Study Desk

Hear the word which the LORD speaks to you, house of Israel.

This is what the LORD says: "^(C1)Do not learn the way of the nations, And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavens, Although the nations are terrified by them;

For the customs of the peoples are ^(C1)futile; For ^(C2)it is wood cut from the forest, The work of the hands of a craftsman with a cutting tool.

-"They ^(C1)decorate the idol with silver and gold; They ^(C2)fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not totter.

-"They are like a scarecrow in a cucumber field, And they ^(C1)cannot speak; They must be ^(C2)carried, Because they cannot walk! Do not fear them, For they ^(C3)can do no harm, Nor can they do any good."

^(C1)There is none like You, LORD; You are ^(C2)great, and Your name is great in might.

^(C1)Who would not fear You, O ^(C2)King of the nations? For it is Your due! For among all the ^(C3)wise men of the nations And in all their kingdoms, There is none like You.

But they are altogether ^(C1)stupid and foolish; The instruction from idols is nothing but wood!

Beaten ^(C1)silver is brought from ^(C2)Tarshish, And ^(C3)gold from Uphaz, The work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith; Their clothing is of violet and purple; They are all the ^(C4)work of skilled people.

But the LORD is the ^(C1)true God; He is the ^(C2)living God and the ^(C3)everlasting King. The ^(C4)earth quakes at His wrath, And the nations cannot ^(C5)endure His indignation.

^(F1)This is what you shall say to them: "The ^(C1)gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will ^(C2)perish from the earth and from under these heavens."

It is ^(C1)He who made the earth by His power, Who ^(C2)established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has ^(C3)stretched out the heavens.

When He utters His ^(C1)voice, there is a roar of waters in the heavens, And He makes the ^(C2)clouds ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the ^(C3)wind from His storehouses.

Every person is ^(C1)stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, For his cast metal images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them.

They are ^(C1)worthless, a work of mockery; At the ^(C2)time of their punishment they will perish.

The ^(C1)Portion of Jacob is not like these; For He is the ^(F1)(C2)Maker of everything, And ^(C3)Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The ^(C4)LORD of armies is His name.

^(C1)Pick up your bundle from the ground, You who live under siege!

For this is what the LORD says: "Behold, I am ^(C1)slinging out the inhabitants of the land At this time, And I will cause them distress, So that they may ^(F1)be found."

^(C1)Woe to me, because of my ^(F1)injury! My ^(C2)wound is incurable. But I said, "This certainly is a sickness, And I ^(C3)must endure it."

My ^(C1)tent is destroyed, And all my ropes are broken. My ^(C2)sons have gone from me and are no more. There is ^(C3)no one to stretch out my tent again Or to set up my curtains.

For the shepherds have become stupid And ^(C1)have not sought the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, And ^(C2)all their flock is scattered.

The sound of a ^(C1)report! Behold, it is coming— A great roar ^(C2)from the land of the north— To ^(C3)make the cities of Judah A desolation, a haunt of jackals.

I know, LORD, that ^(C1)a person's way is not in himself, ^(C2)Nor is it in a person who walks to direct his steps.

^(C1)Correct me, LORD, but with justice; Not with Your anger, or You will ^(F1)bring me to nothing.

^(C1)Pour out Your wrath on the nations that ^(C2)do not know You, And on the families who ^(C3)do not call upon Your name; For they have devoured Jacob; They have ^(C4)devoured him and consumed him, And have laid waste his ^(F1)settlement.

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

"^(C1)Hear the words of this ^(C2)covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;

and say to them, 'This is what the LORD, the God of Israel says: "^(C1)Cursed is the one who does not obey the words of this covenant

which I commanded your forefathers on the ^(C1)day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the ^(C2)iron furnace, saying, '^(C3)Listen to My voice, and ^(F1)do according to all that I command you; so you shall be ^(C4)My people, and I will be your God,'

in order to confirm the ^(C1)oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day."'" Then I replied, "^(C2)Amen, LORD."

And the LORD said to me, "^(C1)Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, '^(C2)Hear the words of this covenant and ^(C3)do them.

'For I solemnly ^(C1)warned your fathers on the ^(C2)day I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, ^(C3)warning them persistently, saying, "^(C4)Listen to My voice."

'Yet they ^(C1)did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in the stubbornness of their evil heart, each one of them; therefore I brought on them all the ^(C2)words of this covenant which I commanded them to do, but they did not.'"

Then the LORD said to me, "A ^(C1)conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

"They have ^(C1)turned back to the wrongdoings of their ^(F1)ancestors who ^(C2)refused to hear My words, and they ^(C3)have followed other gods to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have ^(C4)broken My covenant which I made with their fathers."

Therefore this is what the LORD says: "Behold, I am ^(C1)bringing disaster on them which they will ^(C2)not be able to escape; though they will ^(C3)cry out to Me, I will not listen to them.

"Then the cities of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will ^(C1)go and cry out to the gods to whom they ^(F1)burn incense, but they certainly will not save them in the time of their disaster.

"For your gods are ^(F1)(C1)as many as your cities, Judah; and ^(F1)as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the ^(C2)shameful thing, altars for ^(F2)(C3)burning incense to Baal.

"So as for you, ^(C1)do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them; for I will ^(C2)not listen when they call to Me because of their disaster.

-"What right has My ^(C1)beloved in My house When ^(C2)she has carried out many evil schemes? Can the sacrificial flesh take away from you your disaster, ^(F1)So that you can rejoice?"

The LORD named you "A ^(C1)green olive tree, beautiful in fruit and form"; With the ^(C2)noise of a great ^(F1)tumult He has ^(C3)set fire to it, And its branches are worthless.

The LORD of armies, who ^(C1)planted you, has ^(C2)pronounced evil against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and the house of Judah, which they have ^(F1)done to provoke Me by ^(F2)(C3)offering sacrifices to Baal.

Moreover, the LORD ^(C1)made it known to me and I knew it; Then You showed me their deeds.

But I was like a gentle ^(C1)lamb led to the slaughter; And I did not know that they had ^(C2)devised plots against me, saying, "Let's destroy the tree with its ^(F1)fruit, And ^(C3)let's cut him off from the ^(C4)land of the living, So that his ^(C5)name will no longer be remembered."

But, LORD of armies, who ^(C1)judges righteously, Who ^(C2)puts the ^(F1)feelings and the heart to the test, Let me see Your vengeance on them, For to You I have ^(F2)committed my cause.

Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning the people of ^(C1)Anathoth, who are ^(C2)seeking your life, saying: "^(C3)Do not prophesy in the name of the LORD, so that you do not ^(C4)die by our hand";

therefore, this is what the LORD of armies says: "Behold, I am going to ^(C1)punish them! The ^(C2)young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine;

and a remnant ^(C1)will not be left to them, because I will ^(C2)bring disaster on the people of Anathoth—^(C3)the year of their punishment."

^(C1)Righteous are You, LORD, when I plead my case with You; Nevertheless I would ^(C2)discuss matters of justice with You: Why has the ^(C3)way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who ^(C4)deal in treachery at ease?

You have ^(C1)planted them, they have also taken root; They grow, they have also produced fruit. You are ^(C2)near ^(F1)to their lips But far from their ^(F2)mind.

But You ^(C1)know me, LORD; You see me And ^(C2)examine my heart's attitude toward You. Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter, And ^(F1)set them apart for a ^(C3)day of slaughter!

How long is the ^(C1)land to mourn, And the ^(C2)vegetation of the ^(F1)countryside to dry up? Due to the ^(C3)wickedness of those who live in it, ^(C4)Animals and birds have been snatched away, Because people have said, "He will not see our final ^(C5)end."

"If you have run with infantrymen and they have tired you out, How can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, How will you do in the ^(C1)thicket by the Jordan?

-"For even your ^(C1)brothers and the household of your father, Even they have dealt treacherously with you, Even they have called aloud after you. Do not believe them, though they say ^(C2)nice things to you."

"I have ^(C1)forsaken My house, I have abandoned My inheritance; I have handed the ^(C2)beloved of My soul Over to her enemies.

-"My inheritance has become to Me Like a lion in the forest; She has ^(F1)(C1)roared against Me; Therefore I have come to ^(C2)hate her.

-"Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me? Are the ^(C1)birds of prey against her on every side? Go, gather all the ^(C2)animals of the field, Bring them to devour!

-"Many ^(C1)shepherds have ruined My ^(C2)vineyard, They have ^(C3)trampled down My field; They have made My ^(C4)pleasant field A desolate wilderness.

-"^(F1)It has been made a desolation; Desolate, it ^(C1)mourns ^(F2)before Me; The ^(C2)whole land has been made desolate, Because no one ^(C3)takes it to heart.

-"On all the ^(F1)(C1)bare heights in the wilderness Destroyers have come, For the ^(C2)sword of the LORD is devouring From one end of the land even to the ^(F2)other; There is ^(C3)no peace for ^(F3)anyone.

-"They have ^(C1)sown wheat but have harvested thorns, They have ^(C2)strained themselves ^(F1)to no profit. So be ashamed of your ^(C3)produce Because of the ^(C4)fierce anger of the LORD."

This is what the LORD says concerning all My ^(C1)wicked neighbors who ^(C2)do harm to the inheritance with which I have endowed My people Israel: "Behold, I am going to drive them out of their land, and I will ^(C3)drive the house of Judah out from among them.

"And it will come about that after I have driven them out, I will ^(C1)again have compassion on them; and I will ^(C2)bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land.

"Then, if they will really ^(C1)learn the ways of My people, to ^(C2)swear by My name, 'As the LORD lives,' just as they taught My people to ^(C3)swear by Baal, they will be ^(C4)built up in the midst of My people.

"But if they do not listen, then I will ^(C1)drive out that nation, drive it out and destroy it," declares the LORD.