Holman Christian Standard Bible (225 page)
Read Holman Christian Standard Bible Online
Authors: B&H Publishing Group
12
Who is the man wise enough to understand this? Who has the
Lord
spoken to, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a wilderness, so no one can pass through?
Who is the man wise enough to understand this? Who has the
Lord
spoken to, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a wilderness, so no one can pass through?
13
The
Lord
said, “It is because they abandoned My instruction that I set in front of them and did not obey My voice or walk according to it.
14
Instead, they followed the stubbornness of their hearts and followed after the
•Baals
as their fathers taught them.”
15
Therefore, this is what the
Lord
of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to feed this people
•wormwood
and give them poisonous water to drink.
16
I will scatter them among the nations that they and their fathers have not known. I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off.”
The
Lord
said, “It is because they abandoned My instruction that I set in front of them and did not obey My voice or walk according to it.
14
Instead, they followed the stubbornness of their hearts and followed after the
•Baals
as their fathers taught them.”
15
Therefore, this is what the
Lord
of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I am about to feed this people
•wormwood
and give them poisonous water to drink.
16
I will scatter them among the nations that they and their fathers have not known. I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off.”
Mourning over Judah
17
This is what the
Lord
of Hosts says:
This is what the
Lord
of Hosts says:
Consider, and summon the women who mourn;
send for the skillful women.
18
Let them come quickly to raise a lament over us
so that our eyes may overflow with tears,
our eyelids soaked with weeping.
19
For a sound of lamentation is heard from
•Zion
:
How devastated we are.
We are greatly ashamed,
for we have abandoned the land;
our dwellings have been torn down.
send for the skillful women.
18
Let them come quickly to raise a lament over us
so that our eyes may overflow with tears,
our eyelids soaked with weeping.
19
For a sound of lamentation is heard from
•Zion
:
How devastated we are.
We are greatly ashamed,
for we have abandoned the land;
our dwellings have been torn down.
20
Now hear the word of the
Lord
, you women.
Pay attention to the word of His mouth.
Teach your daughters a lament
and one another a dirge,
21
for Death has climbed through our windows;
it has entered our fortresses,
cutting off children from the streets,
young men from the squares.
Now hear the word of the
Lord
, you women.
Pay attention to the word of His mouth.
Teach your daughters a lament
and one another a dirge,
21
for Death has climbed through our windows;
it has entered our fortresses,
cutting off children from the streets,
young men from the squares.
22
Speak as follows:
Speak as follows:
This is what the
Lord
says:
Lord
says:
Human corpses will fall
like manure on the surface of the field,
like newly cut grain after the reaper
with no one to gather it.
like manure on the surface of the field,
like newly cut grain after the reaper
with no one to gather it.
Boast in the
Lord
Lord
23
This is what the
Lord
says:
This is what the
Lord
says:
The wise man must not boast in his wisdom;
the strong man must not boast in his strength;
the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth.
24
But the one who boasts should boast in this,
that he understands and knows Me —
that I am
•Yahweh
, showing faithful love,
justice, and righteousness on the earth,
for I delight in these things.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
the strong man must not boast in his strength;
the wealthy man must not boast in his wealth.
24
But the one who boasts should boast in this,
that he understands and knows Me —
that I am
•Yahweh
, showing faithful love,
justice, and righteousness on the earth,
for I delight in these things.
This is the
Lord
's declaration.
25
“The days are coming” — the
Lord
's declaration — “when I will punish all the circumcised yet uncircumcised:
26
Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair on their temples. All these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”
“The days are coming” — the
Lord
's declaration — “when I will punish all the circumcised yet uncircumcised:
26
Egypt, Judah, Edom, the Ammonites, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair on their temples. All these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”
Jeremiah
False Gods Contrasted with the Creator
10
Hear the word that the
Lord
has spoken to you, house of Israel.
2
This is what the
Lord
says:
Hear the word that the
Lord
has spoken to you, house of Israel.
2
This is what the
Lord
says:
Do not learn the way of the nations
or be terrified by signs in the heavens,
although the nations are terrified by them,
3
for the customs of the peoples are worthless.
Someone cuts down a tree from the forest;
it is worked by the hands of a craftsman with a chisel.
4
He decorates it with silver and gold.
It is fastened with hammer and nails,
so it won't totter.
5
Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch,
their idols cannot speak.
They must be carried because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them for they can do no harm —
and they cannot do any good.
or be terrified by signs in the heavens,
although the nations are terrified by them,
3
for the customs of the peoples are worthless.
Someone cuts down a tree from the forest;
it is worked by the hands of a craftsman with a chisel.
4
He decorates it with silver and gold.
It is fastened with hammer and nails,
so it won't totter.
5
Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch,
their idols cannot speak.
They must be carried because they cannot walk.
Do not fear them for they can do no harm —
and they cannot do any good.
6
•Yahweh
, there is no one like You.
You are great;
Your name is great in power.
7
Who should not
•fear
You,
King of the nations?
It is what You deserve.
For among all the wise people of the nations
and among all their kingdoms,
there is no one like You.
8
They are both stupid and foolish,
instructed by worthless idols
made of wood!
9
Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,
and gold from Uphaz
from the hands of a goldsmith,
the work of a craftsman.
Their clothing is blue and purple,
all the work of skilled artisans.
10
But Yahweh is the true God;
He is the living God and eternal King.
The earth quakes at His wrath,
and the nations cannot endure His rage.
•Yahweh
, there is no one like You.
You are great;
Your name is great in power.
7
Who should not
•fear
You,
King of the nations?
It is what You deserve.
For among all the wise people of the nations
and among all their kingdoms,
there is no one like You.
8
They are both stupid and foolish,
instructed by worthless idols
made of wood!
9
Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish,
and gold from Uphaz
from the hands of a goldsmith,
the work of a craftsman.
Their clothing is blue and purple,
all the work of skilled artisans.
10
But Yahweh is the true God;
He is the living God and eternal King.
The earth quakes at His wrath,
and the nations cannot endure His rage.
11
You are to say this to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”
You are to say this to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under these heavens.”
12
He made the earth by His power,
established the world by His wisdom,
and spread out the heavens by His understanding.
13
When He thunders,
the waters in the heavens are in turmoil,
and He causes the clouds to rise
from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from His storehouses.
He made the earth by His power,
established the world by His wisdom,
and spread out the heavens by His understanding.
13
When He thunders,
the waters in the heavens are in turmoil,
and He causes the clouds to rise
from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain
and brings the wind from His storehouses.
14
Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith is put to shame
by his carved image,
for his cast images are a lie;
there is no breath in them.
15
They are worthless, a work to be mocked.
At the time of their punishment
they will be destroyed.
16
Jacob's Portion is not like these
because He is the One who formed all things.
Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;
Yahweh of
•Hosts
is His name.
Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Every goldsmith is put to shame
by his carved image,
for his cast images are a lie;
there is no breath in them.
15
They are worthless, a work to be mocked.
At the time of their punishment
they will be destroyed.
16
Jacob's Portion is not like these
because He is the One who formed all things.
Israel is the tribe of His inheritance;
Yahweh of
•Hosts
is His name.
Exile After the Siege
17
Gather up your belongings from the ground,
you who live under siege.
Gather up your belongings from the ground,
you who live under siege.
18
For this is what the
Lord
says:
For this is what the
Lord
says:
Look, I am slinging out
the land's residents at this time
and bringing them such distress
that they will feel it.
the land's residents at this time
and bringing them such distress
that they will feel it.
Jeremiah Grieves
19
Woe to me because of my brokenness —
I am severely wounded!
I exclaimed, “This is my intense suffering,
but I must bear it.”
20
My tent is destroyed;
all my tent cords are snapped.
My sons have departed from me and are no more.
I have no one to pitch my tent again
or to hang up my curtains.
21
For the shepherds are stupid:
they don't seek the
Lord
.
Therefore they have not prospered,
and their whole flock is scattered.
22
Listen! A noise — it is coming —
a great commotion from the land to the north.
The cities of Judah will be made desolate,
a jackals' den.
Woe to me because of my brokenness —
I am severely wounded!
I exclaimed, “This is my intense suffering,
but I must bear it.”
20
My tent is destroyed;
all my tent cords are snapped.
My sons have departed from me and are no more.
I have no one to pitch my tent again
or to hang up my curtains.
21
For the shepherds are stupid:
they don't seek the
Lord
.
Therefore they have not prospered,
and their whole flock is scattered.
22
Listen! A noise — it is coming —
a great commotion from the land to the north.
The cities of Judah will be made desolate,
a jackals' den.
23
I know,
Lord
,
that a man's way of life is not his own;
no one who walks determines his own steps.
24
Discipline me,
Lord
, but with justice —
not in Your anger,
or You will reduce me to nothing.
25
Pour out Your wrath on the nations
that don't recognize You
and on the families
that don't call on Your name,
for they have consumed Jacob;
they have consumed him and finished him off
and made his homeland desolate.
I know,
Lord
,
that a man's way of life is not his own;
no one who walks determines his own steps.
24
Discipline me,
Lord
, but with justice —
not in Your anger,
or You will reduce me to nothing.
25
Pour out Your wrath on the nations
that don't recognize You
and on the families
that don't call on Your name,
for they have consumed Jacob;
they have consumed him and finished him off
and made his homeland desolate.
Jeremiah
Reminder of the Covenant
11
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the
Lord
:
2
“Listen to the words of this covenant and tell them to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem.
3
You must tell them: This is what the
Lord
, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let a curse be on the man who does not obey the words of this covenant,
4
which I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace.' I declared: ‘Obey Me, and do everything that I command you, and you will be My people, and I will be your God,'
5
in order to establish the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is today.”
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the
Lord
:
2
“Listen to the words of this covenant and tell them to the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem.
3
You must tell them: This is what the
Lord
, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let a curse be on the man who does not obey the words of this covenant,
4
which I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the iron furnace.' I declared: ‘Obey Me, and do everything that I command you, and you will be My people, and I will be your God,'
5
in order to establish the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is today.”
6
The
Lord
said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Obey the words of this covenant and carry them out.
7
For I strongly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt until today, warning them time and time again,‘Obey My voice.'
8
Yet they would not obey or pay attention; each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant, because they had not done what I commanded them to do.”
The
Lord
said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: Obey the words of this covenant and carry them out.
7
For I strongly warned your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt until today, warning them time and time again,‘Obey My voice.'
8
Yet they would not obey or pay attention; each one followed the stubbornness of his evil heart. So I brought on them all the curses of this covenant, because they had not done what I commanded them to do.”
9
The
Lord
said to me, “A conspiracy has been discovered among the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem.
10
They have returned to the sins of their ancestors who refused to obey My words and have followed other gods to worship them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke My covenant I made with their ancestors.
The
Lord
said to me, “A conspiracy has been discovered among the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem.
10
They have returned to the sins of their ancestors who refused to obey My words and have followed other gods to worship them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah broke My covenant I made with their ancestors.
11
“Therefore, this is what the
Lord
says: I am about to bring on them disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not hear them.
12
Then the cities of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods they have been burning incense to, but they certainly will not save them in their time of disaster.
13
Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, Judah, and the altars you have set up to Shame — altars to burn incense to
•Baal
— as numerous as the streets of Jerusalem.
“Therefore, this is what the
Lord
says: I am about to bring on them disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not hear them.
12
Then the cities of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem will go and cry out to the gods they have been burning incense to, but they certainly will not save them in their time of disaster.
13
Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, Judah, and the altars you have set up to Shame — altars to burn incense to
•Baal
— as numerous as the streets of Jerusalem.
14
“As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to Me at the time of their disaster.
“As for you, do not pray for these people. Do not raise up a cry or a prayer on their behalf, for I will not be listening when they call out to Me at the time of their disaster.
15
What right does My beloved have
to be in My house,
having carried out so many evil schemes?
Can holy meat prevent your disaster
so you can rejoice?
16
The
Lord
named you
a flourishing olive tree,
beautiful with well-formed fruit.
He has set fire to it,
and its branches are consumed
with a great roaring sound.
What right does My beloved have
to be in My house,
having carried out so many evil schemes?
Can holy meat prevent your disaster
so you can rejoice?
16
The
Lord
named you
a flourishing olive tree,
beautiful with well-formed fruit.
He has set fire to it,
and its branches are consumed
with a great roaring sound.
17
“The
Lord
of
•Hosts
who planted you has decreed disaster against you, because of the harm the house of Israel and the house of Judah brought on themselves, provoking Me to anger by burning incense to Baal.”
“The
Lord
of
•Hosts
who planted you has decreed disaster against you, because of the harm the house of Israel and the house of Judah brought on themselves, provoking Me to anger by burning incense to Baal.”
18
The
Lord
informed me, so I knew.
Then You helped me to see their deeds,
19
for I was like a docile lamb led to slaughter.
I didn't know that they had devised plots against me:
“Let's destroy the tree with its fruit;
let's cut him off from the land of the living
so that his name will no longer be remembered.”
20
But,
Lord
of Hosts, who judges righteously,
who tests heart and mind,
let me see Your vengeance on them,
for I have presented my case to You.
The
Lord
informed me, so I knew.
Then You helped me to see their deeds,
19
for I was like a docile lamb led to slaughter.
I didn't know that they had devised plots against me:
“Let's destroy the tree with its fruit;
let's cut him off from the land of the living
so that his name will no longer be remembered.”
20
But,
Lord
of Hosts, who judges righteously,
who tests heart and mind,
let me see Your vengeance on them,
for I have presented my case to You.
21
Therefore, here is what the
Lord
says concerning the people of Anathoth who want to take your life. They warn, “You must not prophesy in the name of
•Yahweh
, or you will certainly die at our hand.”
22
Therefore, this is what the
Lord
of Hosts says: “I am about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword; their sons and daughters will die by famine.
23
They will have no remnant, for I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”
Therefore, here is what the
Lord
says concerning the people of Anathoth who want to take your life. They warn, “You must not prophesy in the name of
•Yahweh
, or you will certainly die at our hand.”
22
Therefore, this is what the
Lord
of Hosts says: “I am about to punish them. The young men will die by the sword; their sons and daughters will die by famine.
23
They will have no remnant, for I will bring disaster on the people of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”
Jeremiah
Jeremiah's Complaint
12
You will be righteous,
Lord
,
even if I bring a case against You.
Yet, I wish to contend with You:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all the treacherous live at ease?
2
You planted them, and they have taken root.
They have grown and produced fruit.
You are ever on their lips,
but far from their conscience.
3
As for You,
Lord
, You know me; You see me.
You test whether my heart is with You.
Drag the wicked away like sheep to slaughter
and set them apart for the day of killing.
4
How long will the land mourn
and the grass of every field wither?
Because of the evil of its residents,
animals and birds have been swept away,
for the people have said,
“He cannot see what our end will be.”
You will be righteous,
Lord
,
even if I bring a case against You.
Yet, I wish to contend with You:
Why does the way of the wicked prosper?
Why do all the treacherous live at ease?
2
You planted them, and they have taken root.
They have grown and produced fruit.
You are ever on their lips,
but far from their conscience.
3
As for You,
Lord
, You know me; You see me.
You test whether my heart is with You.
Drag the wicked away like sheep to slaughter
and set them apart for the day of killing.
4
How long will the land mourn
and the grass of every field wither?
Because of the evil of its residents,
animals and birds have been swept away,
for the people have said,
“He cannot see what our end will be.”
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