Study Desk

Jacob’s Portion is not like thesebecause he is the one who formed all things.Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;the Lord of Armies is his name.

I know, Lord,that a person’s way of life is not his own;no one who walks determines his own steps.

Pour out your wrath on the nationsthat don’t recognize youand on the familiesthat don’t call on your name,for they have consumed Jacob;they have consumed him and finished him offand made his homeland desolate.

Yet they would not obey or pay attention; each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant, because they had not done what I commanded them to do.”

for I was like a docile lamb led to slaughter.I didn’t know that they had devised plots against me:“Let’s destroy the tree with its fruit;let’s cut him off from the land of the livingso that his name will no longer be remembered.”

After I have uprooted them, I will once again have compassion on them and return each one to his inheritance and to his land.

And you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to fill all who live in this land—the kings who reign for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the residents of Jerusalem—with drunkenness.

Can the Cushite change his skin,or a leopard his spots?If so, you might be able to do what is good,you who are instructed in evil.

“Both great and small will die in this land without burial. No lament will be made for them, nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them.

Food won’t be provided for the mourner to comfort him because of the dead. A consoling drink won’t be given him for the loss of his father or mother.

You did more evil than your fathers. Look, each one of you was following the stubbornness of his evil heart, not obeying me.

I, the Lord, examine the mind,I test the heartto give to each according to his way,according to what his actions deserve.

He who makes a fortune unjustlyis like a partridge that hatches eggs it didn’t lay.In the middle of his lifehis riches will abandon him,so in the end he will be a fool.

“House of Israel, can I not treat you as this potter treats his clay?”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “Just like clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.

But they will say, ‘It’s hopeless. We will continue to follow our plans, and each of us will continue to act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.’”

Then certain ones said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah, for instruction will never be lost from the priest, or counsel from the wise, or a word from the prophet. Come, let’s denounce him and pay no attention to all his words.”

I say, “I won’t mention himor speak any longer in his name.”But his message becomes a fire burning in my heart,shut up in my bones.I become tired of holding it in,and I cannot prevail.

“Inquire of the Lord on our behalf, since King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will perform for us something like all his past wondrous works so that Nebuchadnezzar will withdraw from us.”

Afterward—this is the Lord’s declaration—King Zedekiah of Judah, his officers, and the people—those in this city who survive the plague, the sword, and the famine—I will hand over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, to their enemies, yes, to those who intend to take their lives. He will put them to the sword; he won’t spare them or show pity or compassion.’

Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine, and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live and will retain his life like the spoils of war.