Study Desk

If I go into the country, I see the bodies of those killed in war. If I go into the city, I see people sick from hunger. The priests and prophets continue their work, but they don't understand what is happening.'"

Lord, have you completely rejected the nation of Judah? Do you hate Zion? You hurt us so badly that we cannot be made well again. Why did you do that? We were hoping for peace, but nothing good has come. We were hoping for a time of healing, but only terror came.

Mother, I am sorry that you gave birth to me. I am the one who must accuse and criticize the whole land. I have not loaned or borrowed anything, but everyone curses me.

Lord , you understand me. Remember me and take care of me. People are hurting me. Give them the punishment they deserve. You are being patient with them. But don't destroy me while you remain patient with them. Think about me. Think about the pain I suffer for you.

Then the Lord said, "Jeremiah, if you change and come back to me, I will not punish you. If you change and come back to me, then you may serve me. If you speak important things, not worthless words, then you may speak for me. The people of Judah should change and come back to you. But don't you change and be like them.

I will make you strong. The people will think you are strong, like a wall made of bronze. The people of Judah will fight against you, but they will not defeat you. They will not defeat you, because I am with you. I will help you, and I will save you." This message is from the Lord .

"I will save you from these evil people. They frighten you, but I will save you from them."

But you people have sinned more than your ancestors. You are very stubborn, and you are doing only what you want to do. You are not obeying me. Because you do only what you want to do,

"People make promises and say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives—the Lord who brought the Israelites out of the land of Egypt ….' But the time is coming," says the Lord , "when people will not say that.

I will pay the people of Judah back for the evil things they did—I will punish them two times for every sin. I will do this because they have made my land ‘dirty.' They made my land ‘dirty' with their terrible idols. I hate those idols, but they have filled my country with their idols."

Lord , you are my strength and my protection. You are a safe place to run to in time of trouble. The nations will come to you from all around the world. They will say, "Our fathers had false gods. They worshiped those worthless idols, but the idols did not help them.

"But those who trust in the Lord will be blessed. They know that the Lord will do what he says.

But I am the Lord , and I can look into a person's heart. I can test a person's mind and decide what each one should have. I can give each person the right payment for what they do.

Sometimes a bird will hatch an egg that it did not lay. Those who cheat to get money are like that bird. But when their lives are half finished, they will lose the money. At the end of their lives, it will be clear that they were fools."

People are hurting me. Make them ashamed, but don't disappoint me. Let them be filled with fear, but don't give me any reason to fear. Bring the terrible day of disaster to my enemies. Break them, and break them again.

but they did not obey me. They did not pay attention to me. Your ancestors were very stubborn. I punished them, but it did not do any good. They did not listen to me.

But you must be careful to obey me, says the Lord . You must not bring a load through the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath. You must make the Sabbath day a holy day. You will do this by not doing any work on that day.

"‘But if you don't listen to me and obey me, bad things will happen. If you carry loads into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, you are not keeping it as a holy day. So I will start a fire that cannot be put out. That fire will start at the gates of Jerusalem, and it will burn until it burns even the palaces.'"

He was making a pot from clay. But there was something wrong with the pot. So the potter used that clay to make another pot. With his hands he shaped the pot the way he wanted it to be.

But if the people of that nation change their hearts and lives and stop doing evil things, I will change my mind and not bring on them the disaster I planned.