Jeremiah’s Call and Commission

1The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who 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, until the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah the son of Josiah, king of Judah, until the exile of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

4Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,

5“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

And before you were born I consecrated you;

I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

6Then I said, “Alas, Lord God!

Behold, I do not know how to speak,

Because I am a youth.”

7But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’

Because everywhere I send you, you shall go,

And all that I command you, you shall speak.

8Do not be afraid of them,

For I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.

9Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me,

“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

10See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,

To pluck up and to break down,

To destroy and to overthrow,

To build and to plant.”

The Almond Rod and Boiling Pot

11The word of the Lord came to me saying, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a rod of an almond tree.” 12Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.”

13The word of the Lord came to me a second time saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” 14Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north the evil will break forth on all the inhabitants of the land. 15For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the Lord; “and they will come and they will set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah. 16I will pronounce My judgments on them concerning all their wickedness, whereby they have forsaken Me and have offered sacrifices to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. 17Now, gird up your loins and arise, and speak to them all which I command you. Do not be dismayed before them, or I will dismay you before them. 18Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land. 19They will fight against you, but they will not overcome you, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord.

Judah’s Apostasy

1Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, 2“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord,

“I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth,

The love of your betrothals,

Your following after Me in the wilderness,

Through a land not sown.

3Israel was holy to the Lord,

The first of His harvest.

All who ate of it became guilty;

Evil came upon them,” declares the Lord.’ ”

4Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. 5Thus says the Lord,

“What injustice did your fathers find in Me,

That they went far from Me

And walked after emptiness and became empty?

6They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord

Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt,

Who led us through the wilderness,

Through a land of deserts and of pits,

Through a land of drought and of deep darkness,

Through a land that no one crossed

And where no man dwelt?’

7I brought you into the fruitful land

To eat its fruit and its good things.

But you came and defiled My land,

And My inheritance you made an abomination.

8The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’

And those who handle the law did not know Me;

The rulers also transgressed against Me,

And the prophets prophesied by Baal

And walked after things that did not profit.

9“Therefore I will yet contend with you,” declares the Lord,

“And with your sons’ sons I will contend.

10For cross to the coastlands of Kittim and see,

And send to Kedar and observe closely

And see if there has been such a thing as this!

11Has a nation changed gods

When they were not gods?

But My people have changed their glory

For that which does not profit.

12Be appalled, O heavens, at this,

And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.

13“For My people have committed two evils:

They have forsaken Me,

The fountain of living waters,

To hew for themselves cisterns,

Broken cisterns

That can hold no water.

14“Is Israel a slave? Or is he a homeborn servant?

Why has he become a prey?

15The young lions have roared at him,

They have roared loudly.

And they have made his land a waste;

His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.

16Also the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes

Have shaved the crown of your head.

17Have you not done this to yourself

By your forsaking the Lord your God

When He led you in the way?

18But now what are you doing on the road to Egypt,

To drink the waters of the Nile?

Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,

To drink the waters of the Euphrates?

19Your own wickedness will correct you,

And your apostasies will reprove you;

Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter

For you to forsake the Lord your God,

And the dread of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord God of hosts.

20“For long ago I broke your yoke

And tore off your bonds;

But you said, ‘I will not serve!’

For on every high hill

And under every green tree

You have lain down as a harlot.

21Yet I planted you a choice vine,

A completely faithful seed.

How then have you turned yourself before Me

Into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?

22Although you wash yourself with lye

And use much soap,

The stain of your iniquity is before Me,” declares the Lord God.

23“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled,

I have not gone after the Baals’?

Look at your way in the valley!

Know what you have done!

You are a swift young camel entangling her ways,

24A wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,

That sniffs the wind in her passion.

In the time of her heat who can turn her away?

All who seek her will not become weary;

In her month they will find her.

25Keep your feet from being unshod

And your throat from thirst;

But you said, ‘It is hopeless!

No! For I have loved strangers,

And after them I will walk.’

26“As the thief is shamed when he is discovered,

So the house of Israel is shamed;

They, their kings, their princes

And their priests and their prophets,

27Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’

And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’

For they have turned their back to Me,

And not their face;

But in the time of their trouble they will say,

‘Arise and save us.’

28But where are your gods

Which you made for yourself?

Let them arise, if they can save you

In the time of your trouble;

For according to the number of your cities

Are your gods, O Judah.

29“Why do you contend with Me?

You have all transgressed against Me,” declares the Lord.

30“In vain I have struck your sons;

They accepted no chastening.

Your sword has devoured your prophets

Like a destroying lion.

31O generation, heed the word of the Lord.

Have I been a wilderness to Israel,

Or a land of thick darkness?

Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam;

We will no longer come to You’?

32Can a virgin forget her ornaments,

Or a bride her attire?

Yet My people have forgotten Me

Days without number.

33How well you prepare your way

To seek love!

Therefore even the wicked women

You have taught your ways.

34Also on your skirts is found

The lifeblood of the innocent poor;

You did not find them breaking in.

But in spite of all these things,

35Yet you said, ‘I am innocent;

Surely His anger is turned away from me.’

Behold, I will enter into judgment with you

Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

36Why do you go around so much

Changing your way?

Also, you will be put to shame by Egypt

As you were put to shame by Assyria.

37From this place also you will go out

With your hands on your head;

For the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,

And you will not prosper with them.”

The Polluted Land

1God says, “If a husband divorces his wife

And she goes from him

And belongs to another man,

Will he still return to her?

Will not that land be completely polluted?

But you are a harlot with many lovers;

Yet you turn to Me,” declares the Lord.

2“Lift up your eyes to the bare heights and see;

Where have you not been violated?

By the roads you have sat for them

Like an Arab in the desert,

And you have polluted a land

With your harlotry and with your wickedness.

3Therefore the showers have been withheld,

And there has been no spring rain.

Yet you had a harlot’s forehead;

You refused to be ashamed.

4Have you not just now called to Me,

‘My Father, You are the friend of my youth?

5Will He be angry forever?

Will He be indignant to the end?’

Behold, you have spoken

And have done evil things,

And you have had your way.”

Faithless Israel

6Then the Lord said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. 7I thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. 9Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. 10Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception,” declares the Lord.

God Invites Repentance

11And the Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say,

‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord;

‘I will not look upon you in anger.

For I am gracious,’ declares the Lord;

‘I will not be angry forever.

13Only acknowledge your iniquity,

That you have transgressed against the Lord your God

And have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree,

And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the Lord.

14‘Return, O faithless sons,’ declares the Lord;

‘For I am a master to you,

And I will take you one from a city and two from a family,

And I will bring you to Zion.’

15“Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding. 16It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land,” declares the Lord, “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. 17At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of the Lord,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.

19“Then I said,

‘How I would set you among My sons

And give you a pleasant land,

The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’

And I said, ‘You shall call Me, My Father,

And not turn away from following Me.’

20Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her lover,

So you have dealt treacherously with Me,

O house of Israel,” declares the Lord.

21A voice is heard on the bare heights,

The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel;

Because they have perverted their way,

They have forgotten the Lord their God.

22“Return, O faithless sons,

I will heal your faithlessness.”

“Behold, we come to You;

For You are the Lord our God.

23Surely, the hills are a deception,

A tumult on the mountains.

Surely in the Lord our God

Is the salvation of Israel.

24“But the shameful thing has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25Let us lie down in our shame, and let our humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”