Study Desk

"Declare this in the house of Jacob And proclaim it in Judah, saying,

'Now hear this, you foolish and ^(F1)senseless people, Who have ^(C1)eyes but do not see, Who have ears but do not hear.

-'Do you not ^(C1)fear Me?' declares the LORD. 'Do you not tremble in My presence? For I have ^(C2)placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal limit, and it will not cross over it. Though the waves toss, they cannot prevail; Though they roar, they will not cross over it.

-'But this people has a ^(C1)stubborn and rebellious heart; They have turned aside and departed.

-'They do not say in their heart, "Let us now fear the LORD our God, Who ^(C1)gives rain in its season, Both ^(C2)the autumn rain and the spring rain, Who keeps for us The ^(C3)appointed weeks of the harvest."

-'Your ^(C1)wrongdoings have turned these away, And your sins have kept good away from you.

-'For wicked people are found among My people, They ^(C1)watch like fowlers ^(F1)lying in wait; They set a trap, They catch people.

-'Like a cage full of birds, So their houses are full of ^(C1)deceit; Therefore they have become great and rich.

-'They are ^(C1)fat, they are sleek, They also ^(F1)excel in deeds of wickedness; They do not plead the cause, The cause of the ^(F2)(C2)orphan, so that they may be successful; And they do not ^(F3)defend the rights of the poor.

-'^(C1)Shall I not punish them for these things?' declares the LORD, 'Or shall I not avenge Myself On a nation such as this?'

"An appalling and ^(C1)horrible thing Has happened in the land:

The ^(C1)prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule ^(F1)on their own authority; And My people ^(C2)love it this way! But what will you do ^(F2)when the end comes?

"Flee to safety, you sons of ^(C1)Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem! Blow a trumpet in Tekoa And raise a warning signal over ^(F1)(C2)Beth-haccerem; For evil looks down from the ^(C3)north, Along with a great destruction.

-"The beautiful and ^(C1)delicate one, ^(C2)the daughter of Zion, I will destroy.

-"^(C1)Shepherds and their flocks will come to her, They will ^(C2)pitch their tents ^(F1)around her, They will pasture, each in his ^(F2)place.

'^(F1)(C1)Prepare for war against her; Arise, and let's ^(F2)attack at ^(C2)noon. Woe to us, for the day declines, For the shadows of the evening lengthen!

-'Arise, and let's ^(F1)attack by night And ^(C1)destroy her ^(F2)palaces!'"

For this is what the LORD of armies says: "^(C1)Cut down her trees And pile up an ^(C2)assault ramp against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, In whose midst there is only ^(C3)oppression.

-"^(C1)As a well ^(F1)keeps its waters fresh, So she ^(F1)keeps fresh her wickedness. ^(C2)Violence and destruction are heard in her; ^(C3)Sickness and wounds are constantly before Me.

-"^(C1)Be warned, Jerusalem, Or ^(F1)(C2)I shall be alienated from you, And make you a desolation, An uninhabited land."

This is what the LORD of armies says: "They will ^(C1)thoroughly glean the ^(C2)remnant of Israel like the vine; Pass your hand over the branches again Like a grape gatherer."

To whom shall I speak and give warning, That they may hear? Behold, their ^(C1)ears are ^(F1)closed And they cannot listen. Behold, ^(C2)the word of the LORD has become for them a rebuke; They take no delight in it.

But I am ^(C1)full of the wrath of the LORD; I am ^(C2)weary of holding it in. "^(C3)Pour it out on the children in the street And on the ^(F1)gathering of young men together; For both husband and wife shall be taken, The old ^(F2)and the very old.

-"Their ^(C1)houses shall be turned over to others, Their fields and their wives together; For I will ^(C2)stretch out My hand Against the inhabitants of the land," declares the LORD.

"For ^(C1)from the least of them to the greatest of them, Everyone is ^(C2)greedy for gain, And from the prophet to the priest Everyone deals falsely.

-"They have ^(C1)healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace.

-"Were they ^(C1)ashamed because of the abomination they had done? They were not ashamed at all, Nor did they know even how to be ashamed. Therefore they will fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They will collapse," says the LORD.

This is what the LORD says: "Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ^(C1)ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; Then ^(C2)you will find a resting place for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'

-"And I set ^(C1)watchmen over you, saying, 'Listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, 'We will not listen.'

-"Therefore hear, you nations, And know, you congregation, what is among them.

-"^(C1)Hear, earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, The ^(C2)fruit of their ^(F1)plans, Because they have not listened to My words, And as for My Law, they have ^(C3)rejected it also.

-"^(C1)For what purpose does ^(C2)frankincense come to Me from Sheba, And the ^(F1)(C3)sweet cane from a distant land? ^(C4)Your burnt offerings are not acceptable And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me."

Therefore, this is what the LORD says: "Behold, ^(C1)I am ^(F1)placing stumbling blocks before this people. And they will stumble against them, ^(C2)Fathers and sons together; Neighbor and ^(F2)friend will perish."

This is what the LORD says: "Behold, there is ^(C1)a people coming from the north land, And a great nation will be stirred up from the ^(C2)remote parts of the earth.

-"They seize ^(C1)bow and spear; They are ^(C2)cruel and have no mercy; Their voice ^(C3)roars like the sea, And they ride on horses, Lined up as a man for the battle Against you, daughter of Zion!"

We have ^(C1)heard the report of it; Our hands are limp. ^(C2)Anguish has seized us, Pain like that of a woman in childbirth.

^(C1)Do not go out into the field, And ^(C2)do not walk on the road; For the enemy has a sword, ^(C3)Terror is on every side.

Daughter of my people, ^(C1)put on sackcloth And ^(C2)roll in ashes; ^(F1)(C3)Mourn as for an only son, A most bitter mourning. For suddenly the destroyer Will come against us.

"I have ^(C1)made you an assayer and an examiner among My people, So that you may know and put their way to the test."

All of them are stubbornly rebellious, ^(C1)Going about as a slanderer; They are ^(C2)bronze and iron. They are, all of them, corrupt.

The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; In vain the refining goes on, But the ^(C1)wicked are not ^(F1)separated.

^(C1)They call them rejected silver, Because the ^(C2)LORD has rejected them.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

"^(C1)Stand at the gate of the LORD'S house and proclaim there this word, and say, 'Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah, who enter by these gates to worship the LORD!'"

This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "^(C1)Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you live in this place.

"^(C1)Do not trust in deceptive words, saying, '^(F1)This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.'

"For ^(C1)if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly ^(C2)practice justice between a person and his neighbor,

if you do not oppress the stranger, the ^(F1)(C1)orphan, or the widow, and do not shed ^(C2)innocent blood in this place, nor ^(C3)follow other gods to your own ruin,

then I will let you ^(C1)live in this place, in the ^(C2)land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.

"Behold, you are trusting in ^(C1)deceptive words to no avail.

"Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, ^(F1)(C1)offer sacrifices to Baal, and follow ^(C2)other gods that you have not known,

then ^(C1)come and stand before Me in ^(C2)this house which is called by My name, and say, 'We are saved!'—so that you may do all these abominations?

"Has ^(C1)this house, which is called by My name, become a ^(C2)den of robbers in your sight? Behold, ^(C3)I Myself have seen it," declares the LORD.

"But go now to My place which was in ^(C1)Shiloh, where I ^(C2)made My name dwell at the beginning, and ^(C3)see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.

"And now, because you have done all these things," declares the LORD, "and I spoke to you, ^(C1)speaking again and again, but you did not listen, and I ^(C2)called you but you did not answer,

therefore I will do to the ^(C1)house which is called by My name, ^(C2)in which you trust, and to the place which I gave you and your fathers, just as I ^(C3)did to Shiloh.

"I will ^(C1)hurl you out of My sight, just as I have hurled out all your brothers, all the ^(F1)descendants of ^(C2)Ephraim.

"As for you, ^(C1)do not pray for this people, and do not lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not plead with Me; for I am not listening to you.

"Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

"The ^(F1)children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven; and they ^(C1)pour out drink offerings to other gods in order to ^(C2)provoke Me to anger.

"^(C1)Are they provoking Me?" declares the LORD. "Is it not themselves instead, to their ^(F1)own ^(C2)shame?"

Therefore this is what the Lord ^(F1)GOD says: "Behold, My ^(C1)anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on human and animal life, and on the ^(C2)trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and not be quenched."

This is what the LORD of armies, the God of Israel says: "Add your ^(C1)burnt offerings to your sacrifices and ^(C2)eat flesh.

"For I did not ^(C1)speak to your fathers, or command them on the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.

"But this is ^(F1)what I commanded them, saying, '^(C1)Obey My voice, and ^(C2)I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you shall walk ^(F2)entirely in the way which I command you, so that it may ^(C3)go well for you.'

"Yet they ^(C1)did not obey or incline their ear, but walked by their own advice and in the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and they ^(F1)(C2)went backward and not forward.

"Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have ^(C1)sent you all My servants the prophets, sending them daily, again and again.

"Yet they did not listen to Me or incline their ear, but ^(C1)stiffened their neck; they ^(C2)did more evil than their fathers.

"So you shall ^(C1)speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will ^(C2)not answer you.

"And you shall say to them, 'This is the nation that ^(C1)did not obey the voice of the LORD their God or accept discipline; ^(F1)(C2)trustworthiness has perished and has been eliminated from their mouth.

-'^(C1)Cut off ^(F1)your hair and throw it away, And ^(C2)take up a song of mourning on the bare heights; For the LORD has ^(C3)rejected and forsaken The generation of His wrath.'

"For the sons of Judah have done that which is evil in My sight," declares the LORD. "They have ^(C1)put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it.

"They have ^(C1)built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, to ^(C2)burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I ^(C3)did not command, and it did not come into My ^(F1)mind.

"^(C1)Therefore, behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when it will no longer be called Topheth, or the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of the Slaughter; for they will ^(C2)bury in Topheth ^(F1)because there is no other place.

"The ^(C1)dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth; and no one will frighten them away.

"Then I will ^(C1)eliminate from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride; for the ^(C2)land will become a site of ruins.

"At that time," declares the LORD, "they will ^(C1)bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its leaders, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem from their graves.

"They will spread them out to the sun, the moon, and to all the ^(C1)heavenly ^(F1)lights, which they have loved, which they have served, which they have followed, which they have sought, and which they have worshiped. They will not be gathered ^(C2)nor buried; ^(C3)they will be like dung on the face of the ground.

"And ^(C1)death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant that remains of this evil family, that remains in all the ^(C2)places to which I have driven them," declares the LORD of armies.

"You shall say to them, 'This is what the LORD says: "Do people ^(C1)fall and not get up? Does one turn away and not ^(F1)repent?

-"Why has this people, Jerusalem, ^(C1)Turned away in continual apostasy? They ^(C2)hold on to deceit, They ^(C3)refuse to return.

-"I ^(C1)have listened and heard, They have spoken what is not right; ^(C2)No one repented of his wickedness, Saying, 'What have I done?' Everyone turned to his own course, Like a ^(C3)horse charging into the battle.

-"Even the stork in the sky ^(C1)Knows her seasons; And the ^(C2)turtledove, the swallow, and the crane Keep to the time of their ^(F1)migration; But ^(C3)My people do not know The judgment of the LORD.

"^(C1)How can you say, 'We are wise, And the Law of the LORD is with us'? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes Has made it into a lie.

-"The wise men are ^(C1)put to shame, They are dismayed and caught; Behold, they have ^(C2)rejected the word of the LORD, So what kind of wisdom do they have?

-"Therefore I will ^(C1)give their wives to others, Their fields to new owners; Because from the least even to the greatest Everyone is ^(C2)greedy for gain; From the prophet even to the priest, Everyone practices deceit.

-"They have ^(C1)healed the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, 'Peace, peace,' But there is no peace.

-"Were they ^(C1)ashamed because of the abomination they had done? They were not ashamed at all, And they did not know how to be ashamed; Therefore they will ^(C2)fall among those who fall; At the ^(C3)time of their punishment they will collapse," Says the LORD.

"I will ^(C1)certainly snatch them away," declares the LORD. "There will be ^(C2)no grapes on the vine And ^(C3)no figs on the fig tree, And the leaf will wither; And what I have given them will pass away."'"

Why are we sitting still? ^(C1)Assemble yourselves, and let's ^(C2)go into the fortified cities And perish there, For the LORD our God has doomed us And given us ^(C3)poisoned water to drink, Because ^(C4)we have sinned against the LORD.

We ^(C1)waited for peace, but no good came; For a time of healing, but behold, terror!

From ^(C1)Dan there is heard the snorting of his horses; At the sound of the neighing of his ^(C2)stallions The whole land quakes; For they come and ^(C3)devour the land and its fullness, The city and its inhabitants.

"For behold, I am ^(C1)sending serpents among you, Vipers for which there is ^(C2)no charm; And they will bite you," declares the LORD.

^(F1)My ^(C1)sorrow is beyond healing, My ^(C2)heart is faint within me!

Behold, listen! The cry of the daughter of my people from a ^(C1)distant land: "Is the LORD not in Zion? Is her King not within her?" "Why have they ^(C2)provoked Me with their carved images, with foreign ^(F1)(C3)idols?"

"Harvest is past, summer is over, And we are not saved."

I am broken over the ^(C1)brokenness of the daughter of my people. I ^(C2)mourn, dismay has taken hold of me.

Is there no ^(C1)balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? ^(C2)Why then has not the ^(F1)health of the daughter of my people ^(F2)been restored?