This eBook was produced by David Widger
with the help of Derek Andrew's text from January 1992
and the work of Bryan Taylor in November 2002.
Book 24 Jeremiah
24:001:001 The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that
were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin:
24:001:002 To 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.
24:001:003 It 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.
24:001:004 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
24:001:005 Before 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.
24:001:006 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a
child.
24:001:007 But 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.
24:001:008 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver
thee, saith the LORD.
24:001:009 Then 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.
24:001:010 See, 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.
24:001:011 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Jeremiah,
what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an almond tree.
24:001:012 Then said the LORD unto me, Thou hast well seen: for I will
hasten my word to perform it.
24:001:013 And 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.
24:001:014 Then the LORD said unto me, Out of the north an evil shall
break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land.
24:001:015 For, 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.
24:001:016 And 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.
24:001:017 Thou 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.
24:001:018 For, 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.
24:001:019 And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail
against thee; for I am with thee, saith the LORD, to deliver
thee.
24:002:001 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
24:002:002 Go 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.
24:002:003 Israel 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.
24:002:004 Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the
families of the house of Israel:
24:002:005 Thus 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?
24:002:006 Neither 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?
24:002:007 And 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.
24:002:008 The 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.
24:002:009 Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with
your children's children will I plead.
24:002:010 For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto
Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a
thing.
24:002:011 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but
my people have changed their glory for that which doth not
profit.
24:002:012 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid,
be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
24:002:013 For 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.
24:002:014 Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he
spoiled?
24:002:015 The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his
land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.
24:002:016 Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown
of thy head.
24:002:017 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast
forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?
24:002:018 And 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?
24:002:019 Thine 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.
24:002:020 For 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.
24:002:021 Yet 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?
24:002:022 For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap,
yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.
24:002:023 How 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;
24:002:024 A 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.
24:002:025 Withhold 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.
24:002:026 As 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.
24:002:027 Saying 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.
24:002:028 But 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.
24:002:029 Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed
against me, saith the LORD.
24:002:030 In vain have I smitten your children; they received no
correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a
destroying lion.
24:002:031 O 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?
24:002:032 Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my
people have forgotten me days without number.
24:002:033 Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou
also taught the wicked ones thy ways.
24:002:034 Also 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.
24:002:035 Yet 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.
24:002:036 Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also
shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
24:002:037 Yea, 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.
24:003:001 They 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.
24:003:002 Lift 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.
24:003:003 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath
been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou
refusedst to be ashamed.
24:003:004 Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art
the guide of my youth?
24:003:005 Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the
end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou
couldest.
24:003:006 The 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.
24:003:007 And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto
me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw
it.
24:003:008 And 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.
24:003:009 And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom,
that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones
and with stocks.
24:003:010 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not
turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the
LORD.
24:003:011 And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath
justified herself more than treacherous Judah.
24:003:012 Go 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.
24:003:013 Only 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.
24:003:014 Turn, 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:
24:003:015 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which
shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
24:003:016 And 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.
24:003:017 At 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.
24:003:018 In 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.
24:003:019 But 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.
24:003:020 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so
have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith
the LORD.
24:003:021 A 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.
24:003:022 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your
backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD
our God.
24:003:023 Truly 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.
24:003:024 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our
youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their
daughters.
24:003:025 We 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.
24:004:001 If 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.
24:004:002 And 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.
24:004:003 For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem,
Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
24:004:004 Circumcise 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.
24:004:005 Declare 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.
24:004:006 Set up the standard toward Zion: retire, stay not: for I will
bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.
24:004:007 The 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.
24:004:008 For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the
fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.
24:004:009 And 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.
24:004:010 Then 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.
24:004:011 At 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,
24:004:012 Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now
also will I give sentence against them.
24:004:013 Behold, 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.
24:004:014 O Jerusalem, wash thine heart from wickedness, that thou
mayest be saved. How long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within
thee?
24:004:015 For a voice declareth from Dan, and publisheth affliction from
mount Ephraim.
24:004:016 Make 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.
24:004:017 As keepers of a field, are they against her round about;
because she hath been rebellious against me, saith the LORD.
24:004:018 Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee;
this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it
reacheth unto thine heart.
24:004:019 My 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.
24:004:020 Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is
spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a
moment.
24:004:021 How long shall I see the standard, and hear the sound of the
trumpet?
24:004:022 For 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.
24:004:023 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void;
and the heavens, and they had no light.
24:004:024 I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the
hills moved lightly.
24:004:025 I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the
heavens were fled.
24:004:026 I 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.
24:004:027 For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate;
yet will I not make a full end.
24:004:028 For 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.
24:004:029 The 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.
24:004:030 And 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.
24:004:031 For 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.
24:005:001 Run 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.
24:005:002 And though they say, The LORD liveth; surely they swear
falsely.
24:005:003 O 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.
24:005:004 Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for
they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their
God.
24:005:005 I 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.
24:005:006 Wherefore 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.
24:005:007 How 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.
24:005:008 They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed
after his neighbour's wife.
24:005:009 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: and shall
not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
24:005:010 Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end:
take away her battlements; for they are not the LORD's.
24:005:011 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very
treacherously against me, saith the LORD.
24:005:012 They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither
shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor
famine:
24:005:013 And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in
them: thus shall it be done unto them.
24:005:014 Wherefore 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.
24:005:015 Lo, 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.
24:005:016 Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.
24:005:017 And 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.
24:005:018 Nevertheless in those days, saith the LORD, I will not make a
full end with you.
24:005:019 And 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 your's.
24:005:020 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah,
saying,
24:005:021 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding;
which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
24:005:022 Fear 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?
24:005:023 But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they
are revolted and gone.
24:005:024 Neither 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.
24:005:025 Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins
have withholden good things from you.
24:005:026 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he
that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
24:005:027 As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of
deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.
24:005:028 They 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.
24:005:029 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not
my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
24:005:030 A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;
24:005:031 The 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?
24:006:001 O 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.
24:006:002 I have likened the daughter of Zion to a comely and delicate
woman.
24:006:003 The 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.
24:006:004 Prepare 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.
24:006:005 Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.
24:006:006 For 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.
24:006:007 As 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.
24:006:008 Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from
thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.
24:006:009 Thus 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.
24:006:010 To 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.
24:006:011 Therefore 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.
24:006:012 And 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.
24:006:013 For 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.
24:006:014 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people
slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
24:006:015 Were 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.
24:006:016 Thus 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.
24:006:017 Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of
the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.
24:006:018 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is
among them.
24:006:019 Hear, 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.
24:006:020 To 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.
24:006:021 Therefore 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.
24:006:022 Thus saith the LORD, Behold, a people cometh from the north
country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of
the earth.
24:006:023 They 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.
24:006:024 We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish
hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
24:006:025 Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the
sword of the enemy and fear is on every side.
24:006:026 O 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.
24:006:027 I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people,
that thou mayest know and try their way.
24:006:028 They are all grievous revolters, walking with slanders: they
are brass and iron; they are all corrupters.
24:006:029 The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the
founder melteth in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away.
24:006:030 Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the LORD hath
rejected them.
24:007:001 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
24:007:002 Stand 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.
24:007:003 Thus 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.
24:007:004 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD,
The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.
24:007:005 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye
throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;
24:007:006 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:
24:007:007 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that
I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
24:007:008 Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.
24:007:009 Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely,
and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye
know not;
24:007:010 And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by
my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these
abominations?
24:007:011 Is 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.
24:007:012 But 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.
24:007:013 And 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;
24:007:014 Therefore 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.
24:007:015 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all
your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.
24:007:016 Therefore 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.
24:007:017 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the
streets of Jerusalem?
24:007:018 The 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.
24:007:019 Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not
provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?
24:007:020 Therefore 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.
24:007:021 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your
burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.
24:007:022 For 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:
24:007:023 But 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.
24:007:024 But 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.
24:007:025 Since 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:
24:007:026 Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but
hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.
24:007:027 Therefore 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.
24:007:028 But 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.
24:007:029 Cut 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.
24:007:030 For 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.
24:007:031 And 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.
24:007:032 Therefore, 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.
24:007:033 And 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.
24:007:034 Then 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.
24:008:001 At 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:
24:008:002 And 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.
24:008:003 And 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.
24:008:004 Moreover thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the LORD; Shall
they fall, and not arise? shall he turn away, and not return?
24:008:005 Why then is this people of Jerusalem slidden back by a
perpetual backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to
return.
24:008:006 I 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.
24:008:007 Yea, 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.
24:008:008 How 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.
24:008:009 The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken: lo,
they have rejected the word of the LORD; and what wisdom is in
them?
24:008:010 Therefore 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.
24:008:011 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people
slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
24:008:012 Were 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.
24:008:013 I 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.
24:008:014 Why 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.
24:008:015 We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of
health, and behold trouble!
24:008:016 The 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.
24:008:017 For, behold, I will send serpents, cockatrices, among you,
which will not be charmed, and they shall bite you, saith the
LORD.
24:008:018 When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint
in me.
24:008:019 Behold 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?
24:008:020 The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not
saved.
24:008:021 For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am
black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
24:008:022 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why
then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
24:009:001 Oh 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!
24:009:002 Oh 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.
24:009:003 And 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.
24:009:004 Take 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.
24:009:005 And 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.
24:009:006 Thine habitation is in the midst of deceit; through deceit
they refuse to know me, saith the LORD.
24:009:007 Therefore 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?
24:009:008 Their 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.
24:009:009 Shall I not visit them for these things? saith the LORD: shall
not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
24:009:010 For 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.
24:009:011 And I will make Jerusalem heaps, and a den of dragons; and I
will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
24:009:012 Who 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?
24:009:013 And the LORD saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I
set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked
therein;
24:009:014 But have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and
after Baalim, which their fathers taught them:
24:009:015 Therefore 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.
24:009:016 I 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.
24:009:017 Thus 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:
24:009:018 And 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.
24:009:019 For 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.
24:009:020 Yet 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.
24:009:021 For 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.
24:009:022 Speak, 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.
24:009:023 Thus 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:
24:009:024 But 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.
24:009:025 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will punish all
them which are circumcised with the uncircumcised;
24:009:026 Egypt, 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.
24:010:001 Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of
Israel:
24:010:002 Thus 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.
24:010:003 For 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.
24:010:004 They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with
nails and with hammers, that it move not.
24:010:005 They 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.
24:010:006 Forasmuch as there is none like unto thee, O LORD; thou art
great, and thy name is great in might.
24:010:007 Who 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.
24:010:008 But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the stock is a
doctrine of vanities.
24:010:009 Silver 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.
24:010:010 But 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.
24:010:011 Thus 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.
24:010:012 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the
world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his
discretion.
24:010:013 When 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.
24:010:014 Every 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.
24:010:015 They are vanity, and the work of errors: in the time of their
visitation they shall perish.
24:010:016 The 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.
24:010:017 Gather up thy wares out of the land, O inhabitant of the
fortress.
24:010:018 For 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.
24:010:019 Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous; but I said, Truly
this is a grief, and I must bear it.
24:010:020 My 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.
24:010:021 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the
LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks
shall be scattered.
24:010:022 Behold, 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.
24:010:023 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is
not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
24:010:024 O LORD, correct me, but with judgment; not in thine anger,
lest thou bring me to nothing.
24:010:025 Pour 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.
24:011:001 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD saying,
24:011:002 Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of
Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
24:011:003 And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel;
Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
24:011:004 Which 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:
24:011:005 That 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.
24:011:006 Then 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.
24:011:007 For 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.
24:011:008 Yet 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.
24:011:009 And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men
of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
24:011:010 They 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.
24:011:011 Therefore 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.
24:011:012 Then 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.
24:011:013 For 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.
24:011:014 Therefore 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.
24:011:015 What 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.
24:011:016 The 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.
24:011:017 For 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.
24:011:018 And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it:
then thou shewedst me their doings.