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The Broken Covenant

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ^2 (a)"Hear the words of this covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ³ You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^(b)Cursed be the man who does not hear the words of this covenant ⁴ that I commanded your fathers when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, ^(c)from the iron furnace, saying, ^(d)Listen to my voice, and do all that I command you. ^(e)So shall you be my people, and I will be your God, ^5 (f)that I may confirm the oath that I swore to your fathers, ^(g)to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day." Then I answered, "So be it, Lord."

⁶ And the Lord said to me, ^(h)"Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ⁽ⁱ⁾Hear the words of this covenant and do them. ⁷ For I solemnly warned your fathers when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, ^(j)warning them persistently, even to this day, saying, ^(k)Obey my voice. ^8 (l)Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, ^(m)but everyone walked in the stubbornness of his evil heart. Therefore I brought upon them all ⁽ⁿ⁾the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not."

⁹ Again the Lord said to me, ^(o)"A conspiracy exists among the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁰ They have turned back to ^(p)the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words. ^(q)They have gone after other gods to serve them. ^(r)The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant that I made with their fathers. ¹¹ Therefore, thus says the Lord, Behold, I am bringing disaster upon them that they cannot escape. ^(s)Though they cry to me, I will not listen to them. ¹² Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem ^(t)will go and cry to the gods to whom they make offerings, ^(u)but they cannot save them in the time of their trouble. ^13 (v)For your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah, and as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to shame, ^(w)altars to make offerings to Baal.

¹⁴ "Therefore ^(x)do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer on their behalf, ^(y)for I will not listen when they call to me in the time of their trouble. ^15 (z)What right has my beloved in my house, ^(aa)when she has done many vile deeds? Can even sacrificial flesh avert your doom? ^(ab)Can you then exult? ¹⁶ The Lord once called you ^(ac)‘a green olive tree, beautiful with good fruit.' But ^(ad)with the roar of a great tempest he will set fire to it, and ^(ae)its branches will be consumed. ¹⁷ The Lord of hosts, ^(af)who planted you, has decreed disaster against you, because of the evil that the house of Israel and the house of Judah have done, ^(ag)provoking me to anger by making offerings to Baal."

²¹ Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of ^(ao)Anathoth, ^(ap)who seek your life, and say, ^(aq)"Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, or you will die by our hand"— ²² therefore thus says the Lord of hosts: "Behold, I will punish them. The young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine, ²³ and none of them shall be left. For I will bring disaster upon the men of ^(ar)Anathoth, ^(as)the year of their punishment."