Study Desk

Hear this, people of the earth: I am going to bring disaster to the people of Judah because of the evil they plan. They have not listened to my messages and have rejected my teachings.

Don't go out into the fields or walk down the roads, because the enemy has swords. There is terror on every side.

My people, put on rough cloth and roll in the ashes to show how sad you are. Cry loudly for those who are dead, as if your only son were dead, because the destroyer will soon come against us.

My people will be called rejected silver, because the Lord has rejected them."

"‘You people of Judah, go now to the town of Shiloh, where I first made a place to be worshiped. See what I did to it because of the evil things the people of Israel had done.

"As for you, Jeremiah, don't pray for these people. Don't cry out for them or ask anything for them or beg me to help them, because I will not listen to you.

"‘Cut off your hair and throw it away. Go up to the bare hilltop and cry out, because the Lord has rejected these people. He has turned his back on them, and in his anger will punish them.

I will end the happy sounds of the bride and bridegroom. There will be no happy sounds in the cities of Judah or in the streets of Jerusalem, because the land will become an empty desert!

"‘You keep saying, "We are wise, because we have the teachings of the Lord ." But actually, those who explain the Scriptures have written lies with their pens.

Because my people are crushed, I am crushed. I cry loudly and am afraid for them.

I wish I had a place in the desert— a house where travelers spend the night— so I could leave my people. I could go away from them, because they are all unfaithful to God; they are all turning against him.

"Watch out for your friends, and don't trust your own relatives, because every relative is a cheater, and every friend tells lies about you.

So this is what the Lord All-Powerful says: "I will test the people of Judah as a person tests metal in a fire. I have no other choice, because my people have sinned.

The Lord answered, "It is because Judah quit following my teachings that I gave them. They have not obeyed me or done what I told them to do.

The sound of loud crying is heard from Jerusalem: ‘We are truly ruined! We are truly ashamed! We must leave our land, because our houses are in ruins.'"

Their idols are like scarecrows in melon fields; they cannot talk. Since they cannot walk, they must be carried. Do not be afraid of those idols, because they can't hurt you, and they can't help you either."

People are so stupid and know so little. Goldsmiths are made ashamed by their idols, because those statues are only false gods. They have no breath in them.

How terrible it will be for me because of my injury. My wound cannot be healed. Yet I told myself, "This is my sickness; I must suffer through it."

The Lord All-Powerful, who planted you, has announced that disaster will come to you. This is because the families of Israel and Judah have done evil and have made him angry by burning incense to Baal.

The Lord showed me that people were making plans against me. Because he showed me what they were doing, I knew they were against me.