Jeremiah 6
6“Run for your lives, you people of Benjamin! Get out of Jerusalem! Sound the alarm in Tekoa! Send up a signal at Beth-hakkerem! A powerful army is coming from the north, coming with disaster and destruction.H1121H1144H5756H7130H3389H8628H7782H8620H5375H4864H1021H7451H8259H6828H1419H76672O Jerusalem, you are my beautiful and delicate daughter—but I will destroy you!H1820H1323H6726H5116H60263Enemies will surround you, like shepherds camped around the city. Each chooses a place for his troops to devour.H7462H5739H935H8628H168H5439H7462H376H30274They shout, ‘Prepare for battle! Attack at noon!’ ‘No, it’s too late; the day is fading, and the evening shadows are falling.’H6942H4421H6965H5927H6672H188H3117H6437H6752H6153H51865‘Well then, let’s attack at night and destroy her palaces!’”H6965H5927H3915H7843H7596This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “Cut down the trees for battering rams. Build siege ramps against the walls of Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, for she is wicked through and through.H3068H6635H559H3772H6097H8210H5550H3389H5892H6485H6233H71307She spouts evil like a fountain. Her streets echo with the sounds of violence and destruction. I always see her sickness and sores.H953H6979H4325H6979H7451H2555H7701H8085H6440H8548H2483H43478Listen to this warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn from you in disgust. Listen, or I will turn you into a heap of ruins, a land where no one lives.”H3256H3389H5315H3363H7760H8077H776H34279This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: “Even the few who remain in Israel will be picked over again, as when a harvester checks each vine a second time to pick the grapes that were missed.”H559H3068H6635H5953H5953H7611H3478H1612H7725H3027H1219H555210To whom can I give warning? Who will listen when I speak? Their ears are closed, and they cannot hear. They scorn the word of the Lord. They don’t want to listen at all.H1696H5749H8085H241H6189H3201H7181H1697H3068H2781H265411So now I am filled with the Lord’s fury. Yes, I am tired of holding it in! “I will pour out my fury on children playing in the streets and on gatherings of young men, on husbands and wives and on those who are old and gray.H4392H2534H3068H3811H3557H8210H5768H2351H5475H970H3162H376H802H3920H2205H4390H311712Their homes will be turned over to their enemies, as will their fields and their wives. For I will raise my powerful fist against the people of this land,” says the Lord.H1004H5437H312H7704H802H3162H5186H3027H3427H776H5002H306813“From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed. From prophets to priests, they are all frauds.H6996H1419H1214H1215H5030H3548H6213H826714They offer superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace.H7495H7667H1323H5971H7043H559H7965H7965H796515Are they ashamed of their disgusting actions? Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush! Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. They will be brought down when I punish them,” says the Lord.H3001H6213H8441H1571H954H954H1571H3045H3637H5307H5307H6256H6485H3782H559H306816This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’H559H3068H5975H1870H7200H7592H5769H5410H2896H1870H3212H4672H4771H5315H559H321217I posted watchmen over you who said, ‘Listen for the sound of the alarm.’ But you replied, ‘No! We won’t pay attention!’H6965H6822H7181H6963H7782H559H718118“Therefore, listen to this, all you nations. Take note of my people’s situation.H8085H1471H3045H571219Listen, all the earth! I will bring disaster on my people. It is the fruit of their own schemes, because they refuse to listen to me. They have rejected my word.H8085H776H935H7451H5971H6529H4284H7181H1697H8451H398820There’s no use offering me sweet frankincense from Sheba. Keep your fragrant calamus imported from distant lands! I will not accept your burnt offerings. Your sacrifices have no pleasing aroma for me.”H935H3828H7614H2896H7070H4801H776H5930H7522H2077H614921Therefore, this is what the Lord says: “I will put obstacles in my people’s path. Fathers and sons will both fall over them. Neighbors and friends will die together.”H559H3068H5414H4383H5971H1H1121H3162H3782H7934H7453H622This is what the Lord says: “Look! A great army coming from the north! A great nation is rising against you from far-off lands.H559H3068H5971H935H6828H776H1419H1471H5782H3411H77623They are armed with bows and spears. They are cruel and show no mercy. They sound like a roaring sea as they ride forward on horses. They are coming in battle formation, planning to destroy you, beautiful Jerusalem.”H2388H7198H3591H394H7355H6963H1993H3220H7392H5483H6186H376H4421H1323H672624We have heard reports about the enemy, and we wring our hands in fright. Pangs of anguish have gripped us, like those of a woman in labor.H8085H8089H3027H7503H6869H2388H2427H320525Don’t go out to the fields! Don’t travel on the roads! The enemy’s sword is everywhere and terrorizes us at every turn!H3318H7704H3212H1870H2719H341H4032H543926Oh, my people, dress yourselves in burlap and sit among the ashes. Mourn and weep bitterly, as for the loss of an only son. For suddenly the destroying armies will be upon you!H1323H5971H2296H8242H6428H665H6213H60H3173H8563H4553H7703H6597H93527“Jeremiah, I have made you a tester of metals, that you may determine the quality of my people.H5414H969H4013H5971H3045H974H187028They are the worst kind of rebel, full of slander. They are as hard as bronze and iron, and they lead others into corruption.H5493H5637H1980H7400H5178H1270H784329The bellows fiercely fan the flames to burn out the corruption. But it does not purify them, for the wickedness remains.H4647H2787H5777H8552H800H784H6884H6884H7723H7451H542330I will label them ‘Rejected Silver,’ for I, the Lord, am discarding them.”H3988H3701H7121H3068H3988
Jeremiah 7
7The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said,H1697H3414H3068H5592“Go to the entrance of the Lord’s Temple, and give this message to the people: ‘O Judah, listen to this message from the Lord! Listen to it, all of you who worship here!H5975H8179H3068H1004H7121H1697H559H8085H1697H3068H3063H935H8179H7812H30683This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “‘Even now, if you quit your evil ways, I will let you stay in your own land.H559H3068H6635H430H3478H3190H1870H4611H7931H47254But don’t be fooled by those who promise you safety simply because the Lord’s Temple is here. They chant, “The Lord’s Temple is here! The Lord’s Temple is here!”H982H8267H1697H559H1964H3068H1964H3068H1964H30685But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice;H3190H3190H1870H4611H6213H6213H4941H376H74536only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols.H6231H1616H3490H490H8210H5355H1818H4725H3212H310H312H430H74517Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever.H7931H4725H776H5414H1H5704H5769H57698“‘Don’t be fooled into thinking that you will never suffer because the Temple is here. It’s a lie!H982H8267H1697H32769Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours,H1589H7523H5003H7650H8267H6999H1168H1980H310H312H430H304510and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, “We are safe!”—only to go right back to all those evils again?H935H5975H6440H1004H7121H8034H559H5337H6213H844111Don’t you yourselves admit that this Temple, which bears my name, has become a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, the Lord, have spoken!H1004H7121H8034H4631H6530H5869H7200H5002H306812“‘Go now to the place at Shiloh where I once put the Tabernacle that bore my name. See what I did there because of all the wickedness of my people, the Israelites.H3212H4725H7887H7931H8034H7223H7200H6213H6440H7451H5971H347813While you were doing these wicked things, says the Lord, I spoke to you about it repeatedly, but you would not listen. I called out to you, but you refused to answer.H6213H4639H5002H3068H1696H7925H1696H8085H7121H603014So just as I destroyed Shiloh, I will now destroy this Temple that bears my name, this Temple that you trust in for help, this place that I gave to you and your ancestors.H6213H1004H7121H8034H982H4725H5414H1H6213H788715And I will send you out of my sight into exile, just as I did your relatives, the people of Israel.’H7993H6440H7993H251H2233H66916“Pray no more for these people, Jeremiah. Do not weep or pray for them, and don’t beg me to help them, for I will not listen to you.H6419H5971H5375H7440H8605H1157H6293H808517Don’t you see what they are doing throughout the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?H7200H6213H5892H3063H2351H338918No wonder I am so angry! Watch how the children gather wood and the fathers build sacrificial fires. See how the women knead dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. And they pour out liquid offerings to their other idol gods!H1121H3950H6086H1H1197H784H802H3888H1217H6213H3561H4446H8064H5258H5262H312H430H370719Am I the one they are hurting?” asks the Lord. “Most of all, they hurt themselves, to their own shame.”H3707H5002H3068H1322H644020So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “I will pour out my terrible fury on this place. Its people, animals, trees, and crops will be consumed by the unquenchable fire of my anger.”H559H136H3069H639H2534H5413H4725H120H929H6086H7704H6529H127H1197H351821This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Take your burnt offerings and your other sacrifices and eat them yourselves!H559H3068H6635H430H3478H5595H5930H2077H398H132022When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, it was not burnt offerings and sacrifices I wanted from them.H1696H1H6680H3117H3318H776H4714H1697H5930H207723This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’H1697H6680H559H8085H6963H430H5971H1980H1870H6680H319024“But my people would not listen to me. They kept doing whatever they wanted, following the stubborn desires of their evil hearts. They went backward instead of forward.H8085H5186H241H3212H4156H8307H7451H3820H268H644025From the day your ancestors left Egypt until now, I have continued to send my servants, the prophets—day in and day out.H3117H1H3318H776H4714H3117H7971H5650H5030H3117H7925H797126But my people have not listened to me or even tried to hear. They have been stubborn and sinful—even worse than their ancestors.H8085H5186H241H7185H6203H7489H127“Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond.H1696H1697H8085H7121H603028Say to them, ‘This is the nation whose people will not obey the Lord their God and who refuse to be taught. Truth has vanished from among them; it is no longer heard on their lips.H559H1471H8085H6963H3068H430H3947H4148H530H6H3772H631029Shave your head in mourning, and weep alone on the mountains. For the Lord has rejected and forsaken this generation that has provoked his fury.’H1494H5145H7993H5375H7015H8205H3068H3988H5203H1755H567830“The people of Judah have sinned before my very eyes,” says the Lord. “They have set up their abominable idols right in the Temple that bears my name, defiling it.H1121H3063H6213H7451H5869H5002H3068H7760H8251H1004H7121H8034H293031They have built pagan shrines at Topheth, the garbage dump in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and there they burn their sons and daughters in the fire. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing!H1129H1116H8612H1516H1121H2011H8313H1121H1323H784H6680H5927H382032So beware, for the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when that garbage dump will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. They will bury the bodies in Topheth until there is no more room for them.H3117H935H5002H3068H559H8612H1516H1121H2011H1516H2028H6912H8612H369H472533The bodies of my people will be food for the vultures and wild animals, and no one will be left to scare them away.H5038H5971H3978H5775H8064H929H776H272934I will put an end to the happy singing and laughter in the streets of Jerusalem. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will no longer be heard in the towns of Judah. The land will lie in complete desolation.H7673H5892H3063H2351H3389H6963H8342H6963H8057H6963H2860H6963H3618H776H2723
Jeremiah 8
8“In that day,” says the Lord, “the enemy will break open the graves of the kings and officials of Judah, and the graves of the priests, prophets, and common people of Jerusalem.H6256H5002H3068H3318H6106H4428H3063H6106H8269H6106H3548H6106H5030H6106H3427H3389H69132They will spread out their bones on the ground before the sun, moon, and stars—the gods my people have loved, served, and worshiped. Their bones will not be gathered up again or buried but will be scattered on the ground like manure.H7849H8121H3394H6635H8064H157H5647H310H1980H1875H7812H622H6912H1828H6440H1273And the people of this evil nation who survive will wish to die rather than live where I will send them. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!H4194H977H2416H7611H7604H7451H4940H7604H4725H5080H5002H3068H66354“Jeremiah, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: “‘When people fall down, don’t they get up again? When they discover they’re on the wrong road, don’t they turn back?H559H559H3068H5307H6965H7725H77255Then why do these people stay on their self-destructive path? Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back? They cling tightly to their lies and will not turn around.H5971H3389H7725H5329H4878H2388H8649H3985H77256I listen to their conversations and don’t hear a word of truth. Is anyone sorry for doing wrong? Does anyone say, “What a terrible thing I have done”? No! All are running down the path of sin as swiftly as a horse galloping into battle!H7181H8085H1696H376H5162H5921H7451H559H6213H7725H4794H5483H7857H44217Even the stork that flies across the sky knows the time of her migration, as do the turtledove, the swallow, and the crane. They all return at the proper time each year. But not my people! They do not know the Lord’s laws.H2624H8064H3045H4150H8449H5483H5693H8104H6256H935H5971H3045H4941H30688“‘How can you say, “We are wise because we have the word of the Lord,” when your teachers have twisted it by writing lies?H559H2450H8451H3068H403H8267H6213H5842H5608H82679These wise teachers will fall into the trap of their own foolishness, for they have rejected the word of the Lord. Are they so wise after all?H2450H3001H2865H3920H3988H1697H3068H245110I will give their wives to others and their farms to strangers. From the least to the greatest, their lives are ruled by greed. Yes, even my prophets and priests are like that. They are all frauds.H5414H802H312H7704H3423H6996H1419H1214H1215H5030H3548H6213H826711They offer superficial treatments for my people’s mortal wound. They give assurances of peace when there is no peace.H7495H7667H1323H5971H7043H559H7965H7965H796512Are they ashamed of these disgusting actions? Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush! Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered. They will be brought down when I punish them, says the Lord.H3001H6213H8441H954H954H3045H3637H5307H5307H6256H6486H3782H559H306813I will surely consume them. There will be no more harvests of figs and grapes. Their fruit trees will all die. Whatever I gave them will soon be gone. I, the Lord, have spoken!’H622H5486H5002H3068H6025H1612H8384H8384H5929H5034H5414H567414“Then the people will say, ‘Why should we wait here to die? Come, let’s go to the fortified towns and die there. For the Lord our God has decreed our destruction and has given us a cup of poison to drink because we sinned against the Lord.H3427H622H935H4013H5892H1826H3068H430H1826H4325H7219H8248H2398H306815We hoped for peace, but no peace came. We hoped for a time of healing, but found only terror.’H6960H7965H2896H6256H4832H120516“The snorting of the enemies’ warhorses can be heard all the way from the land of Dan in the north! The neighing of their stallions makes the whole land tremble. They are coming to devour the land and everything in it—cities and people alike.H5170H5483H8085H1835H776H7493H6963H4684H47H935H398H776H4393H5892H342717I will send these enemy troops among you like poisonous snakes you cannot charm. They will bite you, and you will die. I, the Lord, have spoken!”H7971H5175H6848H3908H5391H5002H306818My grief is beyond healing; my heart is broken.H4010H3015H3820H174219Listen to the weeping of my people; it can be heard all across the land. “Has the Lord abandoned Jerusalem?” the people ask. “Is her King no longer there?” “Oh, why have they provoked my anger with their carved idols and their worthless foreign gods?” says the Lord.H6963H7775H1323H5971H4801H776H3068H6726H4428H3707H6456H5236H189220“The harvest is finished, and the summer is gone,” the people cry, “yet we are not saved!”H7105H5674H7019H3615H346721I hurt with the hurt of my people. I mourn and am overcome with grief.H7667H1323H5971H7665H6937H8047H238822Is there no medicine in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why is there no healing for the wounds of my people?H6875H1568H7495H3588H724H1323H5971H5927
Dublin, OH
, you are my beautiful and delicate daughter—but I will destroy you!H1820
