Study Desk

"Jerusalem, I am against you. You sit on top of the mountain. You sit like a queen over this valley. You people of Jerusalem say, ‘No one can attack us. No one can come into our strong city.'" This message is from the Lord .

So this is what the Lord says to King Jehoiakim son of Josiah: "The people of Judah will not cry for Jehoiakim. They will not say to each other, ‘Brother, I am so sad! Sister, I am so sad!' They will not cry for Jehoiakim. They will not say about him, ‘Master, I am so sad! King, I am so sad!'

A message to the prophets: I am very sad—my heart is broken. All my bones are shaking. Because of the Lord and his holy words, I am like a man who is drunk.

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

Someone might try to hide from me in some hiding place. But it is easy for me to see that person, says the Lord , because I am everywhere in heaven and earth." This message is from the Lord :

This message is from the Lord : "So I am against the false prophets. They keep stealing my words from each other."

Yes, the Lord says, "I am against the false prophets. They use their own words and pretend that it is a message from me.

I am against the false prophets who tell false dreams." This message is from the Lord . "They mislead my people with their lies and false teachings. I did not send them to teach the people. I never commanded them to do anything for me. They cannot help the people of Judah at all." This message is from the Lord .

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.'

I am already making these bad things happen to Jerusalem, the city that is called by my name. Maybe you people think that you will not be punished, but you are wrong. You will be punished! I am giving the command for war to come against all the people of the earth.'" This message is from the Lord .

Maybe they will listen and obey my message. Maybe they will stop living such evil lives. If they change, I will change my mind about my plans to punish them. I am planning this punishment because of the many evil things they have done.

As for me, I am in your power. Do to me what you think is good and right.

But this is what the Lord says about your relatives who were not carried away to Babylon. I am talking about the king who is sitting on David's throne now and all the other people who are still in the city of Jerusalem.

They did very bad things among the people of Israel. They committed the sin of adultery with their neighbors' wives. They also spoke lies and said those lies were a message from me. I did not tell them to do that. I know what they have done. I am a witness." This message is from the Lord .

People of Israel and Judah, I am with you." This message is from the Lord . "I will save you. I sent you to those nations, but I will completely destroy all of them. It is true; I will destroy those nations, but I will not destroy you. You must be punished for the bad things you did, but I will discipline you fairly."

They will come back crying, but I will lead them and comfort them. I will lead them by streams of water. I will lead them on an easy road, where they will not stumble. I will lead them in that way because I am Israel's father. And Ephraim is my firstborn son.

I wandered away from you. But I finally realized how wrong I was. So I changed my heart and life. I am ashamed and embarrassed about the foolish things I did when I was young.'"

"Jeremiah, I am the Lord . I am the God of every person on the earth. You know that nothing is impossible for me."