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Calvin's Commentaries, Vol. 17: Jeremiah and Lamentations, Part I, tr. by John King, [1847-50], at sacred-texts.com
1 The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin:
2 Even the word of Jehovah came to him in the days of Josiah, the son of Amon, The king of Judah, in the tenth year of his reign;
3 And it came in the days of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, to the end of the eleventh year of Zedekiah, the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, to the transmigration of Jerusalem in the fifth month.
4 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, —
5 Before I formed thee in the womb, I knew thee; Before thou camest forth from the womb, I sanctified thee; A prophet to the nations have I made thee.
6 And I said, — Ah! Lord Jehovah, Behold, I know not how to speak, for I am a child.
7 And Jehovah said to me, — Say not, I am a child; For wheresoever I send thee, thou shalt go; And whatsoever I command thee, thou shalt say:
8 Fear not their face, for I am with thee, To deliver thee, saith Jehovah.
9 And Jehovah extended his hand and touched my mouth; and Jehovah said to me, — Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth;
10 See, I have set thee today Over nations and over kingdoms, To pull down and to destroy, To root up and to demolish, To build and to plant. (1:47)
11 Then the word of Jehovah came to me saying, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, The rod of a watcher is what I see.
12 Then Jehovah said to me, Thou hast rightly seen, for I watch over my word to do it.
13 And the word of Jehovah came to me again, saying, What seest thou? And I said, A pot boiling is what I see; its face is towards the north.
14 And Jehovah said to me, — From the north shall break forth an evil On all the inhabitants of the land:
15 For behold, I am calling all the families Of the kingdoms of the north, saith Jehovah; And they shall come, and set shall each his throne, At the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, And on all its walls around, And on all the cities of Judah:
16 And I will execute my judgments on them For all their wickedness; Because they have forsaken me, And have burnt incense to strange gods, And bowed down to the works of their own hands. (1:58)
17 Thou then, gird thy loins and arise, And speak to them whatsoever I command thee; Fear not their face, Lest I dismay thee before them.
18 And I, behold I have made thee this day A fortified city, an iron pillar, And a brazen wall, as to the whole land, Against the kings of Judah, Against his princes, against his priests, Against the people of the land:
19 And they shall fight with thee, But shall not prevail over thee, For with thee am I, saith Jehovah, to deliver thee.
1 And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying, —
2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, Saying, Thus saith Jehovah, — I remember thee for my kindness to thine youth And my love at thy espousal, When thou didst follow me in the desert, In a land not sown. (1:70)
3 Holiness was Israel to Jehovah, The first-fruits of his increase: Whosoever devour him shall be punished, Evil shall come upon them, saith Jehovah.
4 Hear the word of Jehovah, ye house of Jacob, And all the families of the house of Israel:
5 Thus saith Jehovah, — What iniquity did your fathers find in me? For they alienated themselves from me, And walked after vanity, and became vain; (1:75)
6 And they said not, “Where is Jehovah, Who brought us out of the land of Egypt, And led us through the wilderness, In a land waste and rugged, In a land horrible and deadly, In a land through which none passed, And in which no man dwelt?” (1:79)
7 And I brought you into a fertile land, To eat its fruit and its abundance; But ye entered and polluted my land, And my heritage have ye made an abomination:
8 The priests said not, “Where is Jehovah?” And they who handled the law, knew not me; And the pastors dealt treacherously with me, And the prophets prophesied by Baal, And after things which did not profit, they walked.
9 Therefore still will I contend with you, saith Jehovah; And with your children’s children will I contend.
10 For pass over to the isles of Chittim, and see; And to Kedar send, and consider diligently; And see whether such a thing as this has been done —
11 Has a nation changed its gods, Though they are no gods? Yet my people have changed their glory Unto that which does not profit.
12 Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, and terrified, Be ye wholly desolated, saith Jehovah: (1:92)
13 Surely, two evils have my people done, — Me have they forsaken, the fountain of living waters, And dug have they for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns, which hold no waters!
14 Is Israel a servant? Is he one born in the house? Why is he become a prey?
15 Over him roar the lions, They have raised their voice; They have made his land waste; His cities are burnt up, Without an inhabitant.
16 Even the children of Noph and Thaphanes Do break thy crown.
17 Hast thou not done this for thyself, By forsaking Jehovah thy God, While he was leading thee in the way?
18 And now what hast thou to do in the way to Egypt, That thou mightest drink the waters of the Nile? And what hast thou to do in the way to Assyria, That thou mightest drink of the water of the river?
19 Chastise thee shall thine own wickedness, And thy apostasies, they shall punish thee; And thou shalt understand and know, That it is an evil and a bitter thing for thee To have forsaken Jehovah thy God, And that my fear has not been in thee, Saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
20 For of old have I broken thy yoke, Have I burst thy bands; But thou hast said, “I will not serve;” For on every high hill and under every shady tree Hast thou rambled like a harlot. (1:107)
21 I indeed planted thee a choice vine, Altogether a good seed; How then art thou turned to me A degenerated foreign vine!
22 Even though thou washest thyself with nitre, And multipliest to thee the herb of the fuller; Yet imprinted is thine iniquity Before my face, saith the Lord Jehovah.
23 How canst thou say, “I am not polluted, After Baalim have I not gone?” See thy ways in the valley, Know what thou hast done, — Thou swift dromedary, traversing her ways, —
24 A wild she-ass, used to the desert, In her own lust snuffing up the wind she meets with: Who can thence bring her back? Whosoever seeks her, needs not weary himself; In her month will he find her. (1:118)
25 Keep thy foot from being unshod, And thy throat from thirst: Yet thou hast said, “It is all over, No, for I have loved strangers, And after them will I go.”
26 As there is shame to a thief when caught, So ashamed shall be the house of Israel, Their kings and their princes, Their priests and their prophets, —
27 Who say to the wood, “My father art thou;” And to the stone, “Thou hast begotten me:” For they have turned to me the back, not the face; But in the time of their calamity they say, “Arise and save us.”
28 But where are thy gods, Which thou hast made for thyself? Let them arise, if they can save thee In the time of thy calamity; For according to the number of thy cities Have been thy gods, O Judah!
29 Why do ye contend with me? Ye have all dealt perfidiously with me, saith Jehovah.
30 In vain have I chastised your children; Correction they received not; Devoured has the sword your prophets, As a destroying lion.
31 O generation! see ye the word of Jehovah; Have I been a desert to Israel, or a land of darkness? Wherefore have my people said, — “We have ruled, we will come no more to thee.” (1:135)
32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, A spouse her attire? But my people have forgotten me, Days without number.
33 Why trimmest thou thy ways to seek love? Thou hast even thus taught wickedness by thy ways.
34 Even in thy skirts is found The blood of the souls of the poor innocents; Not in digging under have they been found, But on account of all these things: (1:143)
35 Yet thou hast said, “Surely I am clean; Only let his fury depart from me.” Behold I will contend with thee in judgment, Because thou hast said, “I have not sinned.”
36 Why ramblest thou so much to change thy ways? Even of Egypt shalt thou be ashamed, As thou hast been ashamed of Assyria.
37 Even now for this thou shalt go forth, And thine hands on thine head; For abhorred hath Jehovah thy confidences, And in them thou shalt not prosper. (1:151)
1 It is said, when a man puts away his wife, And she goes from him to another man, Shall he return to her again? Would not the land be thus greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many friends; Yet return to me, saith Jehovah.
2 Raise thine eyes to the high places, And see where thou hast played the harlot: By the ways thou didst sit for them, As the Arabian in the desert; And polluted hast thou the land With thy whoredoms and thy wickedness.
3 Restrained therefore have been the showers, And the late rain has not been; Yet the front of a strumpet has been thine, Thou hast refused to be ashamed.
4 Wilt thou not hereafter cry to me, — “My Father, the guide of my youth art thou?
5 Will he keep wrath for ever? Will he reserve it perpetually?” Behold, thou hast spoken, And hast done evils with all thy might. (1:162)
6 And Jehovah said to me in the days of Josiah the king, — Hast thou seen what the apostate Israel has done? She went on every high mountain And under every shady tree, And played there the harlot:
7 And I said, after she had done all these things, “Return to me;“ but she returned not; And see this did her perfidious sister Judah.
8 And I saw, that when for all these things, Because rebellious Israel had played the harlot, I had dismissed her and given her a bill of divorce, Yet fear did not her perfidious sister Judah, But went and played also the harlot. (1:166)
9 And it happened through the levity of her whoredom, That she polluted the land, And played the harlot with stone and with wood.
10 And yet after all this, returned to me Has not her perfidious sister Judah, With her whole heart, but feignedly, saith Jehovah.
11 And Jehovah said to me, — Justified herself has apostate Israel Rather than perfidious Judah:
12 Go and publish these words towards the north, And say, Return, rebellious Israel, saith Jehovah; I will not let fall my wrath upon you, For I am merciful, saith Jehovah; I will not keep it for ever:
13 But know thine iniquity, That against Jehovah thy God thou hast acted wickedly, And prostituted thy ways to strangers Under every shady tree; (1:176) And to my voice thou didst not hearken, saith Jehovah.
14 Return, ye rebellious children, saith Jehovah; For I am your husband; And I will take you, one from a city, And two from a family, and bring you to Sion;
15 And will give you pastors according to my heart, And they shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
16 And it shall be, when ye shall multiply and increase In the land, in those days, saith Jehovah, That they will no more say, — “The ark of the covenant of Jehovah;” And it shall not come to mind, And they shall not remember nor visit it; Even this shall not be done any more. (1:185)
17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem, The throne of Jehovah; And assemble to it shall all nations, For the name of Jehovah, even to Jerusalem; And walk shall they no more After the evil hardness of their own hearts. (1:186)
18 In those days shall come The house of Judah with the house of Israel; Together shall they come from the land of the north, To the land which I have given For an inheritance to your fathers.
19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, And give thee the desirable land, The heritage coveted by hosts of nations? And I said, “My Father,” shalt thou call me, And from me thou wilt not depart. (1:189)
20 Surely as a woman deals perfidiously with her partner, So hast thou dealt perfidiously with me, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah.
21 A voice on high places was heard, The weeping of the prayers of the children of Israel; Because they had perverted their way, And forgotten Jehovah their God. (1:192)
22 “Return, ye rebellious children, I will heal your transgressions.” “Behold we come to thee, For thou art Jehovah our God:
23 Surely deceit is from the hills, From the multitude of mountains; Surely, in Jehovah our God Is the salvation of Israel. (1:194)
24 Even shame hath devoured the labor Of our fathers, from our youth, Even their sheep and their cattle, Their sons and their daughters.
25 We have lain down in our shame, And our reproach hath covered us, Because with Jehovah our God We have dealt wickedly, we and our fathers, From our childhood even to this day, (1:196) And have not attended to the voice of Jehovah our God.”
1 If thou wilt return, Israel, saith Jehovah, Return to me; Even if thou wilt take away Thine abominations from my sight, And wilt not wander: (1:199)
2 And thou shalt swear, “Live does Jehovah, In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness;” Then bless themselves in him shall nations, And in him shall they glory. (1:202)
3 For thus saith Jehovah To the men of Judah and to Jerusalem, — Plough again the first ploughing, And sow not among thorns:
4 Be ye circumcised to Jehovah, And take away the foreskin of your heart, Ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; Lest my fury go forth like fire, And burn that none may quench it; On account of the evil of your doings.
5 Proclaim ye in Judah, And publish in Jerusalem, and say, “Sound the trumpet in the land;” Call, assemble, yea, say, — “Be assembled, and let us enter into fortified cities;”
6 Raise the standard in Sion; Flee, stay not, for an evil do I bring From the north, even a great ruin. (1:208)
7 Ascended has the lion from his thicket, And the waster of nations is gone forth; He is come forth from his place, To make thy land a waste; Thy cities shall be destroyed, So as to be without an inhabitant.
8 For this gird yourselves with sackcloth, Lament and howl; for turned away from us Is not the fury of Jehovah’s wrath.
9 And it shall be in that day, saith Jehovah, That perish shall the heart of the king, And the heart of the princes; And amazed shall be the priests, And the prophets shall be astonished. (1:212)
10 Then I said, Ah! Lord Jehovah! Surely, deceiving thou hast deceived This people and Jerusalem, by saying, “Peace shall be to you;” Yet reached has the sword to the soul. (1:214)
11 At that time it shall be said To this people and to Jerusalem, — A dry wind from the heights of the desert Shall be towards the way of the daughter of my people, Not to fan nor to cleanse;
12 A wind stronger than this shall come for me; Now also will I pronounce judgments on them. (1:217)
13 Behold as clouds shall he ascend, And as a whirlwind his chariots; Swifter than eagles his horses: Woe to us! for we are lost.
14 Cleanse from evil the heart, Jerusalem; That thou mayest be saved: How long will remain within thee The thoughts of vanity! (1:221)
15 For a voice proclaims from Dan And publishes ruin from Mount Ephraim.
16 Rehearse it to the nations; Behold, publish against Jerusalem, — Besiegers come from a remote land, And raise over the cities of Judah their voice;
17 As keepers of the field they shall be over her around; Because she hath provoked me, saith Jehovah.
18 Thy way and thy doings have done this for thee; This is thy wickedness, though it be bitter, Though it reaches to thy heart. (1:227)
19 My bowels! my bowels! I am in pain; The walls of my heart! My heart is in a tumult within me; I will not be silent, for the sound of the trumpet Has my soul heard, And the clamor of war has it heard. (1:229)
20 Calamity on calamity is cried; For destroyed is the whole land; Suddenly destroyed are my tents, In an instant my curtains.
21 How long shall I see the standard — Shall I hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 Because foolish are my people, Me have they not known; Sottish children are they, And they are not intelligent; Acute are they for evil, But how to do good they know not.
23 I beheld the land, and lo, it was waste and without form; And the heavens, and they had no light:
24 I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled; And all the hills were shaking:
25 I beheld, and lo, there was no man, And every bird of the heavens was fled:
26 I beheld, and lo, Carmel was a desert; And all its cities were destroyed, At the presence of Jehovah, At the presence of the burning of his wrath.
27 For thus saith Jehovah, Laid waste shall be the whole land; But an end will I not make.
28 For this mourn shall the land, And black shall become the heavens above; For I have spoken, I have purposed, And will not repent nor be turned from this.
29 At the voice of the horseman and of the bowmen, Flee shall the whole city; They shall penetrate into thick clouds, They shall ascend into rocks; Every city shall be forsaken, And no man shall dwell in them. (1:245)
30 And thou, wretched one, what wilt thou do? Though thou puttest on crimson, Though thou deckest thyself with ornaments of gold, Though thou adornest with paint thine eyes, In vain wilt thou decorate thyself; Hate thee will thy lovers, Thy life will they seek.
31 Surely, the voice of one in travail have I heard, The distress as of one giving birth to a first-begotten, The voice of the daughter of Sion; Who mourns, who spreads her hands, — “Wo to me now! for fainted has my soul On account of murderers.” (1:251)
1 Go round through the streets of Jerusalem, And see, I pray, and know, Inquire also in its cross-ways, Whether ye shall find a man, Whether there be any, who doeth judgment, Who seeketh the truth, And I will spare it. (1:252)
2 Though they say, “Live does Jehovah;” Yet in this they swear falsely.
3 Jehovah! are not thine eyes on the truth? Thou hast smitten them, But they have not grieved; Thou hast consumed them, But they have not received correction: They have made their faces harder than a rock, They have refused to return.
4 But I said, Surely the poor are these; They have acted foolishly, Because they knew not the way of Jehovah, The judgment of their God:
5 I will go to the great and speak to them, For they know the way of Jehovah, The judgment of their God: But these have altogether broken the yoke, They have burst the bonds.
6 Therefore smite them shall the lion from the forest, The wolf of the desert shall spoil them, The leopard shall watch over their cities; Whosoever goeth out shall be torn: For manifold are their transgressions, Increased are their defections.
7 How for this shall I spare thee? Thy children have forsaken me, And have sworn by one that is not a god; When I fully satisfied them, they committed adultery, And at the house of the harlot they assembled:
8 Fed horses! rising early in the morning, Every one at his neighbor’s wife neigheth.
9 Should I not for these things visit? saith Jehovah, And on such a nation as this Shall not my soul be avenged?
10 Ascend her walls and demolish, But an end make not; Take away her foundations, For they are not Jehovah’s:
11 For by transgressing they have transgressed against me, The house of Israel and the house of Judah saith Jehovah.
12 They have denied Jehovah and said, “He is not, and come on us shall no evil; Yea, the sword and the famine we shall not see:
13 And the prophets shall be wind, For the word is not in them: Thus shall it be done to them.”
14 Therefore, thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, — Because you have uttered this word, Behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, And this people wood, And it shall devour them:
15 Behold I will bring on you a nation from far, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah, A strong nation, an ancient nation, A nation whose language thou knowest not, And understandest not what it says: (1:286)
16 Their quiver is like an open sepulcher, All of them are valiant;
17 And they will devour thy harvest and thy bread; They will devour thy sons and thy daughters, They will devour thy flocks and thy herds, They will devour thy vine and thy fig-tree; To want shall they reduce thy fortified cities, To which thou trustest, by the sword:
18 But even in those days, saith Jehovah, I will not make with you an end.
19 And it shall be, when ye say, “Why hath Jehovah our God done to us All these things?” that thou wilt say to them, — As ye have forsaken me, And served foreign gods in your land, So shall ye serve foreigners in a land not your own.
20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, And publish it in Judah, saying, —
21 Hear this, I pray, Ye foolish people and void of heart, Who have eyes and see not, Who have ears and hear not:
22 Will ye not fear me? saith Jehovah; Will ye not at my presence tremble? Who have set the sand a bound to the sea, By a perpetual decree that it cannot pass it; Though its waves rage, yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot pass over it.
23 But this people hath a perverse and rebellious heart; They have turned aside and departed:
24 And they have not said in their heart, — Let us now fear Jehovah our God, Who giveth rain, both the early And the latter shower in its season, Who keeps to us the appointed weeks of harvest.
25 Your iniquities have prevented these things, And your sins have restrained good from you.
26 For found among my people are the wicked; They look, as though they would set snares; A trap they set, in which they catch men. (1:303)
27 As a cage is full of birds So their houses are full of fraud: Therefore they are increased and become rich;
28 They are become fat, they shine; They even surpass the deeds of the wicked: The cause they judge not, The cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; And the judgment of the poor they judge not. (1:306)
29 Shall I not for this visit, saith Jehovah? On such a nation as this Shall not my soul be avenged?
30 A monstrosity and baseness is in the land!
31 The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their means; (1:309) And my people wish it to be so: But what will ye do at the end of it?
1 Be assembled, ye children of Benjamin, From the midst of Jerusalem, And in Tekoa sound the trumpet; In Beth-haccerem also set up a sign; For evil is seen from the north, And great distress.
2 To a quiet and delicate woman Have I likened the daughter of Sion:
3 To her shall come shepherds and their flocks; They shall pitch their tents near her around, Feed shall each in his own place.
4 Prepare ye war against her: “Arise ye, and let us ascend at mid-day; Alas for us! for declined has the day, For extended are the evening shadows:
5 Arise, and let us ascend in the night, And let us demolish her palaces.” (1:319)
6 For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — Cut ye down wood, And form against. Jerusalem a mound; It is a city of visitation, Entire oppression is in the midst of her:
7 As a fountain casts out its waters, So she casts out her wickedness; Violence and plunder is heard of in her; Before me continually is grief and smiting.
8 Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, Lest my soul be torn from thee, Lest I make thee a desert, A land not inhabited.
9 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — By gleaning they shall glean, as a vine, The remnant of Israel: Turn back thine hand, As a grape-gatherer into the baskets. (1:326)
10 To whom shall I speak and protest, That they may hear? Behold, uncircumcised is their ear, And they cannot hear; Behold, the word of Jehovah is to them a reproach; They delight not in it.
11 Of Jehovah’s indignation therefore am I full, I am wearied with refraining To pour it on the children in the streets, And on the assembly of young men also; For the husband with his wife shall be taken, The aged with the full of days:
12 And turned shall be their houses to aliens, Their fields and their wives in like manner; For I will stretch out my hand On the inhabitants of the land, saith Jehovah:
13 For from the least to the greatest of them, Every one is given to covetousness; And from the prophet to the priest, Every one acts deceitfully;
14 And healed have they the wound Of the daughter of my people slightly By saying, “Peace, peace,” when there was no peace. (1:336)
15 Were they ashamed, that they had done abomination? Even of shame they were not ashamed, And how to blush they knew not: Fall therefore shall they among the fallen; At the time of their visitation They shall perish, saith Jehovah. (1:339)
16 Thus said Jehovah, — Stand in the ways and see, Inquire also concerning the old paths, Which is the right way, and walk ye in it, That ye may find rest to your soul: And they said, “We will not walk in it.”
17 I also set over them watchmen, That they might, attend to the sound of the trumpet; But they said, “We will not attend.”
18 Hear therefore, ye nations, And know, thou assembly, what shall be to them:
19 Hear, thou land; behold I bring an evil On this people, the fruit of their thoughts; Because to my words they have not hearkened, And my law have they despised.
20 To what purpose is this to me? Incense cometh from Sheba, And the sweet came from a far country; Your burnt-offerings are not acceptable, And your sacrifices are not pleasant to me.
21 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, I lay before this people stumblingblocks; And stumble shall fathers and sons alike; Neighbor and friend, they shall perish.
22 Thus saith Jehovah, — Behold, a people shall corns from the north country, And a great nation shall be roused From the sides of the earth:
23 On the bow and spear shall they lay hold; They are cruel and will not spare; Their voice, like the sea, will roar, And on horses shall they mount; Arrayed shall they be as men for war, Against thee, O daughter of Sion.
24 We have heard its fame; Relaxed are our hands, Anguish has laid hold on us, The pain as of one in travail.
25 Go not forth into the field, Nor walk by the way; For the sword of the enemy Is a terror on every side.
26 Daughter of my people! gird on sackcloth, And roll thyself in the dust; Make thee mourning, as for an only son, Most bitter lamentation; For suddenly shall come on thee the spoiler.
27 A tower have I made thee to my people, — A fortress; that thou mightest know And try their ways:
28 All are entire apostates, Walking in detraction; Brass and iron are they; All of them are corrupters. (1:358)
29 Burnt are the bellows by the fire, Entire is the lead, In vain has melted the melter; For the wicked have not been refined:
30 Reprobate silver shall they call them, Because rejected them has Jehovah (1:360)
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying, —
2 Stand in the gate of the house of Jehovah, And proclaim there this word, and say, — Hear the word of Jehovah, all ye Judah, Who enter through these gates to worship Jehovah:
3 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — Make good your ways and your doings, And I will dwell with you in this place:
4 Trust not in words of falsehood, by saying, “The temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, The temple of Jehovah, are these buildings.” (1:364)
5 Surely, if by making good ye make good Your ways and your doings, If by doing ye do judgment Between man and his neighbor,
6 If the stranger, the orphan and the widow, Ye oppress not, and innocent blood Ye shed not in this place, And after strange gods Ye walk not to your hurt, —
7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this places In the land which I gave to your fathers, For ever and ever.
8 Behold, ye trust in words of falsehood, Which are without profit.
9 Will ye steal, kill, and commit adultery, Swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, And walk after alien gods, Whom ye do not know;
10 And come and stand before me in this house, Which is called by my name, and say, “We have been made free To do all these abominations?” (1:373)
11 Is this house, called by my name, Become a den of robbers in your eyes? Even I, behold I see, saith Jehovah.
12 But go now to my place in Shilo, Where I made to dwell my name at first, And see what I did there, For the wickedness of my people Israel:
13 And now, because ye have done All these works, saith Jehovah, And I spoke to you, rising early, And when I spoke, ye heard not, When I called you, ye answered not;
14 I will therefore do to this place, Which is called by my name, In which ye trust — Even to the place which I gave to you And to your fathers, as I did to Shilo;
15 And I will cast you out from my presence, As I have cast out all your brethren, The whole seed of Ephraim.
16 And thou, pray not for this people, And raise not for them a cry and a prayer, And intercede not with me; For I will not hear thee. (1:384)
17 Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah And in the streets of Jerusalem?
18 Children gather wood, And fathers kindle a fire, And women knead a dough, To make cakes for the queen of heaven; And they pour libations to alien gods, That they may provoke me to wrath! (1:387)
19 Do they provoke me to wrath, saith Jehovah? Is it not to the shame of their own faces?
20 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, — Behold my wrath, even my fury, It shall be poured on this place, Upon men and upon beast, Upon the tree of the field and the fruit of the land; And it shall burn, and none shall quench it.
21 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, — Your burnt-offerings add to your sacrifices, And eat ye the flesh:
22 For I spoke not to your fathers, Nor commanded them in the day, In which I brought them out of the land of Egypt, Concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices;
23 But this is what I commanded them, saying, — “Hear my voice, And I will be to you a God, And you shall be to me a people; And walk ye in all the ways Which I have commanded you. That it may be well with you:
24 Yet they heard not, nor inclined their car; But walked in perverse counsels, In the wickedness of their own evil heart, And went backward and not forward.
25 From the day in which your fathers came out From the land of Egypt, to this day, Have I sent to you all my servants, the prophets, Every day rising early and sending them:
26 Yet they heard not nor inclined their ear, But hardened their neck; They have acted more perversely than their fathers.
27 Thou also shalt say to them all these words, But they will not hear thee; And thou shalt call to them, But they will not answer thee:
28 Therefore say to them, — This is a nation, Which have not hearkened to the voice Of Jehovah, their God, And have not received correction: Perished has the truth, And cut off has it been from their mouth.
29 Shave off thy hair and cast it away, Raise on the heights a lamentation; Nor rejected thee has Jehovah; And forsaken hath he the generation of his wrath:
30 For the children of Judah have done evil Before mine eyes, saith Jehovah; They have set their abominations in the house, On which my name is called, to pollute it;
31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, Which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, To burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; Which I have not commanded, Nor has it ever come into my heart.
32 Therefore, behold the days come, saith Jehovah, That it shall no more be called Tophet, And The valley of the son of Hinnom, But, The valley of slaughter; And they shall bury in Tophet, For elsewhere there will be no place:
33 And the carcasses of this people shall be for meat To the birds of heaven and to the beasts of the earth; And there will be none to frighten them:
34 And to cease will I make, from the cities of Judah And from the streets of Jerusalem, The voice of joy and the voice of gladness, The voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; For to a waste shall the land be reduced.
1 In that day, saith Jehovah, they shall bring forth The bones of the kings of Judah, And the bones of his princes, And the bones of the priests, And the bones of the prophets, And the bones of the citizens of Jerusalem, Out of their graves;
2 And they shall spread them before the sun, And the moon, and all the host of heaven, Which they have loved and served, And after which they have walked, And which they have sought, And before which they have bowed themselves; They shall not be gathered nor buried; For dung on the face of the land shall they be:
3 And chosen shall be death, Rather than life, by all the residue, Who shall remain of this wicked nation, Who shall remain in all the places Where I shall drive them, saith Jehovah of hosts.
4 Thou shalt also say to them, Thus saith Jehovah, — Shall not they who have fallen rise again? If any one turns aside shall he not return?
5 Why rebel does this people at Jerusalem With a perpetual rebellion? They have held fast deceit, They have refused to return.
6 I hearkened and heard; they will not speak aright; There is no one who repents of his wickedness, And says, “What have I done?” Every one turns to his own course, Like a horse who rushes into battle. (1:425)
7 Even the stork in the heavens knows its times; The turtle also, and the swallow and the crane, Observe the time of their journey; But my people know not the judgment of Jehovah.
8 How say ye, “We are wise And the law of Jehovah is with us:” Surely, behold in vain Hath the writer prepared his pen, In vain are the scribes!
9 Ashamed are the wise, terrified and taken; Behold the word of Jehovah have they rejected; And wisdom, what is it to them! (1:432)
10 I will therefore give their wives to aliens, And their fields to inheritors; For from the least even to the greatest, Every one is given to covetousness; From the prophet even to the priest, All have acted deceitfully;
11 And healed have they the wound Of the daughter of my people slightly, By saying, “Peace, peace,” when there was no peace.
12 Had they shame, that they had done abomination? Even of shame they were not ashamed, And how to blush they knew not: Fall therefore shall they with the fallen; At the time of their visitation They shall perish, saith Jehovah.
13 Destroying, I will destroy them, saith Jehovah; No grapes shall be on the vine, And no figs on the fig-tree; The leaf also shall fall, And what I gave them shall pass from them.
14 Why do we sit still? Assemble ye, And let us enter into fortified cities, And let us rest there: Surely, Jehovah our God hath made us silent, And given us waters of gall to drink: Because we have sinned against Jehovah. (1:442)
15 We looked for peace, but there was no good; For time of healing, but behold terror.
16 From Dan is heard the snorting of his horses; At the sound of the neighing of his strong ones, Tremble does the whole land; For they will come and devour The land and its abundance, The city and its inhabitants.
17 For behold, I will send among you Serpents and basilisks, Which will not be charmed; And they shall bite you, saith Jehovah.
18 I would strengthen myself against grief: But within me my heart is weak.
19 Behold the voice of the crying Of the daughter of my people from a far country! “Is not Jehovah in Sion? Is not her king within her?” — Why have they provoked me to wrath With their images, with foreign vanities?
20 Past has the harvest, ended is the summer, And we have not been saved! (1:452)
21 For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt, I am become black; Astonishment has laid hold on me.
22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? For why is not restored The healing of the daughter of my people! (1:456)
1 Who will make my head waters And mine eye a fountain of tears! Then would I bewail, day and night, The slain of the daughter of my people.
2 Who will set me in the desert, In the lodging of travelers! Then would I leave my people And depart from them: For all of them are adulterers, An assembly of perfidious men.
3 And they shoot lies with their tongue as with a bow; But not for truth are they strong in the land; For from evil to evil they proceed; (1:462) And me they know not, saith Jehovah.
4 And every one of his friend take ye heed, And in a brother trust ye not; For every brother by supplanting will supplant, And every friend walks fraudulently:
5 And a man deceives his neighbor, And the truth he speaks not; They have taught their tongues to speak falsehood; With doing evil they weary themselves.
6 Thou dwellest in the midst of deceit; Through deceit they refuse To know me, saith Jehovah. (1:469)
7 Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — Behold, I will try them, and will prove them; For how should I deal With the daughter of my people?
8 A sharpened arrow is their tongue, Falsehood it speaks; His mouth speaks peace to his neighbor, But within he sets up intrigues.
9 For this shall I not visit, saith Jehovah, On such a nation as this Shall not my soul be avenged?
10 For the mountains will I raise up weeping and wailing, For the pastures of the wilderness, lamentation; Because they are laid waste, So that there is not a man passing through, And they hear not the voice of cattle; From the bird of heaven to the beast. Have they fled, have they departed. (1:475)
11 I will also make Jerusalem heaps, A place for dragons; And the cities of Judah will I make a waste, So that there shall be no inhabitant.
12 Who is a wise man to understand this? And to whom has Jehovah’s mouth spoken, That he may declare why the land is to perish — Is to be laid waste like the desert, So that no man should pass through? (1:480)
13 Then Jehovah said, — Because they have forsaken my law, Which I have set before them, And hearkened not to my voice, Nor walked according to it;
14 But walked after the imaginations Of their own hearts, and after Baalim, As their fathers taught them;
15 Therefore, thus saith Jehovah of hosts, The God of Israel, — Behold, I will feed this people with bitterness, And will give them the water of gall to drink;
16 I will also scatter them among the nations, Whom they have not known nor their fathers, And I will send after them the sword, Until I shall have consumed them.
17 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, — Attend ye and call for the mourning women, That they may come, And send for those who are skillful, That they may come.
18 And let them hasten and make a wailing for us, That our eyes may let fall tears, And our eyelids drop down waters. (1:489)
19 For a voice of wailing is heard from Sion, “How we are wasted! How greatly shamed! Because we have left the land, They have cast down our dwellings.”
20 Therefore hear, ye women, the word of Jehovah, And let your ears receive the word of his mouth, And teach your daughters wailing, And each one her friend lamentation:
21 For come up is death to our windows, It has entered into our palaces, To cut off the infirm from the street, The young men in the broad places. (1:493)
22 Speak, thus saith Jehovah, fall shall the carcasses of men As dung on the face of the field, And as the handful after the reaper, And none gathering it.
23 Thus saith Jehovah, — Let not the wise glory in his wisdom, And let not the brave glory in his courage, Let not the rich glory in his riches;
24 But in this let him glory who glorieth, In understanding, and in knowing me, That I am Jehovah, who doeth mercy, Judgment and righteousness in the land; For in these things I delight, saith Jehovah. (1:502)
25 Behold the days are coming, saith Jehovah, That I will visit every one circumcised, Who is in uncircumcision, —
26 Egypt and Judah and Edom, The sons of Ammon and Moab, And all those who are in extreme recesses, Who dwell in the wilderness; For all these nations are uncircumcised, And the whole house of Israel, They are uncircumcised in heart.