Bible-Reading.comJeremiah 17
1The sin of Judah is written with a style of iron, with the point of a diamond, engraven upon the tablet of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;
2whilst their children remember their altars and their Asherahs, by the green trees, upon the high hills.
3My mountain in the field, thy substance, all thy treasures will I give for a spoil, -- thy high places, because of sin throughout thy borders.
4And of thyself thou shalt let go thine inheritance which I gave thee; and I will cause thee to serve thine enemies in a land that thou knowest not; for ye have kindled a fire in mine anger, -- it shall burn for ever.
5Thus saith Jehovah: Cursed is the man that confideth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from Jehovah.
6And he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but he shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited.
7Blessed is the man that confideth in Jehovah, and whose confidence Jehovah is.
8For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out its roots by the stream, and he shall not see when heat cometh, but his leaf shall be green; and in the year of drought he shall not be careful, neither shall he cease to yield fruit.
9The heart is deceitful above all things, and incurable; who can know it?
10I Jehovah search the heart, I try the reins, even to give each one according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.
11As the partridge sitteth on eggs it hath not laid, so is he that getteth riches and not by right: in the midst of his days shall he leave them, and at his end shall be a fool.
12A throne of glory, set on high from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary.
13Thou hope of Israel, Jehovah! all that forsake thee shall be ashamed. They that depart from me shall be written in the earth; because they have forsaken Jehovah, the fountain of living waters.
14Heal me, Jehovah, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.
15Behold, these say unto me, Where is the word of Jehovah? let it then come!
16But as for me, I have not hastened from being a shepherd in following thee, neither have I desired the fatal day, thou knowest: that which came out of my lips was before thy face.
17Be not a terror unto me: thou art my refuge in the day of evil.
18Let them be ashamed that persecute me, but let not me be ashamed; let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed; bring upon them the day of evil, and break them with a double breaking.
19Thus hath Jehovah said unto me: Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, by which the kings of Judah come in, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;
20and say unto them, Hear the word of Jehovah, ye kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates;
21thus saith Jehovah: Take heed to your souls, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, and bring nothing in through the gates of Jerusalem;
22and carry forth no burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do any work; but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers,
23but they hearkened not, neither inclined their ear, but hardened their neck, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.
24And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith Jehovah, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, and to hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein;
25then shall there enter in, through the gates of this city, kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall be inhabited for ever.
26And they shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places around Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the lowland, and from the hill-country, and from the south, bringing burnt-offerings, and sacrifices, and oblations, and incense, and bringing thanksgiving unto the house of Jehovah.
27But if ye will not hearken unto me, to hallow the sabbath day and not to bear a burden and enter in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
Jeremiah 18
1The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,
2Arise and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.
3And I went down to the potter's house; and behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.
4And the vessel that he made was marred, as clay, in the hand of the potter; and he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make.
5And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
6House of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith Jehovah. Behold, as the clay in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, house of Israel.
7At the moment that I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to break down, and to destroy,
8if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from their evil, then I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.
9And at the moment that I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant,
10if it do evil in my sight, that it hearken not unto my voice, then I will repent of the good wherewith I said I would benefit them.
11And now, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I prepare evil against you, and devise a device against you: turn ye then every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.
12But they say, There is no hope; for we will walk after our own devices, and we will each one do according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.
13Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Ask ye now among the nations, Who hath heard such things? The virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing.
14Shall the snow of Lebanon cease from the rock of the field? Shall the cool flowing waters coming from afar be dried up?
15For my people hath forgotten me: they burn incense to vanity; and they have caused them to stumble in their ways, the ancient paths, to walk in by-paths of a way not cast up;
16to make their land an astonishment, a perpetual hissing: every one that passeth by shall be astonished, and shake his head.
17As with an east wind will I scatter them before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.
18And they said, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor word from the prophet. Come and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.
19Jehovah, give heed to me, and listen to the voice of those that contend with me.
20Shall evil be recompensed for good? For they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before thee to speak good for them, to turn away thy wrath from them.
21Therefore give up their children to the famine, and deliver them over to the power of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of children and be widows; and let their men be swept off by death, their young men be smitten by the sword in battle.
22Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them; for they have digged a pit to take me, and have hidden snares for my feet.
23And thou, Jehovah, knowest all their counsel against me to slay me. Forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee: deal with them in the time of thine anger.