Study Desk

"Flee for safety, O sons of ^(a)Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem! Now blow a trumpet in Tekoa And raise a signal over ^[a](b)Beth-haccerem; For evil looks down from the ^(c)north, And a great destruction.

"The comely and ^(d)dainty one, ^(e)the daughter of Zion, I will cut off.

"^(f)Shepherds and their flocks will come to her, They will ^(g)pitch their tents ^[b]around her, They will pasture each in his ^[c]place.

"^[d](h)Prepare war against her; Arise, and let us ^[e]attack at ⁽ⁱ⁾noon. Woe to us, for the day declines, For the shadows of the evening lengthen!

"Arise, and let us ^[f]attack by night And ^(j)destroy her ^[g]palaces!"

For thus says the Lord of hosts, "^(k)Cut down her trees And cast up a ^(l)siege against Jerusalem. This is the city to be punished, In whose midst there is only ^(m)oppression.

"⁽ⁿ⁾As a well ^[h]keeps its waters fresh, So she ^[i]keeps fresh her wickedness. ^(o)Violence and destruction are heard in her; ^(p)Sickness and wounds are ever before Me.

"^(q)Be warned, O Jerusalem, Or ^[j](r)I shall be alienated from you, And make you a desolation, A land not inhabited."

Thus says the Lord of hosts, "They will ^(s)thoroughly glean as the vine the ^(t)remnant of Israel; Pass your hand again like a grape gatherer Over the branches."

To whom shall I speak and give warning That they may hear? Behold, their ^(u)ears are ^[k]closed And they cannot listen. Behold, ^(v)the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them; They have no delight in it.

But I am ^(w)full of the wrath of the Lord ; I am ^(x)weary with holding it in. "^(y)Pour it out on the children in the street And on the ^[l]gathering of young men together; For both husband and wife shall be taken, The aged ^[m]and the very old.

"Their ^(z)houses shall be turned over to others, Their fields and their wives together; For I will ^(aa)stretch out My hand Against the inhabitants of the land," declares the Lord .

"For ^(ab)from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is ^(ac)greedy for gain, And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone ^[n]deals falsely.

"They have ^(ad)healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, ‘Peace, peace,' But there is no peace.

"Were they ^(ae)ashamed because of the abomination they have done? They were not even ashamed at all; They did not even know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; At the time that I punish them, They shall be cast down," says the Lord .

Thus says the Lord , "Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ^(af)ancient paths, Where the good way is, and walk in it; And ^(ag)you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.'

"And I set ^(ah)watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!' But they said, ‘We will not listen.'

"Therefore hear, O nations, And know, O congregation, what is among them.

"^(ai)Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people, The ^(aj)fruit of their ^[o]plans, Because they have not listened to My words, And as for My law, they have ^(ak)rejected it also.

"^(al)For what purpose does ^(am)frankincense come to Me from Sheba And the ^[p](an)sweet cane from a distant land? ^(ao)Your burnt offerings are not acceptable And your sacrifices are not pleasing to Me."

Therefore, thus says the Lord , "Behold, ^(ap)I am ^[q]laying stumbling blocks before this people. And they will stumble against them, ^(aq)Fathers and sons together; Neighbor and ^[r]friend will perish."

Thus says the Lord , "Behold, ^(ar)a people is coming from the north land, And a great nation will be aroused from the ^(as)remote parts of the earth.

"They seize ^(at)bow and spear; They are ^(au)cruel and have no mercy; Their voice ^(av)roars like the sea, And they ride on horses, Arrayed as a man for the battle Against you, O daughter of Zion!"

We have ^(aw)heard the report of it; Our hands are limp. ^(ax)Anguish has seized us, Pain as of a woman in childbirth.

^(ay)Do not go out into the field And ^(az)do not walk on the road, For the enemy has a sword, ^(ba)Terror is on every side.

O daughter of my people, ^(bb)put on sackcloth And ^(bc)roll in ashes; ^[s](bd)Mourn as for an only son, A lamentation most bitter. For suddenly the destroyer Will come upon us.

"I have ^(be)made you an assayer and a tester among My people, That you may know and assay their way."

All of them are stubbornly rebellious, ^(bf)Going about as a talebearer. They are ^(bg)bronze and iron; They, all of them, are corrupt.

The bellows blow fiercely, The lead is consumed by the fire; In vain the refining goes on, But the ^(bh)wicked are not ^[t]separated.

^(bi)They call them rejected silver, Because the ^(bj) Lord has rejected them.

The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord , saying,

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

and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord , the God of Israel, "^(c)Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant

which I commanded your forefathers in the ^(d)day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the ^(e)iron furnace, saying, ‘^(f)Listen to My voice, and ^[a]do according to all which I command you; so you shall be ^(g)My people, and I will be your God,'

in order to confirm the ^(h)oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day."'" Then I said, "⁽ⁱ⁾Amen, O Lord ."

And the Lord said to me, "^(j)Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, ‘^(k)Hear the words of this covenant and ^(l)do them.

For I solemnly ^(m)warned your fathers in the ⁽ⁿ⁾day that I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, ^[b](o)warning persistently, saying, "^(p)Listen to My voice."

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

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

They have ^(t)turned back to the iniquities of their ^[c]ancestors who ^(u)refused to hear My words, and they ^(v)have gone after other gods to serve them; the house of Israel and the house of Judah have ^(w)broken My covenant which I made with their fathers."

Therefore thus says the Lord , "Behold I am ^(x)bringing disaster on them which they will ^(y)not be able to escape; though they will ^(z)cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them.

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

For your gods are ^[d](ab)as many as your cities, O Judah; and ^[e]as many as the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the ^(ac)shameful thing, altars to ^(ad)burn incense to Baal.

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

"What right has My ^(ag)beloved in My house When ^(ah)she has done many vile deeds? Can the sacrificial flesh take away from you your disaster, ^[f]So that you can rejoice?"

The Lord called your name, "A ^(ai)green olive tree, beautiful in fruit and form"; With the ^(aj)noise of a great tumult He has ^(ak)kindled fire on it, And its branches are worthless.

The Lord of hosts, who ^(al)planted you, has ^(am)pronounced evil against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have ^[g]done to provoke Me by ^[h](an)offering up sacrifices to Baal.

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

But I was like a gentle ^(ap)lamb led to the slaughter; And I did not know that they had ^(aq)devised plots against me, saying, "Let us destroy the tree with its ^[i]fruit, And ^(ar)let us cut him off from the ^(as)land of the living, That his ^(at)name be remembered no more."

But, O Lord of hosts, who ^(au)judges righteously, Who ^(av)tries the ^[j]feelings and the heart, Let me see Your vengeance on them, For to You have I ^[k]committed my cause.

Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of ^(aw)Anathoth, who ^(ax)seek your life, saying, "^(ay)Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord , so that you will not ^(az)die at our hand";

therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, "Behold, I am about to ^(ba)punish them! The ^(bb)young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine;

and a remnant ^(bc)will not be left to them, for I will ^(bd)bring disaster on the men of Anathoth—^(be)the year of their punishment."

^(a)Righteous are You, O Lord , that I would plead my case with You; Indeed I would ^(b)discuss matters of justice with You: Why has the ^(c)way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who ^(d)deal in treachery at ease?

You have ^(e)planted them, they have also taken root; They grow, they have even produced fruit. You are ^(f)near ^[a]to their lips But far from their ^[b]mind.

But You ^(g)know me, O Lord ; You see me; And You ^(h)examine my heart's attitude toward You. Drag them off like sheep for the slaughter And ^[c]set them apart for a ⁽ⁱ⁾day of carnage!

How long is the ^(j)land to mourn And the ^(k)vegetation of the countryside to wither? For the ^(l)wickedness of those who dwell in it, ^(m)Animals and birds have been snatched away, Because men have said, "He will not see our latter ⁽ⁿ⁾ending."

"If you have run with footmen and they have tired you out, Then how can you compete with horses? If you fall down in a land of peace, How will you do in the ^[d](o)thicket of the Jordan?

"For even your ^(p)brothers and the household of your father, Even they have dealt treacherously with you, Even they have cried aloud after you. Do not believe them, although they may say ^(q)nice things to you."

"I have ^(r)forsaken My house, I have abandoned My inheritance; I have given the ^(s)beloved of My soul Into the hand of her enemies.

"My inheritance has become to Me Like a lion in the forest; She has ^[e](t)roared against Me; Therefore I have come to ^(u)hate her.

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

"Many ^(x)shepherds have ruined My ^(y)vineyard, They have ^(z)trampled down My field; They have made My ^(aa)pleasant field A desolate wilderness.

"^[f]It has been made a desolation, Desolate, it ^(ab)mourns ^[g]before Me; The ^(ac)whole land has been made desolate, Because no man ^(ad)lays it to heart.

"On all the ^[h](ae)bare heights in the wilderness Destroyers have come, For a ^(af)sword of the Lord is devouring From one end of the land even to the ^[i]other; There is ^(ag)no peace for ^[j]anyone.

"They have ^(ah)sown wheat and have reaped thorns, They have ^(ai)strained themselves ^[k]to no profit. But be ashamed of your ^[l](aj)harvest Because of the ^(ak)fierce anger of the Lord ."

Thus says the Lord concerning all My ^(al)wicked neighbors who ^(am)strike at the inheritance with which I have endowed My people Israel, "Behold I am about to uproot them from their land and will ^(an)uproot the house of Judah from among them.

And it will come about that after I have uprooted them, I will ^(ao)again have compassion on them; and I will ^(ap)bring them back, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land.

Then if they will really ^(aq)learn the ways of My people, to ^(ar)swear by My name, ‘As the Lord lives,' even as they taught My people to ^(as)swear by Baal, they will be ^(at)built up in the midst of My people.

But if they will not listen, then I will ^(au)uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it," declares the Lord .