷Dost thou not do this to thyself? By thy forsaking Jehovah thy God, At the time He is leading thee in the way?

¹⁸And now, what -- to thee in the way of Egypt, To drink the waters of Sihor? And what -- to thee in the way of Asshur, To drink the waters of the River?

¹⁹Instruct thee doth thy wickedness, And thy backslidings reprove thee, Know and see that an evil and a bitter thing Is thy forsaking Jehovah thy God, And My fear not being on thee, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah of Hosts.

²⁰For from of old thou hast broken thy yoke, Drawn away thy bands, and sayest, ‘I do not serve,' For, on every high height, and under every green tree, Thou art wandering -- a harlot.

²¹And I planted thee a choice vine, wholly a true seed, And how hast thou been turned to Me, To the degenerate shoots of a strange vine?

²²But though thou dost wash with nitre, And dost multiply to thyself soap, Marked is thine iniquity before Me, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.

²³How sayest thou, ‘I have not been defiled, After the Baalim I have not gone?' See thy way in a valley, know what thou hast done, A swift dromedary winding her ways,

²⁴A wild ass accustomed to a wilderness, In the desire of her soul she hath swallowed up wind, Her meeting -- who doth turn her back? None seeking her do weary themselves, In her month they find her.

²⁵Withhold thy foot from being unshod, And thy throat from thirst, And thou sayest, ‘It is incurable, No, for I have loved strangers, and after them I go.'

²⁶As the shame of a thief when he is found, So put to shame have been the house of Israel, They, their kings, their heads, And their priests, and their prophets,

²⁷Saying to wood, ‘My father art thou!' And to a stone, ‘Thou hast brought me forth,' For they turned unto me the back and not the face, And in the time of their vexation, They say, ‘Arise Thou, and save us.'

²⁸And where are thy gods, that thou hast made to thyself? Let them arise, if they may save thee, In the time of thy vexation, For -- the number of thy cities have been thy gods, O Judah,

²⁹Why do ye strive with Me? All of you have transgressed against Me, An affirmation of Jehovah.

³⁰In vain I have smitten your sons, Instruction they have not accepted, Devoured hath your sword your prophets, As a destroying lion.

³¹O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah: A wilderness have I been to Israel? A land of thick darkness? Wherefore have My people said, ‘We mourned, We come not in again unto Thee.'

³²Doth a virgin forget her ornaments? A bride her bands? And My people have forgotten Me days without number.

³³What -- dost thou make pleasing thy ways to seek love? Therefore even the wicked thou hast taught thy ways.

³⁴Also in thy skirts hath been found the blood of innocent needy souls, Not by digging have I found them, but upon all these.

³⁵And thou sayest, ‘Because I have been innocent, Surely turned back hath His anger from me?' Lo, I have been judged with thee, Because of thy saying, ‘I have not sinned.'

³⁶What? thou art very vile to repeat thy way, Even of Egypt thou art ashamed, As thou hast been ashamed of Asshur,

³⁷Also from this thou goest out, And thy hands on thy head, For Jehovah hath kicked at thy confidences, And thou dost not give prosperity to them!