Study Desk

Raise a signal flag as a warning for Jerusalem: ‘Flee now! Do not delay!' For I am bringing terrible destruction upon you from the north."

So now I am filled with the Lord 's fury. Yes, I am tired of holding it in! "I will pour out my fury on children playing in the streets and on gatherings of young men, on husbands and wives and on those who are old and gray.

I will label them ‘Rejected Silver,' for I, the Lord , am discarding them."

No wonder I am so angry! Watch how the children gather wood and the fathers build sacrificial fires. See how the women knead dough and make cakes to offer to the Queen of Heaven. And they pour out liquid offerings to their other idol gods!

Am I the one they are hurting?" asks the Lord . "Most of all, they hurt themselves, to their own shame."

I hurt with the hurt of my people. I mourn and am overcome with grief.

But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the Lord who demonstrates unfailing love and who brings justice and righteousness to the earth, and that I delight in these things. I, the Lord , have spoken!

Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am going to bring calamity upon them, and they will not escape. Though they beg for mercy, I will not listen to their cries.

You have abandoned me and turned your back on me," says the Lord . "Therefore, I will raise my fist to destroy you. I am tired of always giving you another chance.

Then I said, "What sorrow is mine, my mother. Oh, that I had died at birth! I am hated everywhere I go. I am neither a lender who threatens to foreclose nor a borrower who refuses to pay— yet they all curse me."

Then I said, " Lord , you know what's happening to me. Please step in and help me. Punish my persecutors! Please give me time; don't let me die young. It's for your sake that I am suffering.

They will fight against you like an attacking army, but I will make you as secure as a fortified wall of bronze. They will not conquer you, for I am with you to protect and rescue you. I, the Lord , have spoken!

"But now I am sending for many fishermen who will catch them," says the Lord . "I am sending for hunters who will hunt them down in the mountains, hills, and caves.

I am watching them closely, and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me.

The Lord says, "Now I will show them my power; now I will show them my might. At last they will know and understand that I am the Lord .

"Therefore, Jeremiah, go and warn all Judah and Jerusalem. Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am planning disaster for you instead of good. So turn from your evil ways, each of you, and do what is right.'"

O Lord , you misled me, and I allowed myself to be misled. You are stronger than I am, and you overpowered me. Now I am mocked every day; everyone laughs at me.

But if I say I'll never mention the Lord or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It's like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can't do it!

I myself will fight against you with a strong hand and a powerful arm, for I am very angry. You have made me furious!

Am I a God who is only close at hand?" says the Lord . "No, I am far away at the same time.