Study Desk

People of Israel, listen to the message that the Lord has for you.

I answered, "Our leaders are stupid; they do not ask the Lord for guidance. This is why they have failed, and our people have been scattered.

So now I, the Lord , warn them that I am going to bring destruction on them, and they will not escape. And when they cry out to me for help, I will not listen to them.

Then the people of Judah and of Jerusalem will go to the gods to whom they offer sacrifices and will cry out to them for help. But those gods will not be able to save them when this destruction comes.

The people of Judah have as many gods as they have cities, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem have set up as many altars for sacrifices to that disgusting god Baal as there are streets in the city.

Jeremiah, don't pray to me or plead with me on behalf of these people. When they are in trouble and call to me for help, I will not listen to them."

I have set a time for bringing disaster on the people of Anathoth, and when that time comes, none of them will survive."

But, Lord , you know me; you see what I do and how I love you. Drag these evil people away like sheep to be butchered; guard them until it is time for them to be slaughtered.

My people planted wheat, but gathered weeds; they have worked hard, but got nothing for it. Because of my fierce anger their crops have failed."

Honor the Lord , your God, before he brings darkness, and you stumble on the mountains; before he turns into deep darkness the light you hoped for.

"Judah is in mourning; its cities are dying, its people lie on the ground in sorrow, and Jerusalem cries out for help.

The rich people send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; they come back with their jars empty. Discouraged and confused, they hide their faces.

The wild donkeys stand on the hilltops and pant for breath like jackals; their eyesight fails them because they have no food.

You are Israel's only hope; you are the one who saves us from disaster. Why are you like a stranger in our land, like a traveler who stays for only one night?

Even if they fast, I will not listen to their cry for help; and even if they offer me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not be pleased with them. Instead, I will kill them in war and by starvation and disease."

The people to whom they have said these things will be killed in the same way. Their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, and there will be no one to bury them. This will happen to all of them—including their wives, their sons, and their daughters. I will make them pay for their wickedness."

The Lord commanded me to tell the people about my sorrow and to say: "May my eyes flow with tears day and night, may I never stop weeping, for my people are deeply wounded and are badly hurt.

Lord , have you completely rejected Judah? Do you hate the people of Zion? Why have you hurt us so badly that we cannot be healed? We looked for peace, but nothing good happened; we hoped for healing, but terror came instead.

The mother who lost her seven children has fainted, gasping for breath. Her daylight has turned to darkness; she is disgraced and sick at heart. I will let your enemies kill those of you who are still alive. I, the Lord , have spoken."

The Lord said to me, "I will send enemies to carry away the wealth and treasures of my people, in order to punish them for the sins they have committed throughout the land.