Study Desk

Say to those who are with you, ‘King of Judah and people of Jerusalem, listen to this message from the Lord ! This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the people of Israel, says: I will soon make a terrible thing happen to this place! Everyone who hears about it will be amazed and full of fear.

The kings of Judah built high places for the god Baal. They use those places to burn their sons in the fire. They burned their sons as burnt offerings to the god Baal. I did not tell them to do that. I did not ask them to offer their sons as sacrifices. I never even thought of such a thing.

"This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel says: ‘I said I would bring many disasters to Jerusalem and the villages around it. I will soon make this happen because the people are very stubborn. They refuse to listen and obey me.'"

‘This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: You have weapons of war in your hands that you are using to defend yourselves from the Babylonians and their king. But I will make those weapons worthless. "‘The army from Babylon is outside the wall all around the city. Soon I will bring that army into Jerusalem.

This will be the answer to that question: ‘God destroyed Jerusalem because the people of Judah stopped following the agreement of the Lord their God. They worshiped and served other gods.'"

Josiah helped poor and needy people, so everything went well for him. Jehoiakim, what does it mean "to know God"? It means living right and being fair. That is what it means to know me. This message is from the Lord .

They are responsible for my people. And this is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says to them: "You shepherds have made my sheep run away in all directions. You have forced them to go away, and you have not taken care of them. But I will take care of you—I will punish you for the evil things you did." This message is from the Lord :

The land of Judah is full of people who commit adultery. They are unfaithful in many ways. So God cursed the land, and it became very dry. The plants are dried and dying in the pastures. The fields have become like the desert. The prophets are evil. They use their influence and power in the wrong way.

"I saw the prophets of Samaria doing wrong things. I saw them prophesy in the name of the false god Baal. They led the people of Israel away from me.

This message is from the Lord . "I am God, and I am always near. I am not far away.

They are trying to make the people of Judah forget my name by telling each other these false dreams. They are trying to make my people forget me, just as their ancestors forgot me and worshiped the false god Baal.

But you will never again use the expression, ‘The announcement of the Lord .' That is because his message should not be a heavy load for anyone. But you changed the words of our God. He is the living God, the Lord All-Powerful!

The Lord , the God of Israel, said, "The people of Judah were taken from their country. Their enemy brought them to Babylon. Those people will be like these good figs. I will be kind to them.

I will make them want to know me. They will know that I am the Lord . They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will do this because the prisoners in Babylon will turn to me with their whole hearts."

The Lord , the God of Israel, said this to me: "Jeremiah, take this cup of wine from my hand. It is the wine of my anger. I am sending you to different nations. Make all the nations drink from this cup.

"Jeremiah, say to those nations, this is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the people of Israel, says: ‘Drink this cup of my anger. Get drunk from it and vomit. Fall down and don't get up. Don't get up because I am bringing wars against you.'

You people, change your lives! You must start doing good! You must obey the Lord your God. If you do that, he will change his mind. He will not do the bad things he told you about.

Then the rulers and all the people spoke. They said to the priests and the prophets, "Jeremiah must not be killed. What he told us comes from the Lord our God."

Tell them to give the message to their masters. Tell them that this is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, says: ‘Tell your masters that

This is what the Lord All-Powerful, the God of the people of Israel, says about the things still left in the Lord 's Temple and in the king's palace and in Jerusalem: